For months now, it has been clear that shippers have frontloaded record imports to the country, largely to avoid expected tariffs.
The end of Panama’s dry season is in sight, and the Panama Canal Authority plans to welcome more vessels in the coming weeks.
Ship recycling has fallen to its lowest level in 20 years, per a recent report by the Baltic and International Maritime Council.
If China and Russia find the Houthi problem in the Red Sea as intractable as the U.S. and its allies have, it would all but halt what little maritime traffic remains in the region.
Rates are still high and ships are still rerouting, but global supply chains appear to be adjusting to restricted Red Sea trade.
Houthis, the Lunar New Year, drought in the Panama Canal, an impending potential strike and the upcoming election mean rough seas in 2024. Here’s how shippers can protect themselves.
Dockworkers are fully prepared to swap pallet jacks for picket signs come October.
A recent string of Houthi attacks have reignited concerns about the Red Sea crisis, raising the floor for tanker rates.
The crisis in the Red Sea will require companies to start planning for peak season in the next few months.
A rise in Chinese imports indicates seasonal trends are playing out as usual, very much unlike 2023’s anemic performance.
A recent round of U.S. and British strikes raise fresh questions about the impact of container shipping in the Red Sea.
Houthi attacks and Red Sea diversions will not spur inflation or a new supply chain crisis, claims consultancy Drewry.
The Russia-Ukraine war led to enduring changes in shipping routes. War in the Middle East looks likely to do the same.
Spot rates remain very high, but appear to have plateaued. The question ahead: Will they fall back after Chinese New Year?
The initial effect of Houthi attacks was on containerized consumer goods. The attacks are now snarling seaborne fuel flows.
Amid the focus on wars in Europe and the Middle East, North Korea’s threat to key exporting and shipbuilding nations grows.
Container lines faced overcapacity and huge losses in 2024. Then the Houthis flipped the market in favor of container lines.
Container-ship diversions from the Red Sea will likely last for months. Are large-scale tanker diversions imminent?
Houthi attacks have been a plus for shipping rates. The latest to benefit: Owners of container vessels that can be rented to shipping lines.
Red Sea escalation would juice tanker rates, but rates would fall if the conflict spilled into the Strait of Hormuz.
The combination of Red Sea detours and Panama Canal restrictions is having a knock-on effect: higher Asia-West Coast rates.
Imports to Europe and the U.S. East Coast face heavy delays as Operation Prosperity Guardian fails to bring shipping back to the Red Sea.
Shipping stocks are under pressure as some ocean carriers show faith in military protection from Red Sea attacks.
Ocean shipping kept the world’s cargo flowing amid two wars and disruptions at both the Panama and Suez canals.
The key question for container shipping rates: How soon can Operation Prosperity Guardian woo traffic back to the Red Sea?
Container ships have forsaken the Red Sea route but many bulk commodity vessels continue to transit the danger zone.
A growing number of ship operators are refusing to transit the Red Sea and taking a very long detour around Africa instead.
Container-ship route diversions — first to avoid the Panama Canal, now to avoid Red Sea chaos — could help offset rate pressure from newbuilding deliveries.
As war rages in Europe and the Middle East, a new flashpoint in South America could pose more complications for shipping.
There has been a surge of attacks and threats targeting Israel-linked ships, including one incident where the U.S. Navy came to the rescue.
Panama Canal restrictions force more ships to transit the Bab el-Mandeb Strait off Yemen, where they face a hijacking risk.
The era of rapid Chinese growth and large-scale government intervention is over, says China Beige Book CEO Leland Miller.
A leading exec in liquefied gas shipping gives his take on war in the Middle East, market fundamentals and shipping stocks.
The volume of Russian crude exports is growing and the price is rising, spurring the U.S. and its partners to begin sanctions enforcement.
Geopolitics has always been a key driver of global shipping markets. How could the war in Israel affect rates?
A flood of tanks, military vehicles and weapons systems is flowing from the U.S. to Europe. Shipowner ARC plays a pivotal transport role.
Diesel is an essential fuel for the global economy. The world’s second-largest seaborne supplier, Russia, just halted exports.
Price caps have been breached, discounts on Russian exports are dwindling, and more money is flowing to Russian coffers.
Tanker shipping sanctions compliance is getting a lot more complicated as the price of Russian crude oil rises.
