Shipping Industry Group News

Sustained attacks by Yemen's Houthis on vessels using Red Sea shipping lanes could have a "substantial" impact on economies and a knock-on effect on prices, a key Cypriot shipping industry group said on Thursday.Attacks by Houthis have disrupted a vital trade route, particularly of oil, as vessels access the Suez Canal via the Red Sea. Some shipping lines have been forced to divert vessels from the Red Sea to longer routes, threatening supply bottlenecks."Where countries heavily depend on raw materials…

Confidence in the ability of sound risk management to contribute to commercial success in the shipping industry has fallen in the last 12 months, according to the latest annual Shipping Risk Survey from Moore Stephens.Respondents to the survey rated the extent to which enterprise and business risk management is contributing to the success of their organisation at an average 5.9 out of a possible score of 10.0, compared to 6.8 in the 2017 survey.Brokers returned the highest rating, followed by ship managers. For the first time in the four-year life of the survey, Europe was behind Asia in terms of geographical sentiment, but it was the Middle East which once again returned the highest figure (6.8).Overall…

Freight is being delivered despite shallow water on the Rhine and other rivers in Germany due to drought, a shipping industry group said on Tuesday, although many vessels are being forced to carry lighter loads."On the Rhine, by far Germany’s most important inland waterway, river vessels can, depending on area, often only transport half of their normal loads, sometimes even less," said the association of German inland waterways shipping companies BDB.The Rhine is too shallow for normal sailings from Duisburg to south Germany, traders said on Monday.

International accountant and shipping adviser Moore Stephens expects optimism to triumph over pessimism in the shipping industry during the next 12 months. Writing in the latest issue of Bottom Line, the newsletter of the Moore Stephens shipping industry group, partner Richard Greiner says, “According to a recent study, pessimists live longer than optimists, and shipping is short of neither. But the industry has always valued longevity as well as new blood, and it certainly ended 2017 in more optimistic mood than it closed the previous year. “Oscar Wilde said it is always best to borrow money from pessimists, because they won’t expect it back.

Shipping struggles to recover from worst crisis in 30 years; market for new ships remains weak. Sales of second-hand ships reached a 10-year high on cautious optimism that one of the shipping industry's worst ever downturns is nearing an end. An increase in cargo demand has helped revive confidence this year in a sector that is starting to emerge from a 10-year slump fueled by owners splurging on thousands of new ships. "Second-hand purchases go up when optimism is thriving. 2017 has certainly been a year that has lent optimism a hand," said Peter Sand, chief analyst at shipping industry group Bimco. Some 1,630 ships worth $19 billion were sold in the year up to Dec. 15, the highest since 2007 when sales hit a record 1,894, according to shipping services firm Clarkson.

Effective management of risk within the industry has improved slightly over the past 12 months, according to the third annual Shipping Risk Survey from international accountant and shipping adviser Moore Stephens. But shipping still needs to up its game in terms of managing its exposure to risk, which is increasing and changing in nature, not least in terms of the threat posed by cyber security, Moore Stephens says. Survey respondents rated the extent to which enterprise and business…

The latest Shipping Confidence Survey from international accountant and shipping adviser Moore Stephens has seen overall confidence levels in the shipping industry rise slightly in the three months to May 2016. In May 2016, the average confidence level expressed by respondents in the markets in which they operate was 5.1 on a scale of 1 (low) to 10 (high). This is a slight improvement on the 5 recorded in February 2016, but is still the second lowest rating in the life of the survey, which was launched in May 2008 with a confidence rating of 6.8.

Overall confidence levels in the shipping industry fell to a record low in the three months to February 2016, according to the latest Shipping Confidence Survey from international accountant and shipping adviser Moore Stephens. The average confidence level expressed by respondents in the markets in which they operate was 5.0 on a scale of 1 (low) to 10 (high). This compares to the 5.6 recorded in November 2015, and is the lowest rating in the life of the survey, which was launched in May 2008 with a confidence rating of 6.8.

