MCALLISTER TOWING & TRANSPORTATION

A Singapore-flagged containership lost at least 40 containers overboard in heavy seas off the coast of Sydney, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said on Monday.Just after 6:10 a.m., the APL England experienced a temporary loss of propulsion and began rolling heavily in heavy seas, causing container stacks to collapse and several containers to fall overboard in about 2,000 meters water depth, about 73 kilometres south east of Sydney.The ship's power was restored within a few minutes, but the vessel, which had been en route from Ningbo, China to Melbourne, has altered course and is now heading to Brisbane. AMSA said it will inspect the containership upon arrival.

Tanker shipping: sky high freight rates replaced by reality of falling global oil demandGeopolitical tensions have now eased, leaving freight rates to feel the full effects of the weak underlying market and falling demand. Tanker shipping looks set to be under pressure for the rest of the year.Demand drivers and freight ratesThe tanker shipping industry was once again caught in a whirlwind, as freight rates skyrocketed with little regard to the poor market fundamentals before the latter once again caught up with rates.

The Bulgarian captain of a Portuguese-flagged cargo ship who was kidnapped along with seven other sailors by pirates off the coast of Benin last month, has been freed, Bulgaria’s foreign ministry said on Monday.The captain of the container ship Tommi Ritscher, which was attacked at the port of Cotonou in the Gulf of Guinea on April 19, was already in an European country and would soon return to Bulgaria, the ministry said in a statement.The ministry said it has been in close coordination with the ship’s owners but did not give other details. It’s unclear what whether the other seven sailors have been released.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has given his government a week to process some 24,000 repatriated Filipino workers stuck for weeks on cruise ships or in coronavirus quarantine, so they can finally go home.Thousands are aboard cruise vessels off Manila Bay or stuck in hotels and crowded health facilities, some growing frustrated having tested negative for the coronavirus and completed the mandated 14-day quarantine.Overseas Filipino Workers, or OFWs, are breadwinners and a key support base of Duterte. Their more than $30 billion of annual remittances is a key driver of the Philippine economy, sustaining millions of family members.

Two fisherman reportedly adrift for two weeks and presumed lost at sea were rescued with help from a good Samaritan towboat crew and the U.S. Coast Guard.Domingo Jimenez, 45, and Ramon Castillo, 29, both from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, departed Samana, Dominican Republic on May 2. On May 5, USCG Sector San Juan watchstanders received a report from a concerned family member stating Jimenez and Castillo were overdue after heading out in their 25-foot vessel to fish approximately 132 miles northeast of Samana.The U.S.