InterManager Daily News 20.07.2023.

1. Is IMO 2020 shipping regulation worsening global warming? It is scorching out there. High-temperature records are being broken daily. Oceans off some shores are as hot as bathwater. What is to blame? The list of culprits and possible culprits includes fossil fuel emissions, natural climate change, El Nino, changes in the Gulf Stream, the decline in Arctic Sea ice, the so-called Azores High pressure system and one contributing factor that will be familiar to those in ocean shipping: the IMO 2020 regulation. https://cyprusshippingnews.com/2023/07/18/is-imo-2020-shipping-regulation-worsening-global-warming/
2. Economy: a game of two halves. In a mid-year assessment of the global economy, Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro and chief economist for the Eurozone, Germany, and Austria at ING, warned of a further weakening of the global economy and a rapid fall in headline inflation for the remainder of the year, with a dearth of central bank rate cuts. Brzeski compared the current economic situation to halftime in a football game, emphasising the need to assess the first half of the year and sharpen economic forecasts for the second half.https://cyprusshippingnews.com/2023/07/18/economy-a-game-of-two-halves/
3. Asia Fuel Oil-VLSFO cash differential ends week in discount. Asia’s cash differential for very-low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) closed the trading week in a discount to Singapore quotes on Friday as bearish fundamentals weighed. Spot 0.5% VLSFO MFO05-SIN-DIF was pegged at a discount of 45 cents per metric ton, though the product’s front-month crack LFO05SGDUBCMc1 rebounded slightly day-on-day at a premium of $8.41 a barrel. https://cyprusshippingnews.com/2023/07/18/asia-fuel-oil-vlsfo-cash-differential-ends-week-in-discount/
4. Signal Maritime increases pool flexibility with Position Value concept. Tanker pool manager Signal Maritime has introduced a new monthly “Position Value” concept to enable tanker owners to capitalize directly from the geographic position of their vessels on entering or exiting its pools. The Position Value determines the potential earnings of a vessel based on its geographic position considering market conditions, historical data, and every trading option. https://cyprusshippingnews.com/2023/07/18/signal-maritime-increases-pool-flexibility-with-position-value-concept/
5. Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp gasoil stockpiles continue to drop. Gasoil stocks held in independent storage in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage hub fell 1.5% in the week to Thursday to their lowest since late December, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed. Barge loading congestion in northwestern Europe continues into its third week, said Insights Global’s Bianca Stoiciu, increasing floating storage of products and throttling the number of available barges at a time when low water levels on the Rhine also mean vessels cannot fully load. https://cyprusshippingnews.com/2023/07/18/amsterdam-rotterdam-antwerp-gasoil-stockpiles-continue-to-drop-insights-global/
6. IMO elects Panama’s Arsenio Dominguez as its new secretary-general. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has elected Arsenio Antonio Dominguez Velasco of the Republic of Panama as its next secretary-general. The term of the incumbent secretary-general, Kitack Lim of the Republic of Korea, expires on December 31, 2023. The newly elected secretary-general will take office on January 1st, 2024, and serve a four-year term.  https://splash247.com/imo-elects-panamas-dominguez-as-its-new-secretary-general/
7. Pertamina takes Scorpio MR. Indonesia’s Pertamina International Shipping (PIS) is bolstering its fleet with the addition of a 2013-built MR product tanker. The shipping subsidiary of the nation’s top energy producer has emerged as the buyer of Scorpio Tankers’ STI Ville in a deal worth $32.5m. https://splash247.com/pertamina-takes-scorpio-mr/
8. Sunken Tug Spills Diesel in Tennessee River. The U.S. Coast Guard and partner agencies are responding to a diesel fuel spill from a sunken tugboat on the Tennessee River, near Florence, Alabama. Most of the fuel is being contained by deployed hard boom and is being recovered via a vacuum truck and drum skimmer. The maximum potential for spill is 2,500 gallons of diesel fuel, and there have been no reports of injuries or wildlife impact. https://gcaptain.com/sunken-tug-spills-diesel-in-tennessee-river/
9. Ukraine Plea to Keep Grain Moving Clashes With Shippers’ Reality. The U.S. Coast Guard and partner agencies are responding to a diesel fuel spill from a sunken tugboat on the Tennessee River, near Florence, Alabama. Most of the fuel is being contained by deployed hard boom and is being recovered via a vacuum truck and drum skimmer. The maximum potential for spill is 2,500 gallons of diesel fuel, and there have been no reports of injuries or wildlife impact. https://gcaptain.com/sunken-tug-spills-diesel-in-tennessee-river/
10. Oman plans to build multi-purpose port in Masirah. Oman is set to build a multi-purpose port in the Masirah region on a 1.8 million sq m area to cater to the tourism, transport and fisheries sectors along with facilities for security services, reported Times of Oman, citing a senior ministry official. This comes as part of the strategic objectives of Oman Vision 2040, said Engineer Saif bin Abdullah Al Amiri, the Acting Director General of Fishing Ports at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources. https://www.shippingtribune.com/news/shipping/Oman+plans+to+build+multi-purpose+port+in+Masirah+