Bedesten Shipping's Blog

Container Carriers Enjoy Bull Run, but How Long Will It Last? Freight Rates Keep Rising; Experts Say Market Will Stay Strong If Red Sea Crisis Continues Freight rates might pull back in the second half of 2024 due to early shipments overloading cargo volumes or could collapse if Cape of Good Hope detours cease.

Greek Bulk Carrier Reports Near-Miss in Red Sea Incident occurred in the early hours of May 23 The latest attack in the Red Sea comes after US Central Command reported shooting down drones in Houthi-controlled Yemen.

Houthis Strike Panamanian-flagged Tanker off Yemen's Coast; Crew Restores Power, CENTCOM Reports Iran-backed Houthi militants attacked a Panamanian-flagged oil tanker in the Red Sea with an anti-ship missile. Despite damage, the crew managed to regain control, averting casualties. This assault is part of ongoing Houthi attacks in the region, posing threats to maritime security. The tanker, carrying oil from Russia to China, faced a fire in the steering gear compartment. The incident underscores the instability caused by Houthi actions in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, prompting global concerns and responses.

  A cargo ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, causing its collapse, was successfully refloated and towed away from the shipping channel. The incident, which happened two months ago, killed six workers and disrupted port activities. Efforts to restore full port access continue, with bridge reconstruction expected to cost up to $1.9 billion and be completed by fall 2028.

Yemen's Houthis claimed to have downed a U.S. MQ9 drone over al-Bayda province using a locally made surface-to-air missile, with videos to be released as evidence, according to their military spokesperson. They had also claimed to down another U.S. MQ9 drone over Maareb province previously. The Houthis, who control Yemen's capital and most populous areas, have attacked international shipping in the Red Sea in solidarity with Palestinians, leading to U.S. and British retaliatory strikes since February.

The crude oil tanker Dubai Angel docked at the Westridge Marine Terminal in Vancouver on Monday to load the first crude oil shipment from the recently expanded Trans Mountain pipeline (TMX), according to ship tracking data. The vessel, chartered by Canadian oil producer Suncor Energy, is expected to load about 550,000 barrels of Access Western Blend (AWB) for delivery to China, as per data from Kpler. Trans Mountain stated it plans to load the first vessel with oil from the expanded pipeline later this month. The TMX, which started commercial operations this month, will transport an additional 590,000 barrels per day (bpd) from Alberta to Canada’s Pacific coast, following years of regulatory delays and construction issues. Traders and shippers are closely monitoring the pipeline flows and loadings from the Westridge Marine Terminal, as the expansion allows Canadian producers more access to U.S. West Coast and Asian markets. The tight supply of heavy crude has increased the attractivene...

 Aegean Container Agency S.A., established in Piraeus in January 2021. It is member of Arkas Hellas Group, with the aim of exclusively representing the shipping company Yang Ming in Greece, which was represented by Arkas Hellas S.A., since 2005. Yang Ming was established in 1972, offers global shipping services, providing our customers with high quality, fast and reliable services.

 Tarros Hellas S.A., was established in Piraeus in August 1999. It represents in Greece the company "Tarros SpA Shipping" with offices in Piraeus and Thessaloniki. Representing the lines "Tarros SpA Shipping", "Ignazio Messina & C." and "Melfi Marine Corporation”. Nowadays "Tarros Hellas SA" offers onshore transportation solutions "door to door "by land , train and sea for FCL and LCL loads, with weekly departures to and from all the main destinations it represents.

 Arpac Hellas Ltd, member of Arkas Hellas SA. group, was established in 2012 with the aim to represent PIL (Pacific International Lines) a shipping company that offers container liner services covering the whole of Far East, Indian subcontinent, Red sea/Gulf, East & Southwest Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Since 2015 Arpac Hellas Ltd represents also Mariana Express Lines (MELL) to cover the needs of Micronesia and the Pacific.

 EMES Shipping and Transport S.A. was established in July 1996 in order to offer the first container shipping line of our country under the Turkish flag. As of January 1st 2010, the name was changed to Arkas Container Transport S.A. and continue to provide services under the brand name “Arkas Line”. The Arkas Line container fleet has 126.500 TEUS  with the following types: “open top”, “high cube”, “flatrack”, “palletwide” and “reefers”, all of which are used on regular service between ports on the Mediterranean, West Africa and the Black Sea with its fleet of 20 vessels operated by Arkas.

