North European ammonia-powered shortsea shipping project Flexbulk – NH3 has signed its eighth charterer, aggregates shipping company Stema Shipping.

The container and dry bulk sectors are the most vulnerable to risks from the world economy but uncertainties prevail in other sectors too.

Marubeni has signed an agreement to install a Bound4Blue suction sail system aboard panamax bulk carrier Crimson Kingdom.

Greek shipowners are continuing to renew their fleet as more newbuilding contracts emerge. As of mid-October some 234 tankers, bulkers, containerships and gas carriers were contracted along with three pure car carriers.

Tomini Shipping in Dubai has acquired two more handysize dry bulk vessels, bringing the total joining its fleet this year to 13.

China’s northeast port operator, Liaoning Port Group, has inked strategic cooperation Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Brazilian mining company Vale to strengthen collaboration.

Tanker and sale and purchase broker Galbraiths and dry bulk specialist IFCHOR are set to merge with a share for share agreement that is expected to close within the next few weeks.

Japanese shipowner NYK has ordered two LNG-fuelled coal carriers from Oshima Shipbuilding.

Russia has suspended its involvement in the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the international agreement which has brought almost 10m tonnes of grain to the world market.

There has been an increase in the number of incidents of theft, robbery and piracy against ships in the Philip Channel in the west of the Singapore Strait this year.