Daily Briefing March 25 2020
Free to read: Container lines on brink of cashflow crunch | China signals further relaxation of crew change restrictions | Consortia exemption extension confirmed by EU | Coronavirus webinar: Register now
Good morning. Here’s our quick view of everything you need to know today.
The Lloyd’s List Daily Briefing is brought to you by the Lloyd’s List News Desk.
What to watch | Analysis | Opinion | Markets | In other news
What to watch
Container lines face an imminent cashflow crunch that will expose the financial fragility of some carriers.
China’s top-level administrative body has sent a signal that the country is to further relax a crew change ban at its ports after Shanghai’s easing policy.
Amidst the current turmoil in container shipping, box lines have been thrown a concession in the form of an extension to the European Union’s Consortia Block Exemption Regulation for another four years.
Analysis
From the News Desk: Analysts are rapidly revising previous projections for 2020 as the impact of coronavirus grips the shipping sector.
Carriers will be welcoming the formal extension of the Consortia Block Exemption Regulation, but not everyone in the supply chain is as happy with the decision.
Even as the coronavirus continues to depress volumes of containers coming through the Port of Los Angeles, executive director Gene Seroka maintains an upbeat view about the surge of cargo that he expects to arrive sooner or later.
Opinion
Coronavirus webinar: Register now to join Lloyd’s List experts on March 26 as they share data and insights on the impact of the coronavirus and discuss the issues arising from it.
Digitalisation of trade documentation could alleviate many of the problems with paper-based trading that have become all too evident as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, writes Jacco De Jong, head of global sales at Bolero International.
Markets
Seafarers and other transport workers should be exempt from travel bans that European Union governments have introduced due to the coronavirus, the European Commission has urged. This is to keep the supply chains of the world’s largest economic bloc going.
In other news
European ports and logistics groups have called on governments to support the transport sector through the coronavirus outbreak to protect the flow of supplies.
More deferred debts of Pacific International Lines have emerged, suggesting the cash-hungry carrier is having payment issues with multiple creditors.
At an oil price of $30 per barrel, oil and gas producers are expected to put on hold projects amounting to a third in value of those sanctioned last year.
Tsakos Energy Navigation has initiated a $50m share buyback programme saying that it is well-armed to withstand the “shock” of the coronavirus pandemic.
Dry bulk shipowner and operator Pangaea Logistics Solutions has suspended its dividend as a precaution in the face of uncertainty generated by the coronavirus pandemic.