TradeWinds | Latest shipping and maritime news

Crude tanker index surges as VLCCs rise to two-year high and suezmaxes regain ground ‘Brutal week’: Capesize bulkers plummet 43% as smaller vessels keep more even keel VLCC rates to China rise as refiners sidestep Urals crude Editor’s selection: Heat headache for China’s yards, a VLCC order vacuum and Greece’s Little Odesa Payback time for crew as ITF recovers $37m in lost wages Turkish shipowner Manta expands into oil carriers with MR tanker buy Wilh Wilhemsen upbeat despite $92m loss on Hyundai Glovis shares Seaspan container ship hit by fire shelters in Colombo V.Group launches China expansion for technical division SeaTec Niarchos adjutant John Frangoulis passes away aged 98

Spot market

Crude tanker index surges as VLCCs rise to two-year high and suezmaxes regain ground

Spot market

‘Brutal week’: Capesize bulkers plummet 43% as smaller vessels keep more even keel

Ship Management

Payback time for crew as ITF recovers $37m in lost wages

S&P

Turkish shipowner Manta expands into oil carriers with MR tanker buy

Cruise and Ferry

Marios Iliopoulos triples money as former Holland America cruise ship gets flipped

Niarchos adjutant John Frangoulis passes away aged 98

Spot market

VLCC rates to China rise as refiners sidestep Urals crude

Fulford-Smith sees pay halved as broker Affinity hit by low tanker markets

Weekly

VLCC orders go dry, China’s heatwave hit, Russian cargo ‘hypocrisy’

Casualty

Seaspan container ship hit by major fire in Indian Ocean

Clarksons: Newbuild ordering party has gone quiet, but yards aren't offering any cheap deals

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Insight & Opinion

Tankers benefit as Sinopec seeks US crude

What will happen when IMO rules force container ships to slow down?

Analysis

Clarksons Platou says oil demand picking up as tankers look for next catalyst

Longest break in VLCC orders for quarter of a century amid market blues and fuel uncertainty

Slumping capesize market expected to improve, barring ‘historic collapse’ in China’s economy

Diana Shipping claps back at criticism that it overpaid for Sea Trade fleet

S&P eases off after second-strongest half-year on record, says Clarksons

Saudi Aramco’s record results explain why Opec is reluctant to ramp up production

Alafouzos blasts ‘hypocrisy’ on legal Russian oil cargoes after ‘worst ever’ year for tankers

Atlantic MRs crater with ‘major correction’ in US Gulf trades

Maersk boss Soren Skou places faith in contracts as spot rates slide

Baltic Dry Index hits six-month low as holidays and weak demand dismantle dry bulk market

Wavelength

Is this finally a breakthrough for VLCCs or another false dawn?

Comment

China’s newbuilding brokers believe the Baltic Exchange has yet to earn its motto

Ban on Russian coal drives Europe to scramble for cargoes, reshaping trades

Multipurpose bull rally that doubled rates is tamed as uncertainty reigns

Vietnam’s shipowners ride market boom into best financial results in a decade

After 569 loss-making days, Baltic Exchange VLCC reading finally breaks zero

‘More negatives than positives for dry bulk market’, says Fearnley Securities

Summertime sadness for capesize bulker spot rates as rout continues

Wilh Wilhemsen upbeat despite $92m loss on Hyundai Glovis shares

Comment

Leasing houses keep calm and churn on amid suspicion and turmoil

Capesize spot rates slide 20% in a day as iron ore trade weakens

Editor’s selection: Heat headache for China’s yards, a VLCC order vacuum and Greece’s Little Odesa

Undiversified shipowners ‘programmed to go bankrupt’, SFL chief executive says

Cruise and Ferry

Greek ferry scene takes tentative steps towards green future

OOCL doubles profit to $5.6bn but sounds note of caution

Ship Management

V.Group launches China expansion for technical division SeaTec

People

A Little Odesa emerges in Greece after Ukraine exodus

Jeff Bezos exits shipowning with the scrapping of ro-ro named after his mother

Moundreas scores asset play with 11-year-old aframax

Broking giant Clarksons reshuffles board after record results and shareholder rows

Greek owner Sophocles Zoullas pockets $70m profit from supramax asset plays

Broker Lightship Chartering aims to kick-start tanker business after Genoa office walkout

Meet the lawyer whose life work has been confronting Greek shipping fraud

Seafarer ministries look to industry as demand shifts continue

Lawyer Panayiotou hired to lead ESG strategy at West of England P&I club

New US maritime chief asks ministries for help on mental health, sexual assault

Indian shipowners’ CEO Anil Devli quits for director’s post at Seven Islands Shipping

