Product Tankers

What the Suez Canal accident means to the tanker business

Suez Canal tankers

When the ultra-large box ship Ever Given lodged itself sideways in the Suez Canal, blocking all traffic, containerized cargo shippers may have thought to themselves, “What else can go wrong? Let’s hope this ends quickly.” Tanker owners and investors probably thought something different: “Finally, something positive. Please let this ship be stuck for weeks.”

The Ever Given grounded during a sandstorm Tuesday morning. As of late Wednesday night, it was still stuck. But the blockage is expected to...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/what-the-suez-canal-accident-means-to-the-tanker-business

Deutsche Bank on import bonanza: ‘You ain’t seen nothing yet’

consumer import demand booming at ports

The U.S. import boom has already shattered the forecasts and pushed the global supply chain to the brink. The guessing game now is: When will it end?

Amit Mehrotra, head transportation analyst at Deutsche Bank, believes the bull run for imports will persist for a lot longer than most people think.

In a wide-ranging interview with American Shipper on Monday, Mehrotra argued that the U.S. inventory restocking cycle is nowhere close to over and import demand is certainly not about to fall off a...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/deutsche-bank-on-import-bonanza-you-aint-seen-nothing-yet

All eyes turn to timing of tanker rate resurrection

Frontline tanker

Crude tankers are seeing “classic signs of recovery.” “Newbuilding orders are extremely low. We have the lowest orderbook is in 25 years.” On the product-tanker side of the equation, “refineries are shutting down so products are being shipping from further away, which is very interesting from a ton-mile point of view.”

Those quotes are from a shipping conference in New York in 2011, a full decade ago.

A few quotes circa-2017: “New capacity additions for global refineries are set to double, a...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/all-eyes-turn-to-timing-of-the-tanker-rate-recovery

Frontline’s disappearing dividend ‘speaks volumes’ on tanker fears

tanker

Frontline (NYSE: FRO) — the last of the big public tanker owners to post earnings — just gave shipping investors more to worry about over the holidays.

First came the surprise decision to pay no dividend. As Jefferies analyst Randy Giveans put it: “No dividend stocking stuffer” for Q3 and probably for Q4 or Q1. Then came talk of a particularly opaque outlook and even whispers of a resurgence in newbuild interest.

‘We decided to keep the cash’

Frontline, which owns both crude and product tankers,...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/disappearing-dividend-speaks-volumes-on-tanker-fears

COVID lockdown sequel threatens ocean shipping demand

business lockdown

Europe locked down in March. Many U.S. states followed suit in April. Demand for containerized cargo and oil evaporated overnight. Now, much of Europe is closed down once again. U.S. business restrictions are tightening. COVID hospitalizations are reaching new heights. And ocean shipping demand is at risk of a relapse.

There is “significant uncertainty given rising lockdowns,” warned Clarksons Platou Securities in its shipping outlook this week.

Craig Stevenson, CEO of tanker owner Diamond S...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/covid-lockdown-sequel-threatens-shipping-demand

Tanker shipping at risk of rare winter hibernation

tanker

Three months ago, tanker owners hoped for a quick rebound and talked up fleet expansion via consolidation. There’s little talk of growth today. And a growing number of executives and analysts fear the typically strong winter season will be a bust.

Tanker stocks were up Monday on the Moderna vaccine news, just as they were a week before on the Pfizer vaccine news. Yet beyond such sentiment bumps — which Evercore ISI analyst Jon Chappell characterized as “likely a mix of short covering and...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/tanker-shipping-at-risk-of-rare-winter-hibernation

Experts Call Divergence Between Crude and Product Tanker Markets

Euronav and Scorpio calls highlight divergence between crude and product tanker markets, reports Freight Waves.

A big seasonal boost

Speaking on Thursday’s call with analysts, De Stoop was explaining why Euronav is pulling forward required drydockings from H1 2021 and will drydock nine of its tankers — 15% of its fleet — this month and December.

“When you’re in the drydock, you’re not earning money,” he said. “It’s like those guys retrofitting scrubbers in a market that was absolutely fantastic...

https://mfame.guru/experts-call-divergence-between-crude-and-product-tanker-markets/

How vaccine and Biden victory will impact shipping

vaccine and biden

The stock market soared on Monday in the wake of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory and Pfizer’s vaccine announcement. Both news bombshells will affect ocean shipping — with different consequences for container and tanker shipping.

Worst-case stimulus scenario for containers

Federal stimulus has had an enormous effect on consumer spending power, and consequently, containerized imports. According to analysts at Evercore ISI, the best-case scenario from a stimulus perspective would have been an...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/how-vaccine-and-biden-victory-will-impact-shipping

Crude vs. product tanker debate: Advantage product tankers?

Crude tanker vs product tanker debate

“The market is shit. Sorry for my French,” said Hugo De Stoop, CEO of Euronav (NYSE: EURN), the world’s largest listed crude-tanker owner.

Speaking on Thursday’s call with analysts, De Stoop was explaining why Euronav is pulling forward required drydockings from H1 2021 and will drydock nine of its tankers — 15% of its fleet — this month and December.

Euronav CEO Hugo de Stoop (Photo: John Galayda/Marine Money)

“When you’re in the drydock, you’re not earning money,” he said. “It’s like those...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/crude-vs-product-tanker-debate-advantage-product-tankers

Shipping suffers wave of spills, fires, collisions and lives lost

shipping accident

A fully laden crude tanker went up in flames. A giant dry bulk ship broke in two on a reef, spilling fuel into pristine waters. A livestock carrier sailed into a typhoon, killing over 40 crew and 5,800 cattle. A tanker and barge collided, killing 14. Another tanker, used to store crude oil offshore, began to take on water.

And all of that happened in the past six weeks.

The frequency of shipping casualties has dramatically decreased over recent decades. Ship losses fell to a record low last...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/shipping-suffers-new-wave-of-spills-fires-collisions-and-lives-lost

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