One of the world’s biggest liquefied natural gas suppliers, QatarEnergy, is in talks with Japanese firms for a long-term deal to supply LNG from its North Field expansion project, five trading and industry sources told Reuters.

Under the deal, Qatar would supply a consortium of Japanese importers, and a volume of at least 3 million metric tons per annum of gas would be split between them, four of the sources said.

If agreed, it would help to confirm Doha’s decades-old dominance of the Japanese market, as competition intensifies from the United States and from neighbouring Gulf suppliers, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, that offer more flexible contract terms.

It would also be the first deal since Reuters reported in October that Qatar was finding it hard to agree to LNG term deals with east Asian buyers in Japan and South Korea due to competition.

The buyers in talks with QatarEnergy include JERA, Japan’s largest power generator and trading house Mitsui & Co, said four of the sources, who declined to be identified as they were not authorised to speak to the media.

QatarEnergy did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment, while JERA said it is in discussions with various suppliers for LNG procurement. It recognised Qatar as an…

Freight rates for ESPO Blend crude shipped from the Russian port of Kozmino to China eased further in April to the lowest since mid-January on higher availability of tankers, three traders said.

Lower rates mean Russian exporters will spend less on freight and earn more for their oil.

Freight rates on the route have eased to levels of around $2 million-3 million for April-loading cargoes from $4 million-5 million for February and March volumes as more non-sanctioned tankers have joined the ESPO market, they added.

Russia’s ESPO Blend oil price fell below the $60 per barrel Western price cap level for the first time ever early in April as the international Brent benchmark plummeted to the lowest levels in years, Reuters calculations based on three trading sources showed.

The price has been changing since then, but remains around the $60 per barrel cap, the traders said.

“ESPO Blend hovers around $60 (per barrel). Higher oil prices and lower freight rates may bring its price back above the cap again”, complicating the process of finding a vessel, one of the traders said.

The cost of transporting ESPO Blend to China jumped to $6 million-$7.5 million after U.S. sanctions were placed on vessels involved in Russian oil shipments on January 10,…

StormGeo, a provider of maritime technology solutions, has partnered with the Finnish artificial intelligence (AI) analytics company Awake.AI to deliver AI-powered port analytics to its clients.

StormGeo will promote and deliver Awake.AI’s advanced port call analytics integrated in its s-Insight solution, further enhancing its voyage optimization services.

The partnership will offer StormGeo clients improved ETA predictions on competing vessels and better visibility into port congestion, securing efficient deployment of their vessels, enabling just-in-time arrivals, and reducing emissions further.

Awake.AI’s solution is configured to over 3,000 ports and performs over 1.5 million voyage predictions daily. It analyzes a wide range of data, including historical traffic and emissions data, AIS data, and vessel data, to create safe and efficient port calls and avoid unnecessary idle time.

“Port congestion and inefficient ship-port interactions contribute significantly to delays, emissions, and operational costs. By teaming up with Awake.AI, we are enhancing our voyage optimization services by allowing our clients to plan their port calls more accurately and efficiently and ultimately help the industry save fuel and reduce emissions,” said Rolf…

Benny Cenac Jr.’s Houma based Main Iron Works Company has completed the 10th boat newbuild for Ingram Marine Group. This partnership with Main Iron Works and Ingram began in 2021 and included the construction of 10 new towboats to be completed by the end of 2024.  The first towboat, the Adrienne M. Moore was delivered to Ingram on March 30, 2021 with the 10th and last – M/V David North – delivered on January 29, 2025.

M/V David North measures 69 x 30 x 10.5-ft. and is powered by twin Caterpillar C32 800 hp tier 3 diesel engines.  It has a pair of Northern Lights 99kw generators.  The vessel is considered a fleet boat for Ingram but does have full live aboard details including beds for up to an eight-person crew and is completely Subchapter M compliant.  M/V David North will be service the Intracoastal Water Way between Baton Rouge and Houston, as well as the Mississippi River.  

The vessel was named after Ingram employee, David North, the General Manager of Customer Services and Logistics.  He oversees the scheduling or barge movements for Ingram throughout the U.S., and was described by his peers at the recent christening ceremony as a dedicated employee, jack-of-all-trades, kind, good-hearted friend who will go above and beyond for…

Before EEDI was enforced in 2013, there were no efficiency criteria for newbuild vessels, meaning there are a large portion of low quality, poor efficiency vessels in the fleet that are aging to the 15YO+ age range. Credit: Veson Nautical

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) recently hosted the 83rd meeting with the Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC 83), resulting in a new fuel intensity target, which is set to come into force no later than March 2027.

This new regulation is similar to the Fuel EU regulation enforced this year, but with global fleet coverage. The major effect of this new IMO GHG regulation will be to enforce a financial penalty for using cheaper, carbon intensive fuels like Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO), with the money collected from the scheme being fed back into the “IMO Net-Zero Fund” which will used to develop and support green shipping initiatives.

The regulation should level the playing field for alternative fuels such as ammonia and methanol. Due to the significantly higher costs of building and operating alternative-fueled vessels, these vessels are at a significant economic disadvantage compared to those that are conventionally fueled, unless use…

U.S. President Donald Trump’s energy security council plans to host a summit in Alaska in early June, when it hopes Japan and South Korea will announce commitments to the Alaska LNG project, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

Trump has touted the $44 billion Alaska liquefied natural gas project, which would deliver gas from the state’s North Slope fields via an 800-mile (1,300-km) pipeline for domestic use and also ship it to customers in Asia as LNG, bypassing the Panama Canal.

While the project has been talked about for years, progress has been limited by cost and the amount of work needed.

Trump, who has pushed allies to buy U.S. energy while simultaneously threatening trade tariffs, has asked Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to support the Alaskan plan.

Last month, Taiwanese state energy company CPC Corp signed a non-binding agreement with the state-run Alaska Gasline Development Corp, to buy LNG and invest in the project, a move Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te said would ensure the island’s energy security.

The summit being planned by Trump’s National Energy Dominance Council, which wants to maximize production of oil and gas, would take place around June 2. It was first reported by The New York Times.

The Department of…

AS Tallink Grupp has published its unaudited financial results for the first quarter of the current financial year to the stock exchange. The net loss for the period amounted to USD$37.7 million (EUR 33.2 million).

“The first quarter was undoubtedly challenging for the company. Consumer and business confidence remains low, with the economic situation in our home markets and ongoing global geopolitical tensions setting the tone. Additionally, extended docking periods and four idle vessels had a significant impact on our results,” said Paavo Nõgene, CEO of AS Tallink Grupp. “On the other hand, if we exclude the impact of the four idle vessels, our results are in line with those of the first quarter of 2019. We are working daily to resolve the issue of the idle vessels—for example, the passenger ferry Star I has now been sold and handed over to its new owner.” 

The Group’s unaudited consolidated revenue for the first quarter totaled USD$156 million (EUR 137.3 million). EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) was negative at USD$4.3 million (EUR 3.8 million), and the net loss amounted to USD$37.7 million (EUR 33.2 million). 

Investments during the first quarter totaled USD$15.1 million (EUR 13.3 million),…