31-January-2016
American TOTE Maritime’s sinking M/V El Faro case claims reached $20 million. M/V El Faro case cargo claims total includes nearly $13.8 million in potential claims that New York law firm Nicoletti Hornig & Sweeney has indicated it will file in the Jacksonville federal court on behalf of Starr Indemnity & Liability, Zurich American Insurance, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, and others. Settlements with family members of 10 crew members will be adding $5 million. After the loss of the M/V El Faro 5,330 lane meter (built 1975), that sank off Crooked Island, Bahamas, after it lost propulsion and was beset by Hurricane Joaquin in the deadliest US-flag casualty in decades, BMW taking steps to lodge an insurance claim.
31-January-2016
Vale International head of shipping department Gurinder Singh has been quietly replaced. No explanation of the move has yet been made by Vale International. Shifting chartering head means for Vale’s massive newbuilding programme at a time when the ore is cheap and Vale’s long-term charter rates are far above the available market. Vale is understood to be paying about $12 per tonne to the Chinese owners who have taken on its Valemaxes, while Vale could get its iron ore shipped at half that rate in the current depressed market. On the other hand, observers point out that the current market might not be quite down to those levels if the Valemax fleet had never been built. Gurinder Singh’s sudden departure may be a sign of Vale CEO Murilo Ferreira’s souring on the Valemax project at a time when locked-in, long-term freight rates are costing the company millions per voyage over the current dry bulk market.
29-January-2016
Besides coal and iron, seaborne grain markets may provide little comfort to failing dry bulk companies. Worldwide grain surplus has sent export shipments falling to three-year lows. Senior Economist Jay O’Neil explained that there are too many ships and not enough demand from the grain trade. US Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates world grain stores stand at 3.027 billion tonnes and estimated world trade for 2015/2016 to be at 361 million tonnes. Senior Economist Jay O’Neil explained that US soybean exports to China have remained healthy but corn and wheat exports are lagging and likely not going to meet current projections. Freight rates reflect that weakness. Supramax rates from the US Gulf to China and south Japan destinations have fallen from $19,800 per day in August 2015 to $8,000 per day as of January. Besides the USA there is growing competition from other exporters like Argentina. Argentina’s combination of a devalued currency and relaxed export duties cut a soybean export tariff and several crop taxes, brightened Argentina’s export outlook
27-January-2016
Navios Maritime chartered out a pair of panamax bulkers to Dampskibsselskabet NORDEN A/S for 12 months. 2005 built panamax bulk carrier 76K DWT MV Navios Taurus and 2005 built panamax bulk carrier 77K DWT MV Navios Helios will both earn rates linked to spot indices. According to Baltic Exchange data, Navios Maritime will receive 6% above the Baltic Panamax Index time-charter equivalent average for the MV Navios Helios and MV Navios Helios will earn a 4% premium over the same index.
27-January-2016
Brazilian miner Vale has sent 1986 built VLOC (Very Large Ore Carrier) 200K DWT M/V Ore Timbopeba for around $267 per ldt to Bangladesh scrapyard. M/V Ore Timbopeba was sold with 1,000 tons of fuel onboard. Vale has 18 other owned vessels in its fleet excluding 35 valemax bulk carriers. 35 valemax bulk carriers could have been sold in leaseback deals.
26-January-2016
On a fateful Tuesday evening, 22 mariners aboard the MV Modern Express, a vessel under Hong Kong and South Korean shipowner and operator Cido Shipping’s command, were graciously retrieved by the vigilant Spanish Search & Rescue helicopters. The Spanish maritime guardians, Salvamento Marítimo, verified in a declaration that they had come to the aid of the 22 sailors subsequent to the MV Modern Express raising a distress call, a daunting 148 miles away from Cape Ortegal in the picturesque Galicia. Without delay, three Spanish helicopters and an auxiliary rescue aircraft were dispatched. Additionally, half a dozen vessels in proximity were instructed to converge upon the scene. MV Modern Express’ trajectory has since led it into the jurisdiction of the French search and rescue team. It is currently under the surveillance of the French maritime authorities who are orchestrating a strategy to haul it to the coast, given its position in a pivotal marine corridor.
26-January-2016
New York-based TBS Shipping USA has confirmed the departure of company CEO and co-founder Gregg McNelis after 24 years. Gregg McNelis led the TBS Shipping through historic lows in the dry bulk market and will be replaced as CEO immediately by Aadel Shaaban from Candlewood Investment Group. Candlewood Investment Group, one of the hedge funds that now owns TBS Shipping USA.
