The iron ore-led dry bulk market boom could still have enough steam to run, despite the recent negative pressure on iron ore prices. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Allied Shipbroking said that “one of the major trades that has helped drive the rapid rise in the dry bulk market this year has undoubtedly been that of iron ore. The most prominent commodity in the dry bulk space has had an exceptional bull run since the end of 2020 and still seems to have plenty more gains to give moving ...

The current LNG market scenario with high LNG demand in Asia and low storages in Europe indicates a ’summer with all attributes of winter’. The statement holds weight with spot LNG prices seven times higher than in 2020 while LNG shipping rates have doubled in June 2021 from last year. From ample supplies to scarcity Post-2020 recovery coupled with empty gas tanks at the end of winter and increasing LNG demand for power generation have led to a 180-degree shift in the LNG market, from being over-supplied in 2020 to ...

Importers, particularly those reliant on container shipments, are facing a storm of disruptive factors. The COVID-19 pandemic has created winners and losers as it has across the economy. The pandemic has been joined by several other factors that are disrupting international markets and business for importers. On top of all that, there have been the post-Brexit challenges of managing imports. Disruptions to shipping and challenges for importers The blockage of the Suez Canal in March 2021 caused major disruption to shipping schedules and a backlog in deliveries. Secondly, following the ...

China’s drive to lower emissions, is expected to have a negative impact on crude oil imports from private refineries. As a result, tanker demand growth could be lower in the months to come. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Gibson said that “the Chinese refining sector has recently been under pressure, not so much from the extreme demand pressures of the past 18 months, but more driven by changes in domestic government policy. Independent refineries (often called Teapots) have become a major force in the sector; however, their presence has ...

Capesize The Capesize market strengthened this week as Pacific routes were affected by weather incidents pushing the 5TC up $3,244 week on week to settle at $35,713. China endured typhoon In-Fa throughout the week as it closed ports and disrupted tonnage flows along the eastern seaboard. The Transpacific C10 added a whopping $4,238 on Friday alone to close out the week at $45,413 as the effects translated through to the charter rates. The Backhaul C16 also turned up the heat on Friday, rising $4,460 to $11,895 as stronger fixtures had ...

The Drewry Container Port Throughput Indices are a series of volume growth/decline indices based on monthly throughput data for a sample of over 235 ports worldwide, representing over 75% of global volumes. The base point for the indices is January 2012 = 100. Drewry’s latest assessment – July 2021 The Drewry Port Throughput Index rose to 141.3 points in May 2021, an increase of 3.3 points over April, which was very nearly enough to restore it to March’s reading. Annual growth of 15.8% for the month confirms that the worldwide ...

The LNG shipping market is poised for further growth in the coming months as the global economy is heading towards a swifter recovery rate and the shift to cleaner energy sources gathers more pace in more countries. In its latest market outlook, ship owner GasLog said that “LNG demand was 95 mt in the second quarter of 2021, according to Poten, compared to 86 mt in the second quarter of 2020, an increase of approximately 11%. Demand growth was particularly strong in Asia and South America. Specifically, demand increased, year-over-year, ...

The global economic recovery is still on track, but it is being skewed more heavily towards advanced economies who are being buoyed by fiscal support, access to vaccines and improved health metrics, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Referencing widening fault lines in its July World Economic Outlook (WEO), the IMF said that while the global economy 2021 growth projection of 6% is unchanged from its April update, prospects for emerging market and developing economies have been marked down for 2021, especially for Emerging Asia. The slight rise in ...

Commercial shipping is the backbone of international trade. In terms of tonne-miles maritime transport makes up by far the largest share of total global transport. In 2015 maritime transportation represented 71% of total transport. While shipping is a carbon efficient mode of transportation, concerns have been raised about the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the industry. The industry combusts regularly close to 8% of oil produced annually and in 2012 made up 2.4% of global emissions. These emissions are mainly a result of the bunker (fuel) used to propel the ...

Ship owners are looking to minimize time spent on ship repair/maintenance, in order to avoid losing out to a surging freight market. However, the task is extremely hard, given that COVID has wreaked havoc on yards’ scheduling and time frames. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Intermodal said that “assessing the ship repair sector during this first half of the year, we continue to come across surprises and new restrictions which are trembling the repair market and not letting it to stabilize. As we have seen in similar situations, any ...

2021 so far has been a ground breaking year for the shipping industry and global Trade flows, as the world recovers from the onset of the Covid pandemic last year. This half year review will use VesselsValue Trade data to delve into some of the reasons for the highs and lows of the last six months, as we witness sky high rates, pent up demand and congestion in the Container and Bulker markets, to sinking rates and weak oil demand in the Tanker market. Bulkers While 2021 started in a ...

Record volume at US cargo ports has led much stronger financial performance than pandemic expectations, Fitch Ratings says. However, maintaining operational efficiency is more challenging as bottlenecks increase due to pressured supply chains, mismatched rolling stock, capacity-strained logistics networks and coronavirus shutdowns at Chinese ports. Ports will continue to see congestion pressures well into the upcoming peak shipping season, with throughput patterns not expected to normalize until the beginning of 2022. West Coast ports have seen exceptionally high volumes through the pandemic, driven by robust goods consumption. The Port of ...

Newbuilding orders have been rather firm over the past week, with many owners committing funds to acquire more LNG and Container ships. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Clarkson Platou Hellas said that “in the gas carrier market, it was another busy week. Hyundai HI announced taking order for three firm 174k CBM LNG carriers from an unknown owner, with delivery of two vessels set for 2H 2024 and the final vessel with January 2025. Hyundai Samho announced contracting two firm 174k CBM LNG carriers, also from an unknown owner, ...

Launched yesterday, the new Seafarer Workforce Report from BIMCO and the International Chamber of Shipping warns that the industry must significantly increase training and recruitment levels if it is to avoid a serious shortage in the total supply of officers by 2026. Given the growing demand for STCW certified officers, the Report predicts that there will be a need for an additional 89,510 officers by 2026 to operate the world merchant fleet. The report estimates that 1.89 million seafarers currently serve the world merchant fleet, operating over 74,000 vessels around ...

Costamare Inc. reported unaudited financial results for the second quarter (“Q2 2021”) and six-months ended June 30, 2021. I. PROFITABILITY • Q2 2021 Net Income available to common stockholders of $82.8 million. • Q2 2021 Earnings per Share of $0.67. • Q2 2021 Adjusted Net Income available to common stockholders(1) of $58.3 million. • Q2 2021 Adjusted Earnings per Share(1) of $0.47. II. SALE AND PURCHASE ACTIVITY • Agreed to acquire an additional 21 dry bulk vessels. • Total fleet of 37 committed dry bulk vessels, 14 of which have ...