Think Maritime » Shipping

Eco-friendly shipping pact

admin — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 11:33:48 +0000

Singapore on Friday acceded to an international eco-friendly shipping convention. It deposited its Instrument of Accession to the International Convention on the Control of Harmful Anti-Fouling Systems on Ships, 2001 (AFS Convention) with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). The AFS Convention was adopted at the IMO on Oct 5, 2001, and entered into force on Sept 17 last year. When it enters into force for Singapore on March 31 next year, the Republic will join 40 other countries to be a party to the AFS Convention.
The Convention will apply to ships registered with Singapore and also to ships calling at the Port of Singapore. Singapore’s accession followed consultations with the Singapore Shipping Association and the Association of Singapore Marine Industries.
Mr Lam Yi Young, Chief Executive of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said: ‘As one of the world’s busiest port, protection of the marine environment is of great importance to Singapore. Singapore’s accession to the AFS Convention underscores our commitment to environmentally-friendly shipping and port activities.’
Anti-fouling paints/systems are used to coat the hulls of a ship to prevent fouling organisms such as algae and molluscs from attaching to it. If allowed to build up, these fouling organisms would reduce the speed of the vessel or increase the fuel consumption to maintain a certain speed. Some of these anti-fouling paints contain chemicals that are harmful to the marine environment.
The AFS Convention bans the use of harmful anti-fouling paints/systems on the hulls of new and existing ships and encourages the use of environment friendly anti-fouling paints such as silicon paint.
The accession to the AFS Convention adds to the list of IMO Conventions on the protection of the marine environment which Singapore had ratified and implemented.

