Daily Briefing December 23 2019
Free to read: Shipping heads hesitantly into a year of uncertainty | IMO chief pledges to reverse casualty reporting deficit | The Lloyd’s List Podcast: That was the year that was | BIMCO addresses $5bn fund ‘misunderstandings’
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What to watch | Analysis | Opinion | Markets | In other news
What to watch
Next year is likely to be dominated by the same themes as in 2019 — sanctions, scrubbers, sulphur and supply. But the big decisions are all on hold thanks to uncertainty over the twin dynamics of decarbonisation, writes Richard Meade.
Governments have submitted reports on less than half of the very serious casualties over the past five years. IMO secretary-general Kitack Lim tells Lloyd’s List he wants to raise that to at least 80% by 2022.
BIMCO has responded to what it sees as ‘misunderstandings’ over a new industry-wide proposal for the creation of a $5bn international fund to help finance maritime decarbonisation research and development.
Analysis
Confidence over the prospects for the shipping industry hit an 18-month high in the October to December period, according to business consultancy BDO.
Opinion
The Lloyd’s List Podcast: That was the year that was — A look back at 2019 and a few predictions for 2020, courtesy of the London-based editorial team.
Christmas has come early for Cosco as the latest US government decision on sanctions should provide a boost to China’s largest shipowner, while Greece-based shipowners are singing the praises of plans for industry decarbonisation.
The reconfiguration of global supply chains in response to persistent trade wars will be in focus at next month’s annual Lloyd’s List group Executive Meeting in Sweden, which will bring together leaders and analysts.
Markets
The Baltic Dry Index drops to the lowest level in six months as overall sentiment in the market remains depressed. Market participants believe that the pessimism in the spot market will spread to the time charter market in the coming weeks.
A Freightos survey reported a ‘dramatic improvement in top forwarders helping customers procure freight online’, noting that more than half of global top 20 freight forwarders now provide dedicated request for quotation forms, compared with only three in 2015.
In other news
The US government has renewed a waiver for companies to maintain or wind down their business with the Cosco Shipping Tanker (Dalian), raising the prospects that vessels run by the sanctioned Chinese shipowner may return to the market.
Oil major Shell has confirmed that it is behind the charters for eight newbuild liquefied natural gas carriers, of which Hyundai Heavy Industries earlier this week announced newbuilding contracts for six vessels.
Container lines continue to allocate more resources to intra-Asia routes, and particularly services between Vietnam and north Asia, with Ocean Network Express announcing a new Korea-Haiphong Express service beginning in January 2020.
A product tanker master has been given a five-and-a half-year jail sentence for his involvement in Singapore biggest case of gasoil theft.
APM Terminals has signed a letter of intent with Hutchison Ports for the sale of its Maasvlakte I terminal in Rotterdam.
Golden Ocean’s former chief executive Birgitte Vartdal, who left the dry bulk owner on November 30, is to join renewable energy company Statkraft in April.