Tag Archives: TRNSPT

Business

Southwest flight upheaval a ‘system failure,’ U.S. says

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WASHINGTON, Dec 28 (Reuters) – U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Wednesday ratcheted up pressure on Southwest Airlines (LUV.N), saying thousands more canceled flights indicated a system failure at the low-cost carrier.

“We are past the point where they could say this is a weather-driven issue,” Buttigieg said in an interview posted by ABC News on its website. “Don’t get me wrong, all of this began with that severe storm. We saw winter weather affecting the country and severely disrupting all airlines.”

Nationwide, at least 60 people died in weather-related incidents in recent days, NBC News reported.

The rest of the aviation system and other airlines seemed to be back from the weather disruptions, Buttigieg said.

“So what this indicates is a system failure (at Southwest), and they need to make sure that these stranded passengers get to where they need to go and that they are provided adequate compensation, not just for the flights itself … but also things like hotels, like ground transportation, like meals because this is the airlines’ responsibility,” he said, adding he had spoken to the company’s leadership.

U.S. airlines had canceled thousands of flights as a massive winter storm swept over much of the country before and during the Christmas holiday weekend, but Southwest’s woes have deepened while other airlines have largely recovered.

Southwest has canceled a total of more than 14,500 flights since Friday. On Wednesday it canceled 2,500 flights, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware.

[1/3] Travelers at Baltimore Washington International airport deal with the impact of Southwest Airlines canceling more than 12,000 flights around the Christmas holiday weekend across the country and in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. December 27, 2022.  REUTERS/Michael A. McCoy

Southwest told Reuters it would reimburse customers for travel-related costs and had already processed thousands of requests.

It also said employees across the airline were helping crews in many functions.

Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) said in an email it had capped fares in all domestic and international markets where Southwest operates. The program includes over 700 nonstop markets and are valid through Dec 31. United and American announced similar programs.

U.S. Representative Rick Larsen, top Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said in a tweet that the company was treating flight cancellations as “controllable” beginning Dec. 24, which triggers reimbursement for incidental expenses and refunds for full fares.

Southwest CEO Bob Jordan said the low-cost carrier needed to upgrade its legacy systems and apologized to customers and employees in a video message.

Shares of Southwest tumbled over 5% on Wednesday after diving 6% on Tuesday. Some analysts said the cancellations will pressure profits in the fourth quarter.

“The total impact to revenue could be in the 9% range of our expected Q4 revenue, which compares to our current estimate with revenues 15% ahead of 2019 levels in 2022” Jefferies analyst Sheila Kahyaoglu said.

Kahyaoglu estimated total EBITDAR (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and restructuring or rent costs) impact from the cancellations could be in the range of $700 million.

Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Additional reporting by David Shepardson in Grand Rapids, Michigan and Abhijith Ganapavaram in Bengaluru; Editing by Mark Porter, Howard Goller, Alexandra Alper and David Gregorio

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World

Twenty oil tankers halted near Istanbul in insurance dispute

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  • Backlog unsettling oil and tanker markets
  • Turkey says out of question to take insurance risk
  • Yellen says oil from Kazakhstan should not be targeted
  • Ankara says most of waiting ships are EU vessels

ISTANBUL, Dec 9 (Reuters) – The number of oil tankers waiting in the Black Sea to pass through Istanbul’s Bosphorus Strait on the way to the Mediterranean rose to 20 on Friday, Tribeca shipping agency said, as Turkey held talks to resolve an insurance dispute behind the build-up.

Dismissing pressure from abroad over the lengthening queue, Turkey’s maritime authority said on Thursday it would continue to block oil tankers that lacked the appropriate insurance letters, and it needed time for checks.

The ship backlog is creating growing unease in oil and tanker markets and comes as the G7 and European Union introduce a price cap on Russian oil. Millions of barrels of oil per day move south from Russian ports through Turkey’s Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits into the Mediterranean.

