Utah ranked top jurisdiction for mining investment by  Fraser Institute

CATO INSTITUTE NORTH

Staff Writer | May 24, 2024 | 

Bingham Canyon mine, Utah. Credit: Utah Geological Survey

Utah took over the No.1 spot in the Fraser Institute’s 2023 ranking of jurisdictions for mining investment, topping its neighboring state Nevada, the winner from 2022.


The ranking encompasses 86 jurisdictions around the world, based on their geologic attractiveness (minerals and metals) and government policies that encourage or deter exploration and investment, including permit times.

To arrive at the ranking, the Fraser Institute surveyed approximately 2,045 mining-related firms globally between August 16, 2023, and January 9, 2024, tallying their opinions on both mineral endowment and policy factors.

These companies had reported exploration expenditures of $4.2 billion in 2022 and $4.1 billion in 2023, according to Canadian think tank.

The top rankings for 2023. Credit: The Fraser Institute

Rounding out the top five were the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Quebec, followed by Western Australia, which topped the list in 2021. Overall, Canada has the most jurisdictions within the top 10.

On the other end of the scale, the least-attractive jurisdiction was Niger, followed by China, Solomon Islands, and Argentina: La Rioja. In fact, of the 10 least-attractive jurisdictions in the world, four are in Africa.

“A sound regulatory regime coupled with competitive taxes make a jurisdiction attractive to investors,” said Elmira Aliakbari, director of the Fraser Institute’s Center for Natural Resource Studies and co-author of the report.

“Policymakers across the globe should understand that mineral deposits alone are not enough to attract investment,” she added.

Utah, now the most attractive jurisdiction, has a rich history in mining dating back to the 1860s. The total historical value of its minerals is valued at over $215 billion, according to government estimates. The state was ranked 17th in investment attractiveness in 2022.

Click here to read the full report.

Newmont reopens Argentina’s Cerro negro gold mine

Staff Writer | May 24, 2024 

Cerro Negro sits 600 meters above sea level on the low Patagonian plains in southern Argentina. (Image courtesy of Newmont.)

Newmont (NYSE: NEM) (TSX: NGT), the world’s largest gold producer, has resumed operations at its Cerro Negro mine in Argentina, after a six-week suspension following the death of two workers.


“The return-to-operations plan has been reviewed by governmental authorities,” Marcelo Campos, general mine manager, said in a statement. The executive said the approval reflects Newmont’s commitment to security and operational excellence.

Provincial suppliers and services chamber Capromisa had voiced their concerns about the effects a prolonged suspension would have on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and service providers.

Capromisa asked the authorities to expedite the investigation into the deaths and accelerate the administrative processes to allow the resumption of operations.

The gold mine, located in the southern Argentinian province of Santa Cruz, is one of Newmont’s key operations in South America, generating over $500 million in exports per year.

Cerro Negro is undergoing a $540-million expansion project that would extend its life until 2034, with total production expected to reach over 350,000 ounces from 2024 onwards. The mine is slated to churn out 290,000 ounces of gold this year.

The extensive Cerro Negro complex has three high-grade underground operating mines, Eureka, Mariana Central and Mariana Norte, and two underground deposits being developed, Emilia and San Marcos.

The asset also contains five other deposits in late-stage evaluation for development to expand the existing operations in the Marianas Complex and establish operations in the Eastern District.

COMMODITY FETISH

Trafigura faces off with aluminum bulls over huge metal stash

Bloomberg News | May 25, 2024 | 

Aluminum ingots. (Image by Saltaluminyum, Wikimedia Commons.)

The aluminum market is caught in a clash between some of the biggest traders and banks, with more than $1 billion of metal changing hands while lengthy queues form at London Metal Exchange warehouses.


The big bear in the market is Trafigura Group: the commodities trading giant has delivered massive volumes of aluminum onto the LME in recent weeks while touting its downbeat view.

On the other side stand banks and hedge funds including Squarepoint Capital LLP, Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., which have responded by buying up Trafigura’s metal and ordering it back out of the warehouse system, according to people familiar with the matter.

The result has been a major change in who owns the world’s aluminum inventory, at a time when some are predicting shortages ahead. It’s also heralded a return of the stockpile battles and warehouse queues that have been regular hallmarks of the LME aluminum market, causing controversy among buyers and headaches for the exchange itself. The ballooning backlogs at facilities in Port Klang, Malaysia, mean that traders could now have to wait many months to take delivery of stock.

