The second hand market for ships has declined to just $7 billion, versus $13.5 billion in the same period of 2022. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Xclusiv said that “the global economy is holding its breath as two American banks, Silicon Valley Bank & New York’s Signature Bank collapsed withing the past three days. US authorities raced on Sunday to stem jitters about the health of the nation’s financial system, pledging to fully protect all depositors’ money while also giving any banks squeezed for cash easier terms on short-term ...

The ‘VUCA’ (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) environment has been exacerbated by the lingering Covid-19 pandemic, the ongoing war in Ukraine and the fast pace of technological development in an increasingly competitive environment. At the same time, the maritime industry needs to ramp up its decarbonisation efforts, and individuals and organisations alike must ensure they have the clarity and agility to meet current and future challenges. While uncertainty prevails on decarbonisation and alternative fuels, the ‘future’ is also here in the sense that seafarers already need training in the safe handling ...

Ahead of the Capital Link Annual International Shipping Forum in New York, we assessed the impact of Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) on the global fleet using VesselsValue data. CII is becoming increasingly influential in the sale and purchase market. At the moment, this is primarily manifesting in the liquidity of vessels. Those vessels operating in band E have substantially lower liquidity than vessels operating in other bands. This is consistent with the expectation that vessels in band E will carry capital requirements, or will see their earnings potential reduce in ...

Larger dry bulk carriers have been in high demand among shipowners lately. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Allied Shipbroking said that “off the back of orders for four Ultramax vessels last week, another three were reportedly ordered at the same yard, Nantong Xiangyu Shipbuilding, by Indonesian firm Tanto Intim Line. Ultramax vessels have accounted for over half of dry bulk newbuildings so far this year and is a part of the trend among owners for vessels for larger vessels within the smaller size segments. Over 2023 and 2024, over ...

“Scrubbers were installed on 399 ships in 2022, a fall of 24% y/y, and currently 13% of bulker, container, and tanker ships have a scrubber installed. Despite the slowing rate of installations, the share of ships with a scrubber is set to increase in coming years as 17% of ships in the shipyards’ order books are expected to have a scrubber installed,” says Niels Rasmussen, Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO. Since 1 January 2020, ships have had to use ultra or low sulphur fuel (eg ULSFO or VLSFO) to comply ...

In terms of trade, this area of the continent has long specialised in manufacturing, especially machinery, appliances and equipment. In 2021, Poland and the Czech Republic exported machinery to neighbouring markets valued at nearly €77 billion and €63 billion respectively. Hungary’s main export was electronic machinery valued at €29.6 billion, while Slovakia’s biggest export was vehicles at €28.4 billion (Statista). The importance of these industries is not only in the number of exports, but also their significant contribution to the countries’ employment. According to the International Labour Organization, 26.1% of ...

The ship recycling market has shown signs of a strong recovery, as prices have increased and more owners have the financial incentive to sell their older ships. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Clarkson Platou Hellas hailed the second HKC compliant yard in Bangladesh, announced this week. “The S.N. Corporation Bangladesh ship recycling yard has been rewarded for its efforts in upgrading their yard to regulatory standards by receiving certification by NK Class as being compliant for the Hong Kong Convention (HKC) under the IMO guidelines. An incredible achievement which ...

Despite high inflation, restrictive monetary policy and ongoing geopolitical tensions, stock prices of liner companies continue to strengthen on the back of a slight upward revision in the macroeconomic outlook. In YTD 2023 (ending 8 March 2023), the Drewry Container Equity Index rose by 15.0%, following an 11.4% increase in the 4Q22. As a result, this has expanded the index variance vis-à-vis the broader S&P index – which remained relatively flat on a YTD basis (up 4.0%). In 2022, the index lost 43.7% of its valuation, with a major fall ...

Digitisation has brought massive benefits to the shipping industry. It’s now possible for charterers to make million-dollar deals in a matter of minutes using email alone. But recent years have also seen exponential growth in the volume of messages that shippers send and receive. Charterers, brokers, operators and port agents can sift through thousands of emails a day, and missing just one could mean lost opportunities, compromised revenue and long-lasting reputational damage. There are other considerations besides. With complex and constantly changing regulations in the maritime industry, missed communications can ...

European LNG imports are expected to rapidly increase over the course of summer, boosting demand for LNG tankers. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Intermodal said that “uncertainty over the recovery of Chinese demand, demand destruction in Europe, as well as weather conditions will pivot the LNG market this summer. Global LNG supply is expected to increase by 1% y-o-y this summer, to 200 million MT. Meanwhile, global LNG demand is seen at 192 million MT, also 1% higher y-o-y”. According to Ms. Chara Georgousi, Research Analyst with Intermodal, “in ...

The data indicators which became available over the past month all share a common trait. They show relatively modest changes compared to the previous months. Freight rates across the board continued to decline, albeit some more than others. However, the pace of the decline was mainly quite subdued compared to the sharp drops seen in 2022. The annual Transpacific Maritime conference was held in Long Beach at the end of February, and it is an event which serves as the kick-off for annual contract negotiations especially on the Pacific. The ...

The Inter-Club Agreement (ICA) was formulated by International Group of P&I Clubs in 1970. It is intended to provide a relatively simple mechanism whereby liability for cargo claims arising under New York Produce Exchange Form (NYPE) or Asbatime charterparties and contracts of carriage authorised under such charterparties, can be swiftly and fairly apportioned between owners and Charterers. The purpose behind the development of the ICA was to avoid costly and protracted litigation. Does Gard’s experience in handling cargo claims subject to the ICA match these intentions? ICA allocation – the ...

The product tanker market flows have changed considerably since the EU ban on Russian imports. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Gibson said that “with the refined products price cap now in place for just over a month, the changes in trade flows as a result are stark. Many longer haul voyages are yet to be completed, but this only points to a clear trend of Russia being forced to divert cargoes to distant markets in order to maintain export volumes. Until February, Europe had remained Russia’s primary market for ...

Capesize A stronger week overall for the sector as the North Atlantic appeared active with more enquiry since the middle of the week. With fresh tonnage getting tighter the time charter trips for both fronthaul and Transatlantic runs had the biggest improvement amongst all routes, finishing the week at $16,639 and $29,344 respectively. The Pacific kept its steady pace as the West Australia to Qingdao run stepped up to $8.375, a peak so far this year and last seen before Christmas last year. Subsequently, the time charter average for the ...

A new era in Greek national maritime legislation is set to begin with the enactment of a new Code of Private Maritime Law (the “New Code”). The New Code, which comes into force on 1 May 2023, replaces the existing code which dates back to 1958. “The new aims at enhancing the legal certainty and transparency for transactions regarding the operation and legal status of ships and regulating modern forms of maritime activity that were previously overlooked.” THE NEW CODE’S OBJECTIVES The New Code’s provisions aim at: restoring coherence to ...