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Rajesh Verma News

04 Jun 2018

Oil Tanker Scrapping to Hit Multi-year High

© Evren Kalinbacak / Adobe Stock

The shipping industry will this year scrap the largest number of oil tankers in over half-a-decade, driven by weak earnings, firm prices for scrap steel and the need to prepare fleets for strict new environmental regulations.The surge in scrapping underscores how the sector is grappling with one of its worst-ever crises, hit hard after rates for transporting oil plunged to multi-year lows in the wake of excess tanker supply and tepid demand as OPEC production cuts bite."The tanker markets are definitely in a trough at the moment…

16 Nov 2017

Crude Tanker Shipping Market to Get Hurt in 2018

Crude tanker freight rates are expected to decline further in 2018 following a sharp decline in 2017, according to the latest edition of the Tanker Forecaster, published by global shipping consultancy Drewry. Although tonnage supply growth in the crude tanker market is expected to be low next year after surging in 2017, this will not be enough to push tonnage utilisation rates higher as demand growth is expected to be sluggish. A slowdown in global oil demand growth and a likely decline in China’s stocking activity will keep growth in the crude oil trade moderate next year. After a sharp decline in 2016, freight rates in the crude tanker market have declined further this year despite strong tonnage demand growth in these two years, thanks to a surge in tonnage supply.

10 Nov 2017

Port of Antwerp Boosts Name Recognition in India

The port of Antwerp is taking steps to further boost its name recognition in India, by expanding its network of local representatives and setting up the Port of Antwerp Alumni Association. On the occasion of the recent state visit to India by HM King Philippe of Belgium, three honorary representatives for North, South and West India were appointed by Jacques Vandermeiren, CEO of Antwerp Port Authority, to support the port’s representative office in Mumbai. Further, the setting up of the Port of Antwerp Alumni Association (PA3), will give an additional boost to Antwerp’s reputation in India. The port of Antwerp has long had an active presence in India. Already in 2006 the Port Authority appointed a first full-time representative in the port city of Mumbai.

11 Aug 2017

Tanker Shipping Rates to Remain Weak: Drewry

Rising long haul exports of crude oil from the US and Nigeria will not be sufficient to push tanker shipping freight rates higher given lower anticipated Middle East output and surging tonnage supply, according to the latest edition of the Tanker Forecaster, published by global shipping consultancy Drewry. Although a slight slowdown in global oil demand growth and inventory drawdown because of the ongoing production cut by OPEC is capping global the oil trade, the impact of lower OPEC output is partly counterbalanced by rising long-haul trade. With the lower supply in the Middle East, Asian refiners have increased their imports from the US, Brazil and Nigeria, where production is rising.

11 May 2017

Drewry: Scrapping to Accelerate Tanker Recovery

Recovery in the crude tanker shipping market is not expected until 2020 as weak trade growth and a bloated orderbook limit any rate recovery. But the timing of any market upturn will be heavily influenced by the level of scrapping, according to the latest edition of the Tanker Forecaster, published by global shipping consultancy Drewry. The ongoing overcapacity in the tanker market is expected to persist further in 2017 because of a sharp increase in deliveries. Although tonnage deliveries are projected to decline after 2017, given a weak demand outlook hope of recovery will hinge on the extent of scrapping activity, which will be influenced by forthcoming IMO regulations on ballast water treatment.

17 Nov 2016

Will Ballast Water Management Regs Trigger Tanker Scrapping?

Weakness in freight rates will increase tanker shipping demolitions over the next two years, with the trend accelerating in later years as a result of the IMO regulation on ballast water, according to the latest edition of the Tanker Forecaster, published by global shipping consultancy Drewry. Despite the recent decline in tanker freight rates, demolitions have not yet picked up. Scrapping is expected to increase in the next two years, once owners start feeling the heat of persistent, low freight rates. But as the fleet is relatively young, demolitions will be moderate. The new International Maritime Organisation (IMO) regulation on Ballast Water Management will require that all vessels going into deep sea have in-built Ballast Water Treatment Systems (BWTS) by September 2017.

17 Aug 2016

Tanker Outlook Dented by Middle East Refineries

Refinery throughput growth by region ('000 bpd) (Source: Drewry’s Tanker Forecaster report)

A steep rise in refinery capacity in the Middle East, the world’s crude oil production hub, will diminish oil trade growth and with it prospects for tanker shipping, according to the latest edition of the Tanker Forecaster, published by global shipping consultancy Drewry. The global crude oil trade, which surged last year on the back of strong growth in oil demand and stocking activity, is expected to continue to expand strongly over the next 18 months supported by an anticipated rise in U.S. imports. But once U.S.

09 May 2016

Scanty Ordering Bodes Well for Tanker Shipping - Drewry

Newbuilding orders of tanker ships have seen a sharp reduction, but the slowing trend needs to be sustained for the longer-term health of the market, according to the latest edition of the Tanker Forecaster, published by global shipping consultancy Drewry. After numerous orders in recent years, newbuilding activity in the tanker market declined sharply in the first quarter of 2016 as only 34 vessels (2.6 million dwt) were ordered during the period, far below the hefty 368 vessels (45 million dwt) ordered in 2015. Challenging conditions in capital markets and tight credit availability from banks have subdued new ordering. Although this will not arrest the strong fleet growth and corresponding decline in freight rates over the next two years…

23 Feb 2016

Tanker Freight Rates Could Weaken in 2016

Crude tanker utilization (%) (Source: Drewry Maritime Research)

Tanker shipping freight rates are expected to remain firm in the first few months of 2016, but with the influx of tonnage these rates are expected to soften towards the end of the year, according to the latest edition of the Tanker Forecaster, published by global shipping consultancy Drewry. Four major factors led to the big leap in tanker earnings in 2015: strong growth in oil trade, sluggish expansion of the fleet, a sharp increase in floating storage and lower bunker prices.

18 Aug 2015

Strong Supply Growth Threatens Rosy Days for Tanker Owners

A surge in crude tanker vessel capacity over the next two years will lead to a fall in ship-owner earnings from current highs, according to the latest edition of the Tanker Forecaster, published by global shipping consultancy Drewry. Rising capacity is being driven by anticipated tonnage demand growth in the dirty tanker market, which is expected to gather momentum once US shale oil production starts shrinking. Similarly, tonnage demand in the product tanker market has been increasing with the expansion of refinery capacity in Asia and the Middle East. One of the primary reasons behind the recent surge in tanker freight rates, particularly in the dirty tanker market, has been sluggish fleet growth over the last two years.

02 Jun 2015

Tanker Shipping's Fortunes Rest on US Shale Oil Production

How much US shale oil production is taken out of service will be a key driver of future tanker shipping earnings, according to the latest edition of the Tanker Forecaster, published by global shipping consultancy Drewry. Tanker operators are pinning their hopes on a rise in US crude oil imports as domestic shale oil extraction becomes increasingly unprofitable. Low oil prices have made crude extraction unprofitable for many US producers, leading to a fall in US rig counts and shrinking exploration and production investment. “Continued expansion of refinery capacity in Asia is likely to maintain growth in the global oil trade over the next five years,” said Rajesh Verma, Drewry’s tanker shipping lead analyst.