The maritime authority said that in the event of an accident involving a vessel in breach of sanctions it was possible the damage would not be covered by an international oil-spill fund.

“(It) is out of the question for us to take the risk that the insurance company will not meet its indemnification responsibility,” it said, adding that Turkey was continuing talks with other countries and insurance companies.

It said the vast majority of vessels waiting near the straits were EU vessels, with a large part of the oil destined for EU ports – a factor frustrating Ankara’s Western allies.

The G7 group of nations, the EU and Australia have agreed to bar providers of shipping services, such as insurers, from helping to export Russian oil unless it is sold at an enforced low price, or cap, aimed at depriving Moscow of wartime revenue.

However, Turkey has had a separate measure in force since the start of the month requiring vessels to provide proof of insurance covering the duration of their transit through the Bosphorus strait, or when calling at Turkish ports.

KAZAKH OIL

Eight tankers were also waiting for passage through the Dardanelles strait into the Mediterranean, down from nine a day earlier, Tribeca said, making a total of 28 tankers waiting for southbound passage.

Most of the tankers waiting at the Bosphorus are carrying Kazakh oil and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Thursday the U.S. administration saw no reason that such shipments should be subjected to new procedures.

Washington had no reason to believe Russia was involved in Turkey’s decision to block ship transits, she added.

Turkey has had to balance its good relations with both Russia and Ukraine since Moscow invaded its neighbour in February. It played a key role in a United Nations-backed deal reached in July to free up grain exports from Ukrainian Black Sea ports.

Turkey’s maritime authority said that it was unacceptable to pressure Turkey over what it said were “routine” insurance checks and that it could remove tankers without proper documentation from its waters or require them to furnish new P&I ship insurance letters covering their journeys.

Reporting by Daren Butler, Can Sezer, and Jonathan Saul in London
Editing by Himani Sarkar, Clarence Fernandez, Jonathan Spicer and Frances Kerry

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US

U.S. House to vote to block rail strike despite labor objections

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WASHINGTON/LOS ANGELES, Nov 29 (Reuters) – The U.S. House of Representatives was set to vote Wednesday to block a rail strike that could potentially happen as early as Dec. 9, after President Joe Biden warned of dire economic consequences and massive job losses.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said lawmakers will vote Wednesday to impose a tentative contract deal struck in September on a dozen unions representing 115,000 workers.

Pelosi said the House would vote separately on Wednesday on a proposal to give seven days of paid sick leave to railroad employees.

“I don’t like going against the ability of unions to strike but weighing the equities, we must avoid a strike,” she said Tuesday after a meeting with Biden.

Biden had warned Monday of a catastrophic economic impact if railroad service ground to a halt, saying up to 765,000 Americans could lose their jobs in the first two weeks of a strike.

“Congress, I think, has to act to prevent it. It’s not an easy call, but I think we have to do it. The economy is at risk,” Biden said.

Despite the close ties between unions and the Democratic Party, several labor leaders criticized Biden asking Congress to impose a contract that workers in four out of 12 unions rejected over its lack of paid sick leave.

The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes, one of four unions that voted against the contract, objected to Biden’s call to Congress to intervene, saying “the railroad is not a place to work while you’re sick. It’s dangerous…. it is unreasonable and unjust to insist a person perform critical work when they are unwell.”

There are no paid sick days under the tentative deal after unions asked for 15 and railroads settled on one personal day.

[1/2] U.S. President Joe Biden meets with congressional leaders including House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell at the White House in Washington, U.S., November 29, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

The union push for paid sick time won support on Capitol Hill, where Senator Bernie Sanders threatened to delay the railroad bill unless he got a vote on the sick time issue.

“Guaranteeing 7 paid sick days to rail workers would cost the rail industry a grand total of $321 million a year – less than 2% of its profits,” Sanders said. “Please don’t tell me the rail industry can’t afford it. Rail companies spent $25.5 billion on stock buybacks and dividends this year.”

