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U.S. refiner Valero Energy Corp was granted a Jones Act waiver, sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday, after a cyberattack shut the Colonial Pipeline late last week, creating a fuel crunch in several parts of the U.S. Southeast and Northeast.Jones Act waivers are a key way to ensure fuel supplies reach some of the hardest hit areas as pump prices continue to surge while Colonial begins to ramp up flows on its pipeline network that transports more than 2.5 million barrels of fuel every day.The Jones Act requires goods moved between U.S. ports to be carried by ships built domestically and staffed by U.S. crews.

The global seafarers crisis takes center stage at the World Maritime University (WMU), as Dr. Michael Ekow Manuel discusses the importance of seafarers, seafarer training and the MarTID 2021 survey.While many maritime professionals have the theoretical ‘salt in their veins’, a career at sea seemingly predestined by family ties and/or geographic proximity, that is not the case for Dr. Michael Manuel, Professor, WMU. Hailing from Ghana, Dr. Manuel from a young age had a fascination with vehicles and everything that moves, but ships were not his focus, rather airplanes.

The Baltic exchange's main sea freight index fell to a near two-week low on Thursday pressured by a decline in capesize and panamax vessel rates.The Baltic dry index, which tracks rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels ferrying dry bulk commodities, fell 62 points, or 2%, to 3,077, the lowest since April 30.The capesize index fell 160 points, or 3.4%, to 4,549, its lowest since April 27.Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes of coal and steel-making ingredient iron ore, decreased by $1,331 to $37,724.The panamax index fell 50 points, or 1.6%, to 3,017.

German container shipper Hapag-Lloyd said on Wednesday it increased its net profit in the first quarter to 1.2 billion euros ($1.45 billion) and kept up its guidance for "clearly higher" full year earnings."We concluded the first quarter with a very positive financial result and look back overall on a solid start to the year," said Rolf Habben Jansen, chief executive of Hapag-Lloyd, the world's number five container liner.Its net profit had slumped to 25 million euros a year ago as the coronavirus pandemic hit.

ABB Marine & Ports said it has developed a new Blended Learning program for Azipod propulsion in response to customers’ requests for safe and efficient training of crews during global travel restrictions.The new program combines traditional classroom training with instructor-led lessons via conference call, assignments and e-learning available on the ABB Marine Academy digital learning platform; remote simulator training developed with support from the Aboa Mare Maritime Academy and Training Center in Turku, Finland“Our customers require Azipod propulsion training before crew go onboard to ensure competence and that equipment is used most efficiently