Page 4 - Shipping Industry

CII asks startups to keep their valuations 'as realistic as possible'

It further stated that the start-up should be maintained as a separate legal entity with the organisation's assets distinct from the founders' assets

Loved ones await recovery of 2 bodies from Baltimore bridge wreckage

A wooden cross is laden with Miguel Luna's personal belongings his construction uniform and work boots, a family photo, the flag of his native El Salvador but his body remains missing after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. More than a month has passed since six members of a roadwork crew plunged to their deaths when a container ship lost power and crashed into one of the bridge's supporting columns. Four bodies have been recovered, but Luna and another worker, Jose Mynor Lopez, have not been found. They were all Latino immigrants who came to the United States from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. They were fathers and husbands, brothers and grandfathers. They shared a common dream and a determination to achieve it. In an effort to honour their lives and their work, Baltimore County's close-knit Latino community has constructed an elaborate memorial near the south end of the bridge. It includes decorated wooden crosses, a painted canvas backdrop, bunches of

Baltimore leaders accuse ship's owner of negligence in bridge collapse

The owner and manager of the massive container ship that took down the Francis Scott Key Bridge last month should be held fully liable for the deadly collapse, according to court papers filed Monday on behalf of Baltimore's mayor and city council. The two companies filed a petition soon after the March 26 collapse asking a court to cap their liability under a pre-Civil War provision of an 1851 maritime law a routine but important procedure for such cases. A federal court in Maryland will ultimately decide who's responsible and how much they owe in what could become one of the most expensive maritime disasters in history. Singapore-based Grace Ocean Private Ltd. owns the Dali, the vessel that veered off course and slammed into the bridge. Synergy Marine Pte Ltd., also based in Singapore, is the ship's manager. In their filing Monday, attorneys for the city accused them of negligence, arguing the companies should have realised the Dali was unfit for its voyage and manned the ship wi

Temporary channel opens for vessels to Baltimore port after bridge collapse

A third temporary channel for boats to enter and depart the Port of Baltimore has opened, expanding further shipping access as collapsed sections of the Francis Scott Key Bridge are salvaged before the span can ultimately be rebuilt. The alternate channel, located to the northeast of the fallen bridge, is open to commercially essential vessels, port officials announced late Friday. The new temporary path, with a controlling depth of 20 feet (6.1 meters), a horizontal clearance of 300 feet (91.4 meters) and a vertical clearance of 135 feet (41.2 meters), allows a greater variety of vessels to access the port while crews work to reopen the main channel, Coast Guard and port Capt. David O'Connell said in a news release. With the new channel open, about 15% of pre-collapse commercial activity will resume, O'Connell said. The first temporary channel opened April 1. The bridge collapsed early March 26 after it was struck by the cargo ship Dali. Officials hope to open a channel by the end

Baltimore bridge collapse: Crews to remove debris from ship's deck

Salvage crews at the site of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore are turning their focus to the thousands of tons of debris sitting atop the Dali, a massive cargo ship that veered off course and caused the deadly catastrophe last month. An estimated 3,000 to 4,000 tons of steel and concrete landed on the ship's deck after it crashed into one of the bridge's supporting columns and toppled the span, officials said at a news conference Friday. Crews will have to remove all that before refloating the stationary ship and guiding it back into the Port of Baltimore. Officials displayed overhead photos of the ship with an entire section of fallen roadway crushing its bow. So far, cranes have lifted about 120 containers from the Dali, with another 20 to go before workers can build a staging area and begin removing pieces of the mangled steel and crumbling concrete. The ship was laden with about 4,000 containers and headed for Sri Lanka when it lost power shortly after leaving

Govt asks shipping firms to enhance reporting, tracking on West Asia routes

The government has issued advisories to ship companies to enhance reporting, tracking and security protocols for vessels on West Asian routes and coming into Indian waters. In a circular dated April 10, 2024, the Directorate General of Shipping (Mumbai) advised ship managers, ship masters and seafarers to enhance the mechanism for reporting and tracking maritime activities to safeguard the interest of merchant ships and their crews. The ministry has identified sensitive zones that include the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, Gulf Of Oman, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, Bab Al Mandeb Strait, Red Sea, Somali Basin and Arabian Sea region. The circular said in the event of any incidents or security escalation due to incidents, all vessels transiting through these areas are requested to submit their details via the online Ship Reporting Form. "This measure is critical for maintaining a comprehensive and up-to-date vessel. database, which will facilitate easier tracking and coordination at th

Iran-Israel flare-up: Traders, shippers brace for fresh price shocks

Freight costs, war risk premia on marine insurance rise

Shipping industry set for tougher times ahead due to tensions in West Asia

The global maritime industry is set for tougher and more challenging times after Iran ramped up West Asia tensions by launching an unprecedented drone and missile attack on Israel, causing supply chain disruption and increasing the probability of choking shipping routes, experts here have said. Iran's attack on Israel marks a distinct escalation in hostilities by bringing the two nations into direct conflict. Iran and its proxies launched 330 missiles and drones on Israel late on Saturday night in retaliation to an alleged attack by Israel on a diplomatic mission of the Islamic Republic in Damascus on April 1 in which several people, including two top commanders, were killed. There is a concern about the probability of a Persian Gulf shutdown, though many maintain hope of defusing fierce tension in the region, a delegate at the opening of Singapore Maritime Week on Monday, told PTI. The Persian Gulf is a Mediterranean Sea in West Asia. It is connected to the Gulf of Oman in the eas

Seized MSC Aries for violating maritime laws: Iran's foreign ministry

Iran's Revolutionary Guards had seized the freighter in the Strait of Hormuz days after Tehran vowed to retaliate for a suspected Israeli strike on its consulate in Damascus on April 1