Regulators and shippers have accused railroads of cutting staff to improve profitability. The railroads oppose giving their workers paid sick time because they would have to hire more staff. The carriers involved include Union Pacific Corp (UNP.N), Berkshire Hathaway Inc’s (BRKa.N) BNSF, CSX Corp (CSX.O), Norfolk Southern Corp (NSC.N) and Kansas City Southern.

The measure needs a simple majority to pass the House. The bill would require a supermajority of 60 out of 100 votes to pass the Senate.

“I can’t in good conscience vote for a bill that doesn’t give rail workers the paid leave they deserve,” Representative Jamaal Bowman, a Democrat, said on Twitter.

Biden on Monday praised the proposed contract for including a 24% wage increase over five years and five annual $1,000 lump-sum payments.

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy also criticized the effort but said “I think it will pass, but it’s unfortunate that this is how we’re running our economy today.”

A rail traffic stoppage could freeze almost 30% of U.S. cargo shipments by weight, stoke already surging inflation and cost the American economy as much as $2 billion per day.

Brian Dodge, president of the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), said the idea of a rail shutdown “is just absolutely catastrophic” after companies spent the last year and a half trying to untangle gridlock in the supply chain. “We’d be setting ourselves back down that same path and it would take just as long to untangle the next time,” he said.

The U.S. Congress has passed laws to delay or prohibit railway and airline strikes multiple times in recent decades.

Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington and Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles Steve Holland and Doina Chiacu; Writing by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Jonathan Oatis, Heather Timmons, Lisa Shumaker and Simon Cameron-Moore

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World

Exclusive: Russian oil cap doubts spur insurer fears of ships left at sea

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LONDON/BRUSSELS, Nov 10 (Reuters) – Oil-laden tankers risk being left languishing at sea if insurers do not urgently get clarity on an unfinished G7 and European Union plan to cap the price of Russian crude, two senior industry executives told Reuters.

The Group of Seven (G7), which includes the United States, Britain, Germany and France, agreed in September to enforce a low price on sales of Russian oil.

U.S. officials said the move, which is due to start on Dec. 5, was aimed at allowing it to continue to flow, heading off a potential price shock after total EU bans were ratified in June.

And with just three weeks to go, time is running out to fully convince the shipping services industry it will work.

Concerns are centred around a scenario in which insurers discover that oil in transit at sea, which was believed to have been sold below the price cap, was in fact sold above it.

This would trigger the withdrawal of insurance cover as well as a refusal by buyers to accept delivery, leading to financial and logistical headaches and risking environmental dangers.

“If the time is too short, I think everyone will have a Plan B to de-risk, terminate, stay away, not maybe conclude any new contracts until there is some clarity,” said George Voloshin, Global Anti-Financial Crime Expert at ACAMS, the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists which consults with oil industry bankers, traders and insurers.

If insurance was withdrawn mid-voyage, buyers and traders would have to figure out what to do with a stranded cargo potentially exposed to sanctions, complicating a strategy to deprive Russia of funds over its invasion of Ukraine.

“It will probably be quite messy,” Voloshin said.

A European Commission official said the EU is aware that much more additional detail will be needed as time runs short for businesses to learn about their obligations, but that the issue must be dealt with at the G7 level.

The official spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak about the matter.

U.S. State Department Ambassador James O’Brien, who heads the coordination of sanctions against Russia, said G7 countries will be ready with all the operational details and that technical talks were underway on pricing and governance.

‘SANCTION ISLANDS’

But if information gaps remain on the cap, it is possible oil-filled tankers could be left without insurance and marooned near ports, posing a major safety issue for nearby countries in the event of a spill, as well as any cleanup costs.

“In that situation, the vessel will go off risk and financial and technical services will be withdrawn and no one is going to take delivery of the cargo,” Mike Salthouse, head of claims at British-based global ship insurer North, told Reuters.

“This would be a bad development as no one will want uninsured ships sitting off coasts,” he added.

