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What to watch   |   Analysis   |   Opinion   |   Markets   |   In other news

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What to watch

The International Maritime Organization is under pressure to intervene on behalf of the crew and 27 migrants who have been stranded on a product tanker in the Mediterranean since August 4.

The moral obligation to save life at sea is simple and straightforward; inevitably, the legal position is not.

Analysis

The world containership fleet is finely balanced but will still grow faster than demand this year. Speculation about new orders for ultra-large tonnage could risk tipping the scales as container lines emerge from the crisis.

Opinion

Being close to China used to be an advantage for Hong Kong’s success as a maritime and financial hub. Now that position needs to be defended against the backdrop of an increasingly polarised world highlighted by the simmering strife between Washington and Beijing, writes Cichen Shen.

The Lloyds List Podcast: The Panama Canal has certainly taken a hit from the coronavirus backdrop. But the consequences have not been as severe as many probably assume, and the canal authority even expects to make its budget this fiscal year, according to deputy administrator Ilya Espino de Marotta.

Chang Yun Chung, the Singaporean shipping tycoon who founded Pacific International Lines in 1967 and continued to act as its hands-on executive chairman until 2018, has died. He was 102.

Markets

Sovcomflot and gas giant Novatek have ordered 10 icebreaking liquefied natural gas carriers to export cargoes out of Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 facility.

Global seaborne container volumes continued to climb in July to a level nearly on par with last year, in the clearest sign yet that a trade rebound is in motion following the demand downturn at the hands of the coronavirus backdrop.

In other news

The fire on board the very large crude carrier off Sri Lanka’s coast has been brought under control, according to a Lloyd’s List Intelligence casualty report.

Golden Ocean, the dry bulk unit owned by billionaire John Fredriksen, has hired Peder Simonsen as chief financial officer.

Gulf Navigation Holding, a Dubai-based shipping company, has appointed a new board of directors.

Global logistics service provider DB Schenker is targeting rival Damco's customers following the announcement by the latter's parent group that is it to discontinue the brand and combine its and less-than-container-load offering with logistics and services products.