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What to watch   |   Analysis   |   Opinion   |   Markets   |   In other news

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What to watch

Government should be facilitating crew changes and should exempt seafarers and maritime personnel from travel bans imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus, according to the International Maritime Organization.

Decarbonisation could take a back seat after the coronavirus pandemic is resolved and governments focus on rebuilding their economies, while uncertainty about future regulations is making shipowners “terrified” of ordering new ships.

Container shipping shows great uncertainty in the current economic downturn, while crude oil tankers represent the strongest segment, followed by dry bulkers, shipping analysts told a conference.

Jens Holger Nielsen did not wait for official advice before taking decisive action to ensure his company remains fully functional as the coronavirus pandemic spreads.

Analysis

From the News Desk: Many crews unable to disembark at designated destination upon completion of contracts due to coronavirus measures.

Frequently asked questions about the coronavirus pandemic have focused on the number of new cases, the growth of the infection curve and its mortality rate.

Lloyd’s List Intelligence is continuously tracking the impact of coronavirus on the shipping supply chain, and finding how data can be used to prepare for and react to the risk of short-term tremors and larger shocks to the market.

Europe’s supply chains and their logistics and freight forwarding suppliers are vulnerable to further disruption and new challenges as the coronavirus and its impact continue to spread, according to logistics consultant Wolfgang Lehmacher.

Opinion

An oil price war and coronavirus fallout are dramatically restructuring supply and demand fundamentals for the tanker sector, sending mixed signals about the direction of rates and earnings for the remainder of 2020, writes Michelle Wiese Bockmann.

Markets

Cosco Shipping Energy Transportation has expressed optimism about the crude tanker market, where bullish sentiment is reigniting.

Euronav has flagged a significant writedown in May this year when the tanker owner releases its first-quarter results as tumbling fuel oil prices have derailed the physical hedging programme it launched in 2019 to ensure a secure supply of low-sulphur marine bunkers.

Demand growth this year has been slashed for the liquefied petroleum gas sector as economic activity around the world slows due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to Poten & Partners, which has made further downward revisions to estimates.

Low liquefied natural gas prices and demand for floating storage may buoy the LNG carrier market for a good while, according to leading pundits from the sector.

India’s liquefied petroleum gas demand is set to surge, lending support to shipping demand and spot rates as the 21-day nationwide lockdown triggers demand for cooking gas.

In other news

Cosco Shipping Holdings forecasts more blank sailings and perhaps even the redelivery of chartered vessels by liner shipping carriers should the coronavirus-led demand shortfall deteriorate.

The oil tanker market is currently in a strong position due to the oversupply of petroleum created by demand destruction from the impact of the coronavirus outbreak and by ramped-up production from Saudi Arabia, a conference has been told.

The steady withdrawal of traditional bank lenders from the shipping market in recent years has opened the door for providers of alternative financing.

Liquefied natural gas prices for trades done in Europe and Asia have collapsed, reflecting demand disruption caused by the coronavirus lockdown across the two regions.

Citgo Petroleum Corporation is liable for a 2004 oil spill in the Delaware River and must repay most of the $133m cleanup costs, the US Supreme Court ruled.

Greece has introduced a raft of emergency measures to shore up its domestic ferry services against the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Companies in Singapore and Japan have joined forces to tap the potential of emerging low-carbon alternatives to power Singapore’s energy future.

Shell, the energy giant with the largest liquefied natural gas portfolio, has pulled out of a project proposing the conversion of an existing import facility into an export facility in the US Lake Charles area.

TOP Ships shares spiked in New York in Monday trading after the Greece-based owner provided updates on the sale of two joint venture medium range tankers and announced the end of an equity distribution deal.

Taiwanese line Yang Ming Marine Transport expects to make better use of its participation in The Alliance in the year ahead as it leverages on the addition of new partner HMM to the grouping.