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CMISA posted an articleLikely by merchant ships dragging their anchors – over the past couple of years across the Baltic see more
The master of the Newnew Polar Bear, a Hong Kong-flagged boxship, has been taken into custody in Hong Kong for damaging a gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea 19 months ago.
Wan Wenguo, 43, appeared at a court in Hong Kong yesterday to face a charge of criminal damage and two additional charges for breaching local maritime regulations.
Prosecutors said he is responsible for damage to the 77 km Balticconnector – a natural gas pipeline between Estonia and Finland – as well as to a nearby telecommunications cable.
The Balticconnector gas pipeline was damaged in early October 2023 in the Finnish Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Later that month, the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation stated that the damage was caused by an external mechanical force and that they had found a heavy object near the damaged pipeline.
It turned out that the mentioned heavy object was an anchor from the Hong Kong-registered vessel, and the Finnish authorities found that the same type of paint was identified on the anchor as on the Balticconnector and that it was most probably from the Newnew Polar Bear.
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CMISA posted an articleStrongly opposing a proposed steep fee structure targeting Chinese-built ships see more
Ahead of the public hearings being staged in Washington March 24 and March 26, the Canadian government, along with Canadian Great Lakes carriers, have filed statements to the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) strongly critical of the Trump administration’s proposed fees of up to $1.5 million per port call of Chinese-built ships. Among the biggest issues raised: the potential devastating impact on shipping costs, supply chains and Canada-U.S. trade.
The USTR invited written comments from industry stakeholders globally concerning what was described as a Proposed Action Pursuant to the Section 301 Investigation of China’s Targeting of the Maritime, Logistics, and Shipbuilding Sectors for Dominance. This procedure was launched in response to a petition by five US labour unions.
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CMISA posted an articleWould threaten Great Lakes shipping see more
Great Lakes shipping officials are pushing back on the Trump administration’s proposed port fee on Chinese-built ships, arguing the move could lead to less cargo moving through U.S. ports and threaten domestic port jobs.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative last month proposed charging stacking fees of up to $3 million every time a Chinese-built ship stops at a U.S. port, regardless of what country’s flag it sails under or where the cargo originated or is destined.
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CMISA posted an articlePoses economic and national security risks for the US see more
In only two decades, China has grown to be the dominant player in shipbuilding, claiming more than half of the world’s commercial shipbuilding market, while the U.S. share has fallen to just 0.1%, posing serious economic and national security challenges for the U.S. and its allies, according to a report released Tuesday by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
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In 2024 alone, one Chinese shipbuilder constructed more commercial vessels by tonnage than the entire U.S. shipbuilding industry has built since the end of World War II. China already has the world’s largest naval fleet, the Washington-based bipartisan think tank said in its 75-page report.
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CMISA posted an articleChina is playing the long game. see more
How many of the thousands of ships docking every day at U.S. ports were built in the United States?
The answer may be surprising: U.S. shipyards manufacture fewer than 1 percent of the cargo vessels that ply the global seas. In March, U.S. labor unions decided that Washington had to take bold measures to support domestic shipbuilding and filed a petition to the U.S. trade representative, arguing that the industry’s poor state mostly reflects unfair Chinese practices, including massive subsidies. The unions have a simple proposal: Global shipping firms should pay a fee to dock at U.S. ports if they use Chinese-made vessels. On Wednesday, the Biden administration responded by launching an investigation into Chinese practices in the shipbuilding and maritime logistics sectors.
With around 80 percent of global trade carried by sea and U.S. politicians sensing an opportunity to court blue-collar workers ahead of this year’s elections, an investigation into Chinese shipbuilding practices could well reignite global trade tensions. Yet a closer look at China’s shipyards may also prove to be a useful exercise for Western policymakers: Beijing’s shipbuilding strategy has long been a perfect illustration of China’s playbook for the sectors that it has identified as critical in its Made In China 2025 industrial blueprint, including semiconductors, clean technology, and electric vehicles.
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ArticlePrime Minister is distancing the government from a $100-million passenger ferry contract. see more
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is distancing the Liberal government from a $100-million contract under which a Chinese state-owned shipyard will build a passenger ferry for a federal Crown corporation, a deal the Conservative Party vows to cancel if elected.
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ArticleShipyard in China is building a 1,000-passenger ferry, Canada’s shipbuilding industry objects see more
A huge state-owned shipyard in China is building a 1,000-passenger ferry for use by a federal Crown corporation over the objections of Canada’s shipbuilding industry and at a time when two Canadians have spent 989 days in Chinese prisons as victims of what Ottawa has called “hostage diplomacy.”
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