Arkas Hellas SA, member of Arkas Holding, established in Piraeus in August 1999. The company aims at becoming the benchmark in shipping agency for both the international shipping lines and the customers. As the only multipurpose agency in Greece, the agency operates two offices, strategically located next to the main Greek ports of Piraeus and Thessaloniki. Having as benefit the know-how from a multinational corporation and its various representations, the company combines the needs of the international container shipping lines with a personalized customer experience.

  Good Day,   We may develop the vessel below For Sale; M/V DS FLOURISH ============= Vessel Type Gen Cargo  / Singledecker / Semi Box Holds IMO 9509085 Flag Belize DWT 6553 Built Year / Place 2011 / Weihai Donghai Shipyard Co Ltd

 DIRECT FROM VERY CLOSE OWNER WE CAN OFFER FOR SALE BELOW BOXED / SID / SHALLOW DRAFT LONG VOLGA TYPE VSL: NOW AT REVISED PRICE - CAN GUIDE MV 'VELA' - PALAU FLG ABT 6,207 DWT ON 4.67M DRFT LONG VOLGA TYPE

 WE CAN DEVELOP FOR SALE BELOW SHALLOW DRAFT DOUBLE SKIN / BOXED, VERY REASONABLY PRICED, MODERN GEN-CARGO VESSEL mv 'YONG SHENG 151' - PAN FLAG ABT 12,490 DWT ON 7.15 MTRS DRAFT BLT 08-2023 ZHEJIANG DONGHONG SHIPBUILDING CO LTD, CHINA PMDS, NEXT SS/DD: 08.2028/08.2028 LOA 129.98 M /LBP 127.3 M BEAM 20.6 M / DM 10 M 8524 GT/4402 NT 3 HO/3 HA TTL 17,018 CBM CRANES: 2 X 30 TONNES M/E: 8320ZCd-10, POWER 2427, RPM550 AVT 12 KN

  Good Day,   We may develop the vessel below For Sale; M/V XIN SHENG SHENG 5 ============= Vessel Type Gen Cargo  / Singledecker IMO 8358001 Flag Panama DWT 5370 Built Year / Place 2021 / Weihai Donghai Shipyard Co Ltd Class Intermaritime Certification Services (Ics)(Non Iacs) Grt/Nrt 2995 / 1897 Ho/Ha 2/2 Hatch Size No1: 24.9x10.9M No2: 24.9x10.9M Grain/Bale 6852 CBM / 6500 CBM LOA 95.9 M Beam 16.2 M Draft 5.64 M Main Engine 1 × Guangzhou 6320ZC 2,101 BHP @ 525 RPM Steel Bottom Gearless

Good Day,   We may develop the vessel below For Sale; M/V ATLAS WIND ============= Vessel Type Gen Cargo  / Mpp IMO 9126704 Flag Vanuatu DWT 5196 Built Year / Place 1997 / Jiangxi Jiangzhou Shipyard Class Lloyd's Register (LR)(Iacs) Ss/Dd 2027-06 2025-06 Grt/Nrt 4150 / 2005 Ho/Ha 1/2 Grain / Bale 7264 CBM / 7235 CBM LOA 100.62 M Beam 16.2 M Draft 6.39 M Main Engine 1 × MaK 9M32 5,384 BHP @ 600 RPM Gens 3x 340 kW Shaft Gen 440 kW Speed 15 Knots on 15.5TS TEU 366, Reefer Plugs 50 Geared Crane 2x40 T Bwts Fitted Ldt 2486

 Order from the Torghatten Company to the Myklebust Shipyard The shipping company Torghatten has ordered the shipyard Myklebust Verft the construction of two ferries which, with a It has a length of 117 metres and a capacity for up to 120 cars - underlined the two Norwegian companies - will be the ships The world's largest ro-pax to be powered by hydrogen. The two ferries will be deployed on the domestic route between Bodø and Lofoten and will be refuelled with hydrogen in the first port.

