MAERSK THROWS DOWN CHALLENGE ON ASIA-EUROPE ROUTES
COPENHAGEN/LONDON, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Maersk Line, the world's biggest container shipping company, threw out a challenge to rivals by introducing a more streamlined and frequent service without a surcharge on its key Asia-Europe routes.
Coupled with a warning that freight rates would remain under pressure for the next 12 months, Maersk's move amounts to a bid to compete aggressively on high capacity routes while avoiding slashing rates and starting a price war.
JORDAN'S AQABA PORT THRIVES AMID REGION'S INSTABILITY
AQABA, Jordan, Sept 21 (Reuters) - It has not been as busy for a long while for vessel supervisor Mohammad Qassem, who is overseeing the loading of a commercial cargo ship that has just anchored in the sparkling blue waters of Jordan's Aqaba port.
"With all the problems around us, it's amazing. These few months have been very active," said Qassem, 49, near one of the port's six large cranes at a berth that has become a huge construction site.
TORM'S GREEK OWNERS COMBINE HOLDINGS
COPENHAGEN, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Danish shipping company Torm's two biggest shareholders have combined their Torm holdings in Cyprus-based Alpha Trust which now holds more than 52 percent of the stock, Torm and the shareholders said on Friday.
Eirini Nomikou, owner of Cyprus-based Menfield Navigation Company Limited, transferred her entire 20.01 percent interest as a gift to Alpha Trust, Torm and attorneys for the shareholders said in separate statements.
SHIPPER TOUTS ARCTIC ROUTE TO CHINA AS COST SAVER
COPENHAGEN, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Danish shipping company Nordic Bulk Carriers said it has saved a third of the cost and nearly half the time in shipping goods to China by taking advantage of receding Arctic ice to sail north of Russia instead of via the Suez Canal.
As the climate warms up and ice melts, many shipping companies are eyeing the Northern Sea Route as a way to cut voyage times and costs in the future.
CONTAINER SHIPPING RATES DIVE IN Q3, OUTLOOK BLEAK
HONG KONG, Oct 3 (Reuters) - The world's container shipping market may remain bleak for the rest of the year, after seeing shipping rates halved in the third quarter as western buyers tighten their purse strings amid growing fears of a global recession, an expert said on Monday.
"We can't see any major factors that can help stimulate U.S. economic recovery and Europe's situation is even worse," said Sunny Ho, executive director of Hong Kong Shippers Council, which represents main exporters in Hong Kong -- a major international shipping centre.
LAW FIRM SEES MORE BANKRUPTCIES IN STORE FOR FREIGHT
SINGAPORE, Oct 3 (Reuters) - At least four U.S.-listed shipping companies are likely to face restructuring or declare bankruptcy over the next 12 months as the long downturn in the freight market forces further consolidation, an industry executive told Reuters.
Norton Rose, a leading law firm in the transport and commodities industries, is involved in "numerous consolidation discussions" as maritime firms struggle with rock bottom freight rates and a glut of new vessels, said Harry Theochari, the company's global head of transport.
ANALYSTS SEE DOWNWARD PRESSURE ON IRON ORE, FREIGHT
LONDON, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Traders and analysts warn of downside risks for both iron ore and freight prices in the short-term, even though the cost of shipping iron ore to China unexpectedly spiked this month and iron ore miners are boasting of full order books.
Average earnings for capesizes, which typically haul 150,000 tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, have risen to their highest level in nine months this month and miner BHP Billiton paid $12.45 a tonne to ship iron ore from Australia to China, the highest rate since November last year.
KENYA BETS ON LAMU PORT DESPITE WORRIES
LAMU, Kenya, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Kenya's ambitions to build a world-class port in its southern Lamu region would have a big payoff but also inflict irrevocable damage on the area's image as a tourist paradise and on the livelihoods of its fishermen.
The $23 billion project, which includes a $5.3 billion port, will link Lamu to Ethiopia and newly independent oil-rich South Sudan, bringing investment and much-needed jobs to the region. A railway, pipeline, highway, airport and refinery would follow.
