International Shipping News

Canada
The demand for Canadian coal for export to China, Japan and South Korea is reported to have surged in recent months. The increase in demand is being driven by car production, which requires hard, metallurgical coal used in the manufacture of steel. Toyota reportedly produced 62% more cars in April 2010 than a year earlier, Nissan 57% more and Honda 27% more. Logistical problems in Australia, political unrest in Indonesia, and the fallout from
an explosion at the massive Raspadskaya mine in Russia, have all put Canadian coal exports in strong demand

 

Germany / Deutchland
German shipowners are reported to be flagging out their vessels in order to carry private security on board to protect their crews from pirate attack. Such moves
are said to have been prompted by a high degree of legal uncertainty over the use of private security forces under the German flag state rules. In addition the German navy is not allowed to accompany vessels under German federal law, under which combating piracy is a matter for the police and not the navy. As a result there are fears that the German register may shrink.

Greece
The number of Greek owned ships, in deadweight terms (dwt), is reported to have fallen 2.3% this year, representing a decline of 108 vessels. Against the overall decline in numbers, Greek owners are said to have been taking delivery of larger newbuildings and modern secondhand vessels, while selling older and smaller vessels.
The decline this year follows four consecutive years of growth. The trend to modernise the fleet is shown in the average age for ships over 20,000 dwt standing at 12.36 years. An average reduction of seven years since 2003. For Greek owned tankers the average age is even lower, at 10 years.
The Greek fleet is still highly consolidated, with the top 30 companies owning over 50% of the fleet. The top 70 owners control 72.4% of the fleet.

As a percentage of the world fleet, in dwt terms, Greece are still top for both bulk carriers and tankers. With 22% and 18.9% of the world fleet respectively.
In both categories Japan is second (20% of bulk carriers and 11.4% of tankers), and China third (12% of bulk carriers and 4.7% of tankers).

Spain
Prices for international container trades are reported to fall under Spain’s modified Ports Law. It allows the country’s big ports to compete more easily but
the changes were made on condition that the ports concerned generate an annual 2.5% increase in turnover. The new freedoms allow ports to determine tariffs with the aim of retaining clients at Barcelona, Algeciras and Valencia particularly that were facing stiff competition from Marseilles and Tangiers-Med. Under the review a form of self-handling for ro-ro and new vehicle trades will also be introduced in order to help boost sea motorways.

//SOURCE PAL Associated //

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