Transportation

The U.S. Air Force announced 'on Friday that the delivery of the first of two new Air Force One aircraft from Boeing will be delayed another year, to mid-2028. This is the latest of a number of delays. The Air Force One program, which involves the conversion of two 747-8 aircraft into specialized jets with advanced communication and defense systems to serve as next generation U.S. Presidential air transport, would be four years behind schedule, with a delivery date in 2028. Boeing said it was making progress with the program. "Our main focus is to deliver two Air Force One...

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi?Noem terminated on?Friday the collective bargaining agreements covering 47,000 Transportation Security Administration?officers?,?the department announced in a press release. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which represents airport screening officers at the airport, announced that it would challenge the decision. The Department of Homeland Security announced that it would implement a new labor framework starting on January 11, and no longer collect?union dues' from TSA officers. In June, an American judge issued a preliminary order blocking Noem’s?March 7, 2017 attempt to terminate the collective bargaining contract. The U.S. House of Representatives, on Thursday, voted to restore...

The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Friday 213-184 in favor of a bill aimed at?accelerating federal permitting of interstate gas pipelines, by?designating?the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission?as?the leading?agency?. The Improving Interagency Coordination for Pipeline Reviews Act allows the agency to consider water quality assessments as part of its environmental review instead waiting for state certifications under the Clean Water Act, which delays the permitting process. This bill is one of many pieces of legislation that are aimed at speeding permitting up in the?Congress. Bipartisan support was also given to another bill, Promoting Efficient Reviews for Modern Infrastructure Today. Why it's...

Local authorities reported that at least eight people died after a fuel tanker exploded in Likomba near Tiko, in southwestern Cameroon. Viang Mekala is an officer in the administrative unit that the accident took place. He said the driver couldn't?stabilize the truck when he experienced brake failure?while descending the hill. The vehicle then slammed into several cars and buildings before exploding. The tanker truck has been completely charred. Several other vehicles were also damaged. Mekala, a reporter at the time, said that a blaze had also destroyed tens of houses. A number of others were also injured and taken to...

Boersen-Zeitung, a German newspaper, reported that the German government was in early discussions to 'acquire' a majority stake of?TenneT Germany power grid operations after agreeing in principle to take 25.1%. The financial paper cited sources that said 'Berlin was considering building a consortium with financial investors like Apollo, Blackstone, or Brookfield. Companies and the German Economy Ministry did not respond immediately to a request for comment. Boersen-Zeitung cited sources who said that the German government has also agreed to buy in principle a 25,1% stake in grid company's Dutch parent. Last month, a document from the Ministry of Economy stated...

Local authorities announced on Thursday that the majority of major Canadian highways leading to Vancouver, a Pacific port city, have been closed due to?floods, falling stones and?the risk of avalanches. The British Columbia Transport Ministry, which is the province where Vancouver is located - Canada's largest port -- said that the situation was "evolving and very dynamic". In a press release, it warned that "other provincial roads could be closed with little or no warning." Five of the six highways leading into Vancouver have been closed, but the main route from Seattle remains open. Vancouver is largely accessible via a...

These are the most popular stories from the business pages of the New York Times. The New York Times has not verified the accuracy of these stories. The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a $900 Billion Defense Policy Bill that codifies much of President Donald 'Trump's agenda for national security. However, it also seeks to 'curb Trumps move to withdraw from Europe. Jennifer Homendy warned that a "provision" in the new defense legislation would increase the risk of mid-air collisions around the Washington area airport, where a fatal crash killed 67 in January. - President Donald Trump announced on...

A?U.S. A?U.S. The U.S. district judge in Sacramento, Dale Drozd, rejected the Justice Department's argument that the lawsuit filed by the California High-Speed-Rail authority in July was filed in the wrong venue and should have gone to the?U.S. Court of Federal Claims. The state agency that is responsible for the development of the high-speed railway system filed a lawsuit challenging the cancellation of the grant as "arbitrary and capricious". After cancelling $4 billion of federal grants, the Transportation Department in August canceled an additional $175 million for projects that are part of California's high speed rail project. The department did...