 In the first three months of 2024, Swiss exports declined. Imports are stable In the first quarter of this year, Switzerland's trade with Italy recorded a decrease of -6.3% on the last quarter of 2023 in relation to the value of exports, which is CHF 5.03 billion (€5.2 billion), while Swiss imports remained stable CHF 5.91 billion (-0.1%). Switzerland's total foreign trade in the first three months of this year resulted in a quarterly decrease both in relation to exports and imports of which the value amounted to €64.08 billion, respectively (-0.8%) and CHF 55.43 billion (-1.9%). The balance of the The trade balance showed a surplus of €8.63 billion.

 Net tonnage of vessels down by -59.8%. Drastic reduction of -53% in the value of transit rights After the drastic drop of -36.8% in maritime traffic in the Suez Canal recorded last January, the impact of the crisis in the Red Sea on ship transits in the Egyptian waterway caused by from the repeated attacks on ships crossing the Bab Strait el-Mandeb led by Houthi militiamen, who have been in the process since the end of 2019. 2023, was further accentuated in February 2024 when Only 1,120 ships passed through the canal, a decrease of -42.8% compared to February last year, including 376 tankers (-43.2%) and 745 other types (-42.6). Last February the net SCNT tonnage of ships crossing the channel amounted to 45.7 million tonnes, with a reduction of -59.8%.

 Increased military presence, missions and patrols urged. The world would be outraged if four airliners were hijacked In an open letter sent to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, sixteen international associations maritime, port and transport sectors have asked for help to protect maritime traffic in the light of the seizure of the container ship MSC Aries and its crew implemented by a Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran Team ( of 15 April 2024), attack - underlined the associations in the letter - which « highlighted once again the intolerable situation in which shipping is become a target. This is unacceptable."

 A postponement of the delivery of the "Star Princess" has been agreed with Princess Cruises Today, in its shipyard in Marghera, Fincantieri has delivered the new cruise ship Queen Anne to Cunard, company of the American group Carnival Corporation. It is the Third unit built by the Italian company for the company British. With 114,000 gross tons, the Queen Anne It has a capacity of 3,000 passengers. Exit from the Venetian plant, the ship will set sail for Southampton, its port of departure where it will arrive on the 27th April, before its seven-night maiden voyage to Lisbon, May 3.

 In March 2024, 348 thousand TEUs (+34.3%) were handled, of which 154 thousand were transhipments (+63.9%) and 194 thousand were import-export (+17.4%) Last month, the port of Barcelona handled 6.16 million tonnes of goods, a volume that represents the new record for the month of March and an increase of +12.8% over March 2023. The new peak was reached mainly thanks to to the remarkable increase of +29.3% in containerized traffic that is 3.55 million tonnes, representing the New record for this month. In addition, in March 2024, the traffic of Container measured in 20' containers handled on docks of the Catalan port has set a new all-time record A total of 348 thousand TEUs were generated (+34.3%). To confirm the contribution of containerised cargo flows to Spanish ports caused by the ongoing geopolitical crisis in the Middle East, which has led airlines not to allow their ships in the Suez Canal and divert them onto the route through the Cape of Good Hope, last month the container...

 The movement of sea and air shipment volumes is growing In the first quarter of this year, the trend continued decrease in the value of the group's economic performance Kuehne + Nagel, a trend that has characterized all the Main business segments in which the Group operates Swiss. Net sales in the period amounted to 5.51 billion Swiss francs (€5.7 billion), with a down -18.4% on the first three months of 2023. EBITDA and EBIT amounted to €567 million (-28.3%) and €376 million respectively CHF (-38.6%) and net profit totalled CHF 278 million (-39,8%).

 It was also the highest level of bookings ever The positive trend in economic and operating results continues of the U.S. cruise group Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH), which in the first quarter of 2024 reported revenues of $2.19 billion, representing an increase of +20.3% over the same period in 2023 and the new record relatively in the first quarter of the year, a peak that was reached thanks to the highest level ever scored in the first quarter from cruise sales, which amounted to 1.46 billion dollars (+20.8%), and sales on board ships, which totaled $731.4 million (+19.3%).

 +7.0% increase in containerized shipping operating costs If at the beginning of 2024 other leading shipping companies global containerized companies have seen an increase in economic performance determined by the increase in the value of related to the effects of geopolitical crises, and in attacks on ships in the Red Sea region, and of the Gulf of Aden which have caused a significant reduction in the maritime traffic in the Suez Canal, this is not the case Danish shipping group A.P. Møller-Mærsk at least in the year-on-year comparison.