LIBYA'S TANKER FLEET SEEN OPERATIONAL IN A MONTH
LONDON, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Libya's state owned oil tanker fleet is set to be back in business within a month, with some vessels ready for trading in the next two weeks after months at anchorage due to war, the country's port authority chief told Reuters on Tuesday.
Libya's interim rulers are stepping up efforts to get the economy and Africa's previously third biggest oil producer back on track after former leader Muammar Gaddafi was toppled last month. The country's seaborne trade is seen as vital for resumption of trading activity.
TIGER GROUP TO BET BIG ON CONTAINERSHIPS
SINGAPORE, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Maritime investment firm Tiger Group could "very easily" buy as many as 50 large containerships in the next two years, betting that the box ship industry will see the most growth in traditional freight markets, the firm's managing director said.
The Hong Kong-based firm, with assets of more than $10 billion, looks to raise as much as $6 billion to invest in shipping over the next few years through its companies, said Tiger Group's Managing Director Julian Proctor.
GLENCORE'S SHIPPING FIRM MAY CUT OIL TANKER FLEET
SINGAPORE, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Glencore's shipping unit, ST Shipping, may reduce the number of oil tankers in its fleet over the next six months because rock-bottom freight rates have cut into profit margins, a company executive said on Tuesday.
ST Shipping is looking at returning several crude oil tankers to owners when long-term contracts expire in the next few months due to negative freight rates, said company director Kent Paulli.
KEY FREIGHT INDEX SET TO PLUNGE BY YEAR END-EXEC
SINGAPORE, Sept 12 (Reuters) - The Baltic Exchange's Dry Index, the benchmark for seaborne trade, could tumble by nearly half from current levels by the end of 2011 as a flood of new ships offsets higher Asian commodities demand, a senior executive said on Monday.
The BDI index has surged 46 percent over the last month, closing on Friday at 1,838 points, its highest level so far this year, supported by strong iron ore and coal demand in China and Japan.
CHINA LOOKS TO SAVE STRUGGLING SHIPPING SECTOR AT ANY COST
SINGAPORE, Sept 6 (Reuters) - China's campaign to protect its maritime industry during a severe downturn will become more costly for foreign companies as Beijing grabs a bigger slice of the profits for shipping iron ore, coal and grains to the world's second largest economy.
China's shipping sector -- led by state-owned COSCO Group -- has become one of the world's most influential with its fleet more than doubling over the last decade, matching the country's appetite for commodities and raw materials.
FRONTLINE CEO: TANKER OWNERS TALK ON CONSOLIDATION
OSLO, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Players in the oil tanker market are in concrete talks over consolidation, the chief executive of Frontline , the world's largest independent oil shipper, told Reuters on Tuesday.
"It is correct that there are different discussions going on now," Chief Executive Jens Martin Jensen said in an interview.
W.AFRICA PIRATES ADAPT AFTER NIGERIA CRACKDOWN
DAKAR/LONDON, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Nigerian pirate gangs are moving into the waters of neighbouring countries and attacking vessels further offshore after being driven from their coastal haunts by a military crackdown.
The shift to deeper waters mirrors one by their better-known Somali counterparts after pressure from international warships and raises the threat to shipping in the Gulf of Guinea, which is rich in oil and minerals.
SHIP INSURERS BACKING ARMED GUARDS AS PIRACY GROWS
PARIS, Sept 20 (Reuters) - More ship insurers are backing the use of private armed guards on merchant vessels at sea to combat Somali piracy as attacks
and the resulting costs are set to rise in coming weeks, industry officials said on Tuesday.
Pirate attacks on oil tankers and other ships are costing the world economy billions of dollars a year and navies have struggled to combat the menace, especially in the vast Indian Ocean. Seaborne gangs are set to ramp up attacks in the area after a monsoon abates.
