Daily Briefing June 12 2020
Free to read: Maersk tests buyer appetite for product tanker deal | Transition from classic tanker owner pays off for Maersk | Shipowners reassessing Venezuela calls as sanctions bite | Shipping needs help to achieve green targets
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What to watch | Analysis | Opinion | Markets | In other news
What to watch
Maersk Product Tankers has been active in flushing out interest in a major chunk of its fleet, according to brokers and other tanker owners who say the Danish company probably hopes to take advantage of good market conditions ahead of what could be a more uncertain future.
All 84 vessels owned by Maersk Product Tankers are for sale at any one time, as the shipowning side of AP Moller Holding’s tanker interests is run separately from asset-light Maersk Tankers that commercially manages ships on behalf of 34 owners and is looking for more partnerships.
Tanker owners are cancelling or reconsidering Venezuela calls and reassessing ownership structures amid increased US sanctions scrutiny of crude exports from the South American country.
Analysis
Good food should be up there alongside connectivity, says chef Christian Ioannou, who is at the forefront of a push to improve diet on board ships.
California’s leading container ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland showed varied throughput results for May, as the effects of the Sino-US trade spat persisted along with those of the coronavirus crisis.
Singapore is forging ahead with the development of drones and advanced mobile telecoms technology for maritime applications.
Opinion
There is no golden fuel solution for shipping’s quest for decarbonisation, not even a silver bullet, writes Richard Clayton.
Markets
Container line results from the first quarter of the year showed that carriers have been surviving the coronavirus pandemic relatively painlessly.
In other news
Asset manager Glenfarne Group has completed a $2m deal to acquire LNG Ltd’s Magnolia LNG, a liquefied natural gas export terminal development project near Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Stena Bulk has developed a next generation tanker prototype that is capable of further slashing by at least a quarter the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by modern product tankers.
Russian firms Gazprom and RusKhimAlyans have signed several 20-year commercial contracts for supplies of feed and sales gas for a planned gas processing, liquefaction and chemical complex.
The British Ports Association and cargo insurer TT Club have teamed up to provide ports with guidelines on how to manage the safety and well-being of workers during the coronavirus pandemic.
Hong Kong has passed the bill to provide tax incentives to vessel leasing businesses as it aims to boost its ship finance sector.
Shipbuilding contracts should include specific wording to underline the guarantor’s obligation to pay without further investigation. if that guarantee is to operate as a demand bond, according to a Clyde & Co analysis of a recent Commercial Court ruling.
Tsakos Energy Navigation said it has “secured the company’s positive performance” for the remainder of 2020 after a storming first quarter of the year.
German shipping stalwart Frank Bergert has been appointed chief executive of Thomas Miller Hamburg, according to a statement from the company.
Economic development and population growth will continue to drive future demand for maritime trade, but the transition to non-fossil fuels and the regionalisation of trade patterns will likely have a substantial impact, according to a new report from the International Transport Forum.