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Maintenance at Russia’s Ust Luga coal terminal will have a temporary effect on thermal coal export capacity from Russia, but this is not expected to have much of an impact on the delivered-Europe price, sources said. The maintenance could reduce coal export capacity by as much as 1 million-2 million mt over the next few months while work on the terminal is carried out, sources said. But some sources said they doubted the reduction would have much impact on the market, saying Russian coal was exported via several terminals in the Baltic region that could absorb the lost capacity from Ust Luga. Ust Luga’s export capacity is 20 million mt/year, according to the terminal’s website.

CNOOC will start building six liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage tanks by the end of the year as part of a project to expand its Tianjin LNG terminal to help meet surging demand from households in northern China, CNOOC Gas and Power Group said in statement. The project, including six tanks each with 220,000 cubic metres of storage capacity, 12 gasification units and 12 high pressure pumps, has been approved by CNOOC’s board members, the company said. The new facilities are expected to start operating in 2022. CNOOC’s Tianjin terminal is expected to have 7.25 million tonnes of annual LNG processing capacity by 2030, up for 3.21 million tonnes in 2018. Source: Reuters

UK cross-Solent ferry operator Red Funnel has started upgrade work on its East Cowes terminal for its three Raptor Class ro-paxes on the Southampton-Cowes route, as well as preparing the terminal for the arrival of its new freight-only ro-ro.

Brazil’s trucker strike entered the ninth straight day amid signs that the protests may be shrinking. While there’s no official data yet on the number of the blockades across the country on Tuesday, industry reports indicated that many were halted after the government signed decrees meeting trucker demands. Local media said protests persist in several states. Brazil terminals run out of soybeans (12:19 p.m.) Most export terminals ran out of soybeans for shipments scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, Lucas Trindade de Brito, manager at export group Anec, said in a telephone interview. Grain-truck traffic resumed slowly on Tuesday, though new supplies haven’t arrived yet to export terminals. Political protests prevent end of strike (noon) Protests are becoming politically motivated as truckers return to work after the government met their demands, Brazil Chief of Staff Eliseu Padilha said at a press conference in Brasilia. Earlier, Jose da Fonseca Lopes, head of the largest trucker union, said the strike continues because of the interest of “people who want to overthrow the government.” Vale output cut inevitable if strike persists (11:24 a.m.) Strike impact for the time being is limited, Vale CEO Fabio Schvartsman says at an event in Sao Paulo. Dow halts plants, limits deliveries (11:21 a.m.) Amid strike impact, Dow still expects to expand in Brazil many basis points above GDP and will continue spending in Brazil, Fabian Gil, the CEO for Latin America, says at an event in Sao Paulo. Beef output almost completely halted (11:16 a.m.) Among Brazil’s 109 beef plants, 107 suspended operations and two are running below 50% of capacity, exporter group Abiec said in an email. Exports of 40,000 tons of beef haven’t been shipped as planned, and thousands of trucks loaded with perishable products, including boned meat, are halted on roads. Truck flow to main export terminals still halted (10:15 a.m.) Ports at Santos, the main source for grain exports, and Paranagua, the second-largest, haven’t received any cargoes by truck on Tuesday, according to authorities for both terminals. Truck grain transportation resumes slowly: Abiove (10 a.m.) Soybean and soybean-meal transportation slowly returned to normal in some parts of the country, Daniel Furlan Amaral, a manager at industry group Abiove, said in a telephone interview. https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/most-port-terminals-run-out-of-soybeans-brazil-strike-timeline/

Norwegian company Barents NaturGass said Wednesday it has reached an agreement with Swedish gas distribution and infrastructure company Swedegas on the delivery of LNG to a new bunkering facility in the port of Gothenburg in Sweden. The facility is expected to be complete in August. Swedegas will own and operate the facility. Barents NaturGass will supply the LNG with ISO-containers from European LNG terminals. LNG as a shipping fuel reduces emissions of sulfur and particles close to zero and nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 90%.