 Growth in transits of all the main types of vessels In the first quarter of 2024, ship transits in the Strait of the Bosphorus increased by +9.3% as the passage of 10,106 boats compared to 9,250 in the corresponding last year's period. Among the main types of ships In the first three months of this year, the Turkish Strait was was crossed by 3,929 general cargo vessels (+2.3%), 2,219 bulk carriers (+5.3%), 1,486 tankers (+3.0%), 836 container ships (+16.4%), 816 chemical tankers (+17.1%), 135 ro-ro vessels (+104.5%), 111 live cattle vessels (-19.6%), 79 tugboats (+31.7%), 71 passenger ships (+688.9%) and 15 car carriers (+150,0%).

 The foreign minister confirms that the seafarers of the seized ship will be able to leave the country Iranian Foreign Minister Hossien Amir Abdollahian, in A telephone conversation that took place in the past few hours with the Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Margus Tsahkna, announced the release of the crew of the MSC Aries, the container ship of the MSC, which was seized in the middle of last month by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ( of 15 April 2024). The Tallinn Dicastery, as well as the of Foreign Affairs of Portugal as the ship is under the flag Portuguese, is a direct part of the negotiations with the Portuguese government. of Tehran for the release of the container ship crew which includes an Estonian citizen.

 A 15-20% reduction in capacity has been reported on the route from the Far East to Northern Europe/Mediterranean The ongoing crisis in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden from repeated attacks by Yemeni Houthi rebels to ship traffic in the current quarter is causing a 15-20% reduction in maritime transport capacity containerized on the route from the Far East to the North Europe/Mediterranean. The estimate is by the company of Danish shipping company Maersk Line, which today warned customers of a widening of the effects of the crisis situation, which continues to to cause inconvenience to the shipping industry.

 In March, growth was +22.1% After five quarterly periods of decline, in the first three months of 2019, the 2024 container traffic in the Port of New York - New Jersey is returned to growth as it amounted to 2.00 million TEUs, with an increase of +11.7% on the first quarter of last year. The full containers at landing increased by +14.5% as they were equal to 1.03 million TEUs, while full containers at loading decreased by -1.4% having totaled 324 thousand TEUs. Containers There were 649 thousand TEUs (+15.1%).

 Growth of liquid bulk and rolling stock. Decline in dry bulk and containers In the first quarter of this year, freight traffic in the port of Venice was 5.55 million tonnes, in decrease of -9.8% over the corresponding period of 2023. In the industry of liquid bulk cargo 1.70 million tonnes (+6.4%), in dry bulk 1.52 million tonnes, tonnes (-25.4%) and in the miscellaneous goods segment 2.32 million tonnes tonnes (-7.4%). The Port System Authority of the Sea Northern Adriatic explained that in the bulk sector The sudden decline was heavily affected by the fossil coal and lignite (-61.45%) linked to the strategy national energy sector, while in the case of miscellaneous goods, rolling stock, with 795 thousand tons, they marked a growth of +7.9%, and the containers, which amounted to 112,000 TEUs, suffered a reduction of -8.6% which - the port authority specified - is due to the Suez Canal crisis affecting the most of the Italian ports and the Eastern Mediterranean, Veneto included.

 $32.3 million contract to Dong Fang International Container (Hong Kong) Taiwanese shipping company Evergreen Marine Corporation, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Evergreen Marine (Asia) Pte. Ltd. (EMA), has ordered the supply of 10,000 new containers to China's Dong Fang International Container (Hong Kong) Ltd. (DFIC), a container manufacturer belonging to the Chinese shipping group COSCO Shipping. The order has a value of US$32.3 million.

______________________________ ___________   AGORA SHIPBROKING CORPORATION  ______________________________ ___________   REPORT Dear Friends,   Further our continuous efforts to provide better services to our clientele,   We consider the herein report will provide valuable information in decision making since shipping is a derived demand industry with many financial interactions. Turbulent global macro/micro-climate involving stock markets, currency exchanges and opportunity cost for alternative investments affect the shipping market. In the previous years, as brokers we always faced the fact that the information that we wanted to combine with our gut feeling was never available at our finger tips.   This is our small contribution to yours and our business.   Please find attached our Week 12. 2023. Snapshot of Commercial Indicators Report.   Our Kind Regards,   The Team of   AGORA SHIPBROKING CORPORATION Piraeus Office  | 46, Filono...