Next year to be tough for container shipping

admin — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 11:32:46 +0000

The global container shipping industry faces a tough recovery in 2010 after the decline in global trade volumes this year, according to a forecast by Business Monitor International (BMI), the London-based global industry research and analysis firm. To gauge the magnitude of the recovery that lies ahead for the container sector, BMI uses its global port container throughput indicators for 2009. Since final figures for the year have yet to be released, BMI makes its assumptions using its forecasts, which were reviewed after the first six months of 2009 with H1 2009 data being added to its forecasting matrix.
Port throughput in the Middle East has fared slightly better, the report said.
“Using the UAE port of Jebel Ali, the region’s busiest container port and a transhipment hub for other Middle East countries, as a bellwether, BMI notes that the port is one of the few expected to post throughput growth in 2009, with 6.6 per cent growth forecast. It should be noted, however, that in 2009, despite positive growth, container throughput at Jebel Ali will have slowed yoy, as the port posted 25 per cent and 21.2 per cent growth for 2007 and 2008 respectively,” it said.
Asia’s container throughput has felt the knock-on effect of many major consumer markets going into recession at the end of 2008 and in 2009. Factory output dropped as orders from consumer markets in Europe and the US dried up. The port of Singapore boasts the largest container throughput and is a major transhipment hub for Asian states shipping to Europe and the US.
“We estimate that the downturn in 2009 will have had a negative impact on the port’s throughput, with box volumes falling 17.8 per cent yoy,” the report said.
Another major container hub for Asia that caters to the transhipment needs of China, the port of Hong Kong, is also forecast to post throughput declines in its container cargo, with BMI estimating a yoy drop of 18.85 per cent. Mainland Chinese ports are expected to fare no better, with the port of Shanghai, second after Singapore in terms of container throughput, expected to post a yoy throughput decline of 16.45 per cent in 2009.
Negative growth
Emerging Europe has been one of the areas worst hit by the downturn, as once-developing consumer markets have shrunk on the back of the global economic downturn. Using Russia, the main economy in the region, as a bellwether, BMI predicts that throughput at the country’s main container port of St Petersburg will decline by 39.72 per cent in 2009. This is on the back of a forecast total trade decline of 34.62 per cent for the country in 2009.
African ports’ container throughput is also facing negative growth, as although the country’s raw material sector and dry bulk shipping sector has been propped up by Chinese demand for commodities such as coal, Africa’s demand for manufactured goods has plummeted. At the port of Durban, South Africa’s largest container port in terms of volume, BMI forecast box throughput to drop by 13.58 per cent.
The US, where the economic crisis began, has been struggling with consumer confidence as unemployment has increased. This has had a knock-on effect at the country’s container facilities as slackening demand from consumers has meant a decline in the import of manufactured goods.
The country’s two main west coast ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are, in BMI’s opinion, expected to suffer the brunt of the downturn. The ports are America’s import gateways for Chinese and Asian goods, and the general decline in the retail sector means that we expect container volumes at Los Angeles and Long Beach to decrease by 11.39 per cent and 23.21 per cent respectively, the report said.
Although still expected to post a decline in box volumes, America’s main east coast port of New York and New Jersey is not forecast to witness such a steep fall in throughput as its west coast peers, with BMI forecasting a yoy drop in throughput at the port of just 2.2 per cent in 2009 as the facility is less exposed to the import market and is diversified by catering for exports as well.
In Latin America the situation is the opposite way around. The region’s main west coast port, the Pacific facility of Valparaso in Chile, is forecast to witness a decline of 12.91 per cent compared to the Atlantic port of Santos in Brazil, where BMI believes box volumes will fall by 22.93 per cent yoy in 2009. The reason for this is that Chile’s trade volumes are expected to fall by 14.9 per cent, compared to Brazil’s yoy decrease of 24.3 per cent.
Shipping lines’ financial results are another good bellwether to assess the current decline, the report said.
“Over the quarter the majority of the top 10 global shipping lines have announced their H1 results, in the case of Japanese operators their Q1 FY 2009-2010 results. All lines have suffered losses, with the Paris-based consultancy AXS Alphaliner reporting that liner companies’ losses had hit $6 billion (Dh22bn) for the first half of 2009,” it said.
“BMI witnessed the extent of these losses on a daily basis as we covered each of the top 10 container lines’ financial results announcements. We note that European-based liners have been hit hard. Despite having a diversified portfolio, AP Moller Maersk reported a net loss of $540 million. The company’s hardest-hit operating unit was its container line division, Maersk Line, which posted a $961m loss after its revenue plummeted 30 per cent yoy. France’s CMA CGM posted a loss of $515m, and Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd recorded declines in its revenues, which fell 24.3 per cent yoy in H1 2009,” it said.
Asian lines have suffered the same fate. China’s leading container line, Coscon, was its parent Cosco’s worst-performing division, with a loss of $631.7m during H1 2009 as revenues fell by 45.8 per cent yoy to $803m. China Shipping Container Line also posted a net loss of $500 for the first half of 2009 after the company’s total revenue fell by 51.5 per cent yoy.
Taiwan’s Evergreen Line, South Korea’s Hanjin Shipping and Singapore’s NOL joined the losses club over the period as Evergreen posted a $60m loss in Q2 2009, marking the third straight quarterly loss for the Taiwanese container line.
Hanjin Shipping fared no better, recording an operating loss of $342m for H1 2009. The company’s positive result of total container volumes increasing by 22.7 per cent in Q2 2009 on Q1 2009’s figure was overshadowed by the fact that revenue per twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) was considerably dented as freight rates continued to plummet. NOL posted a $391m loss in H1 2009 as the company’s revenue declined by 37 per cent, the report said.
