HANOVER EXPRESS arriving from Busan, South Korea. Vessel was in Shanghai 1/30-1/31
First mention I've seen thus far regarding corona virus and Los Angeles:
Coronavirus Disrupts Global Container Shipping
February 6, 2020 by Reuters
By Jonathan Saul and Lisa Baertlein – LONDON/LOS ANGELES, Feb 6 (Reuters) – China’s fast-spreading coronavirus is throwing the global container shipping trade out of sync, with lines re-routing cargoes and reducing calls to Chinese ports, setting the scene for months of delivery delays ahead, industry sources said.
The spread of the deadly virus has shut down cities and factories in China and disrupted global air travel. nL4N2A53X4]
China’s decision to extend its Lunar New Year holiday period until Feb. 10 has compounded logistical complications, despite its ports staying open. China is a vital link to the container sector, transporting everything from fresh food to phones and designer clothes as well as industrial parts.
The world’s top container lines Maersk, MSC and CMA CGM have all reduced calls to China, known as blank sailings, the companies said in recent days.
Exports of goods from China have already been hit, with broader repercussions. Hyundai Motor has said it will suspend production in South Korea, its biggest manufacturing base, because of a lack of spare parts.
Disruptions to sea cargo flows have compounded an already pressured situation for shipping lines as they struggle with weaker markets and higher costs from new International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations on low sulfur fuel.
Shipping and trade sources say regular schedules are also being affected by truck and port workers in China stuck at home or away from their places of work. In addition, warehouses around dock areas in China are not fully working. This has led to ships being diverted from China to ports in South Korea.
South Korea’s Busan port, one of the world’s major container terminals, has already seen a spillover with container capacity at 78% and could rise further from its usual level of 70%, a Busan port official said.
“Shippers are parking cargo at our ports, so later, perhaps when the coronavirus dies down and the level of cargo (backlogged in China ports) decreases, they can deploy a small ship to carry these cargo to their destination in Chinese ports,” the official said.
If container levels increased to over 80% it would be difficult to run the port efficiently, the official said.
MORE DELAYS AHEAD
While China’s Lunar New Year period usually leads to a slowdown, the virus is expected to further reduce cargo volumes.
Lasse Kristoffersen, chief executive of Norwegian shipping group Torvald Klaveness, told Reuters that 25% of its container fleet was affected as sailings were canceled.
“This is largely due to lower volumes on China. This is normal during Lunar New Year, but it seems to us that the volumes are lower than normal for this period – likely impacted by the coronavirus,” he told Reuters.
U.S.-based shipping industry consultant Jon Monroe, whose company is active in China, said that blank sailings in February were higher than usual. Even when the impact of the virus dies down there will be a rush to ship goods in and out of China, creating more logistical problems.
“Everybody will be making up for lost time. This is really the perfect storm,” he said.
Shipping consultancy Alphaliner said extended holidays and emergency measures to tackle the virus were estimated to reduce cargo volumes at Chinese ports including Hong Kong by over 6 million TEUs (20 foot equivalent units) in the first quarter of 2020 and forecast global container throughput growth would fall by at least 0.7% in 2020. China’s container throughput rose last year by over 4% to 261.25 million TEU.
“Since these extended void sailing programs on long-haul services (by container lines) are slated to continue until mid-March, any cargo volume recovery could be negatively affected, even after the end of the holidays,” Alphaliner said.
Executives at seaports on the U.S. West Coast, which handle the majority of Chinese imports into the United States, are preparing for expected disruptions.
“You’ll see soft levels of imports go into the month of March,” Port of Los Angeles executive director Gene Seroka told Reuters. (Additional reporting by Roslan Khasawneh in Singapore, Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee in Seoul and Gus Trompiz in Paris, Editing by Veronica Brown and Susan Fenton)
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019.
https://gcaptain.com/coronavirus-disrupts-global-container-shipping/
U.S. Sanctions Rosneft Trading Unit Over Venezuelan Ties
February 18, 2020 by Reuters
By Humeyra Pamuk and Daphne Psaledakis WASHINGTON, Feb 18 (Reuters) – The United States on Tuesday ramped up pressure on Venezuela by blacklisting a subsidiary of Russian state oil major Rosneft that President Donald Trump’s administration said provides a financial lifeline to President Nicolas Maduro’s government.
The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Rosneft Trading SA, the Geneva-based trading unit of Rosneft, as Washington targeted Moscow over its backing of Maduro’s government.
The move further complicates already-fraught U.S.-Russian relations. Russia condemned the sanctions, saying they amounted to unfair competition and would not deter Moscow from continuing to work with Venezuela. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said the move would further damage relations with Washington and undermine global free trade.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza called the U.S. action “unilateral” and “coercive” and said Washington continued “attacking the Venezuelan people, trying to generate suffering and hardship.”
