Daily Briefing January 31 2020
Free to read: Yangtze river port calls fall following coronavirus outbreak | Euronav signals tanker market recovery keeping momentum into new year | Vale confirms expiry of COAs linked to converted VLOCs
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What to watch | Opinion | Markets | In other news
What to watch
The impact of the coronavirus impact on Yangtze river shipping movements has been revealed in figures from Lloyd’s List Intelligence that show a dramatic reduction in port calls.
Euronav signalled that the long-anticipated market recovery had extended into the first quarter, as it reported its highest quarterly profits in more than a decade.
Brazilian miner Vale has confirmed that 10 of its contracts of affreightment linked to converted very large ore carriers have expired. Long-term charters will be on newer vessels.
Singapore has reported the first case of coronavirus in a seafarer. It said its 10th confirmed case of the infection was a seafarer who had travelled from Wuhan, in China, where the virus is believed to have started at the end of last month, to join a vessel.
Opinion
Lloyd’s List Global Awards 2019: Celebrating success in shipping. Tough conditions mean tough choices and shipping companies are making critical decisions more frequently. The Lloyd’s List awards programme seeks to identify and celebrate the key drivers of our industry.
Lloyd’s List Global Awards 2019: The winners.The shipping industry’s brightest and best are represented by the winners of the Lloyd’s List Global Awards, demonstrating greatness in key categories ranging from supply chain management and innovation, to port management, to safety and training.
Markets
Shipping rates surrendered seasonal gains faster than usual this winter, reflecting demand weakness amid an oversupplied market. Rates may not see support from the physical market going forward with LNG prices projected to further decline in the summer months.
Wärtsilä, the ship technology and power-plant maker, said scrubber orders fell last year from the “exceptionally high levels in the previous year” due to fuel price and availability uncertainties.
In other news
A French national investment house is the latest financier to sign up to the Poseidon Principles, committing to consider the environmental impact within its lending policies towards shipping.
Command of an international naval mission formed three months ago to secure the safe passage of commercial navigation through the Strait of Hormuz today passed to the UK from the US.
Stolt-Nielsen, the Norwegian tanker and tank terminals group, said contract rates are being renewed at higher rates for the first time since 2016.
Concordia Maritime reported a positive start to the year with signs of momentum being maintained into next year.
Interest in charter-linked insallations of exhaust gas cleaning systems remains high among among liner operators, according to a leading independent containership owner.
The crew of a very large crude carrier were evacuated after the vessel caught fire off the coast of the United Arab Emirates.
The Australian maritime union has condemned the government’s response to the spread of coronavirus, describing it as a gaping hole in the country’s biosecurity net due to the failure to implement adequate checks for any infections on merchant vessels arriving at the ports.