 Ton-mile demand is up across the board in the tanker market, helping keep rates high. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Gibson said that “with the one third of the year already over and the Red Sea still off limits to the majority of the tanker market, we examine how crude and product trade flows have changed to account for the necessary rerouting. Evidently different subsectors have been impacted differently. Volatility in clean product freight rates has been far higher than in the crude market. However, both sectors have had to adjust supply chains in response to changes in freight and commodity prices”.

 The Capesize market endured a challenging week, marked by persistent negativity across both the Pacific and Atlantic regions. The week commenced sluggishly, with the BCI 5TC dropping by $1,133 on Monday, setting a negative tone. Conditions generally deteriorated in both regions, with decreased rates and limited activity, reflecting softer market sentiment. However, the level of activity picked up during the course of the week, particularly in the pacific, with all of the miners active, although the negative trend continued, albeit with a slight slowing in the rate of decline. Weakness in the Atlantic was evident, with subdued sentiment from South Brazil and the North Atlantic contributing to the overall downtrend, with only sporadic upticks of activity towards the end of the week. As the week draws to a close, the BCI 5TC settled at $18,012, reflecting a loss of $4,398 over the course of the week.

 Copper prices are poised to sag in the coming months as physical demand has not kept up with the wave of hot money flowing into the market, a Reuters poll showed. Benchmark copper prices were propelled by speculator and fund buying to above $10,000 a metric ton last week, hitting their highest in two years.

 Belships has entered into an agreement to divest its stake of 50 per cent in Lighthouse Navigation Pte Ltd against a cash consideration which will be paid to Belships over the next 15 months. As part of the transaction, Belships has acquired 33 per cent of the shares in Lighthouse Navigation Management AS, increasing Belships’ ownership to 67 per cent. Closing of the transaction has been completed.

 Diana Shipping Inc., a global shipping company specializing in the ownership and bareboat charter-in of dry bulk vessels, today announced that, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, it has entered into a time charter contract with ASL Bulk Shipping Limited, for one of its Panamax dry bulk vessels, the m/v Leto. The gross charter rate is US$16,000 per day, minus a 5% commission paid to third parties, for a period until minimum March 1, 2025 up to maximum April 30, 2025. The charter is expected to commence on May 2, 2024.

  Registration for the Fecc Congress is now available.

 Iran’s recent attack on Israel has escalated the tensions in the Middle East and raised concerns over LNG trade through the Strait of Hormuz (SoH), a key and only feasible passage for Qatar and the UAE to export LNG. Any further escalation, leading to the closure of the SoH could impact LNG shipping as 21% of the global LNG supply could be affected. The Strait of Hormuz is a vital strategic passage for the Middle East, supporting its international trade and regional integration. The artery is significant for the LNG sector as two key LNG exporters – Qatar and UAE – export their LNG shipments via the SoH with no other possible alternative available. Thus, any action by Iran, leading to the closure will have significant implications for the LNG market. However, the extent of the impact will differ and depend on the duration of the closure.

 Safe Bulkers, Inc., an international provider of marine drybulk transportation services, announced its unaudited financial results for the three month periods ended March 31, 2024. The Board of Directors of the Company also declared a cash dividend of $0.05 per share of outstanding common stock. Dr. Loukas Barmparis, President of the Company, said: “During the first quarter of 2024, we operated in a relatively stronger market compared to the previous year. Having comfortable liquidity and leverage, and consistent with our ESG strategy, we placed an additional order for a Phase 3 newbuild, continued the renewal of our fleet by selling three of our older vessels, repurchased 4.9 million shares of our common stock and at the same time declared a dividend of five cents per share of common stock. We are focused to create long-term value for our shareholders by maintaining a strong capital structure together with the development of a young, modern and energy efficient fleet, with operat...

