Daily Briefing May 13 2021
Free to read: Shipping leaders disagree on future of LNG in shipping | MSC linked to Minsheng Leasing newbuilds order at Chinese yard | Grimaldi to drydock ships early as chip shortage stalls global car production
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
DNV, Wärtsilä and Maersk joined a Lloyd's List webinar to discuss shipping's decabronisation trajectory, the role of regulation and whether using LNG to decarbonise shipping is ‘borderline greenwashing’.
Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co has won orders for a pair of 16,000 teu containerships from Minsheng Financial Leasing.
Grimaldi Group is preparing to drydock a number of its vehicle carriers ahead of schedule as a worldwide shortage of computer chips severely disrupts automobile production.
Analysis
The International Energy Agency says the global oversupply of crude and refined products that depressed demand for tankers has gone, but it has revised down 2021 consumption forecasts as coronavirus cases surge in India, Brazil and Southeast Asia.
Containership owners with qualms about how long the current bull market for chartering may last can take comfort from new energy efficiency standards that should help offset a rising orderbook, a leading boxship owner has said.
We assess the ongoing impact of the Suez Canal blockage and when carriers are likely to get a grip of the situation; we also looks at whether vessel size has an bearing on schedule reliability — a point raised following the Ever Given grounding.
Opinion
Due diligence is one of the most effective forms of defence to shield your company from risky financing and disreputable counterparts. Finding the right answer begins with the right question,’ writes Søren Høll of KPI OceanConnect.
Weekly briefing: Box giants weigh up shifting priorities | Tanker recovery will be fragile | Dry bulk continues to soar.
Markets
With a wave of optimism surging over the liquefied petroleum gas shipping market, owners are seeking new ships to replace those coming to the end of their economic life.
Torm, a Danish product tanker owner and operator, is confident of a recovery in oil demand over the coming quarters.
Strong freight rates and lower bunker costs lifted German container line Hapag-Lloyd to a $1.5bn profit in the first quarter, despite a fall in the number of boxes lifted during the period.
In other news
BW Epic Kosan, a leading gas carrier, remains cautious about the outlook for liquefied petroleum gas shipping despite a recovery in demand and a profitable first quarter.
Maersk is expanding its contact logistics and distribution capacities in Vietnam to benefit from rising exports.
Eneti, a company focused on marine-based renewable energy, has advanced its aim of entering the offshore wind industry with the addition of up to three wind turbine installation vessels, including one for the US market.
Oslo-listed tanker owner Okeanis Eco Tankers expects to make a $45m profit on the sale of three long range two tankers after repaying vessel and scrubber debt for the trio.
Mitsui OSK Lines, the Japanese shipping group, and a unit of tank terminal operator Vopak have joined a study to evaluate the feasibility of developing a supply chain to bring liquefied hydrogen to Singapore.
Fratelli Cosulich, an Italian marine fuel supplier, has commissioned construction for its first liquefied natural gas bunkering tanker and is in talks with lenders for a second, said marine fuel chief executive Timothy Cosulich.
Safe Bulkers has placed orders with a Japanese shipbuilder for two additional post-panamax bulker newbuildings as its fleet renewal programme gathers pace.
The administration of US President Joe Biden is considering a temporary waiver of a key US shipping law to offset any potential supply crunch sparked by the cyberattack against the country’s largest fuel pipeline system.
Wallenius Wilhelmsen, a Scandinavian car carrier, said car volumes and revenue grew in the first quarter, but the higher costs of emerging from lockdown weighed on profits.
MPC Capital has seen a significant improvement in profitability despite a decline in revenue arising from the book-keeping treatment of its recently-launched Wilhelmsen Ahrenkiel Ship Management joint venture.
Britannia P&I Club returned a deficit of $20.5m on underwriting in 2019-20, although the loss was more than offset by strong investment returns, resulting in an overall surplus after tax of $37m.