Overall confidence levels in the shipping industry rose in the three months ended August 2015 to their highest level this year, according to the latest Shipping Confidence Survey from international accountant and shipping adviser Moore Stephens. Respondents to the survey were concerned predominantly about low freight rates and overtonnaging, with continuing doubts also expressed about private equity funding. In August 2015, the average confidence level expressed by respondents in the markets in which they operate was 5.9 on a scale of 1 (low) to 10 (high).

Overall confidence levels in the shipping industry fell during the three months to May 2015 to a level equal to the lowest rating recorded in the past seven years, according to the latest Shipping Confidence Survey from international accountant and shipping adviser Moore Stephens. Respondents complained predominantly about low freight rates and overtonnaging, while some expressed continuing doubts about private equity funding. In May 2015, the average confidence level expressed by respondents in the markets in which they operate was 5.3 on a scale of 1 (low) to 10 (high)…

Levels of sound enterprise and business risk management are currently satisfactory in the shipping industry, a new survey from Moore Stephens has revealed. But the international accountant and shipping adviser warns that companies that fail to embed effective risk management procedures into their daily activities are likely to pay a high price in today’s tightly regulated and highly competitive industry. The inaugural Moore Stephens Shipping Risk Survey, which will be updated annually, sought to gauge how effectively enterprise and business risks are being managed in the shipping industry, and to analyze how key risks are being handled by companies.

Overall confidence levels in the shipping industry fell to their lowest level for two-and-a-half years in February 2015, according to the latest Shipping Confidence Survey from international accountant and shipping adviser Moore Stephens. Respondents to the survey identified overtonnaging as the biggest factor behind the fall in confidence, but also expressed concern about the effect on the industry cause by lower oil prices and the growth of investment by financiers from outside shipping.

With a record U.S. harvest just coming in, the river transportation system that is at the heart of the nation's farm economy is overstrained by rising demand for shipping capacity, a low barge inventory, and a dilapidated lock system. The pressure is building on an inland waterways network that is just one flood, drought or mechanical breakdown from calamity after decades of neglect, industry sources say. Looming bumper corn and soybean crops are bringing to light issues that have built for years and which have been exacerbated by new entrants to the marketplace for river logistics, such as producers of crude oil from the nation's shale boom. Rail congestion and truck shortages are shifting more cargo to the creaking infrastructure for floating heartland goods to market.

With a record U.S. harvest just coming in, the river transportation system that is at the heart of the nation's farm economy is overstrained by rising demand for shipping capacity, a low barge inventory, and a dilapidated lock system. The pressure is building on an inland waterways network that is just one flood, drought or mechanical breakdown from calamity after decades of neglect, industry sources say. Looming bumper corn and soybean crops are bringing to light issues that have built for years and which have been exacerbated by new entrants to the marketplace for river logistics, such as producers of crude oil from the nation's shale boom. Rail congestion and truck shortages are shifting more cargo to the creaking infrastructure for floating heartland goods to market.

Shipping accountant and business consultant Moore Stephens says that, despite recent publicity to the contrary, Russia is now a better place to do business than it has ever been for small and medium-size enterprises, including shipowners. Writing in the latest issue of The Bottom Line, the newsletter of the Moore Stephens shipping industry group, Gavin Stoddart, managing director of Moore Stephens Russia, says, "The door to international finance and international markets is open, with traffic flowing in both directions. The only passport to success is sound and visible financial structures". Acknowledging that there is still a Russian risk premium on investment capital…

Forecasting techniques in shipping have at last become as dynamic as the shipping industry itself, according to Chris Chasty, head of the shipping industry group at leading accountants and consultants Moore Stephens. Moore Stephens has been using its recently developed Dynamic Risk Solutions (DRS) risk analysis service to analyze major projects for clients. Writing in the latest issue of the Moore Stephens newsletter, the bottom line, Chasty says, "It helps increase confidence in project planning. Chasty expects both bankers and shipowners to increasingly use DRS to assess projects. "Knowing a likely outcome is one thing. Measuring how likely that outcome is provides a lot more comfort," he says. Chasty accepts that many owners still rely on gut feeling to get it right.