The events of the past few weeks have been the climax of a trade that began many months ago. Trafigura has been accumulating a stockpile of aluminum in Port Klang over the past year, much of it from India where the trading house has large contracts with suppliers including Vedanta Ltd.

Trafigura’s trade wasn’t a secret: the growing stocks of aluminum in Port Klang — a key global hub for aluminum storage — were visible in the LME’s monthly reports on metal stored outside its network of warehouses.

But nobody in the wider aluminum market knew exactly what Trafigura would do with the metal. Often, traders accumulating large stashes see opportunities to profit from increases in the physical premium that buyers pay over and above the LME price. If demand outstrips supply, the location-specific premiums tend to rise as real-world consumers of aluminum draw down metal that’s held in stockpiles.

Instead, in the past two weeks, about 650,000 tons of aluminum sitting in Port Klang was suddenly transferred onto LME warrant. Trafigura was the key player behind the deliveries, which led to an increase in live warrants of more than 500,000 tons on May 10 — the largest single-day delivery onto the LME in at least 27 years.

A few days after the deliveries began, Trafigura laid out its bearish outlook at a conference in London. Analyst Henry Van predicted that aluminum prices would fall, saying it was seeing “a very grim demand picture right now,” and noting recent smelter restarts.

But other traders are taking the opposite view. Of the metal delivered to LME warrant in the past two weeks, about 400,000 tons — worth about $1 billion at current prices — was quickly requested for delivery out again. The buyers include hedge fund Squarepoint, and banks like Citi and JPMorgan, the people said.

In the short term, the buyers of the aluminum in Port Klang are likely to use it for so-called financing deals — holding physical aluminum and selling higher-priced futures. But in the longer term, the biggest payoff for the trade would come if the physical market tightens to a level that allows it to be shipped to real-world buyers for a profit.

The bullish view of aluminum has a growing following: investors on the LME, who were collectively short aluminum as recently as mid-March, have lifted their bets to the most bullish level in two years.

Inventories remain relatively low, while production in China is nearing a 45 million-ton-per-year cap imposed by Beijing. Add in forecasts for demand growth of 3.1% this year — led by demand from China and India — and the market is set to tighten in the second half of this year, according to CRU Group.

“We’ve come to the end, largely, of destocking cycles in various sectors,” said Ross Strachan, principal analyst for aluminum at CRU. “As demand picks up, the industry will need to encourage the restart of new capacity.”

The metals world has a long history of traders battling over giant stocks of aluminum, which can generate hundreds of millions of dollars a year in storage and handling fees. Just last month, Trafigura and rival Glencore Plc grabbed the market’s attention with a trade made possible by new sanctions imposed on Russian metal, involving ordering out and re-delivering large volumes of aluminum. (The LME responded by rushing out new rules to undermine the traders’ antics.)

But the decision to offload the mountain of stock onto the LME has puzzled many of Trafigura’s competitors in the aluminum market, and the scramble to get hold of it has underscored its value to rival traders. Facing soft trading conditions in the physical market, Trafigura may have taken the view that the quickest and most lucrative way to turn a profit on the metal would be to sell it on the LME and collect a share of the rent from future owners.

Traders delivering large volumes to the LME generally enter “rent share” deals with the warehouse company they’re delivering to, meaning they earn a share of the revenues for as long as the metal stays in the warehouse. At a rent of 56 cents a day, the total rent on 650,000 tons of aluminum could be worth as much as $133 million a year — more than $200 a ton — as long as it stays where it is.

If it’s all requested for delivery, the total earnings would be a fraction of that amount. Still, it is guaranteed to earn a certain amount of money — about $40 a ton in rent — because the metal is only delivered out at a rate of a few thousand tons a day.

The big orders for the withdrawal of aluminum have already led to a long queue to take delivery from warehouses in Port Klang operated by Istim Metals. The LME has rules to limit rents as soon as warehouse queues exceed a certain threshold, which it introduced after spiralling backlogs for aluminum drew consumer ire and regulatory scrutiny a decade ago.

Representatives for Trafigura, Squarepoint, Citi, JPMorgan and Istim all declined to comment. The LME has said its rules are designed to “disincentivize the build-up of queues.”

