According to ICIS reports, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has suspended the implementation of port fees levied on Chinese ships for two months, and the original effective date of November 10 has been postponed to January 9 (the original report does not include the year, and is calculated as "January 9, 2027" based on the "two-month delay"; if there is still no new agreement by then). During the extension period, neither party will have payment obligations for transportation service fees and related product taxes. The United States initially announced in October In 2025, China will impose a reciprocal fee on U.S.-affiliated ships entering Chinese ports for ships owned, operated or built by China; the original proposal had planned to charge a maximum of US$1.5 million per U.S. port call for each Chinese-built ship.
Baltic Exchange route assessment shows that VLCC freight rates have rebounded this week after finding a bottom last weekend: the Middle East Gulf-China TD3C route rose 48 points a week to WS1262.5, corresponding to a round trip time charter equivalent (TCE) of US$1.346 million/day; the Gulf of Oman-China TD34 increased even more, rising 89 points to WS659.29. In the same week, TC1 of LR2 (75kt Middle East Gulf-Japan) The index fell 99 points to WS1003, and the round-trip TCE fell by US$33.2,000 to US$288.7,000 per day. The trends of clean tankers and large ships diverged.
Mitsui O.S. Lines (MOL) and Belgium's CMB.TECH held a joint naming ceremony for three ammonia-fueled capesize bulk carriers on October 29 at China State Shipbuilding Corporation's Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding. The ship names are "RURI MIRAI", "RURI SEKAI" and "RURI HIKARI". The load capacity of this type of ship is approximately 209.8 thousand tons, and the total length is 299.95 meters. Equipped with two 3,000 cubic meters ammonia fuel tanks, they will be completed gradually from early 2027 and are jointly owned by both parties. Mitsui O.S. Lines time charters and operates it. Mitsui O.S. Lines claims that this is the world’s first ammonia-fueled capesize bulk carrier, and will also become its first net-zero emission ocean-going ship to be put into operation.
According to Qichacha information, Yangzhou COSCO Shipping Engine Co., Ltd. was established on October 22 with a registered capital of 30 million yuan. It is indirectly wholly-owned by China Ocean Shipping Group. Its business scope covers the manufacturing of marine supporting equipment, the manufacturing and sales of marine engineering equipment, etc. Previously, on July 11, COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry and the Yangzhou Municipal Government signed a framework agreement for the marine engine project, with a planned investment of approximately 5 billion yuan. It is planned to produce 80 to 120 methanol dual-fuel and clean energy marine main engines annually; the establishment of the engine company provides an operating carrier for the agreement.
According to DP World's announcement in April this year, the shoreline of the Posorja Terminal has been extended to 700 meters (an additional 232.5 meters), and can operate two post-Panamax ships at the same time; the company said that by the end of 2026, the shoreline will reach 800 meters, and the annual throughput capacity will be increased to 1.4 millionTEU. The project is part of a private investment of about 190 million US dollars, and two all-electric post-Panamax quay cranes will be deployed. It should be noted that this article only reproduces the official website April The caliber of the 2026 announcement; "the coastline has reached 800 meters" and "investment of about 200 million US dollars" and other subsequent stage data have not been confirmed in the announcement, and this article will not be quoted.
U.S. offshore drilling contractor Noble Corporation has secured a series of new contracts in the waters of Uruguay, Nigeria, Ghana, Peru and Norway. Since the fleet status report in July, the new contract value has been approximately US$560 million. As of October 26, the order book on hand has reached US$6.7 billion (excluding demobilization revenue). The contract coverage rate of 23 operating floating platforms in the third quarter was 66% (64% in the previous quarter), and approximately 44 new floating platform orders were added. The leading daily rate of first-class drilling ships is in the middle of the range of US$400,000 to US$500,000; the utilization rate of the five ultra-harsh environment jack-up platforms is 86%, and the daily rate is US$230,000 to US$300,000.
The Russian government announced that it would extend a general ban on diesel exports by manufacturers until the end of January 2027, while retaining some export volumes on the grounds that it maintains the stability of the domestic fuel market. Deputy Prime Minister Novak said that it plans to export about 2.15 million tons of diesel in November and about 510,000 tons this month; as of late October, four tankers carrying Russian diesel have left Baltic Sea ports. The text of the decree that the ban will take effect has not yet been announced. Ukraine's continued attacks on Russian refineries may also affect export volumes.
The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways of India announced the approval of a container manufacturing promotion plan with a total amount of 100 billion rupees (approximately US$1.05 billion), with the goal of increasing domestic annual production capacity from the current approximately 70,000TEU to 750,000TEU. The implementation period is from the fiscal year 2027-28 to the 2039-40 fiscal year. Among them, 88.91 billion rupees are used for operating subsidies: a subsidy of 49,500 rupees (approximately US$520) per 20-foot container, 86,625 rupees (approximately US$911) for a 40-foot box; the local matching rate is required to be no less than 70% initially, and will be raised to 90% from the 2032-33 fiscal year.