RUSSIAN WHEAT SEEKS TO CONQUER FRESH MARKETS
HAMBURG/LONDON, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Russian wheat exporters aim to ramp up sales to nascent markets such as South America due to their cheap price edge, which may also give a boost to freight rates which are struggling with a ship glut.
Millions of tonnes of low-priced Russian wheat have surged onto global markets since Russia ended a near year-long grain export ban in July, sweeping aside competitors including those from Europe and the United States.
DRY BULK SHIP MARKET TO STAY WEAK INTO 2013
PARIS, Sept 20 (Reuters) - The global dry bulk freight market is expected to stay weak throughout 2012 and into 2013 due to an oversupply of ships, a senior executive of major ship brokerage Braemar Seascope said on Tuesday.
The industry has been struggling with a supply glut that has outpaced demand for commodities such as coal and iron ore.
DRY BULK SHIP MARKET PAIN SET TO DEEPEN
LONDON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - The dry bulk shipping industry will face more pressure in the coming months as owners struggle with a growing glut of vessels and a global economic slowdown, a top ship industry official said on Wednesday.
"The situation is very difficult and quite serious," said Spyros Polemis, chairman of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), whose association represents over 80 percent of the world's merchant fleet.
SOMALI PIRACY SET TO SURGE AS MONSOON ENDS -EU NAVY
LONDON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Somali pirate attacks are expected to surge in coming weeks after a monsoon abates, but defence cuts will undermine international efforts to fight them, a senior European Union navy official said on Wednesday.
Pirate attacks on oil tankers and other ships are costing the world economy billions of dollars a year and navies have struggled to combat the menace, especially in the vast expanses of the Indian Ocean.
VALE IN TALKS TO SELL MEGA IRON ORE VESSELS
LONDON, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Brazilian mining giant Vale is in talks with Chinese and other ship owners to sell or lease its planned fleet of giant bulk carriers, a Vale official told Reuters on Monday.
The move comes less than three months after Vale's first iron ore carrier, at 362 metres long the world's largest dry-bulk vessel, failed to gain access to Chinese ports and was forced to divert to Italy on its maiden voyage.
LIBYA, SYRIA TROUBLES ADD TO CRUDE TANKER RATE ROUT
LONDON, Sept 2 (Reuters) - The slow pace of resumption of Libyan crude exports and a European Union oil embargo on Syria are reducing prospects for a ship rate recovery this year in the smaller Mediterranean tanker market, analysts and brokers say.
Aframax tankers on the Mediterranean route, which transport the majority of Libya's crude oil, normally carry up to 600,000 barrel loads.
TOTAL NOT PLANNING LIBYA OIL SHIPMENTS FOR NOW
PARIS, Sept 19 (Reuters) - French oil major Total's shipping division is not planning to transport any Libyan crude oil for the time being, an executive at the division said on Monday.
Libya's Arabian Gulf Oil Company started pumping oil this month, with the aim of reaching 200,000 barrels per day in output by the end of September and 1 million barrels of exports every 10 days from the eastern terminal of Tobruk.
SPECULATIVE LNG SHIP ORDERS COULD CAUSE TANKER GLUT-WOODMAC
PERTH, Sept 13 (Reuters) - A recent boom in speculative orders for liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers could backfire for investors in the long term, as the tankers may enter the market just as demand for them wanes, energy analysts Wood Mackenzie said in report on Tuesday.
Orders for ships have skyrocketed as the daily charter rate more than tripled from $30,000 to $100,000 a day in the past year. Thirty-eight ships have been ordered since March, according to Woodmac, more than ten times the number of ships ordered in the previous two years.
SEANERGY TO SHUN LONG-TERM CONTRACTS WITH COSCO - CEO
Sept 8 (Reuters) - Drybulk ship owner Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp would avoid long-term contracts with charterers such as China COSCO Holdings , which recently unilaterally stopped payments on some of its leased ships.
COSCO Group, China's largest maritime conglomerate, angered many in the shipping community by halting payments for ships it had chartered, so it could renegotiate better terms.
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