by Firat Kayakiran (Bloomberg) They are slowly plowing their way across thousands of miles of ocean toward America’s Gulf of Mexico coastline. As they do, twelve empty supertankers are also revealing a few truths about today’s global oil market. In normal times, the vessels would be filled with heavy, high sulfur Middle East oil for […]
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Despite Putin’s Swagger, Russian Navy Struggles To Modernize
by Andrew Osborn (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin calls improving the Russian navy’s combat capabilities a priority. The unfinished husks of three guided-missile frigates that have languished for three years at a Baltic shipyard show that is easier said than done. Earmarked for Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, the frigates fell victim to sanctions imposed by […]
Maersk Shares Sink As Trade War Looms
by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen (Reuters) – The world’s largest container shipping company, A.P. Moller-Maersk, warned trade headwinds would slow growth this year, sending its shares down 10 percent on Thursday. Maersk is also moving ahead with spinning off Maersk Drilling, announcing it expected its new listing in Copenhagen to begin trading on April 4. Maersk Line […]
Crews To Abandon Two Venezuelan Tankers Stuck On Portugal
by Catarina Demony (Reuters) – The crew of Venezuelan oil tanker, the Rio Arauca, that has been stuck in the middle of the river Tagus in Lisbon for nearly two years due to unpaid debt, is set to be dismissed, managers Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM) said on Thursday. BSM also said in a statement sent […]
Hedge Funds Hunt for Shipping Debt in New Market Push
By Jonathan Saul and Maiya Keidan LONDON, Feb 20 (Reuters) – A growing number of hedge funds are moving into shipping debt, an asset class few have invested in before, looking to buy up loans and bonds as banks cut their exposure to the troubled sector. World economy worries and cost pressures are dampening prospects […]
Interview: Sinclair Browne, Chief Executive Port of Inverness, Talks Port Operations, Technology, Brexit And More
Interview by Paul González-Morgan (Marine Strategy) – Sinclair Browne is Chief Executive of the Port of Inverness, situated in the city of Inverness, the capital of the Scottish Highlands. It is operated as a Trust Port under the control of Inverness Harbour Trust which was constituted by an Act of Parliament in the 19th century. […]
Scrubber Debate Heats Up as EC Calls on IMO to Restrict Use
By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) – The pro-scrubber Clean Shipping Alliance 2020 has strongly criticised the EC for urging the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to restrict the use of open-loop exhaust gas cleaning systems (scrubbers) in ports around the world. But vessels fitted with scrubbers are in high demand and at least a third of […]