Daily Briefing November 3 2020
Free to read: Floating storage economics fail to lift tankers for pandemic’s second wave | More work to be done to stem maritime skills decline | Scorpio chairman says dry bulk did not deliver returns as expected
Good morning. Here’s our quick view of everything you need to know today.
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What to watch | Analysis | Opinion | Markets | In other news
What to watch
Tankers chartered for floating storage shielded the market from the first coronavirus oil demand shock as crude prices plunged to 21-year lows. But the numbers are not looking good this time for the crude or product tanker fleet.
Analysis
Scorpio Bulkers’ chairman Emanuele Lauro says that the dry bulk market has not quite delivered the returns the company had been expecting.
Opinion
With the age profile within the service industries that support shipping increasing, do we face a future skills shortage for brokers, underwriters, lawyers, adjusters, surveyors and claims handlers and should we be acting now, asks marine insurance expert Oliver Hutchings.
Lloyd’s List Podcast: On this latest edition, we welcome Container Trades Statistics chief executive Peter Webber and analyse the latest container trade volume data which points to an unlikely peak season as the industry seeks to bounce back from the coronavirus backdrop.
Markets
Analysts are upbeat about Cosco Shipping Holdings’ prospects after the containership and port company enjoyed an exuberant third quarter of the year. But a resurgence of the coronavirus pandemic and the US presidential election have increased uncertainties.
The global marine insurance market is showing tentative early signs of recovery after the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic, a report by the sector’s leading trade association says.
In other news
Seadrill says debt deals with senior creditors have expired, leaving it vulnerable to default.
Standard Club will tackle a projected underwriting deficit with a 10% general increase, the highest for an International Group affiliate yet, and is expecting a difficult renewal with significant member pushback, chief executive Jeremy Grose has confirmed.
Shipping has been given second-best treatment by the UK during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a former Conservative government maritime minister.
South Korea’s Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co, formerly known as Hyundai Heavy Industries, is looking set for a relatively good end to the year, having secured another two liquefied natural gas carriers orders worth Won425bn ($375m), with the prospect for more orders before 2020 closes out.
Mitsui OSK Lines has ordered three ice-breaking liquefied natural gas carriers on the back of a long-term charter contract with Arctic LNG 2, building on the success of ship-to-ship transfers of LNG from Arctic projects.
Shanghai Shipping Exchange has rolled out a new index for container shipping rates as the state-backed bourse seeks to develop its role in derivative trading.
A second batch of tankers linked to insolvent Hin Leong Trading’s shipowning affiliates is being put up for sale.
Capital Product Partners, the Nasdaq-listed containership owner, has underlined its intention to add to an existing fleet of 10 boxships as a trio of acquisitions earlier this year helped it more than double third-quarter profits.
Pacific Drilling is the latest offshore driller to file for Chapter 11 — its second in three years — after struggling with low oil prices and the coronavirus backdrop.
Dorian LPG, a very large gas carrier owner, managed to remain marginally in the black for its second fiscal quarter despite a plunge in average charter rates for its fleet compared with the same period of 2019.