Port Fees Paused, Ports Funded, Rates Stirring: Maritime Bottom-line News (10/31/2025)
Port fees between the US and China are paused and some tariffs are trimmed, removing call costs and friction while talks cool tempers. India just pulled in major port and logistics investment, a signal...
Agwa: A Simple Way to Save on Fresh Produce at Sea
Agwa builds compact, AI-guided hydroponic units that let ships grow leafy greens and herbs right on board. That means fresh salads and garnishes year-round without relying on port deliveries, less spoilage, fewer “empty fridge”...
Generator Gold: Slash Hotel Load Without Complaints
Cutting “hotel load” starts with the air you move and the temperatures you hold. Small, crew-friendly tweaks to HVAC, nudging setpoints, slowing fans when spaces are empty, and using heat pumps or waste heat,...
A Cautious Turn Back to Suez
Some carriers are testing limited Red Sea transits while most east–west services still detour the Cape. If a wider return sticks, voyages shorten and fuel and time costs fall. If caution persists, longer hauls...
Coal Cooldown: Bulkers Face Softer Q4 as BDI Slips
Seaborne coal demand has eased in Asia as utilities sit on high stocks and domestic output stays strong. Thermal coal prices in Asia touched multi-year lows earlier in 2025, and late-October readings show the...
Laytime & Demurrage: 7 Traps That Turn Profit Negative
When laytime and demurrage go wrong, it is rarely because of one big decision. It is usually seven small process mistakes that quietly stop the clock. The first and biggest is an invalid Notice...
Rates Run Hot: Tanker Earnings Track Decade High
VLCC benchmarks have surged in October and year-to-date averages are running at multi-year highs. Trade lanes are lengthening as India reassesses Russian barrels, Middle East liftings stay firm, and vessel availability remains tight. The...
Rates, Sanctions, and Yard Tech: Maritime Bottom-Line News (10/29/25)
Tankers are closing 2025 with decade-high earnings, while India’s reassessment of Russian barrels is reshaping voyage patterns and rate volatility. A long-term LNG deal into India anchors future liftings, and new terminal moves at...
Slow-Steaming Sweet Spot: Finding the RPM That Saves the Most
Slowing down saves fuel, but the cheapest speed isn’t obvious. It shifts with hire/day, fuel price, hull and prop condition, weather, and safe engine-load limits. The tool below scans your speed range, enforces a...
IMO Net-Zero Plan Slips to 2026: Industry Outlook
Member states postponed formal adoption of the IMO’s Net-Zero Framework until 2026 after failing to reach consensus this October. The framework pairs a global fuel standard with an emissions pricing mechanism, approved in principle...
China Congestion Watch: Queues Surge and Costs Mount
Vessels are backing up off key Chinese ports again. Average waits have stretched to the year’s highs, with dozens more capesizes idling than a month ago. New port fees on certain U.S.-linked calls and...
The Slime Line: Weekly Inspections That Quickly Catch Early Growth
A clean hull starts with a weekly routine that crews will actually follow. Catching slime early protects speed, cuts fuel burn, and reduces the need for aggressive cleaning later. The trick is to make...
Storm Pressure in the Caribbean: Delays, Demurrage, and TCE Impact
A developing hurricane window across Caribbean and U.S. Gulf corridors raises the odds of port restrictions, pilotage curbs, and weather-driven diversions. For owners and charterers, the cash effects show up fast: bunker burn from...
More Sanctions, Storms, and Yard Tech: Maritime Bottom-line News (10/27/25)
A sanctions shock, weather risk, policy signals, corporate stress, and a fresh LNG containment option are all shaping cash flows at once. Tanker trades are being re-papered and rerouted, bunkers have moved higher with...
Oil’s Snap Rally: Crude Jumps ~5% on New Russia Sanctions
A sharp move in crude set today’s tone: prices climbed roughly 5% after the U.S. designated Rosneft and Lukoil and rolled out wind-down licenses, with the EU adopting its 19th sanctions package tightening energy...
Cape vs Canal 2025-2026: Route Choice Calculator You Can Do On A Napkin
When Red Sea risk or Canal queues move the goalposts, owners need a fast way to test Cape versus Canal. This mini-calculator keeps it simple: distance, speed, fuel, tolls, and premiums. You get days,...
