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What to watch

Chaos in crude is spilling over to clean markets as the shortage of land-based commercial storage for transport fuels ignites record-busting rates for product tankers with earnings now above $150,000 daily for aframax-sized vessels.

Hin Leong Trading is said to have withdrawn its previous court application for debt protection and sought judicial management, which would see the founding Lim family cede control of the restructuring of the cash-strapped business.

South Korean shipping companies, HMM primarily among them, will receive Won1.25trn ($1bn) worth of financial help from the government as it aims to help cash-strapped firms hurt by the coronavirus pandemic, Yonhap reported.

Analysis

While President Trump has gained a reputation for impulsive announcements, a recent tweet is highly likely to be part of his administration’s strategy to impact the oil price, following the historic crash in West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude.

Weekly briefing: Blanked sailings increase while oil glut boosts floating storage outlook.

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Opinion

Shipowners may find comfort that not all yards at the trading hub of Singapore have to observe a two-week stop-work order, which was introduced following a steep rise in coronavirus infections at the port nation, writes Hwee Hwee Tan.

Before the coronavirus took hold, shipping was uncertain about which fuels it would be using in the future. Wanting to get back to business as usual means a return to future fuels paralysis, writes Richard Clayton.

Markets

Owners of dry bulk vessels are still losing money on their fleets, but the latest decision by Jakarta to ease the mandate on the use of Indonesian-flagged vessels to handle coal is likely to provide some relief.

Egypt’s national oil company has provisionally agreed to charter a VLCC in a deal that would be worth the equivalent of $356,798 per day.

In other news

Clipper Bulk will cut 24 of 91 onshore jobs to survive the historic downturn in freight markets.

Beijing has made it more imperative for a timely repatriation of Chinese crew, through a joint statement from six major central government agencies pledging to solve the issue amid the coronavirus-led disruption.

Braemar Shipping Services has withheld its dividend to protect liquidity as it reported a positive medium-term outlook, with shipbroking bolstered by the spike in floating storage demand.

Tanker owners may be staying away from shipyards as the likely decline for oil transport and regulatory uncertainty weigh on an already diminishing orderbook.

Law firm Watson Farley & Williams has promoted a further three lawyers in its maritime, assets and structured finance practice to partner status.