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The Retreat News

30 Nov 2023

bp's Search for New CEO to Extend into Next Year

Murray Auchincloss (Source: bp)

bp's search for a new chief executive is set to extend into the first quarter of 2024, three sources told Reuters, while the board's probe into whether previous CEO Bernard Looney breached the code of conduct in his undisclosed personal relationships with staff drags on.The oil company has been in turmoil since Looney's resignation in September, company sources told Reuters, and the share price has underperformed rival Shell since then amid investor uncertainty over bp's future strategy.bp's shares have dropped 9% since Looney's departure, while Shell's have gained 2% over the same period.

07 Sep 2023

Global Container Freight Still Stalled

© moofushi / Adobe Stock

Global industrial production and containerised freight flows remained in the doldrums at the start of the third quarter, confounding predictions earlier in the year for a strong rebound.Manufacturers and distributors in North America and Europe were struggling to reduce excess inventories after the post-pandemic rotation from goods to services spending.Rising interest rates and a cost-of-living squeeze have also dampened expenditure on expensive long-lived durable items.Global industrial output was up by less than 1% in the second quarter of 2023 from the same period in 2022…

04 Jul 2023

Baltic Index Hits Multi-week Low on Retreat for Larger Vessels

©cloudvisual/AdobeStock

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index on Tuesday fell to its lowest level in nearly four weeks, pressured by a dip in the larger capesize and panamax vessel segments. The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels carrying dry bulk commodities, fell 24 points, or 2.3%, to 1,044 - its lowest level since June 8. The capesize index dipped 50 points, or 3%, to 1,601, declining for the seventh straight session. Average daily earnings for capesizes…

30 Jun 2023

Baltic Dry Index Slides to Worst Week in Four

© Leonid / Adobe Stock

The Baltic exchange's main sea freight index recorded its worst week in four on Friday dragged by a retreat across vessel segments, but a brief bounce in the larger capesize segment last week helped the index notch up a monthly gain.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, fell 21 points, or 1.9%, to 1,091.The main index tracking rates for ships ferrying dry bulk commodities shed about 12% for the week, its worst since June 2…

10 Jan 2023

US Container Imports Retreat to Pre-pandemic Level

© ADLC / Adobe Stock

U.S. imports of goods in ocean shipping containers in December fell to levels approaching those last seen before the COVID-19 pandemic, a new report said on Tuesday.Demand for kitchen appliances, furniture, big-screen TVs, apparel and other retail goods softened late last year as record inflation bit into disposable income and consumers shifted spending back to travel and other previously restricted activities.December 2022 U.S. container import volume topped 1.9 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), according to Descartes Systems Group.

22 Dec 2022

Sanctions Could Cut Russia's Baltic Oil Exports by 20%

© b201735 / Adobe Stock

Exports of Russia's flagship Urals crude blend from Baltic Sea ports may fall by up to a fifth in December, after a Western price cap and an EU embargo on Russian oil took effect, according to traders and Reuters calculations.Traders said Russia has been unable to fully redirect Urals exports from Europe to other markets, notably India and China, and it had struggled to find enough suitable vessels.According to traders' data and calculations made by Reuters, Urals exports from the Baltic Sea ports will probably fall to around 5 million tonnes this month from 6 million tonnes in November.

07 Nov 2022

Ukraine Says Russia Destroying Civilian Ships on the Dnipro River

© ronedya / Adobe Stock

Ukraine’s army accused Russia on Sunday of the large-scale destruction of civilian vessels moored on the banks of the Dnipro River in the occupied southern region of Kherson that Kyiv’s forces are trying to capture.Ukrainian forces have been piling pressure on Russian troops on the western bank of the Dnipro that bisects Ukraine, fueling speculation that Moscow’s troops are preparing to retreat to the other side.The Ukrainian General Staff’s spokesperson said in a statement that…

02 Nov 2022

Russia Resumes Participation in Ukraine Grain Export Deal

©Elena/AdobeStock

Russia said on Wednesday it would resume its participation in a deal to free up vital grain exports from war-torn Ukraine after suspending it over the weekend in a move that had threatened to exacerbate hunger across the world. The Russian defense ministry said it had received written guarantees from Kyiv not to use the Black Sea grain corridor for military operations against Russia. "The Russian Federation considers that the guarantees received at the moment appear sufficient, and resumes the implementation of the agreement," the ministry statement said.