Long pending reforms to boost shipping industry, promises BJP manifesto

The proposed reforms may include changes in the Merchant Shipping Act with a focus on decriminalising certain offences

Baltimore bridge collapse: Investigators focus on electrical system of ship

During the initial stages of a federal probe into the deadly collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge, investigators are focusing on the electrical power system of the massive container ship that veered off course. Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, said her agency is gathering data with assistance from Hyundai, the manufacturer of equipment in the ship's engine room. Testifying before a U.S. Senate committee Wednesday morning, she said investigators have also requested assistance to examine its circuit breakers. That is where our focus is right now in this investigation, she said. Of course, that's preliminary. It could take different roads, different paths as we continue this investigation. Homendy said they've zeroed in on the electrical system. The ship experienced power issues moments before the crash, as evidenced in videos showing its lights going out and coming back on. Homendy said information gleaned from the vessel's voyage data

Construction of Indian Navy's fleet support ships begin at HSL, Vizag

HSL, Visakhapatnam will build the five FSS at an overall cost of approximately Rs 19,000 crore

China's EV makers order record number of ships to support car exports

BYD alone exported over 240,000 cars in 2023, about 8 per cent of its global sales, and plans to export up to 400,000 this year

"Going to move heaven and earth" to rebuild Baltimore bridge, says Biden

Biden delivered the remarks as he surveyed the wreckage from last week's bridge collapse in Baltimore, reaffirming his commitment to the people there

Sri Lanka unaware of ship carrying toxic waste from the US, say official

Sri Lanka is not yet aware of the nature of hazardous materials on the cargo vessel that collided with a key Baltimore bridge last week as it was supposed to declare the contents of containers only 72 hours before the time of arrival into the Colombo Port, officials here said. The Singapore-flagged container ship vessel Dali, which was mainly manned by an Indian crew, collided with the 2.6-km-long four-lane Francis Scott Key Bridge over the Patapsco River in Baltimore in the early hours of March 26. The 984-foot cargo ship was bound for Colombo, Sri Lanka. The ship was carrying 764 tonnes of hazardous materials as reported by the US media. According to the information available, there are 57 containers with such toxic materials that can be categorised under the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code. The waste included mostly corrosives, flammables, miscellaneous hazardous materials, and Class-9 hazardous materials, including explosives & lithium-ion batteries in 56 ...

Engineers find limited-access channel to Baltimore port to open in 4 weeks

Engineers working to clear the wreckage of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore have said that they expect to be able to restore navigation in and out of the Port of Baltimore by the end of this month. The bridge collapsed within seconds on March 26 after being struck by the cargo ship Dali, which lost power shortly after leaving Baltimore, bound for Sri Lanka. The ship issued a mayday alert with just enough time for police to stop traffic, but not enough to save a roadwork crew filling potholes on the bridge. Authorities believe six workers plunged to their deaths in the Patapsco River; two bodies have been recovered so far. Two others survived. The US Army Corps of Engineers announced a tentative timeline Thursday, saying in a news release that it expects to open a limited access channel to the port within the next four weeks measuring some 280 feet wide by 35 feet deep (85 metres by 11 metres). The channel would support one-way traffic in and out of the port for ...

Baltimore bridge cleanup: Maritime terminal prepares for redirected ships

The only maritime shipping terminal currently operating in the Port of Baltimore is preparing to process an influx of redirected ships as crews continue clearing the mangled wreckage of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge. Tradepoint Atlantic will unload and process an estimated 10,000 vehicles over the next 15 days, according to a statement from the company. That includes six regularly scheduled ships and nine that have been redirected since the deadly bridge collapse blocked access to the port's main terminals, which remains closed to traffic in a logistical nightmare for shipping along the East Coast. Crews opened a second temporary channel through the collapse site Tuesday, but it's too shallow for most commercial vessels to pass through. The two existing channels are meant primarily for vessels involved in the cleanup effort, which began last week. Work continues to open a third channel that will allow larger vessels to pass through the bottleneck and restore more commercia

Baltimore bridge collapse piques concern on safety, communication measures

In the moments before the cargo ship Dali rammed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge and sent it crumbling into the water, a flurry of urgent warnings crackled over radios and enabled police to block traffic from getting on the span, likely saving lives. But those warnings seemingly didn't reach the six construction workers who were killed in last week's collapse of the Baltimore bridge. Their deaths have raised questions about whether the construction company took proper precautions, including keeping a safety boat nearby that might have been able to warn them at least a few seconds before impact. Federal regulations require construction companies to keep such boats, commonly known as skiffs, on hand whenever crews are working over waterways, safety experts told The Associated Press. There is no indication that the construction company, Brawner Builders, had a rescue boat on the water or ready to be launched as the bridge fell. If you're working over a bridge like that, the standard

Baltimore collapse: Ship crew to remain on board until probe is completed

The crew of 20 Indians and a Sri Lankan of the container vessel that collided with a key Baltimore bridge last week is busy with their normal duties and will remain on board until the investigation into the accident is completed. It is confirmed there are 21 crew members on board. The crew members are busy with their normal duties on the ship as well as assisting the National Transportation Safety Board and Coast Guard investigators on board," a spokesperson of Grace Ocean Pte and Synergy Marine told PTI. The crew is on board the container vessel Dali that collided with the 2.6-km-long four-lane Francis Scott Key Bridge over the Patapsco River in Baltimore in the early hours of March 26. The 984-foot cargo ship was bound for Colombo, Sri Lanka. On how long the crew would have to stay on board the ship, the spokesperson said, At this time, we do not know how long the investigation process will take and until that process is complete, the crew will remain on board. The Singapore-flag

Shipowner in Baltimore bridge collapse seeks to limit liability to $43.7 mn

The company, Grace Ocean, could face hundreds of millions of dollars in damage claims, legal experts say