The recent crisis in Cyprus and its much debated rescue plan will undoubtedly have an impact in the shipping industry as well, not so much in terms of Cyprus-based companies, but more importantly in the future prospects of the Eurozone economy, where a large part of the shipping community is based.

Drewry’s research shows that the average size of vessel deployed between Asia and North Europe now exceeds 10,000 teu for the first time. Orders for Ultra Large Container Vessels (ULCVs) have been quiet recently, but the pace of growth in vessel sizes will continue to outstrip cargo growth for the foreseeable

Six months ago, softening steel prices and weak demand meant that a pronounced cut in Chinese steel production seemed likely. Iron ore imports looked to be on course for a weaker period. However, December’s iron imports were a record 70.9mt and January imports were also pretty firm at 65.5mt. So is the worst now

It's been the usual story so far in the 2013 year for the owners of VLCC tankers; pressured spot rates, which are attributed to the usual culprit combination of tonnage overcapacity and relatively weak demand. According to the latest report from US-based consultantants of Mcquilling Services, weak demand "has been further exacerbated by seasonal refinery maintenance, particularly in the US. According to data from JBC

Over the last decade, China's dry bulk imports have rocketed to 1.3bn tonnes in 2013. Such has been the development of China's involvement in dry bulk trade that concepts such as the Baltic Dry Index are becoming common currency amongst laymen. Many non-traditional companies and investors have been showing interest in getting involved in shipping, and consequently, the nature of ownership of the Chinese dry bulk fleet is changing.

Dynamar has just published “INTRA-NORTH EUROPE (2013) CONTAINER TRADES”, the latest report in its Container Trades and Markets series. Salient details and some interesting findings of the new report are discussed here below. Intra-North Europe (2013) Container Trades … is all about the more than 160 services operated by 40 different shipping companies deploying container, Ro/Ro and multipurpose ships with

The recent rally of the Baltic Dry Index (BDI), coupled with renewed optimism, at least in some parts of the wet market, have prompted many ship owners to stage a come back in the second hand and newbuilding markets, during the course of the past week. According to the latest report from shipbroker Intermodal, "tankers and bulkers attracted equal interest in the secodnhand market. What we hadn't seen for a long time

The NATO Shipping Centre has issued new Weekly Piracy Assessment for the period from 21 to 27 March 2013. During this perido, there was no significant events to report. All masters are advised to maintain heightened vigilance when at anchor and when loitering/queuing as there may be a higher likelihood of these vessels being targeted by pirates. The uniform risk to merchant vessels throughout the HRA is a reminder

Salvors, said the President of the International Salvage Union Andreas Tsavliris, “are innovators and problems solvers and don’t walk away from a challenge”. But the difficulties which may be encountered with giant ships, he warned, “may be beyond problem solving”. At the annual ISU Associate Members’ Day in London last week, it was reported that the total of all pollutants salved by member companies in 2012 was 810,068 tonnes

Newbuilding ordering activity picked up once again during the course of the past week, as many European ship owners looked to close up pending deals, ahead of the coming Easter Holidays in a large part of Europe, the US and other countries around the world. According to the latest report from shipbroker Golden Destiny, overall the past week was completed with a total of 49 new orders reported worldwide for a total ship

Overall confidence levels in the shipping industry recovered to their highest level for two years in the three months ended February 2013, according to the latest Shipping Confidence Survey from international accountant and shipping adviser Moore Stephens. There was improved expectation of freight rate increases over the next twelve months, particularly in the dry bulk sector, and greater likelihood of new investment

The Multipurpose sector faces a difficult couple of years, but its long-term prospects are good, according to Drewry Maritime Research’s latest Annual Multipurpose Shipping Market Review and Forecast report. Most owners of Multipurpose ships (MPVs) were fairly upbeat at the start of 2012 and, in spite of weak freight rates, continued to be so well into the first half of the year. However, over the course of the year

Everyday more and more shipping delegates are arguing in favor of further tanker newbuilding ordering, as they deem this period of time and the current earning environment as an opportunity to purchase new vessels, ahead of a future rate recovery. According to the latest report from analyst Poten & Partners, "many owners, relying on sometimes generations’ worth of experience, are confident of the inevitability

A decline in demand for Capesize vessels has been countered by an improvement in demand for Panamax vessels, according to the latest Dry Bulk Insight, published by Drewry Maritime Research. This left the Drewry Hire Index unchanged from January’s level. Panamax was the sole segment to record an improvement in earnings in February. Rates for vessels doing round voyages from Far East to East Australia more than doubled,

The total capacity of the containership fleet has almost quadrupled since the turn of the century, to stand at 16.3m TEU at the start of March 2013. However, the total capacity of the sub-4,000 TEU fleet peaked in December 2008. Scrapping remains at elevated levels, while the orderbook for the smaller size sectors is unmistakably thin. As such, the smaller fleet sectors look likely to continue shrinking, at least in the short-term.

The cost of bunkers is nowadays the driving force behind most ship owners' major decisions, with regulations bound to change in many parts of the world, imposing the burning of cleaner marine fuels and thus turning the shipping industry into one with a much lower environmental impact. According to the latest weekly report from shipbroker Gibson, bunker prices have fluctuated more than two fold in the last five years.

Trade in steel products now accounts for 20% of minor bulk trade, and has grown on average by 4% pa since 2000. Much of the recent growth has been intra-Asian, but globally trade has also been affected by economic problems. In 2012, seaborne trade in steel products was 281mt, up 52% compared to 2000, with trade patterns having shifted over this period due to changes in steel output and demand.

The Indian Government’s plans to develop two new ports along the East Coast of India have been greeted with a mixture of euphoria and dismay by the port industry. During his speech to Parliament on 28 February, India’s Finance Minister indicated the establishment of two new ports in his proposed budget. The first will be at Sagar in West Bengal, and the second in Andhra Pradesh. The two will add 100 million tonnes of capacity.

In its announcement regarding its annual performance, ship owner Frontline offered some useful insight on the future prospects of both the dry bulk and tanker market segments. In the dry bulk market, there's room for optimism as a result of an expected sharp decline of newbuilding deliveries over the next two years. "With

As the industry absorbs a new generation of officers, it faces the challenge of smoothly integrating them and their ideas with their elders. It’s a familiar story. Young people enter a profession bringing with them new skills and attitudes that might