South America News

Port worker unions in Argentina cut short a planned strike in grains shipping ports in the Rosario region following government-ordered talks, a union head said on Thursday, in welcome news for the country's farm exports.The area north of the city of Rosario along the Parana River is Argentina's main agricultural exports hub, where more than 80% of its processed soybeans, corn, wheat and other farm products are shipped to global markets.The FESIMAF maritime workers federation, which groups several unions…

Maritime labour unions in Argentina announced on Thursday they would cease all activities in ports for 48 hours.The United Maritime Workers Union in a post on Facebook said that the Tugboat Owners Chamber (C.A.R.) has refused to negotiate an expired bargaining agreement, prompting the union to halt work.However, in light of concerns over potential energy supply shortages, the union confirmed that tugboats, which guide vessels supplying thermoelectric power plants and LNG gas tankers, will continue operations.The exception was made to prevent additional pressure on the energy sector.(Reuters -

The Panama Canal is exploring the construction of a new water reservoir that would provide capacity for 11 additional ship crossings, the administrator of the key global waterway said in a statement on Tuesday.The administration is also seeking to make its ship reservation system "more permanent," the statement added.(Reuters - Reporting by Elida Moreno)

Norwegian offshore vessel operator DOF Group has secured a ‘major contract’ from Petrobras for its pipelay support vessel (PLSV) Skandi Vitória.DOF secured a three-year firm contract, plus option, for its PLSV Skandi Vitória as part of an ongoing tender process.The contract starts in 2025, according to DOF.The vessel is Brazilian-built and flagged and owned by DOFCON Navegação, a joint venture between DOF Subsea (50%) and TechnipFMC (50%).kandi Vitória is an ROV construction support vessel…

Petrobras' new chief executive said a basin in Brazil's Equatorial Margin, an environmentally sensitive offshore prospect seen as the country's most promising frontier for oil exploration, was a matter of "national interest."Magda Chambriard, who took over as the state-controlled oil company's chief executive after President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva fired its former CEO this month, said on Monday she wanted to escalate talks about the region near Guyana to the National Council of Energy Policy (CNPE)…

Van Oord said it has finished the dredging of the outer channel to the Port of Suape in the Northeast of Brazil. The dredging of the channel up to 20 meters enables the port to handle larger, more efficient, container and (liquid) bulk vessels.Van Oord has deepened the access channel to the Port of Suape from 15 to 20 meters. To execute the project, Van Oord deployed various dredgers to meet the challenges of the project. It is a major milestone for Van Oord and for the Port of Suape that the project has now been completed.Tim Helbo…

The specialized vessel Sapura Ônix is on its way to Atlanta Field in Santos Basin, offshore Brazil, where it will carry out the installation of subsea equipment to support the oil production, targeted for August 2024.Brazilian oil and gas company Enauta said the Sapura Ônix vessel is en route to install multiphase pumps (MPPs), umbilicals for power and data transmission, and production risers, connecting the wells’ subsea infrastructure to FPSO Atlanta.The FPSO Atlanta, chartered and operated by Malaysia’s Yinson Production…

Black & Veatch has completed a feasibility study for the planned Andes Energy Terminal, a liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification terminal and power plant.The study assessed site suitability, project design requirements, capital and operating costs, financial viability, financing options, climate resilience, and implementation and construction plans.Beginning with a site assessment that focused on the landscape of the area, regulatory restrictions and accessibility, the study…

Hong Kong-based Cosco Shipping Ports said on Saturday that a worker died in an early-morning accident at a megaport it is building on Peru's Pacific coast.The worker was doing sanding and painting work at the deepwater Chancay Port Terminal when the accident occurred, the company said in a statement.The company said it was investigating the circumstances of the incident and was coordinating with authorities.Cosco, which began developing Chancay port in 2019 as a hub in the South American Pacific…

The Chinese state-owned company at the center of a dispute over operations of a megaport it is building on Peru's Pacific coast insisted on Tuesday on terms agreed with the government, as some local officials have sought to backtrack on the deal.Hong Kong-based Cosco Shipping Ports will defend its legal rights to provide services as the exclusive operator of the deepwater Chancay Port Terminal under "terms that were agreed at the beginning of this investment," the firm said in…

Compagnie Maritime Monegasque (CMM) has secured $94 million in financing from Summit Ridge Capital Partners, which will help the company construct pioneering ethanol-powered fleet of Platform Supply Vessels (PSVs) in Brazil.The financing will enable CMM to recompose its shareholder structure and to expand its fleet, the company said. Panorama Capital Partners sourced and advised on the transaction, and participated as a co-investor.As part of this expansion, CMM will construct pioneering ethanol powered PSV fleet in Brazil.

The ABS-classed Liza Unity has received the first REMOTE-CON notation for an floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) from ABS. The notation demonstrates the vessel’s alignment with remote-control functions and signifies that the design and construction of the offshore asset are assessed against and adhere to the ABS Requirements for Autonomous and Remote Control Functions.The Liza Unity is the second FPSO to be built for ExxonMobil Guyana’s Stabroek Block development and the first delivered under SBM Offshore’s Fast4Ward program.

