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The ship recycling market seems to be geared to come back to life after a prolonged period of hiatus. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Clarkson Platou Hellas, commented that “with various reports this week suggesting the lockdown across the Indian sub-continent were set to be lifted after the Eid celebrations, there have been further ... […]

Capesizes supported by firm iron ore demand The capesize segment is seen supported by the robust steel production in China, the world’s largest steelmaker. This, in turn, has increased demand for the raw ingredient of iron ore and therefore has been assisting the capesize carriers, both on the physical and paper side. Indeed, capesize earnings ... […]

Last week the CEO of a large bunker trader wrote a great piece about how small and mid-sized shipping companies are not actively hedging their bunker exposure using derivatives. Bunker prices have risen $90 in the last month. To put this into context, in late April if a shipowner fixed an end-May cargo requiring 1,000mt ... […]

Ship owners have reentered the newbuilding market, but only for the segments which have shown the most potential. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Allied Shipbroking said that “the vast difference in sentiment being noted between the dry bulk and tanker sectors was perfectly depicted last week in the newbuilding market. On the one hand, ... […]

DNV GL, the world’s leading classification society, has launched a new certification in infection prevention for the maritime industry. The release of this custom certification aims to help the maritime industry resume operations better prepared for COVID-19 or other emerging pathogens. Genting Cruise Lines is the first customer working towards the CIP-M certification for their ... […]

The project “Advanced, Efficient and Green Intermodal Systems” (AEGIS) will develop new and more competitive systems for waterborne transport. Inland and short sea ships and their ports are critical parts of Europe’s transport system. With stricter requirements to decarbonization and reduced noise and pollution from the transport sector, the importance should only increase! However, the ... […]

A boost in dry bulk demand, mainly from China, would go a long way into alleviating fears of a new crash in the dry bulk market. In fact, signs over the first few months of the year had been encouraging. In a recent report, shipbroker Banchero Costa said that “iron ore trade remains remarkably resilient ... […]

Events in the past few months have darkened the outlook for many seaborne dry bulk commodity trades in 2020 and later. Uncertainty about future global trends, both in the near and longer term, has been greatly intensified by the economic recession resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. Yet grain and soya trade looks well placed to ... […]

A slump in methanol demand is forcing the US to push more methanol cargoes to Asia and Europe. Therefore, we expect freight rates for coated MR2 tankers to improve on these routes. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has hit the global economy harder than expected with countries applying various degrees of lockdowns to prevent its spread. ... […]

New tonnage in the tanker market could become scarce in the next few years, in what appears to be a silver lining amid the pandemic. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Gibson said that “setting aside the exceptional volatility in tanker rates, Covid-19 outbreak and the dramatic changes in world oil markets, one of the ... […]