The tanker market reached a higher ground during February. According to OPEC’s latest monthly report, “dirty freight rates improved in February, with m-o-m gains in VLCCs and Suezmaxes outpacing declines in Aframaxes. VLCCs picked up from a low base, as renewed demand for long-haul vessels strengthened rates. On the Middle East-to-East route, dirty spot freight rates rose 22% m-o-m. Gains in Suezmax spot freight rates earned back some of the previous month’s losses, with rates on the US Gulf Coast-to-Europe route up 18% from the previous month. By contrast, Aframax ...

Russian LNG exports to Europe remained at very high levels in February at 3.6 million CBM, following a 13 month high in January of 4.1 million CBM. Last month, Belgium imported the largest amount of Russian LNG, accounting for 38% of imports to the EU, while Spain ranked second with a share of c.23.9%, followed closely by France with c.23.8%. Currently, there are no sanctions on Russian LNG imports. Despite this, there has been a strong push to source energy from other countries since the start of the conflict with ...

In part one of this two-part series on human capital in shipping – a key theme at Europort 2023 – Jakob le Fevre offers his take on the training and recruitment of maritime professionals in today’s fast-changing and fiercely competitive market. As a master mariner and Managing Partner at global maritime recruitment specialist MARPRO – which is also a Europort media partner and organiser of the Rising Stars Pavilion event for maritime technology start-ups – Jakob le Fevre has unique insight into the maritime labour market. “Working at MARPRO is ...

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 ...