Pricing News

Marine towage provider Svitzer Australia announced it has appointed Veronica Jensen as its new chief commercial officer (CCO) for the Australia/PNG region.Jensen started in the role in March and is based out of Svitzer Australia’s Sydney head office. She brings commercial leadership experience across a range of industry sectors including industrial consumables, engineering solutions, the pharmaceutical industry and in shipping with more than 11 years’ previous experience with Maersk.Svitzer Australia managing director Videlina Georgieva said…

ABS chairman and CEO, Christopher J. Wiernicki, said he sees a universal, global carbon tax on shipping on the horizon, as alternative blue fuels made with carbon capture emerge as a growing part of the maritime industry's ongoing energy transition.“We need to recognize that there is an intermediate step in the energy transition,” Wiernicki said during an appearance at the CERAWeek energy conference. “Last year the conversations were focused on going from oil to a green fuel economy.

Despite the occasional smaller LDT candidate popping up for sale over recent weeks, there regrettably remains the ongoing scarcity of tonnage that is simply unable to fill the most basic of demands at the major ship-recycling destinations, reports cash buyer GMS.“As plots across Indian sub-continent markets gradually recycle through their respective shares of vessel deliveries through the first quarter of 2024, both Bangladeshi and Pakistani markets remain well-positioned despite the onset of the traditionally quieter month of Ramadan…

Sustainable shipping fuels could reach cost parity with fossil fuels as early as 2035 with the help of decisive emissions policy such as carbon taxes and emissions limits, according to a new report launched by Wärtsilä.The report, titled ‘Sustainable fuels for shipping by 2050 – the 3 key elements of success’, states that the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and FuelEU Maritime Initiative will see the cost of using fossil fuels more than double by 2030. By 2035, they will close the price gap between fossil fuels and sustainable fuels for the very first time.Existing decarbonisation solutions…

With the conclusion of week 11, the ongoing and seemingly endless dearth in the supply of viable candidates has been mercifully keeping the Bangladeshi and Pakistani ship recycling markets steady, reports cash buyer GMS.“On the other hand, the Turkish and Indian markets continue to endure their respective shares of a notably trying time, given that the Turkish Lira continues to plummet even amidst a mercifully quieter week (on account of Ramadan).”GMS says: “India continues to endure its share of nerve-racking volatility in local steel plate prices as well as the Indian Rupee…

The European Union, Canada, Japan and climate-vulnerable Pacific Island states are among 47 countries rallying support for a charge on the international shipping sector's greenhouse gas emissions, documents reviewed by Reuters showed.The documents, being discussed at an International Maritime Organization (IMO) meeting now entering a second week, outline four proposals with a combined 47 backers for imposing a fee on each tonne of greenhouse gas the industry produces.Support for…

The 16th Meeting of the Intersessional Working Group on Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships concluded with some progress made on the finalization of mid-term measures, and without a decisive shift in the landscape of positions and preferences.This meeting was the first convening of the IMO following the adoption of the Revised GHG Strategy in July 2023.Although it was already agreed in the Revised GHG Strategy to adopt both a GHG Fuel Standard (a mandate on GHG intensity of fuel/energy)…

German shipowners' group VDR on Tuesday urged the Berlin government to provide legislation implementing European Union requirements to include the sector in the bloc's carbon trading system.The government is behind in transforming an EU agreement late in 2022 to require shipowners to buy EU carbon permits to trigger investment in greener technologies, into national legislation, VDR said at its annual press conference."For us, the cornerstone of our operations is not only planning certainty but also the assurance of uniform competitive conditions on an international scale…

Even though the Indian sub-continent ship recycling markets have taken on a collection of smaller vessels of late, the week remains “sleepy” says cash buyer GMS.Virtually no deals have been concluded, and this has put the squeeze on the global ship recycling sector.“Dry bulk charter rates have been pushing on by the week as ship owners monetize the most from this sector. Containers and tankers too remain oddly off the recycling buffet, and this in turn is driving the ongoing dearth of viable candidates into overdrive…

U.S. importers are playing the waiting game with new container shipping contracts, gambling the rate spike from Red Sea vessel attacks will fade and put them in a stronger negotiating position, shipping industry analysts said.Iran-aligned Houthi missile and drone attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea have forced most container carriers to reroute vessels around Africa and sent spot rates soaring.That price shock is a "gift" that carriers will be giving back when the assaults stop…

As freight markets push further on, global ship recycling markets remain deprived of tonnage, making it an increasingly suffocating environment for ship recyclers to operate in, reports cash buyer GMS.Bangladesh and Pakistan rely heavily on imported ship’s steel, not only for domestic / large-scale infrastructure projects, but also for its comparatively ‘healthier’ and ‘rust-free’ condition than other forms of imported scrap metal / steel (HMS 1, HMS 2, shredded steel, etc.)Therefore…

Global ship recycling markets are now being exclusively driven by the relentless and futile shortage of tonnage that is expected to continue until Spring (at the very least), says cash buyer GMS.“The much-anticipated rebound in global recycling volumes that so many in our industry had been waiting (hoping) for before the turn of the year, has unfortunately failed to materialize.”Markets in Turkey and India remain well off the competitive pace, so Pakistan and Bangladesh remain are leading the market despite the continued drop in supply of vessels.