Container shipping companies’ bottom lines have been battered by rate decreases and the fall of cargo volumes. This decline in traffic can be seen in the number of TEUs carried in H1 2009. NOL has witnessed the largest decline in containers shipped, with its TEU volumes for H1 2009 declining by 24 per cent yoy, the next largest percentage drop yoy is Cosco, which carried 21.9 per cent fewer containers in H1 2009 than in the same period in 2008.
Maersk Line, despite posting hefty losses, managed to hold on to more clients, with its container volumes decreasing by just seven per cent yoy. From this it could be assumed that Maersk Line slashed its rates in order to attract clients, which would explain its comparatively low container volume percentage change yoy compared with its H1 2009 financial loss.
Japan’s two top lines, NYK and MOL, registered container volume declines yoy of 28 per cent and 23.2 per cent respectively in the Q1 FY 2009-2010 period, the report said.
Route sharing
Service shares and route rationalisations have allowed competitors to pull together and pool their resources by reducing capacity, but at the same time offer clients the same services and allow shipping firms to remain active in various markets, the report said.
The negative impact of the downturn on companies’ routes can be seen in the development over the quarter of the New World Alliance (APL, Hyundai MM and MOL) along with Maersk Line, which co-operate on Tran-Atlantic routes, cutting their capacity on this trade route by a third.
The fact that a partnership of the four main container lines have had to cut capacity on this route emphasises the tough environment those within the shipping industry face.
BMI expects route sharing to continue into 2010 and we expect companies’ co-operation on services only to end when trade volumes pick up substantially. The fact that the US has now emerged from recession is good news for operators on the Trans-Atlantic route.
BMI expects shipping lines to continue to lay up vessels. The strategy of idling ships is a short-term strategy that allows companies to reduce capacity and cut running costs.
“The tactic has been popular among major shipping lines throughout 2009 as it is not as final as scrapping and allows companies to cut costs but ensure that lines will still have capacity to call upon when trade volumes improve. More lay ups are, however, needed if the container shipping sector is to tackle overcapacity,” it said.
As trade volumes look set to improve in 2010 shipping lines will no doubt be tempted to bring their vessels out of lay up and try to catch cargo volumes before their competitors.
However, BMI warns against bringing back idled ships at the first sign of an upturn in the market; the lay up strategy has not only been effective in reducing companies’ costs during the downturn but has also helped the container shipping sector as a whole by creating upward pressure on freight rates by reducing the overall supply of ships in circulation. A flood of vessels on the market would plunge rates once again.
Scrapping has been on the increase in 2009 as ship owners send their older vessels to the break-up yards. An increase in scrapping is an obvious outcome of a downturn in the shipping market, the report said.
BMI believes that scrapping will continue in 2010, but not perhaps at the same pace as was seen in 2009. A recovery in trade volumes is being predicted, which BMI believes will mean that owners will choose lay up over scrapping in the hope that their vessels will once again start to make money.
New vessel orders
In such a climate it is understandable why just one new box ship order has been placed in 2009, the report said. “The order originated from a company that is not involved in the container shipping sector, the Abu Dhabi National Tanker Company. The shipping company, which operates in the liquid bulk shipping market, placed an order for two 1,060 TEU vessels in October with the South Korean shipyard Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, and the vessels are due for delivery in 2011,” it said.
BMI believes that this news highlights the tough situation in the container shipping market, and demonstrates how stagnation looks unavoidable in the mid term as fleets stop expanding.
BMI does not expect new orders to pick up in 2010. “Shipping lines and owners have enough ships in lay up that they will wish to bring on to the market before they start considering expanding their fleet through newbuilds,” it said.
2010: Recovery time?
BMI believes that global trade will begin to pick up in 2010. “The US came out of recession in Q3 2009 and in 2010 we expect the country’s consumer confidence to begin returning. This will have a knock-on effect on manufactured goods inventories. In 2010 our country risk desk estimates that the US’ total trade will grow by three per cent and exports by four per cent. These increases will affect throughput at the nation’s ports,” it said.
BMI forecasts that container throughput will increase at the US’ main West Coast ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach by 2.23 per cent and 5.84 per cent respectively.
“The country’s main east coast port of New York and New Jersey is predicted to register a y-o-y throughput growth of 2.8 per cent, which will override our projected decline in throughput in 2009 of 2.22 per cent and will see the facility handling its pre-downturn box volumes,” it said.
The report also forecasts that China’s exports will improve by a massive 10.96 per cent in 2010, as along with America other major Chinese-goods-importing nations in Europe – France and Germany – have also emerged from recession, with the expected implication that consumer confidence and therefore consumer buying will begin to recover. The yoy growth in China’s trade will have a positive affect on China’s container port throughput with Shanghai’s throughput predicted to increase by 2.55 per cent yoy.
“However, we warn that despite predicted trade growth and positive growth in throughput at many major ports worldwide the container shipping sector still faces a gloomy 2010 as overcapacity still haunts the market. Despite a concerted effort by container line operators through scrapping, laying up and deferring newbuild vessels to try to decrease overcapacity in the market, BMI fears that an equilibrium between supply and demand has yet to be reached,” it said.
More worrying is that even though companies have managed to defer some of their orderbooks there is still a huge amount of vessel capacity on order that will at some point over the mid-term (2010-2014) be realised and come online.
The container sector’s considerable newbuild orderbook is a ticking time bomb, as it appears unlikely that trade volumes that would demand such a fleet are likely to arise in the mid term, the report said.