01 Aug 2022

Svalbard Tour Boat Ushers New Technology—And a New Business Model

(Photo: Volvo Penta)

Tore Hoem, adventures director at Hurtigruten Svalbard, has lived on Svalbard, the remote Norwegian archipelago just a few hundred miles from the North Pole, for more than two decades, long enough to witness the sea ice retreat significantly and more rain creep into the early and late snow season.These alarming effects of climate change are among key drivers behind the Hurtigruten Group’s sustainability efforts, including a new hybrid-electric excursion vessel recently put into service in Longyearbyen, Svalbard’s largest inhabited area.

28 Jul 2022

Baltic Dry Index Falls to 5-month Low

© 169169 / Adobe Stock

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index hit its lowest in over five months on Thursday as rates across vessel segments extended their retreat.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, logged its worst daily fall in a fortnight, shedding 62 points, or 3.1%, to 1,945 points, its lowest since Feb. 17.The capesize index lost 143 points, or 6.1%, to a three-week low of 2,190 points, heading into the fourth straight session of declines.Average daily earnings for capesizes…

21 Jun 2022

Baltic Dry Index Dips as Larger Vessels Retreat

© yaniv / Adobe Stock

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index fell on Tuesday, snapping a five-day winning streak, pressured by a fall in the capesize and panamax segments.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels, dipped 112 points, or 4.3%, to 2,484.The capesize index lost 321 points, or 10.6%, to 2,710.Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, decreased by $2,661 to 22,477."A potential stronger availability in tonnage has helped boost rates on the West Australia—China trade...

16 May 2022

EMBARC: Changing Course - from Coarse to Enlightened

Midshipmen from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, fix the ship's position using a sextant aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold (DDG 65). (Photo: Deven Leigh Ellis / U.S. Navy)

“Until every employee, and every midshipman, and cadet, and every trainee trusts the system and until all allegations are handled properly, abuse will continue to occur, it will continue to go unreported, and people will continue to suffer alone—and that is simply intolerable,” said Lucinda Lessley, Acting Maritime Administrator, presenting at the Connecticut Maritime Association Shipping Expo and Conference, in February.On March 30, the Maritime Administration (MARAD) released…

25 Jan 2022

Pandemic Setback Strengthens Resolve to Remain Positive

© Udo Ingber / Adobe Stock

Interferry CEO Mike Corrigan looks beyond the latest COVID-19 complications to explain why the global trade association has reasons to believe the industry’s future is ultimately secure.If I had been writing this column just a few weeks earlier than late December, my opening remarks would have been decidedly upbeat. After two devastating years under the cloud of COVID-19, the pandemic seemed to be in ever-growing retreat and the passenger ferry sector was poised to turn the corner toward ‘business as normal’ in 2022.Now, however, that hope has been somewhat diluted by a single word: Omicron.

13 Jan 2022

China 2021 Iron Ore Imports Retreat from Record on Steel Curbs

© masterskuz55 / Adobe Stock

China's iron ore imports dropped in 2021, down 4.3% from the previous year's record annual high, as steel production curbs imposed to combat pollution dented demand and pulled prices of the key steelmaking material off historical highs.The world's top iron ore consumer brought in 1.12 billion tonnes of the commodity last year, compared with 1.17 billion tonnes imported in 2020, data from the General Administration showed on Friday.For December, China imported 86.07 million tonnes of the raw material…

21 Dec 2021

Baltic Dry Index Extends Fall as Vessel Rates Slide

© Nightman1965 / Adobe Stock

The Baltic Exchange's dry bulk sea freight index fell for the ninth straight session on Tuesday, hovering near an eight-month low, tracking a retreat across its vessel segments.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels, shed 77 points, or 3.3%, to 2,294, its lowest since April 14."It seems that the overall market has already entered a correction path just a breath before the close of the year," Allied Shipbroking said in a weekly note.The capesize index dropped 144 points, or 5.1%, to 2,663, its lowest since June 9.Average daily earnings for capesizes