So far, the bulls have held the upper hand. Aluminum prices on the LME have risen about 4% since Trafigura’s deliveries began, hitting a 23-month high on Tuesday after Rio Tinto Group declared force majeure on some alumina supplies from Australia.

And physical premiums have been rising since the start of the year, particularly in Europe, where output was slashed when energy prices spiked in 2022 and where Russian tons that previously supplied the continent have been redirected to Asia.

Still, the long queue in Port Klang already appears to have deterred some would-be buyers: of the 400,000 tons requested for delivery in the past two weeks, about 60,000 tons of those requests were subsequently retracted.

(Reporting by Jack Farchy, Mark Burton and Archie Hunter).

Boluda Advances Consolidation Buying UK’s Largest Independent Tug Company

MONOPOLY CAPITALI$M

SMS adds 20 tugs and new service areas to Boluda's global network (SMS)

PUBLISHED MAY 24, 2024 6:39 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

 

Continuing its efforts to consolidate the towing business and broaden its global network, Spain’s Boluda Towage has signed an agreement to acquire the British company SMS Towage Ltd. The 32-year-old company reports it is the UK’s largest independent towage company, providing comprehensive harbor towage, offshore towage renewable energy support, and other specialist shipping project work.

Boluda already reported that it was the leader in towage after last year’s acquisition of Smit Lamnalco from joint venture partners Boskalis Group and Rezayat Group. Smit Lamnalco added 111 vessels to the company, which reported it would have a fleet of 600 tugboats and an intervention capacity in 50 countries and 148 ports around the world.

The addition of SMS will strengthen the position of Boluda Towage, already operating in the ports of Invergordon (Cromarty Firth), London, Liverpool, and Southampton. SMS, which has been in towing since 2002, today operates 20 tugs in the UK ports/regions of, Tyne, Tees, Humber, Portsmouth, South Wales, and Belfast. The company added its newest tug in November 2023 with the Tradesman, a 52-bollard-ton pull vessel built in Turkey in 2023.

“The decision for us to accept the opportunity to sell SMS Towage to Boluda Towage came at just the right time, as we embark on a new chapter of business growth and development,” said SMS Towage owner and Founder Paul Escreet.

After the official closing of the transaction, SMS will be part of Boluda Towage’s organization in the United Kingdom, and will be branded Boluda Towage SMS. The local management team of Boluda Towage SMS will report to Philip Dulson, General Manager of Boluda Towage in the UK. 

It is the third acquisition by Boluda in less than two years. In addition to Smit Lamnalco, they also acquired Resolve Salvage and Fire (Gibraltar) in February this year. Previously they also acquired Caledonian Towage (Scotland) and Iskes Towage & Salvage in 2021, Kotug Smit Towage in 2019, and German towage companies Unterweder Reederei and Lutgens & Reimers in 2017.

Boluda started its port tug activities in Valencia, Spain in 1920. It reports that the acquisitions are continuing to strengthen its position and global network.

 

Damen and Saverys to Build Four Large Hydrogen Dual-Fuel Tugs

Damen and CMB.TECH will build for large hydrogen fueled tugs (CMB.TECH)

PUBLISHED MAY 24, 2024 3:42 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

 

Shipbuilder Damen and CMB.TECH are partnering to build some of the first hydrogen-powered tugboats. The project expands Damen’s repertoire after the company added an electric tug also in the ASD class and in keeping with the Saverys' declared strategy to lead the industry to decarbonization alternatives.

The collaboration calls for four tugs built by Damen and using CMB.TECH’s dual-fuel hydrogen technology. It is also the latest step in the companies’ collaboration as CMB.TECH is also working with Damen for the construction of Commissioning Service Operations Vessels that employ the dual-fuel hydrogen generator sets and will be operated for the Saverys’ offshore company Windcat. The company previously introduced the first hydrogen-fueled crew transfer vessel.

“This contract marks another very important step in the development of our hydrogen-powered vessel portfolio,” said Alexander Saverys, CEO of CMB.TECH. “ASD tugs are ideal assets to start the decarbonization of port operations. With our hydrogen tugs, every port in the world will now be able to lower its carbon emissions and create demand for green hydrogen production.”

Alexander Saverys has outlined a vision for the decarbonization of shipping. The family looks for hydrogen to be used on near-shore operations such as tugs, offshore vessels, and transfer crafts. They are developing ammonia-based systems for their ocean-going ships.

