Weight of Freight: VLGC troubles to persist through the rainy season at Panama Canal
Weight of Freight: VLGC troubles to persist through the rainy season at Panama Canal
As draught restrictions ease with the start of a much-awaited rainy season in the Panama Canal, difficulties are likely to persist for very large gas carriers (VLGCs) as other shipping markets move back to the route and escalate competition for transit slots.
Listen to Andres Pacheco, Analyst at the LPG Trading desk for Spain’s Repsol, and Yohanna Pinheiro, LPG Freight Market Reporter, discuss how increased competition to transit the Panama Canal and other market drivers will shape the costs of shipping LPG.
Listen now
Key topics covered
- Competitive advantages of the Panama Canal route in US-Asia routes for VLGCs
- Details of the Panama Canal booking system and slot auction price trends
- Effects of eased restrictions at the canal in heightening competition for slots among other markets
- Weather outlook and possible La Nina effects in the markets
- Long term projects to alleviate transits at Panama Canal
Related news
Транзит контейнеров по ТМТМ может удвоиться
Транзит контейнеров по ТМТМ может удвоиться
Riga, 13 February (Argus) — Перевозки контейнеров по Транскаспийскому международному транспортному маршруту (ТМТМ) могут вырасти в два раза в 2025 г., ожидают перевозчики. В текущем году по ТМТМ ожидается поставка примерно 600 контейнерных поездов, по прогнозам участников рынка. В 2024 г. из Китая в направлении Азербайджана было отправлено 358 контейнерных блок-поездов, что в 33 раза превысило показатели предыдущего года. При этом 146 составов (15 292 ДФЭ, 20-футовый эквивалент) проследовали транзитом через Азербайджан в направлении грузинских портов. Еще 212 составов (20 956 ДФЭ) были разгружены на станциях Азербайджана. Всего на этих поездах было перевезено 27 тыс. (40-футовый эквивалент, HC) контейнеров, по данным Азербайджанской железной дороги (АЖД). В основном в контейнерах доставлялись медицинские товары, автомобили и автозапчасти, а также продовольственные и непродовольственные товары. Из Баку транзитом через Казахстан в один из крупнейших сухих портов Китая ― Сиань 24 ноября был отправлен единственный экспортный блок-поезд с 62 40-футовыми контейнерами, груженными 1,66 тыс. т кокса. ________________ Больше ценовой информации и аналитических обзоров рынка транспортировки грузов в странах Каспийского региона и Центральной Азии — в отчете Argus Транспорт Каспия . Вы можете присылать комментарии по адресу или запросить дополнительную информацию feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Группа Argus Media . Все права защищены.
Texas ports reopen after fog: Update
Texas ports reopen after fog: Update
Updates status of Houston Ship Channel and Sabine-Neches Waterway Houston, 11 February (Argus) — Vessel movements at the Houston Ship Channel and nearby ports resumed today after closing Monday night due to fog, a ship agent said. The Houston Pilots Association, which services vessels entering or departing the port of Houston, resumed boardings for all traffic at 2:05pm ET Tuesday after opening to only outbound traffic at 10:45am ET, the US Coast Guard said. Pilots also resumed service at the nearby ports of Galveston and Texas City after closing Monday. The port of Freeport, Texas, remained open, the ship agent said. Pilot service at the Sabine-Neches Waterway on the Texas-Louisiana border resumed at 2:30pm ET Tuesday after closing at 12:30am ET, the third consecutive day with intermittent fog closures. Vessel traffic resumed at the Louisiana port of Lake Charles at 4:45am ET Tuesday, the ship agent said. Traffic there has been halted every night since 2 February due to dense fog but has remained open during the day. The October-March period that brings cooler weather to the US Gulf coast also brings periods of dense fog that can disrupt area ports, as warmer humid air collides with colder onshore air masses. Port closures can persist for several days, leading to delays and vessel congestion. Weather forecasts indicate a moderate to high chance of fog in Texas and Louisiana through Thursday morning. By Tray Swanson Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Persistent fog disrupts ports in Texas, Louisiana
Persistent fog disrupts ports in Texas, Louisiana
Houston, 11 February (Argus) — Dense fog halted marine pilot service at Texas ports again on Tuesday, a ship agent said. The Houston Pilots Association, which services vessels entering or departing the port of Houston, resumed boardings for only outbound traffic at 10:45am ET Tuesday after suspending all vessel traffic on Monday evening, the US Coast Guard said. Pilots also suspended service at the nearby ports of Galveston and Texas City. The port of Freeport, Texas, remained open, the ship agent said. Pilots halted boardings at the Sabine-Neches Waterway on the Texas-Louisiana border early Tuesday, the third consecutive day with intermittent fog closures. The waterway was last open from 8:30am Monday before closing at 12:30am ET Tuesday. Vessel traffic resumed at the Louisiana port of Lake Charles at 4:45am ET Tuesday, the ship agent said. Traffic there has been halted every night since 2 February due to dense fog but has remained open during the day. The October-March period that brings cooler weather to the US Gulf coast also brings periods of dense fog that can disrupt area ports, as warmer humid air collides with colder onshore air masses. Port closures can persist for several days, leading to delays and vessel congestion. Weather forecasts indicate a moderate to high chance of fog in Texas and Louisiana through Thursday morning. By Tray Swanson Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
EU prepares GHG rules for transshipment
EU prepares GHG rules for transshipment
Brussels, 7 February (Argus) — The European Commission's draft regulation formally listing Morocco's Tanger Med and Egypt's East Port Said as major transshipments ports inches forward with the closure of a consultation procedure on 11 February. If the regulation is adopted with no changes, only transshipment at Tanger Med and East Port Said will tie in operators to the EU's law obliging cuts in maritime greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, notably through cleaner fuels including LNG, biofuels and green ammonia. The listing of just Tanger Med and East Port Said is a partial solution to the continuing threat of carbon leakage for the European Sea Ports Organisation (Espo). The industry body further points to serious risks to the future of EU ports by only including ports exceeding a 65pc transshipment share into the EU, out of total container traffic. That will only capture a "small" part of evasion behaviour, said Espo. And the EU ports industry points to the ramping up of extra-EU investments, whereby shipping lines "are preparing their way out of the system". "If European ports are losing business and, at the same time, you don't have any positive impacts on emission reduction, then it's maybe not the way to go," said Espo secretary general Isabelle Ryckbost. She noted additional stops by ships now being made in the UK. "It's not clear what is leading to [the] transfer," Ryckbost told Argus . Aimed at boosting lower and zero-carbon maritime fuels, the EU's FuelEU Maritime regulation is designed to oblige ship operators traveling into, out of, and within EU territorial waters to reduce their GHG intensity on a lifecycle basis by 2pc in 2025. The reduction jumps to 6pc from 2030 and gradually reaches 80pc by 2050, all against a reference value of 91.16g of CO2 equivalent/MJ. The commission's draft implementing regulation on transshipment ports necessarily follows a similar solution to the one laid out in the bloc's reformed emissions trading system , which expanded the scope of the scheme to include maritime emissions. This foresees that only 50pc of a ship's energy used on voyages to or from Tanger Med and East Port Said to the EU port would fall under FuelEU Maritime obligations. For the last leg from Tanger Med and East Port Said to the EU port, ships would need to comply fully with FuelEU Maritime GHG intensity cuts. By Dafydd ab Iago Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Related content
