Maersk has now received a response from local authorities in China after several seafarers last week were isolated on ship Gjertrud Maersk with symptoms of covid-19. The results show cases of coronavirus infections, the company tells ShippingWatch.
Sliding demand forces container alliance 2M, which consists of Maersk Line and MSC, to void more than one fifth of its voyages between Asia and Europe as well as Asia and the Mediterranean in the second quarter of 2020, reports Sea-Intelligence.
The CEO of the Swedish tanker carrier Stena Bulk, Erik Hånell, is responsible for seven offices and several hundred employees across the globe, all affected by the coronavirus outbreak. Many work from home or in shifts. Hånell worries the most about the times to come after corona.
A new consortium sets out to build a PtX plant in Scandinavia that can convert waste into sustainable methanol as an alternative transport fuel. Six of such facilities will be established in the Nordic region over the coming ten years.
Wärtsilä has started taking a closer look at ammonia as a potential solution to shipping's climate troubles. From 2022, carriers will be incorporated into trials at sea.
Wärtsilä will select new fuels for testing within the next few years. The engine technology is already good, but now it is all about flexibility, says Roger Holm, Wärtsilä's president of Marine Power.
European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager approves four-year extension of the so-called Block Exemption Regulation.
German shipping bank Hamburg Commercial Bank thinks the idea behind the Poseidon Principles is good, but sees several problems with the rules. "You have to extend your view," says the bank's head of shipping in an interview with ShippingWatch.
The spread between bunker fuel with 3.5-percent and 0.5-percent sulfur is now down to USD 75. This increases the payback time on a scrubber to three to four years, writes Clarksons.
Shipping companies need to settle on a far more ambitious CO2 strategy starting from 2023. The new plan should aim to cut emissions by 80 percent by 2030 rather than today's agreed 40 percent, states a new proposal to the IMO.
Brazil's Vale is in talks with Malaysian authorities for an overview of restrictions pertaining to the corona outbreak. A temporary shutdown of a strategic iron ore hub might come into play.
Shipping companies from across the globe are hit hard by closed borders that make it very difficult to change crews. International efforts are now underway to introduce a form of shipping passport so that crews can reach their ships.
Even more IMO meetings, including one in its safety committee, are postponed due to the global virus outbreak that, among other things, has been a hindrance to travel activity for delegates.
Oil demand stands to be decimated in the coming months due to border closures and an idle majority of global air traffic.
Denmark, Germany and Norway have either shut down their borders or temporarily sealed off access to the countries in other ways in response to the corona outbreak. Large shipping companies are sending employees home.
The US president declared a national emergency at a press meeting on Friday.
The coronavirus prompts the IMO to postpone the next important meeting of its environmental committee. No new date is set, and the IMO's headquarters close.
In just a few years, it will not be an unrealistic prospect to see sails on board a CMA CGM vessel, sustainability chief Guilhem Isaac Georges tells ShippingWatch. The shipping line is in contact with several suppliers.
The EU Commission plans to launch a European partnership to accelerate development of green hydrogen as a fuel. This could help shipping, among other sectors, reduce its carbon emissions.
France, Denmark and Germany are behind a proposal that aims to lower ships' emissions a few years from now. China opted to withdraw from the proposal, which will soon be discussed at the IMO.
OPEC+ could be on the verge of failure as Russia opposes deeper output cuts. Russia's energy minister says the country favors maintaining the oil cartel's current levels until June.
The IMO now postpones several meetings that were scheduled for March, due to the coronavirus. More postponements could be in store.
According to news agency Reuters, it is likely that OPEC ministers will accept output cuts at a meeting Thursday.
A US court has ruled that a Turkish shipowner will forfeit more than USD 11 million for having violated US and European sanctions against Syria. The case is part of a complex in which the US is trying to tighten the net on a network of Russians and Syrians.
If shipping is to find new talent, the industry needs to take environmental responsibility – and there are currently some who sit idly by. "The problem now is how we make sure the others don't drag us all in the wrong direction," says Hafnia CEO Mikael Skov.
HR Crewing Personnel Officer for Stena Rederi A/S (Permanent position)
Product owner for trading platform - Bunker Holding Group