Salthouse said an owner of a ship which was potentially not earning anything for many months “will price that into any decision they make about carrying cargo in the future”, adding that this was likely to act as a disincentive.

“If that happens too often, it will run contrary to what the EU/G7 Coalition is trying to achieve.”

Although the EU ratified the price cap last month, insurers point to still unpublished legal details which must align with incomplete but more detailed U.S. Treasury guidance, especially over guarantees that insurers will not face surprise obstacles in the middle of a ship’s voyage.

“We need regulation in the G7 community which is similar, that is, the U.S. – where we have interim guidelines in the meantime – the U.K. and the EU,” said Lars Lange, secretary general of the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI).

“We fear that if we get different regulations from these three ‘sanction islands’ we will struggle to comply with all at the same time,” Lange said, adding that any vessels which are spurned by ports pose serious consequences.

The IUMI and the separate International Group insurance association have let G7 and EU governments know that their guidelines must include guarantees that the proof that a Russian cargo was sold in line with the cap is all that an owner is required to check before agreeing to load and carry the cargo.

Editing by Alexander Smith

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Business

Biden to announce emergency oil sales to prevent price spikes

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WASHINGTON, Oct 18 (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden will announce a plan on Wednesday to sell off the last portion of his release from the nation’s emergency oil reserve by year’s end and detail a strategy to refill the stockpile when prices drop, administration officials said.

The plan is intended to add enough supply to prevent oil price spikes that could hurt consumers and businesses, while also assuring the nation’s drillers the government will swoop into the market as a buyer if prices plunge too low.

Biden’s efforts to use federal powers to balance the U.S. oil market underscores just how much the war in Ukraine and rampant inflation has upended the plans of a president who came into office vowing to undo the oil industry and move the country swiftly to a fossil-fuel free future.

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It also shows the administration’s desire to keep inflation in check, particularly in the weeks before November congressional elections in which Biden’s fellow Democrats hope to retain control of Congress.

Earlier this year, Biden decided to sell 180 million barrels out of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to combat a potential supply crisis brought about by sanctions on oil-rich Russia following its February invasion of Ukraine.

While the initial plan was to end those sales in November, purchases were slower than expected over the summer and some 15 million barrels remain unsold.

Those will be put up for bidding for delivery in December, a senior administration official said, and extra oil could also be made available if needed.

U.S. President Joe Biden calls for a federal gas tax holiday as he speaks about gas prices during remarks in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building’s South Court Auditorium at the White House in Washington, U.S., June 22, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

“The president’s going to keep a careful eye on announcing today that whatever we’re doing today could continue and see additional SPR releases – if necessary,” senior U.S. energy adviser Amos Hochstein said on Wednesday.

“The president’s also going to be announcing that we are going to replenish the SPR,” he said in an interview with CNN.

Biden will lay out a plan to refill the emergency reserve in the upcoming years, but only at prices at or below a range of $67 to $72 dollars a barrel for West Texas Intermediate
, the U.S. oil benchmark, the senior administration official said.

“There’s no imminent threat of oil collapse,” Hochstein said on CNBC later.

Biden’s hope is to send a signal to both consumers and producers.

“He is calling on the private sector in the United States to do two things. One is take this signal and increase production, increase the investment, and No. 2 is to make sure that as they are taking these profits, as they are benefiting from these markets, that they are continuing to give the consumer the appropriate price,” the official said.

In recent weeks, the oil industry has grown increasingly concerned the administration might take the drastic step of banning or limiting exports of gasoline or diesel to help build back sagging U.S. inventories. They have called on the administration to take the option off the table, a move officials are unwilling to do.

“We are keeping all tools on the table, you know, anything that could potentially help ensure stable domestic supply,” the official said.

