‘Shipshape 10’ News for Week Ending April 2nd, 2017

Posted on April 1, 2017 by Karatzas Marine Advisors & Co.

‘Shipshape 10 List’, a list of news and articles published in the current week that a senior executive in shipping, shipping finance, commodities, energy, supply chain and infrastructure should had noticed; news and articles that are shaping the agenda and the course of the maritime industry.

Sometimes seemingly tangential, periodically humorous, occasionally sarcastic, sporadically artistic, inferentially erotic, but always insightful and topical.

And, this week’s ‘Shipshape 10’:

On innovation and new technologies in shipping: 1. Shipping-Technology Startup Freightos Raises $25 Million (The Wall Street Journal)

On the continuous enfeebled state of the offshore drilling markets: 2. Ocean Rig Files for Bankruptcy (The Maritime Executive)

On crude oil and OPEC: 3. China Tanked Oil Once, It Can Do It Again (The Wall Street Journal)

On the prospects of shale oil in the USA: 4a. Fracking 2.0: Shale Drillers Pioneer New Ways to Profit in Era of Cheap Oil (The Wall Street Journal) 4b. U.S. Petroleum Exports Climb to Record as Crude Output Grows (Bloomberg)

On steaming (thermal) coal, natural gas, renewables and emissions: 5a. Lacklustre power demand in Asia throws a cloud over coal (The Economist) 5b. India becomes more active in the fight against global warming (The Economist) 5c. The Other Permian Shale Boom (Bloomberg)

On coking (metallurgical) coal: 6. China’s the Real Cyclone for Coal (Bloomberg)

On trade, insightful article: 7. Whatever Happened to Free Trade? (The Wall Street Journal)

Mexican buyers of U.S. corn look elsewhere; good news for dry bulk shipping: 8. Mexico eyes duty-free corn deals to counter Trump (The Financial Times)

South China Sea and other geo-political considerations: 9a. The South China Sea presents a reality check for America (The Financial Times) 9b. Is China challenging the United States for global leadership? (The Economist) 9c. A bigger catch: China’s fishing fleet hunts new ocean targets (The Financial Times) 9d. China building navy’s biggest amphibious assault vessel, sources say (South China Morning Post)

On boutique cruising: 10. Cruise Vacations for the Anti-Cruise Crowd (The Wall Street Journal)

Cruiseship MV ‘Norwegian Gem’ departing New York Harbor; photographed as vessel was passing the Statue of Liberty. Image credit: Karatzas Images.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: Access to this blog signifies the reader’s irrevocable acceptance of this disclaimer. No part of this blog can be reproduced by any means and under any circumstances, whatsoever, in whole or in part, without proper attribution or the consent of the copyright and trademark holders of this website.Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that information herewithin has been received from sources believed to be reliable and such information is believed to be accurate at the time of publishing, no warranties or assurances whatsoever are made in reference to accuracy or completeness of said information, and no liability whatsoever will be accepted for taking or failing to take any action upon any information contained in any part of this website. Thank you for the consideration.

‘Shipshape 10’ News for Week Ending March 26th, 2017

Posted on March 24, 2017 by Karatzas Marine Advisors & Co.

Sometimes seemingly tangential, periodically humorous, occasionally sarcastic, sporadically artistic, inferentially erotic, but always insightful and topical.

And, this week’s ‘Shipshape 10’:

Talking about destruction of value for the sellers…
1. Borr Drilling to buy Transocean’s jack-up rig fleet for $1.35bn (Seatrade Maritime)

and, the riskiness of the offshore drilling markets…
2. Shell’s Titanic Bet: Can Deep-Water Drilling Be Done on the Cheap? (The Wall Street Journal)

when, oil majors start thinking beyond oil…
3. Big Oil Replaces Rigs With Wind Turbines (Bloomberg)

But, some shipowners too think cleaner energy
4a. World’s First LNG-Fuelled Aframax Tankers Ordered (The Maritime Executive)

4b. Crowley Launches LNG-Powered Con/Ro for Jones Act Trade (The Maritime Executive)

But, in the mainstream shipping world, another week, another bailout or blowout …
5a. Korean Shipbuilder Seeks Another Bailout (The Wall Street Journal)

5b. Daewoo Shipbuilding: deep water (Financial Times)

or a dugout…
6. Maersk Line, Hapag-Lloyd Among Carriers Subpoenaed in U.S. Price-Fixing Probe (The Wall Street Journal)

But, some publicly listed companies going long the market, but paying in paper mostly, no hard cash…
7a. BW Sells All Its VLCCs to DHT Holdings (Splash 24/7)

7b. Golden Ocean Inks Agreements to Buy Quintana Shipping’s Entire Fleet (Seatrade Maritime)

A highly recommended private equity fund implodes; only noteworthy to shipping since they were the first to enter shipping in JV-style post financial crisis looking for distressed value; Euromar platform with publicly listed Euroseas (Ticker: ESEAS)
8. Eton Park to Shut Down as $3 Trillion Hedge Fund Industry Faces Turmoil (The New York Times)

Looking for maritime college education, look no further than the State University of New York Maritime College at Fort Schuyler, just outside New York City.
9. The Young Mariners of Throgs Neck (The New York Times)

And, finally, a story when passion and avocation turn into a (profitable) vocation. We could not argue against seafood and especially New England lobster!
10. A Restaurant’s Sales Pitch: Know Your Lobster (The New York Times)

Sovcomflot’s Products Tanker MT ‘Anichkov Bridge’ entering the Upper New York Harbor with the Manhattan skyline in the background. Image credit: Karatzas Images.

