1. Filipino freighter suspect in hit and run
At around 1500 LT (UTC +7) May 1 Vietnamese fishing vessel BTh 89719 was struck by a cargo ship in Binh Thuan Province waters some 13 nm off La Gi, southeast Vietnam. Vessel sank, 6 crew jumped overboard and were rescued by nearby fishing vessel BTh 85097, cargo ship didn’t stop after collision and sailed away. Crew of BTh 85097 identified hit&run ship as WHITE TOMONY, Filipino freighter. Interestingly, ship’s track during May 1-2 period is missing, AIS reappeared on May 3. She’s en route from Ho Chin Minh to Cam Pha port, Vietnam, north of Hai Phong. http://www.maritimebulletin.net/2020/05/03/filipino-freighter-suspect-in-hit-and-run/
2. 2 groundings: bulk carrier and general cargo ship
Bulk carrier South China sea Bulk carrier ran aground in the evening May 2 in South China sea. Was still aground as of1400 UTC May 3. Chinese freighter aground, Yellow sea
Chinese freighter ran aground in the afternoon LT May 3 in Yellow sea, crew abandoned the ship, rescued. The ship remains aground with heavy portside list. http://www.maritimebulletin.net/2020/05/03/2-groundings-bulk-carrier-and-general-cargo-ship/
3. Floating Power Plants Are Taking to the High Seas
As economic lockdowns complicate efforts to bring electricity to every corner of the planet, one company is putting generation units on ships that can sit offshore and plug into local grids at short notice. Karpowership is busy marketing floating power plants across the developing world, where governments are seeking extra voltage to power hospitals and other facilities to keep the lights on during the coronavirus pandemic. https://gcaptain.com/floating-power-plants-are-taking-to-the-high-seas/
4. Maersk Ship Loses Propulsion After Fire in Caribbean Sea
A Maersk Line containership suffered an engine room fire that left the ship adrift in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Guadeloupe. The 1,800-TEU Maersk Vilnius was traveling to Port Elizabeth, South Africa from Freeport, Bahamas when the fire broke out.
The fire was eventually brought under control and extinguished with no injures suffered by the ship’s crew. https://gcaptain.com/maersk-ship-loses-propulsion-after-fire-in-caribbean-sea/
5. Cars Stuck at Sea Shows Weight of U.S. Auto Industry Glut
The length of almost two football fields, the cargo ship Jupiter Spirit arrived in Los Angeles’ harbor on April 24 after an almost three-week journey from Japan, ready to unload its cargo of about 2,000 Nissan Armada SUVs, Rogue crossovers and Infiniti sedans in a quick, half-day operation. https://gcaptain.com/cars-stuck-at-sea-shows-weight-of-u-s-auto-industry-glut/
6. What have we learnt from COVID-19 so far?
The markets, particularly for shipping, oil and stocks, have been highly volatile over the last few months and the news cycle endless. In these times of uncertainty, real time and objective data is critical to understand and take advantage of the ever evolving situation. Below are three thoughts on what we have recently learnt from our data over this time, and one comment on how the world may finally be perceiving cargo shipping in a new positive light. https://seanews.co.uk/features/what-have-we-learnt-from-covid-19-so-far/
7. COVID-19 Crisis: Global Freight Forwarding Market to Shrink by 7.5%
The impact of Covid-19 has amplified pre-existing troubles in freight forwarding. Transport Intelligence’s (Ti) latest research reveals the global freight forwarding market could contract by 7.5% in 2020 as a result of the crisis. With the global market having limped to a contraction of 1.7% in 2019, Ti now projects second consecutive year of negative growth.
https://seanews.co.uk/features/covid-19-crisis-global-freight-forwarding-market-to-shrink-by-7-5/
8. TANKERS: Americas VLCC Freight Plummets 28% As Spot Inquiry Sees Lull
Freight for VLCCs loading on the US Gulf Coast fell more than 28% on the week Thursday as waning charterer interest has left tonnage availability wide open despite heavy tanker utilization for floating storage. “Chartering activity has finally caught up with the news headlines,” a shipowner said Thursday. “We were hearing that the end of the world was here and no one was driving cars or buying crude, but ships were still moving and rates were still high. That’s not the case anymore.” https://www.shippingtribune.com/news/shipping/TANKERS%3A+Americas+VLCC+freight+plummets+28%25+as+spot+inquiry+sees+lull
9. India’s Oil Imports, Product Exports Slow Down In March
India’s March crude oil imports rose at the slowest pace this year, while refined product exports also rose but at a lower rate as some refineries cut back crude processing as the coronavirus outbreak crushed demand for fuel. https://www.shippingtribune.com/news/shipping/India’s+oil+imports%2C+product+exports+slow+down+in+March
10. Qatari LNG Flotilla Reaches Europe, Supplants Top Exporter USA
Redirected Qatari LNG shipments originally destined for Asia have arrived into Europe en masse, and wrestled market leadership in the region away from the US, data from S&P Global Platts Analytics showed. Tumbling demand, and force majeure declarations in China and India as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic have resulted in Qatari production being shipped to European markets instead, by the global players contracted to take these volumes away. https://www.shippingtribune.com/news/shipping/Qatari+LNG+flotilla+reaches+Europe%2C+supplants+top+exporter+USA
