Displaying items by tag: Shipping

Türkiye: Medcem has shipped its first 20,000t of CEM I 52.5 N cement to its new terminal in Antwerp, Belgium, with discharge scheduled for 8 December 2025, according to Platts, part of S&P Global Energy. A second shipment of 5000t to the company’s new terminal in Trieste, Italy, will discharge during the week of 15 December 2025. Business development and investment director Enver Celikbas said that the company has three terminals in the UK, and that it plans to send its first vessel to Glasgow at the beginning of 2026. Medcem plans to export 70,000-100,000t of cement to Antwerp and 60,000-80,000t to Trieste in 2026.

Celikbas said “We are looking to become a more vertically-integrated company, which helps us manage our costs, operations, and supply. It's like a hedging strategy that we initiated after commissioning our new 9000t/day kiln.”

He added that an upgrade to Medcem’s clinker kilns will be completed by the end of 2026 and that the company is seeking new sources of supplementary cementitious materials to boost supply. All supply will continue to come from Medcem’s plant in Türkiye unless otherwise required.

Celikbas added “We are continuously searching and negotiating various projects and hope to sign for our third terminal in Europe very soon.”

Algeria: Biskria Cement loaded 28,000t of white cement at the Port of Annaba for export to the US, according to local press. The shipment forms part of the company’s strategy to expand its international footprint, with a target of exporting 0.2Mt/yr of cement.

New Zealand: Holcim New Zealand has confirmed it will sell its cement carrier MV Buffalo, a source of local employment, to Switzerland-based NovaAlgoma Cement Carriers (NACC) at the end of 2025.

A Holcim spokesperson said “Holcim has decided to sell the MV Buffalo and source a replacement vessel. The 27-year-old MV Buffalo is too large, inefficient and costly to run, requiring in excess of US$4.5m in repairs and maintenance over the next four years in order to remain seaworthy. The decision follows a comprehensive review of Holcim’s shipping requirements and operational costs. The review identified the need for a more modern, smaller and cost-effective vessel to maintain supply of cement to the South Island and lower North Island.”

The company began consultation to retire the MV Buffalo in February 2025, and has since confirmed future shipping will be managed by NACC. However, NACC must obtain a government exemption to operate the Panamanian-flagged NACC Vega in domestic waters.

The Maritime Union of New Zealand (MUNZ) has opposed the move and urged the government to reject NACC’s flag waiver application. Holcim has reportedly issued formal termination notices to the MV Buffalo’s 32 New Zealand-based crew, effective 28 December 2025. Union negotiations remain unresolved since October 2025 and have been referred to the Employment Relations Authority.

World: Price reporting agency Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, has collated the latest data on the global seaborne cement trade in the first half of 2025. Citing research by shipbroking house Howe Robinson Partners, it reported total volumes of 107Mt in the six-month period, up by 7% year-on-year from 100Mt in the first half of 2024. This is the largest global first-half volume recorded since 2021. Full-year seaborne cement trade volumes were 207Mt in 2024, up by 1.5% from 204Mt in 2023.

Vietnam and Türkiye remained the leading global cement exporters, with 16.1Mt and 12.5Mt, 15% and 12% of the total, respectively. Both countries slightly increased their export volumes. Next up in the rankings, Egyptian shipments rose by 14% to 10.9Mt, overtaking Iran, with 6.5Mt (down by 10%). Other rapid growth geographies included Indonesia, with 7.2Mt (up by 22%) and Pakistan, with 4.4Mt (up by 26%).

On the import side, despatches to the US fell by 1% to 11.4Mt, while Bangladeshi imports rose by 9% to 8.7Mt. West Africa was the largest regional market in terms of volumes. It imported 11.8Mt, up by 17%.

Jamaica: Caribbean Cement Company has exported 3000t of cement to Curaçao, following the completion of its US$41.8m debottlenecking project at the Rockfort plant in June 2025. The upgrade expanded production capacity, allowing the company to sustain ‘record output’ of cement and clinker, according to Our Today news.

Managing director Jorge Martinez said the shipment demonstrated the company’s ability to serve both domestic and regional markets. “What you are witnessing is a company that not only fully resources the local market but also has the strengthened capacity to export. Our first commitment is to Jamaica, and now that we can consistently meet domestic demand, we are complementing the local market with exports, leveraging the surplus from our expanded capacity,” he said.