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis claimed responsibility for an attack on a UK-owned cargo ship and a drone assault on an American destroyer on Thursday, and they targeted Israel's port and resort city of Eilat with ballistic missiles and drones.The statement by a Houthi representative on social media site X came shortly after the group's leader said it was ramping up attacks on ships in the Red Sea and other waters - including with new "submarine weapons" -to mirror Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip.Houthi militants have launched repeated drone and missile strikes in the Red Sea…

Despite Chinese new year holidays concluding on Friday, a pervading theme of an unrelenting dearth in the overall availability of tonnage across global ship recycling markets has been enduring for several quarters now, says cash buyer, GMS.This has resulted in another dreary week of market inactivity and silence across all recycling destinations.Charter rates continue to remain artificially elevated (especially) in the dry bulk sector, consequently placing a tighter squeeze on the overall supply of vessels for recycling.

As the IMO prepares for negotiations on regulations to support net-zero by 2050 at MEPC 81 in March, the World Shipping Council (WSC) has proposed a greenhouse gas pricing mechanism it calls the Green Balance Mechanism.The aim is to provide a new approach to greenhouse gas pricing which makes it possible to close the price gap between fossil fuels and green fuels, at the lowest possible overall cost:• Through the Green Balance Mechanism, fees are taken from fossil fuels and allocated to green fuels used…

As zero carbon cargo efforts are progressing, it is becoming more apparent that the lowest hanging fruit is in the last few miles. This is where a large amount of carbon is expended in delivering small parcels to stores and consumers’ doors.This is particularly apparent in dense pack cities like New York City, where delivery vans clog streets and water crossings. The NYC Economic Development Commission recently issued a Request For Expression of Interest in waterborne micro cargo delivery.

Despite the Pakistani & Bangladeshi markets stabilizing and displaying a far greater aggression at the bidding tables over the last five weeks, it has been a remarkably quieter start to 2024 for ship recycling than many had anticipated, says cash buyer GMS.With Houthi attacks, trading markets have remained unseasonably firmer, thereby delaying the historical ‘post-New Year aggression’ from the sub-continent ship recycling markets that the industry has become accustomed to over…

The US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) held an informal public hearing examining impacts from attacks on merchant shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden on February 7.Opening the hearing, Commissioner Carl Bentzel, voiced concern about safe access through both the Suez and Panama Canals.“What is at stake is severe international economic disruption. The United States is still recovering from the aftershock of the pandemic induced supply chain disruption that that saw 30% increases…

Bangladeshi and Pakistani markets have been making noticeable improvements over recent weeks, but there remains an ongoing shortage in the global availability of ‘market’ tonnage for ship recycling, reports cash buyer GMS.As evident from the number of arrivals and beachings this week, an increasing number of ship recyclers have clearly managed to and are reportedly still in the process of obtaining further approvals on L/Cs from their respective banks. “As a result, there is now a noticeable disparity in offers emanating from recyclers from the same sub-continent destination…

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has submitted a detailed proposal to the IMO for a Zero Emission Shipping Fund.In recognition of the urgency to move forward with workable solutions to meet ambitious net zero targets, shipowners globally have agreed to mandatory contributions on ships’ GHG emissions to raise billions of dollars annually, says ICS.The shipping industry’s updated proposal is co-sponsored by Bahamas and Liberia (two of the world’s largest flag State administrations, measured in gross tonnage).

The European Commission's recommendation for the EU's 2040 climate targets, calling for a 90% net GHG emission reduction, are ambitious and critically important, especially following updates suggesting that EU 2030 goals may not be met, says the World Shipping Council (WSC).The climate targets point to the importance of providing renewable marine fuels for maritime sector decarbonization. Committing the EU to production of zero-GHG fuel pathways is essential, not least because European Member States account for one-fifth of global shipping energy sales…

In its Week 3 market report, cash buyer GMS says that even as vessel prices have improved from the lows seen towards the end of 2023 and plate prices made a massive jump in Bangladesh over the last couple of weeks, only a trickle of sales have been confirmed into the recycling markets in 2024 thus far.“There also seems a reluctance from ship owners to bite at current offers in the low USD 500s/LDT, having seen levels around USD 100/LDT higher only a couple of quarters ago. Mercifully…

IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez has shared the Organization’s plans and focus areas for the next four years.Speaking at a press conference at IMO Headquarters in London, Dominguez outlined four strategic priorities:• IMO’s work to regulate international shipping;• its support to Member States – particularly Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries;• enhancing public awareness and image; and• relations with people and stakeholders. He said: “As a global industry that is responsible for transporting over 80% of trade around the world, shipping is indispensable.