The tanker market is still rather undewhelming, as demand hasn’t yet rebounded to a level, sufficient to generate positive momentum. Examining North-West Europe crude oil export trade, shipbroker Banchero Costa said in a recent report that “2020 was overall a very negative year for crude oil trade, although of course the tanker market was partially shielded by the increased demand for floating storage. Total loadings in the 12 months of 2020 were down -5.6% year-on-year to 2027 million tonnes, according to vessels tracking data from Refinitiv. Some exporters were more ...

Time charter rates The Container market has seen an unprecedented increase in rates since the end of 2020. Container 1 year TC rates have surged to extraordinarily new highs with 8,500 TEU values rising to a record 54,000 USD/day for April. This is an increase of 350% since June 2020. Throughout 2020 the market fell significantly from impacts due to the Covid-19 pandemic. There was a significant decrease in demand as the uncertain circumstances surrounding the beginning of a global pandemic hit the consumer market hard. Towards the end of ...

Global steel demand is expected to grow by 5.8% this year, and by a further 2.7% next year, more than offsetting the 0.2% decline in demand in 2020. In real terms this means an extra 102 million tonnes will be needed this year, with a further 50.6 million tonnes anticipated in 2022, according to the World Steel Association’s (worldsteel) Short Range Outlook. Saeed Ghumran Al Remeithi, chairman of the worldsteel Economics Committee, commented: “Despite the disastrous impact of the pandemic on lives and livelihoods, the global steel industry was fortunate ...

With rates steadily on a high, in both the container and dry bulk market, it seems that owners are rather active to “fish out” the best deals available in both the newbuilding and S&P markets. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Clarkson Platou Hellas said that “the major news this month is CSSC Group announcement at the very end of the month, the signing of 22 Vessels with CMA CGM. These consist of six 13,000 TEU D/F at Hudong Zhonghua, six 15,000 TEU D/F at Jiangnan SY and ten gearless ...

It has been 15 months since the pandemic initially shut down China and since then the container shipping industry has been constantly impacted by a barrage of disruptions. The initial wave of blank sailings prolonging the Chinese New Year capacity reductions. Then the rapid downturn in early spring as the pandemic spread globally. Then the demand surge initially on the Transpacific which led to equipment shortages and surging rate levels. We saw port congestion emerge further removing both vessels and equipment from the global balance. Vessels were temporarily removed from ...

Bunker fuels are readily available for deliveries across key bunkering ports in the US, supported by steady inventory levels. US fuel oil stocks have stood at roughly at the same position in the past two months, averaging 31.72 million bbls in April and 31.63 million bbls in March, data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows. In the most recent week they were gauged, the US fuel oil stocks dropped 2% to 31.61 million bbls on 30 April. Most of the stockdraw was in the Gulf Coast region, where ...

With 19% of the market share in Greece in terms of million GT and over 28% of the newbuilding orderbook, DNV – Greece is further consolidating its leading position in the largest ship owning nation. In an exclusive interview with Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide (www.hellenicshippingnews.com), Mr. Ioannis Chiotopoulos, DNV Senior V-P & Regional Manager South East Europe, Middle East & Africa, analyses the challenges that the classification society had to deal with during a pandemic-laden 2020, the path towards shipping’s decarbonization and the shipowners’ initiatives towards compliance. Shipping’s path towards ...

Record high US seaborne exports of coarse grains in March of 9.2 million tonnes took total Q1 exports to 21.3 million tonnes. This is the highest ever first quarter on record and a 120% increase from Q1 2020. Of the total 21.3m tonnes exported so far this year, 68%, or 14.6m tonnes, have gone to Asia, an increase of 208.7% from Q1 2020. For years, the trade war has lowered US exports to China, but exports are now rebounding with a vengeance and China becoming the largest buyer of US ...

Reefer container freight rates have risen sharply this year but remain far outgunned by the inexorable rise in dry box pricing, according to Drewry’s newly launched Reefer Shipping Forecaster report. Drewry’s Reefer Container Freight Rate Index, a weighted average of reefer freight rates across the top 15 reefer intensive trade lanes, jumped 26% in the first quarter, on a seasonal uptick in cargo demand and rising bunker surcharges. This was its highest level since the Index was launched in 1Q17 and rates are expected to rise further through the second ...

Low sulphur fuels are readily available in key bunker ports around Europe and Africa, while prompt availability of high sulphur fuel oil is tight in the Canary Islands and South Africa. There are no supply issues in ARA ports, other Norther European ports or in Gibraltar Strait ports, where stems of VLSFO and LSMGO are readily available with most suppliers, sources say. Supply of low sulphur fuels remains steady in these ports, in contrast to bunker hubs further east, like Singapore and Fujairah, where lead times for these grades fluctuate ...

The demolition market is at a standstill for the time being. The raging pandemic in India and holidays around the world have limited activity to a significant degree. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Clarkson Platou Hellas said that “various holidays now being celebrated globally have ensured a quieter period this week as Golden Week (Far East), Orthodox Easter (Greece) and the midst of Ramadan have slowed activity. The recycling yards in India have now ceased cutting operations due to the pandemic as all available oxygen bottles are being diverted ...

Global shipping emission regulations are set to tighten, albeit slowly, requiring investment in new vessels powered by alternative fuels and increasing operating costs, Fitch Ratings says. This will put additional pressure on the profits and cash flows of companies in the competitive and volatile industry. In April 2018, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a UN agency responsible for regulating the shipping industry, set out its initial strategy to reduce ships’ greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions by at least 50% by 2050, while reducing their carbon intensity by at least 40% by ...

For the third year running Maritime Advisors, Liengaard & Roschmann have published their “Vesselindex Performance Report”, ranking the listed dry bulk companies based on their TCE performance. In a year 2020 which was characterized by a high level of volatility it is noticeable that 17 companies managed to outperform the general market as defined by the Baltic Indices. US listed Pangaea Logistics claims top spot for the third year in a row, competing against 24 other listed Dry Bulk companies on their Time Charter Earnings (TCE) for 2020. The Vesselindex ...

Lead times for HSFO380 stems are shorter in Singapore and longer in Zhoushan this week, while VLSFO availability has improved in Fujairah. Lead times for HSFO380 stems have dropped to 10 days in Singapore, down from 12-15 days two weeks ago. The high sulphur fuel grade has become more available in the port amid lower demand, sources say. VLSFO stems continue to require 6-8 days of lead time in Singapore. LSMGO lead times are also unchanged on the week at 4-5 days. Singapore’s residual fuel oil stocks were drawn and ...

The tanker market could be about to turn a corner, as demand is expected to grow in the coming months. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Gibson said that “in its April 2021 World Economic Outlook, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) lifted global economic growth projections for 2021 and 2022 by 0.8% and 0.2% to 6% and 4.4% respectively due to the anticipated vaccine-driven recovery in the 2nd half of this year and additional fiscal support in some major economies, most notably the $1.9 new fiscal package in the US. ...