With the holiday period now firmly behind, VLCC tankers are starting to show some moderate demand. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Affinity said that “after a rather quiet festive period, VLCC lists have replenished somewhat and some owners are now starting to get impatient once again with the lack of volume – not implying resistance, but there is a chance that soon there could be more willingness to get cracking. With dates in the natural fixing window, whether East or West of Suez, it shouldn’t be too much of ...

Drewry expects LNG shipping to normalise further in 2025 as fleet growth continues to outpace liquefaction build-up, preventing any recovery in rates. Although demand will recuperate, erratic weather conditions, LNG prices, competition from other sources of energy and efforts towards carbon neutrality will dictate the LNG appetite, with demand varying regionally. Moreover, global LNG supply will remain tight despite the start of some new projects, keeping prices vulnerable to supply shocks while geopolitical risks remain high. Rates to roll down We expect LNG shipping rates to soften further in 2025 ...

According to the World Economic Forum, with around 90% of all trade being ocean-based, close to 3% of the world’s greenhouse gas footprint comes from seagoing vessels. The shipping industry is determined to accelerate its efforts to meet the Global Maritime Forum’s goal of ending fossil fuel consumption by 2050, although opinions about how to achieve this differ. At COP28, CEOs of the five largest shipping companies made a joint declaration demanding deadlines for stopping orders of fossil fuel-only powered newbuilds. This leaves the question of what to do instead. ...

Demand for second hand dry bulk carriers has been high throughout 2024. In a recent weekly report, shipbroker Intermodal said that “the dry bulk sale and purchase activity continue to demonstrate remarkable strength this year so far, achieving the second-largest volume of transactions in the sector’s history for the first ten months of the year, surpassed only by the record of 754 sales in 2021”. According to Intermodal’s Head of Research Department, Mr. Yiannis Parganas, “notably, in the first ten months of 2024, 605 dry bulk sales (>20kdwt) were recorded, ...

Clarksons Research have released their latest Green Technology Tracker, including full year 2024 data points, charting the progress of alternative fuel uptake and investments in energy saving technologies across the global shipping fleet. Summarising the latest Tracker, Steve Gordon, Global Head of Clarksons Research, commented: “With overall newbuild order volumes reaching their highest level since 2007, alternative fuel has continued to play a prominent role representing 50% of all tonnage ordered in 2024. Across 2024, we have reported 820 vessels ordered of 62.2m GT involving alternative fuel capability (727 orders ...

The VLGC market will navigate a complex landscape in 2025, shaped by a mix of positive and negative factors, such as robust LPG trade and ample fleet supply, which will take rates below 2024 levels. This market will be characterised by surplus vessel availability despite fewer deliveries next year, limiting any potential upside in rates. Petchem demand recovery wanes We had previously forecast a recovery in petchem demand, which is now likely to be delayed due to the ongoing headwinds in the petchem industry, with persistent negative margins and poor ...

EU has remained a leading importer of seaborne crude oil during 2024. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Banchero Costa said that “2023 has been another positive period for crude oil trade, despite the high oil prices and risks of economic recession. In Jan-Dec 2023, global crude oil loadings went up +4.7% y-o-y to 2186.8 mln tonnes, excluding all cabotage trade, according to vessels tracking data from Refinitiv. The positive trend continued in JanOct 2024, when global crude oil loadings increased by +0.8% y-o-y to 1833.9 mln t, from 1819.9 ...

Product tanker earnings will moderate in 2025 as demand fears and improving supply weigh on rates. The journey of the humble product tanker has been full of surprises with rates surging since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war. Owners benefitted hugely from the surge in tonne-mile demand, but earnings started to fall in 3Q24 when rates began moderating due to slowing demand. Factors such as high deliveries are likely to get triggered with the onset of 2025 and could derail the high earnings of product tankers, which were supported by ...

Leading research and consultancy provider Maritime Strategies International (MSI) forecasts that tanker contracting in 2024 will reach its second highest level ever. The first 11 months of 2024 saw near-record levels of tanker contracting, with 55m dwt ordered second only to the super-cycle year of 2006. MSI’s proprietary market model for 10,000dwt+ tanker orders has been revised up 20% by 10.2m dwt for 2024 versus its previous forecast. With a projected total of 60.8m dwt, 2024 is almost certain to record the second-highest level ever. Deliveries in 2025 are anticipated ...

As we enter 2025, it’s worth reflecting on the course of the tanker market during 2024, as well as giving an insight into what to expect in 2025. In a recent weekly report, shipbroker Xclusiv said that “the tanker market in 2024 exhibited remarkable resilience, achieving sustained profitability amidst considerable market volatility across various vessel segments. The following retrospective analysis delves into the year’s market dynamics, drawing insights from the Baltic Exchange’s TCE data. In the crude tanker sector, we witnessed larger vessels experiencing peak earnings early in the year”. ...

Crude tanker owners will continue to enjoy attractive earnings in 2025 amid economic and geopolitical uncertainties, as slow fleet growth and increased long-haul trade will keep tonnage utilisation high. While VLCC rates will benefit from a surge in long-haul trade and a stagnant fleet, the mid-size tanker market will soften because of an influx of fresh tonnage. Increased refinery activity in oil-producing countries will continue to restrain trade A surge in refinery runs in oil-producing countries in the Middle East and Africa will continue to curb global crude oil trade ...

The new rules form part of the EU’s persistent drive to reduce GHG emissions within the European airspace and they will introduce a new set of obligations and compliance requirements for the shipping sector. From a practical perspective, the key concern for maritime stakeholders operating in Europe will be to understand in what measure the new Regulation will impact their shipping and commercial operations. In this new six-part bi-weekly series, we take a detailed look at Regulation (EU) 2023/1805, examining its scope, gradual implementation timeline, the obligations and compliance mechanisms ...

Challenges around the matter of green ship financing are still persisting, five years after the introduction of Poseidon Principles. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Intermodal said that “half a decade has passed since the introduction of Poseidon Principles to the ship financing sector, a set of guidelines aimed at advancing the financing of environmentally sustainable ships and reduce carbon emissions of the Shipping Industry. Launched in 2019 with the participation of 11 banks from five countries, this initiative has seen significant growth. Today, 35 banks from 14 countries have ...

The dry bulk market is poised for an upside in earnings as global and regional environmental regulations will reshape vessel supply. The higher earnings are coupled with higher fragmentation in the freight market as vessel movement will continue to adapt to comply with the regulations. Resilience in commodity demand While the outlook for GDP growth is marginally higher for 2025, shipping demand is projected to be resilient, driven by coal and grain trade. The recovery in advanced economies is expected to materialise after a lag. Europe’s industrial activity remains lacklustre ...

Shipping must be open to sharing the risks associated with emissions reduction to enable the uptake of energy savings devices and technologies (ESDs/ESTs) and digital applications. The responsibility of investing in and driving the uptake of new solutions must be borne by all relevant stakeholders and not sit solely with the shipowner. This extends not only to financial exposure, but also new vessel design and data sharing, delegates from the Greek shipping community learned at a Lloyd’s Register (LR) event on 5 December. When major change is introduced on a ...