The cargo was loaded onto the MV Suzie Q on 22 September 2025. Curaçao’s construction sector is reportedly growing on the back of tourism-led economic activity, with demand rising for real estate, roads, public spaces and utilities. Caribbean Cement said that it plans to expand its export presence across the Caribbean Basin.

Canada: MV Tamarack arrived at the Port of Montreal on 22 August 2025, completing its maiden voyage and becoming the first newly built cement carrier to serve the Great Lakes in 20 years. The 12,500t vessel, owned by Eureka Shipping, a joint venture between CSL and SMT Shipping, was delivered on 23 July 2025 at Holland Shipyard in the Netherlands. The ship replaces two older vessels, offering the same capacity and reduced environmental impact, according to the company. MV Tamarack has a 10,700m³ cement hold, diesel-electric propulsion, shore-power compatibility, biofuel capability and energy-saving cargo systems.

Colombia: Argos simultaneously loaded three cement ships for the first time at its Cartagena maritime terminal, moving over 31,000t of bulk cement. Platform 1 shipped 7000t to the Antilles and 3000t to the Caribbean, while Platform 2 loaded 21,000t for the US.

By the end of July 2025, Argos had shipped 570,000t of bulk cement on 44 vessels and 50,000t of bagged cement on 15 vessels.

Vice president of Argos Regional Colombia Carlos Horacio Yusty said “This milestone demonstrates the strength of our logistics network and the capacity of the terminal in Cartagena to respond to international markets. Having loaded three ships simultaneously sets a precedent in our operation and encourages us to continue growing in competitiveness.”

The Cartagena terminal has an installed capacity to handle 3.5Mt/yr of cement, clinker and raw materials.

Japan: Taiheiyo Cement says it started using an artificial intelligence-based (AI) ship allocation optimisation system in May 2025. Software company Grid provided the technology for the project. The companies say that this is the first such application in the domestic cement industry.

The new ship allocation system analyses large volumess of transportation data and generates optimal ship allocation plans while considering various constraints. It is intended to: reduce transportation costs such as fuel; optimise courses and loading efficiency, with an expected 10% reduction of fuel consumption at the planning stage; enhance inventory management; and reduce planning time by more than 50% compared to manual planning methods.

Canada/Netherlands: Eureka Shipping has taken possession of a new cement carrier called Tamarack from Holland Shipyards Group.

The 12,500dwt self-discharging cement carrier is designed specifically for the Great Lakes region in Canada that has been built to replace to older vessels. It is equipped with diesel-electric propulsion, featuring four generator sets, two 360-degree rudder propellers, and a bow thruster for added manoeuvrability. It also includes four dedicated cement cargo holds with a total capacity of 10,700m³, supported by high-efficiency loading and discharging systems. The Tamarack’s design includes engines capable of running on hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO). It is also prepared for shore power connectivity, enabling zero-emission operations in ports as the infrastructure evolves.

UK/Norway: UK-based marine carbon capture firm Seabound has launched an onboard carbon capture project in partnership with Hartmann Group, InterMaritime Group and Heidelberg Materials Northern Europe. The solution equips the UBC Cork, a 5700 gross tonne cement carrier, with Seabound’s calcium looping carbon capture system. This system captures up to 95% of CO₂ and 98% of sulphur emissions from the ship’s exhaust using calcium hydroxide to absorb the CO₂ and convert it into limestone that is stored onboard until returning to port. The captured carbon will be offloaded at the Port of Brevik for use at Heidelberg Materials’ Brevik cement plant, host of the first industrial-scale carbon capture facility in the cement sector.

The project is co-funded by the Eurostars partnership on Innovative SMEs, part of Horizon Europe through the Cyprus Research and Innovation Foundation. This funding supports collaborative research and development projects in a range of industries, including maritime transport.

CEO of Seabound Alisha Fredriksson said “We’re proud to partner with industry leaders like Heidelberg Materials and Hartmann to deliver scalable carbon capture solutions. We’re especially excited to be advancing this work in Brevik, a strategic location that’s rapidly establishing itself as a global hub for CCS with Heidelberg’s world-first facility and the Northern Lights pick up point. Together, we’re demonstrating how onboard carbon capture can accelerate emissions reductions in carbon-intensive sectors.”

Lars Erik Marcussen, Logistics project manager at Heidelberg Materials Northern Europe, said “Shipping cement is emissions-intensive, and Seabound’s system gives us a clear path to reduce those Scope 3 emissions while enhancing our circular use of captured CO₂. This project also brings us one step closer to decarbonising the logistics/transport part of our operations.”