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☆ Oil spills and near misses: more ghost tankers ship sanctioned fuel
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Jonathan Saul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

REUTERS/Ronen ZvulunSummary Risk of accidents in focus as 'shadow' fleet growsStirs fears of oil spills, decades after Exxon ValdezHundreds of ships carry oil from sanctioned nationsMany ship certifiers and insurers have pulled servicesLONDON, March 23 (Reuters) - An oil tanker runs aground off eastern China, leaking fuel into the water. Many leading certification providers and engine makers that approve seaworthiness and safety have withdrawn their services from ships carrying oil from sanctioned Iran, Russia and Venezuela, as have a host of insurers, meaning there's less oversight of vessels carrying the flammable cargoes. Reuters was unable to independently verify the numbers regarding the size and growth of the shadow fleet. The U.S. Treasury didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on ships carrying sanctioned oil. SHIP-TO-SHIP TRANSFERSAround 774 tankers out of 2,296 in the overall global crude oil fleet are 15 years old or more, according to data provider VesselsValue.

☆ FAA chief gets grilled by Congress for recent airline groundings and safety concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Gregory Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

In a letter to Congress in early February, the FAA said it plans to dramatically accelerate replacing its outdated Notice To Air Missions (NOTAM) safety system, whose failure led to a nationwide air travel grounding in January. A contractor working for the FAA unintentionally deleted files related to the key pilot safety system, the FAA said. The near collisions have also raised concerns that the FAA’s safety systems may be insufficient. “Can I sit here today and tell you that there will never be another issue on the NOTAM system? That near collision happened after air traffic controllers cleared the FedEx Boeing 767 to land on Austin’s Runway 18 Left, according to the FAA.

☆ Capital A to combine AirAsia and AirAsia X as part of restructuring plan
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Jamie Freed | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Capital A, headed by Fernandes, will retain the digital, logistics and aviation services businesses, while AirAsia X will be renamed AirAsia Aviation and be led by long-time executive Bo Lingam under the plan. Capital A hopes submit to Bursa Malaysia Securities for approval in February. AirAsia X is also classified as PN17, but in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday, Fernandes said under the restructuring plan, both listed companies would emerge from that status by July 2023. Capital A investors will receive an in-specie distribution in the former AirAsia X, giving them exposure to a pure airline business with multiple brands. Fernandes said the distressed-company status had a "major impact" on the airline's share price by reducing investor confidence, which he hoped to restore through the restructuring plan.

☆ Boeing wants U.S. FAA to OK paint fix for 787 wing peeling
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The U.S. planemaker's interim fix involves repeated use of speed tape over affected areas. The company also wants the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to approve its plan to incorporate a layer of ultraviolet blocking black topcoat between the primer and the white topcoat. Some passengers have posted photos online of 787 wings with tape and raised concerns. Boeing did not immediately comment but said in its filing the fix was needed in part because the "paint peeling issue requires the operators to repaint the wing and horizontal stabilizer at a much higher frequency." Boeing halted deliveries in May 2021 after the FAA raised concerns about its proposed inspection method.

Corn exports are also lagging their typical harvest-time rate, weekly USDA export inspections data showed. Low water on the Mississippi River and its tributaries has slowed the delivery of grain barges to export terminals along the Gulf Coast, where some 60% of U.S. crop exports exit the country. The Army Corps of Engineers, meanwhile, has been dredging sections of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers to deepen their shipping channels. But without more rain, shippers worry that Louisiana Gulf terminals will struggle to source enough grain to meet their export commitments. Corn inspections totaled just 448,423 tonnes last week, compared with 1.049 million last year.

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