‘Shipshape 10’ News for Week Ending March 5th, 2017

Posted on March 4, 2017 by Karatzas Marine Advisors & Co.

Sometimes seemingly tangential, sometimes humorous, occasionally sarcastic, but always insightful and topical.

And, this week’s ‘Shipshape 10’:

1a. Ruling the waves – Industry expert Basil Karatzas on China’s quest to dominate global shipping (Week in China)

1b. Dry bulk market report: The China factor (Seatrade Maritime)

2a. Hapag-Lloyd 4Q Operating Profit Rises On Cost Cuts; Full-Year Results Weak (The Wall Street Journal)

2b. FMC Commissioner Doyle wants container alliance safeguards for carrier bankruptcy (Seatrade Maritime)

3a. Shipping’s blues – The many barriers to scrapping cargo ships (The Economist) (quoting Basil Karatzas)

3b. Shipping slump: Why a vessel worth $60m was sold as scrap (BBC News)

3c. Tsuneishi to Build Giant $100 million Recycling Yard in the Philippines (Splash 24/7)

4. Hyundai Heavy Shareholders Approve Restructuring Plan (The Maritime Executive)

5a. Ezra flags ‘immediate going concern issue’ on $900m exposure as guarantor to EMAS Chiyoda Subsea (Seatrade Maritime)
5b. Let This Be a Lesson, Singapore (Bloomberg)
6. International Shipholding Restructuring Plan Confirmed (The Wall Street Journal)

7. Could The Struggling Shipping Industry Create a Banking Crash in Germany? (Equities.com)

8. Back from the dead? Chinese iron ore miners plot return as prices surge (Reuters)

9. Watch U.S. Oil Drilling Collapse—and Rise Again (Bloomberg)

10. Exxon Will Remake Shale Or Shale Will Remake Exxon (Bloomberg)

Another definition of shipping: Grown up men playing with the water… Drinking Cup (Helmeted Men Riding Dolphins), Archaic Period ca 520 BC. Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Image credit: Karatzas Images.

‘Shipshape 10’ News for Week Ending December 25, 2016

Posted on December 24, 2016 by Karatzas Marine Advisors & Co.

Sometimes seemingly tangential, sometimes humorous, occasionally sarcastic, but always insightful and topical.

And, this week’s ‘Shipshape 10’:
Heading to the Holiday Season, market activity has been slowing down as would expect. Still several news stories to report reflecting the year’s tumultuous course for the shipping industry. This week’s top news:

Two Maersk-owned offshore assets (‘Maersk Shipper’ and ‘Maersk Searcher’) while under tow by yet another Maersk-owned anchor-handling tug support vessel, AHTS ‘Maersk Battler’, sank off the French coast while en route to Turkey to be demolished. The newsworthiness of the story is not in the shipwreck itself – towing vessels in the open sea is a very complicated exercise and is reflected to the insurance premiums to underwrite the tow, ask us – but in the fact that terrible accidents happen even under mighty Maersk’s watch, even when only Maersk vessels and personnel are involved:

1. Maersk Supply Services vessel pair sink en route to scrapyard (from Splash 24/7)

On the shipping finance front, rather surprising news that RBS has reportedly agreed to sell $600 mil in shipping loans to a syndicate of buyers; the shipping finance team of Reuters in London and Frankfurt once again ‘scooped’ the story; and once again, the shipping trade press was left behind and ‘copying and pasting’ the story:

2. RBS near to selling $600 million of shipping loans: sources (from Reuters)

The fact that shipping banks are leaving the industry, there seem to be an opportunity for alternative financing; two encouraging developments in this front this week:

3. Northern Shipping smashes third fund target (from Splash 24/7)

And after almost three years of efforts:

4. Maritime & Merchant Bank launches (from Splash 24/7)

Still on the same front of credit provided by alternative sources of capital, Bloomberg run a great story this week:

5. The $12 Trillion Credit Risk Juggle (from Bloomberg)

Taking a look on purely shipping companies and events, the Rickmers Trust moved another step closer to liquidation:

6. Rickmers Maritime bondholders vote against restructuring, liquidation looms (from Seatrade Maritime News)

While another 30-year ship-manager / shipowner closed the doors at the insistence of their main credit, the ING bank:

7. ‘That’s it, Flinter is no longer’: Dutch line dissolves (from Splash 24/7)

And Hanjin selling their stake in the Long Beach Terminal (TTI), following their recent bankruptcy:

