NEWS BULLETIN 04 – 10 June 2018
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International Association of Marine and Shipping Professionls NEWS BULLETIN 04 – 10 June 2018 CALL US ON +41 22 519 27 35 @ [email protected] WWW.IAMSP.ORG About I.A.M.S.P The International Association of Marine and Shipping Professionals (IAMSP) is the professional body for Marine and Shipping professionals world-wide, formed in 2015. The association is an independent, non-political organization aims to: Contribute to the promotion and protection of maritime activities of the shipping industry, the study of their development opportunities and more generally everything concerning these activities. Promote the development of occupations related to maritime and shipping; serve as a point of contact and effective term for the business relationship with the shipping industry (charter brokers, traders, shipping agents, Marine surveyors, ship inspectors, ship-managers, sailors, and stevedores etc.). Ensuring the representation of its members to the institutions, national and international organizations as well as with governments, communities and professional groups while promoting the exchange of information, skills and the exchange of experience. Develop the partnership relations sponsorship, collaboration between IAMSP and other associations, companies, national and international organizations involved in activities related to Maritimes and shipping. Contribute to the update and improvement of professional knowledge of its members and raise their skill levels to international standards. Progress towards a comprehensive and integrated view of all marine areas and the activities and resources related to the sea. INTERNATIONAL news Oil & gas shipping: Oil tanker scrapping to hit multi-year high as earnings sink 03/06/2018 By Jessica Jaganathan The shipping industry will this year scrap the largest number of oil tankers in over half-a-decade, driven by weak earnings, firm prices for scrap steel and the need to prepare fleets for strict new environmental regulations. The surge in scrapping underscores how the sector is grappling with one of its worst-ever crises, hit hard after rates for transporting oil plunged to multi-year lows in the wake of excess tanker supply and tepid demand as OPEC production cuts bite. ―The tanker markets are definitely in a trough at the moment, with one of the worst years in a decade in terms of freight rates and returns,‖ said Ralph Leszczynski, head of research at ship broker Banchero Costa in Singapore. The tough operating conditions are expected to persist until at least the second-half of 2019, analysts and industry sources said. Estimates on the number of tanker demolitions vary between the four shipping analysts that Reuters spoke to, with the most conservative standing at a seven-year high in 2018. About 10.3 million deadweight tonnes (DWT) have been sold for demolition from January to April this year, compared with 11.2 million DWT for the whole of 2017 and 2.5 million for 2016, said Erik Broekhuizen, head of tanker research and consulting at ship broker Poten & Partners Inc. Source: Thomson Reuters Research & Forecasts ―OPEC production cuts are hurting the market, and as long as they are in place, the tanker market will remain challenged,‖ he said, adding that scrapping had picked up for large vessels in particular. Since early 2017, members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Russia and other non-OPEC crude producers have curbed exports to fight a global oil glut. The imposition of new U.S. sanctions against Iran looks set to further reduce oil flows later in 2018, although Saudi Arabia and Russia have discussed potentially raising output to fill the subsequent void. Getting scrappy More stringent environmental regulations to be implemented by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 2020 will make operating old ships uneconomical, said Leszczynski at Banchero Costa. Limited interest in using tankers to store oil, which has historically been a profitable option for shipowners during lulls in shipping volumes, is also curbing overall demand, analysts said. Scrap steel prices in Shanghai, China – the world‘s top consumer and producer of the material – have meanwhile nearly doubled from a year ago due to shutdowns of inefficient steel mills amid a widespread crackdown on industrial emissions. Firms that have recently sent ships for scrapping include India‘s Essar Shipping Ltd and Oslo-listed Frontline Ltd. The latter last month reported better earnings than analysts had expected, partly due to its increased scrapping. Getting younger The ships being scrapped are also getting younger, with the average age falling to 19.5 years in the first quarter of this year, compared with 2017‘s average of 22 years, said Rajesh Verma, an analyst with shipping consultancy Drewry. Most of the vessels are being scrapped in Bangladesh