Accountant and shipping industry adviser Moore Stephens says the shipping sector faces a challenging year in 2011, with freight rates under pressure, crew costs continuing to rise and the banks closely monitoring the future viability of poor performers. Writing in the latest issue of Bottom Line, the firm’s shipping newsletter, Julian Wilkinson, head of the Moore Stephens Shipping Industry Group, said, “Last year should have been the year that future generations would use to frighten their children into believing that, unless they ate their greens, they would suffer the privations that were visited upon shipping. The truth was somewhat different.

Overall confidence levels in the shipping industry dropped for the third successive quarter in the three months ending February 2011, to reach their lowest level for fifteen months, according to the latest survey by leading accountant and shipping adviser Moore Stephens. Over-tonnaging and the uncertainty created by political unrest in the Middle East and North Africa were the dominant themes running throughout the responses to the survey, which also revealed an increase across all categories in the number of respondents who expected finance costs to rise over the coming year.

SHIPPING is going to need a great deal of resilience to meet the challenges of the next twelve months, according to international accountant and shipping adviser, Moore Stephens. But, for those who can secure funding, there have been few better times to invest. Julian Wilkinson, head of the Moore Stephens Shipping Industry Group, says, “More than ever, shipping will be an industry for long-term players. Operating costs increased in 2011, while the global economic climate deteriorated at a rate outpaced only by the growth of sovereign debt in some eurozone countries. “The markets are languishing, and are likely to fall further. We have seen how, for the first time in a long while, some of the big tanker-owning companies have come under financial pressure.

Shipping confidence up on expectation of rate increases but new investment appetite wanes. Overall confidence levels in the shipping industry increased slightly in the three months ended February 2012, to reach their highest level since May 2011, according to the latest Shipping Confidence Survey from international accountant and shipping adviser Moore Stephens. This is the third successive quarter in which there has been a small uptick in confidence. Rates are expected to increase over the coming year in the three main tonnage sectors covered by the survey.

The latest Shipping Confidence Survey by Moore Stephens has revealed a significant drop in overall confidence levels in the market, and an increased expectation that rates in the tanker, dry bulk and container ship sectors will fall in the next twelve months. On a scale of 1 to 10, the average confidence level reported by respondents was 5.6, compared to 6.8 in the previous survey in June 2008. Confidence levels fell across all sectors and regions and the greater divergence between respondents suggests greater uncertainty across market participants. Ship managers and owners were the most confident at 6.0 and 5.8 respectively, although these were markedly down on the corresponding figures in June.

Overall confidence levels in the shipping industry have declined by more than twenty per cent over the past twelve months, according to the latest Shipping Confidence Survey produced by international accountant and shipping consultant Moore Stephens. One year on from the first Moore Stephens survey, the average confidence level expressed by respondents, on a scale of 1 to 10, was 5.4, compared to 6.8 in the initial survey in February 2008. In the last four months, the average confidence level declined from 5.6 to 5.4, and was most significantly down amongst owners and managers, with the level falling to 5.4 in each category from previous levels of 5.8 and 6.0 respectively. One year ago, owners and managers recorded confidence levels of 7.1 and 7.2 respectively.

If you want to list your shipping company today, in most instances, New York can still offer you the best options. London has plenty of capital, Oslo has plenty of people who know shipping, but New York is where the publicly-listed shipping action is. That’s what Chris Chasty, head of the shipping industry group at leading shipping accountant Moore Stephens says in the summer issue of the shipping industry newsletter Bottom Line. He goes on, “Just look at the figures. Back in 2000 there were only three listed shipping companies in the US, with a total market cap around $3bn, and only three analysts followed the sector. They didn’t have to work too hard, as it was only a tanker story.