Concurrent with the signing of the order with Damen, the companies reported that Lloyds’ Register also awarded an approval in principle (AiP) for the hydrogen solution that will be installed on the tugs. According to LR, the system represents a cost-effective decarbonization solution for tugs.

The dual-fuel hydrogen ASD Tugs 2812 FF-H2 will have 80-tonnes bollard pull, and feature four highspeed dual-fuel hydrogen engines, designed to minimize NOx and CO2 emissions. They will be able to run on traditional fuel if required. They will have modular storage systems for compressed hydrogen, with each tug carrying up to 16 hydrogen bottles, storing a total of 736kg of pressurized hydrogen at 350 bar.

Full details were not provided on the plans, but other ASD tugs are approximately 380 tons and 90 feet (28 meters) in length. They can carry up to 10 crew and operate on traditional fuel at speeds up to 12 knots. The electric version of the class is slightly smaller with a 10-knot speed.

The Port of Antwerp-Bruges pioneered the world’s first hydrogen dual-fuel tug introduced at the end of 2023. Known as Hydrotug 1, it was built in Spain also using technology from CMB.TECH.

Hydrotug 1 has a smaller hydrogen storage capacity but was reported to have capabilities for 24 hours of operation. The new design increases the hydrogen storage capacity by 75 percent as CMB.TECH looks to move hydrogen into the mainstream of operations.

 

Houthi Claim Long-Range Attacks Including LPG Carrier in the Mediterranean

Houthis claim attacks including an LPG carrier in the Mediterranean (file photo)

PUBLISHED MAY 24, 2024 4:55 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

 

The Houthi claimed specific long-range attacks on Friday during their weekly rallies after weeks of threatening to expand their range during the so-called fourth wave of their efforts. Military sources and security analysts are warning of the capabilities while most of the attacks continue to be in closer proximity to the Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.

In the latest statement of Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree, he took credit for three recent attacks without providing details. Two of these he said took place in the Arabian Sea and the Mediterranean, although monitors such as the UK Maritime Trade Organizations, EUNAVFOR Aspides, and the U.S. Central Command have not recorded these attacks.

One cited was on a vessel called Essex that they said was Israeli and had entered the ports under the Houthi blockade. Multiple sources are matching the vessel up with the LPG carrier Essex (26,447 dwt) with a capacity of 35,000 cbm of gas. The ship’s AIS signal shows it in the anchorage at Alexandria, Egypt after shifting from Port Said. 

The vessel registered in Liberia is managed by Zodiac Maritime of the UK, which has been a target of the Houthi due to the investment by Israeli shipping magnate Eyal Ofer. Reuters is quoting a spokesperson from Zodiac as saying nothing unusual has happened to the vessel recently while Ambrey says the vessel has not left Egypt recently.

The direct threat on a specific ship in the Mediterranean comes after Bloomberg cited an unnamed “senior defense official” saying this week that the Houthi could reach the Mediterranean. The report said the U.S. was concerned based on the advanced weaponry the Houthis were using.

While it appears they might have the range, security experts are still questioning the accuracy of their attacks, especially given the frequent misses of moving ships at a much closer range. Also, they cite the ability of Israel, the U.S., and other forces to detect long-range missiles.

 

Clustering of incidents between February and May (Aspides)

 

In its most recent assessment, EUNAVFOR Aspides writes, “UAV and missile attacks occur along the primary navigation route off the coast of Yemen, with the highest risk area spanning approximately 200 nm northbound and eastbound of Bab al-Mandab Strait, towards the South Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.” They published a map showing the clustering of attacks.

The second threat came against the MSC Alexandra (190,734 dwt) one of MSC’s larger vessels sailing currently from Spain and due to reach Abu Dhabi tomorrow, May 25. The Houthi claimed to have fired on the vessel while it was in the Arabian Sea. They have frequently targeted MSC for its association with Israel, although this vessel is owned by the Geneva-based company.

It is unclear when the attacks allegedly took place because the third one they took credit for happened yesterday. The vessel, a Greek-managed bulker named Yannis (50,779 dwt) and registered in Malta reported an explosion in the waters nearby on Thursday. A single missile hit the water while the vessel was 68 miles off the Yemeni port of Al-Hudayda. The ship’s AIS track shows it transited the Suez and reports it is heading to Mombasa, Kenya.

