The negative impact of the lack of cargoes in the dry bulk market since the start of the year took its toll in the level of the global fleet’s utilization rate, which declined by 3.7% over the course of the first three months of 2019. According to a recent analysis by dry bulk ship owner, Golden Ocean, “global dry bulk fleet utilization (calculated as total demand in tonne miles transported divided by total available fleet capacity) dropped by 3.7% in the first quarter of 2019, reflecting the trend observed in ...

Progress continues to be made with smaller vessels and in coastal waters but, as problems with container ships have shown, innovation and technology is not a panacea if the root cause of incidents and losses is not addressed. In December 2018, Rolls-Royce demonstrated what it claims is the world’s first fully autonomous ferry on a trip between Parainen and Nauvo in Finland [1]. The UK-based engineering group plans to bring self-guided cargo ships to the world’s seas by 2025. Three months later, in March 2019, a series of autonomous operations ...

As the hoi polloi of the shipping industries descend upon Oslo for Nor-Shipping 2019, Wärtsilä has kickstarted the week with a Future Innovation Day – Horizons event on Day Zero to get the creative juices flowing. Hailed as a gathering of sharp minds the event sees maritime stalwarts, governmental institutions, students and civil society riffing together to formulate futuristic yet pragmatic ways of transitioning to green shipping. Bill Hemmings, Director, Aviation and Shipping, Transport and Environment, Hans-Petter Nesse, Managing Director Wärtsilä Norway, and Tamara de Gruyter, Vice President, Marine Business, ...

The tanker is always vulnerable to geopolitical shifts, but owners will now have to contend with the “drums of trade war” coming from the US and directed towards China. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Gibson said that “China officially increased tariffs up to 25% on $60 billion of US products from 1st June, following the US decision to increase tariffs on $200bn/year of imports from China to 25% from 10th May. Chinese imports of nearly every US energy commodity now face a tax of up to 25%. Crude is ...

Capesize The market continued in an unusually steady ascent last week. With no major news in the market, each day improved on the last, breaking with the recent boom bust volatility. Owners appear to be less inclined to overplay their hand, while taking the smaller improvements as they come, in what appears to be a sustainable market. The Cape 5TC opened the week at $12,987 and closed out Friday at $15,007. The West Australia C5 route opened the week at $7.223 to close at $7.732, with timecharter rates in the ...

In Tritton Resources Pty Ltd v Ever Rock Navigation S.A. [2019] FCA 276, the Federal Court considered the application of the time bar under the Amended Hague Visby Rules and the entitlements of the consecutive owners of cargo under a bill of lading to claim against the ship’s owners. On 18 December 2011 the MV Ikan Jahan (ship) ran aground whilst on route from Newcastle, Australia to Tuticorin, India. The sea conditions were described as poor with rain and fog. It grounded on Manuk Island during passage through the Banda ...

The recent one-year anniversary of the US-China trade war is nothing to celebrate for. In fact, ongoing friction is now openly threatening the global economy, with many analysts (most recently the IMF) now openly warning about a looming global recession. This of course is bad news for the shipping industry. In a recent note, shipbroker Intermodal said that “as of May 1st, the U.S. has ended waivers to the sanctions that had allowed the top buyers of Iranian oil to continue their imports. China is the world’s No1 oil importer ...

Anchoring loss prevention Anchoring is a critical operation on vessels. Shipping companies, port authorities and P&I Clubs value the safety of anchoring, which can be affected by the wrong anchoring operations and the increased traffic of ships as well as undesirable weather conditions. Club statistics shows that the direct claims relating to anchor account for up to 8% of navigation related claims. An improper anchoring could cause damage and loss to the vessel, other vessels, property and the environment. The consequential losses of grounding and collision due to anchor dragging ...

Any vessel flying a non-Russian flag is not allowed to enter Russian territorial waters by default. The access is granted only to vessels under Russian flag with no restrictions. At the same time, many international companies are interested in participating in dredging, carriage, oil and gas industry projects without a long-term flag change. Russia’s Federal Agency of Maritime and River Transport (the “FAMRT”) therefore is authorized to review applications of shipowners for issuance of cabotage permits. These permits allow for involvement of foreign-flagged vessels in carriage of goods and performance ...

The dry bulk market is about to face a significant challenge in the coming months, given the fact that the current fleet statistics and the looming orderbook numbers aren’t painting a pretty picture anymore. Thus, shipbrokers like Allied Shipbroking are looking towards the demand side of things for any sort of sustainable recovery of the segment moving forward. In its latest weekly report, Allied said that “the first half of 2019 has been an interesting period for the dry bulk industry, as sentiment in the market has fluctuated tremendously during ...

Growing tension between China and the US has resulted in a dampened appetite for deals, professional services company Ernst & Young (EY) has said. In a research note, EY claimed that although agreements are still going on, there are less of them — and they are occurring for less money than previously. The US-China dispute’s dampening of pact hunger especially concerns big cross-border acquisitions, the firm states. However, EY noted that businesses are continuing to make tactical moves and Europe and Southeast Asia are taking centre stage as China tries ...

To demonstrate potential cost savings for vessel/fleet owners commonly implemented in the land Fleet Management industry through use of AST’s Intelligent Remote Asset Management System (iRAMS) telemetry to monitor vessel parameters, and influence skipper behaviour to drive down operating costs and reduce environmental emissions. Fifteen years of land fleet management telemetry has shown cost savings in the transport industry and the experience learnt can be applied to the maritime sector with iRAMS telemetry. WHAT WE DID A CTV vessel was identified, via the iRAMS alerting feature, that was clearly using ...

With Ramadan now over, the ship recycling market is bound to pick up steam once more, with brokers claiming that containers and tankers will likely be the main candidates for sales. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Clarkson Platou Hellas said that “for the first time this year, we are seeing the Indian market leading the way in the sub-continent as Prime Minister Modi’s general election win brought some renewed confidence back to the market amid the quieter and rather sullen created by the Ramadan period. It would be expected ...

Regulation limiting sulphur oxide emissions from 2020 is likely to be a game-changer for the shipping industry, with wide-ranging implications for cost, compliance and crew. It even brings the potential for an increase in the number of machinery damage claims and incidents, if not well-managed. On October 26, 2018, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) officially adopted its pollution prevention treaty, MARPOL Annex VI, which will cap sulphur oxide emissions for shipping to just 0.5%, down from today’s 3.5%, effective January 1, 2020. The mandatory rules require ship owners to switch ...

The role of technology in Shipping and the Journey to IMO 2050 were debated at an ABS event which included leaders from the Union of Greek Shipowners (UGS), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Chevron Shipping Company and Clarkson Research Services Ltd. “Rapid change and complex challenges characterize today’s maritime world. We need a safe and sustainable transition to a low carbon business model with a platform for growth. To achieve it, we will need new fuels, new approaches to vessel design and operation – and nothing less than a ...