On April 4th the Customs division of Ghana started working on reducing import duties at Tema Port, as per the government's directive which was announced earlier by Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia during the Economic management summit.

According to the directive, import duty for cars is to go 30 % down.

MOL Nordic Testing BunkerPlanner Tool
Danish chemical tanker company MOL Nordic Tankers will hold live trials of the BunkerPlanner marine fuel analysis tool on its whole fleet.

The company conducted a successful pilot test on five vessels at the end of 2018.

Proprietary simulation and optimization algorithms allow ship owners to reduce fuel bills by 2% to 4%. Factors such as fuel price forecasts, trade routes, vessel speed, fuel consumption, time spent in Emission Control Areas and tank sizes are taken into account.

According to Andreas Sund Poulsen, VP Global Operations, MOL Nordic Tankers A/S: “Access to data that can provide real insights into our fuel procurement strategy, and help us to make informed decisions on how, when and where we buy our fuel in a way that reduces our overall fuel spend is invaluable; particularly as we move into 2020 where the price of fuel will inevitably rise, in conjunction with the added pressures of consistency in product availability and quality.”

Formerly known as Nordic Tankers, the shipper was acquired by MOL Chemical Tankers in January 2019.

Maersk fleet extension

Danish shipping giant Maersk Line confirmed it's fleet adjunction with thirteen newbuildings that will be manufactured at three separate shipyards.

The company explained that, as part of the ongoing optimization and renovation of its feeder fleet portfolio, Maersk has committed to charter the 2,200 TEU feeders, which are owned and fully financed by third-party vessel leasing companies.

After delivery, the units will operate in Sealand’s Intra Asia-network and replace older vessels that are less efficient in the company’s fleet, as well as vessels reaching the end of a lifetime in the next years.

Five feeders will be manufactured by China’s Jiangnan Yard, another five would be built by Japanese Imabari Yard, and the remaining three would be constructed by China-based Zhoushan Changhong Yard.

Delivery is expected in the first half of 2021.

Maersk Will Not Sell Maersk Supply Service

A. P. Møller – Mærsk (APMM ) has stopped looking for a buyer for its offshore marine services business, Maersk Supply Service.

Maersk Supply Service will thus be reclassified from discontinued operations to continuing operations. In 2016, APMM decided to relinquish their oil related operations, so Maersk Supply Service was classified as a discontinued operation and held as an asset for sale since Q4 2017. The move was part of Maersk’s transformation from a conglomerate to an integrated container logistics company.

The company statement reads: “Despite continuous efforts, no attractive separation solution has been identified for Maersk Supply Service, primarily due to the challenging market conditions with overcapacity within the offshore support vessel industry.”

Maersk Supply Service operates almost independently and will continue to do so.

French container transporter keep growing

It was announced that a new agreement between French President Emmanuel Macron and Chinese President Xi Jinping was signed recently. It was agreed that China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) should build new vessels for CMA company for Asia-Mediterranean routing.

These vessels should be delivered by 2021 and should replace 10 other old vessels. Company claims that new vessels should be around 366 meters in length, they should use LNG power (Liquefied natural gas). CMA was the first shipping company to use this energy source for vessels of this size and it shows company’s desire to make its fleet more up-to-date and environmentally friendly.