Amended IMO Regulations Positive for Teekay
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has announced stricter regulations governing the tanker industry on a worldwide basis. The IMO regulations, scheduled to become effective April 5, 2005, will accelerate the mandatory phase-out of single-hull tankers as well as impose a more rigorous inspection regime for older tankers. The regulations will ban the oldest single-hull tankers, representing approximately 12 percent of the current world tanker fleet, from worldwide trading by the end of 2005. It is expected that a further 25 percent of the existing world tanker fleet will be excluded from the majority of the oil tanker trades by 2010.
Banking Sector Feels The Effects Of Consolidation
The number of major banks involved in the shipping industry has decreased substantially over the last few years. According to Michael Parker, managing director of Citibank, this is just one of many sectors hit by the ongoing consolidation trend in the shipping arena. "Banks can not live on interest margin alone without a substantial rise in spreads. They are having to look for other revenues/fees," said Parker, speaking at the LSE Shipping Finance Conference in London on November 14-15, 2000. Mergers in the banking sector such as Chase and JP Morgan, and Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest, are illustrative of the fever of consolidation that has also spread into the bulk, P&I, classification, ports and e-commerce sectors.
