Daily Briefing March 26 2020
Free to read: Indian seafarers delay homecoming amid 21-day lockdown | Hoegh LNG locks down vessels not due crew rotation | Coronavirus and shipping briefing: Tanker rates collapse and weak outlook for containers | Join Lloyd’s List for a live coronavirus Q&A today
Good morning. Here’s our quick view of everything you need to know today.
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What to watch | Analysis | Opinion | Markets | In other news
What to watch
Indian seafarers are facing a precarious situation as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has imposed a nationwide lockdown for a minimum of 21 days in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Oslo-based Hoegh LNG has imposed a lockdown on vessels with no crew rotation as part of its efforts to mitigate risks from the coronavirus pandemic.
Analysis
Coronavirus and shipping weekly briefing — sector by sector: Tanker rates are falling dramatically as the coronavirus-led drop off in demand outweighs the oil price war. Elsewhere, crew change restrictions are slowly being lifted in China but national lockdowns are causing concern for seafarers in other parts of the world. The outlook for the containers sector is looking increasingly pessimistic. Lloyd’s List offers insight and expert analysis into how the coronavirus is impacting the shipping industry sector by sector.
As China seems to be coming out of a coronavirus-led slump, the rest of the world is falling victim, with many lockdowns in place to contain the spread of the deadly infection.
The coronavirus pandemic is likely to generate an enormous amount of arbitration and litigation in the maritime sector, according to the head of one of the world’s largest shipping law practices, with new instructions coming in at the rate of around one an hour at its London office alone.
Opinion
Lloyd’s List Webinar: We are running special coronavirus-focused webinar today (March 26) to examine the latest shipping data, offer market insights and be available to answer your questions. Register now to join either the Asia Pacific edition at 0800 GMT or the Europe, Middle East and Africa/US edition at 1500 GMT.
Markets
Container freight rates are likely to drop as demand falls of during the next few months, but there is still a chance that carriers will benefit from a ‘snap back’ in the global economy next year.
India’s buying spree for cheap liquefied natural gas cargoes may soon run out of steam as the world’s second-most populous country enters into several weeks of lockdown in a bid to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
US west coast ports remain open for business even as they undertake measures to disinfect cargo handling equipment in an effort prevent dockworkers from being infected by the coronavirus.
In other news
As the coronavirus pandemic tightens its grip on supply chains, the port of Hamburg has announced it is to defer lease and fee payments for any port user that requests assistance.
Cargill, the global grains producer and trader, said its ocean transportation unit has so far not experienced any major disruptions as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Greek shipowner Simos Palios, the founder and chief executive of New York-listed companies Diana Shipping and Performance Shipping, has tested positive for coronavirus.
China-focused intra-Asia line Sinotrans Container Lines has joined the Singapore-based Global eTrade Services’ Calista supply chain platform, bringing its China connections to the table.
Mitsui OSK Lines says it expects to record $146m in extraordinary losses as the challenging market conditions cause damage to its bulker and containership units.
Shanghai and Ningbo-Zhoushan ports, two of the world’s largest trade hubs, have entered a strategic co-operation agreement as Beijing pushes for port and regional economic consolidation.
The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners has appointed Kenneth W Duncan, currently Maersk lifestyle and apparel vice-president, as managing director of commercial operations at the Port of Long Beach.