Read all the latest news about Bauxite. ShippingWatch gives you independent, credible, critical and fair news.
Shipments of controversial cargo bauxite, which is used to produce aluminum, will grow 40 percent by 2025, projects Japanese carrier Mitsui OSK Lines.
The International Maritime Organization is now urging dry bulk carriers to exhibit extreme caution when transporting bauxite, which can liquefy during voyages. However, the official rules will not be updated until 2019.
A working group tasked with reviewing risks related to dangerous cargoes will present its conclusions at a meeting of the IMO. Rules and guidelines could be changed.
The current methods for testing whether a dangerous cargo is at risk of liquefaction during sailing are inadequate and should be changed, says the Association of Bulk Terminal Operators, citing various samples of cargoes which have become liquefied despite passing tests.
London P&I Club and two partners have issued new guidelines for sailings with dangerous cargo which can become liquefied if humidity levels are too high. Last Friday, Stellar Daisy was shipwrecked after sailing with category A cargo.
In the past ten years, 71 dry bulk vessels of more than 10,000 dwt have been lost at sea, due to factors including cargo liquefying, as was the case with Bulk Jupiter in early 2015. Disappointingly few flag states investigate the wrecks and report to the IMO, notes Intercargo.
Since Indonesia implemented a ban on the export of bauxite directly from the mines, the export from Malaysia to China has exploded. This development comes at the price of a severe environmental problem for which the mining companies will be held responsible.
British-Australian Rio Tinto is gearing up for a massive expansion of production from one of the world's biggest bauxite deposits. This happens after the mining group has secured approval for a billion dollar project that includes, among other things, a new mine and port facilities.
DNV GL og ClassNK advarer som de seneste i shippingindustrien om risikoen ved bulklaster, der kan medføre skibskatastrofer som Bulk Jupiters forlis tidligere i år.
According to accident report, shipper's declaration concerning Bulk Jupiter's bauxite cargo was useless. Much stricter guidelines look set to be implemented, the Danish Maritime Authority tells ShippingWatch.
Gearbulk has suspended all shipping of bauxite from Kuantan in Malaysia, and the company today requires control and analysis of the material before loading, no matter where in the world the cargo is taken on.
Based on the accident report for the Bulk Jupiter wreck, ShippingWatch recounts the last days and the last fateful hours aboard the vessel in the South China Sea. The scene is set in December 2014 when Malaysia experienced the worst rains in a century.
The accident report from Bulk Jupiter's dramatic wreck on January 2nd this year, which ShippingWatch has gained access to, lacks crucial evidence material because the ship's charterer refuses to contribute information. But the report reveals numerous criticizable conditions.
The UN's International Maritime Organization is now taking the next step in the case concerning bauxite cargoes after the fatal wreck of dry bulk vessel Bulk Jupiter, which sank in the South China Sea on January 2nd this year.
Project manager - SDK 
Chartering Manager - Ultrabulk 
Dry Cargo Operator - XO Shipping 
