Daily Briefing November 8 2019
Free to read: Winter transatlantic boost seen for MR tankers | Lack of finance demand leads to more leasing orders | The Lloyd’s List Podcast: Trade, Trump and Chinese leasing | Shipping’s low emission drive should follow the auto lead
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
Lower refinery runs on the US east coast alongside middle distillate stocks at 18-month lows are expected to result in winter gasoil price spikes in New York, opening up so-called reverse-arb trades for medium range tankers in the transatlantic region.
Shipowners are not placing new orders or selling and leasing back secondhand ships. This situation has led leasing companies in China to use additional operating leases by ordering ships directly with yards in a bid to maintain growth, says ICBC Leasing executive manager Bill Guo.
The Lloyd’s List Podcast is in Shanghai this week where President Xi Jinping has been leading the discussions around trade policy and Chinese shipping giant Cosco has been talking up the value of a multi-lateral, value-added approach to supply chains. Joining Lloyd’s List Editor Richard Meade to discuss everything from trade policy and Trump bashing to Chinese leasing and why cargo interests are leapfrogging shipowners in news deals are China Editor Cichen Shen and special guest Bill Guo, executive director of leasing giant ICBC.
Shipping must take a leaf out of the automotive industry’s book as it maps out a path to a low/zero emission future, Kamuran Yazganoglu, managing director of marine and energy at Castrol, tells Lloyd’s List.
Analysis
Cleaves Securities is downbeat about the dry bulk sector because of the high pace of supply growth and weaker spot rates.
Leading shipping nations are pushing the International Maritime Organization to consider the life cycle emissions of zero and low-carbon fuels.
Opinion
There is a lot of interest in ancestors these days, facilitated by TV programmes in which famous folk get very emotional after they have been appraised that one of their forebears was transported to Australia for sheep stealing, writes Michael Grey.
From the News Desk: Our regular round-up of the stories behind the headlines this week comes to you from Shanghai, where President Xi Jinping has been talking trade, Cosco's Xu Lirong has been trumpeting the benefits of collaboration and the Chinese leasing giants have been looking at skipping shipowners altogether and focusing on the cargo interests.
Markets
The global freight forwarding market is set to record its first full year of contraction in a decade after a “torrid start” to 2019, according to a Transport Intelligence report.
In other news
Singapore has launched a new bunker industry standard to provide a guidance for its mass flow meter-based bunkering regime, ahead of the implementation of the International Maritime Organization’s 2020 sulphur regulations.
The UK P&I Club is seeking additional premium income of 7.5% from members joining the Standard Club and Steamship Mutual, in setting what is now the going rate for International Group price hikes.
Eagle Bulk, the US-based owner of ultramax and supramax vessels, said it will be at a ‘significant competitive advantage’ once its scrubbers are installed. The company reported a net loss for the third quarter of the year from a profit in the same period a year earlier.
Swedish product tanker owner-operator Terntank has placed an order with China-based AVIC Dingheng Shipbuilding for two firm newbuilds capable of running on liquefied biogas.
Wärtsilä’s autonomous tug project with Singapore’s harbour and terminal towage operator PSA Marine has moved on to trial phase following the successful installation of its unique Dynamic Positioning system on board the harbour tug PSA Polaris and meeting the requirements of Lloyd’s Register’s DP notation.
Environmental activists in the port of Vancouver, Washington, blocked a ship from offloading a cargo of pipes bound for the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion project in western Canada on Wednesday.
Dry bulk carrier Genco says it will benefit from a positive supply and demand environment as it declared a dividend. The company sees a strengthening dry bulk market in the fourth quarter of the year and into 2020.
Finnlines, the operator of ro-ro and passenger services in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, will continue to invest in in larger “environmentally sound” vessels as it seeks to boost its green credentials.