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What to watch

Shipowners with pre-committed scrubber spends rush to secure yard slots as fuel prices move against the abatement technology. Still, analysts urge caution against making hasty decisions in light of coronavirus-linked delays.

Hapag-Lloyd chief executive Rolf Habben Jansen tells Lloyd’s List it is difficult yet to determine whether impact of outbreak will last beyond the first two quarters of the year.

Pacific International Lines has accelerated its cash-raising efforts through asset disposals.

China is cutting a series of port charges as part of an effort to bolster its coronavirus-hit trade and shipping sector.

Analysis

Coronaviris may not in itself be sufficient grounds for shipyards to invoke force majeure, even if contracts contain clauses that seem to make that the obvious plain English reading, according to legal opinion.

Markets

Transpacific carriers have pulled more than 50 scheduled services in recent weeks in response to weak cargo demand, according to Alphaliner.

The number of containership calls in the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles continued to fall in February, as the coronavirus outbreak joined the list of factors reducing vessel calls at the US’ largest port complex.

Canada’s Pacific coast ports are feeling the effects of the coronavirus outbreak largely through an increased number of blank sailings, but have so far not had any cases of infection to report. Still, there is uncertainty regarding what could be in store.

Container port traffic was already weak ahead of the coronavirus outbreak and further sharp falls seem likely in the near term, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development says in a new report.

In other news

The shipping industry is not doing enough to ensure seafarers are protected from human rights abuses, according to a report by Human Rights at Sea.

The idea of paperless documentation in container shipping is a least a decade away, according to the chief executive of digital documentation start-up Expedock.

Yilport Holding has confirmed the completion of its takeover of Taranto Container Terminal in Italy, upon the receipt of handover documents from local authorities, as it looks to revitalise what was once one of the Mediterranean’s premier transhipment hubs.

Norden, a Danish owner and operator mainly in the dry bulk space, is looking to focus on short-term activities amid uncertainty related to the coronavirus.

Nam Cheong, the Malaysian offshore support vessel provider, has secured new contracts for several types of vessels with non-Malaysian oil majors.