Good morning. Here’s our quick view of everything you need to know today.

The Lloyd’s List Daily Briefing is brought to you by the Lloyd’s List News Desk.

What to watch   |   Analysis   |   Markets   |   In other news

Print this briefing

What to watch

Shell’s vice-president of shipping and maritime Grahaeme Henderson says measures must be taken now to tackle greenhouse gas emissions rather than deliberating over the right fuel mix. More than half of respondents in the Lloyd’s List Outlook survey said fuel technology was a greater challenge over the next five years than regulatory, supply chain digitalisation and change management issues.

When bunkering in Singapore, the world’s top marine fuel hub, shipowners are having to notify suppliers weeks in advance if requiring refuels with HSFO. This and other complexities surfacing in the final countdown to the mandatory low-sulphur transition have hindered bunker efficiency and driven up delivery costs of marine fuels.

Container shipping shows little prospect of improving in the year ahead, with the only bright spots emerging being reliant on even lower freight rates, according to speakers at the Lloyd’s List Outlook Forum held in London.

Analysis

Industry leaders taking part in the Lloyd’s List Outlook Forum say environmental issues have overtaken safety matters to a degree, although steps are being taken to address various safety-related concerns such as liquefaction and misdeclared cargoes, among others.

As part of our 2019 Top 100 most influential people in shipping series, we look at the prominent rivals in ship finance, where Chinese lenders remain the top players in the league.

Markets

Globus Maritime says there is a continuing negative backdrop of factors in the dry bulk sector, despite posting a profit rise in the third quarter.

Ocean freight spot rates have begun recovering on the Asia-Oceania trade and are likely to continue rising — particularly exports to Northeast Asia — thanks to gradually improving utilisation and higher bunker surcharges, although they remain well below their levels last year, according to container shipping analyst Drewry.

In other news

Greece’s shipping minister, Ioannis Plakiotakis, has called for international backing for the International Maritime Organization in the battle against climate change.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore has revoked yet another bunker supplier licence, bringing the number of licensed players at the world’s top bunker hub to under four dozen.

China Merchants Group has appointed Hu Jianhua as president, the second-in-command at the state conglomerate, which boasts more than $1trn of total assets.

Pipeline operators Enbridge Inc and Enterprise Products Partners have agreed to develop an oil export facility that can receive very large crude carriers in the Gulf of Mexico.

Freeport LNG has started commercial operations for its first liquefaction train, part of a planned four-train facility, located on Quintana Island near Freeport, Texas.