Oil loadings from Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiisk have resumed, Russian oil pipeline monolopy Transneft said on Thursday. Oil loadings at the port were suspended on Tuesday due a storm. Source: Reuters (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Writing by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Mark Potter)

Holland America Line’s Volendam made history on 23 May 2018 when she brought the 25 millionth cruise passenger to the Port of Vancouver in Canada. To mark the milestone, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority hosted a celebration at Canada Place, which honoured both the 25 millionth passenger and the collaborative efforts companies in Vancouver’s cruise and tourism industries have made to grow cruise traffic. “We are thrilled this year to welcome the 25 millionth cruise passenger through the Port of Vancouver and to celebrate this achievement with our destination, cruise line and industry partners,” said Robin Silvester, president and CEO of Vancouver Fraser Port Authority.

BEST container terminal in the Port of Barcelona orders more Konecranes ARMGs Konecranes has won an order for 6 Automated Rail Mounted Gantry (ARMG) cranes from BEST container terminal, a Hutchison operation in the Port of Barcelona. BEST container terminal already operates 48 Konecranes ARMGs in a large automated container yard. The cranes currently on order are identical to those already working, stacking 40T containers 1-over-5 high and 9 wide. The new order is a sign of BEST’s satisfaction with Konecranes’ automated container handling technology. The new cranes will be delivered by container block, two cranes per block, with the last crane pair scheduled for delivery in second quarter of 2019. Source: Konecranes

The Visakhapatnam Port Trust has served an ultimatum on the Visakha Container Terminal Private Limited (VCTPL) for its failure to launch work on extension of the container handling facility even though the concession agreement was signed on December 17, 2014. VCTPL, joint venture of United Liner Agency (a part of J.M. Baxi Group) and Dubai Port World International, started its operations in 2003 as a BOT operator of Visakhapatnam Port. The terminal has a depth of 16.5m, quay length of 450m and channel width of 220m becoming one of the finest container terminals in the country. Highly placed sources told The Hindu that VPT had given time till September to start the work on extension of the container terminal. The final deadline set for VCTPL is June 30. The sources said the issue would figure at the next meeting of the board of trustees.

The keel was laid for UK cross-Solent ferry operator Red Funnel’s first ever freight-only ferry today, 31 May, at the British shipbuilder Cammell Laird’s shipyard at Birkenhead. The double-ended vessel will be named RED KESTREL and enter service on the company’s Southampton-East Cowes route in the spring of 2019.

Chennai Port, located strategically between Singapore and Fujairah, the world’s first and second largest bunker fuel suppliers, has plans to make the south Indian city a bunker capital on the East coast. Efforts are underway to construct a dedicated bunker berth inside the port to accommodate bunker tankers, a move which is expected to swell the port’s revenues. Fuel used to run a ship is referred as bunker fuel and world over, supply of bunker fuel is one of the major revenue sources for ports. While ships require heavy oil to run their engines, diesel oil is used to run generators and smaller machinery. A senior official at the Chennai Port Trust told TOI that a final agreement is to be signed in the coming week to construct a 181m long berth at a cost of ?44 crore at Bharati dock to accommodate bunker ships. “The port has been supplying bunker fuels to ships in the anchorage area outside the port for the past two years, a practice which wasn’t of the port’s 136-year-old history,” a port official said. The port will be able to meet a target bunker sales of up to 1MTPA (metric ton per annum), an official said. “Singapore and Fujairah have bunker sales of 45MTPA and 25MTPA respectively. Low prices of crude oil and better infrastructure are an advantage for them,” the official added.

Terminal operators at Latin America’s largest port Santos said in a statement on Wednesday that the flow of goods by trucks on the site has not resumed even as a trucker protest against high fuel prices that lasted more than a week began to unwind. Sopesp, which represents operators including sugar trading group Copersucar SA and grain handler Archer Daniels Midland , said truckers are “refusing” to conduct their vehicles to the port’s loading and unloading areas. “Truckers are parked at many points, apparently awaiting orders or better conditions to continue their journeys.” Source: Reuters (Reporting by Ana Mano)

