Despite the latest surge in the dry bulk market, ship owners seem to prefer the short-term gains, opting for second hand tonnage, rather than investing in more newbuildings. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Allied Shipbroking said that “new ordering activity seems to have slowed for dry bulkers for now, with a mere 3 units being added to the global orderbook this past week. Interestingly enough, all 3 vessels were Capesizes, reflecting the revived appetite for this specific segment, in line somehow with the improved earnings being noted of late. ...

Ships’ valuations expert VesselsValue recently published its half year report on the S&P market. Bulker A total of 204 bulkers have been sold since the beginning of 2019, interestingly however only 6 of these have been Capesize bulkers. During a period of 4 months from December – April, no Capesize sales were concluded. This break of 106 days had never been seen in the market before. The lack of activity can be attributed to a lull in buying confidence brought on by poor spot rates and the collapse of the ...

The Commercial Court dismissed a shipowners’ claim for hire exceeding USD 4.5 million for the period that the vessel ‘Eleni P’ was seized and detained by Somali pirates in the Arabian sea. In this decision the court applied fundamental principles of contractual construction in a time charter context. The vessel was captured by pirates during a sub-time charter trip as it navigated the Arabian Sea and held for seven months. The owners issued arbitration proceedings for approximately USD 5.6 million, the majority of which was for hire whilst the vessel ...

The dry bulk market has been on a rollercoaster ride over the past few months, in a further testament that the Post-Lehman era for shipping and the global economy will be dominated by very big market fluctuations. Amid such a freight rate market, things are more than tricky in terms of valuations in the S&P market for ships as well. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Intermodal said that “in contrast with the general expectations for the dry bulk market, the sector was not positive or even stable during the ...

Beginning on 1 January 2020, all vessels worldwide will only be able to refuel using fuel with a maximum sulphur content of 0.5 percent – this is the requirement of the global fuel guideline known as IMO2020. As of 1 March, no vessel will be permitted to have on board any fuel with a high sulphur content. Only ships with exhaust gas cleaning systems will be excluded. In order to be compliant at the turn of the year and to consume their remaining heavy fuel oil in time, shipping companies ...

On 20 June 2019 the US narrowly pulled back from retaliatory military strikes on Iranian targets. This was a move planned in response to Iran’s targeting of a US drone allegedly operating in Iranian airspace. These events follow a series of attacks on vessels in the Gulf of Oman area, most recently on the Front Altair and the Kokuka Courageous. This comes closely after the Joint War Committee’s recent addition of Oman, the UAE and the “Persian or Arabian Gulf and adjacent waters including the Gulf of Oman west of ...

This past week saw the latest reports from OPEC, EIA and IEA alike. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Gibson noted that “it is official. After weeks of speculation and some minor reshuffling in terms of meeting dates, in early July OPEC+ announced the extension of their production cuts for another nine months until the end of the 1st quarter of 2020. On its own and keeping everything else equal, OPEC output cuts, particularly those coming out of the Middle East, are bad news for the crude tanker market, most ...

Capesize It was a Brazilian affair with a strong splash of bunkers characterising the Capesize market over the past week. Largely traded in European hours, ballaster tonnage was being secured for an ever-tightening window at the end of July. The C3 opened the week at $22.195 to close at $23.864. The lift in voyage rates across the indices on Friday was thought to have been substantially affected by the bunker market, which has been highly volatile this week, particularly in Asia, pushing vessel operating costs up. Trading activity on the ...

A charterer failed to present cargo shipments under a long-term contract of affreightment (COA) for shipments of iron ore pellets from Brazil. When a dam burst at the iron ore mine, the charterer sought to rely on a mutual exceptions / force majeure clause to avoid responsibility for all subsequent shipments. However, the charterer would not have been ready and able to supply these cargoes even if the dam had not collapsed and so it would have defaulted under the COA anyway. Questions on appeal ​​Could the charterer rely on ...

Average dirty tanker spot freight rates were broadly flat in June, with ample tonnage availability dampening the impact of increased activity as refineries returned from maintenance, said OPEC in its latest monthly report. In June, Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) edged higher, benefiting from the ramp-up in refinery capacity in China. The Suezmax spot freight rates firmed in June, reversing the losses seen the month before, supported by gains on the West Africa-to-US East Coast (USEC) route. Meanwhile, spot freight rates in the Aframax sector reversed direction with declines on ...

Is terrorism the new norm for shipping? THE STORY On the 13/06/2019, two oil tankers were victim to what has been described as “sabotage” attacks in the Gulf of Oman, leaving one ablaze and both adrift. Following, a similar incident involving four tankers, which took place one month ago, on the 12th of May, 2019. Japan’s trade ministry reported, that the two oil tankers carried “Japan-related” cargo. The timing of the attacks, was thus especially sensitive, occurring while discussions were being held between the Japanese prime minister and Iranian leadership ...

The increasing size of mega box ships presents a number of important technical challenges in a casualty situation that must be properly considered when assessing and dealing with the ship, in order to minimise loss and damage. Condition of ship In any casualty situation, it is vital in the early stages to understand the ship’s condition. Information such as the ship’s draft, list angle, trim, condition of tanks and cargo, and type of seabed (if aground) are key. This information can be provided by the ship’s crew and will be ...

The story of the past few days is the recent rebound of the dry bulk market, which has now reached a 5.5 year-high. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Allied Shipbroking said that “feeding off the formidable jump in dry bulk freight rates that has been noted since mid-June, we have seen a fair amount of optimism emerging in the market once again. As impressive as this may seem however, to what extent are we looking at a shift in market fundamentals taking place and to what extent is it ...

The oil market has been highly volatile in 2019 on account of uncertain supply. Although Drewry expects growth in non-OPEC oil supply to be higher than growth in global demand in 2019, US sanctions on Iran and Venezuela and OPEC’s market management have made oil prices very unstable. The price of Brent crude, which started 2019 in the early 50s, surged past the $70 per barrel mark in late April after the US decision to end waivers on Iran sanctions. The price then again dipped below $60 per barrel due ...

Based on objective factors including port throughput and facilities, depth and breadth of professional maritime support services, as well as general business environment, the report is a collaboration between the Chinese state news agency, Xinhua, and international freight benchmark provider, the Baltic Exchange. Acquired by the Singapore Exchange (SGX) in 2016, the Baltic brings together complementary strengths of Singapore and London, two of the world’s most important maritime centres. In the six years since this report has been published, there has been a general rise in the performance of Asian ...