8. Hanjin to Sell Stake in U.S. Terminal to Mediterranean Shipping (from the Wall Street Journal)

On more hopeful news, the Dow Jones Industrial Index (DJII) almost reached the major milestone of 20,000 points following the rocket-trajectory after the Trump election; some doubts still hover about the nature of the rally (‘faith-based rally), but again, if we learned anything from shipping in 2016 is that rallies, any type of rallies, are better than declines:

9. A Faith-Based Rally? Warning Lights Are Flashing – Before Anyone Gets Too Euphoric About Dow 20,000 (from Barron’s)

And, taking a quick look in 2017, commodities seem to provide a promising place to invest; which, by association, is positive news for shipping:

10. 2017: Time to Buy Commodities (from Barron’s)
Merry Christmas, and a most joyous Happy Holiday Season!

A bright light! Image credit: Karatzas Images

‘Shipshape 10’ News for Week Ending November 20, 2016

Posted on November 18, 2016 by Karatzas Marine Advisors & Co.

‘Shipshape 10 List’, a list of news and articles published in the current week that a senior executive in shipping, shipping finance, commodities, energy, supply chain and infrastructure should had noticed; news and articles that are shaping the agenda and the course of the maritime industry.

Sometimes seemingly tangential, sometimes humorous, occasionally sarcastic, but always insightful and topical.

And, this week’s ‘Shipshape 10’:

While most of the past week has been consumed by stipulations on what a Trump administration would mean for the shipping industry,

1. Varsler shippinghavari (from Dagens Næringsliv),

and whether a y-u-g-e infrastructure stimulus package may be what the dry bulk market needed, shipping shares for a couple of days behaved as in the good old days of 2008, almost a lifetime ago:

2. Unmoored From Reality: DryShips Halted After 1,500% Post-Election Rally (from the Wall Street Journal)

and

3. What to Do With a Stock Up 1,000% in One Week? (from Barron’s)

Nothing fundamental actually besides distorted markets and covering ‘short squeeze’, but impressive and nostalgic headlines nevertheless, we have to admit; for real life headlines, another shipping enterprise sponsored by an iconic name of the shipping universe has been making headlines that more accurately reflect reality:

4. Rickmers Maritime says unable to show it will remain in business (from the Straits Times)

Dry bulk freight rates have improved a lot in the last month, and the BDI is up almost four-fold since its bottom in February 2016; really an impressive performance, but is this a sign that the market is turning around and that the present rally is not just another seasonal improvement? Time will tell, but it’s worth mentioning that the Chinese currency is presently at eight-year low, and given than storage costs for commodities such as iron ore and coal is low, probably it makes sense to hold onto commodities than unto fiat money, especially with all the political uncertainty worldwide:

5. Yuan Slides to Lowest Level in Nearly Eight Years (from The Wall Street Journal)

While new trading outposts are established even at remote corners of our planet:

6. As Trump talks wall, China builds bridges to Latin America (from the Associated Press),

and

7. Pakistani PM welcomes first large Chinese shipment to Gwadar port (from Reuters)

If marine engines is a sign for the shipping industry’s direction, Rolls-Royce’s announcement for the week gives additional color on market recovery:

8. Rolls-Royce May Close More Marine Sites as Cost Cuts Deepen (from Bloomberg)

A major piece of news that will be affecting the tanker market (crude and gas) and the Jones Act market for decades to come, there has been another tremendous discovery of another field in Texas, further solidifying the state’s nickname as the ‘Texarabia’ of the US:

9. Vast shale oil field in Texas could yield 20 billion barrels (from the Associated Press)

In the interim, another government is bowing to pressure and committing $1.9 billion dollars to help domestic shipping companies, this time in Taiwan; as a quick reminder for those with short memory, just two weeks ago, the S Korean government had allocated $9.6 billion to assist the local shipping industry (shipbuilders and shipping companies). After almost two decades in the shipping industry, we got to appreciate the industry from a special point of view: most of the vessels in the world fly ‘open registry flags’ and pay tax on tonnage (but not on income); for the few shipping companies that pay tax, it seems they get the extra option of getting bailed out when times are bad.

10. Taiwan Approves $1.9 Billion Aid Package to Troubled Shipping Companies (from the Wall Street Journal Logistics Report)

And, our bonus feature, a few editorial thoughts “What Will Save The Shipping Industry? Nine Industry Thought Leaders Weigh In” (from #Shipping2030)

Shipping is an ancient art… Image credit: Karatzas Images

Karatzas Shipbrokers Register

The Shipping Sale and Purchase (S&P) Worldwide Report

Tag Archives: shipshape10

‘Shipshape 10’ News for Week Ending April 2nd, 2017

‘Shipshape 10’ News for Week Ending March 26th, 2017

‘Shipshape 10’ News for Week Ending March 5th, 2017

‘Shipshape 10’ News for Week Ending December 25, 2016

‘Shipshape 10’ News for Week Ending November 20, 2016