SMT Shipmanagement & Transport Gdynia Ltd.

On February 21, 2025, the Office of the US Trade Representative (UST”) released a notice of a proposal to impose wide-ranging fees on shipping companies and vessels with a Chinese nexus. The USTR has yet to release regulatory or administrative language that implements the proposals, and there is no guarantee this will actually happen. Interested parties should consider submitting comments as well as reviewing their charterparty and other relevant agreementsSUMMARY OF USTR PROPOSALSThe USTR notice does not set forth a single unified scheme of fees; rather, the notice includes several alternative fee structures, one or more of which may be implemented.

Europe soaked up most U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports for the second straight month in February, as cold weather and strong prices pushed up demand for the superchilled gas across the Atlantic, according to preliminary data from financial firm LSEG.The U.S. is the world's largest exporter of LNG and continues to play a major role in supplying Europe since Russia's invasion of Ukraine significantly reduced the amount of Russian gas piped to Europe.In February the U.S. exported 8.35 million metric tonnes (MT) of LNG, shy of the monthly record of 8.6 MT hit in December 2023 and just short of the 8.46 MT exported in January, LSEG data showed.

U.S. proposals to hit Chinese vessels with high port fees would have a major impact on all firms in a container shipping industry in which most vessels are built in China, French-based shipping firm CMA CGM said on Friday.The U.S. Trade Representative's office has proposed charging up to $1.5 million for Chinese-built vessels entering U.S. ports as part of its investigation into China's expansion in the shipbuilding, maritime and logistics sectors."China builds more than half of all container ships in the world, so this would have a significant effect on all shipping firms," Chief Financial Officer Ramon Fernandez told reporters.

The Shenandoah floating production system (FPS) has been transported to the Gulf of America ahead of wet tow and offshore installation at the Shenandoah deepwater field at Walker Ridge project site, developed by Texas-based exploration and production company Beacon Offshore Energy.On December 13, 2024 the Shenandoah FPS sailed away from HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea, where it was built.COSCO Shipping and Guangzhou Salvage Heavy Transport (CSGS) delivered the Beacon Offshore Energy’s Shenandoah FPS to Ingleside, Texas, on February 10, 2025.

Asia's crude oil imports are off to a weak start in 2025, as top importer China continues to buy less and new sanctions put the brakes on cargoes from the continent's top supplier Russia.Asia's imports for the first two months of the year are on track to be 26.17 million barrels per day (bpd), down 780,000 bpd from the 26.96 million bpd for the same period last year, according to data compiled by LSEG Oil Research.The drop of about 3% in crude imports by Asia in the first two months of this year from the same period in 2024 brings into question the forecasts from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other analysts for solid demand growth this year.