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Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw and Steve Holland, additional reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Lincoln Feast, Heather Timmons and Lisa Shumaker

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Business

Biden, unions, rail executives struggle for deal as shutdown looms

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DETROIT/LOS ANGELES, Sept 14 (Reuters) – Biden administration officials hosted labor contract talks late on Wednesday to avert a potential rail shutdown that could disrupt cargo shipments and impede food and fuel supplies, but one small union rejected a deal and Amtrak canceled all long-distance passenger trips.

Railroads including Union Pacific (UNP.N), Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRKa.N) BNSF and Norfolk Southern (NSC.N) have until a minute after midnight on Friday to reach deals with three holdout unions representing about 60,000 workers before a work stoppage affecting freight and Amtrak could begin.

Talks between labor unions and railroads, which started at 9 a.m, were still underway more than 12 hours later after 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday at the U.S. Labor Department’s headquarters in Washington.

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The talks are being overseen by Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, with input from other U.S. officials. The parties ordered in Italian food for dinner Wednesday in order to continue discussions.

“Everybody is going to have to move a little in order to get a deal done,” Buttigieg told reporters on the sidelines of the Detroit auto show.

A union representing about 4,900 machinists, mechanics and maintenance personnel said on Wednesday its members voted to reject a tentative deal.

Rail workers have gone three years without a raise amid a contract dispute, while rail companies have recorded robust profits.

In the current talks, the industry has offered annual wage increases from 2020 to 2024, equal to a 24% compounded hike. Three of 12 unions, representing about half of the 115,000 workers affected by the negotiations, are asking for better working conditions.

Two of those 12 unions, representing more than 11,000 workers, have ratified deals, the National Carriers’ Conference Committee (NCCC), which is bargaining on behalf of railroads, said on Wednesday.

Unions are enjoying a surge of public and worker support in the wake of the pandemic, when “essential” employees risked COVID-19 exposure to keep goods moving and employers reaped hefty profits, labor and corporate experts say.

A shutdown could freeze almost 30% of U.S. cargo shipments by weight, stoke inflation, cost the U.S. economy as much as $2 billion per day and unleash a cascade of transportation woes affecting the U.S. energy, agriculture, manufacturing and retail sectors.

A cargo train is seen near the border between the U.S. and Mexico, in Laredo, Texas U.S. June 3, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One that a shutdown of the freight rail system would be an “unacceptable outcome for our economy and the American people and all parties must work to avoid just that.”

HIGH STAKES FOR BIDEN

President Joe Biden’s administration has begun making contingency plans to ensure deliveries of critical goods in the event of a shutdown.

The stakes are high for Biden, who has vowed to rein in soaring consumer costs ahead of November elections that will determine whether his fellow Democrats maintain control of Congress.

“Unless they reach a breakthrough soon, rail workers will go on strike this Friday. If you don’t think that will have a negative impact on our economy … think again,” said U.S. Senator John Cornyn, a Republican and Biden critic.

Senator Bernie Sanders late on Wednesday objected to a Republican bid to unanimously approve legislation to prevent a rail strike, noting the profits the rail industry has made.

If agreements are not reached, employers could also lock out workers. Railroads and unions may agree to stay at the bargaining table, or the Democratic-led U.S. Congress could intervene by extending talks or establishing settlement terms. read more

House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said it was not clear whether Congress would step in, noting that the main issue is a lack of sick leave for workers.

Amtrak, which uses tracks maintained by freight railways, said it would cancel all long-distance trips on Thursday and some additional state-supported trains. read more

Rail hubs in Chicago and Dallas were already clogged and suffering from equipment shortages before the contract showdown. Those bottlenecks are backing up cargo at U.S. seaports by as much as a month. And, once cargo gets to rail hubs in locations such as Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City and Memphis, Tennessee, it can sit another month or longer.

Package delivery company United Parcel Service (UPS.N), one of the largest U.S. rail customers, and U.S. seaports said they are working on contingency plans.

Meanwhile, factory owners are fretting about idling machinery while automakers worry that a shutdown could extend vehicle buyer wait times. Elsewhere, food and energy companies warn that additional service disruptions could create even sharper price hikes.

