Ship owners have been more than active in the S&P Market, as the year closes to an end. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Intermodal said that “this has been another active week in the second-hand market for both the dry bulk and tanker sectors. Buying interest has recently increased, which is evidenced by the numerous transactions being concluded lately. We are seeing an increased number of vessels being inspected and a substantial number of vessels also being negotiated as we speak”. According to Mr. Vasilis Moiris, SnP Broker with ...

The industry is anxious about ships potentially being penalised if, despite their best efforts, ships are unable to be fully compliant with the 0.50% sulphur limit. Naturally, the industry wants reassurance that port State control (PSC) authorities will refrain from taking enforcement actions against ships if they are non-compliant due to circumstances outside their control. Many believe that it would be beneficial, therefore, if the IMO were to issue advice for PSC authorities to show some leniency during the initial phases of the new low-sulphur regime, when ships may have ...

Malacca Strait Medley Singapore Arbitration 2/18 [(2018) 1008 LMLN 4] probably does not greatly develop the law or offer novel interpretation of common fixture wording. It does however illustrate some of the less familiar demurrage and also DA disputes that arise, and the wider problems that can result. Facts A heavily redacted account reveals only that under an amended GENCON 94 form the vessel was chartered to carry bulk iron briquettes which were loaded at a river port, and that disputes arose as outlined below and decided under agreed Singapore ...

After a long time in the doldrums, the tanker market is primed for better days, as a result of a projected increase in ton-mile demand and various factors coming into play, from the sanctions on Iran, to the US-China trade war. Meanwhile, the product tanker market could also stand to benefit in the medium-term, as a result of the looming IMO 2020 rules and a series of changes of consumption habits in Asian countries. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Gibson said that “oil prices had been on an upward ...

Did you know that states that are parties to MARPOL Annex VI are supposed to inform the International Maritime Organization of the availability of compliant fuel oils in their ports? There is, in fact, an established mechanism to do so and now it is hoped this can be used to help shipping companies prepare for 2020 with detailed information about where and when compliant fuels will be available. It follows a proposal by Liberia put to the 73rd session of the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee to “issue a resolution ...

Capesize It was a brutal week for the big ships as rates tumbled on all routes. A BHP Billiton derailment in West Australia sparked fears of a shortfall in shipments leaving the field clear for others to drive rates lower. Latest reports suggest operations could resume early this week. The West Australia/China run closed at $6.75 compared to $8.30 paid Monday. Timecharterer trading was negligible, with a report of a 175,000 tonner fixing at $14,000 for a NoPac round proving unfounded. On Monday, the BCI NoPac round was assessed at ...

Rates for LNG carriers have boomed of late, with ship owners, active in this niche market, already reaping the benefits. In a recent note, Golar LNG said that “increasing US LNG production and start-up of Yamal T2 together with strong Asian demand and rising ton miles prompted a number of multi-month and multi-year charters ahead of the summer cooling season. Vessel availability declined and rates increased, briefly surpassing their 2017 winter highs. Activity then eased over the summer months before regaining its positive momentum in September as strong end-user demand ...

Life at sea is challenging and most seafarers spend more time onboard than at home. One of the keys to a long career at sea is to ensure a healthy lifestyle and to reduce the risk for lifestyle diseases. How can this be achieved? Tasty, good and nutritious food is welfare but unfortunately such food might be more expensive compared to more greasy food, and the managers might not be eager to increase the victualing budget. One solution is to work closer with the food suppliers or the sea catering ...

In July 2017 we reported on aquaculture farms and the dangers they pose to safe navigation. Since that time Gard has been involved in 12 claims where fishery farms have allegedly been damaged by commercial vessels. The amounts claimed ranged from USD 3,000 to USD 100,000 and the majority of these incidents occurred in the Lanshan and Rizhao areas where mussel and oyster cultivation form the bulk of aquaculture industry. Our local correspondent, Huatai Insurance Agency, has also indicated in their circular published on 7 August 2018 that they have ...

Many dry bulk market delegates and analysts were looking forward with anticipation to a rally during the fourth quarter of the year. However, up until now, this scenario has failed to materialize. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Allied Shipbroking said that “given that we have already assessed the overall performance of the dry Bulk market this year and that we have established to some degree that we are in transit towards a less volatile environment, with more sustainable earnings and robust fundamentals, it seem worth taking on a more ...

Optimal performance can only be achieved through intelligent action. Peak physical performance of any athlete is reached and maintained with forensic monitoring and control – of energy consumed, of exertion, of performance – based on the physical requirements of the sport. For ships, as the long-distance runners of global trade, the same is true. To operate at optimal efficiency, ship operators and managers need to be able to carefully monitor and control the fueling requirements, energy consumption and operational performance of each vessel. This requires tangible evidence of how a ...

The IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee’s 73rd session (MEPC73) has just ended, and with it, so did all speculations about a potential delay of the global 0.50% sulphur cap. The rules apply from 1 January 2020 – and they will be enforced. To ensure a consistent implementation and enforcement, the MEPC73 also adopted the ‘carriage ban’, a complementary MARPOL amendment that will prohibit the carriage of fuel with a sulphur content of more than 0.50% for combustion purposes for propulsion or operation on board a ship – unless the ship ...

2018 will go down in history as the year of tankers and container ships’ starring role, when it comes to demolition activity. In its latest weekly report, Clarkson Platou Hellas commented that “as we approach the Diwali festivities, buying interest has started to quieten but the Indian sub-continent remains volatile, especially in India and Pakistan with Bangladesh seemingly more stable. The below sales seem to be speculative compared to where the actual domestic markets lie and where, reportedly, some cash buyers in particular have gambled on a price surge ‘post ...

Under a shipbuilding contract, the focus of the parties involved has always been on the way the funds are raised and also on ensuring the safety of the paid-in funds. Statistics from the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry show that, “between January and May 2018, shipbuilding enterprises had revenues from their main business totalling RMB78.8 billion (US$12.4billion), a decrease of 4.8% compared with the same period the year before, and large-scale shipbuilding enterprises realized total profits of RMB0.93 billion, a drop of 67.8% … At present, the main ...

Significant coverage has been given to the debate in the maritime world concerning Sulphur content in bunker fuel and reduction is CO2 emissions. One fuel solution is LNG, but what are the implications for the shoreside infrastructure? LNG has grown in popularity as fuel for the ships, especially for use within the increasing number of emission control areas (ECA). As a result, port authorities and terminal operators, notably across Europe, are facing an issue of which method of LNG bunkering should be chosen to offer to ships. This problem extends ...