Far East fronthauls – a key battleground for carriers to protect profitability. When analyzing the ocean freight shipping industry, our gaze often falls on fronthaul spot rates from the Far East – the world’s manufacturing powerhouse and driver of global trade. 2023 has been a year marked by lower shipping volumes coupled with increased capacity. But what impact have these market dynamics had on spot rates out of the Far East? Firstly, let’s take a look at spot rates from the Far East into the Mediterranean, which fell by 45.9% ...

The lackluster end to the year in sub continent recycling markets continues for another week as disappointed owners and cash buyers face selling their inventory into markets where prices have slumped.

Asia’s cash premiums for 0.5% very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) and high sulphur fuel oil inched higher on Friday after European inventories declined. The Singapore 0.5% VLSFO premium rose to $8.70 a metric ton, from $8.52 a day earlier. The balance-Dec/Jan timespread for VLSFO widened to $7.50 a ton on Friday, compared with $6.95 a ton a day before. Meanwhile, the high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) market also gained ground. The cash premium for 380-cst grade rose to 47 cents a ton and the discount on 180-cst grade narrowed by ...

Bocimar have committed their Capesize “Mineral Ningbo” 178/2009 SWS, China (SS/DD 07/2024) to Chinese buyers Agricore at region USD 20 mill.

North America Prompt availability is tight for all grades in Houston. One supplier requires lead times of six days to supply VLSFO and LSMGO in the port. Some suppliers have cautioned about potential bunker delays over the weekend due to fog and reduced visibility. VLSFO and LSMGO availability is normal in Bolivar Roads. One supplier requires lead times of five days to deliver both grades. VLSFO availability is tight for very prompt dates (0-2 days) in the Port of Mobile. Strong wind gusts are forecast to hit the Galveston Offshore ...

Amidst the discussions at COP28 in Dubai, the pressing need to decarbonize the shipping sector takes center stage. In this context, a cross-cutting initiative, the “2030 Shipping Pact for People and Nature (SPPaN)” emerges to address the interconnected challenges of pollution, biodiversity loss, and the climate crisis and the potential co-benefits of shipping decarbonization for people and nature. There has been increasing focus on the need – and opportunities – to decarbonize international shipping. However, a sustainable, resilient maritime industry needs to consider not only how to decarbonise, but also ...

The European Union is poised to give its member states the power to halt gas imports from Russia and Belarus, the Financial Times reported on Friday. Any member state will be able to block companies from Russia and Belarus from obtaining space in their gas pipelines and liquefied natural gas terminals, FT reported citing a draft legal text proposed by Brussels. EU member states could have the authority to “partially or, where justified, completely limit” access to infrastructure to gas operators from Russia and Belarus, in order to protect their ...

China imported 7.92 million metric tons of soybeans in November, customs data showed on Thursday, up 7.8% from a year earlier but lower than traders’ expectations due to slower clearing of cargoes at customs. The world’s top importer of soybeans was expected by some traders to bring in as much as 10 million tons last month, after large purchases of the oilseed from top supplier Brazil. However, the customs authorities are taking longer to issue import licences than before, which has delayed the unloading of cargoes, said Yuyun Chen, trader ...

Teck and Oldendorff Carriers announce agreement to outfit bulk carrier with Flettner Rotor sails to reduce emissions. Teck Resources Limited (“Teck”) and Oldendorff Carriers GmbH & Co. KG (“Oldendorff”) today announced an agreement to use wind propulsion to further reduce CO2 emissions in Teck’s supply chain. The joint investment will see the vessel Dietrich Oldendorf, which carries shipments of Teck steelmaking coal from the Port of Vancouver, outfitted with a Flettner Rotor system by mid-2024. The Flettner Rotors generate lift from the wind, which is translated into additional thrust, thereby ...

GTT, the technological expert in membrane containment systems used to transport and store liquefied gases, announces the signing of a strategic cooperation agreement with China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited (CSSC), the leading Chinese ship-building group, at the opening ceremony of the Marintec China international trade fair. The agreement provides for cooperation between GTT and twelve subsidiaries of the CSSC conglomerate, notably in ship design and construction, cryogenic containment technologies for LNG shipping, LNG as fuel and smart shipping[1] solutions. As part of this agreement, GTT and CSSC aim, on the ...

Deltamarin has signed a design contract with China Merchants Jinling Shipyard (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd for the design and engineering of Wallenius Wilhelmsen’s next-generation Pure Car & Truck Carriers (PCTCs). The signed contract includes the complete basic and detail design work for four confirmed, and up to eight optional, units of 9,350 CEU class methanol dual-fuel PCTCs ordered by Wallenius Wilhemsen. Prior to this engineering contract, Deltamarin has executed the outline and contract design of the new vessels. Named ‘The Shaper Class,’ the vessels represent Wallenius Wilhelmsen’s commitment to environmental goals, ...

Iron ore futures gained on Friday, buoyed by a raft of factors such as robust export data from top consumer China, speculation of economic stimulus, and persistently upbeat demand. The most-traded May iron ore on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange closed 2.4% higher at 958.5 yuan ($133.86) per metric ton. The benchmark contract grew 3.8% this week, recording its best week in five. On the Singapore Exchange, the benchmark January iron ore SZZFU3 was up 0.9% at $133.9 a metric ton, as at 0730 GMT. China’s exports grew for the first ...

The benchmark for world food commodity prices were broadly stable in November, with lower international cereal quotations offset by higher prices of vegetable oils, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported Friday. The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of a set of globally-traded food commodities, averaged 120.4 points in November, unchanged from its level in the previous month and 10.7 percent lower than in November 2022. The FAO Cereal Price Index decreased by 3.0 percent from October. International prices ...

OPEC+ crude production fell 110,000 b/d in November to 42.6 million b/d, as exports from several key producers fell month on month, the latest Platts survey by S&P Global Commodity Insights has found. Output from OPEC’s 13 members contracted by 70,000 b/d to 27.82 million b/d, mainly due to a drop in Iraqi output, the survey found, while 10 non-OPEC allies, led by Russia, pumped 40,000 b/d less. OPEC’s largest producer, Saudi Arabia, kept November production flat on the month at 9 million b/d. This is in line with its ...

Prices for liquefied natural gas in Asia rose to their steepest premium over European prices for two years this week as congestion at the Panama Canal drove up the price of shipping U.S. LNG to Asia. Ships are facing long wait times at the Panama Canal as a severe drought hits reservoirs key to the operation of one of the world’s most important maritime channels. The delays have driven up transport costs for container vessels, ships carrying grains and oil and gas tankers. That is forcing LNG cargoes from the ...