»Concordia Maritime concludes new deal with oil and gas company2014-05-26

Concordia Maritime has just won a new contract with a major oil and gas company for a consecutive voyage charter arrangement for the P-MAX tankers Stena Provence and Stena Polaris. The agreement is for 6 months initially and will run until the end of 2014.

»LNG America selects the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) as the Classification2014-05-26

LNG America announces the selection of the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) as the classification society for North America¡¯s first LNG bunker barges, currently being designed by Jensen Maritime. ABS will assist LNG America in working with shipbuilders and regulators in developing these first-of-their-kind barges that meet or exceed all technical and regulatory requirements.

»SC ports posts busiest month since 20082014-05-26

April pier container volumes set a 6-year record, marking the busiest month at the Port of Charleston since May 2008.

»Vietnam introduces tough weight rules for containers on roads and ports2014-05-26

The Vietnamese government has implemented a law that dictates the total weight for TEUs and FEUs cannot exceed 20 tons including the weight of the container.

»US delays 100pc container screening2014-05-26

Secretary for Homeland Security Jeh Johnson has delayed for two more years new rules requiring all cargo containers entering the US to be security scanned prior to departure from overseas amid questions over whether this is the best way to protect US ports, according to Shipping Gazette.

»Shareholders of Hapag-Lloyd have come to a binding agreement2014-05-23

A binding agreement is in place for a 2015 flotation as part of a stock market listing of Germany's Hapag-Lloyd, once it takes over the container shipping business of Chile's CSAV, according to key shareholder Tui, the German travel giant, according to Shipping Gazette.

»Zim finalised a US$3 billion restructuring deal2014-05-23

Zim has finalised a US$3 billion restructuring deal, involving a $200 million equity injection from Israel Corporation, which will enable the troubled, debt-ridden carrier to participate in joint ventures and buy new ships.

»Damen Shipyards becomes ready for market recovery2014-05-23

The Damen shipbuilders in the Dutch province of Friesland will not just be sitting on their laurels after the delivery and christening of the two Damen Combi Freighters 3850 (the Noordvliet and Zuidvliet) and the Damen Combi Coaster 2500 MV Anita. ¡°We are seeing a real market for smaller vessels and an interest in the vessels we build.¡± The specialised yard, part of Damen Shipyards Group, is ready for a market revival.

»Bunker barge relocated to Galle to meet growing demand2014-05-23

GAC Bunker Fuels and its local partner in Sri Lanka, Interocean Energy (IOE), have moved the bunker barge MT ¡®Kandy¡¯ to Galle to meet growing demand for bunker supplies at the port on the southern tip of the island nation.

»OW Bunker strengthens physical distribution capabilities2014-05-23

OW Bunker, one of the world¡¯s leading physical distributors and resellers of marine fuels, today announced that it has time chartered an additional barge in Panama to further strengthen its physical operations. The move reinforces the company¡¯s ongoing commitment to its customers operating along the Panama Canal, helping them to effectively navigate the region¡¯s changing fuel dynamics.

»Another Damen cutter suction dredger for Nigeria2014-05-23

A Damen CSD500 has been delivered to Nigeria. The stationary dredger has been assembled on the beach and pushed and tugged into the sea over a ramp. The cutter suction dredger will perform maintenance duties in and around the harbours of Port Harcourt.

»Georgia Ports Authority buys 24 cranes2014-05-23

The Georgia Ports Authority's (GPA) container terminals handled 266,930 TEU in April, an increase of 8,000 units, or 3.1 per cent, putting the Port of Savannah on track to move three million TEU this fiscal year, according to Shipping Gazette.

»Tianjin volume to hit 600 million tonnes in 20172014-05-23

AS the fourth largest port worldwide in terms of raw tonnage, Tianjin port's annual cargo volume is expected to hit 600 million tonnes in 2017 with 23 dry ports built, reports Xinhua.

»China-wide port box volume increases 7.2pc2014-05-23

China's ports posted a 7.2 per cent year-on-year increase in overall container throughput nationwide to 190 million TEU in 2013, reports Xinhua.

»New speedway planned to get Indian ports going2014-05-22

The state government has set the ball rolling for building a peripheral road skirting Chennai to facilitate easy movement of container traffic to and from Ennore port and reduce congestion in an expanding city.

»ICTSI gets control of terminal in Shandong2014-05-22

ICTSI (Hong Kong), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of International Container Terminal Services Inc (ICTSI) of the Philippines will acquire 51 percent of a foreign container terminal in China's Shandong Province.

»London Gateway shrugs off loss of M&S distribution centre2014-05-22

The London Gateway port insisted that there was still "huge momentum" around the Essex facility despite the blow of prize client, retailer Marks & Spencer, abandoning plans to build a new US337 million distribution centre on the site.

»Maersk Line doubles profit in first quarter2014-05-22

Danish shipping and oil company A P Møller-Maersk has upgraded its full-year outlook after posting a 62 percent increase in first-quarter profit as lower costs outweighed lower freight rates in its container business, resulting in Maersk line doubling profits from US$204 million to $454 million.

»P3 launch pushed back to autumn2014-05-22

The proposed P3 Alliance that was expected to take off in the middle of this year is now expected to be launched in autumn of this year, according to CMA CGM, one of the three members of the alliance. The other two are Maersk Line and MSC.

»US shippers lose millions over winter rail freight2014-05-22

Shippers freight haulage costs in the US soared by tens of millions of dollars last winter as the bad weather and shortage of railcars led to a frenzy of truck bookings, fuelling a capacity squeeze, according to Shipping Gazette.