Carbon capture could be of interest to the maritime industry
The nascent industry of carbon storage and utilization could be of interest to shipping, when it comes to its decarbonization effots. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker noted that “we have seen India and Pakistan suffering the last days from extreme spring heatwaves. It is, indeed, a wake-up call to the international as well as the shipping community. Extreme climate events are going to continue and will only increase in rate and intensity unless immediate actions occur. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) presented four scenarios for reducing the global temperature by 1.5°C in their Special Report issued in 2019. All the cases involved carbon capture and three of them required the involvement of the most important use of carbon capture.
Ship recycling market has hit a roadblock
The ship recycling market is barely moving over the past couple of weeks, with activity being rather sluggish. In its weekly report, shipbroker said that “like many global markets this week across the commodity, currency and stock sectors, we saw a complete free fall of pricing as sentiment across the world was further impacted by the effects of the war in Ukraine and record levels of inflation. Many Buyers this week were even reluctant to offer on the sparse units that were on offer for recycling as they waited to see where the land lies, instead of chasing the market down. The dreaded attempted renegotiations have sadly resurfaced with the recyclers in the sub-continent, reportedly particularly from Pakistan, are trying to create unnecessary problems for the cash buyers when tonnage is arriving to their shores.
Condition surveys – more than just a binary conclusion
P&I condition surveys could be misconstrued in some instances as baggage which is part of being a member of an International Group club. Their value may be overlooked and condensed down to an outcome of a list of so-called ‘defects’ which will require to be rectified to the satisfaction of the association in question. Perhaps validating this perspective, the ability to perform such surveys is endorsed by the Rules of each association and into the International Group’s too for that matter. To frame a survey from this viewing point it is easy to see why this could be seen as an initiation ritual to be avoided where the narrative is defined solely by the club to find things wrong with the vessel in question.
New alliance to pave the way for a diverse, equitable, and inclusive maritime industry
Yesterday in Zurich industry leaders from across the global maritime value chain came together to launch the All Aboard Alliance, which will provide a platform for collaborative action to make the maritime industry more diverse, equitable, and inclusive. The backdrop for setting up the All Aboard Alliance is the fact that global seaborne trade relies on millions of people working in the maritime sector – on shore and at sea. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and in light of changing demographics and increased global competition for talent, the maritime industry must step up its collective efforts to improve on diversity, equity and inclusion to expand the available talent pool.
What is driving ocean container freight pricing?
The leap in container freight rates since 2020 surprised many… and now, so too has been the limited reduction of rates following lockdowns in Shanghai, the world’s largest container port. In this special briefing we shed light on what is really driving container pricing. “Why are freight rates not falling faster?” is a common question which Drewry consultants are being asked, these days. Since lockdowns closed much of the Shanghai export hub in March, the Drewry World Container Index composite index (an average of spot rates on eight Asia-Europe, Transpacific and Transatlantic export and import routes) has continued to decline gently, but has not crashed. Spot rates have remained solidly at levels double the 5-year average of about $3,300/40ft container. Drewry’s market experience and our forecasting models have shown for years that freight rates are no longer driven primarily by the supply-demand balance – the previous received wisdom until about 2016.
Single window for ship data exchange to become mandatory
IMO’s Facilitation Committee has adopted amendments to the Facilitation (FAL) Convention which will make the single window for data exchange mandatory in ports around the world, marking a significant step in the acceleration of digitalization in shipping. Other amendments adopted include lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic and add new and amended Recommended Practices to prevent corruption and illicit activities in the maritime sector. The Facilitation Convention was adopted in 1965 and contains standards and recommended practices and rules for simplifying formalities, documentary requirements and procedures on ships’ arrival, stay and departure. The Convention has been updated continuously, embracing digitalization and automation for procedures.
Can Iraq help alleviate oil supply issues and stabilize the market?
With Russian oil heading eastwards, the West is looking at all possible avenues to boost oil supply. To this extent, Iraq can, perhaps, play a major role. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker said that “whilst many members of the OPEC+ group are struggling to achieve its allotted output quota, one country that has been able to is Iraq. In April, the country managed to achieve crude production of 4.43 million bpd, an additional 282 kbd from March, (+6.8% MoM). Whilst this was only 16 kbd over Iraq’s quota, it points to continual output growth from OPEC’s second largest producer. The country is allowed under the OPEC+ pact to raise output to 4.5 million bpd from June and has ambitions to significantly increase exports in the years ahead.