Global orders for LNG carriers totaled 7,678,585 CGT (89 standard ships) in the first half of this year, according to Clarkson Research, a British shipbuilding and shipping market analysis agency. The figure represented a 416 percent increase from 148,6795 CGT or 18 standard ships in the first half of last year. More than 70 percent of the global LNG carrier orders went to the three Korean shipbuilders — Hyundai Heavy Industries, Samsung Heavy Industries, and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME). The trio’s combined order intake in the first half ...

China’s covid lockdowns and recessionary risks hit iron ore Iron ore prices have fallen significantly from their year-to-date high of US$171/t seen back in March to as low as $108/t recently. China’s attempts to squash outbreaks of Covid-19 have seen fairly tough restrictions, which have not been supportive for demand. In addition, there are growing concerns over the macro-outlook. Soaring inflation is seeing central banks, particularly the US Federal Reserve having to take a more aggressive approach to monetary tightening. The concern is that the Fed will struggle to rein ...

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and hopes of significant economic stimulus in China are combining to boost Australia’s commodity exports to record levels, at least for now. Australia’s exports of natural resources are forecast at a record A$405 billion ($275.4 billion) in the 2021-22 financial year, which ended on June 30, and will likely rise to a new high of A$419 billion in 2022-23. However, the latest Resources and Energy Quarterly from the government forecaster also predicts a fairly steep drop in commodity earnings thereafter to A$338 billion in 2023-24, as ...

Shipbuilder and designer Ulstein is looking to take its revolutionary Thorium powered vessel concept from the drawing board to the deep blue sea. Is this the solution that industry, and society, have been searching for to enable a truly sustainable maritime future? Everything about the launch of ULSTEIN THOR was unexpected. The vessel concept, a 149m 3R (Replenishment, Research and Rescue) design with a Thorium Molten Salt Reactor (MSR), took the industry, and wider society, by surprise. Its unveiling at Seatrade, Miami in late April unleashed a wave of global ...

The challenges inherent in today’s international trade and the supply chains that service it are painfully obvious – higher prices of energy and food, shortages of and delays in delivering manufactured goods, dynamic changes in markets and sourcing regions. The on-going effects of the pandemic, with its associated lockdowns and the war in Ukraine are proving catalysts to ignite underlying economic and environmental trends that will continue to fuel long-term changes in the pattern of global supply and demand. As a specialist in providing insurance and risk management services to ...

On July 1, NYK held its annual fleet safety management meeting with domestic and overseas shipowners and ship-management companies. At this year’s meeting, which was conducted online, safety activities, including accident case studies to foster and improve safety awareness, were shared. The meeting was conducted in two parts, one in Japanese and one in English on the same day. 309 people from 92 companies in Japan and overseas participated. This annual fleet safety management meeting is part of NYK’s Remember Naka-no-Se safety campaign. Based on the lessons learned from the ...

A few days ago, the Panama Canal celebrated the sixth anniversary of the Neopanamax Locks, which were inaugurated on June 26, 2016. The wider set of locks was constructed as part of the Panama Canal Expansion, the largest enhancement project in the waterway’s history, which created a third lane for traffic and doubled its cargo capacity. Along with advancing worldwide trade, furthering the local and global economy, and reducing shipping emissions, the Expansion also had an overlooked outcome—bolstering gender equality. Ilya Espino de Marotta, Panama Canal’s current Deputy Administrator and ...

Dalian and Singapore iron ore futures tumbled on Monday, weighed by a gloomy demand outlook for the steelmaking ingredient in China, where many steel mills are nursing losses and cutting production. The most-traded September iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange ended daytime trade 5.8% lower at 719.50 yuan ($107.49) a tonne, extending losses to a third session and touching its lowest since June 23. On the Singapore Exchange, the front-month August contract was down 4.8% at $109.15 a tonne, as of 0709 GMT. Mills in top steel producer ...

China is likely to announce a 20 million-30 million mt, or 2-3% year on year, decline in its steel output cut target for 2022 in July, according to industry sources. The steel output cuts at this level may not provide much upside momentum to the Chinese steel market, as annual steel demand, undermined by debt-strapped property sector, may drop even faster. Some sources expect Chinese steel prices to continue to fluctuate in the second half of the year but in a narrower range than in H1. China’s annual steel demand ...

Russian wheat export prices fell last week due to pressure from the new crop, which farmers have just started harvesting, a reduced export tax and a decline in Chicago prices, analysts said on Monday. Sanctions-hit Russia reduced its grain exports taxes sharply last week to support shipments in the July-June marketing season. Prices for the new wheat crop with 12.5% protein content and for supply from Black Sea ports fell by $25 to $375 per tonne free on board (FOB) at the end of last week, the IKAR agriculture consultancy ...

China’s grain security will not be disrupted by the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and soaring prices of many agricultural products across the world this year, as its self-sufficiency in staple grain production remains high amid growing external problems, said experts and business leaders. Despite global food and agriculture sectors facing uncertainty over crop yields and global trade flows, in the context of climate challenges, COVID-19-related turmoil and logistics challenges, experts and business leaders said China, backed by its 1.8 billion mu (120 million hectares) of arable land, new farming ...

Brent prices could soar to a “stratospheric” $380 a barrel in “the most extreme scenario” of Russia slashing oil production by 5 million barrels per day (bpd) in retaliation to a price cap being considered by the Group of Seven, analysts at J.P.Morgan said in a note dated July 1. G7 economic powers agreed last week to explore imposing a ban on transporting Russian oil that has been sold above a certain price, aiming to limit Moscow’s ability to fund its invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow describes as a “special ...

The world should focus on finding ways to limit money flows from Russia’s oil as economies will need its crude even as sanctions and bans are imposed on its crude supplies, the head of Vitol Asia said July 3. “The world is facing a political desire to implement measures to restrict the supply of Russian oil, but the total supply of Russian oil is too large for the world to do without,” Mike Muller told the Gulf Intelligence daily energy podcast. “The world cannot do without 7% to 8 % ...

U.S. President Joe Biden has called on Saudi Arabia and other Gulf producers to increase their oil output to help stabilise prices, which have surged as a result of a strong rebound in consumption after the pandemic and now sanctions on Russia. But Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members probably do not have much spare capacity to raise output by a significant amount for more than a few months. Previous appeals to Saudi Arabia to secure production increases and lower prices in 2008 by President George ...

Singapore marine fuel oil 0.5%S supply was not expected to increase greatly over July 4-8 even though the Singapore 10 ppm gasoil crack spread has narrowed, as the crack spread for gasoil remains higher than for marine fuel 0.5%S, maintaining the flow of cutter stocks into the gasoil market, market sources said. In contrast, high sulfur fuel oil supply was expected to remain ample due to increasing cargo inflows to Asia, the sources said. Crude oil futures kicked off the week higher in mid-morning trade in Asia July 4, with ...