Daily Briefing August 19 2020
Free to read: Global crude tonne-mile demand is falling | Green ship finance is rising | Offshore fleet is contracting | Growth is slowing outside China | Plus: Wakashio captain arrested in Mauritius
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
Cratering tonne-mile demand in the Middle East, rather than floating storage unwinding across Asia, appears to be underpinning flat-lining tanker rates seen this August, according to analysis of the latest Lloyd’s List Intelligence APEX data.
While the trend towards green and sustainable ship finance is still clearly led by European financiers, Japanese banks are now getting involved, and lenders from other Asian countries are expected to follow
The number of calls to seafarer support helplines has spiked during the coronavirus pandemic. The International Seafarers’ Welfare and Assistance Network dealt with more than 2,000 calls in one month alone from seafarers and their families.
The master of Wakashio, the bulker at the centre of the Mauritius oil spill, has been arrested. He is 58-year-old Sunil Kumar Nandeshar, from India, local police said on Tuesday.
Analysis
According to Lloyd’s List Intelligence, the orderbook for offshore and service vessels is at an all-time low, while fleet removals will accelerate due to the coronavirus-led fall in consumption of oil and gas.
Opinion
Continued uncertainty over the future of Howard Terminal in Oakland, a 55-acre site sought by the city's baseball team for a new ballpark, is denting industry confidence.
From the News Desk: The latest from Lloyds List on the Wakashio oil spill and how a rusting tanker off the Yemen coast could end up being the source of the next environmental catastrophe.
Markets
Major world economies except China are likely to contract as they are still battling the coronavirus pandemic, according to mining giant BHP. This would result in a decline in steel production, hurting the demand for iron ore transportation by dry bulk carriers.
Norway-based dry bulk company Golden Ocean has increased its charters to ride out the unknowns facing the market.
In other news
Ship suppliers and service providers are seeking closer collaboration with shipowners’ and managers’ associations to address a long-running complaint about delayed payment.
Intra-Asia feeder line RCL’s good results show that the gains reaped by the container lines in the second quarter are not restricted to just the mainline carriers.
MISC has won a long-term floating production, storage and offloading vessel charter, operation and maintenance contract from Petrobras for the Libra block in the Santos Basin
A Norwegian employee of DNV GL> has been remanded in custody for four weeks on suspicion of spying for Russia.