U.S. officials accused the Rosneft subsidiary of propping up the Venezuelan oil sector and engaging in “tricks” and ship-to-ship transfers to actively evade American sanctions.
“I think this is a very significant step, and I think you will see companies all over the world in the oil sector now move away from dealing with Rosneft Trading,” Elliott Abrams, the U.S. special representative for Venezuela, told reporters.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin added in a statement, “The United States is determined to prevent the looting of Venezuela’s oil assets by the corrupt Maduro regime.”
Abrams said Rosneft Trading now handles about 70 percent of Venezuelan oil. U.S. officials have warned companies worldwide about dealings with Rosneft Trading.
Rosneft called the sanctions an “outrage” and said that U.S. authorities, in conversations with the company, had repeatedly recognized that it was not breaching any restrictions. Rosneft said the U.S. Treasury Department has not presented any evidence of violations.
The United States in January 2019 recognized Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the OPEC nation’s legitimate interim president in the aftermath of Maduro’s 2018 re-election that was widely described as fraudulent. Washington has ratcheted up sanctions and diplomatic pressure on Maduro’s government.
Maduro remains in power, backed by Venezuela’s military as well as Russia, China and Cuba. Maduro has overseen an economic collapse and the socialist president has been accused of corruption and human rights violations. His clinging to power has been a source of frustration for Trump, U.S. officials have said privately.
Along with the sanctions, the United States also issued a general license allowing companies 90 days to wind down their transactions with Rosneft Trading. Tuesday’s sanctions freeze any U.S.-held assets of Rosneft Trading and the subsidiary’s chairman of the board and president, Didier Casimiro, who also serves as a vice president of the parent company.
Rosneft shares fell 2.7 percent, underperforming oil prices and the broader Russian index. The sanctions announcement came soon before the close of the Russian market.
It was unclear whether Tuesday’s move will reduce export revenue flowing to Maduro’s government, which continues to enjoy Moscow’s backing in a stand-off reminiscent of the Cold War. Russia and China have called U.S. sanctions against Venezuela illegal.
‘DEEP DIFFERENCES’
The decision to impose the sanctions was cleared by Trump, a senior administration official said. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday discussed the blacklisting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the Munich security conference in Germany, the official said.
“Obviously we have deep differences over what is happening in Venezuela and what is the way out for Venezuela,” Abrams said, when asked about Pompeo’s discussion with Lavrov.
Moscow has acted as a lender of last resort for Venezuela, with the government and Rosneft providing at least $17 billion in loans and credit lines since 2006, and has also provided diplomatic support.
Rosneft is the world’s largest listed oil company by output.
Through units including Rosneft Trading and TNK Trading it took more than a third of Venezuela’s oil exports last year, according to PDVSA’s documents and Refinitiv Eikon vessel tracking data, for reselling to final customers, mainly in Asia. That way it became the largest intermediary of Venezuelan oil amid U.S. sanctions.
More here:
https://gcaptain.com/u-s-sanctions-rosneft-trading-unit-over-venezuelan-ties/
Fincantieri Delivers First Virgin Voyages Ship
February 18, 2020 by Mike Schuler
scarlett lady virgin voyagers
An illustration of Scarlett Lady, the first ship in Sir Richard Branson’s new cruise fleet, Virgin Voyages
Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri has delivered the first vessel in Richard Branson’s new Virgin Voyages fleet.
The vessel, named Scarlet Lady, was delivered Friday, February 14, at Fincantieri’s Genoa Sestri Ponente shipyard.
The adults-only Scarlet Lady comes in at about 110,000 gross tonnes and is 278 meters long by 38 meters wide, with 1,400 guest cabins for a capacity of 2,770 passengers and another 1,160 crew members.
Scarlet Lady is the first of four vessels being built by Fincantieri for Virgin Voyages. The second ship, “Valiant Lady”, is currently under construction at the same yard and will be delivered in 2021, while the third and the fourth units, still unnamed, will set sail in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
“It’s wonderful to welcome Scarlet Lady,” said Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group. “I’m so proud that as we start this exciting journey, we also bring to life Virgin Voyages’ commitment to preserving the ocean and the first of many steps towards a net zero carbon future.”
Scarlett Lady is currently en route to Miami where it will make its official debut ahead of its inaugural voyage planned for March 18.
South Florida-based Virgin Voyages was launched in 2014 as Virgin Cruises and is backed lead investors Bain Capital Private Equity and London-based Virgin Group, whose founder and CEO is billionaire Sir Richard Branson.
https://gcaptain.com/fincantieri-delivers-first-virgin-voyages-ship/
In the fade for awhile, will return