SPRING BREEZE

The river Mosel in western Germany, an important route for grains and rapeseed shipments, has been closed to inland waterways shipping after an accident that damaged a lock, navigation authorities said.A lock at Mueden south of Koblenz has been damaged after a vessel collision and repairs are likely to last until spring 2025, possibly around late March, the WSA agency said. The river will be closed to cargo shipping during this period.Traders estimated that about 70 ships are blocked because of the damage, possibly causing delivery disruption.The Mosel is an important route for grain and rapeseed shipments including to and from the French port of Metz, they said.

With a strike possible again next month at East Coast and Gulf Coast container ports and President-elect Donald Trump planning to increase tariffs, the nation’s major container ports are expected to see a continued surge in imports through next spring, according to the Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.“Either a strike or new tariffs would be a blow to the economy and retailers are doing what they can to avoid the impact of either for as long as they can,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said.

Taiwan raised its alert level on Monday saying China has set up seven zones of reserved airspace and deployed naval fleets and coast guard boats in what a security source described as the first military drills across a broad swathe of the region's waters.A senior Taiwan security official told Reuters that China currently has nearly 90 navy and coast guard ships in waters near Taiwan, the southern Japanese islands and the East and South China Seas, of which around two-thirds were navy vessels.Beijing's defence ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The Western Australian Government has issued an environmental approval to Woodside and the North West Shelf joint venture for extension of the project.After six years of assessment and appeals, this is a critical step in the approvals process to underpin the ongoing operation of the North West Shelf Project so it can continue to deliver a reliable supply of energy locally and globally.The State’s decision recommences the Federal environmental approvals process, which was paused while appeals were being considered.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has launched an expression of interest (EOI) to gather proposals for scaling up liquefied natural gas (LNG) for bunkering or ship refuelling, it said in a statement on Thursday.The EOI seeks solutions for sea-based LNG reloading to complement existing onshore LNG bunkering storage and jetty capacities, as well as the supply of e-methane or bio-methane as a marine fuel in Singapore, the world's largest bunker hub.Proposals will be gathered on three areas including the scale-up of sea-based reloading operations, the supply of LNG alternatives such as liquefied bio-methane