By Maiya Keidan and Jonathan Saul LONDON, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Shipping stocks may still be in the doldrums in the view of many investors, but hedge funds have bet at least $675 million on signs of renewed buoyancy in the industry. Hedge funds made initial forays into shipping stocks in the third quarter of 2017, but significantly stepped up their bets in the final three … [Read more...]
Fitch: Deals, Defaults Ahead as Shipping Outlook Stays Negative
The following statement was released by the rating agency LONDON, November 30 (Fitch) Muted demand growth will exacerbate overcapacity for the shipping sector in 2017, putting pressure on freight rates and driving further consolidation and defaults, Fitch Ratings says. We expect performance in all segments to be under pressure and have therefore maintained our negative … [Read more...]
International Shipping Crisis – What about the Professional Mariner?
By Captain George Livingstone [su_box title="Author's Note"] I have accepted an invitation from the good folks at gCaptain to become a contributing writer, this being the inaugural column. Briefly, I am an academy graduate, pilot and State Pilot Commissioner with 36 continuous years of sea service. I have co-authored or been contributing author on two separate … [Read more...]
New Silk Road Index Charts Shipping Industry’s Stormy Waters
By Colin Simpson (Bloomberg) -- A new Chinese shipping index that tracks freight movements among the countries on the route of one of President Xi Jinping's key trade initiatives has fallen to the lowest level since it was established. The Maritime Silk Road Freight Index was launched on a trial basis by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange last July. The index takes January … [Read more...]
VesselsValue.com: Dry Bulk Values in the Pits
By William Bennett, (VesselsValues.com) - Both the BDI and the BCI have been hitting successive record lows. Capesize rates fell below $2000pd in January 2016 and with the current OPEX for a standard capsize sitting at around $6000pd, the majority of vessels are operating at a loss. Industry sources suggest that rates could sit somewhere between $6000pd and $8000pd for … [Read more...]