Daily Briefing June 8 2020
Free to read: Panama-flagged LPG carriers investigated for Iran shipments | Why shipping must embrace the green recovery | The Lloyd's List Podcast: Reasons to be cheerful
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
The maritime authority of Panama is investigating a fleet of eight Panama-flagged liquefied petroleum gas carriers linked to sanctioned Iranian shipments to China and India and engaged in shipping practices that the US has labelled as “deceptive”.
As governments race to pump out “green” stimulus packages to tackle the economic slump while accelerating plans to slash emissions, shipping should be seeking clarity on carbon targets and taking the opportunity to kickstart its own decarbonisation development plans, writes Richard Meade.
Analysis
Green shoots are emerging, with some countries allowing crew changes and others easing restrictions. However, with more than 150,000 seafarers still stranded at sea and ashore, the crisis is far from over.
Martin Crawford-Brunt’s determination to push for higher levels of safety at sea and greater respect for seafarers lies deep in his soul, writes Richard Clayton.
The Week in Charts: Vessel-tracking analysis from Lloyd's List Intelligence shows the four tankers placed under sanctions by the US all had gaps in their Automatic Identification System signals. Meanwhile, new containership orders will fall to lowest number for more than a decade in 2020.
Opinion
The Lloyds List Podcast: DNV GL’s chief executive of maritime Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen believes that we are headed into a maritime renaissance. The shipping industry is brimming with innovation and new ideas. He joins Lloyd’s List Editor Richard Meade to explain why we all need to be open to new ideas and embrace an exploratory mindset to unlock the future.
Markets
Container shipping could already be going through the worst conditions it will face this year, but may have weathered the storm financially.
In other news
The coronavirus pandemic is expected to have long-term implications for students hoping to be taken on by shipping companies and by maritime universities themselves, according to a new survey.
Wood, the global engineering and consultancy company, has committed to cutting its greenhouse gas emissions by 40% over the next decade.
The European Commission has resumed an antitrust investigation into the merger proposal between Hyundai Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.
Singapore is pushing forward with its maritime tech accelerator programmes, with the Eastern Pacific-Techstars initiative, and Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore and NUS Enterprise PIER 71’s Smart Port Challenge 2020 both inviting new applications, with a particular emphasis on dealing with the coronavirus outbreak.
Smaller Asian logistics players are gaining better access to new digital services specially catered for them as start-ups Qwyk and SimpliShip have collaborated to help companies digitalise their customer processes.
The port of Houston has had its fair share of buffeting from the ill effects of the coronavirus pandemic this year, but the vision of executive director Roger Guenther remains firmly focused on plans for future prosperity.
The coronavirus pandemic has hurt revenue but not the volume of exports from Australia’s liquefied natural gas sector, which has so far drawn support from multi-year contracts binding buyers to take committed volumes.