Over the years, a lot of cities have emerged as potential candidates to lure ship owners and shipping companies away from traditional maritime centers like London. Some of them have succeded more so than others, but the British capital has remained the main choice for most ship owners. This will be the case in the future, according to Mr. Doug Barrow, Chief Executive at Maritime London, an organization which is promoting London as a premier maritime centre. At the same time, Mr. Barrow is at the forefront of the London ...

The current demise of the dry bulk market isn’t one to go away anytime soon. That doesn’t mean that it can’t improve, with all ship classes expected to cover their operating costs by May. Meanwhile, demolition activity isn’t enough, at least thus far, to offset oversupply of tonnage in the dry bulk market. It’s one of the reasons behind the downfall of the market in the past few months. In an exclusive interview with Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide, BIMCO’s Chief Shipping Analyst, Mr. Peter Sand, said that the organization expects ...

The Marshall Islands ship registry (RMI) is now the third largest in the shipping business, having grown by 17% during 2014. In an interview with Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide, Mr. Theo K. Xenakoudis, Director, Worldwide Business Operations, Managing Director – Piraeus, Greece, with International Registries Inc., “as of the end of February 2015, the Registry stood at nearly 118 million GT and over 3,400 vessels”. At the same time, a paper published by the Greek Shipping Cooperation Committee (GSCC) in April 2014 with data provided by Lloyd’s Register of Shipping-Fairplay, ...

The tanker market has been the “darling” of the shipping industry over the past few months, as the dry bulk market recovery story never actually materialized. In an interview with Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide, Mr. George P. Los, Senior Market Analyst / Projects with shipbroker Charles R. Weber noted that tanker market freight rates rose by 68% in terms of average earnings over the course of the fourth quarter of the year, to levels not seen since 2008. He added that “in the Long and Medium range product segments, the ...

The global shipping industry is faced with a flurry of new rules and regulations, often unilateral, as has been the case with EU’s recent decision to impose the monitoring of shipping emissions from ships on the region water’s. Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide interviewed Mr. Patrick Verhoeven Secretary General of the European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA), on the most pressing issues that shipping is dealing with at the moment, from the upcoming ECAs and the operational problems that ship owners will be faced with, to the adoption of the new Polar ...

2015 is shaping up to become a “trademark” year for Harry Vafias’ StealthGas. The company is due to take delivery of the bulk of newbuilding orders placed for 19 new generation LPG carriers. It will be a major stepping stone in the company’s recent history, which, aided by the low rate volatility market prevailing in the LPG business segment where it’s active, is due to provide huge value to investors. In an interview with Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide (www.hellenichsippingnews.com), StealthGas’ CEO, Mr. Harry Vafias noted that the company isn’t planning ...

Ship owners who have invested in high quality and younger tonnage will fare better in a dry bulk market with “normal” freight levels, noted Mr. George D. Goudromichalis, CEO of Blue Wall Shipping, which operates a modern fleet of Handy and Supramax carriers. In an interview with Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide, Mr. Gourdomichalis said that his company has placed an order for 4 Handymax vessels (43,000-dwt each), while he estimated that the market won’t experience much volatility in the coming months. On the surge of private equity investors in shipping, ...

Determining a ship’s fair value can be a very tricky business, especially when you’re the one paying. As such, ship owners are looking at a variety of factors, when they pull the trigger on new acquisitions, whether these are newbuildings or existing carriers, especially in today’s challenging market conditions, when a wrong business decision is often hard to recover from. In an exclusive interview with Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide (www.hellenicshippingnews.com), VesselsValue’s Director of Analytics, Mr. Kaizad Doctor, provides a very useful insight into the process of evaluating ships’ prices, while ...

Alfa Laval, the Swedish-based industrial group with a strong presence in marine products, like ballast water systems and scrubbers, opened its new Alfa Laval Hellas certified service centre. According to Mr. Nish Patel, regional executive Vice President of the company, “Alfa Laval in Greece has increased its presence and volumes during a time of crisis and will continue to do so. The opening of the new certified service centre and refurbished offices, is the confirmation of our belief in the Greek market.” In an interview with Mr. Patel, Hellenic Shipping ...

The dry bulk market is bound for a recovery in the coming weeks, as the market will be better balanced, said Mr. Michael Bodouroglou, Chairman and CEO of Paragon Shipping, in an interview with Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide. Mr. Bodouroglou attributed the lacklustre performance of the market since the start of the year to a high level of newbuilding deliveries and a slowdown of grain and iron ore trade. In terms of Paragon Shipping’s fleet growth, Mr. Bodouroglou expressed the view, that, at the moment, it makes more business sense ...

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. ...