Somali Pirates Are Said to Die in Fight on Ukrainian Ship [source: Bloomberg]: Three Somali pirates died in a shootout as they argued over how to deal with a hijacked Ukrainian ship carrying a cargo of battle tanks, a maritime official said. Pirates contacted onboard the ship denied there had been a fight. continue reading

Shipping Rates Heading Down [source: Bangkok Post]: Shipping rates have fallen sharply over the past few days on weak demand, with shippers expressing fears that a likely global depression could keep the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) at very low levels for up to two years. The BDI, a global benchmark for dry bulk shipping rates, has dropped 70% over the past four months from a peak of 11,930 points mainly due to slowing demand from China, according to the SET-listed shipping firm Precious Shipping Plc (PSL). continue reading

'Pablo' to Cause Delay in Salvage Ops on 'Princess' [source: GMANews.tv]: Tropical storm "Pablo" forced Wednesday the slowdown of salvage operations to extract endosulfan from the capsized MV Princess of the Stars off Romblon province. Transportation undersecretary Elena Bautista, who heads a task force on the tragedy, said she relayed the instructions to the Coast Guard and to the salvage firms before midnight Tuesday. continue reading