What to expect from 4Q GDP? Hong Kong SAR, Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines will release their GDP performance in the final quarter of 2020. Like China, Taiwan continued to buck the region-wide negative GDP trend in the last quarter of 2020. Not only staying in the positive territory, but growth also gained further traction to our house forecast of 4.2% year-on-year in 4Q from 3.9% in 3Q. Accelerating exports are driving the growth – a trend hinging on how the global semiconductor cycle pans out this year. As of ...

The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index posted its sixth consecutive weekly gain boosted by growth across all vessel segments, but it dipped on Friday due to lower capesize earnings. The Baltic dry index, tracking rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels ferrying dry bulk commodities, was down 27 points, or 1.5%, at 1,810, but finished the week 3.2% higher. The main index has risen for eight of the last nine trading weeks. The capesize index fell 107 points, or 3.5%, to 2,970, but was up 2.7% this week. The ...

The composite index increased 2% this week to $5,340.30 per 40ft container, its highest level since 2011. Rates from Rotterdam to New York soared 8% or $167 and reached $2,283 per 40ft container. Freight rates on Shanghai to Genoa lane increased 5% or $380 to reach $8,792 for 40ft box. Similarly, spot rates from Rotterdam to Shanghai surged 4% or $52 and touch $1,409 per feu. Rates from Shanghai to Rotterdam inched up by 3% or $251 and stood at $9,066 for a 40ft container. Likewise, freight rates from Los ...

Hope springs eternal in dry bulk shipping — the largest shipping market in the world by volume. Over the past decade, each year has started out with bullish proclamations on why the market would finally turn. And then, it didn’t. Only a few weeks into 2021, it’s clear this year will be different for many shipping segments. Could dry bulk finally surprise to the upside? Industry veteran Aristides Pittas, CEO of EuroDry (NASDAQ: EDRY), thinks it will. During a Capital Link forum on Tuesday, he commented, “The dry bulk market ...

DNV GL has awarded an Approval in Principle (AIP) to Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering (KSOE) for a wing-sail auxiliary propulsion system for ships – the result of a joint research project between KSOE and SK Shipping. The virtual award ceremony recently took place in the presence of Hyunjoon Shin, Head of the Future Ship Research Department of KSOE, Haeyong Son, Vice President of SK Shipping, and Sung Ho Shin, Key Account Manager of DNV GL Korea. The wind-powered auxiliary propulsion system for ships is the result of a joint ...

Shanghai International Exchange, or INE, completed the first physical delivery outside of China against its tax-free very low sulfur bunker fuel oil futures on Jan. 19-21 in Singapore, it said Jan. 22. The exchange said the successful delivery paves the way to apply the instrument to its other futures, such as technically specified rubber 20 (TSR20) and Bonded Copper. Three overseas players participated in INE’s January VLSFO contract LU2101 to get a total 3,500 mt of warehouse warrant for physical delivery, INE said. These three companies are Trafigura Pte.Ltd., Freepoint ...

As expected, the market has become more active this week, with AG stems coming out

The container charter market remains bullish, with a continued strong demand maintaining a high level of fixing activity

On the occasion of the CIMer interministerial sea committee, Jean Castex, France’s prime minister, visited the CMA CGM JAACQUES SAADE, the flagship of the CMA CGM Group, a world leader in shipping and logistics, alongside Rodolphe Saadé, CMA CGM’s Chairman & CEO, and Édouard Philippe, mayor of Le Havre and a former prime minister of France. The CMA CGM JACQUES SAADE, the world’s largest containership powered by liquefied natural gas and sailing under the French flag, was making her first call in Le Havre at the Terminal de France of ...

The technology group Wärtsilä has signed a five year extension to its Optimised Maintenance agreement with Golar Management Norway, the operator and manager of a fleet of LNG Carrier and Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) vessels. The agreement covers a total of 16 ship installations; 14 with Wärtsilä 50DF dual-fuel engines, plus 2 with Wärtsilä 34DF dual-fuel and Wärtsilä 20DF dual-fuel engines. The extension contract was signed in December 2020. The agreement will enable Golar to pursue a predictive maintenance strategy enabled by Dynamic Maintenance Planning and Asset Diagnostics. ...

Container shipping consortium THE Alliance said Jan. 21 it would continue suspending one of its five trans-Atlantic services for 2021 as demand and rates for the route lagged more lucrative services from Asia. The Alliance added that a restructuring of the remaining four trans-Atlantic would commence from the second quarter, including visits to ports services by the suspended AL1 service, which connected Rotterdam, Hamburg, Antwerp, and London Gateway in Europe with Norfolk, Virginia, Philadelphia, New York, and Halifax, Nova Scotia, on North America’s East Coast. Platts Container Rate 9 — ...

Containers are loaded on HMM Forward, a 4,600-TEU vessel that will depart from Busan on Jan. 23. HMM announced on Jan. 21 that it will deploy an extra loader on Jan. 23 to transport Korean companies’ export products to the United States. The 4,600-TEU container ship HMM Forward is scheduled to depart from Hyundai Pusan New Port Terminal (HPNT) in Busan on Jan. 23 to carry 3,970 TEUs of cargo from Korean exporters to Los Angeles Port. In 2020, HMM deployed a total of seven extra loaders on the Busan-L.A. ...

The Panama Canal has signed memorandums of Understanding with Panama Ports Company (PPC) and PSA Panama International Terminal (PSA Panama) to help optimize supply routes for the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine and supplies to Latin America. Panama’s logistics capabilities and strategic location at the crossroads of the Americas make it uniquely positioned to assist in meeting the demand imposed on supply chains by the worldwide pandemic. As part of the agreement, the Panama Canal, PPC and PSA Panama have agreed to undertake joint initiatives to establish an alliance of ...

The Thome Group recognises the importance of its seafarers keeping pace with the rapidly changing technology onboard today’s modern vessels which is why it has recently invested in the installation of a new Full Mission Navigation Bridge Simulator with a 320⁰ view. The new system was formally opened, following all relevant COVID-19 protocols, on 20th January 2021 at the TSM Building, Makati City, in the Philippines. Present at the event were Per Selmer Olsen, VP for Thome Ship Management, ROHQ, Ian R. Garcia, CEO of the TSM Group and Elmer ...

Buyers of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States are expected to cancel up to five cargoes for loading in March, half the volumes that were cancelled in February, trade sources said. The exact number of cancellations was not immediately clear but several trade sources estimated a range of zero to five, lower than the 10 cargoes likely cancelled for loading in February. Limited availability of ships, continued congestion in the Panama Canal and a drop in LNG prices in Asia are likely the reasons for there to be ...