Daily Briefing March 19 2020
Free to read: Coronavirus: Who can rescue 20,000 stranded seafarers? | Intercargo urges port states to assist crew changes despite restrictions | Shipping demands EU support to combat outbreak impact | Coronavirus: Shippers face ‘triple shock’
Good morning. Here’s our quick view of everything you need to know today.
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What to watch | Analysis | Markets | In other news
What to watch
China’s Ministry of Transport is getting serious about normalising crew changes on ships, writes Cichen Shen.
Intercargo has called for pragmatism in dealing with the movement of seafarers around the world as authorities increasingly lock down their countries to battle the spread of the coronavirus.
European shipowners and seafarers have joined forces to demand support from the European Union for the shipping industry to combat coronavirus.
Maritime Safety Queensland has issued a direction restricting commercial shipping from entering ports in the Australian state if the ship or any person onboard has been abroad within the last 14 days.
Analysis
Shippers have been facing a “triple shock” from the coronavirus outbreak, according to Drewry Supply Chain Advisors.
Shipbrokers in Greece have already substantially shifted to working from home as a response to the spread of coronavirus.
Markets
Italy’s liquefied natural gas imports have shown signs of decline this month as its ports and terminals step up measures to guard against the coronavirus outbreak.
Grain trades have been supporting the smaller-sized bulk carriers amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Brazilian mining giant Vale could halt operations at its distribution centre in Malaysia as it clarifies restrictions imposed by the local government on worker access to the iron ore terminal amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The sudden shutdown of the Malaysian border with Singapore to control the spread of the coronavirus has led parts of the maritime industry to come up with quick solutions to their staffing issues, such as housing affected staff in the city for the period.
In other news
The International Maritime Organization has postponed its scheduled meetings and events through to late May because of the coronavirus outbreak.
A number of boxship owners have given up on waiting for yard space for scrubber retrofits and have returned their ships to service as owners look to mitigate losses from having ships laid up, according to Alphaliner.
The UK Chamber of Shipping is seeking millions of pounds worth of government financial support backed by extensive tax breaks, to help ensure continued supplies of food, goods and medicines during the coronavirus crisis.
Hiroaki Sakashita takes over as president and chief executive of ClassNK from today, the Japanese classification society has said.