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Greece wants ‘realistic’ EU Green policy for shipping

EU shipping power Greece has told the European Commission that adding the industry to the bloc’s carbon emissions trading scheme should be proportionate and tightly enforced to secure a level playing field for the European fleet in global markets. In a letter sent to Commission head Ursula von der Leyen, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that countries should also get back the revenue raised by the costs their ships would pay and that money should be spent on decarbonising maritime transport. Greek-owned vessels represent 58 percent of the EU’s fleet, according to the Greek Shipowners Union. Mitsotakis made a plea to Brussels to “engage at the earliest with the Greek authorities and with the shipping community, in order to find realistic and constructive solutions,” according to the letter.

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Container prices ease as China resumes activities post the golden week

Container xChange, one of the world’s fastest growing tech companies and the market leaders for trading and leasing of containers, have published container prices data trends and insights soon after the Golden Week concludes in China and as the world prepares for Christmas holidays shopping season. The data indicates that the average standard container prices in China have plunged both for trading and leasing. “We are experiencing improvement in market situation as the one-way leasing charges, spot rates and other freight costs are starting to stabilize and average standard container prices are witnessing a drop for the first time in many weeks. Though we are still yet to see how the market responds further to inventory stocking by the US importers in the coming months, these are good signs of market correction.

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Baltic index snaps 8-day losing streak on stronger vessel demand

The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index gained on Wednesday, after falling for eight straight sessions, supported by higher rates across all vessel segments. The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize vessels, rose by 37 points, or 0.8 percent, to 4,751. The capesize index rose 46 points, or 0.6 percent, to 7,275, breaking a losing streak of eight sessions. Average daily earnings for capesizes, which transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, rose by $378 to $60,333. Chinese coking coal and coke futures opened 9 percent lower to hit daily trading limits, as the country’s top economic planner pledged to take all necessary measures to bring the coal market back to a reasonable level. The panamax index added 70 points, or 1.7 percent, to 4,236, its highest in three and a half months.

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US coal ship departures fall 17.9pc on week: cflow

Weekly US coal ship departures dropped 17.9 percent from a week ago to 32 ships in the week ended Oct. 17, cFlow, Platts trade flow software showed Oct. 19. The ships were carrying a total 2.07 million dwt, down 22 percent from 2.66 million dwt in the previous week. Panama was set to receive the most US coal tonnage worldwide at 441,127 dwt, with 96.2 percent originating from the Gulf Coast and the remaining 3.8 percent coming from the Atlantic Coast. The second-highest volume of US coal shipments was headed to Egypt at 241,712 dwt, with 75 percent shipped out from the Atlantic Coast and the remaining 25 percent coming from the Gulf Coast. Gibraltar rounded out the top three destinations for US coal worldwide at 175,975 dwt, exclusively shipped from the Gulf Coast.

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Shipping industry faces esg heat from lenders

Banks are demanding much stricter environmental criteria when financing shipping companies as investor pressure grows on the sector to accelerate going greener, according to Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Shipping, which transports about 90 percent of world trade, accounts for nearly 3 percent of the world’s CO2 emissions and BCG forecast the industry will need $2.4 trillion to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. “ESG-driven requests are already prompting more action from banks. Shipping is already feeling it and they (shipping companies) are under pressure now,” said Peter Jameson, partner with BCG, which are consultants for the COP26 UN climate summit that starts on Oct. 31. Standard Chartered (OTC:SCBFF) has already provided loans linked to sustainability targets for drilling group Odfjell and the shipping division of Oman’s Asyad Group, the bank has said.

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LNG tanker rates more than double in two weeks

Tanker rates to ship liquefied natural gas (LNG) have more than doubled since the start of the month as a power crisis in Asia and Europe drives up demand for vessels, industry sources said on Tuesday. The daily charter rate for a tri-fuel diesel-electric (TFDE) vessel that can carry 160,000 cubic metres of LNG to Pacific basin ports rose to $202,500 a day on Tuesday, the highest since Jan. 15, according to data from Spark Commodities. For the same type of ship moving in the Atlantic basin, the rate hit its highest since late-January on Friday, but dipped to $138,250 a day on Tuesday, Spark data showed. Both rates have more than doubled since the start of the month. As LNG plants return from maintenance and supply is expected to grow in the near-term to meet increased demand for heating during winter, availability of ships has been tight, the sources said.

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Singapore charges two people for corrupt marine fuel trading practices

Singapore authorities have charged two individuals in court for alleged corruption in relation to the trade and supply of marine fuels, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) said in a statement. Afzal Bin Mohamed Ekbar, a bunker trader at KPI Bridge Oil Singapore Pte Ltd at the time, had allegedly obtained at least $191,000 on multiple occasions between 2017 and 2018 from the director of Straits Bunkering Pte Ltd, Shafiq Bin Nezammuddin, as kickbacks for nominating Straits for the supply of bunker fuel to KPI’s customers, the CPIB statement said on Tuesday. “Afzal had also allegedly obtained a gratification in the form of a S$90,000 (about $67,000) loan from Shafiq as an inducement for the same purpose,” the statement said.

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