Although, in first appearance the loss of Hugo Chavez, the undisputed leader of Venezuela for the past decade or so, doesn't appear to be set to make any major difference of crude oil flows from the Latin American country, some analysts beg to differ. According to the latest weekly report from analyst Poten & Partners, "Hugo Chavez’s death earlier this week was notable from several perspectives, not the least of which

The shipping markets are a journey; they have their ups and downs and their flat bits. As any parent will tell you, the first question you get on a journey from the back seat usually five minutes after its start and every ten minutes thereafter is, Are we nearly there yet? It's a question the shipping markets are perennially trying to answer. However, the answer sought is less about the destination than about the next stage

EMSA publishes Final Report for Study on standards and rules for bunkering of gas-fuelled ships. The objective of this report is to provide a detailed description of the existing rule framework related to LNG bunkering.This report provides recommendations for possible common EU wide guidelines for bunkering LNG as ship fuel.Maritime environmental regulations and the continuous development of the economic

Shale gas potential has been driving energy news bulletins during the past couple of years, as there seems to be a whole new market, which could lead to substantial discoveries and turn energy needs away from conventional fuels like oil. In its recent weekly report, shipbroker Intermodal highlighted that according

Clarkson PLC (Clarksons) announced preliminary results for the twelve months ended 31 December 2012.Andi Case, Chief Executive, commented:“Last year the shipping markets remained significantly, and in some cases increasingly, challenged, with global economic weakness and the demand/supply imbalance of

Good morning, distinguished delegates and observers – and welcome to the twenty-first session of the Sub-Committee on Flag State Implementation. I extend a particularly warm welcome to those of you who are attending this Sub-Committee for the first time.

The dry bulk market has continued its rising pattern set after China opened up again for business, following the Asian New Year Holidays. As a result, the industry's benchmark, the Baltic Dry Index rose again yesterday by 14 points, to reach 834, with all major ship types gaining on the day. Still, according to market analysts and shipbrokers, this current trend isn't set to continue at least for the next few months. According to them,

The annual GL Hellenic Technical Committee was held in Athens yesterday. The Committee brings together representatives from the Greek maritime community, to hear and discuss presentations from both GL and external experts. This year, GL’s experts provided the Committee members with an update on the latest market trends and shipbuilding technology and examined some key topics for the future of

'Financing Charters' may now be treated as 'Preferred Mortgages' — The Republic of the Marshall Islands passes Maritime Amendment Act (No. 1), 2013. The Republic of the Marshall Islands’ Nitijela has passed the Maritime Amendment Act (No. 1), 2013 – a legislative initiative of key significance to the international marine finance community. The first-of-its-kind legislation permits a “financing charter” to be treated as a preferred

With oil demand still not rising quickly enough in order to absorb the extra tonnage, it seems that the VLCC tanker market is set for yet another dismal year. In its latest report, Poten & Partners noted that VLCC sector earnings continue to languish as recent rate movements broke through previously estimated seasonal support levels. TD1 spot rates have fallen into the teens, while other Baltic VLCC routes have also dropped

DryShips Inc., or DryShips or the Company, an international provider of marine transportation services for drybulk and petroleum cargoes, and through its majority owned subsidiary, Ocean Rig UDW Inc., or Ocean Rig, of offshore deepwater drilling services, yesterday announced its unaudited financial and operating results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2012. Fourth Quarter 2012 Financial Highlights

The International Labour Organization (ILO) adopted the MLC on 23 February 2006. Following ratification of the Convention by the thirtieth State on 20 August 2012, the Convention will enter into force internationally on 20 August 2013. As of 27 February 2013, thirty five States have now ratified the Convention. The MLC provides a set of comprehensive rights and protection at work for seafarers and aims to achieve minimum

Navios Maritime Holdings Inc. ("Navios Holdings" or "the Company") (NYSE: NM), a global, vertically integrated seaborne shipping and logistics company, today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2012. Angeliki Frangou, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Navios Holdings stated, "I believe that Navios Holdings is poised to capture any upturn in the market. During the past few years, as

With the first couple of months of 2013 now "under our belt" it seems that ship owners around the world have laid out their investment planning, thus heading out to shipyards for their ordering business. As a result, there is a steady stream of new orders across all sector of the shipping markets. The reason for this is that, in Clarkson Hellas' words, "they realize that competitively priced opportunities and deliveries are potentially

Rising demand has prompted owners to order more and larger LPG vessels, according to the latest LPG Forecaster from Drewry Maritime Research. The increased demand has been further improved by a growing consumption base in emerging economies, with supply bolstered by an expected emergence of new export sources, notably the US and the Russia. LPG demand in the so-called saturated markets, such as Japan

Work to update the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions estimate for international shipping moved forward during an Expert Workshop at IMO Headquarters last week, (26 February to 1 March 2013), attended by more than one hundred participants from IMO Member Governments and Observer Organizations. A final study is expected to be delivered in 2014. The Workshop followed the endorsement, in principle, by IMO’s Marine

One of the worst hit segments of the crude tanker market appears to be the Suezmax one, which has been taking one blow after another in recent days. According to the latest weekly report from London-based shipbroker Gibson, "with the winter season traditionally being the strongest time of the year for earnings, it is a worrying tale that in the fourth quarter of 2012, TD5 earnings averaged a mere $13,500/day compared

Drewry’s latest Tanker Insight shows that VLCC owners are still struggling despite an increase in demand due to low freight rates and persistent overcapacity in the Middle East Gulf. This was reflected in the Drewry Tanker Earning Index, which fell by 27% to 50.3 in January. After low activity in December due to the holiday season, the VLCC market recovered in January with 31.7 million tonnes of crude fixed compared with 20.7

Recent events have demonstrated that a fire on board a ship can be potentially devastating and can seriously affect the safety of those on board. Preliminary results from the Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on Fire Safety Systems, carried out between 1 September 2012 and 30 November 2012 in the Paris MoU region show that: 103 ships were detained over the 3 month period as a direct result of the CIC for deficiencies

In an interview with Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide, Mr. Steve Christy, Director with Gibson Shipbrokers Consultancy & Research, noted that a series of changes in oil trade patterns, coupled with market fundamentals of supply and demand, are expected to provide added boost in the clean product tanker market trade, rather than the crude tanker markets. He also mentioned that demolition activity is set to keep