25-January-2016
Paragon Shipping continues to sell vintage tonnage for further trading despite the spot market for bulk carriers having failed to meet operating costs for some time. Paragon Shipping appeared to have disposed of the 1999 built panamax bulk carrier 74K DWT MV Calm Seas and 1999 built panamax bulk carrier 72K DWT MV Deep Seas earlier this week for further trading to an undisclosed buyer for $2.9 million each, in line with demolition prices. MV Calm Seas is due for SS (special survey) in September 2018 and M/V Deep Seas in January 2019. MV Calm Seas and M/V Deep Seas’ sale price is $200,000 above scrap value.
20-January-2016
Athens-based shipowner and operator Samios Shipping Co. S.A. has secured what is being described as a bargain purchase in the secondhand market, taking over a veteran panamax bulk carrier that had been controlled by New York-listed shipowner and operator Paragon Shipping Inc. (PRGN). Greek shipowner and operator Samios Shipping Co. S.A. has been identified as the new owner of the 16-year-old panamax bulk carrier that New York-listed shipowner and operator Paragon Shipping Inc. (PRGN) recently divested, underscoring Samios Shipping Co. S.A.’s reputation as an opportunistic buyer when pricing, residual value, and near-term earnings potential line up. Paragon Shipping Inc. (PRGN) Chief Executive Officer Michael Bodouroglou said earlier this month that the 1999-built panamax bulk carrier 72K DWT MV Kind Seas was sold to an unaffiliated, unnamed third party for around $3.5 million, and Athanasios Samios-led shipowner and operator Samios Shipping Co. S.A. has now emerged as that buyer. The Imabari-built panamax bulk carrier MV Kind Seas has already been renamed MV Agia Pisti, reflecting Samios Shipping Co. S.A.’s practice of quickly integrating acquired tonnage into Samios Shipping Co. S.A.’s operating platform. In market terms, the deal fits a familiar playbook for Samios Shipping Co. S.A., which is associated with hands-on ownership and operation in the dry bulk space and tends to focus on commercially standard designs that can pivot between spot and period employment depending on prevailing freight conditions. By stepping in on a resale at a relatively modest price point for a panamax bulk carrier, Samios Shipping Co. S.A. positions itself to capture optionality across grain, coal, and mineral trades while keeping capital intensity contained, and the renaming also signals the intention to trade the asset under Samios Shipping Co. S.A.’s own banner rather than hold it as a short-term flip.
15-January-2016
Toronto Stock Exchange-listed shipowner and operator Algoma Central Corporation has gracefully collaborated with the Italian shipowner and operator Nova Marine Holding to forge a sophisticated venture destined to birth a fleet dedicated to the conveyance of cement. Algoma Central Corporation and Nova Marine Holding shall bequeath equal shares, precisely 50%, to this newly conceived establishment christened as NovaAlgoma Cement Carriers (NACC). In this elegant alliance, St. Catharines-based shipowner and operator Algoma Central is poised to procure half of the prevailing cement carrier fleet under Nova Marine Holding’s stewardship, ensuring their strategic deployment across assorted regional mrkets of Asia and Europe. NovaAlgoma Cement Carriers (NACC) epitomizes a quintessential global short-sea shipping enterprise, bearing significant semblance to Algoma Central’s domestic dry-bulk venture. CEO Vincenzo Romeo-led Nova Marine Holding SA remarked that the cement sector is undergoing a grand transformation towards globalization and amalgamation. The aspirations tethered to NovaAlgoma Cement Carriers (NACC) are boundless, for it endeavors to establish a dedicated consortium catering to the expansive logistical requisites of the worldwide cement industry. Canadian Great Lakes operator Algoma Central Corporation boasts command over an impressive fleet navigating the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Waterway, inclusive of 18 self-discharging dry-bulk ships, a septet of gearless dry bulk carriers, and an additional seven product tankers. Algoma Central Corporation’s influence also extends to oceanic dry bulk carriers. Nova Marine Holding SA, with its impressive fleet surpassing 50 ships, holds an invaluable reservoir of expertise in cement transportation.
6-January-2016
British Virgin Islands-registered Ukraine-based ship operator Phaethon International Company Ltd. chartered in 2014 built capesize bulk carrier 174K DWT MV ABY Scarlett for six to eight months at $4,500 per day. Phaethon International Company chartered in 2014 built capesize bulk carrier 174K DWT MV ABY Scarlett from Italian shipowner and operator Augustea. In 2014, Italian shipowner and operator Augustea acquired the MV ABY Scarlett for around $44 million. Ukraine-based ship operator Phaethon International Company Ltd. will pay a charter rate that is only barely above half the operating costs.