The crude tanker trade flows are expected to change over 2025, as a result of Trump’s tariffs. In its latest weekly report, Poten & Partners said that “President Trump, who will take office on January 20 of this year has indicated that he will use tariffs as an economic and foreign policy tool. The aim is to reduce the U.S. trade deficit and reshape international trade relationship as part of his “America First” economic policy. Prior to taking office, Mr. Trump has already suggested that 25% tariffs could be imposed ...

As we step into 2025, the container trading landscape continues to be shaped by elevated secondhand container prices, driven by uncertainties owing to geopolitical tensions, trade wars, and tariff threats. These price trends observed in late 2024 and expected to persist into the first quarter of 2025, implies higher asset costs for container traders, impacting profitability in the short term. Impact of Geopolitical Tensions and Economic Pressures “With inflationary pressures persisting and central banks maintaining higher interest rates for longer, container owners will face increased total asset costs. This inevitably ...

Sameer Kalra is President of the Marine Division and Executive Vice President at Alfa Laval in Sweden. His entire professional life has been dedicated to the maritime sector, where, after 10 years at sea, he went ashore and has since held different management positions first in Aalborg Industries and following an acquisition later continued as part of the management in Alfa Laval. Throughout his career, industrialization has been a key element to bringing new maritime systems to the market. We met recently at the SMM trade fair, always a really ...

The tanker market is yet again caught in a “sea” of sanctions and changes. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Gibson highlighted that “earlier this week, news emerged that one of the major port operators in China’s Shandong Province, Shandong Port Group (SPG), would ban the entry of vessels which appear on the United States OFAC sanctions list. Given the fact that independent refiners in the province are the largest receivers of Iranian, Venezuelan and Russian crude, the impact could be significant. Looking at 2024 trade to the ports within ...

Capesize The Capesize market experienced a turbulent week, beginning with notable softness but regaining momentum by Thursday and closing on a positive trajectory. The 5TC average started at $10,696 per day, dropped to $9,123 per day midweek, and rebounded to $12,010 per day by week’s end. In the Pacific, the market remained under pressure due to a persistent oversupply of tonnage. Limited miner activity and fixtures concluded in the low $6 range, causing the C5 index to decline from $6.84 on Monday to $6.245 by Friday. Meanwhile, the South Brazil ...

In the recent decision in Lord Marine Co SA -v- Vimeksim SRB DOO (Lord Hassan) [2024] EWHC 3305 (Comm), which the court has described as a paradigm case in which a sale should be ordered, the court has further considered its powers in support of arbitral proceedings and, specifically, its ability to order the sale of goods to preserve assets. In this instance, the shipowner applied for the sale of cargo liened to secure claims against their charterers for unpaid freight. The cargo in question was perishable in nature and ...

Global seaborne crude oil loadings were mostly flat during 2024. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Banchero Costa said that “after a positive 2023, when global crude oil loadings increased by +4.6% y-o-y, things got quieter in 2024. In Jan-Dec 2024, global crude oil loadings went up by a modest +0.4% yo-y to 2194.7 mln tonnes, excluding all cabotage trade, according to vessels tracking data from Refinitiv. Exports from the Arabian Gulf were down by -0.2% y-o-y to 873.3 mln t in Jan-Dec 2024, and accounted for 39.8% of global ...

This week’s focus highlights a downward trend in the AG supply of VLCC tankers (both spot/relet and contract), compared to the highs observed in October 2024. For the spot relet market, the performance of Baltic rates has not been fueling expectations for a strong start to this year. The recent growth in dirty tonne days to the Far East appears premature to support the full employment of available vessels. Additionally, the earlier Chinese New Year, combined with the uncertainty surrounding the new era of Trump administration policies from January 20th, ...

According to the latest data from DNV’s Alternative Fuels Insights (AFI) platform the maritime industry’s exceptional newbuilding year 2024 drove a significant rise in orders for alternative-fuelled vessels. A total of 515* such ships were ordered, representing a 38% year-on-year increase compared to 2023, underscoring the industry’s growing commitment to decarbonization. The growth in alternative-fuelled vessel orders has been heavily driven by the container and car carrier newbuild boom over the last three years. In 2024, 69% of all container ship orders were for ships capable of being powered by ...

With the Chinese economy reeling under pressure, shipping is waiting for the government’s latest policies to take full effect and have a positive impact on demand. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Xclusiv said that “as the world ushers in a new year, the global economy remains intertwined with the fortunes of China. While “Happy New Year” greetings resonate across borders, the focus in economic circles is keenly fixed on Beijing’s policy responses to its ongoing challenges, particularly in the property sector and their knock-on effects on commodity demand”. According ...

This week’s highlight delves into the evolving dynamics of Capesize ballasters in the South Atlantic and the evolution of iron ore shipments to China from Australia, Brazil, Guinea and South Africa. The start of the year confirms a challenging freight market environment for the Capesize iron ore sector, with a notable spike in the vessel count of South Atlantic ballasters and C3 market rates plummeting to new lows ahead of the Chinese New Year. This sharp market downturn has cast a gloomy outlook for the first quarter, though it remains ...

To achieve net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from international shipping by 2050, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has joined 47 governments in a joint submission to the final round of negotiations at the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization (IMO) to adopt a maritime greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions pricing mechanism for international shipping. The joint text is supported by major shipping nations such as Greece, Japan, Korea and the United Kingdom, the world’s largest flag States including Bahamas, Liberia, Marshall Islands and Panama, all EU States (and the European Commission), other ...

Dealmaking activity in the S&P shipping market were few and far between over the past couple of weeks, as the Holiday Season was prevalent. In its latest market report, shipbroker Xclusiv said that in the dry bulk market, “the first week of the year was quite sluggish in terms of sales in the dry S&P market. The Panamax “Mythos” – 74K Namura found new home to Vietnamese owners for USD 8.5 mills. Finally, the 15 years old scrubber fitted Supramax “CS Sonoma” – 57K/2010 Jiangsu Hantong changed hands for USD ...

Clarksons Research have released their latest annual review of shipbuilding markets, including full year 2024 data points, tracking key developments across a strong year for the shipbuilding industry. Summarising the annual review, Steve Gordon, Global Head of Clarksons Research, commented: “With the largest order intake in 17 years, 2024 was an incredibly active year for the global shipbuilding industry with contracts totalling 66m CGT and $204bn placed. Container (4.4m TEU of orders), gas (25.9m cbm) and tankers (53.9m dwt) were the “stand out” segments while China consolidated its lead position, ...

The Fuel EU Maritime is the latest EU regulation aimed at the maritime sector, which came into force on the 1st of January 2025. It is part of the European Union’s broader “Fit for 55” package of legislation, which aims to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels and achieve climate neutrality by 2050. Fuel EU Maritime is designed to incentivise the uptake of lower-carbon alternative fuels in vessels by penalising the use of most conventional fossil-based marine fuels. What is FuelEU ...