Oslo Sees Comeback For Maritime Stocks

The All Share Index in Oslo was up 3.8 percent in May, and shipping and offshore stocks were leading the way as the Shipping Index surged 13.9 percent during the month. All but three of the offshore stocks listed on the OSE experienced positive share price movements in the period. Northern Offshore (NOF), announcing strong results for first quarter, was up all of 50 percent. Nortrans Offshore (NOL), Navis (NIS), Stolt Comex Seaway (SCS) and Smedvig (SME/SMEB) were all up between 33 and 20 percent. Polar Holding (POL) fell 26 percent in May as District Offshore (DOF) failed in it's attempt to acquire the company. Brøvig Offshore was down 17 percent, while DOF fell 3 percent. The two cruise operators both experienced a positive share price development in May. Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) which has been particularly hammered by the market during the past few months, gained more than 12 percent while NCL Holding (NCL) was up 8 percent. Tanker stocks dominated the winner's list among shipping companies also in May. Benor Tankers (BET), Bergesen (BEA/BEB) and Frontline (FRO) all rose more than 20 percent. The Fred. Olsen twin companies, Ganger Rolf (GRO) and Bonheur (BON), as well as Jinhui Shipping and Transportation (JIN), also saw their share prices rise considerably during the period. Nomadic Shipping (NOS) was topping the loser's list for the second consecutive month as the share price plummeted by 39 percent in May. Also Actinor Shipping (ACS), Loki (LOI) and Odfjell (ODF) dropped more than 10 percent.