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Reporting by David Shepardson and Lisa Baertlein; Additional reporting by Jeff Mason aboard Air Force One; Joe White in Detroit; Chris Walljasper in Chicago and Abhijith Ganapavaram in Bengaluru; Editing by Will Dunham, Jonathan Oatis, Bill Berkrot and Michael Perry

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Business

Biden administration presses unions, railroads to avoid shutdown

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The United States Chamber of Commerce building is seen in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 10, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

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WASHINGTON/LOS ANGELES, Sept 12 (Reuters) – The Biden administration urged railroads and unions to reach a deal to avoid a railroad work stoppage, saying on Monday it would pose “an unacceptable outcome” to the U.S. economy that could cost $2 billion a day.

Railroads, including Union Pacific (UNP.N), Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRKa.N) BNSF, CSX (CSX.O), and Norfolk Southern, have until a minute after midnight on Friday to reach tentative deals with hold out unions representing about 60,000 workers. Failing to do so opens the door to union strikes, employer lockouts and congressional intervention. read more

U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh is postponing travel to Ireland to remain in talks, the department said Monday.

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“The parties continue to negotiate, and last night Secretary Walsh again engaged to push the parties to reach a resolution that averts any shutdown of our rail system,” a Labor Department spokesperson said. “All parties need to stay at the table, bargain in good faith to resolve outstanding issues, and come to an agreement.”

The brinkmanship comes at a sensitive time for unions, railroads, shippers, consumers and President Joe Biden, who appointed an emergency board to help break the impasse.

A White House official told Reuters Biden has been in touch today with unions and companies to try to avert a strike, as have cabinet officials.

U.S. railroads account for almost 30% of cargo transport by weight and maintain about 97% of the tracks Amtrak uses for commuter rail. Widespread railroad disruptions could choke supplies of food and fuel, spawn transportation chaos and stoke inflation. read more

Unions, which won significant pay increases, are pushing back on work rules that would require employees to be on-call and available to work most days. Railroads are struggling to rebuild employee ranks after slashing their workforce by almost 30% over the past six years.

At midday on Wednesday, Norfolk Southern will stop accepting intermodal cargo: goods that move by combinations of ship, truck and rail transport. Those shipments include consumer products and e-commerce packages that account for almost half of U.S. rail traffic.

That could exacerbate existing backups at East Coast seaports and inland hubs, causing cascading delays across the country as farmers prepare for harvest and retailers restock stores for the Christmas shopping season. Bulk commodities – including food, energy, automotive and construction products – make up the remainder of U.S. rail shipments.

U.S. industry groups are pressuring Congress to avert the worst-case scenario.

“A shutdown of the nation’s rail service would have enormous national consequences,” the Chamber said on Monday, adding it would lead to perishable food waste, disrupt goods delivery and prevent heating fuel and chemicals transport.

The Labor Department said there have been dozens of calls by Cabinet officials and other top administration officials to help the sides reach agreement.

Railroads late last week said they would cease shipments of hazardous materials such as chlorine used to purify drinking water and chemicals used in fertilizer on Monday so they are not stranded in unsafe locations if rail traffic stops. read more

On Sunday, two unions negotiating contracts said halting hazardous shipments was designed to give employers leverage ahead of this week’s deadline to secure labor agreements. read more

As of Sunday, eight of 12 unions had reached tentative deals covering about half of 115,000 workers, the National Railway Labor Conference (NRLC) said.

Hold outs include the transportation division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART-TD) and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET).

There has not been a nationwide U.S. rail service stoppage since 1992, when major freight railroads closed operations for two days in response to an International Association of Machinists strike against CSX, saying that a strike against one railroad was a strike against all railroads.

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Reporting by David Shepardson and Lisa Baertlein; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Jonathan Oatis and Josie Kao

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World

Ship refloated after running aground in Egypt’s Suez Canal -sources

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An aerial view of the Gulf of Suez and the Suez Canal are pictured through the window of an airplane on a flight between Cairo and Doha, Egypt, November 27, 2021. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

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CAIRO, Sept 1 (Reuters) – Tug boats refloated a ship that briefly ran aground in Egypt’s Suez Canal late on Wednesday, a source from the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) andstate TV reported.

