Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide, Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and International Shipping

With VLCCs and Suezmaxes emerging as the most sought after tanker classes from ship owners this year, the focus has shifted away from product tankers, which were the “stars” of the first half of last year. According to Mr. Patrick Tye, Head of Research of Gibson Shipbrokers, nearly 300 product tanker orders were placed last year, versus just 62 crude tankers, but in the first fewmonths of 2014, owners have ordered 20 VLCC’s, versus just 29 product tankers, a complete reversal over last year. In an interview with Hellenic Shipping ...

As a gruelling first quarter edges closer to the end, dry bulk ship owners are looking at an improved second quarter demand, which, coupled with slow steaming and other cost saving measures, will lead to the market’s rebound. Speaking with Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide in an exclusive interview, BIMCO’s Chief Shipping Analyst, Mr. Peter Sand, noted that lower freight rates over the first couple of months of 2014, were to be expected, but as 2014 moves forward, things will begin to improve. “On the average freight rates levels we have ...

Nigeria will remain a serious piracy hot-spot in 2014, as the country still resists the allowing of non-Nigerian armed guards on board vessels plying its waters. This according to Mr.Alex Kemp, Managing Director with NYA International, a specialist crisis prevention and response consultancy, who spoke with Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide. As such, one of the world’s leading insurance groups, American International Group Inc. (AIG) is tailoring its offerings to provide a full solution package to handle piracy incidents. The company recently presented in a special event in Athens, its offering, ...

UPS is looking to establish long-term ship supply services in the maritime industry, through its extensive network of service around the world. As the company’s executives put it: “We transport everything from small documents to aircraft engines by ground and air at whatever speed is required around the world”. As such, the company has invested billions in order to upgrade its network and being able to offer maritime companies the opportunity to have the capability to be both responsive and reliable when responding to fleet supply needs. According to Iulia ...

A range of issues are now pressing the global shipping industry, from new conventions entering into force, like the Maritime Labour Convention and the Ballast Water Treatment one, while at the same time a more diligent approach is needed to maintain safety onboard modern vessels. As one of the leading ship services company, Wilhelmen Ships Service is providing ship owners worldwide with a vast array of services on every conceivable area. Hellenic Shipping News discussed with WSS’ Business Director Marine Chemicals, Mr. Bernd Hans Bauer and Business Director Safety Mr. ...

A few days back, leading consulting group BCG presented its research on the Hellenic shipping industry’s contribution to the local economy. The findings are rather impressive as it was shown that the shipping industry represents over 7% of the GDP, accounts for 165k to 200k jobs impacting over 500k people. In an exclusive interview with Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide, Camille Egloff-Ghicas, Partner and Managing Director in BCG (Boston Consulting Group) Athens and leading the BCG Shipping practice in Hellas, says that the rate of competitiveness of Hellenic shipping companies is ...

This latest surge of the dry bulk market, which has brought it to two-year highs, has been led by the Capesize segment, as a result of low tonnage availability and high cargo demand from China says Jeffrey Landsberg, managing director of US-based Commodore Research & Consultancy, in an exclusive interview with Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide. According to Mr. Landsberg, Capesizes will peak well above today’s peak levels. The shipping analyst had accurately predicted back in 2011that the next upward cycle of the dry bulk market, would occur by the second ...

The Marshall Islands Registry has firmly established itself as a major flag-state which offers a comprehensive set of services and maintains a global presence. It’s also among the top five registries of choice among Hellenic ship owners. In an interview with Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide, Mr. Theofilos Xenakoudis, head of the Registry’s office in Hellas, talks about the Registry’s presence in Hellas and internationally, as well as its growth plans. He also informs us about the latest developments from a regulatory point of view. How has the 2012 year progressed ...

Many analysts have advocated that the dry bulk market is heading towards a moderate recovery starting from 2014 onwards, as a result of improving demand, continuous scrapping of older dry bulk carriers and a less than overwhelming outstanding newbuilding tonnage. But, according to Mr. Yannis Pachoulis, head of shipbroker MegaChart and former President of the Hellenic Shipbrokers’ Association, “there are still issues with the financing of contractual letters of credit, necessary towards assisting global trade growth and as a result helping the shipping market reach higher freight rate levels”. He ...

Today’s ports are facing multiple challenges, from improving infrastructure to handle larger vessels, to “must-have” gains in productivity, the list goes on, not to mention the need to have a responsible environmental policy. APM Terminals’ CEO, Mr. Kim Fejfer discusses all of the above in an exclusive interview with Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide. Mr. Fejfer, a member of the Maersk Group for the better part of two decades and CEO of APM Terminals since June 2004, recognizes development opportunities in many parts of Asia, Latin America and Africa, where Nigeria ...

With ship prices plunging by double-digits in the past few years, many ship owners are pondering their next moves in a market often described as attractive. But is this really the case, when taking into account other factors, like for instance freight rates? VesselsValue’s Adrian Economakis, Strategy Director with the company describes the current and future trends of the ship valuation market. VesselsValue’ service has been established as a leading tool among banks, ship onwers and investors in the maritime industry, seeking accurate valuations of various types of vessels. During ...

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 on rising during the 2013-2015 period, but not at a level strong enough to provide room for a full market recovery. How is oil demand ...

In a multi-tier market that differentiates between vessels based on their efficiency, the newly bred “Eco-Ships” will result in significantly improved employment opportunities and earnings for these energy optimised vessels, says Mr. Athanasios Reisopoulos, Vice President, Area Office Southern Europe of Germanischer Lloyd Hellas M.E.P.E. In an interview with Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide, Mr. Reisopoulos discussed the latest measures in effect regarding reducing emissions and better streamlining a ship owner’s operations, the prospects of LNG as a leading shipping fuel, as well as GL’s market-leading products and services, aimed at ...

When it comes to the rising costs of bunkers, ship owners are often presented with a variety of solutions and choices, both in terms of technology available and in terms of use of new tools. In an interview with Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide, Camille Egloff-Ghicas, Partner and Managing Director in BCG (Boston Consulting Group) Athens and leading the BCG Shipping practice in Hellas, noted that bunker costs are the single largest cost item for shipping companies, representing 35-50% of total costs. BCG recently published a report where it details a ...

Ship values especially in older tonnage, or even modern vessels with poor quality are expected to fall further during 2013, with the market as a whole predicted to bottom-out next year, creating the ground for a rebound later on. In an exclusive interview with Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide, Mr. George D. Gourdomichalis, Managing Director of G. Bros Maritime S.A. talks about the dry bulk market’s potential in 2013, which ship types appear to have the best value-for-money and debates the effectiveness of the new breed of “Eco-Carriers”. The Gourdomichalis family ...