Capesize market’s downside momentum looks to be slowing down
The Capesize index has broken support and is now in a corrective phase having made a fresh market low. Downside momentum is showing signs of slowing as we approach the technical support zone.
Remains corrective below USD 20,801 unless the index produces a lower high. The June futures have now made a lower low and entered bearish territory. The stochastic is now oversold, a close above USD 16,040 would create a fresh market high indicating bull momentum is gaining, however price would remain below moving averages. The Q3 futures remain corrective having failed to make a new high close.
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Iron ore market in large steady demand
The seaborne iron ore market appears to be in something of a sweet spot currently, with largely steady demand and prices that have been flatlining for the past couple of months.
China imported 353.4 million tonnes of iron ore in the first four months of 2018, a mere 0.2 percent more than the same period last year, according to customs data. The price of benchmark ore with 62 percent iron content at China’s Qingdao port MT-IO-QIN62=ARG, as assessed by Argus Media, stood at $65.05 a tonne on Monday, largely unchanged since last March.
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South Carolina ports hit record in April
The South Carolina Ports Authority announced the highest April container volumes in its history, with growth of 3.7 per cent over the same month last year. SCPA handled 196,439 TEU in April.
The port has moved 1.8 million TEU across the docks of its Wando Welch and North Charleston container terminals since the fiscal year began in July, an increase of nearly two per cent over the same period last year. Container volume during the spring months puts SCPA in a good position to achieve strong fiscal year results that will exceed FY17 volumes. Inland Port Greer handled 9,577 rail moves in April, pushing fiscal year-to-date volumes slightly ahead of last year with 96,937 rail moves since July.
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Shipping vessels arrest in Singapore at record low
The number of shipping vessels arrested in Singapore hit a multi-year low in 2017 thanks to consolidation in the industry, greater credit scrutiny, and a pick-up in global economic growth, trade sources said last week.
Only 33 vessels were arrested in Singapore last year — a five-year low — compared with 57 in 2016 and 114 in 2012, data from the Supreme Court of Singapore showed. Warrants for arrest also showed a similar trend. A total of 38 warrants of arrest were filed last year, compared with 68 the year before and 133 in 2012. Singapore’s waterways are one of the busiest in the world, with around 3,400 vessels arriving at the port each month to take bunker fuel. Disputes over unpaid bunkers and mortgagee claims are often grounds for legal action, trade sources said.
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American oil boom seen tempting ships over Iran sanctions
The latest standoff between the US and Iran may be leaving oil-tanker owners in more of a bind than in previous years. As the US reimposes sanctions on the Islamic Republic, firms that help ferry Iranian oil risk losing access to the American financial system, similar to earlier in the decade when such measures were enforced. Additionally, this time around, they’ll have to contend with being cut off from the booming business of transporting crude pumped from shale fields in Texas or wells in the Gulf of Mexico, according to shipbroker Braemar ACM.
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JNPT looks to buy out smaller cash-strapped ports
Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), the largest container port in India, wants to use its sizeable cash reserves to buy out smaller cash-strapped ports to quickly ramp up capacity.
The Mumbai-based port operator has hired a consultant to carry out a feasibility study and identify potential acquisition targets, said Neeraj Bansal, chairman-in-charge, JNPT. Among the options being evaluated on the west coast are the loss-making Mormugao Port Trust in Goa and Dighi Port, a private port in Maharashtra’s Raigad district owned by Balaji Infra Projects Ltd and IL&FS Ltd, which was last month admitted into insolvency court. The ministry of shipping is also creating a special purpose vehicle to bring in government stake in the greenfield port at Vijaydurg Port in Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg district.
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Greece offers to boost resurgence of Russian shipbuilding
Athens is ready to create joint ventures for the construction and servicing of Russian ships in Greek shipyards, according to Greek prime ministerial adviser Dimitrios Velanis. Velanis, who’s an adviser on cooperation with Russia, talked to RIA Novosti ahead of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2018).
He’s a member of the Greek delegation which will participate at the forum on May 24-26. According to the official, Greece expects to ink a range of agreements on cooperation in the area of shipping, agriculture and various joint ventures. Greece has an excellent shipyards base, where part of the Russian fleet passing through the Mediterranean Sea could be serviced,” he said, adding the country is ready to provide competitive conditions and prices and develop this business. “This can also be done on the basis of joint ventures.”
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Paradip port gets waiver of penal interest
The government on Wednesday said it has waived Rs1,077 crore penal interest on loans to Paradip Port Trust (PPT), one of the 12 major ports in India. The decision was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The CCEA has given approval for “Waiver of penal interest amounting to Rs 1,076.59 crore in respect of PPT as on 31.03.2017 and further accruals thereon till date of approval of waiver”, Ministry of Shipping said in a statement.