The US crude oil export market is fast becoming a major one for tankers. In a recent report, shipbroker Banchero Costa said that “driven by the shale oil boom of the last decade, the United States have rapidly increased both the production and the export of crude oil and oil products. Seaborne crude oil exports from the USA reached 128.4 mln tonnes in 2019 (excluding domestic cabotage), based on Refinitiv ship tracking data. This was +46.9% up from the 87.4 mln tonnes of crude oil exported in 2018. Crude production ...

The tanker market is having to cope with yet another Libyan crisis and its effect in the flow of crude oil cargoes from the Northern African country. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Gibson said that “yet again, global crude production has taken a major hit. Late last week forces loyal to the Libyan National Army (LNA) began shutting down oil ports along the Libyan coast. Latest reports suggest that almost all of Libya’s production has been taken offline as ports remain blockaded and storage tanks begin to fill”. According ...

Capital-Executive Ship Management participates in the ShipFC project which is being run by a consortium of 14 European companies and institutions, co-ordinated by the Norwegian cluster organisation NCE Maritime CleanTech, and has been awarded backing from the EU’s Research and Innovation programme Horizon 2020 under its Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking. The project will see an offshore vessel, Viking Energy, which is owned and operated by Eidesvik and on contract to energy major Equinor, have a large 2MW ammonia fuel cell retrofitted, allowing it to sail solely on the ...

The shipping industry has been looking forward to a trade deal between the US and China for quite some time now. As a result, the latest positive development is expected to boost the fortunes of both the dry bulk and the tanker markets, but also to increase demand for vessel acquisitions among shipowners. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Intermodal said that “it seems that we are finally seeing whitish smoke as far as the trade feud between the US and China is concerned, while following this much anticipated deal ...

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. yesterday announced the appointment of Mr. Brian Laibow to its Board of Directors (“Board”) as Class B Director and to the Company’s Nomination and Corporate Governance Committee (the “Committee”). Mr. Laibow fills the seat made vacant by the resignation of Ms. Emily Stephens who had been a director of the Company and member of its Committee since November 2018. Additionally, the Company announced that funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. (“Oaktree”) exercised the right to designate an additional director to the Company’s Board under the ...

Trying to see the shipping market’s “glass” as “half-full”, shipbrokers are estimating that even under the worst-case scenarios, when it comes to the future growth of the global economy, shipping should manage. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Allied Shipbroking said that “with 2019 having posted the slowest growth figure in a decade for the global economy according to last week’s report by the UN and with both the UN and IMF having posted significant downward revisions for their projections of economic growth for the year ahead, it looks as ...

With the majority of shipping markets on a downward path, market delegates were expecting an increase in ships’ recycling activity and this scenario is now materializing. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Clarkson Platou Hellas said that “it seems the positivity seen last week has carried forward into this week as various market negotiations pushed price levels further and proved that any previous sales were not just a flash in the pan. This stability has come from the Indian steel industry remaining positive on the back of their improved domestic ...

MSC Cruises will deploy MSC Lirica to the Eastern Mediterranean market in summer 2021 and she will homeport in Piraeus (Athens), Greece for the entire season. MSC Lirica will offer a newly-designed innovative itinerary 7-night cruises on 23 separate occasions between May and September 2021 from Piraeus calling Mykonos; Haifa, Israel; Limassol, Cyprus, Rhodes and Kusadasi, Turkey before returning to Piraeus. Angelo Capurro, Executive Director, MSC Cruises said: “Since we first saw guests board our ships in Greece in 2003 our presence in the country has grown significantly and I ...

The expansion of the Piraeus passenger terminal for the construction of 2 berthing positions for the “new generation” cruise ships over 280 meters long and with 2,500 passengers’ capacity, was the focus of the meeting between Attica Regional Governor G. Patoulis with representatives of the Piraeus Port Authority. The project amounts to € 120 million which is funded by the European Regional Development Fund through Priority Axis 7 of the Regional Operational Program Attica 2014-2020. In the meeting participated Thanos Liagkos, Member of the PPA BoD representing the PPA S.A. ...

Global Marine Travel (GMT), announced yesterday that it has partnered with Argo Travel Group to enhance its travel offering, particularly in terms of service delivery and driving growth in the Greek and international markets. In Argo, Global Marine Travel gains a marine partner with an experienced team and a strong reputation for service delivery, that will drive the growth of the business in Greece and other international locations. Global Marine Travel will benefit from access to a Greek IATA license and local marine fares, thereby increasing travel service options for ...

For all of China’s efforts to lower its dependance on coal as a primary energy source, the country remains a major factor for seaborne coal demand. In a recent weekly note, shipbroker Banchero Costa said that “China’s coal imports raced ahead in 2019, surprising many who had expected that in the months of 2019 to come the government would clamp down strictly on shipments. With economic growth at its weakest in decades in the midst of a trade war with the US, import curbs have been loosened on the nation’s ...

The tanker market is among the key beneficiaries of the recent US-China Phase 1 trade agreement. However, other markets could benefit as well. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Gibson said that “after nearly two years of trade tensions, the US and China have finally signed the long-awaited phase one trade deal, helping to ease economic fears and boosting market confidence. The Trump government claims an enormous win as well as a political victory, being able to make progress where previous administrations have failed. The centrepiece of the trade agreement ...

The tanker market enjoyed a solid growth run during the month of December with Aframaxes posting the biggest gains, OPEC said in its latest monthly report. The tanker market experienced a general strengthening trend in December as freight rates in both the dirty and clean segments of the market increased. On average, dirty tanker spot freight rates rose by 29% from the previous month on the back of increased tonnage requirements, tonnage tightening and high bunker prices. Enhanced market activities were seen to drive rates higher in all areas, affecting ...

Capital Ship Management Corp. took successful delivery today of the newbuilding vessel M/T ‘Aristofanis’, a 115,000 dwt, eco-type crude oil tanker, built by Daehan Shipbuilding Co., Ltd, S.Korea. It is the second of two sister ships to be delivered in January 2020. Source: Capital Ship Management Corp.

Shares of Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) surged last year, even though it was a volatile one for dry bulk shipping rates. Overall, shares of the shipping company rallied 29.2%, which was just ahead of the S&P 500’s 28.9% gain. With the shipping stock surging last year, investors might be wondering if it has any more room to run. Here’s a look at the case for and against buying shares right now. The bull case for Star Bulk Carriers One of the drivers of last year’s rally was a move that ...