Cement News tagged: Freight Markets
CSL Group set to acquire 50% of Eureka Shipping Ltd
SMT Shipping (SMT) and The CSL Group (CSL) have entered into an agreement for CSL to acquire 50 per cent of Eureka Shipping Ltd, SMT's pneumatic cement vessel business. The new joint venture will allow Eureka and CSL to combine expertise, resources and innovative technologies to expand services to customers in the seaborne cement powder and fly ash transportation markets around the world, a...
South Central Railway looks to boost cement freight in FY18-19
India’s South Central Railway (SCR) has set a new target to boost its cement freight to 27.5Mt in the FY18-19, up from 25.82Mt of the previous year. The company has already transported 20.49Mt in the first three quarters of the financial year. As a whole, Indian railways transported 114.18Mt of cement during the FY17-18, with South Central performing highest amongst all zonal railways at 22....
Ohorongo to increase rail use
Namibia’s Ohorongo Cement is working together with TransNamib, the country’s railway company, to take more than 5000 truck loads of product off the road. The cement producers will move more freight onto rail, reducing the use of road transport between the Sargberg plant and the northern regions, according to the Namibia Economist. “This specific route is one of the busiest roads countryw...
Investing, improving and incidents
This month is a round-up of global port news, beginning in India. Penna Cement has begun operations at its terminal and bagging plant at Cochin Port, Kerala. Marking an investment of US$8m, the terminal has a cement capacity of 0.3Mta. The first vessel to call at the new facility was the Penna Suraksha, a self-discharging cement carrier delivering 25,000t from Krishnapatnam Port, according to ...
Trade war uncertainty reveals cracks
As discussed in the October issue of ICR, better-than-expected dry bulk rates have dampened the scrapping trend as owners cash in on more buoyant times. According to some observers, however, growing uncertainty surrounding the trade war between the USA and China is starting to reveal cracks with rates beginning to weaken. The Baltic Dry Index (BDI) slumped from 1774 points on 24 July to 1356 o...
Freight rates dampen scrapping trend
Better-than-expected dry bulk freight rates have done little to encourage shipowners to scrap their older vessels, despite warnings of ongoing market volatility due to a lack of scrapping activity. The Baltic Dry Index (BDI) hit 1773 points in the first week of August, compared to 1250 in the opening week of June, making owners increasingly reluctant to ditch their older tonnage. According to...
Owners urged to scrap older vessels
In the three-month period to 17 July 2018, the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) rose from a low of 1042 points on 30 May to a high of 1695 on 16 July. Baltic Dry Index – three months to 17 July 2018 Khalid Hashim, managing director of Thailand-based Precious Shipping, which operates four cement carriers, has urged shipowners to scrap their older vessels or face continuing volatility...
JT Cement adds new vessel to fleet
Norway-based JT Cement has ordered a new pneumatic cement carrier from Dutch shipyard Ferus Smit. The new vessel will be a sistership to the M/V Greenland and is expected to be delivered in July next year. It will have a cargo-carrying capacity of 8000dwt, which is bigger than the Greenland, and a greater LNG tank capacity at 200m3 to improve steaming time. In June this year, NovaAlgoma Cem...
Dry bulk on road to recovery?
In the three-month period to 6 June 2018, the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) began at 1212 points before falling steadily to 948 points four weeks later. By 14 May it had climbed to 1476 points, followed by a dip to 1077, before recovering to 1249 points by 6 June. According to BIMCO, the dry bulk sector appears to be continuing on its road to recovery, as long as demand can stay ahead of fleet growt...
Dry bulk overcapacity and trade wars
The last three months have seen a welcome recovery in the Baltic Dry Index (BDI). On 7 February the index stood at 1097 points, before rising a month later to 1212 points. This was followed by a fall to 948 points by 6 April, after which the index picked up again to peak at 1384 points by 5 May. The last year has seen a positive turnaround in the dry bulk market but overcapacity remains an iss...
JT Cement orders 8000dwt cement carrier
Norway’s JT Cement AS has ordered a pneumatic cement carrier from Netherlands-based Ferus Smit, according to Erik Thun AB. The ship will be the sister vessel of M/V Greenland and is scheduled for delivery in July 2019. "The vessel will be an improved version of Greenland but with a somewhat larger cargo carrying capacity at 8000dwt. In addition, we will increase the LNG tank capacity to 200m ...
Long-term rail freight rates secured for Ramco and Zuari
India’s South Central Railway (SCR) has signed a long-term tariff contract with Ramco Cements Ltd and Zuari Cements Ltd to transport freight traffic at fixed rates, according to The Hindu. Ramco and Zuari signed the agreement to ensure fixed tariff costs for three and five years, respectively. The scheme has been designed to offer customers stability and the capacity to plan logistics for ...
McInnis Cement faces rail limit
Canadian cement producer McInnis Cement faces a new challenge in distributing its cement. The Quebec Ministry of Transport is imposing a 10 rail cars/week limit on cement transportation between Matapédia and Caplan due to the dismal state of the rail line. While 90 per cent of its 2.3Mt cement output is shipped, McInnis Cement had planned to increase rail transport of its products to Canadi...
Cebo Marine's ship undergoes upgrade in capacity
Cebo Marine’s cement carrier, 'Lelie C', has undergone maintenance works and an upgrade to its capacity, according to The Motorship. Netherlands-based Damen Shiprepair Oranjewerf completed the upgrade which included installing eight new cement silos, each with a 40m 3 capacity. "Two years ago, we installed the original tanks from the Ritske, a vessel belonging to the same client, and now we...
BDI rallies on back of coal demand
Freight rates in the dry bulk sector are rising on the back of a commodity boom. By the end of November 2017, the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) had improved by 45 per cent so far that year, coming in at over 1470 points in the closing week of the month. According to brokers, the late rise in dry bulk freight rates has been driven by renewed demand for coal in China and India. Some of this trend may b...
Fuel and SOx cap to raise charter rates
In the first weeks of October, the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) climbed to 922 points, an improvement of almost 350 per cent on the levels recorded in February. The recent strengthening of the BDI may be a result of changes in the Chinese iron ore and coal markets. Following a government-mandated decrease in domestic production, imports of Australian and Indonesian coal rose by 35 and 56 per cent, r...