 The longevity of the Red Sea crisis holds the key to global freight rate levels and the fortunes of container shipping lines in 2024 and beyond. Hua Joo Tan, Founder of container market intelligence analyst firm LINERLYTICA, told the latest episode of The Freight Buyers’ Club podcast, that the extra capacity sucked up by diversions of vessels around southern Africa to avoid conflict in the approaches to the Suez Canal was the main factor preventing excess vessel supply sinking freight rates and liner profits.

 Within six months, Japan is set to start what will be the world’s first transport of carbon dioxide on a low-temperature and low-pressure liquefied CO2 carrier over 1,000 km in a series of trial voyages, which are expected to play a key role in the country achieving its carbon neutrality goal. The trial voyage of the EXCOOL, a low-temperature and low-pressure liquefied CO2 carrier operated by Nippon Gas Line, is slated to start in early October between Kansai Electric’s 1.8 GW Maizuru coal-fired power plant in Kyoto prefecture and a Tomakomai terminal in Hokkaido. The trial is expected to last for about two-and-a-half years.

 Container shipping costs from Korea to Europe soared more than 70 percent last month amid escalating tensions in the Red Sea, data showed Thursday. The average shipping cost for a 40-foot container for the route surged 72 percent on month to come to 4.35 million won ($3,260) in January, according to data from the Korea Customs Service. It marked the sharpest increase since the data became available in 2019. Tensions remain high along the crucial Middle East route as Iranian-backed Houthi rebels based in Yemen are launching strikes on ships in the Red Sea, and the United States and British militaries have taken action against them.

 A.P. Moller-Maersk, the second-largest global ocean carrier, is advising customers to prepare for a Red Sea crisis that could stretch well into the second half of this year. “Unfortunately, we don’t see any change in the Red Sea happening anytime soon,” Charles van der Steene, regional president for Maersk North America, tells CNBC. “We’re advising them the longer transit routes could last through Q2 and potentially Q3. Customers will need to make sure they have the longer overall transit time built into their supply chain.”

 Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE: ASC) (“Ardmore”, the “Company” or “we”) today announced results for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2023. Highlights and Recent Activity Reported net income of $26.1 million for the three months ended December 31, 2023, or $0.63 earnings per basic and diluted share, compared to net income of $53.1 million, or $1.31 earnings per basic share and $1.28 earnings per diluted share for the three months ended December 31, 2022. We reported Adjusted earnings of $26.1 million for the three months ended December 31, 2023, or $0.63 Adjusted earnings per basic and diluted share, compared to Adjusted earnings of $54.0 million for the three months ended December 31, 2022, or $1.33 Adjusted earnings per basic share and $1.30 Adjusted earnings per diluted share (see Adjusted earnings in the Non-GAAP Measures section).

 Iran will reciprocate if its ships are seized, the legal adviser to Iran’s President told state media on Thursday, in response to a statement by the United States Department of Justice. This month, the Department of Justice issued a statement announcing the seizure of more than 500,000 barrels of Iranian fuel to clamp down on the “Revolutionary Guards’ financing network”.

 Trade moving through the Port of Long Beach rose in January as retailers stocked up ahead of Lunar New Year, when east Asian factories typically close for up to two weeks. Dockworkers and terminal operators moved 674,015 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) last month, up 17.5% from January 2023. Imports increased 23.5% to 325,339 TEUs and exports were down 18.1% to 86,525 TEUs. Empty containers moved through the Port increased 28% to 262,151 TEUs.

 The Port of Los Angeles handled 855,652 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in January, the second-best start to the year on record. Eclipsed only by the pandemic-induced cargo surge in 2022, it was the sixth consecutive month of year-over-year increases and surpassed January 2023 by 18%. “Two factors are driving our strong start,” Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said at today’s media briefing. “First, cargo owners have been replenishing inventories and moving goods at a fast clip ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, which will slow production in Asia.

The outlook for the European steel market in 2024 continues to lose momentum amidst persisting challenging conditions. Downside factors such as worsening geopolitical tensions, coupled with growing economic uncertainty, energy prices, inflation, interest rates have further impacted demand prospects. According to EUROFER’s latest Economic and Steel Market Outlook, these challenges have exacerbated the negative effects on apparent steel consumption, resulting in a more severe downturn in 2023 than previously projected (-9%, instead of -6.3%) and weaker growth in 2024 (+3.2%, instead of +5.6%). Output in steel-using sectors, despite showing more resilience than expected in the past year (+1.1%), is now set to decline (-1%). Imports are once again on the rise (+11% in the last quarter of 2023), capturing a staggering 27% market share throughout 2023.

