Maersk Line has closed its acquisition of Hamburg Süd one year after it announced it planned to buy the privately owned German container line for EUR3.7bn.

There were no piracy incidents reported to ReCAAP ISC last week, and the period from January to October was the lowest over the last 10 years, reports the agency. 

During January-October 2017, 60 incidents were reported, of which 51 were actual incidents and nine were attempts. Compared to January-October 2016, this was a nine percent decrease, and compared to the same period in 2015, it was a 67 percent decrease. ReCAAP ISC attributes the decrease to improvements at ports and anchorages in Malaysia, India, Indonesia and Vietnam. 

While the overall situation during January-October this year has improved, there was, however, an increase in the number of incidents reported at ports and anchorages in Bangladesh (Chittagong), Philippines (Manila and Batangas) and on board ships while underway in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, compared to the same period in 2016.

It seemed at the time like a somewhat random, and amazingly fortuitous, coincidence. Just as the Panama Canal was unveiling a new, fatter set of locks, U.S. shale drillers were readying their very first exports of liquefied natural gas. While the wide-body tankers that transport LNG would've had no chance of squeaking through the original steel locks built a century ago, they could easily traverse the bigger channel and shave 11 days off the trip to primary markets in Asia.

But 17 months in, it's not quite working out as planned. Only a single LNG tanker has a guaranteed passage each day. The natural-gas industry blames the Panama Canal Authority for holdups, and the canal authority blames the industry for being lackadaisical about transit timetables.

Whoever's at fault, this much is clear: The pressure is on both sides to resolve their problems. For gas exporters, it's critical to establish credibility as a reliable new source of fuel for clients in Asia. For the canal authority, the stakes are high too, with Mexico and other countries flirting with creating alternative routes as gas demand booms.

Whether spread across its vast exhibition halls or at myriad press events or industry conferences, the topic of autonomous shipping has been a central theme at this year's Marintec China event in Shanghai.

ABS executive vice president for global marine Dr Kirsi Tikka chaired a panel session during the event on the marine industry's journey to autonomy and the collective benefits realised along the way.

"With fast-paced advances in technology, we are on a journey to autonomous transportation at sea," Tikka said. "For the shipping industry, at sea and ashore, it will be a gradual process of evolution."

Having already invested nearly $400 million in dockside power hookups and other infrastructure to facilitate shore power in order to curtail at-berth air pollution from containerships, the Port of Long Beach and Port of Los Angeles are now soliciting proposals for new technology to reduce emissions for non-container vessels, such as tankers, vehicle carriers, bulk and general cargo ships.

 

The request for proposals by the ports under the Technology Advancement Program offers $1 million ($500,000 from each port) to fund demonstrations of one or more cost-effective technologies that can eliminate at-berth emissions from ships that don't fall under the state's shore power mandate. 

 

Proposers must provide at least a 50 percent match to the project cost. Proposals are due by February 27, 2018.