Daily Briefing June 26 2020
Free to read: Tanker sentiment sours | No box rebound until next year | Dry bulk rally in danger of losing steam | Plus, why we need actions not words for Day of the Seafarer
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
Market concern over falling tanker rates has increased because floating storage trends are yet to unwind — 282m bbls of crude and products have been kept on tankers at anchor for the past 20 days, Lloyd’s List Intelligence data show.
A burst of demand on the transpacific trades has given some hope of a peak season this year. But carrier blankings show they have already discounted the idea of any return to normal volumes.
Panellists at a digital event said they were cautious about the recent dry bulk rally, which could well lose steam by the end of the year due to worries related to a global recession that will limit demand for goods and raw materials.
Analysis
Global trade is taking a hit from the coronavirus pandemic and even though shipping will keep feeling the impacts of that decline, decarbonisation's momentum will not take hit.
No single solution will achieve decarbonisation completely and it seems Plan B, a gathering of fuels and technologies, has not persuaded shipowners to invest.
The Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping will begin forming later this year and Maersk's chief executive believes it is a "quantum leap" for decarbonisation in shipping.
Opinion
What is needed is a concrete plan to repatriate crews who have already exceeded the 11-month limit on tours of duty set down in the legally-binding Maritime Labour Convention.
Industry groups paid tribute to seafarers to mark the 10th International Day of the Seafarer with calls for government action on crew changes.
Markets
Top LNG exporter Qatar has opted to keep up production levels and deployed tankers to store cargoes with no ready buyers. That has contributed to rising LNG floating storage volumes.
Chinese liquefied petroleum gas demand has started recovering, with propane dehydrogenation plants’ operating rates now above 90% after the lockdown.
In other news
An account of being bullied and harassed provides a rare insight into life at sea for the women who comprise 2% of the world’s maritime workforce.
Lloyd’s Register has joined forces with other maritime organisations to launch an industry-wide survey on the impact of coronavirus on employee wellbeing and operational practice.
On the International Day of the Seafarer, the UK government says it stands ‘ready to work with other governments to ensure safe crew changes can take place and the world’s trade can continue to flow’.
The Russia-flagged aframax tanker Sierra is sailing to Venezuela to load the first Russian-organised cargo lifted from there since Rosneft stopped selling crude for the South American country in March.
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says Iran's support for the 'authoritarian and corrupt regime in Venezuela' is unacceptable as the US imposes sanctions on the masters of five product tankers.
Pirates kidnapped six seafarers from the fishing vessel Panofi Frontier on Wednesday, according to reports. The pirates’ location and identities are unknown.
Maersk has appointed a new head for its Singapore office while Robbert van Trooijen takes over Latin America operations.
Port of Charleston officials see a downward trend through the first six months, with container throughput expected to fall by 19.6% during that time.