On the move again? Peter Georgiopoulos is tipped as the buyer of Petros Pappas tanker

Efficiency drive ahead as mutual insurer TT Club appoints Ong as chief financial officer

Singapore appoints new chief executive of Maritime and Port Authority

Engineer Ian Revell to take over CEO hot seat at Sigtto

Lightship Chartering brokers poached for new SSY office in Genoa

Braemar hires former Clarksons people guru Beckwith to help drive growth

Shipbroker SSY to open Italy office with hires from local rivals

Tanker broker-hungry Oil Brokerage snaps up Affinity pair

Seafarer support hubs face Covid-fuelled challenges

MOL rolls out new UK desk focused on investment start-ups

Marco Polo Marine sees threefold increase in gross profit during latest quarter

Navigator Holdings profits rocket as Europe hunts for cargoes wherever it can get them

Streetwise

Grading Scorpio’s sister act: how did related-party share deal perform?

Cheap US crude set to fuel VLCC trade in 2023

Wavelength

How does shipping cope with the decline of the Rhine?

Boxships

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MSC expands into healthcare as part of $4.5bn takeover bid for Mediclinic

RCL splashes the cash on vessel purchase after doubling profits

CSBC pockets up to $220m from selling four container ship newbuilds

South Korea’s Namsung doubles up on container ship newbuildings at Hyundai Mipo

Feeder specialist SITC doubles profit to over $1bn as rates soar

Habben Jansen rebuffs talk of container freight renegotiations

‘Significant’ expected decline in container ship charter rates puts Euroseas on scrapping alert

Wifi connectivity for seafarers remains ‘hit-and-miss’ despite legal obligation, warns Idwal

Brussels opens probe into liner antitrust laws after shipper protests over record rates

Habben Jansen flags pressure on container markets after Hapag-Lloyd profits treble

New German line to focus on niche transpacific container trade

Milaha sees profit soar on back of strong container and hydrocarbons markets

Bounceback: Container shares rally on resilient rates and port bottlenecks

Singapore’s PIL rebounds from three years of red ink with profit of $2.6bn

Maersk boss Soren Skou places faith in contracts as spot rates slide

AP Moller-Maersk keeps buying, now Danish project logistics company Martin Bencher

Major shareholders look to take Seaspan parent private with help from ONE

German ship finance guru takes board role at Global Ship Lease

Long-haul shipping has sold batteries short, say US researchers

Greek owner gets top dollar price for feeder container ship

Ardmore sends COO Mark Cameron to Singapore as part of Asian push

Odfjell drops pools amid fat chemical tanker profits

Wallenius Wilhelmsen repairs ‘unsustainable’ long-term rates

Longest break in VLCC orders for quarter of a century amid market blues

Idan Ofer’s Eastern Pacific Shipping earns big from exploding car-carrier market

Ernst Russ doubles earnings expectations

Insurance

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Trailblazer Ioannou sets out her vision as she takes the helm of the American Club

New American Club chief wants to grow without losing ‘boutique’ identity

War risk: Insurers start to quote on Ukraine grain shipments

Insurer warns ‘safety affected’ by military exercises off Taiwan

Insurer Hiscox to join Lloyd’s insurance facility for Ukraine

UK dodges global insurance ban on Russian oil to keep cargo moving

Broker Aon sees financial pressures easing on P&I clubs

Insurers have an ‘appetite’ to cover Ukraine grain exports

Insurers preparing to step in to support Ukrainian grain exports

Insurance for Ukraine grain exports to come ‘at a reasonable price’

Swedish Club sets August date for new office opening in Singapore

Allianz warns inflation could leave ships underinsured

Insurers calm on Ukraine total loss claims despite looming deadline

Insurer SCOR turns to data to improve its marine business

Decarbonisation rules will require a ‘shift in mindset’, say insurance experts

Veteran tanker partially destroyed by fire in Colombia

Britannia P&I logs $25m loss as claims and costs rise

S&P expects Norwegian Hull Club to earn more premium

Soaring Black Sea spot rates attracting dubious operators

Supplementary call strengthens London P&I Club finances

Hamburg Commercial Bank chief exec Stefan Ermisch quits on high note

Will wine exporters turn to chemical tankers to beat high box rates?

Denmark’s Torm in the black as it sells oldest vessels

Update 2

Fredriksen’s SFL Corp reveals $222.5m swoop on suezmax tanker quartet

Norden declares surprise dividend and new buybacks after show-stopping quarter

Rotor sails promise 5% emissions cut for Northern Lights CO2 ships

ESG

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MOL rolls out new UK desk focused on investment start-ups

Greek ferry scene takes tentative steps towards green future

Newsletter

Green Seas: A beach denied as Colombia’s biggest port and tourist city grapples with rising oceans

Wallenius Wilhelmsen adds $800m to sustainability-linked financing

GoodFuels starts Asia campaign with NYK Line bunkering deal

PaxOcean, Hong Lam and Bureau Veritas team up on ammonia bunker tanker project

What will happen when IMO rules force container ships to slow down?