Sanctions Ripple Through Tankers as Box Rates Rebound: Maritime Bottom-line News (10/24/25)
Sanctions on Russia’s top oil producers have cascaded through tanker trades, with India and China reassessing purchases and routes reshuffling toward Middle East, West Africa, and the U.S. Gulf, lifting tonne-miles but adding paperwork,...
Panama Canal Is Easing, But Slots Still Rule: How To Win Your Transit
Canal conditions are better than last year, but slots still decide your schedule. In early October the Panama Canal Authority extended service hours and moved the daily cut-off for Reservation Period 3 to 15:00...
Sanctions Whiplash: U.S. Hits Rosneft & Lukoil as Tanker Trades Scramble
Europe-to-Asia oil flows just got a shock. Fresh U.S. sanctions now designate Russia’s two biggest oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil, along with numerous subsidiaries and threaten secondary measures on foreign financial institutions that keep...
Japan Shipyard Push: ¥350bn Modernization Bid to Double Output
Japan’s major yards are rallying behind a plan to invest about ¥350 billion (≈$2.3 billion) with government backing to modernize facilities and lift national shipbuilding capacity roughly twofold over the next decade. The Shipbuilders’...
FuelEU 2025: The “€2,400/Ton” Penalty Trap and 7 Ways Shipowners Could Dodge It
FuelEU Maritime starts putting real money on the line in 2025. The penalty math can snowball fast, especially if you’ve got energy-intensive routes, thin margins, or uncertain alternative-fuel access. Below are potential strategies shipowners...
EU Sets Clock on Russian Gas: Industry Impact
Europe has taken a formal step toward ending Russian gas imports, with EU governments backing a phase-out that bans new contracts from January 1, 2026, winds down short-term deals by mid-2026, and ends long-term...
China Call Fees, LNG DF Orders, Offshore Backlog: Maritime Bottom-line News (10/22/25)
From Brussels’ plan to shut out Russian gas to China’s phased “special port fees,” and from big-ticket EPC wins to late-decade fleet additions, the last 48 hours delivered decisions that flow straight into voyage...
Orderbook Signal: HMM’s $2.8B Bet on LNG Boxships and VLCCs
HMM has confirmed KRW 4 trillion (~$2.8B) in newbuilds: twelve 13,000-TEU LNG dual-fuel containerships at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean, plus two VLCCs. The boxships expand HMM’s lower-emission mainline capacity into the...
Who’s Actually Lending to Shipowners Right Now? A Global Heatmap
Capital hasn’t vanished, it’s just choosier. On any given Tuesday you can still get senior debt, SLB, or retrofit-linked lines, but the where and who shifted: European banks are quietly back, ECAs are underwriting...
Permit Shock: U.S. Actions Put Flagship Offshore Wind Projects on the Brink
A series of federal moves has pushed key U.S. offshore wind projects into jeopardy. In Maryland, the government signaled it may revoke US Wind’s construction and operations plan, prompting the developer to warn a...
Russia and China Team Up to Commercialize the Northern Sea Route
Beijing and Moscow have formalized cooperation to expand and commercialize shipping along the Northern Sea Route (NSR), the Arctic corridor running along Russia’s coast. The pact links China’s “Polar Silk Road” ambitions with Russia’s...
Seven Practical Routing Moves Under the New U.S & China Port Fees
Carriers are redrawing playbooks in real time. New port fees on both sides mean who pays can hinge on a ship’s ownership or flag, not just the cargo onboard. This guide turns that complexity...
U.S. & China “Special Port Fees” Hit Shipping Economics
Carriers and cargo owners are navigating a new cost layer as the United States and China apply reciprocal “special port fees.” The measures are already prompting rotation changes, selective blank sailings, and emergency surcharges...
Port Surcharges, IMO Carbon Timing, EU Boarding Plans, and Dry Bulk Asset Moves: Maritime Bottom-line News (10/20/25)
Network costs, regulatory timing, and voyage security are the dominant levers right now. New bilateral port fees are changing route economics in real time, policy indecision on carbon pricing is pushing investment choices to...