In regard to the difficulties found in conducting a safe and efficient ballast water exchange in the waters between China and South Korea, the two countries have agreed on exemption of ballast water exchange requirements for international ships sailing between these two regions.
The Philippines denounced the crew of a Chinese fishing boat that collided with a Philippine ship and then left 22 Filipino fishermen abandoned in the South China Sea. According to the Filipino defense ministry, the collision occurred on June 9, near the Reed Bank.
Port of Oakland reported that its containerized agricultural exports are boosting, despite the trade war. The farm good shipments in the first four months of 2019 saw a 12% increase from the previous year. According to the port, the majority of its shipments are sent to Asia, despite US’s tariffs.
Economic growth around the world is decreasing, and various governments, including Germany, China and South Korea, have announced stimulus packages to boost their economies. In fact, the International Monetary Fund expects global GDP growth to slow from 3.6% in 2018 to 3.3% in 2019, before returning to 3.6% in 2020.
China’s foreign trade recorded a steady growth in the first five months of 2019, in spite of increasing uncertainties. Namely, China’s foreign trade of goods grew by 4.1% year on year in the first five months of 2019, reaching 12.1 trillion yuan, according to data from the General Administration of Customs.
Japanese Marubeni Corporation (Marubeni) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Chinese Sinopec for cooperation in the field of marine fuels ahead the IMO’s global sulphur cap. The agreement was signed on 5 June in Zhoushan, China.
During the 2019 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Novatek, Sovcomflot, Cosco Shippinh Corporation Limited, and the Silk Road Fund Co., Ltd, signed a four-party agreement to establish a joint venture Maritime Arctic Transport LLC. The focus of the Maritime Arctic Transport joint venture is to manage an icebreaking tanker fleet of Arctic ice-class vessels.
A crane collapsed at Yangzijiang Shipbuilding’s Yangzi Xinfu yard, on June 10, falling into a bulk carrier which was under construction at the time. The accident caused extensive damages to the ship, while two workers were injured, one of whom died. Yangzijiang Shipbuilding provided a comment into the incident, saying that the crane collapsed due to overweight lifting operations.
Under its ambitious space program, China successfully launched a rocket from a ship at sea for the very first time on Wednesday, becoming the third country after the US and Russia to master sea launch technology. The Long March 11 rocket blasted off from a platform on a large semi-submersible barge in the Yellow Sea.
According to local sources, Chinese authorities in Shandong Province detained the 3rd officer of cargo ship Jin Hai Xiang (IMO 9118824) on suspicion of negligence in response to the fatal incident that took place on May, when 10 died due to CO2 leak onboard the vessel.
