Daily Briefing September 9 2019
Free to read: London calling: Forget the Brexit bluster, let’s focus on the international itinerary | The Lloyd’s List Podcast: Your insider’s guide to London International Shipping Week | Hunter agrees deal with Fredriksen’s Ship Finance for VLCCs | Capital lines up orders for 10 LNG-fuelled VLCCs
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What to watch | Analysis | Opinion | Markets | In other news
What to watch
While there will be ample opportunity for the Maritime UK contingent to make a valid pitch for business and the political speeches to offer a nervous domestic lobby some reassurances, the real focus for London International Shipping Week should be outwards at the international issues not inwards at the UK, writes Richard Meade.
Oslo-based Hunter Group has sold three new very large crude carriers being built at the DSME yard in South Korea to John Fredriksen’s Ship Finance International for $180m. It will lease back the vessels on a five-year bareboat charter.
Capital Maritime & Trading has inked a preliminary agreement with South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries for 10 very large crude carriers fuelled by liquefied natural gas.
Analysis
Sale and leaseback deals are proving a popular choice for raising capital, with at least a dozen such deals taking place in the shipping industry so far this year.
Port of Antwerp predicts a radical shift in UK-EU shortsea shipping from ferry to container transport after Britain leaves the European Union, with customs chief describing the expected rise in customs declarations as an “enormous challenge”.
Opinion
The Lloyd’s List Podcast: Paddy Rodgers, the former Euronav chief executive and current director of Royal Museums Greenwich, looks ahead to the London International Shipping Week agenda with Lloyd’s List editor Richard Meade, considering everything from the domestic focus on Brexit to the global challenges that face the entire industry.
Markets
Fuel additives can help treat very low sulphur fuel oil stability and compatibility issues when blended, said Innospec. The bunker additives are easily available in all the major ports.
Hurricane Dorian, which left a trail of devastation across the Bahamas, is battering the US southeast coast, where ports in South and North Carolina are braced for one of the biggest storms in recent years.
In other news
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority is stepping up its fight against exploitative and illegal practices in the maritime industry, following the detention of a bulk carrier.
Marine insurer Skuld has seen a sharp fall in financial performance for the first six months of the 2019/20 policy year, with bottom-line net income of just $2m, down from $14m at the same stage last year.
Digital freight broker Loadsmart has received a further round of funding from Maersk’s investment wing Maersk Growth, along with commitments from US terminal operator Ports America.
The Shipowners’ Club, the P&I club that specialises in smaller vessels, has seen an underwriting deficit of $5.7m for the first six months of the current policy year, down from a loss that topped $20m last time round.