Daily Briefing May 1 2020
Free to read: Asia-bound vessels rerouted to avoid Suez Canal | Panama and Suez offer incentives to keep ships transiting | No quick fix for box shipping | Dry bulk charterers guard against Hin Leong fallout
Good morning. Here’s our quick view of everything you need to know today.
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What to watch | Analysis | Markets | In other news
What to watch
Leading container lines are bypassing the Suez Canal on return voyages from northern Europe to Asia and routing ships via the Cape of Good Hope.
The Panama Canal Authority, known as ACP, and the Suez Canal are easing conditions for customers to help mitigate the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
There are no quick fixes to the crisis in container shipping caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the sector should prepare for an extended downturn, according to BIMCO chief shipping analyst Peter Sand.
Rio Tinto’s decision to amend bunker clauses in the light of Hin Leong’s financial troubles could result in other dry bulk charterers following suit.
Analysis
Tanker operators are being strongly advised to steer clear of lifting Chevron exports in Venezuela, following the latest twist in Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions against the government of Nicolas Maduro.
Oil tankers are idling off the US west coast as the supply overhang of crude wrought by a price war and the coronavirus pandemic means refineries in the region have no need for further supplies and even less space to store them.
Markets
Mitsui OSK Lines has booked a 43% jump in full-year ordinary profit, but is preparing for a poorer months ahead in light of an expected slowdown spilling over from the coronavirus pandemic.
Ocean Network Express has said that its forecasts for the financial year 2020 have not yet been finalised owing to the coronavirus situation changing dynamically and rapidly after posting profits for the financial year 2019.
Freight forwarding and logistics group DSV Panalpina is to shed around 3,000 staff as part of a cost-cutting programme following a drop in demand.
In other news
This year's CMA Shipping conference has been pushed back from the end of June to mid-October, it has been confirmed.
Australian miner Fortescue Metals Group has revised upwards its guidance for iron ore shipments for its financial year.
The UK’s RMT union has called for P&O Ferries — which is seeking government financial support to keep it operating during the coronavirus crisis — to be taken into public ownership instead.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore has announced a package worth S$27m ($19.1m) to support maritime companies and individuals in the wake of the global coronavirus outbreak.
Global freight forwarding and logistics group Kuehne + Nagel expects markets to begin to normalise in the second half of the year.
Any government bailouts to aid container lines suffering from the coronavirus pandemic should come with conditions to leverage better behaviour from carriers, according to a new report from the International Transport Forum.
Costamare has reported a strong set of first-quarter results and in doing so underlined some of the ways the shipping industry has been forced to adapt by the coronavirus crisis.