The Houthi singled the ship out and its manager Eastern Mediterranean Maritime, saying that three of the group’s ships had called in Israeli ports on May 4 and 5. Eastern Mediterranean Maritime reports it currently manages 75 vessels. The company manages another bulker, another bulk carrier, Cyclades, which was attacked also in the Red Sea last month and sustained minor damage.

U.S. CENTCOM also reported that two Houthi-launched anti-ship ballistic missiles fell into the Red Sea on May 23. They said there were no injuries or damage reported by U.S., coalition, or commercial ships.

“The occasional drop of confirmed attacks in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Gulf of Aden shall however not dismiss the fact that Houthis still hold the capacity to launch such attacks,” Aspides warned this week.

Belgium Bans Exports of “Dirty Fuels” to West Africa

Belgium is banning the export of "dirty fuel" from Antwerp to Africa (file photo)

PUBLISHED MAY 24, 2024 4:39 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

The Port of Antwerp will no longer be used by oil companies and traders to export so-called dirty fuels to West Africa. The Belgium government banned the export of toxic motor fuels that are highly harmful to public health and the environment.

Belgium’s Minister of Environment Zakia Khattabi announced the country has banned the exports of toxic fuels that are domestically prohibited but continue to be shipped to West African nations including Nigeria, Ghana, and Cameroon. This comes following the Royal assent of a new legislation that seeks to tighten the quality of exported fuels.

The ban targets oil companies that export motor fuels, primarily from the port of Antwerp, with excessively high sulfur or benzene content that have long been banned in Europe due to their harmful effects. Data show that oil companies have been exporting dirty fuels with a sulfur content as high as 1,500 ppm (parts per million), far exceeding European standards that are capped at 10 ppm.

In imposing the ban that will take effect after three months, Belgium highlights that the standards it applies at home to protect the environment and citizens from the harmful effects of toxic fuels should also apply to exported products. The country now joins the Netherlands which in April 2023 also banned the export of low-quality gasoline and diesel to West Africa through the ports of Amsterdam and Rotterdam.

Netherlands’ decision to stop the exports meant that Antwerp, Belgium’s main sea terminal for oil trade (both crude and oil products), became Europe’s main hub for exporting the toxic fuels. Antwerp is centrally located and as such a main port for liquid bulk cargoes. The port has emerged as a leading European oil and chemical hub. About 30 companies operating in the oil and chemical sector, including at least 10 top world players, are located in Antwerp’s port area which also has two leading refineries.

S&P Global Commodities at Sea data show that West Africa imported about 137,000 barrels per day of gasoline from Belgium in April, an 18 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

Khattabi highlighted that the Netherlands’ decision to restrict the exports of dirty fuels has seen the trade shift to Belgium, which is now being used by oil producers and traders to export gasoline with excessively high levels of benzene and sulfur.

“For far too long, toxic fuels have been departing from Belgium to destinations including Africa. They cause extremely poor air quality in countries such as Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon and are even carcinogenic,” said Khattabi.

The move to ban the exports of dirty fuels was taken in collaboration with the Ministries of Energy and Public Health.

 

Mysterious Tug That Caused Tobago Oil Spill May Have Been Found in Angola

Trinidad and Tobago has been seeking details on the tug towing the barge for more than three months (TEMA)

PUBLISHED MAY 24, 2024 1:49 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

After three months of searching, government officials in Trinidad and Tobago may have finally located the mysterious tug thought to have caused the disastrous oil spill off the coast of Tobago in February. International sources and independent researchers have all been working to confirm the identity of the tug and to locate it after it went dark at the beginning of February.

“The government has received information that the tug Solo Creed may have been detained by the authorities in Angola,” the Trinidad and Tobago Energy Ministry announced in a statement yesterday. They reported that an official inquiry had been submitted to Angola through diplomatic channels.

The incident began on February 7 with reports that a capsized vessel had washed ashore and was leaking oil. Initially, it was thought to be a small cargo ship but later investigations confirmed that it was an oil barge named Gulfstream. The open-source intelligence experts at Bellingcat identified the overturned vessel as a formerly American-owned ATB barge and then tracked its movements suggesting it was being towed by a tug alternately known as Solo Creed or Ranger. TankerTrackers.com using satellite imagery and other data also tracked the tug and barge.