and India, although Pakistan has also returned to the demolition market after an 18-month ban, analysts said. The uptick in demolition rates has come despite increased opposition from European regulators due to environmental concerns. Despite the high scrap rate, tanker earnings will continue to be hit as fleet-growth is still too high, analysts said. Banchero Costa‘s Leszczynski expects the crude tanker fleet to expand 3.3 percent this year, following growth of 4.6 percent last year and 5.8 percent in 2016. With tanker rates still a long way from being profitable, there‘s little prospect of a broad industry improvement until the second half of 2019 at the earliest, said Peter Sand, chief shipping analyst at industry lobby group BIMCO. ―Any recovery in rates in the tanker market will be hinged on the extent of scrapping in the coming years … we expect rates to start recovering in the second half of 2019 if scrapping remains strong,‖ said Verma at Drewry. Source: Thomson Reuters Research & Forecasts [Reuters] Hidrovía Paraguay Paraná: El boom de la soja convirtió a Paraguay en líder del transporte fluvial 02/06/2018 Por Nina Negron Alentado por su masiva producción de soja, Paraguay se convirtió en los últimos años en líder indiscutido de la navegación fluvial de América Latina y figura como tercero en el mundo, superado solamente por Estados Unidos y China. Cruzado por caudalosos ríos, este país no tiene salida al mar pero en la temporada 2016/2017 sacó más de 6 millones de toneladas de su cosecha de soja, principalmente hacia la Unión Europea y Rusia. Su río homónimo, que nace en Brasil y baña un tramo de territorio boliviano al norte, atraviesa Paraguay a lo largo de unos 1.000 km antes de unirse al caudaloso Paraná en el límite con Argentina y desembocar finalmente en el Río de la Plata en un recorrido total de unos 3.000 km. Se trata de uno de los cursos fluviales más largos del mundo. La flota paraguaya es operada por 46 empresas internacionales y siete nacionales. Está compuesta por unas 3.000 barcazas y 200 empujadores que transfieren la carga a puertos de Uruguay y Argentina para su trasbordo hacia los lugares de destino en Europa, Asia y Estados Unidos. Cosecha de barcazas "En los años 1990, con el aumento de los precios de las materias primas, Paraguay comenzó a sembrar soja masivamente", comentó a la AFP Guillermo Ehreke, directivo de la empresa armadora Shipyard. "Eso coincidió con la firma del tratado de Mercosur (Argentina, Brasil, Paraguay y Uruguay) en 1991 y con el tratado de la hidrovía Paraguay Paraná (Argentina, Bolivia, Brasil, Paraguay y Uruguay) en 1992, lo que dio vía libre a la navegación", añadió. Paraguay pasó de una producción de unas 700.000 toneladas de soja para la cosecha 1992/1993 a unos 4,5 millones de toneladas en 2002/2003. Actualmente es el sexto mayor productor mundial de soja, con 10,6 millones de toneladas para la cosecha 2016/2017, y el cuarto exportador, con 6,1 millones de toneladas, según el Departamento de Agricultura de Estados Unidos. Video: Boom de soja convirtió a Paraguay en líder de transporte fluvial Y sobre esos cultivos ha basado en la última década su crecimiento económico alto y sostenido, de alrededor de 4% anual. Además de las facilidades que le dieron el tratado de Mercosur y el de la hidrovía, la industria naviera paraguaya recibió un impulso surgido de una dificultad. "La exportación de granos se hacía por tierra hasta Paranaguá, en Brasil, donde Paraguay tiene un puerto franco. Pero en los 1990, el gobernador de Paraná prohibió el paso de material transgénico, y le cerró el paso a la soja", recuerda Ehreke. Soja brasileña y minerales bolivianos Actualmente, las barcazas que descienden los ríos Paraguay y Paraná llevan no solo la producción paraguaya, sino también una parte de la de Brasil, segundo productor mundial de soja, y minerales de Bolivia. Lo usual es que transiten juntas entre 9 y 12 barcazas, con una carga equivalente a lo que transportan 800 camiones. Vista aérea de un empujador con barcazas en el río Paraguay. Fuente: AFP En 2017 hubo un tráfico de 21 millones de toneladas por las vías fluviales paraguayas y para 2030 la estimación es de 56 millones de toneladas, según Juan Carlos Muñoz, presidente del Centro de Armadores Fluviales y Marítimos de Paraguay. "El tráfico se va a triplicar gracias a la apertura del puerto de Concepción (400 km al norte) y próximamente Carmelo Peralta-Puerto Murtinho (650 al norte de Asunción) para la soja producida en el estado de Mato Grosso do Sul, para su embarque hacia los puertos de ultramar", señaló Muñoz, quien apunta que a esos cargamentos hay que sumar los minerales que exporta Bolivia desde sus yacimientos del noreste. La industria naviera paraguaya representa cerca de 2,3% del Producto Interno Bruto en servicios, con una inversión de 5.000 millones de dólares en equipo y 800 millones de facturación anual en fletes, según cifras del sector.