Shell, the oil major in the United States, has announced that two of its offshore platforms are producing. The Gulf of Mexico is temporarily closed due to the shutdown of Hoover Offshore Oil Pipeline System. The U.S. Gulf's top producer said that it expects the Whale and Perdido platform, which was?shut down on Monday night?, to resume its production by Tuesday. Energy Aspects, a market analysis firm, estimated that Whale produced about 90,000 barrels a day (bpd), whereas Perdido's production stood at approximately?57,000 in September. Shell declined to provide the current production figures. Shell stated that Whale's capacity is around...

U.S. Transportation Department threatened on Tuesday to withhold funding for Chicago 'trains and buses' and demanded increased police protection citing an attack and burning of a woman, 26 years old, last month. In letters sent to Illinois Governor JB Prattker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, the?Federal Transit Agency warned that if they did not develop a plan for reducing assaults against transit workers and passengers as well as addressing unsafe conditions, federal funding could be lost. Similar letters were sent by the department to 'New York' and 'Boston, expressing concerns over transit issues. Chicago is also heavily Democratic, as are...

Freeport LNG, a U.S. liquefied gas company, has a Texas export plant that is on 'track' to receive more natural gas Tuesday. This is because one of the three 'liquefaction /trains" was re-started after being shut down on Monday. In the past, changes in its operations have led to price fluctuations on global gas markets. Gas prices in the U.S. typically fall when?flows from Freeport decrease due to a?reduced need for fuel from the export facility. Prices in Europe are usually higher due to a decrease in LNG supply available on global markets. Prices of futures in the United States...

Colonial Pipeline, on Wednesday, requested that the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission reconsider the earlier decision it made rejecting the changes the company proposed to the way in which the nation's largest fuel conduit handles gasoline shipments. The company claimed that the regulator erred by blocking Colonial's ability to modify delivery specifications, stop overlapping shipments between different grades of gas, and discontinue shipments for so-called "Grade 5" gasoline sold during winter in certain Northeastern States. Colonial said the changes were part of their efforts to improve safety, efficiency and reduce wear and tear on the pipeline system that is over...

State news agencies reported on Monday that Russia was considering extending the diesel and gasoline export restrictions until February. Anonymous sources were cited. On Monday, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak presided over a meeting about the fuel market. The participants included officials from the Energy Ministry, the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAMS) and representatives of oil companies. After the meeting, the government stated that the fuel producers kept the supply balanced. There is a downward trend in the fuel price for small wholesalers. The government has confirmed that the required fuel volumes are being provided to agricultural producers. The Russian...

The 'International Energy Agency' said that Russia's revenue from crude oil and refined product exports fell again in November due to lower export volume and weaker prices, reaching their lowest level since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The Russian energy industry, which is vital to the country's economy, is being put under pressure by an increase in drone attacks on oil refineries. Washington increased its pressure against the Kremlin by introducing sanctions in October, targeting Russia's two largest oil companies, Rosneft & Lukoil. The IEA, based in Paris, said that Russia's revenue from crude oil and fuel sales dropped to...

Shipping data shows that Washington could punish more than 30 U.S. sanctioned oil vessels doing business in Venezuela after the Coast Guard confiscated a supertanker transporting Venezuelan crude to be exported. The President Donald Trump announced the seizure on Wednesday. It was the first time that an oil "cargo" from Venezuela had been seized. Venezuela has been subject to U.S. sanctions against it since 2019. This is also the first action taken by the Trump administration since he ordered the massive military buildup of the region. Shipping sources say that the U.S. actions, in which Trump intensifies pressure on Venezuelan...

The International Atomic Energy Agency reported on Saturday that Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant temporarily lost all of its off-site electricity overnight. It cited Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi. Since March 2022 when Russian forces seized much of the southeast Ukraine, this nuclear plant - Europe's biggest - has been under Russian authority. The plant is currently not producing electricity, but it relies on external power in order to keep the material cool and prevent a meltdown. IAEA reported that the plant had been reconnected after a 30-minute outage to a power line of 330 kilovolts (kV). The Russian-installed plant...

