While demand for dry bulk carriers has intensified over the past few weeks, evidence from the data of the first half of 2020 suggests that the total number of transactions is lower than the previous years. Meanwhile, the second half of 2020 could prove equally challenging. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Allied Shipbroking said that “with the first half of the year now concluded, it has undoubtedly been a period of high shocks for the dry bulk market that has left owners with a very bittersweet taste at the ...

At the end of 2019, it appeared as though a storm was brewing for the conventional reefer market; little did the market know that a storm was brewing for the entire shipping industry. While rumours and a limited amount of news stories were circulating in China in regards to the Sars-Cov 2 virus, few foretold or foresaw the scale of the challenges it would pose. Container liners have seen a historic drop in container volumes, plummeting charter rates for boxships and a historic amount of blanked sailings. The tanker market ...

It was never going to be easy recovering from the largest economic shock the world has ever encountered. After record drop in consumer spending, GDP, travel and so many other indicators, it is hard to quite fathom the scale of the disruption, or the mountain left the climb to bring things back to normal. Debt relief, quantitative easing, employment support schemes and more are being used to support national economies, and from the initial data it looks as though this has been reasonably effective. Yet to bring us back from ...

The rise of the dry bulk market has led to a significant increase of bulkers’ S&P deals, but mainly for the larger classes (i.e. Capesizes and Panamaxes), as the Handy segment attracted a much reduced demand. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Intermodal said that “during the previous month, the dry bulk market witnessed an impressive increase in the BDI index that has reached 1800 points from 500 with a clear impact on the SnP market. The period in which Covid-19 prevailed in both Asia and Europe has brought many ...

The COVID-19 pandemic affects the industry’s endeavours to implement the upcoming European Union’s Ship Recycling Regulations (EUSRR) and many shipowners may not be able to finalize the required Inventory of hazardous materials (IHM) prior to the deadline. From 31 December 2020, the European Union’s Ship Recycling Regulations (EUSRR) will require ships of 500 GT and above flying the flag of countries in the European Union (EU), and all other ships regardless of the flag, to carry an inventory of hazardous materials (IHM) when visiting an EU or European Economic Area ...

Cobalt, lithium, manganese and graphite: not dry bulk cargoes known for their movement in large volumes today, but their future looks very promising, according to a report from UNCTAD. As demand for batteries for electric cars takes off, driven by climate change pressures and oil market disruptions, there will be a pressing need for the materials to manufacture them. “Alternative sources of energy such as electric batteries will become even more important as investors grow more wary of the future of the oil industry,” said UNCTAD’s director of international trade, ...

As freight rates, particularly in the dry bulk market, ships’ recycling activity has taken a hit. In periods of a strong market environment, demolition activity tends to suffer and this has occurred once more. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Clarkson Platou Hellas commented that “it has been another slow week for the market as freight rates across the Dry and Wet sectors continue to flourish and help Owners reclaim any loss made during the early part of the Covid-19 Pandemic. We are however still seeing a steady supply of ...

Uncertainties surrounding the coronavirus outbreak, the trade war and volatility in oil prices are governing business decisions being made in 2020. Shipyard demand will likely encounter a further blow given the vast disruptions to economic growth and trade globally and delays to scrubber retrofits have already been seen and are expected to continue. Containment measures and the potential for a resurgence of coronavirus remains a great uncertainty for global trade. Volatility in commodity prices has increased dramatically, complicating the outlook across the shipping markets. To prop up economies central governments ...

EBITDA forecast worsens, keeping outlook negative. We now expect the aggregate EBITDA of rated shipping companies to fall by around 16%-18% in 2020, widening from our previous projection of a drop of around 6%-10%. We expect the global economy to shrink in 2020 and its recovery to be long and bumpy. We think that supply is likely to exceed demand significantly in the dry bulk and container segments with tankers helped by a temporary dislocation in the oil market. Our outlook for the global shipping industry has been negative since ...

Ship owners have intensified their interest towards second hand dry bulk carriers, most notably Capesizes, as a result of the recent market rally. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Allied Shipbroking said that “on the dry bulk side, a very strong week in terms of activity noted was due. The main driver was the Capesize segment, where a significant number of vessels changed hands as of late. This, however, may well be down to the mere fact that we have seen an excessive bullish trajectory in freight returns during the ...

This year so far has been full of events which have affected many global markets, including the bunker market. While the spread of Covid-19 reduced crude oil demand, the production cuts changed not only the supply of crude oil but also its composition. As a result and driven by the changes in pricing, some refiners started to purchase more light crude yielding little residual output, which goes into HSFO and VLSFO production. Bunker prices have already reacted, particularly in ARA, where the HSFO and VLSFO discount to other ports seems ...

To decarbonise maritime transport, the Environment Committee voted on Tuesday to include CO2 emissions from the maritime sector in the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). The Commission has put forward a proposal to revise the EU system for monitoring, reporting and verifying CO2 emissions from maritime transport (the “EU MRV Regulation”) and bring it in line with new obligations under International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to monitor emissions from 2019 and report in 2020. In the legislative report approved (62 votes to 3 and 13 abstentions) on Tuesday, the Environment, Public ...

Many ship owners have invested heavily in the LPG tanker trade. As such, India, the UAE and USA are expected to be among the main trades to generate demand. In a recent weekly report, ship owner Bancosta Research said that “India is the second largest net importer of propane and butane in the world after China. The Indian government’s push to provide clean cooking fuel to every household also in rural areas, as well as a rising population, will drive LPG consumption in the country to grow to 30.3 mln ...

Container lines have done well during the global pandemic, but are they profiteering from the crisis and can anything be done to prevent more carrier-shipper animosity? Container shipping lines are one of the few sectors that can be said to be having a good pandemic. Perversely, despite a sudden fall off in demand for their services, lines look set this year to make more money than they have in a long time as their crisis-management tactics (essentially blanking voyages) has paid off handsomely. In our latest Container Forecaster report, published ...

The international shipping industry will fail to tackle their global greenhouse gas emissions unless they put in place rules that truly reflect the climate impact of shipping fuels, according to a report released by Environmental Defense Fund and University Maritime Advisory Services today. The report is the first of its kind to explore whether the processes for delivering rules for sustainable marine fuels can be sped up using lessons learnt from aviation, a sector facing similar challenges in transitioning to sustainable alternative fuels. Shipping is the life blood of the ...