The vessels were thought to be coming from Panama and according to some reports were bound for Guyana. Some suppositions were that it was carrying Venezuelan oil and that the tug got into some form of trouble and cut the barge loose. The last signal from the tug was February 5 and some people told local media that they thought they saw the barge drifting offshore before the grounding. 

“The government is committed to continuing its pursuit of those responsible for this oil spill,” they said in their latest update.

Ownership of the tug and barge has also been debated. A media report in The Guardian newspaper in Trinidad suggested the tug and barge had been purchased by a Nigerian businessman Abraham Olalekan. The tug is reported to have been built in 1976 in the United States and is 128 feet (39 meters) with 538 gross tons. Most databases reflect it as the Ranger registered in Tanzania but in most cases, the data is reported as old or the owners as unknown.

The government retained international salvage teams to stop the oil leaking from the barge and assist with the shoreline cleanup. Some reports suggest the spill reached as far north as Grenada and west to Bonaire. Recent statements suggested there could be as many as 2,000 barrels left aboard the barge. The barge has 12 fuel tanks with reports saying it could have been loaded with as much as 35,000 barrels.

Government officials recently reported that they have lowered their initial claim to $23 million but noted that the clean-up and salvage continue. They had previously filed a $30 million preliminary claim with the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund and are reported to be negotiating a settlement.

 

Schooner Running Eco-Cargo Service Lost Off Bahamas with Two Missing

De Gallant built in 1916 was operating an eco-cargo service (Blue Schooner)

PUBLISHED MAY 23, 2024 5:10 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

 

One of the historic schooners used to operate an eco-cargo service crossing the Atlantic was reported lost with two of its eight crewmembers missing. The U.S. Coast Guard and the Royal Bahamas Defense Force reported that suspended the search operation late on Wednesday after 44 hours and a search covering 3,700 square miles.

Six crewmembers were recovered and two of the vessel’s lifeboats were located along with a debris field approximately 20 miles north of Great Inagua at the southernmost end of the Bahamas. The crewmembers had donned their survival suits they told their rescuers when it became apparent the vessel was sinking.

The survivors reported that the ship was sailing in good conditions with winds less than 10 knots and a good sea state on Tuesday, May 21. They are indicating that an “extremely sudden and violent” meteorological phenomenon overtook them while they were underway in otherwise mild conditions. The captain is among the survivors and they are reporting the people were professional sailors and trained in sea survival and rescue techniques. The operation had been designed to possibly carry passengers or trainee sailors, but it is not clear if any were aboard during this voyage.

 

Life rafts recovered at the wreck site (USCG)

The Coast Guard reports it began receiving signals from personal locators early on Tuesday and was unable to reach the vessel. A helicopter was dispatched which located the survivors around 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday and transported them to the USCG Air Station Miami. Working with the Bahamas, planes, boats, and helicopters undertook the search.

The vessel, named De Gallant, left Santa Marta, Colombia on May 11. The company had posted pictures online showing a cargo of coffee, cocoa, and cane sugar being loaded aboard. Reports said they were bound for Europe with a planned stop in the Azores.

The cargo service was launched in 2017 by a French company called Blue Schooner designed to use wind energy to transport mostly organic goods. De Gallant, with a length overall of approximately 119 feet (36.2 meters), had a capacity of 35 tonnes. Built in Vlaardingen (Netherlands) at the Figee brothers' shipyard and launched in 1916 under the name Jannetje Margaretha, she displaced 160 tonnes. She was most recently registered in Vanuatu and operating under charter to Blue Schooner. 

 

De Gallant in Colombia on a prior voyage alongside a small containership (Blue Schooner)

 

The concept was to carry cargo as well as passengers and trainees. They also offered the opportunity to conduct scientific experiments while underway. The tentative schedule posted online shows the vessel was to be in Europe before a planned return to Colombia in November.

The Coast Guard extended its condolences to the families while the French consulate in Florida was providing support for the six survivors. The vessel was lost at a depth of more than 2,000 meters.
 

 

Allianz: Shipping Losses Continue Decline Hitting All-Time Yearly Low

Shadow tanker Pablo caught fire in May 2023 highlighting the losses from fire and the dangers of the growing shadow fleet (MMEA)

PUBLISHED MAY 24, 2024 7:41 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

 

The global shipping industry is recording a continuing decline in large vessel losses despite the sector facing growing risks. Global insurer Allianz released its Safety and Shipping Review 2024 which shows shipping losses hit an all-time low, maintaining a trend that has been developing in recent years.

