INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING INDUSTRY
South Korea ranks second in global ship orders in q1
South Korean shipbuilders came in second worldwide in terms of new orders in the first quarter of the year, industry data showed Monday. According to the data compiled by industry tracker Clarkson Research Institute, local shipyards garnered new orders totaling 1.62 million compensated gross tons (CGTs) in the January-March period, equating to 35 ships.
Chinese shipbuilders took the top spot with 2.58 million CGTs, or 35 vessels. Italian firms came in third with 780,000 CGTs, or 10 ships. In the first quarter, new shipbuilding orders totaled 5.73 million CGTs across 196 ships around the globe, the data showed. In terms of order backlog, China topped the list with 29.92 million CGTs, followed by South Korea with 21.33 million CGTs and Japan with 14.18 million CGTs. In 2018, South Korean shipyards, for the first time in seven years, ranked No. 1 in terms of annual orders secured. Increased orders for LNG carriers helped Korean shipbuilders retake the top spot in the global hierarchy. South Korea lost its No. 1 position to China in 2012 and was second up to 2017.
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Vallarpadam terminal adds China-India express service for faster connectivity
India will gain greater access to key destinations across the world DP World-operated International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) in Kochi added a new weekly mainline service — the China-India Express 2 — operated by Wan Hai Shipping Line. The maiden vessel called on Vallarpadam Terminal on Tuesday and the service is expected to strengthen direct connectivity from Kochi to Far East locations. The direct service gives an opportunity to trade and ensure timely loading and delivery, as per schedules. The service will provide direct connectivity to Kochi – Penang – Port Klang – Hong Kong – Qingdao – Shanghai – Ningbo – Shekou.
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VLGC freight for Houston-Japan voyage climbs to multi-year high
A long US Gulf Coast propane market and short tonnage lists pushed the tide higher for VLGCs sailing the Houston-Japan route at the start of the week. Freight for the Houston-Japan run climbed $7 to $85/mt Monday, its highest level in over three years.
The route was last assessed at the same level on February 26, 2016. It was last higher on February 19, 2016, when it was assessed at $95/mt. Sources said an open arbitrage to the Far East combined with low butane and propane prices have pushed freight rates to a multiyear high. The price arbitrage between Mont Belvieu and the Far East reached record levels, a second shipping source said. “It is at $132/mt for April/May. April propane and butane at the Enterprise storage facility rose 1.375 cents to 62.125 cents/gal and 1.50 cents to 73.50 cents/gal, respectively.
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India: cargo volume at VOC port drops by 7pc in 2018-19
The VO Chidambaram Port (VOC) in Thoothukudi witnessed a drop in cargo traffic during 2018-19. Closure of the Sterlite copper smelter plant was one of the main reasons, as the company contributed to an annual volume of around 1.5 million tonnes (mt).
The major port in southern Tamil Nadu handled a cargo throughput of 34.34 mt in 2018-19 against 36.53 mt in 2017-18, a nearly 7 per cent drop. The target fixed by the Shipping Ministry for 2018-19 was 38 mt. Fertiliser and container cargo saw positive growth, but petroleum, oil and lubricants, fertiliser raw material (rock phosphate and sulphur), thermal coals and ‘other’ cargo (in which copper products are included) saw a decline in 2018-19 against the previous year, according to sources. In 2017-18, the port handled nearly 2 mt of wheat, but in 2018-19, the government had stopped wheat import. Sources said that this could possibly resume this year.
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Singapore keeps leading maritime capitals of the world
Singapore maintained its top position at the head of the 15 leading maritime capitals. Despite a somewhat weak trade cycle in traditional shipping and offshore oil and gas markets yet to recover, Singapore was able to retain its lead in three of the five pillars of the ranking: Shipping, Ports and Logistics as well as Attractiveness and Competitiveness.
In the two remaining pillars, London is number one in Maritime Finance & Law, while Oslo is number one in Maritime Technology. On the overall ranking, Hamburg remains in the number two spot, while Oslo drops from third to seventh. Rotterdam and Hong Kong show the biggest improvement, climbing to third and fourth respectively, with London rounding out the top five, and Shanghai at number six.
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France proposes mandatory slow steaming to cut shipping emissions
France’s delegation to the International Maritime Organization has proposed mandatory slow steaming as a means of cutting the shipping industry’s greenhouse gas emissions. France is suggesting that speed limits differentiated by shipping sector should be implemented “as soon as possible,” according to a proposal document for the IMO’s GHG emissions working group seen by S&P Global Platts.
Reducing a ship’s speed to the level at which it has maximum fuel efficiency reduces its bunker fuel consumption and emissions. The IMO’s initial strategy on GHG emissions seeks to cut the shipping industry’s total GHG emissions by at least 50 percent from 2008 levels by 2050, and to reduce carbon dioxide emissions “per transport work” by at least 40 percent by 2030. The strategy — a separate measure from the IMO’s lower sulfur limit coming into force next year — is due to be revised by 2023, and no concrete measures on how to achieve it have yet been decided. The GHG strategy will come as less of a shock to global commodity markets than the 0.5 percent sulfur cap in 2020, because it is set to be implemented over a period of decades rather than in one go, but it is likely to prove a bigger challenge for the shipping industry to accommodate. The strategy implies that vessels with zero GHG emissions will need to start coming into service in the 2030s, and the technology to achieve this at commercial scale is not yet in place.