26 Jul 2021

Iron Ore Stumbles as Rising Supply Runs into China Steel Discipline

Credit;masterskuz55/AdobeStock

Iron ore prices have suffered their worst week for nearly 18 months amid signs that the two factors needed for a sustained correction may be coming into play - Chinese steel producer discipline and a recovery in supply of ore.The main Chinese domestic iron ore benchmark, the Dalian Commodity Exchange contract, dropped around 10% in the week to July 23, the worst weekly performance since February last year.The contract ended the week at 1,126 yuan ($173.77) a tonne, and has now slid about 17% from its record high in May.Benchmark spot 62% iron ore for delivery to north China , as assessed by co

20 Jul 2021

Report says BHP Mulls Oil & Gas Exit

© xmentoys/AdobeStock

Global miner BHP Group is considering getting out of oil and gas in a multibillion-dollar exit as it looks to speed up its retreat from fossil fuels, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.The world's biggest miner is reviewing its petroleum business and considering options including a trade sale, the report said, adding that the deliberations were still at an early stage and no final decision has been made."BHP does not comment on rumor or speculation…

12 Jul 2021

Ship Recycling Rates Approach $600/LDT

Source: GMS

Sub-continent markets continue to fire on during the summer / monsoon months, as firmer steel plate prices and an increasing lack of available tonnage has invariably pushed sub-continent offerings on to previously unthinkable levels.Not since the boom year of 2008 have we seen levels quite so high, and as the mythical $600/LDT draws ever closer, we will certainly see some fresh sales records being set from over the past decade.Notwithstanding, what comes up must eventually come…

24 May 2021

China Lands Uppercut on Iron Ore Prices, But No Knockout Blow

© Amarinj / Adobe Stock

It's round one to China in its efforts to cool the red-hot iron ore and steel sectors, but victory in future rounds largely depends on making increasingly harder choices, and hoping factors beyond its control work in Beijing's favor.The catalyst for the chill was reports that China's government will strengthen what it termed the management of commodity supply and demand to curb "unreasonable" increases in prices - action that has so far seen the spot iron ore price retreat by almost 15% since its record high of $235.55 a tonne on May 12.The spot price of iron ore for delivery to North China…

29 Apr 2021

Seaborne Coal Volumes Slip in Asia, and It's Not Just the Pandemic

© ymgerman / Adobe Stock

One of the quirks of Asia's seaborne coal market is that volumes have held up remarkably well, despite the fuel being demonized for its role in climate change and the rising number of countries and companies spurning it.At least, that was the case for the past several years, but there are now signs that volumes are trending lower in the top consuming region.The amount of coal discharged at Asian ports has now dropped for 12 consecutive months, when comparing each month to the same month a year earlier…

08 Sep 2020

Report: Reefer Ship Attacked Offshore Nigeria. Two Crew Members Kidnapped

Maritime security intelligence agencies have reported that the Water Phoenix reefer vessel was boarded Tuesday morning off Nigeria by an unknown number of persons and that two Russian nationals have been kidnapped.Per Praesidium International, a risk consultancy and maritime security company, the incident happened at 5:50 a.m. UTC Tuesday, approximately 34 nautical miles south of Lagos."According to the initial reports, the perpetrators managed to board the vessel and kidnap the master and another crew member, both Russian," Praesidium said, adding that the crew includes 18 seafarers, of which seven Russians and 11 Filipinos. Apart from the two crewmembers who have…

09 Apr 2020

Petrobras Idles Six Platforms in Campos Basin Due to Coronavirus

(File photo: Petrobras)

Brazil's state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA said in a letter to the workers union on Thursday that it will idle six oil and gas platforms in five fields of the Campos basin due to the coronavirus epidemic.The company said the idling was aimed at reducing costs in the middle of the crisis hitting the oil industry, the letter seen by Reuters said.It comes at a time when Petrobras is trying to adapt to the new scenario of oil prices that have fallen about 50% this year due to the retreat in demand during the pandemic and the price war sparked by Russia and Saudi Arabia.The letter dated

09 Apr 2020

WMU Calls On Communities To Protect Seafarers’ Rights

© Igor Kardasov / Adobe Stock

As the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) apex institution for maritime and ocean education, the World Maritime University (WMU) adds its voice to widespread concerns over the serious effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health, wellbeing, and safety of seafarers.As countries around the world retreat to fight the pandemic, travel restrictions and financial losses are hitting shipping and other ocean-related industries hard. At sea, maritime workers are bearing the…