The vessel had been blocking the southern section of the canal, two navigational sources said, but the SCA source said shortly afterwards that traffic had returned to normal.

There was no immediate statement about the incident from the SCA.

According to ship monitoring service TankerTrackers, the Aframax tanker Affinity V seemed to have lost control in the Suez Canal while heading southbound.

“She temporarily clogged up traffic and is now facing south again, but moving slowly by tugboat assistance,” TankerTrackers said on Twitter.

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Reporting by Yousri Mohamed and Yasmin Hussein; Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Mark Porter and Christian Schmollinger

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Business

Workers at UK’s biggest container port Felixstowe due to begin 8-day strike

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A view shows stacked shipping containers at the port of Felixstowe, Britain, October 13, 2021. Picture taken with a drone. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

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LONDON, Aug 21 (Reuters) – More than 1,900 workers at Britain’s biggest container port are due on Sunday to start eight days of strike action which their union and shipping companies warn could seriously affect trade and supply chains.

The staff at Felixstowe, on the east coast of England, are taking industrial action in a dispute over pay, becoming the latest workers to strike in Britain as unions demand higher wages for members facing a cost-of-living crisis.

“Strike action will cause huge disruption and will generate massive shockwaves throughout the UK’s supply chain, but this dispute is entirely of the company’s own making,” said Bobby Morton, the Unite union’s national officer for docks.

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“It [the company] has had every opportunity make our members a fair offer but has chosen not to do so.”

On Friday, Felixstowe’s operator Hutchison Ports said it believed its offer of a 7% pay rise and a lump sum of 500 pounds ($604) was fair. It said the port’s workers union, which represents about 500 staff in supervisory, engineering and clerical roles, had accepted the deal.

Unite, which represents mainly dock workers, says the proposal is significantly below the current inflation rate, and followed a below inflation increase last year.

“The port regrets the impact this action will have on UK supply chains,” a Hutchison Ports spokesperson said.

The port said it would have a contingency plan in place, and was working to minimise disruption during the walkouts which will last until Aug. 29.

Shipping group Maersk (MAERSKb.CO), one of the world’s biggest container shippers, has warned the action would have a significant impact, causing operational delays and forcing it to make changes to its vessel line-up.

Figures released on Aug. 17 showed Britain’s consumer price inflation hit 10.1% in July, the highest since February 1982, and some economists forecast it will hit 15% in the first three months of next year amid surging energy and food costs. read more

The squeeze on household incomes has already led to strikes by the likes of rail and bus workers demanding higher pay rises.

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Reporting by Michael Holden

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World

U.S. says Russia using ‘nuclear shield’ in Ukraine, risks terrible accident

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  • U.S. says Russia using “nuclear shield”
  • First grain ship leaves Ukraine
  • Ukraine says 22,000 Russian troops ready southern advance
  • Foreign fighters enter Luhansk, says governor
  • Ukraine says recaptures 50 towns in Kherson

UNITED NATIONS/KYIV, Aug 2 (Reuters) – The United States has accused Russia of using Ukraine’s biggest nuclear power plant as a “nuclear shield” by stationing troops there, preventing Ukrainian forces from returning fire and risking a terrible nuclear accident.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States was “deeply concerned” that the Zaporizhzhia plant, which Russia was accused of firing shells dangerously close to in March, was now a Russian military base used to fire on nearby Ukrainian forces.

“Of course the Ukrainians cannot fire back lest there be a terrible accident involving the nuclear plant,” Blinken told reporters after nuclear nonproliferation talks at the United Nations in New York on Monday. read more

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Russia’s actions went beyond using a “human shield” Blinken said, calling it a “nuclear shield.”

