Russia the driver behind China’s aluminium import boom | Merchant Navy Jobs

China’s imports of unwrought aluminium more than doubled year-on-year in 2023 and were the second highest annual total since the start of the century.

Primary metal imports surged to 1.54 million metric tons from 668,000 tons in 2022, but fell just short of the record 1.58 tally accumulated over 2021.

The big difference between the 2021 and 2023 peaks was the composition of the inbound shipments.

Russian metal accounted for just 18% of 2021 volumes, a ratio that jumped to 76% last year as penal import duties in the U.S. and self-sanctioning in parts of Europe disrupted previous Russian trade patterns.

Russia and China are becoming increasingly dependent on each other in the aluminium market.

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ABB and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings expand long-term partnership | Maritime Crew

ABB and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) have signed a long-term partnership agreement to accelerate the decarbonization and digitalization of the Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) fleet. Targeting increased safety and efficiency, the agreement covers 14 existing ships and a further four vessels due for delivery from 2025 to 2028.

The first phase of the partnership includes a 10-year Azipod® propulsion service agreement for the fleet, providing efficient preventive maintenance to support safety and maximize vessel availability as well as fast turnaround for planned Azipod® propulsion maintenance. In addition, ABB will supply modernization of the propulsion control system for 11 vessels, and shore connection installations on board four ships. With these planned installations the entire NCL fleet can connect to shoreside power supply for emissions-free operations while in port.

“We are pleased to solidify our long-term collaboration with ABB in a strategic partnership that aligns with our climate action strategy, centered as it is on the pillars of efficiency, innovation and collaboration,” said Patrik Dahlgren, Executive Vice President, Vessel Operations, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings. “With ABB’s support, we will accelerate the decarbonization and digitalization of our fleet, taking our operations another step forward towards a sustainable future.

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Eurozone PMIs show very tentative signs of bottoming out | Shipboard Jobs

How you read today’s PMI release for the eurozone reveals whether you’re an optimist or a pessimist. The increase from 47.6 to 47.9 in the composite PMI for January cautiously shows signs of bottoming out but also still indicates contraction. We also note that France and Germany saw declining PMIs, making the increase dependent on the smaller markets. Manufacturing price pressures remain moderate despite the Red Sea disruptions, but the service sector indicates another acceleration in input costs.

To us, this shows that the eurozone economy remains in broad stagnation and that risks to inflation are not small enough to expect an ECB rate cut before June.

The eurozone continues to be plagued by falling demand for goods and services, although new orders did fall at a slower pace than in recent months. Current production and activity were weaker than in recent months, though, suggesting that January started with contracting output still. The slowing pace of contracting orders does suggest that there is a bottoming out happening though. Whether this is enough to show positive GDP growth in the first quareter depends on February and March. In any case, GDP growth is so close to zero that we still qualify the current environment as broad stagnation anyway.

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Greece: Getting ready for a rebound | Maritime Crew

 Surprisingly soft recent growth numbers

After a solid second quarter, Greek seasonally adjusted GDP came in surprisingly soft in the third quarter of 2023, flat on the quarter (from 1.1% in 2Q23) but still amply positive on the year at +2.1% (from 2.6% in 2Q23). Lower government expenditure and soft exports were part of the explanation, together with slower consumption as pent-up demand weakened. However, consumption data looked somewhat puzzling given the country’s strong inward foreign tourism flows over the summer.

Growth-wise, the impact of floods which hit central Greece in September should have been contained in the third quarter, but more might show up in fourth quarter data, even though public funds might partly compensate. Having hit a relevant food-producing area, the floods have likely already had a role in keeping upward pressure on food prices, which, in November, were still growing at a strong 9% yearly rate.

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Iron ore drops as China cenbank’s rate move defies expectation | Dredger Jobs

Iron ore futures prices dropped for a second consecutive session on Monday as top consumer China defied market expectations and stood pat on its medium-term interest rate, leaving traders disappointed.

The most-traded May iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) closed daytime trade 3.17% lower at 933 yuan ($130.10) a metric ton, the lowest since Dec. 20, 2023.

The benchmark February iron ore SZZFG4 on the Singapore Exchange was 1.38% lower at $127.9 a ton, as of 0702 GMT, hitting the lowest since Dec. 5.

China’s central bank left the medium-term policy rate unchanged on Monday, defying market expectations as signs of a weaker currency continued to limit the scope of monetary easing.

“The weakness in the ore market is partly because macroeconomic uncertainties mounted after the central bank did not cut rate,” said Pei Hao, a Shanghai-based analyst at international brokerage FIS.

Pei added it was also because “weak sentiment due to faltering demand and a quicker-than-expect pick-up in portside ore inventory filtered through into this week, sending further downward pressure to prices.”

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Maersk to use rail to bypass Panama Canal amid drought | Offshore Jobs

A.P. Moller-Maersk will use trains to avoid the drought-hit Panama Canal for some of its vessels, the Danish shipping giant said as low water levels have caused one of the world’s main maritime trade routes to reduce crossings.

