As Russia seeks to up its game in circumventing Western sanctions, more oil tankers are turning off their location transponders in risky but lucrative cargo operations. An analysis of data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, including Maritime Intelligence Risk Suite (MIRS) and Maritime Portal, has found a 225% increase globally in the shadowy practice of switching off the automatic identification system (AIS) designed to maintain maritime safety and more recently to help track shipments of oil. The data show 215 tankers totaling 9.31 million dwt were engaged in 524 dark ...

Brent prices, which surged past the $85 per barrel mark after the voluntary production cut by OPEC+, have dipped below $75 per barrel because of rising concerns over global economic health. Nonetheless, the market could head towards tight supply in 2H23 if OPEC+ continues with the ongoing voluntary production curbs as demand is likely to surge, led by China. Although we believe OPEC+ might roll back the voluntary production curbs if the market remains in deficit for long in 2H23, any surge in oil prices will increase the odds of ...

Clean LR2 MEG LR2’s have suffered from relatively little activity this week, exacerbated by a short week in Singapore. Freight levels have been level with TC1 stable in the mid WS140’s and a trip west on TC20 dipped $178,000 to $3,942,000. West of Suez, Mediterranean/East LR2’s look to have taken a similar trajectory to the MEG. TC15 is currently pegged at $3,066,667 following a $3,250,000 deal failing and $3,100,000 widely reported on subjects. LR1 In the MEG, LR1’s have taken a small hit similar to their larger sisters. TC5 dropped ...

Capesize The capes have faced a challenging week, marked by holiday disruptions. Despite a slow start to the week, there has been no shortage of cargo in both the Atlantic and Pacific regions. However, both markets have been grappling with an excess supply of tonnage, which has been putting downward pressure on the market. By the middle of the week, there was a significant downturn in sentiment and the overall timecharter index lost 33% to close at $9,254. The North Atlantic saw a flurry of fixing at considerable discounted rates, ...

The shipping cycle is famously volatile. Just ask anyone involved in the container shipping business in 2020-2022. Time it right, buy exposure to the cycle at the bottom and sell at the top, and you’ll make a fortune. Multi-generational Greek shipping families have this down to a science. For everyday investors, it’s a challenge. Shipping stocks have a maddening habit of not behaving like you think they should. Breakwave Advisors, founded by John Kartsonas, created a new way to invest in the shipping cycle in March 2018: the Breakwave Dry ...

China’s index of export container transport declined in the week ending on June 2, according to the Shanghai Shipping Exchange. The average China Containerized Freight Index (CCFI) went down 0.8 percent from the previous week to 930.97, according to the shipping exchange. The sub-index for the west east Africa service registered a decrease of 4.7 percent week on week. Bucking the trend, the sub-reading for the Australia/New Zealand service increased by 4 percent from a week earlier. The CCFI tracks spot and contractual freight rates from Chinese container ports for ...

The Freightos Baltic Global Index (FBX) dipped 11% month on month in May to $1,407/FEU. It is now 9% above 2019 levels, driven by transpacific rates receding from April’s GRI-fueled rise and transatlantic rates continuing their descent. Transpacific rates to the West Coast fell 23% to $1,309/FEU as they retreated from mid-April GRIs that succeeded in pushing prices up to about $1,700/FEU for the rest of that month. Rates fell on still-sluggish demand and less aggressive capacity management by carriers this month, though at $1,300/FEU, carriers have succeeded in avoiding ...

Black Sea grain market weakened in May in both freight prices and volumes amid uncertainty regarding the prospects of the UN-brokered safe passage agreement, with participants remaining hesitant to plan ahead even after the announcement of the agreement’s extension. “Basically, we’ve been on hold since March,” a charterer said. “The corridor cannot function effectively with only a two-month perspective. We fixed two vessels during the last corridor, but neither of them was able to pass.” The same charterer said they doubted much would be accomplished, as Ukraine does not have ...

Ukraine would be ready to continue exporting grain across the Black Sea as part of a “plan B” without Russian backing if Moscow pulls the plug on the current grain export deal and it collapses, Ukraine’s farm minister said on Friday. The United Nations and Turkey brokered the Black Sea Grain Initiative between Moscow and Kyiv last July to help tackle a global food crisis aggravated by Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, a leading global grain exporter. Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky told Reuters that Russia had already blocked the ...

HMM, Korea’s leading shipping company that is under the control of the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB), decided to compete with foreign companies to regain Hyundai LNG Shipping from IMM Private Equity, according to industry officials, Friday. Hyundai LNG Shipping was formerly a business division of HMM, but it was sold to IMM during HMM’s liquidity crisis in 2014. Although HMM remained cautious about its participation in the main bid by Friday’s deadline, the shipping firm’s board of directors is said to have agreed on Thursday to offer around 300 ...

Over the last decade, Iran has been causing more and more headaches for oil tanker operators in the Strait of Hormuz, a central artery of global trade. In the last two years alone, Iran has harassed, attacked or interfered with 15 internationally flagged merchant vessels. This critical waterway separates the Persian Gulf from the Arabian Sea, which makes it an important conduit for millions of barrels of oil that flow through the region. “These tanker seizures, whether this is a sheer coincidence or not, is happening around the time that ...

The Baltic exchange’s main sea freight index extended losses for the 16th straight session on Friday and were on track for its biggest weekly decline since early January. The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, fell 18 points, or 1.9%, to its lowest in more than three months at 919. The main index was down 21.6% for the week – its lowest since the week ending Jan. 6. The capesize index lost 28 points or 2.5% to 1,116. The index slumped over 33% ...

Shipping finance markets remain “wide open” in 2023, in sharp contrast to the post-2008 decade, according to a ship-focused financing platform. According to Oceanis, banks today are looking to grow their portfolios and are highly competitive with each other in offering the best terms. And while base rates are currently high, they are expected to fall in the second half of the year. Between these factors, improved earnings compared to the past decade across all sectors and margins being compressed by financiers looking to grow, now remains a great time ...

What is IMO 2023? In 2011 the International Maritime Organization (IMO) established rules for new-build vessels to reduce the amount of CO2 generated from shipping called the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI). In 2023, new IMO regulations created the Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) to assess efficiency of existing vessels. In addition to the IMO regulations, in 2021 the European Commission (EC) adopted a set of proposals called Fit for 55 with the aim of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by the year 2030. IMO ...

A lack of seasonal rainfall in the Panama Canal region between February and April could leave carriers high and dry, with further draft restrictions set to take hold. Precipitation during the period was less than half of normal levels, with some welcome rainfall arriving in late May. With El Niño forecast to return in 2023/2024, making the region warmer and dryer, the pressure is well and truly on for this vital link between the Pacific and Atlantic basins. The North Europe to South America West Coast corridor, dependent on the ...