InterManager Daily News 10.08.2023.

1. Growing interest in methanol bunkering by global players. Denmark’s Maersk said it has secured fuel for the world’s first container vessel able to run on carbon-neutral methanol for its inaugural journey. Interest in methanol as an alternative fuel for bunkering has grown in the shipping industry, which seeks to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. https://cyprusshippingnews.com/2023/08/08/growing-interest-in-methanol-bunkering-by-global-players/
2. Russian seaborne crude oil export volumes fall 16% M/M and may fall further. Russian seaborne crude oil export volumes have remained strong and grew 13% y/y in 2022 despite the invasion of Ukraine. However, after a 4% m/m fall in June, volumes fell another 16% m/m in July, and the Russian administration has announced export cuts for August.An even more important factor for the crude tanker market is how EU regulations have reshaped crude trades. https://cyprusshippingnews.com/2023/08/08/russian-seaborne-crude-oil-export-volumes-fall-16-m-m-and-may-fall-further-2/
3. Panama Canal seen losing $200 million next year as ship crossings dip. The Panama Canal expects its revenue to shrink by about $200 million in its next fiscal year due to crossing restrictions meant to save water as a consequence of an unprecedented drought, its administrator announced on Thursday. The projected losses come as the transoceanic waterway key to moving hundreds of billions of dollars in global trade each year expects its daily average for cargo ship crossings to slide by about 16%. https://cyprusshippingnews.com/2023/08/08/panama-canal-seen-losing-200-million-next-year-as-ship-crossings-dip/
4. World Container Index up 11.8% last week. If you need spot market container freight rate information on other routes to those below, find out more about our Container Freight Rate Insight online service, which covers over 720 global port pairs and has thousands of data points updated every month. https://cyprusshippingnews.com/2023/08/08/world-container-index-up-11-8-last-week/
5. Rotterdam bunker sales volumes down 10% in Q2, HSFO gains market share. Total Rotterdam bunker sales volumes (excluding lubes) fell by 10% in Q2 2023, according to new data from the Port Authority. VLSFO sales fell by 8% on the quarter to 906,368 mt, a level 15% lower than the previous year. The fuel type continued to account for the majority of demand in Q2 (excluding lubes), comprising 38% of total sales. https://cyprusshippingnews.com/2023/08/08/rotterdam-bunker-sales-volumes-down-10-in-q2-hsfo-gains-market-share/
6. Eneti offloads non-core vessels for $70m. Emanuele Lauro-led offshore wind vessels player Eneti has sold its three non-core smaller turbine installation jackups to undisclosed unaffiliated buyer for $70m. The Monaco-based owner and operator has offloaded the 2014-built Seajacks Hydra, and the 2009-built Seajacks Leviathan and Seajacks Kraken, obtained by taking over UK-based Seajacks in 2021. https://splash247.com/eneti-offloads-non-core-vessels-for-70m/
7. Fuel contamination spreads to Singapore. Fuel checker VPS reported a VLSFO contamination case at the Texan port on July 11, the largest bunkering hub in the Americas. VPS detected the presence of dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) and associated isomers at significantly high levels in VLSFO bunker fuel deliveries in Houston from a single supplier for three months from March to May this year. https://splash247.com/fuel-contamination-spreads-to-singapore/
8. After Attacking Ukraine Wheat Exports, Russia Faces Own Shipping Challenge. Russia’s lack of ships and Western grain traders’ shrinking appetite for business with Moscow are adding to rising costs of moving Russian wheat, at a time when the war in Ukraine has spilled perilously close to vital Black Sea supply routes. President Vladimir Putin promised to replace Ukrainian grain with Russian shipments to Africa after Moscow in July ended an arrangement that gave Ukraine’s food cargo safe passage in the Black Sea, imposing a de-facto blockade on its neighbor and attacking storage facilities, in an escalation of the war. https://gcaptain.com/after-attacking-ukraine-wheat-exports-russia-faces-own-shipping-challenge/
9. China’s Trade Plunges More Than Forecast in Blow to Recovery. China’s trade plunged in July as slowing global demand clouded the outlook for exports, while domestic pressures weighed on imports in a hit to the economic recovery. Overseas shipments dropped 14.5% in dollar terms last month from a year earlier — the worst decline since February 2020 — while imports contracted 12.4%, the customs administration said Tuesday. That left a trade surplus of $80.6 billion for the month. The export and import figures were worse than what economists polled by Bloomberg had expected. https://gcaptain.com/chinas-trade-plunges-more-than-forecast-in-blow-to-recovery/
10. Seafarers face uphill battle as Happiness Index shows continued decline in Q2 2023. The Mission to Seafarers has published the latest Seafarers Happiness Index (SHI) report for Quarter 2, 2023, revealing a notable decline in overall happiness. The survey, conducted in association with NorthStandard and Idwal, supported by Inmarsat, measures the wellbeing of seafarers worldwide through ten key questions about their work and life. The latest report shows an overall fall in seafarer happiness from 7.1/10 to 6.77/10, compared to Q1 2023. https://www.shippingtribune.com/news/shipping/Seafarers+face+uphill+battle+as+Happiness+Index+shows+continued+decline+in+Q2+2023