Maritime News Round up – Issue 12

Bunker Fuels

World Bunker Fuel Prices: Ship & Bunker  

Marine fuels & IMO 2020: So much for all the hype

We are now well into the IMO 2020 shipping regulations, and it is clear that all the hype leading up to implementation was exaggerated. Covid-19 has certainly softened the impact of the shipping industry’s move to a low sulphur compliant fuel. ING  

Marine fuel market facing tougher Q3 as supply rises 

Global supply of fuel oil, used by ships and power plants, is expected to grow in the third quarter, depressing the marine fuel market as shipping demand remains weak, analysts and trade sources said. Third-quarter supply is estimated to rise by 620,000 barrels per day (bpd) from the second quarter as China and Brazil increase production, according to consultancy Energy Aspects. Reuters  

NSI Sees Increased Contract Sales Behind Falling Bunker Margins Around the World 

An increase in marine fuel sales carried out by term contract may be behind falling spot bunker margins around the world, according to brokerage NSI. In a recent note to clients, the company pointed to a recent decline in spot bunker margins at all of the main hubs, and suggested suppliers pushing for increased contract sales to guarantee regular business might be the cause, bringing increased competition for demand in the spot market. Ship & Bunker

Machine learning App facilitates shipping’s CO2 emissions reduction

Researchers from the University of Southampton and Shell Shipping and Maritime have developed an app that interprets a vessel’s draught and trim to optimise the amount of fuel and power required ‘in any given situation’. Bunkerspot

GP global begins financial restructuring; rebuffs market rumours

Refuting rumours about its financial position, the company says it is confident of attracting new investment that ‘will help us tide away from the current tight cash position’ and notes that ‘we are being targeted by vested interests who do not wish to see us succeed and grow higher and higher’. Bunkerspot 

Scrubber fittings plummet as cost advantage is mitigated by low fuel price 

Although now nearly a quarter of the world’s containership fleet by capacity is fitted with exhaust gas cleaning scrubber technology, new retrofit orders for the technology are “almost zero”, according to a leading manufacturer. Loadstar 

Marine lubricants 

Marine lubrication: improving procurement through to performance  

Riviera’s webinar, sponsored by Castrol, explored the ways in which digitalisation offers greater transparency and efficiency from procurement through to engine performance. The webinar panel included Bulugo partnerships director Grant Norton, ExxonMobil aviation & marine offer advisor Joseph Star, and Drew Marine senior director – marine lubricants & specialty chemicals/innovation, John Kalafatides. Rivieraam 

Digitalization 

ABS launches smart fleet management services

ABS has launched a suite of fleet management and vessel compliance services powered by smart functionality and advanced analytics, which will also be available through the new ABS App. The Digital Ship 

What are the key ingredients to maritime’s digital journey? 

Digital success in maritime rests on defining the problem and then creating the solution, says Andy McKeran, LR’s M&O Commercial Director. Attentions may centre on what the ‘new normal’ post COVID‑19 will look like for marine and offshore, but for Andy McKeran (pictured right), LR Commercial Director for Marine and Offshore, there is simply no question that now is the time to be in the industry. Lloyds Register  

The Digital Shift

If you look at the bigger picture, shipping accounts for 90% of global trade and there are nearly eight billion people living on this planet. A number that’s growing every year. The pressure on the shipping industry to move fuel, medicines, food and clothing around the world isn’t going to change. Due to this added pressure, the maritime world needs to find new innovative ways to thrive. Bulugo 

Maritime  

Oil Drops With Demand Worries Reverberating From U.S. to Asia 

Oil weakened as economies from the U.S. to Asia signaled a deepening demand fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. China’s cooling oil consumption hurt prices for Iraqi crude, while derivatives that help value North Sea grades showed renewed weakness. In the U.S., jobless claims rose last week for the first time since March and in South Korea, data showed the nation’s economy sliding into recession with exports plummeting in the second quarter. Bloomberg 

85 Test Positive for COVID-19 on American Factory Trawler in Alaska

The factory trawler American Triumph, which experienced a major COVID-19 outbreak in June, has the disease on board once more. This time, 85 members of her 119-member crew (70 percent) have caught the novel coronavirus, according to health officials in Dutch Harbor. Maritime Executive 

Weekly Broker: Tanker enquiries dry up 

The downward correction seen in the larger size bulker chartering market this past week has not affected buyer’s enthusiasm to acquire secondhand tonnage. However, tanker purchases have all but disappeared in recent days as the market looks set for a tough period ahead. Splash247 

Events 

IBIA Annual Convention 2020 – Going Global | Bunkering and Shipping in a New Era. 3 – 5 November 2020

For more information: https://www.ibiaconvention.com/  

Global Bunkering Summit 2020 – Virtual Event 

Shipping and bunkering are true ‘contact sports’, where personal interaction and shared experience are every bit as important as the information gathered from industry events – or given the current restraints caused by the coronavirus – online seminars. But while travelling to attend overseas conferences is impossible at present, the need and desire to communicate with the outside world has never been stronger. 

Register for this free event: https://www.petrospot.com/events/gbs-2020 

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