Mainstream European tanker owners that are willing to load Russian oil are far outperforming the broader market.
Europe faced a potentially disastrous energy shortage after war broke out. LNG shipping played a vital role in limiting the fallout.
The war has stoked fears of global shortfalls of wheat, corn and fertilizers, but the flexibility of shipping trades has limited the risk.
Mainstream tankers have moved into the Russian crude export trade. The price cap might push them back out again.
“We are starting to see ocean carriers systematically take geopolitical risk into consideration,” says Xeneta’s Erik Devetak.
More Western tankers are jumping into the Russian trade — legally, under the price cap — to pocket big freight premiums.
Worsening China-U.S. relations underscore how pivotal geopolitics has become to global shipping and trade.
Larger crude tankers are moving more U.S. exports on shorter voyages to Europe as long-haul volumes to China stagnate.
After a year of sanctions and “self sanctions,” shipping cargoes caught in the crossfire continue to find their way to buyers.
Sanctions have split the world’s tanker fleet in two. On one side, those that follow Western rules; on the other, those that don’t.
Russian crude restrictions are having the predicted effect on tanker trades, soaking up more vessel capacity as sailing distance lengthens.
Sanctions on Russian crude exports have yet to boost tanker rates. Some question whether sanctions on Russian diesel will either.
The predicted boost to tanker rates from Russian crude disruptions has yet to materialize. Instead, rates have declined.
Even if no oil moves under price caps, Russian exports could face deep discounts and continue to flow via “shadow tankers.”
Global energy trades face even more tumult ahead. “This could get crazy,” says Scorpio Tankers’ Robert Bugbee.
Europe must replace all seaborne crude imports from Russia within the next few weeks. Crude tanker owners stand to gain.
Product-tanker share prices are up triple digits year to date as investors position for sanctions upside.
Supply chain planners will walk a precarious path in 2023, according to S&P Global transportation expert Paul Bingham.
The EU is going to ban imports of Russian crude and petroleum products. It still has a long way to go to find replacement supplies.
The G-7 plan to squeeze Russia’s oil profits hinges on the EU revising its own sanctions. Those revisions face opposition.
“Right now, shipping companies around the world are looking at this and scratching their heads,” says sanctions expert Bruce Paulsen.
The Russia-Ukraine war caused demand for LNG to surge. Owners of LNG carriers are in prime position to profit this winter.
It looks increasingly likely that war-driven changes to global crude flows will persist for an extended period.
Chinese military exercises in the Taiwan Strait will delay shipments. Further escalation could have dramatic supply chain effects.
EU sanctions on Russian petroleum exports could have much more serious repercussions than earlier U.S. moves.
It took longer than expected, but the IMO 2020 investment pitch — save on ship fuel by installing scrubbers — is paying off big time.
Without sanctions, tankers will keep loading Russian oil. ‘We’re not taking a moral high ground,’ says Frontline’s CEO.
First came a pause in cargo bookings to Russia. Now, ocean carriers have halted almost all of their Russian port calls.
Container-ship transits of the Panama Canal are up as liners favor the East Coast. LNG transits are down as U.S. gas heads to Europe.
Russian imports via ocean, truck, rail and air are now being simultaneously squeezed. Shipping data shows growing pressure.
The future of global supply chains is in flux. The pandemic was a game changer. Then came the war.
Charter rates hold steady at their peak as the seemingly neverending container shipping boom continues.
U.S. LNG cargoes were already flooding toward Europe months before the new deal. Real progress seems years away.
Some shipping shares are rising because of war tailwinds. Others are rising despite war headwinds.
Cost of shipping crude oil remains cheap, but tanker rates could jump if the war doesn’t end by fall.
Ship-position data shows a fleet of LNG carriers en route to Europe amid scramble to bolster energy supply.
Invasion and price spikes could destroy demand, weaken consumer confidence and curb cargo volumes, warns BIMCO.
The cost of the fuel consumed by the world’s commercial ships has skyrocketed — and it’s still rising.
Tanker stocks favored by retail traders post big gains, while most container and dry bulk stocks hold steady.
Container lines and tanker owners rapidly and preemptively suspend business with Russia.
Tanker and dry bulk trades could be disrupted; container shipping faces heightened risk of cyberattacks.
An attack on Ukraine could hike costs for shipowners and cargo shippers across the globe.