Japanese bulker giants NYK and MOL step up drive to cut carbon

Lawyer Panayiotou hired to lead ESG strategy at West of England P&I club

BHP looks to cut copper shipping emissions with rotor sail

Shipyard group Navantia to build hydrogen electrolyser plant

Rotterdam and Singapore sign up for longest green corridor

Green Seas: How much green fuel it would take to bring US shipping to zero carbon?

‘Significant impact’ from IMO carbon reduction measures, warns Maersk’s Soren Skou

Methanol moves up the agenda in alternative fuel choices

Scorpio Group takes fresh decarbonisation tack with fuel emulsion tests

Most container ships fail to meet IMO carbon reduction measures, says report

Wah Kwong teams up to look at onboard carbon capture and storage for bulkers

Viewpoint

Shipping is between a rock and a hard place over supply chains

Biden administration proposes expansion of ship speed limits to protect endangered whales

Cruise and Ferry

Virgin Voyages raises $550m in capital for growth strategy

MPC Container Ships hikes earnings forecast as profits soar

MISC dragged down by impairments, contract renegotiations and Covid aftershocks

Grindrod Shipping's record Q2 results prove that bigger is not always better

Singaporean offshore player POSH expands with BOA construction vessel buy

Chinese yards declare force majeure as production falters in heatwave

LNG

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Energos Infrastructure unveiled as new LNG maritime asset joint venture

Lawyer Panayiotou hired to lead ESG strategy at West of England

‘Scramble’ for gas prompts Golar LNG to ready speculative LNG carrier-to-FLNG build

Excelerate Energy pencils in FSRU newbuilding as project demand picks up

Golar LNG to pay Keppel yard $50m sweetener for on-time sail away of BP FLNG unit

QatarEnergy awards seven coveted LNG carrier contracts to consortium of Asian gas heavyweights

Awilco LNG nets time-charter but warns on spot market summer weakness

Excelerate Energy to fire up FSRU-based Finnish terminal in fourth quarter

Avenir LNG hooks up with Swedish port for new fast-track LNG terminal

Mid-decade boom: Clarksons sees ‘momentum’ for rapid growth of LNG shipping

Nigeria LNG veteran steam-turbine trio circulated for sale as carbon rules loom

Westbound LNG ‘convoy’ follows Arc7 vessel through Northern Sea Route ice

NYK Line to take over Sovcomflot LNG carrier newbuilding quartet

Eni snaps up Exmar’s Tango FLNG unit and an FSU in bumper Congo deal

China Merchants scores LNG charter contracts worth up to $2.5bn from Sinochem

New Fortress grows FLNG ambitions with two new sites in Mexico

GasLog LNG steamship installed as floating storage unit for Greek terminal

Japan’s NYK takes Russian LNG write-down as containers and dry bulk surge

Indonesia’s Silo Maritime linked to agreed sale of GasLog LNG carrier

TotalEnergies LNG carrier time charter chatter rumbles round market

Newsletter

Green Seas: A beach denied as Colombia’s biggest port and tourist city grapples with rising oceans

Penfield Marine sees gathering enthusiasm for carbon-offset voyages

New refineries and rising demand to boost product tankers, BRS says

Concordia Maritime shelves plan to turn tanker into container ship

S&P

Serial seller Vitol continues sales drive with deal to offload MR tanker duo

Security fears prompt old, low-value vessels to head for Ukraine grain ports

Interview

Norwegian’s Del Rio: ‘If you want instant mashed potatoes, you got to go elsewhere’

‘We’re looking to grow on all fronts,’ says Case, as Clarksons flexes its muscles

New American Club chief wants to grow without losing ‘boutique’ identity

Cheilas to steer NRF Greece amid ‘deal frenzy’, ‘versatile’ times

Zacho ready to start ‘dream job come true’ as head of Navigator Holdings

New Clarksons digitalisation chief Schroder looking to expand his team

Shipping on green course but needs help to get there, Kaptanoglu says

More back-door IPOs are coming like it or not, says Maxim Group’s deal maestro

Swedish Club head Lars Rhodin upbeat as he prepares to bow out

For Angeliki Frangou’s Navios, newfound resiliency opens door to fresh opportunities

Navios Partners corporate governance of the ‘highest standard’, Frangou says

Being present at Navios’ office throughout the pandemic: ‘You have to give comfort’