The review contends that despite the global fleet grappling with growing volatility and uncertainties from war and geopolitical events, climate change, and the resurgence of piracy among other risks, the sector lost just 26 large ships in 2023. This represented a decline of more than one-third year-on-year and by 70 percent over the past decade. In 2022 and 2021, a total of 41 and 59 losses were recorded respectively while 729 ships have been lost over the past decade.

Allianz highlights the decline in losses is taking place in an increasingly dangerous environment. The shipping industry is confronting a broad range of issues,  including the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, the re-emergence of Somali piracy after a long lull, climate change instigated drought, shift towards even larger vessels due to decarbonization pressures. The challenge is that these issues are fast evolving changing the operating environment for shipping companies.

“The speed and extent of the way the industry’s risk profile is changing is unprecedented in modern times,” said Captain Rahul Khanna, Allianz Commercial Global Head of Marine Risk Consulting.

The 2024 review shows that Southeast Asia remains the global loss hotspot. The South China, Indochina, Indonesia, and the Philippines maritime region accounted for almost a third of vessels lost last year, eight in total. Over the past decade, 184 large ships have been lost in the region. The East Mediterranean and Black Sea regions ranked second with six losses in 2023.

The review highlights that cargo ships accounted for over 60 percent of vessels lost globally during the year. Foundering was the main cause of the losses, accounting for 50 percent, of all vessel casualties. Extreme weather was reported as being a factor in at least eight vessel losses around the world in 2023, with the final total likely higher.

The trend of declining losses also carried over into the number of total incidents in 2023. Allianz calculates that globally, the number of incidents declined slightly from 3,036 to 2,951 in 2023. The British Isles had the highest number of incidents at 695.

Allianz continues to spotlight fires aboard vessels, a perennial concern of the shipping industry. The fact that fire remains a key safety issue on larger vessels given the potential threat to life, the scale of the damage, and as a result, the associated costs can be severe. Allianz says the constant high numbers of fire incidents remain a major concern. In 2023, 205 fire incidents were reported, the second-highest total for a decade after 2022. Over the past five years, 55 losses have been caused by fires.

In the review, Allianz highlights a picture of the current dangers facing global shipping. The conflict in Gaza is a case in point of how global shipping has become vulnerable to proxy wars, disputes, and geopolitical events. They point out that more than 100 ships have been targeted in the Red Sea alone by Houthi militants.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a war that is now in its third year, has also resulted in a significant increase in the “shadow fleet” of tankers being used to transport Russian oil. Allianz projects that in an effort to evade sanctions, the size of the dark fleet has ballooned to between 600 and 1,400 vessels. Considering that the dark fleet consists of mostly older, often poorly maintained vessels that operate outside international regulation, and often without proper insurance, their high number presents serious environmental and safety risks Allianz cautions.

“Both the war in Ukraine and the Red Sea attacks have also revealed the increasing threat to commercial shipping posed by new technology, such as drones, which are relatively cheap and easy to make, and difficult to defend against without a large naval presence,” noted Khanna.

While external factors continue to cause vulnerabilities to the global fleet, the pressure to decarbonize is also bringing about challenges. This is because the industry needs to develop infrastructure to support vessels using alternative fuels, such as bunkering and maintenance. This comes with potential safety issues considering that terminal operators and vessels’ crew face the prospects of handling alternative fuels that can be toxic or highly explosive.

  

Senior Maryland Pilot Warned Officials of Risk of Bridge Strike

Image courtesy NTSB

PUBLISHED MAY 23, 2024 9:43 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

 

A senior Maryland pilot raised concerns about the risk of an allision between a big ship and the Francis Scott Key Bridge at least as early as 2006, and continued to discuss the matter in local safety meetings for years, according to detailed records uncovered by the Washington Post. The documents also show that at the staff level, the Maryland Transportation Authority was aware that their bridge was "not designed to withstand collisions from large vessels," and that the cost of protecting it would be high. 

Through requests and online sleuthing, the Post obtained copies of the meeting minutes for gatherings of the Baltimore Harbor Safety and Coordination Committee dating back two decades. This advisory committee is a quarterly gathering of representatives from the port's main stakeholders in industry and government, including the pilots' association, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Coast Guard, the port authority and state transportation officials.  

