Daily Briefing October 19 2020
Free to read: Regional decarbonisation proposal facing high-profile opposition | Australia’s coal exports to China may be hit hard amid tensions | Pandemic will be a turning point for shipping, predicts Synergy chief | Shipping’s scrubber gamble ‘looks like yesterday’s solution’
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What to watch | Analysis | Opinion | Markets | In other news
What to watch
Classification society Lloyd’s Register and the Liberian International Ship and Corporate Registry have expressed opposition to a proposal for regional decarbonisation regulations on international shipping.
While coal exports from Australia are unlikely to be materially impacted this year from China’s reported ban, volumes in 2021 could be hard hit, according to pricing agency S&P Platts.
The industry requires the vision and leadership to talk with a more unified voice that can reach the decision makers who are determining our collective fates, argues Synergy Group chief executive Rajesh Unni in an interview.
Analysis
Shipping’s multi-billion dollar investment in scrubber technology, in a bid to lower fuel costs, now looks like a losing gamble in light of the industry focus on green issues, the Connecticut Maritime Association conference has heard.
Low tanker supply could be beneficial for a recovery in freight rates, according to analysts.
Week in charts: Capesize spot rates have dropped sharply largely due to the news of a ban on Australian coal imports by China. Meanwhile, new research suggests scrubber installations may turn out to be a losing bet for many investors.
Opinion
Trade and national security are looking like increasingly uneasy bedfellows right now. Shipowners should be employing political pundits and security analysts over market reports the way this year is shaping up.
Markets
Spot rates on the major container trades have stayed firm as demand held strong in an unprecedented extension of the industry’s traditional peak season.
Containership tonnage providers have recovered from the low charter rate environment earlier in the year and have benefited from carrier customers’ increased freight rates.
Australia’s liquefied natural gas exports fell month on month in September as two of its largest export projects cut back on output amid a lower price environment.
In other news
Idan Ofer’s Eastern Pacific Shipping has entered a partnership with GoodFuels, a sustainable fuels provider, to test and scale biofuel as ship bunker in yet another high-profile push for sustainable fuels amid pressure on shipping to decarbonise rapidly.
Scorpio Bulkers, a US-listed owner and operator, has announced the sale of an ultramax.
The United Nations has yet to be given access to the decaying tanker Safer which threatens a major oil spill in the Red Sea off Yemen.