WORLDWIDE SHIPPING INDUSTRY
Shippers looking to reduce the carbon footprint
From higher-quality paint to state-of-the-art propellers: shipping companies are looking in every corner to reduce their carbon footprint as investor and activist pressure increases.
The move comes as aviation and shipping firms face demands to slash emissions due to their reliance on oil. The two sectors are expected to account for 40 percent of global CO2 output by 2050 unless action is taken, the European Environment Agency says. International shipping accounts for 2.2 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), more than aviation’s two percent share.
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China dominates in oil tanker market
China’s demand for crude oil shows no signs of abating. There are currently more supertankers bound for the Asian nation than at any time since the start of 2017 and possibly longer. That could signal that China’s refineries are planning to run hard through the end of the year when the shipping industry is moving to cleaner fuel standards.
China could also be working to secure supply following recent tensions in the Middle East. Most of the 109 supertankers observed heading for China in a recent Bloomberg tanker-tracking survey should arrive within the next three months. That coincides with a global switch to less polluting fuels in shipping that’s referred to in the industry as IMO 2020. Those guidelines, set out by the International Maritime Organization, are set to boost demand for refined products such as diesel, potentially keeping refining runs high.
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Waning demand across vessels drags baltic index down
The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index fell for a ninth straight session on Wednesday to a two-week low, hurt by weaker demand across vessel segments. The Baltic index, which reflects rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels, fell 27 points, or 1.5 percent, to 1,779, its lowest in over two weeks. The capesize index slipped 71 points, or 2.4 percent, to 2,873, its lowest in more than three months. The average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 170,000-180,000 tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, fell $463 to $23,740. The panamax index dropped 25 points, or 1.4percent, to 1,770.
Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 tonne to 70,000 tonne, fell $194 to $14,194. The supramax index edged 7 points lower to 1,210.
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Ship owners return to the S&P market
Normal service has been resumed, as ship owners have returned to the S&P market, lowering their “appetite” for newbuildings. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Banchero Costa said that “two modern NewCastelmax, the Bulk Seoul and Bulk Shanghai, 208,000 dwt, built 2019 by New Times were reported sold to the Norwegian-based company Ocean Yield at $42mln each; the ships will go be BBB to the sellers for a period of 13 years.
An old Panamax, the Oregon 74,000 dwt, built 2001 by Oshima was sold to Indonesian buyers at 7.9mln. A Japanese-built Ultramax, the Shiny Halo built 2011 by Shin Kasado was sold to Empros Line around $16.5mln, the ships is fitted with WBTS. Four Supramax were sold: the Stove Phoenix 55,000 dwt, built 2007 by Kawasaki went to Indonesian buyers for $11.25mln, the Centenario Blu 55,000 dwt, built 2011 by Mitsui to Greek buyers for $13.8mln, the Star Epsilon 52,000 dwt built 2001 by Tsuneishi to Middle Eastern buyers at $6.5mln and the Star Cosmo 52,000 dwt, built 2005 by Yangzhou Dayang which went to undisclosed buyers for $6.8mln which confirms a strong discount for Chinese older tonnage.
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New tanker generation calls for new rules
Amid intense competition in the tanker market, ship size and cargo flexibility are key differentiators. As a result, there is a trend among operators to prefer LR2-type tankers which, in contrast to the equally sized Aframax crude oil tankers, have coated tanks. This allows them to carry both “dirty” cargo, such as crude oil or heavy fuel oil, and “clean” cargoes, i.e. petrol (gasoline) or other clean petroleum products.
Typically, cargo owners require carriage of an intermediate cargo, such as diesel oil, for three voyages after carrying crude oil or dirty products before clean products such as petrol can be transported. The intermediate cargo gradually cleans the tanks, pumps and piping for the subsequent clean oil product.