Daily Briefing November 15 2019
Free to read: Russia key to global seaborne coal market | Viewpoint: A life of crime | Lack of confidence among exporters hitting air and ocean freight | Epic Gas sees positive fundamentals in LPG sector
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What to watch | Analysis | Opinion | Markets | In other news
What to watch
Russia’s emergence as a low-cost supplier of coal to both the Atlantic and Pacific basin has supported dry bulk freight rates. The country is likely to overtake Indonesia and Australia in terms of global seaborne coal supply.
The issue of misdeclared cargo causing container fires is more widespread than statistics show. If one takes near-misses into account, the figure is closer to one fire per week that is largely doused by crew.
Analysis
The continuing mix of geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainties mean many businesses remain reluctant to re-invest in strengthened production, notes Bolloré Logistics, although ocean freight demand remains relatively robust on Asia-Europe, Europe-North America, Asia-Africa and intra-regional trades.
Opinion
Those at sea have been warned never to trust their instruments implicitly, while they all, in theory, have alternative means of navigation available, writes Michael Grey.
Markets
Epic Gas, an owner of 44 liquefied petroleum gas carriers, sees positive supply-demand fundamentals, with demand growth at about 4% and fleet growth low or negative. There are many vessels more than 20 years old that would be ideal scrapping candidates, its chief executive said.
Hyundai Merchant Marine has narrowed its deficits for the third quarter of the year and expects to benefit from a cargo volume pickup ahead of the Chinese New Year in January.
Hapag-Lloyd, the German container shipping line, cited improved performance in volumes and freight revenue and confirmed its full-year outlook.
In other news
Yang Ming Marine Transport said demand in the third quarter was “softer” than expected, and “container shipping remains vulnerable to trade uncertainties and geopolitical tensions”.
Atlantic Gulf & Pacific has said it is investing in Kanfer Shipping, a Norway-based developer of small-scale liquefied natural gas transportation, to unlock liquefied natural gas demand in emerging markets.
CSSC (Hong Kong) Shipping has agreed on a $159.7m sale and leaseback deal for a liquefied natural gas carrier owned by New York-listed Golar LNG.
MOL Chemical Tankers is emerging as a major player in the petrochemical arena after it signed a deal to develop a tank terminal at the Port of Ulsan, and ultimately aims to be a multi-modal chemical logistics company.