FRI KVAM

Insurance claims for damage to ships, goods and the port itself after a warehouse explosion last week in the port of Beirut were likely to total less than $250 million, reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter said on Monday.Overall insured losses - including property damage - from the August 4 port warehouse detonation of more than 2,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate may reach around $3 billion, sources told Reuters last week.The explosion killed at least 163 people, injured more than 6,000 and destroyed swathes of the Mediterranean capital.Guy Carpenter said its vessel tracking data showed 10 vessels were within 1.6 kilometers of the blast.

A Japanese bulk carrier that ran aground off Mauritius and has leaked at least an estimated 1,000 tonnes of oil, passed the latest annual inspection in March with no problems, Japan's ClassNK inspection body said on Tuesday.The ship, MV Wakashio, is owned by Nagashiki Shipping and operated by Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd.Mitsui OSK said earlier on Tuesday it had set up a task force and was cooperating with the authorities in Japan and Mauritius.The company said it was preparing to dispatch personnel to the site."We will do our utmost towards resolving the situation quickly," the company said in a statement.

Norwegian offshore vessel owner Solstad Offshore has secured more work for three of its offshore vessels in Australia, following a recently announced deal with BP.As previously reported, Solstad offshore earlier in August said BP would use two anchor handling tug and supply vessels Normand Saracen and Far Senator, along with the platform supply vessel Normand Leader to support its Ironbark drilling campaign. The vessels are expected to start their BP work in the fourth quarter of 2020.The Solstad vessel trio is now expected to stay in Australia throughout 2021 as the company on Tuesday said it had won more work for the vessels with an undisclosed oil company.

Four new 90-meter oil/deck cargo barges for Canada's Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) Marine Transportation Services (MTS) have been launched by Nanjing Jinling Shipyard, in Nanjing, China.The first barge MTS 3501 was launched on June 16, followed by barge MTS 3502 launched on June 22 and barges MTS 3503 and MTS 3504 launched on June 28.The barges will undergo final testing and touch-up work in preparation for the 400-kilometer tow down the Yangtse River to Shanghai where they will be loaded onto a semi-submersible heavy lift vessel and transported to Tuktoyaktuk, in the Northwest Territories, in Northern Canada.The barges are designed by Robert Allan Ltd.

Royal Caribbean Group said on Monday testing passengers for COVID-19 was “very likely” going to be part of a new set of safety measures planned to get its ships to resume sailing after months of being docked.The company’s shares rose as much as 11% in early trading.“We have not yet reached a point in our protocols where we’re ready to publish and release for discussion. But it’s very likely that testing will occur,” said Michael Bayley, chief executive officer of Royal Caribbean International.