The possibility of a ship hitting and damaging the bridge came up at least as early as 2004, when pilots' representative Capt. Joe Smith voiced concerns about the need for solid communications protocols in the event that a ship should go off course near the structure.

Two years later, in 2006, an engineer with the Maryland Transportation Authority (MTA) joined the safety committee meeting to talk about standards for protecting bridge piers from ship strikes. At that meeting, Capt. Smith "stressed the importance of bridge protection" and "noted that the agencies should be meeting and discussing implementation possibilities." No protection upgrades were planned, the engineer said, noting the high cost. He confirmed that the bridge piers were not designed to withstand a strike from a large, modern ship. 

Smith continued to raise the matter of bridge protection for six more years, and the discussion frequently returned to the cost of the necessary upgrades. The line of discussion ended in 2014, shortly after Smith's retirement, according to the Post. The Key Bridge's limited protections were not upgraded, and former state officials told the paper that the matter was never discussed at a high level. 

At the Delaware Memorial Bridge, 60 miles away on the same freeway system, a different agency reached a different conclusion. Delaware's bridge transport authority assessed that the risk of a catastrophic ship strike on the Memorial Bridge was too high, and it began planning a comprehensive pier protection system for the Memorial Bridge in 2015. With considerable political effort, it successfully got it funded through a bond measure and toll hike. Construction started on the eight protective steel-and-rock dolphins last year and should be done by 2025. The final cost will come to about $93 million; the cost of replacing Baltimore's Key Bridge is expected to run towards $2 billion.

NTSB: High Current Led to Allision at McAlpine Locks

Courtesy Louisville Energy and Environment Cabinet

PUBLISHED MAY 23, 2024 5:34 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

 

The NTSB has released a report on the allision of a barge tow with a lock structure on the Ohio River in March 2023, concluding that the $2 million accident was due to high current and human error. 

In late March, the Ohio River at the McAlpine Dam was approaching 15 feet and rising, triggering an "extreme high water / extreme high flow" warning. The Coast Guard broadcast a notice to mariners warning them to exercise caution in the area, given the high outdraft currents from the dam. Eight of the dam's nine gates were open to let the excess flow past. 

On the morning of March 27, the towboat Queen City got under way on the Ohio near Hebron, Kentucky, downbound and headed for Paducah. She had 11 barges in tow as she neared the McAlpine Locks. At the time, the locks' upper gage measured 17.5 feet of water, well above the "extreme" level. 

At about 0218 on March 28, the pilot was alone on watch in the wheelhouse and approaching the locks. As soon as he was clear of the Clark Memorial Highway Bridge, about 800 yards from the lock, the current began to set the tow to starboard at a rate of about one knot - towards the Vane Dike and the lower dam gates. It "started grabbing me, it wasn't looking good," he later told investigators. The pilot ordered a deckhand to call the captain, and the master got out of bed and was on his way to the wheelhouse when he felt Queen City's tow hit the tip of the Vane Dike mooring cell. 

The tow broke apart on impact, and six barges went through the dam gates. The current pinned three more across the gates, including one barge filled with methanol, the only hazmat cargo in the tow. Because of the risks of a methanol release, the river was closed to navigation temporarily and a unified command organized a response. After planning, a commercial salvor lightered off the methanol cargo and recovered the damaged barges from the waterway. The cost of repairing the barges came to about $1.5 million, and the lost cargo (corn) was worth about $500,000. 

The pilot had seven years of experience and had been working aboard Queen City for about 18 months. He had transited the same route more than a dozen times before, he said, but this was the highest water he had ever experienced. 

The risk of an allision at the McAlpine Lock and Dam was well known, and the local pilotage advisory guide cautions mariners to "exercise extreme caution, enter chambers at slowest safe speed, and prepare for potential outdrafts." The dike was hit twice in a month in February 2022 alone, according to NTSB, and AIS data showed that other tows in 2023 had been set towards it by the current. 

NTSB determined that the cause of the Queen City allision was the pilot's failure to compensate for the strong outdraft during high current conditions. 

"Near dams, greater dam openings in high-water conditions lead to high flow rates, which can produce outdraft currents near the dam. Mariners should thoroughly assess the potential impact of outdraft currents when entering or exiting locking channels," NTSB cautioned.