Source: Emirates Business

Arctic ships could face greenhouse gas restrictions

admin — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:24:47 +0000

Shipping companies that operate in the Arctic may be required to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions they produce, depending on how climate-change talks go in Copenhagen, Denmark. The International Marine Organization, the United Nations agency responsible for improving maritime safety and environmental impacts, is seeking a mandate at the Copenhagen summit to regulate greenhouse gases generated by ships.
The issue of curbing pollution from marine vessels is becoming increasingly important in Arctic waterways, which in recent years have been seeing more traffic from commercial freight vessels, cruise ships, icebreakers and other boats.
The organization estimates that there are about 60,000 ships operating worldwide, generating 2.7 per cent of all human-made carbon dioxide emissions, said Karin Sjolin-Frudd, an IMO senior adviser.
Sjolin-Frudd told CBC News in Copenhagen that those emissions could double or triple by 2050 if nothing is done about it.
“So what we have to look at is that yes, we do contribute, and we take the responsibility for looking at what we can do within the IMO and the shipping industry to actually combat this,” she said.
Sjolin-Frudd said the goal is to require ships to be more energy efficient, as well as improve navigation and planning to waste less energy.
Vessels that go exceed an emissions limit would have to pay, under a global emissions-trading type of system. There would also be an international fund to help developing nations comply with the IMO’s standards.
Such standards, which would be enforced by the IMO, should be made mandatory for the entire shipping industry, said Christian Breinholt, deputy director of the Danish Maritime Authority.
“This globalized industry can move from flag to flag immediately, and any regulation which does not apply regardless of flag is worth absolutely nothing,” he said.
Breinholt said he hopes countries attending the Copenhagen summit will give the International Maritime Organization a mandate to continue its work and bring in mandatory greenhouse-gas regulations.

Source: CBC News

Maersk to send 5 ice-class 2,500-TEU ships on Ecubex service

admin — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:23:18 +0000

Denmark’s Maersk Line is expected to deploy for the first time five ice-strengthened ships of 2,500 TEU, the largest ships with an ice class 1A notation, on its Europe-West Coast of South America ‘Ecubex’ service to offer a regular Baltic connection. The service will call at two terminals at St Petersburg, to enable shipments of bananas from Ecuador to arrive directly in Russia without transshipment. A move that requires a sixth week to be added to the port rotation, reports AXS-Alphaliner.
These five vessels are part of a series of six newbuildings built by Hyundai Heavy Industries that have been fitted with 600 reefer plugs and chartered from Delphis NV. The last vessel in the series is scheduled to be delivered in April 2010.
The report said that the sixth ship currently plying the service, the Nedlloyd Marita, is not ice-strengthened and thus cannot proceed to the upper Baltic during winter.
The service will also be partly used for feeder connections covering the route: Bremerhaven, St Petersburg and Bremerhaven. This means the current loop will most likely be expanded to provide a Bremerhaven, Gdansk, St Petersburg, Gdansk, Bremerhaven feeder string.
It added that Gdansk “will soon qualify as a local hub as it is to handle a direct Far East-Europe loop.”

Oil Prices Gained 59,85% in 2009 Shooting Up Shipping Costs

admin — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:21:10 +0000

Last Friday, for the first time since last October, oil prices closed below $70 per barrel at $69,87 per barrel after declined for the eighth day in a row. Although the nine-month rally in oil prices appeared to falter as a gradual sell-off that began in late October gained momentum, for the shipping sector, energy costs remain in high levels, thus lifting shipping operating costs. Since last January, during the worst economic recession of last decades, oil prices have gained 59.85%. OPEC members are satisfied with the current price and they don’t schedule to change their daily volume of exports in the forthcoming meeting in Angola on December 22.
On the other hand, ship owners have every reason to worry about the prospects of oil prices, as according to all estimates they will rise during 2010, as demand is predicted to strength. The International Energy Agency predicted Friday that global oil demand will rise more than previously anticipated next year.
The increase in oil prices has shot up the bunker or fuel cost of ships that, in turn, has added to the operating costs of shipping lines that are finding it tough to pare costs.
The rise in crude oil price over the year is hurting regional and global shipping lines where it hurts the most, said shipping industry executives and analysts.
Hovering around $75-76 a barrel currently, the crude oil price has more than doubled from its lowest level (after the global financial crisis) in December last year when it fell to about $30 a barrel.
“In the current condition, increase in petrol cost and low movement will make the shipping industry more vulnerable. Normally, shipping companies hedge their requirements based on the market analysis. So, on a short run they are protected. But if it continues beyond stage they are forced to come up with Bunker Adjustment Factor ,” said Shankar Subramoniam, General Manager for UAE at Clarion Shipping.
Bunker adjustment factor, also called bunker surcharge, is the extra charge levied on the shippers to counterweigh oil price fluctuations.
However, shipping analysts believe increasing bunker surcharge is not sufficient to meet the total costs of ship movement.
“The cost of bunker rates has gone up significantly because of the rise in oil price this year. Although shipping lines charge bunker surcharge from their clients, but that is not sufficient to meet their operating cost,” said Joel Rodricks, Director Sales and Marketing at Maersk Kanoo (UAE), Dubai.
Global container shipping lines are expected to lose about $20 billion (Dh73.46bn) in 2009 because of low freight rates and downturn in various businesses, he added.
In order to cut costs, the normal measures shipping line are adopting is to identify key routes and assess the need for certain port call. If they find the volume is less they make it as a feeder port or withdraw the port of call, said Subramoniam.
According to analysts estimates economic recovery is for the moment slow and fragile and the recent rally in stock markets does not feet the basic economical fundamental. In contrast, oil demand is a more accurate “index” as it anticipates the true condition of economy. As they note “How do you know when the economic recovery really begins? It is when real oil demand growth appears. Not just artificial demand growth being propped up with smoke and mirrors, but demand growth that comes with solid economic activity and global growth.”