The Panama Canal Authority has reduced the amount and weight of vessels passing through based on current and projected water levels in Gatun Lake, the rainfall-fed principal reservoir that floats ships through the canal’s lock system, Maersk, one of the world’s largest container shipping companies, said.

The company’s OC1 service, connecting Australia and New Zealand with the U.S. east coast cities of Philadelphia and Charleston via the Panama Canal, will now create two separate loops, one Atlantic and one Pacific.

“The vessels that utilised the Panama Canal before will now omit the Panama Canal and use a “land bridge” that utilises rail to transport cargo across the 80 km (50 miles) of Panama to the other side,” the firm said in an advisory to its customers.

Panama’s drought, worsened by the El Nino weather phenomenon, has decreased transit slots at the canal, already forcing fuel tankers and grain shippers to take longer routes to avoid congestion.

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Flagship economic report highlights why global cooperation is key | Maritime Crew

The flagship forecast launched in New York on Thursday indicates that last year’s stronger-than-expected GDP growth coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic masked short-term risks and structural vulnerabilities in the world economy.

The sombre short-term outlook is based on persistently high interest rates, further escalation of conflicts, sluggish international trade, and increasing climate disasters, which all pose significant challenges to global growth.

It points to a prolonged period of tighter credit conditions and higher borrowing costs, presenting strong headwinds for a world economy saddled with debt and in need of more investments to resuscitate growth, fight climate change and accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

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Ship Sales Fall in 2023 | Maritime Union Of India

Activity in the S&P market was below 2022 levels, during the past year. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Xclusiv said that “a total of 1,256 sales had taken place in the dry and tanker markets as of December 20th, representing a nearly 10% decline compared to the same period in 2022. More specifically, in the dry market, a total of 632 vessels changed hands within 2023, compared to 711 bulk carriers in 2022. The Handysize and Supramax sectors drove the dry S&P activity in 2023, with 149 and 142 sales respectively, followed by the Capesize sector with 98 sales. Although the number of transactions decreased for most sectors in 2023 compared to 2022, the buying appetite for Capesize, Ultramax, and Newcastlemax vessels increased significantly.

The shipbroker said that “during 2023, Capesize and Newcastlemax sales stood at 98 and 19 respectively, with both nearly doubling their sales volume compared to the previous year. In the Ultramax sector, 70 sales were recorded in 2023, representing an almost 10% increase compared to 2022. There was also a slight increase in the sales of vessels aged 0-5 years old, with 48 sales in 2023 compared to 34 sales in 2022. Conversely, the sales of older vessels (over 21 years old) decreased significantly, with just 31 sales in 2023, representing a decline of nearly 67%. Similarly, to 2022, the age group with the most transactions in 2023 was the 11–15-year-old group with 286 sales, followed by the 6-10 age group with 149 sales”. Xclusiv added that “on the tanker market, in 2023, the S&P activity eased from the 27-year high reached in 2022, with 618 sales recorded, representing a nearly 11% decline compared to the previous year. The MR2 and Aframax/LR2 vessels were the most sought-after, accounting for 269 transactions. Despite the slowdown in most segments, the MR2, Panamax/LR1, and VLCC segments bucked the trend, increasing by 11%, 17%, and 15%, respectively, year-on-year. While sales declined across almost all age groups, with drops of 25%, 28%, 11%, and 5%, respectively, for the 0-5, 6-10, 11-15, and 16–20-year-old groups, there was a significant increase (57%) for vessels aged 21+ years old. Greeks and Chinese were the primary buyers in 2023, acquiring 61 and 63 vessels, respectively. UAE and Turkish buyers followed with 53 and 37 sales. Greeks were also actively sellers, with 127 sales, with 68 of those vessels belonging to the 16–20-year-old group”.

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Asia's thermal coal trade in 2023 to stay strong; world imports to drop in 2024 | Marex

Thermal coal trade in Asia in 2023 is set to outpace 2022 by 17%, with the biggest driver of this rise being China’s stockpiling of coal, while Vietnam more than doubled imports in the first eight months of 2023, according to the latest Resources and Energy Quarterly report published Dec. 18.

The report, which carries the Australian chief economist’s official forecasts for the country’s major commodity exports, stated that world imports are expected to drop by 2.1% in 2024 to allow high inventory levels to normalize, before resuming in 2025 with a 1.5% increase.

“Energy security concerns borne of geopolitical tensions have prompted China to stockpile coal inventories to record levels in 2023. China’s coal inventories have more than tripled over the last couple of years,” the report noted, adding China’s coal-fired power output rose in 2023 despite its announced target of reducing output. Chinese coal imports are forecast to slip to 221 million mt in 2024 and 231 in 2025, down from 302 million mt this year, the forecast showed.

Meanwhile, demand for Australian thermal coal exports remained high in 2023, with shipments to China rising steadily over H1 2023, reaching a peak in June 2023 during China’s peak summer demand. With better weather conditions and increased production from several mines, the forecast stays that export volumes will experience minor growth, from 182 million mt in 2022-23 to 203 million mt by 2024-25.

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