InterManager Daily News 04.09.2023.

1. Panama Canal latest: how each shipping segment is being impacted. Vessels in queue for transit across the Panama Canal stand at 128 ships today, some 42% above the 90 average, but 21% below the figure a month ago.While containerships, which have fixed schedules, tend to have reserved slots, the voyage plans for the tramp trades continue to be hit hard by the ongoing congestion brought about by drought and subsequent draft and transit restrictions put in place by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP). https://splash247.com/panama-canal-latest-how-each-shipping-segment-is-being-impacted/
2. US west coast dockworkers approve new six-year contract. The US west coast is safe from the threat of strikes finally. Dockworkers have voted in favour of ratifying a contract agreement with employment association Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) announced yesterday, bringing to a close a period of significant industrial unrest. https://splash247.com/us-west-coast-dockworkers-approve-new-six-year-contract/
3. Shell invests in scrubber-turned-carbon capture specialist. Value Group, a pioneer of scrubbers and latterly carbon capture tech, has welcomed Shell Ventures as its newest investor. Shell Ventures is the corporate venture capital arm of energy giant Shell. Value Maritime is the developer and installer of Filtree, one of the first commercially viable hybrid CO2 capture and exhaust gas cleaning systems, which shipowners and operators can lease to help them lower their emissions. https://splash247.com/shell-invests-in-scrubber-turned-carbon-capture-specialist/
4. Asset manager joins forces with American shipping investment bank. ABL Corporation, a global independent asset manager with over $5bn in transportation and real estate assets under management, and AMA Capital Partners, a boutique investment bank specialising in the transportation and energy industries, have formed a strategic partnership to strengthen their combined maritime industry expertise. https://splash247.com/asset-manager-joins-forces-with-american-shipping-investment-bank/
5. Freight Rates Surge As Mississippi River Water Levels Drop. The cost to transport America’s harvest from the Midwest to the rest of the world is soaring as shrinking water levels on the Mississippi River drive up barge freight rates — with below-average rainfall forecasts offering no relief. Barge spot rates as of Aug. 29 in St. Louis are up 49% from last week and 42% from last year at $23.34 a ton. That’s up 85% from the past three-year average, according to Department of Agriculture data released Wednesday. https://gcaptain.com/freight-rates-surge-as-mississippi-river-water-levels-drop/
6. Ports In Europe Lure Investors Into Clean Energy Gateway Plan. Ports in Europe are racing to win a key role in the bloc’s ambitious climate strategy as they try to evolve from entry points for fossil-fuel imports into industrial clusters for clean energy. In the region’s biggest seaport in Rotterdam, port authorities and major energy companies are developing a large-scale network that will include clean power supplied by offshore wind farms, as well as hydrogen production and pipelines to ship the fuel to manufacturers on-site and inland. https://gcaptain.com/ports-in-europe-lure-investors-into-clean-energy-gateway-plan/
7. CMA CGM Finalizes Terminals Acquisition at Port of New York and New Jersey. CMA CGM has closed on its acquisition to acquire two key container terminals at the Port of New York and New Jersey, expanding the French shipping company’s terminal footprint in the United States. CMA CGM announced its intention to acquire the GCT Bayonne and GCT New York terminals from Global Container Terminals in December. https://gcaptain.com/cma-cgm-finalizes-terminals-acquisition-at-port-of-new-york-and-new-jersey/
8. Baltic index marks second straight weekly dip on retreat in larger vessels. The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index fell on Friday, posting its second straight weekly decline, weighed by a dip in capesize and panamax vessel rates. The index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, fell 21 points, or 1.9%, to 1,065, its lowest level in more than five weeks. For the week, the index was down 1.4%. https://www.shippingtribune.com/news/shipping/Baltic+index+marks+second+straight+weekly+dip+on+retreat+in+larger+vessels
9. ClassNK releases “Guidelines for Liquefied Hydrogen Carriers (Edition 2.0)”- incorporating insights obtained from design review and survey. ClassNK has released ” Guidelines for Liquefied Hydrogen (LH2) Carriers (Edition 2.0)”, which cover essential details to examine the safety of liquefied hydrogen carriers to spur related technological developments. To construct a supply chain for hydrogen, which is expected to be a clean energy source in a decarbonized society, the development of liquefied hydrogen carriers that enable large-scale and efficient transportation is progressing actively. https://www.shippingtribune.com/news/shipping/ClassNK+releases+%E2%80%9CGuidelines+for+Liquefied+Hydrogen+Carriers+%28Edition+2.0%29%E2%80%9D-+incorporating+insights+obtained+from+design+review+and+survey
10. Dry docking pre-inspection avoids future pain. Pre-docking inspections provide an increasingly powerful means of ensuring a successful dry-docking, according to MacGregor Sometimes costly, periodically mandatory and ultimately inevitable, the drydock is part of the normal life of a ship. However, with days in dock also experienced as lost earnings, the stakes are high for what is a rare opportunity to deal with the safety, environmental and efficiency issues that cannot be handled in service. https://www.shippingtribune.com/news/shipping/Dry+docking+pre-inspection+avoids+future+pain