New vessel to Kristina Cruises

admin — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:15:24 +0000

Shipgaz – The Finnish shipping company Kristina Cruises Oy has signed a letter of intent about buying the 12,825 GT, Malta-flagged cruise vessel The Iris. She will be renamed Kristina Katarina and in August 2010 she replaces the 1960-built Kristina Regina. During the spring the Kristina Katarina will be rebuilt and to a capacity of 195 passenger cabins with 380 lower beds. The vessel will fly the Finnish flag.
The 138 metres long The Iris was built in Poland in 1982 for the Soviet owner Baltic Shipping Company as the Konstantin Simonov. Since 2000 she has been operated by the Israeli company Mano Maritime with cruises in mainly the eastern Mediterranean.

Capital Ship Management Corp. voted ‘tanker company of the year’

admin — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 20:36:16 +0000

Capital Ship Management Corp. – a subsidiary of our sponsor Capital Maritime & Trading Corp – which manages our vessels was selected as “Tanker Company of the Year 2009” at the annual Lloyd’s List Greek Shipping Awards that took place in Athens on December 4, 2009. The company implemented new quality standards throughout its operations during 2009, including business continuity management principles, and received the Lloyd’s Register certification for its Integrated Management System, both contributing factors to its winning this award. Capital Ship Management Corp. was also commended for the performance of its managed vessels, two of which topped the BP’s ranking of top performing vessels in its time chartered fleet for a second consecutive year.
Mr Evangelos Marinakis, the Chairman of Capital Product Partners L.P. and CEO of the partnership’s sponsor, Capital Maritime & Trading Corp., upon receiving the award made the following remarks: “This award belongs to the employees in all our offices around the world who have worked hard throughout the years to achieve this distinction, it belongs to our crews and their excellent performance, who daily face challenges and adverse conditions on board our vessels and to all our business associates and friends in the shipping world who have supported us throughout the years and have been instrumental to us being voted ‘Tanker Company of the Year’.”
Capital Product Partners L.P., a Marshall Islands master limited partnership, is an international owner of modern double-hull tankers. Capital Product Partners L.P. owns 18 modern vessels, comprising 15 MR tankers, two small product tankers and one Suezmax crude oil tanker. All 18 vessels are under medium to long-term charters to BP Shipping Limited, Shell International Trading & Shipping Company Ltd, Morgan Stanley Capital Group Inc. and Overseas Shipholding Group.