Port of Salalah announced the resumption of gradual operations in the cargo terminal after completion of the assessment of damages caused by Cyclone Mekunu in Dhofar. Mohammed bin Ofait al Ma’shani, director general, corporate affairs, Port of Salalah said the first container ship is expected to arrive on Friday. He added that the port management is working to ensure that all facilities are in place to start normal services. In a statement, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said that a hydrographic survey of the port area was conducted by the Royal Navy of Oman’s Diving Team. “This was done to facilitate the movement of vessels in the port area. It was held as part of the efforts and services provided by us and the Sultan’s Armed Forces to support other sectors in the Governorate of Dhofar,” MoD said. Source: Muscat Daily

Norwegian Cruise Line’s 4,000-passenger Norwegian Bliss made her maiden call at the Port of Los Angeles in California, US on 25 May becoming the largest cruise ship to visit to date. The 168,000gt Norwegian Bliss was too large to use the port’s main turning basin so she reversed down the main channel before docking at the World Cruise Centre. Norwegian Bliss departed for Seattle, where she will begin her Alaska season. Norwegian Bliss will make seven more calls in Los Angeles this year and eight in 2019.

The Port of Long Beach was recognized recently as the “Best Green Seaport” in the world at the 32nd annual Asian Freight & Supply Chain Awards hosted in Shanghai by the Asia Cargo News shipping trade publication. The Port of Long Beach, known as the Green Port, has succeeded in dramatically reducing its environmental impact. Adopted in 2005, Long Beach’s “Green Port Policy” has led to significant improvements in air and water quality from initiatives such as the Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP) and the Technology Advancement Program (TAP). The newly updated CAAP identifies strategies to further reduce pollution from every source and accelerate progress towards a zero-emissions future. “The Port of Long Beach is thrilled to be named the Best Green Seaport. This award reflects the continuing serious commitment of our Board of Harbor Commissioners and staff to improving air and water quality, and serving as a model of environmental sustainability for seaports around the world,” said Long Beach Harbor Commission President Lou Anne Bynum.

On 24 May, P&O Cruises revealed that the name for its 183,000gt LNG-powered cruise ship will be IONA, the name of an Island on the Scottish west coast. The first steel cut has also been made at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg on 25 April.

The new 111,500gt and 315-metre long MEIN SCHIFF 2 was floated out on 1 June at the Meyer Turku shipyard, one month after the delivery of her sister, the MEIN SCHIFF 1.

Following China’s ban on import of plastic wastes, a lot of them are coming instead to Việt Nam, but with consignees failing to claim shipments, the wastes are piling up at ports including in HCM City. As of late May 389 containers arriving in 6,801 consignments are lying in ports for more than 90 days without being claimed by their owners, a customs official told Người lao động (The labourer) newspaper. According to a Ministry of Finance circular, goods left unclaimed for more than 90 days at ports could be seized and sold. Cát Lái Port in District 2 has 307 containers and 448 parcels while Tân Sơn Nhất international airport and the express customs branch have 1,949 and 4,384 parcels. A customs official at Cát Lái Port said an increasing number of consignments have been piling up at ports for more than 90 days since the beginning of this year. The reason was China’s ban on import of plastic scrap from the EU, the US and Japan this year, who are now sending it to Southeast Asian countries, including Việt Nam, he said. But related agencies impose restrictions on import of wastes, meaning customs authorities are unable to process their entry, he said. Goods are also stuck at ports because consignees do not claim them.

The $5 billion-plus Terminal 4 coal export expansion planned for Newcastle has been scrapped after demand for the fossil fuel failed to increase as expected. Port Waratah Coal Services said on Thursday that it would allow a lease for the terminal – known as T4 – to lapse, signalling that the project would not go ahead. Port Waratah’s two terminals, Carrington and Kooragang, last year exported 105 million tonnes of coal out of a combined capacity of 145 million tonnes, the company said in a statement. Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group, operator of the city’s third terminal, shipped about 60 million tonnes, helping make Newcastle one of the largest coal export centres in the world.

Navis, a part of Cargotec Corporation and provider of operational technologies and services that unlock greater performance and efficiency for the world’s leading organizations across the shipping supply chain, announced that Tianjin Port Group has completed the cut over and go live of N4 across its six terminals in record time.