Greek ship owners have placed more tanker newbuilding orders this week. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Allied Shipbroking said that “in the tanker sector, Greeks accounted for the majority of deals as they continue to lead way in tanker contracting. Dynacom have ordered 2 LR1 vessels at Yangzijiang, taking the yard’s total to 8 orders for this vessel type, while the latest investor release from Navios has confirmed 4 Aframax/LR2 tankers, including $3.3m pv of additions, thought to be from Zhoushan Changhong. On the alt-fuel side, Hayfin Capital Management ...

As we reported in April this year, the EU emissions trading scheme (the EU ETS) is expanding to include the shipping industry. With 2024, the first year in which vessel emissions will be included with in the scope of the EU ETS, just around the corner, shipowners and operators need to assess how the scheme will impact their business. The implementation of the scheme and the navigation some of the issues that it raises will be challenging for many and will require careful consideration and planning. Shipping companies whose vessels ...

The co-existence of new marine technologies which aim to improve safety and stubbornly high counts of human errors among the causes of maritime casualties and incidents suggests that ‘more of the same’ will be an inadequate response in seafarer training to the rapid advance of shipboard technologies. Work at the IMO to establish how far SOLAS and the Collision Regulations can apply to autonomous ships will crystallise in a non-mandatory code by 2024, with a mandatory code due by January 2028, but few believe unmanned vessels will be part of ...

Although it doesn’t seem that way right now, there’s a growing sense of positive sentiment for the ship recycling market, which is expected to improve by year’s end, or at the first few weeks of 2024. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Clarkson Platou Hellas said that “the Indian recycling market has experienced a ghostly role this week as a continual daily fall in the domestic steel prices has filtered through to the recyclers, resulting in price indications from this destination reduce by some USD 20-30/ldt. Local reports suggest that ...

The multipurpose vessel (MPV) orderbook to date is dominated by China, both in number of vessels and total dwt. At the same time, China has exclusively been building all the high-capacity ships of the sector. While this is not a new development, the growing geopolitical tensions between the US and China could put the MPV fleet expansion and charter market in a precarious position. As discussed in Drewry’s Multipurpose Shipping Forecaster report, the MPV orderbook is small, at just under 2.4 mdwt (see chart below). With the recent downturn in ...

As if the container shipping capacity wasn’t sufficiently unpredictable, the past month has seen the uncertainty taken up a notch for 2024. Let us start with the element for which there is the least uncertainty: overcapacity. Carriers are taking delivery of a substantial amount of new capacity both this year and in 2024. In rough terms the global fleet stands to grow 8% over the next two years measured on a year-on-year basis. At the same time the year-on-year growth for Jan-Aug 2023 was -3.3% measured in TEU and -2.5% ...

The shipping industry is already in the process of entering a new era, through its inclusion in the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme. However, issues over who’s liable for the added costs remain. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Gibson said that “in less than two months’ time, the shipping industry will for the first-time face emission taxes. For many in the market, the inclusion of shipping in the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) has been a ‘tomorrow problem’, but owners and charterers will soon be fixing voyages which are set ...

Capesize The capesize market started the week on a sluggish note with the PPA conference in Perth creating a quieter atmosphere, leading to reduced trading volumes in the Pacific and a softening of rates. Despite some stabilisation in conditions midweek, the Pacific market remained uninspiring with limited activity and rates on the C5 route dipped. However, as the week drew to a close, there was a slight uptick in volumes and rates on C5 have nudged back up by 45 to 50 cents. In the Atlantic, conditions experienced a slight ...

Any hopes of a revival in long-term ocean freight shipping rates were short-lived after the latest data from Oslo’s Xeneta indicated the market is once again in decline. In September, the Xeneta Shipping Index (XSI®), which tracks real-time rates developments on a month-to-month basis, revealed global long-term contracted rates had increased for the first time in 12 months. This raised the question of whether it was a sign of a resurging market or merely a temporary halt in its decline. It now appears September was indeed a false dawn with ...

The EU has imported 76.5 million tonnes of LNG during 2023 (Jan.-September), an increase of 4.4% versus last year, with US accounting for 43.7% of the total seaborne imports. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Banchero Costa said that “global seaborne LNG trade has continued to surge last year, helped also by the events in Ukraine which forced Europe to diversify away from Russian pipeline gas. In the full 12 months of 2022, global shipments of LNG increased by +4.9% y-o-y to 404.1 mln t, based on Refinitiv vessel tracking ...

The crude freight market gained momentum in early November due to the ongoing crisis in the Middle East. The VLCC segment has seen significant activity, but the Suezmax and Aframax segments have experienced even more growth compared to their levels at the end of September. The Suezmax segment, where shipments usually run from West Africa to the Continent, has recorded one of the most substantial growth spikes of 2021. Moreover, freight rates have also increased noticeably, leading to speculation about whether this surge will match the magnitude of the previous ...

At the latest Baltic Exchange Dry FFA Forum, a panel of experts emphasised the crucial role of FFAs as derivative products, contributing to increased liquidity and opportunities in the market. At the Forum in Athens, the growing presence of funds and the changing nature of market dynamics were recognised as part of the natural evolution of commodity markets, while cost considerations and effective risk management were highlighted as essential factors for both ship owners and traders in the Forward Freight Agreement (FFA) market. The event, supported by the FFA Brokers ...

The tanker market has seen an uplift in rates since the eruption of the Gaza-Israel war, while, on the other hand, bulkers seem to have completed their rally for the time being. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Xclusiv said that “the BDTI continued its positive spree for seventh week and has fulfilled 36 positive closings in a row moving from 713 points on the 10 September 2023 to 1,414 points on the 27 October 2023, a rise of about 98%. The International Energy Agency keeps projecting that global oil ...

As November starts, there is uncertainty about how dry bulk freight rates will perform in the future. Optimism in earlier days has faded due to recent weekly declines, and the market’s strength in the final quarter of the year is now in question. On the supply side, there has been an increase in the number of ballasters for Capesize vessels, while in the Panamax category, there is still a decrease, indicating the possibility of a more robust rate environment. In the grain sector, it is worth noting that the percentage ...

South Korean Orderbook Analysis To mark the start of the KOBC and Marine Money conferences in South Korea, we take a look at the South Korean orderbook, using VesselsValue data. The infographic analyses the breakdown of vessels on order in South Korea, the top ordering nations, the key companies investing in South Korean newbuildings, the most valuable vessels on order and the share of dual fuel vessels being built. Containers are the most popular vessel on order in South Korea, with a total of 263 vessels, followed by LNG carriers ...