Greece has trimmed its forecast for 2024 economic growth to 2.5% from 2.9% previously, as stagnation in big euro zone countries affects investment and exports, the country’s stability programme report showed on Tuesday. Under its 2024-2025 fiscal plan submitted to the European Commission and released by its finance ministry, Greece sees weaker investments, exports and public consumption than initially estimated.

The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index edged up on Wednesday, buoyed by an uptick in capesize and panamax vessel rates. The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, ticked up to 1,683. The capesize index .BACI gained 16 points, or 0.8% to 2,116. The index was still hovering around a 3-month low. Average daily earnings for capesize vessels, which typically transports 150,000-ton cargoes of iron ore and coal, among others, increased $138 to $17,553.

Despite persistent difficulties in the Red Sea, Maersk Q1 results are in line with forecasts. A.P. Moller - Maersk (Maersk) produced an earnings recovery in the first quarter of 2023 that was significantly stronger than anticipated, compared to the fourth quarter of 2023. A prolonged Red Sea crisis along with increased demand combined with a strong performance in the terminals drove the results. Maersk raises its expectations for underlying EBIT to USD -2.0 to 0.0 billion, lifting the lower end of its forecast range because it anticipates that current conditions will persist well into the second half of the year.

Brazil imports 135% more clean petroleum products from Russia. Crude oil and clean and filthy petroleum products (CPP) have found new consumers since the European Union sanctioned Russian oil exports in 2022. Turkey and Brazil have emerged as the primary purchasers of CPP, while India and China have taken up most of the crude oil and filthy products. Brazil now imports 135% more Russian CPP than it did a year ago, according to BIMCO's Chief Shipping Analyst Niels Rasmussen. Approximately half of Brazil's imports of CPP come from the US, which has historically been the country's primary CPP source. Since April 2023, Russia has been the main supplier and volumes from the US have declined by nearly 50% so far this year compared to the same period

Markets for Ship Recycling Seeking Further Development Over the past week, the ship recycling markets have presented a conflicting image. Leading cash buyer of ships, Best Oasis (www.best-oasis.com), stated in its most recent weekly report that "distinctive trends are observed in the ship recycling markets across four key destinations." With steady rates and positive market momentum, the Indian market is expected to remain favorable as long as supply levels remain stable and there are no significant geopolitical upheavals. Following the Eid vacations, Bangladesh's market has rebounded, showing a minor uptick in activity and an increase in queries. Next week, more distinct market tendencies are anticipated to become apparent. In contrast, Pakistan's recycling sector is still calmer and receives less bids from recyclers than other subcontinental areas, according to Best Oasis. In the meanwhile, Turkiye

 LNG shipping stocks: Getting ready for a positive move? Last week, the UP World LNG Shipping Index (UPI) dropped 1.92 points, or 1.24%, to close at 152.38 points. This index keeps track of the stocks of businesses that specialize in shipping LNG. The S&P 500 (SPX) index, which is a representation of US stocks, increased by 0.55%. Both indices are visible in the picture below. The composition of the UPI remained same while it underwent its routine rebalancing. Nonetheless, the Reduction Gas Ratio and the free float of stocks caused all constituents' weights to be modified. Notably, in keeping with the index's methodology, Golar LNG (NASDAQ: GLNG) was only allowed to have a maximum weight of 20%. An important finding is that the UPI moved into the upper end of the 2023 range.

 Orders for Tankers Rise 32% Year Over Year The first few months of 2024 saw an uptick in tanker orders. 104 Tankers have been added to the global orderbook so far this year, compared to 79 during the same period last year, signifying a c.32% rise year over year. In every subsectors, the values of tanker newbuildings have also increased. The largest increase is shown in LR2s of 115,000 DWT, which increased by c.7.31% from USD 69.11 mil to USD 74.16 mil at the beginning of the year. The values for this sector continue to rise and are close to their best points since 2008. The bulk of the Tankers ordered this year—roughly 37%—were in the MR sector, followed by VLCCs (31%), Suezmaxes (19%), and LR2s (12%).