The Port of Fujairah’s (POF) position as an influential energy trading hub has been bolstered following the inauguration of its new $175m VLCC jetty.

The coming into force of the Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention on 8 September next year could see some tanker owners deciding to scrap vessels rather than shell out for expensive Ballast Water Treatment System (BWTS) retrofits.

GAC Yemen is poised to receive a second tanker at Ash Shihr Oil Terminal but the resumption of crude exports from the Gulf of Aden port is understandably running at a trickle with no confirmed bookings beyond Saturday’s scheduled call.

A VLCC and a containership have collided in the Singapore Strait at about 23:55pm local time on 3 August, with no injuries or oil pollution reported, according to Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).

National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri) has announced a net profit of Saudi Riyals (SAR) 1.116m ($297.59m) for the first half of 2016, a whopping 50% period-on-period increase.  

The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has offered another sweetener to cost-conscious VLCC operators tempted to sail around Cape Horn en-route to the Arabian Gulf to avoid its tolls.

Bahri is poised to expand its already sizeable involvement in the VLCC sector by as many as 15 vessels through a deal with Arab Petroleum Investments Corp (Apicorp) to launch a $1.5bn investment fund.


In a boost for Japanese shipbuilders Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line) has ordered three VLCCs and two aframax newbuildings.

An “experimental” new toll for VLCCs transiting the Suez Canal could save the ship’s operator in excess of $70,000 for each northbound trip from the Middle East to the Mediterranean, Seatrade Maritime News has learned.

Frontline is eyeing the acquisition of secondhand VLCCs, but could cancel four newbuildings on order from bankrupt yard STX Offshore & Shipbuilding.