At the New York talks, Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Mykola Tochytskyi said “robust joint actions are needed to prevent nuclear disaster” and called for the international community to “close the sky” over Ukraine’s nuclear power plants with air defence systems.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine has sparked the biggest conflict in Europe since World War Two, killing thousands, displacing millions and leaving large parts of Ukraine in rubble.

The war has also caused a global food crisis, with Russia and Ukraine producing about a third of the world’s wheat, while Western sanctions on Russia, a major energy provider to Europe, have caused a global energy crisis.

FIRST GRAINS SHIP

The first ship to carry Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea since Russia invaded five months ago left the port of Odesa for Lebanon on Monday under a safe passage deal.

The sailing was made possible after Turkey and the United Nations brokered a grain and fertiliser export agreement between Russia and Ukraine last month – a rare diplomatic breakthrough in a conflict that has become a drawn-out war of attrition.

The Sierra Leone-flagged ship Razoni will head to the port of Tripoli, Lebanon, after passing through Turkey’s Bosphorus Strait linking the Black Sea, which is dominated by Russia’s navy, to the Mediterranean. It is carrying 26,527 tonnes of corn.

But there are still hurdles to overcome before millions of tonnes of Ukrainian grain can leave its Black Sea ports, including clearing sea mines and creating a framework for vessels to safely enter the conflict zone and pick up cargoes. read more

The United Nations has warned of the risk of multiple famines this year because of the war in Ukraine.

Known as Europe’s breadbasket, Ukraine hopes to export 20 million tonnes of grain held in silos and 40 million tonnes from the harvest now under way, initially from Odesa and nearby Pivdennyi and Chornomorsk, to help clear the silos for the new crop.

Russia called the Razoni’s departure “very positive” news, but it has denied responsibility for the food crisis, saying Western sanctions have slowed its exports and accusing Ukraine of laying underwater mines at entrance of its ports.

Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of laying the mines that now float around the Black Sea.

Signalling a deepening energy row between Russia and Europe, Russia on Monday said there was little it could do to help with urgent repairs to the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, its main gas pipeline to Europe, following further falls in Gazprom production and exports. read more

Gas from Russia met about 40% of European needs before Russia sent troops into Ukraine. Russia cut gas supplies via Nord Stream 1 to just 20% of capacity last week, saying a turbine sent to Canada for maintenance had not been returned and other equipment needed repair.

RUSSIAN ADVANCEMENT

Russia invaded Ukraine in what it called a “special operation” to demilitarise its neighbour. Ukraine and Western nations have dismissed this as a baseless pretext for war.

After failing to capture the capital Kyiv early in the war, Russia now aims to capture the eastern Donbas region, made up of Donetsk and Luhansk, partially occupied by Russia-backed separatists before the invasion, and capture more of the south, having already annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych told media about 22,000 Russian troops were preparing to advance on the cities of Kriviy Rih and Mykolaiv, where a “sufficiently large” Ukrainian force lay in wait.

In Kherson region, which is mostly under Russian control, Ukrainian troops had liberated some 50 towns, said Yuri Sobolevsky, deputy head of the ousted Kherson regional council.

“Russian troop in Kherson region are sustaining considerable losses,” Sobolevsky wrote on Telegram.

Reuters was unable to verify the battlefield report.

Serhiy Gaidai, governor of Luhansk region, which is nearly all under Russian control, said foreign fighters were arriving to help Russian forces.

“We have noticed that more and more private military companies coming into the area – the Wagner group,” Gaidai told Ukrainian TV, adding that these irregular forces were motivated by “money and looting”.

Russian private military firm Wagner has likely been given responsibility for sectors of the front line in eastern Ukraine, possibly as Russia is facing a shortage of infantry, Britain’s Ministry of Defence said last week.

Gaidai said partisans were destroying infrastructure, including gas and water networks, in battered Luhansk towns to slow Russian forces.

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Reporting by Reuters bureaux; Writing by Michael Perry; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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