Five sources confirmed on Tuesday that the Caspian Pipeline Consortium is aiming to finish repairs on its third SPM-3 single point mooring at its Black Sea Terminal ahead of schedule. The consortium wants to restore its full CPC Blend export capacity following a drone strike which damaged one of their other moorings. Sources familiar with the situation have confirmed that SPM-3 will be back in operation in the next 7 days. The repairs were originally planned to take two months. CPC has halted operations after a drone attack by the Ukrainian navy caused significant damage to its SPM-2 mooring. Sources...

Sources familiar with the matter say that Novatek, a Russian producer of liquefied natural gases, has reduced the price of its cargoes between 30% and 40% since August in order to encourage Chinese buyers to buy sanctioned gas produced by its Arctic LNG 2 Project. The purchase has ended the commercial limbo of the $21 billion project that is subject to the most severe sanctions the U.S., Europe and Russia have imposed against Russia. Washington wants to stop the flow of oil revenue into Kremlin bank accounts as U.S. president Donald Trump increases pressure on Moscow to end their war...

Four of the eight main opposition coalitions won seats in Georgia's Parliament just over a month ago. All but one of the eight leaders are either in prison, exiled or facing criminal charges. The ruling party wants to outright ban the main opposition groups. Many in the tiny South Caucasus nation of 3.7 millions have been shocked by the slide towards one-party rule. Georgia was a democratic country that appeared to be on the rise in the years after the fall of the Soviet Union. It seemed poised to join the EU, and escape Russia's influence. Brussels' assessment, however, says...

Two industry sources and LSEG data show that the Russian port of Novorossiysk resumed oil loadings Sunday, after a suspension lasting two days due to a Ukrainian drone and missile attack. Novorossiysk temporarily halted oil exports on Friday, equating to 2.2 millions barrels of oil per day or 2% global supply. According to two anonymous industry sources, loadings have resumed. According to LSEG, two tankers - the Suezmax and Aframax classes Rodos - are loading oil on the port's berths. Two oil berths were damaged by a Ukrainian drone at the Russian Black Sea port Novorossiysk on Friday, which forced...

Following talks between their respective Presidents at the Kremlin, Russia and Kazakhstan agreed to increase their partnership in oil following the talks on Wednesday. Kazakhstan, a landlocked country, is heavily dependent on Russia for its energy exports. More than 80% its oil is exported via a pipeline run by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium that runs to a terminal in Russia's Black Sea. The Russian President Vladimir Putin met with the Kazakh President Kassym Jomart Tokayev on Wednesday, where they discussed gas projects and U.S. sanctions against Russian oil companies. Tokayev, in a televised statement following the meeting with Putin, said:...

In an opaque market, the differentials between urals crude and other grades remained stable on Monday as participants assessed the impact of sanctions placed on Lukoil last month and Rosneft the previous month on the supply of this grade to India and Turkey. Sources in the trade said that two Indian state refiners bought 5 million barrels from spot markets as they continued to search for alternatives to Russian oil supplies. Sources said that Lukoil declared force majore at its Iraqi field of oil, while Bulgaria was preparing to seize the Burgas refinery as its international operations buckled due to...

Hungary announced on Saturday that it has been granted an indefinite exemption from U.S. sanction for its use of Russian oil and natural gas. This is contrary to a White House official, who claimed it was only granted a year-long exemption. Last month, U.S. president Donald Trump imposed sanctions related to Ukraine on Russian oil firms Lukoil & Rosneft. These sanctions carried the threat of additional sanctions against entities who buy oil from these firms. Viktor Orban met with Trump, a longtime ally of Trump, at the White House last Friday in order to push for a reprieve. Hungary heavily...

The Suez Canal has seen two tankers with around 1.5 million barrels each of Russian Urals crude drop anchor in the sea. This is an indication of the difficulties Moscow faces selling oil following the tightening of Western sanctions last month. According to tracking data provided by LSEG, OilX and LSEG, the vessels Sikar and Monte 1 both carried oil from Russia’s Baltic port Primorsk at the beginning of October. They have remained anchored for more than a week near this canal. The United States, along with the European Union, have tightened sanctions on Russia's oil industry in an effort...