Amid questions over dividend, Frangou keeps focus on ‘total return’

For Angeliki Frangou, inefficiency is the one certainty in shipping’s outlook

Banker turned shipowner Andy Dacy sounds caution, but not on LNG

Radziwill: Don’t expect ‘super-spikes’ in capesize spot rates later this year

Gaby Bornheim shifts the focus back onto German owners

New Odfjell boss Fotland is his own man but there will be no ‘revolution’

Saverys seeking to ditch Euronav board as battle lines drawn

WTW’s Abraham upbeat as broker emerges from collapse of Aon takeover

Diana reels in cash with sale and leaseback of two capesize bulkers

VLCC spot rates spike as sector eyes recovery

First LNG carrier lines up for soon-to-start up Coral-Sul FLNG unit

Braemar set to release results after delays due to forex and balance sheet review

Zim logs ‘best ever first-half’ after container markets peak

Yilport picks another former CMA CGM man to be co-CEO

Offshore

Eneti takes in $83m through sale of entire stakeholding in sister Scorpio Tankers

Singapore’s Sembcorp Marine cuts first-half losses by almost 80%

Tidewater expecting rich day rates as offshore market begins to pick up

Eneti mulls sale of vessel trio to ‘capture the spread’ between asset values and shares

Teekay Corp sells last FPSO amid the hunt for new opportunities

Singapore’s Keppel chases Petrobras FPSO contracts worth $5.8bn

Maersk Supply sells two laid-up AHTS ships with rates riding high

Solstad Offshore sells again as it fixes trio of construction ships

BP in hot water over FPSO scrapping plan in Scotland

Offshore recovery: Standard Supply reveals term PSV deal at $30,000 per day

Danish owner NKT moves closer to $305m wind farm contract

Ostensjo providing ships as Norway demolishes Arctic mining camp

Takeover of seismic shipowner Green Energy Group hits the buffers

Offshore wind vessel monitoring firm raises €11m to expand

Bourbon teams with RWE to bid for floating wind projects in the Med

Cadeler and Seaway 7 clinch ‘record-breaking’ wind turbine deals

Clarksons Platou finds research answer on the Holm front

American Shipping’s $157m offshore splurge could be first of many

Maersk Decom to be wound up after handing over last contract to Petrofac

Navigare Capital diversifies into offshore after selling its largest container ship

UK port strike to affect $800m in trade as ships redirect

Cruise and Ferry

Jeff Bezos exits shipowning with the scrapping of ro-ro named after his mother

Yang Ming floats $900m tender for five LNG dual-fuel neo-panamax newbuilds

Analysis

Clarksons Platou says oil demand picking up as tankers look for next catalyst

Energos Infrastructure unveiled as new LNG maritime asset joint venture

Globus professes faith in bulker market after robust results

Business Focus

See all articles

How financiers stepped in when Pangaea Logistics had two ships and the client wanted four

Newsletter

Streetwise: Stars align for shipping’s alternative financiers

NIBC Bank: a billion reasons to look after the small and medium-sized owner

With bank funding still on the wane, Hudson Structured toasts a ‘powerhouse’ alternative

Banker turned shipowner Andy Dacy sounds caution, but not on LNG

Shipping comes home to world’s top ownership nation

Mountain of container ship cash fills Greek owners’ coffers

Special report

Greeks strike it lucky with natural gas investment

Special report: New ambitions blossom in Greek shipping

Born in adversity, Greek start-ups seek synergies

Greek shipping’s new digital in-crowd eyes global markets

Special report: Five fuels that will power the future of shipping

Dr Lynn Loo: Piloting shipping’s move into alternative fuels

Wind propulsion accelerator aims to take small developers through ‘valley of death’

Methanol first-mover Waterfront Shipping says fuel ‘safe and reliable’

Special report: Seafaring life in an era of change

Decarbonisation

Race for trained seafarers is on — as dual-fuel orderbook grows

Green transition requires commitment to safe crewing levels

Fleet Management prods its shipowners to make ready for 2023

Bringing seafarers on board to data-led platforms is crucial

2020 Bulkers reports profit fall amid global economic fears

Capesize market expected to improve, barring collapse in China economy

Fleet growth and freight rates boost Belships profits

Torm acquires majority stake in compatriot scrubber maker

Analysis

Growing ballast legs tying up more aframax tonnage, says Braemar

Gulf Navigation turns to Chinese lessor for product tanker refinancing

Jobs

Chartering Manager

Multimax Shipping Pte Ltd

Experienced Operations Executive

Multimax Shipping Pte Ltd

(Senior) Business Developer

Angelicoussis Group

Marine Practice Leader

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