Tokyo. Japan announced on Tuesday that it will buy stealth fighters, drones and submarines as part of a splurge on military hardware that will beef up defense of far-flung islands amid a territorial row with China. The cabinet of hawkish Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed to spend 24.7 trillion yen ($240 billion) between 2014…
Pirates have attacked an oil products tanker off the coast of Nigeria and kidnapped its Ukrainian captain and a Greek engineer, according to Greek coast guard officials. The 6,500 ton Marshall Islands-flagged MT ALTHEA with 18 crew onboard was attacked by a group of 10 pirates, the officials said. The ship’s manager, Piraeus-based Medtankers…
JAKARTA – The shipping industry that grew sluggishly this year is predicted to be more burdened by rupiah depreciation which has made its lowest position in the last five years. On Tuesday (12/17), the spot market was closed at IDR12,125 per US dollar. “Rupiah depreciation has clearly affected the industry since shipping sector requires a…
Container traffic in North Sumatra’s Belawan, which mostly handles crude palm oil (CPO) and rubber, grew by 10.2 percent in the third quarter alone despite a global commodity market slowdown. The traffic during July–September this year reached 680,828 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), equal to 552,622 containers, up from 614,294 TEUs compared to the same…