Scrap Steel News

HGK Shipping ordered from De Gerlien van Tiem shipyard in Druten, Netherlands, a new, low-emission dry goods vessel, a vessel to be specially tailored to the requirements of Salzgitter Flachstahl. Equipped with a diesel-electric drive system and solar panels and designed to be “future-fuel-ready”, the new vessel is outfitted to make a contribution to the sustainability ambitions of HGK Shipping and Salzgitter AG. Once it goes into service, it will replace one of the three vessels from the existing fleet…

The Sustainable Shipping Initiative (SSI) has published a green steel and shipping report calling for circularity in shipbuilding. Steel is the primary shipbuilding material, making over 75% of a vessel by weight, and the steel industry is responsible for 7-9% of global GHG emissions. Addressing steel emissions is critical to decarbonizing across the ship lifecycle, says SSI, and provides opportunities for collaboration with the steel sector and other steel demand sectors. The report identified drivers and barriers to closing the loop on steel in shipping…

BIMCO has launched a film calling for the urgent adoption of the Hong Kong International Convention for the safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (Hong Kong Convention) and for shipowners to only choose yards that live up to the convention.“Ship Recycling: Time for Change” is partly filmed at ship recycling yards in Alang, India, one of the largest ship recycling nations in the world together with Bangladesh. The film aims to raise awareness among global regulators…

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…

In the first four months of 2021, the amount of oil product tanker capacity that has been sent for demolition has already reached the total amount of demolished capacity in each of 2019 and 2020 due to unfavourable freight rates. If that pace continues for the rest of the year, an 11-year record is set to be broken.This according to a report out today from BIMCO, which shows that so far this year, 10 crude oil and 38 oil product tankers have left the active trading fleet and the…

In the first two months of 2021, Brazilian iron ore exports have risen by 9.1% to 53 million tonnes, driven by China. So far this year, 35.2 million tonnes of iron ore has been exported to China, representing a 15.2% increase from the same period last year and standing in contrast to slightly declining exports to all other countries: down 1.2% to 17.8 million tonnes, continuing the trend from 2020.Despite the strong growth rates in the first months of this year, total exports of iron ore have failed to recover to 2019 levels following the 21.8% drop in volumes in 2020.

The year 2021 has been tough on crude oil tanker freight rates across the board so far. Consequently, the industry buzz has been all about largescale scrapping of tankers, but so far, it has been all talk and very little walk, as the secondhand market has proved a much-preferred alternative, says industry group BIMCO.Although demolitions are up from the start of last year, only two shuttle tankers and two Aframax crude oil carriers (450,000 DWT) have been confirmed demolished in the first two months of 2021, according to data from Clarksons.

Belgium's Euronav expects pressure on freight rates to continue until late 2021, the tanker operator said as it reported weaker than expected quarterly results on Thursday, citing OPEC+ export cuts because of the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on demand for oil.The company, one of the world's largest tanker companies, benefited from soaring demand for oil storage at sea in early 2020 as buyers struggled to find space for surplus crude when demand collapsed during the first wave of the pandemic.However, reduced OPEC+ exports limited oil oversupply in the second half of the year."As a result, the ma

Grappling with slowed business levels caused by the ongoing pandemic, Arkansas' Port of Little Rock reports September was its best month since April of this year.Activity levels at the port's docks increased with 29 barges worked; 21 at the slackwater dock and eight at the river dock. More than 44,000 net tons of cargo was handled including the following commodities: aluminum ingots, sows, and tee bars; nepheline syenite, scrap, steel coils, wetcake and wire rod coils.Year-to-date the docks have worked 286 barges with 434,000 net tons loaded or unloaded to barge.

An impressive recovery in Chinese dry bulk imports has protected the industry from the effects of falling demand in the rest of the world. High deliveries and low contracting have left the orderbook at multi-year lows, but – with the poor outlook – the current influx of new dry bulk ships orders is not what is needed.Demand drivers and freight ratesThe biggest story in the dry bulk industry in recent months has been the strength of the recovery in major Chinese imports. These are up across the board…

The outlook for India's ship-breaking industry has turned negative amid volatile scrap prices and a falling rupee, says ICRA.The country's ship-breaking activity, while tepid during CY2019 due to subdued demand and depressed scrap prices, gathered momentum at the start of CY2020 following the implementation of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) sulphur cap regulations from January 2020. But weakness in the international shipping markets further aggravated by the coronavirus has since dampened sentiments.

One of the most worrying trends that has developed recently - which will affect shipping demand in the years to come - is the falling trade-to-GDP ratio. The falling ratio can be explained by slowing globaliztation as well as increasing protectionist measures being implemented around the world, spear headed by the US. The raised barriers to trade are here to stay as we enter a new decade, with the shipping industry stuck with the consequences.The trade war is the clearest example of these extra barriers to trade…

Chinese steel production dropped by one million (1m) tons, a decline of 1.2%, compared to October last year. China produced 81m tonnes of crude steel in October 2019. This is the first decline in steel production year-on-year (y-o-y) since December 2017.The story unfolds quite differently when looking at the accumulated volumes of crude steel production. In total, China has produced 829m tonnes of crude steel through the first 10 months of 2019, an increase of 6% when compared to the same period last year.In fact…

BIMCO expects the fundamental market balance in the dry bulk shipping to deteriorate in 2019 which will do nothing to improve freight rates as the 2020 sulfur cap nears.Earnings for Capesize vessels have continued their roller-coaster ride, reaching their highest level since the end of 2013, at USD 36,101 per day on 2 September 2019. Between 2 April, the low point of the year so far, and 2 September rates have risen 943%, into solid profit-making territory.The strong increase in Capesize and Panamax earnings reflects a change in the market dynamics since the beginning of the year. Following major disruption at the start of the year, Brazilian iron ore exports have increased, although monthly exports since March remain lower than what they had been in the corresponding months last year.

