AL RAYYAN

Höegh Xiamen car carrier has been declared "a constructive total loss" following a fire that broke out on the vessel in early June in Jacksonville, USA.The Höegh Xiamen car carrier is owned by Ocean Yield and is on a bareboat contract to Höegh Autoliners. The fire broke out on June 4, shortly after the vessel had completed loading operations at Blount Island, Jacksonville, Florida. It was extinguished late on June 12.During the initial response, several firefighters sustained serious injuries.

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index rose to register a seventh straight weekly gain on Friday, as demand gained steam across all vessel segments.The Baltic dry index, which tracks rates for ships ferrying dry bulk commodities and reflects rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels, rose 71 points, or 3.9%, to 1,894, climbing to its highest since mid-October 2019 and rising 8.3% for the week.Easing virus-led lockdowns in China have boosted demand for iron-ore, helping the index to gain 73.8% so far this year.The Baltic capesize index gained 176 points, or 4.1%, to 4,440.

Djibouti has carried out the first crew change of merchant sailors in its territory and is ready to get home more seafarers who have been stranded by the coronavirus, a senior port official said.Lying on the Bab al-Mandab strait, which is one of the world's busiest shipping chokepoints, Djibouti is a critical transit hub. More than 2,500 ships transit and call at its ports annually.Continued complications with changing over ship crews due to coronavirus restrictions in some jurisdictions is still affecting supply chains despite an easing of lockdown in many parts of the world.

Global supply of fuel oil, used by ships and power plants, is expected to grow in the third quarter, depressing the marine fuel market as shipping demand remains weak, analysts and trade sources said.Third-quarter supply is estimated to rise by 620,000 barrels per day (bpd) from the second quarter as China and Brazil increase production, according to consultancy Energy Aspects.This comes as inventories across key marine refueling hubs recently reached all-time highs, depressing bunker fuel prices and refiners' margins and dashing hopes for a profitable year for sellers of low sulfur fuel that meets new emission regulations set by the International Maritime Organization.

Offshore wind turbine installation company Fred. Olsen Windcarrier back in March said it had struck a deal to equip one of its jack-up installation vessels with a 1600t crane for next-gen offshore wind turbines. While the company at the time did not say which vessel exactly would sport the new crane, it Friday revealed that the jack-up unit picked is the Brave Tern. "We can now announce that the new crane will be installed on Brave Tern! With her new crane and additional improvements to deck space and stability, Brave Tern will be capable of handling ALL known next-generation turbines and installing foundations up to 1500t. The crane will be fully commissioned and installed in 2022.