Hellas controlling 18% of world tanker fleet and 17% of the tanker orderbook

admin — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 20:34:44 +0000

Hellenic tanker owners have reiterated their leading position in terms of their share of the total tanker fleet, controlling 18% of the current world fleet and 17% of the outstanding tanker orderbook, said a report by Gibsons. “Hellas’ domination is understated when you consider listings on both the New York and London stock markets which would be hidden as US and UK companies respectively. To put this in greater perspective, 46% of the UK domicile fleet is controlled by “London” Greeks” said the London-based shipbroker.
Overall, 50% of the tanker fleet is controlled by just six nations in deadweight terms. China may not be in these nations, but according to Gibson this is about to change. the reason is that Chinese owners hold the second place of the current tanker orderbook, with newbuilding orders surpassing the actual existing fleet. This means that by 2012, China will earn a top five spot in tanker ownership. The research note also said that Japanese and Norwegians still feature strongly, however they remain some distance from the Greek’s pole position. In terms of tanker tonnage, the US claims 4th place despite having a very small registered fleet under the national flag. This indicates the dominance of the US in the financial sector. German domicile owners still control 5% of the existing fleet but are under increasing pressure as the KG system comes to terms with the recession. As a result of many companies going public in recent years, the stock market has also played a major part in the change of the ownership structure, with 31% of the fleet now controlled by listed companies.
Meanwhile, with the tanker market on a rebound mode, it is worth providing some useful insight from Nikolas Tsakos, CEO of NY-listed Tsakos Energy Navigation. In recent quotes by Bloomberg, he said that the market is of course far away from the hundreds of thousands of dollars a day experienced just 24 months ago, but at least rates are easily covering their operating expenses and also allow profitability to be maintained. According to Mr. Tsakos this means that the sector has weathered the storm, with the worst now behind.
In terms of the crude market, he mentioned that there is a strong recovery, as a result of delays caused by new torments in the Mediterranean and bad weather in the Bosphorus Strait. These factors have brought rates back up from something like $10,000 in September to about $35,000 today. As for products, there is better move in trading to the East, but rising inventories, mainly of distillates and gasoline are translated to less and less demand from the Western Europe market, as well as the markets of North America and the Far East.
In its latest research report, Charles R. Weber said that a swift recovery in oil demand in the United States – which continues to consume approximately four times as much oil as China, the world’s second largest consumer – would contribute heavily to a recovery in oil demand in short term, particularly given the high level of global oil inventories. “Much has been noted about the ability of China and India to support the tanker markets going forward, and this is indeed not to be discounted; however, given the disparity between demand in those countries and that in the United States, coupled with a growing world tanker fleet, the continued importance of US markets is certainly not to be discounted either” concluded CRWeber.

Oil below $76 as OPEC ministers flag steady output

admin — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 21:46:09 +0000

Oil prices hovered below $76 a barrel on Monday in Asia after several OPEC ministers said they don’t expect their group to change production levels at a meeting later this month. Benchmark crude for January delivery was up 11 cents to $75.58 at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract lost 99 cents to settle at $75.47 on Friday.
Top oil officials from Libya, Kuwait, Algeria and Qatar said Saturday that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which supplies about 35 percent of the world’s crude, will likely leave output levels unchanged at the group’s next policy meeting on Dec. 22.
Saudi Arabia’s oil minister, Ali Naimi, said Saturday that oil prices, which have bounced around the high $70s for about two months, were “perfect.”
Oil traders are also eyeing the U.S. dollar as some investors buy crude as a hedge against inflation and a weaker U.S. currency.
On Friday, crude fell to a seven-week low after the Labor Department said the unemployment rate fell to 10 percent in November from 10.2 percent a month earlier, sparking a rally in the dollar.
The euro rose to $1.4864 in Asian trading Monday from $1.4851 on Friday while the dollar fell to 89.80 yen from 90.25.
In other Nymex trading in January contracts, heating oil rose 0.97 cent to $2.04 and gasoline was steady at $1.98. Natural gas jumped 11.5 cents to $4.70 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude for January delivery rose 28 cents to $77.80 on the ICE Futures exchange.

King hails opening of Bahrain’s new $361m port

admin — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 21:44:53 +0000

Bahrain’s new $361 million Khalifa bin Salman Port will attract more than 100,000 cruise tourists to Bahrain during the season, officials have said. Bahrain, as a market and a port, is a strategic location for all shipping lines and such projects will further develop many industries, including the tourism sector, according to industry leaders.
The port was opened on Sunday by King Hamad who said the port was vital to the Gulf state’s future prosperity.
“The KBSP terminal represents a key pillar of our national economy and confident development march,” he said in comments published by Gulf Daily News.
The port is capable of handling 1.1 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) a year and will be expanded to handle nearly 2.5m TEU’s per annum over the coming years, the paper added.
It is being run by the General Organisation of Seaport (GOP) and APM Terminals as well as partners AP Moller-Maersk.
“Bahrain offered carriers reduced feeder distances, lower fuel costs, and greater service integrity than other ports in the region and that is the reason very large cruise liners will be attracted,” said AP Moller-Maersk executive vice-president Flemming Ipsen.
“This season alone we are expecting around 100,000 cruise tourists…In the years to come, this figure will only increase.
“The port will facilitate trade and serve the future ambitions of Bahrain, so we must mark this day as worth celebrating and remembering.”