BIMCO's Peter Sand, in a new report, weighs in on the implications for the Dry Bulk sectors.Chinese imports of iron ore keep falling, while its crude steel production keeps growing. China’s increased use of scrap metal for its production of crude steel is fundamentally critical to the dry bulk shipping industry. Mostly Capesize ships are impacted by this, way beyond the temporary iron ore export disruptions in Brazil and Australia.Chinese steel production grew by a massive 12.6 million tonnes (+9.2%) in the first two months on 2019 as estimated by China Iron and Steel Association (CISA).

Tonnage on river increases 60 percent from 2018Through the first two months of 2019, the Port of Little Rock and its stevedorer, LSI, have seen a year-to-year increase of 33 barges, a 62% increase in activity. Additionally, tonnage is up 49,000 tons year-to-year (60%) with a total of 130,400 tons. Commodities handled during the month included aluminum ingots and tee bars, bauxite, nepheline syenite, rock and sand, scrap, steel coils, wetcake and wire rod coils. LSI expects barge activity to continue to be very strong over the next several months.Activity on the docks remained strong for February with a total of 47 barges worked- 21 more than February 2018. The 72,000 tons of cargo loaded and unloaded from barges during the month surpassed February 2018 by 80 percent.

Customs in China's southeastern Fujian province broke up five gangs smuggling scrap steel in a late-night operation on Monday, the official Xinhua news agency reported.A total of 28 criminal suspects were held in Xiamen, Quanzhou and other cities in the coordinated operation, in which 3,237 tonnes of scrap steel was seized.The gangs had been buying the scrap in China, the world's biggest steel producer, since 2017 and sending it to Southeast Asian countries, Xinhua said.Amount of scrap smuggled was put at around 50,000 tonnes, worth some 78 million yuan ($12.2 million), as gangs sought to cash

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…

Maritime Administration Executive Director Joel Szabat joined federal, state and local officials and environmental groups to mark the completion of an agreement to remove 57 non-retention vessels from the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet (SBRF) by September 30, 2017. The departure of the Cape Borda for recycling reaches the milestone two months ahead of schedule. “Our progress in Suisun Bay is the result of hard work and smart collaboration,” said the Maritime Administration’s Executive Director Joel Szabat. “There is perhaps no greater symbol of the maritime industry’s environmental progress than what has been accomplished here. In 2009, MARAD entered an agreement with local officials and environmental groups to expedite disposal of 57 non-retention SBRF vessels…

Despite lower rates, rental prices doubled from last year; capesize vessels totalling 15 million DWT to be delivered this year - broker. Freight rates for large capesize dry cargo ships on key Asian routes are likely to drift lower as tonnage volumes outpace cargo demand even as owners resist charterers' attempts to push rates lower, ship brokers said. Despite the subdued market, capesize charter rates are still around twice the level as compared with previous year. "The market is holding up relatively nicely. Last year, we didn't fix ships at current rates until June," a Singapore-based capesize broker said on Thursday. "Owners are doing what they can to resist charterers' lower offers, but there is no shortage of ships, especially in the Pacific," the broker said.

Independent research and consultancy firm Maritime Strategies International (MSI) has forecast a structural change to future shipping cycles, driven by increased volatility in newbuilding activity. In an article by Dr. Adam Kent, MSI notes that as a consequence of the current glut of excess shipyard capacity, many yards will be well-positioned to take orders and deliver within two years, should freight markets show improvement. “This may mean that we are set to see a something of a structural change in the shipping cycles going forward…

Total barge tonnage through the Port of Little Rock in May was 66,000 net tons. Dock activities continue to compare favorably to calendar year 2015. Logistic Services, Inc. has handled 274 barges during the first half of 2016 year and 410,000 net tons of various commodities have moved across the docks at the Port of Little Rock. Bulk commodities outpaced break-bulk cargo accounting for 55% of the tonnage handled across the docks. Cargoes handled across the docks included DAP, sulfate, triple phosphate, urea, rock, wetcake, bauxite, granite fines, wire rod coils, scrap, stainless scrap, steel coils and pipe. The US Army Corps of Engineers reports that 979,684 tons of commodities moved through the McClellan-Kerr Navigation System in June 2016.

Turkey is strategically located, straddling both Europe and Asia with substantial number of Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea ports, thus making maritime trade and shipping of great importance to the country’s economy. Its extensive coastline running for 8,483 km, (1,067 km of which is island shores) has greatly contributed to the growth of Turkey’s maritime sector. Turkish shipyards have a tradition spanning eight centuries. At the time of the Ottoman Empire, shipyards were able to build large, powerful naval vessels, and yards continued their modernization following the foundation of the Republic of Turkey. Today, the industry boasts modern quality certified shipyards that build ships, yachts, megayachts, and sailing boats, as well as undertake extensive repairs and conversion works.