News on Australia.
China's refusal to accept Australian coal means that other countries are now exporting coal to the major dry bulk nation. One such country is South Africa, which now ships coal to China for the first time in years. But the situation does not significantly change carriers' demand, notes Bimco.
China plans to allow some stranded Australian coal shipments to unload in the country despite its ongoing import ban. The move should be seen as a goodwill gesture to countries with seafarers stranded rather than an ease of restrictions, says anonymous source.
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The conflict between China and Australia, which prevents dry bulkers from offloading their Australian coal cargoes in China, continues unabated with no solution in sight. At present, 71 vessels are stranded while crews are calling on authorities to intervene. Things have gone from bad to worse, says Bimco.
Seafarers and cargoes are stuck in a tug of war between China's ban on Australian coal and buyers who will not let them divert to other ports. An estimated 1,480 seafarers are stranded off the coast of China, many for several months.
A growing number of vessels carrying iron ore are unable to offload their cargoes to the Chinese market.
More than 50 dry bulk vessels with coal from Australia have now been stranded off the coast of China for weeks, writes Bloomberg. Nearly 1,000 seafarers are estimated to be affected. Norden follows the situation closely.
With his new title as CEO of Svitzer Australia, Steffen Risager often runs into "Australian coffee snobs" and communicates on a daily basis taking selfies around the large continent. Now he has to start thinking before he speaks. ShippingWatch has met the CEO of Svitzer's largest market.
Australia and Brazil, the world's two top iron-ore exporters, will add close to 100 million tons to their supply over the next ten years in a development that looks set to put pressure on the prices, and thus smaller miners, notes Citigroup Inc.
Ship design specialist Odense Maritime Technology is in the running to win a larger order from the Australian navy, which will acquire nine new warships for a billion-dollar amount.
Towage company Svitzer has secured support from a majority of its Australian employees for a new collective agreement, which will most likely mark the end of a long-lasting and difficult negotiation process in the carrier's largest single market.
The Maersk Group's towage unit Svitzer is once again hit by strikes in its largest single market, Australia, where unions are renowned for their power. Svitzer is now hoping that a vote tomorrow, Tuesday, among all employees will get the most unruly ones back in line.
For at least ten years, Svitzer Australia will be towing ships to and from Inpex' newly-constructed LNG facility in Darwin in Northern Australia. The order involves two newbuildings.
Stena Drilling has been sentences to pay a penalty of 330,000 Australian dollars (AUD) in relation to an accident in 2012 in which two employees were killed on rig Stena Clyde.
Australian mining company Rio Tinto expects to increase its iron ore export to China significantly this year, while the global mining companies are fighting intensely for China's favor.
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