Malaysia-based offshore services firm Sapura Energy has through its joint venture companies secured $1.8 billion worth of contracts with Brazil’s state-owned energy giant Petrobras for the provision of subsea services and six pipe-laying support vessels (PLSVs).Sapura Energy has through the joint ventures owned by Seabras Sapura Holding and Seabras Sapura Participações, in collaboration with Paratus Energy Services, secured contracts for its full fleet of six multi-purpose PLSVs as part of a competitive tender process run by Petrobras.Sapura Energy…

In 2018, convicted cocaine trafficker Slobodan Kostovski fled a Brazilian prison and made his way back to Europe with a fake passport.The Serbian senior quickly fell into old habits, police allege. Last August, Kostovski was arrested in Belgrade, accused of shipping 2.7 metric tonnes of cocaine from Brazil aboard a 22-meter vessel apprehended near Spain’s Canary Islands.Nicknamed “the General” by his associates, he had been trafficking “large amounts” of powder to “Europe for a long period of time,” Serbian police wrote in a 2022 intelligence report obtained exclusively by Reuters.

Norwegian offshore vessel operator DOF Group has secured two contracts with Brazil’s state-run oil and gas company Petrobras, worth over $192 million.Petrobras has awarded new long-term charter and service contracts to Norskan Offshore. and DOF Subsea Servicos Brasil, after a competitive tender process.The vessel Skandi Amazonas, which was on the spot market, is chartered for three years firm with two years mutually agreed option via Petrobras tender issued late in 2023, to operate…

An accident with a shiploader at the sugar terminal in the Recife port in Northeastern Brazil suspended loading operations at the site, according to a note from shipping company Williams Brazil late on Thursday.The company said the shiploader collapsed and a part of the machine fell inside the cargo hold of a vessel that was docked at the port to load raw sugar.The press service at the Recife port confirmed the accident, adding that nobody was hurt.The port said experts are evaluating the situation and there is still no time frame for the repair.

The Biden administration said it would not renew a license set to expire early on Thursday that had broadly eased Venezuela oil sanctions, moving to reimpose punitive measures in response to President Nicolas Maduro’s failure to meet his election commitments.Just hours before the deadline, the U.S. Treasury Department announced on its website that it had issued a replacement license giving companies 45 days to “wind down” their business and transactions in the OPEC country's oil…

China's Cosco Shipping confirmed that investment in Peru's Chancay port continues and that it expects a quick resolution to a pending question over exclusivity rights to the facility, a local executive told reporters on Tuesday.Carlos Tejada, the company's general manager in Peru, made the announcement at an international trade event in the capital Lima.Last month, the Asian shipping firm said it was evaluating the impact of a move by Peru's government to annul the exclusivity it holds over operations at the under-construction megaport, seen as a key driver of growth for the South American cou

A resolution to end a dispute between Peru and China's Cosco Shipping could come as soon as this week to ensure a megaport will start operations as planned by the end of the year, Peru's Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzen said on Thursday.The Peruvian port authority said in Marchit hoped to annul its decision granting exclusivity of the port's operations to Cosco, citing an "administrative error."Cosco, which is investing $1.3 billion in the first stage of the terminal, has said the push affects the "security and legal stability of investments."On Thursday…

Norwegian shipowner Siem Offshore has secured new contracts with TotalEnergies for two of its platform supply vessels (PSV) for work offshore Brazil.The contracts are for Siem Giant and Siem Atlas PSVs.The new duration for Siem Giant is three years firm with options up to four more years.For Siem Atlas, the new duration is nine months firm with options until the end of the second quarter in 2027.Both vessels will start the contracts in June 2024 in direct continuation of present contracts…

Norwegian offshore vessel owner Siem Offshore has been awarded a contract extension for the multi-purpose support vessel (MPSV) Siem Dorado.According to Siem Offshore, the extension secures the utilization of Siem Dorado MPSV for a period reaching towards the end of the fourth quarter in 2024.The contract is expected to start in direct continuation of the current contract with continued operations expected outside the North Sea.The Siem Dorado is a 2009-built diesel electric-driven vessel.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and Brazil’s state-owned energy giant Petrobras have signed a charter contract for cargo transfer vessel (CTV) SeaLoader 2, and agreed to start negotiations for a new CTV shipbuilding contract by the end of 2024.MOL signed the deal through its wholly owned subsidiary, SeaLoading Holding, which owns and operates CTVs.SeaLoading started a CTV agreement with Petrobras for SeaLoader 2 on a trial period in January 2022, and successfully completed more than 30 crude oil offloading operations from Petrobras' FPSOs located in the Santos Basin…

Venezuela's oil exports slightly increased in February to some 670,000 barrels per day (bpd), but ongoing shipping delays worsened a bottleneck of tankers waiting to load, according to documents and vessel monitoring data.State-run oil firm PDVSA's customers have rushed to send tankers to Venezuela in recent months to pick up crude and fuel before the United States potentially reimposes oil sanctions.Restrictions could resume on April 18 when an existing license expires, the U.S.