BIMCO to present shipping market insights in Hong Kong

October 31, 2019

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BIMCO will offer market insights at the inaugural Capital Link Hong Kong Maritime forum and at the Asian Logistics and Maritime conference. Chief Shipping Analyst, Peter Sand, will be in Hong Kong from 18-20 November 2019 to present the latest BIMCO perspectives of the commercial shipping market.

Hong Kong Maritime forum

Peter Sand is speaking at inaugural Capital Link Hong Kong Maritime forum on 18 November 2019, where he will present the audience with the latest BIMCO market outlook and touch upon the fundamentals and drivers of the three main shipping markets. Sand is scheduled to speak at 11.00am.

Additionally, the Hong Kong Maritime forum will feature a host of other prominent shipping industry speakers and provide the audience with relevant panel discussions and presentations.

Peter Cremers, Vice-President at BIMCO’s board of directors and Executive Chairman at Anglo-Eastern group, will also be present at the venue. Cremers is participating in a panel discussion about the future of the industry, alongside Martin Stopford, Non-Executive President at Clarksons and Andreas Nordseth, Director General of the Danish Maritime Authority. Register for the Hong Kong Maritime forum here.

Asian Logistics and Maritime Conference On 19 November 2019, Peter Sand will take on the role as moderator at the Maritime Forum 1 at the Asian Logistics and Maritime Conference. The panel discussion Between a rock and a hard place – Navigating a perfect geopolitical storm, scheduled to take place at 11.15am, will focus on how the shipping industry is impacted by the US-China trade war, and how the industry will voyage safely through the storm. Featured in the panel discussion is Abhishek Pandey, Global Head of Shipping Finance at Standard Chartered Bank and Andrew Hoare, Head of Tankers and Gas at Pacific Carriers limited. Register for the Asian Logistics and Maritime conference here.

BIMCO shipping markets outlook

The oil tanker markets temporarily spiked to all-time highs at the start of October 2019, driven by massive geopolitical uncertainty.

The tightening of the US sanctions regime and conflicts in the Middle Eastern region has proved to be a boost for the market. However, BIMCO does not regard these high freight rate levels to be sustainable for a prolonged period, as the fundamentals underpinning the market are simply not balanced accordingly.

The dry bulk segment was off to a sluggish start in the first half of 2019 with low demand and poor freight rates. The market has since climbed out of the abyss on the back of a Capesize rally, driven largely by Brazilian iron ore exports. While the current dry bulk market is profitable for many owners, BIMCO does not expect the fundamentals to support it in the medium-term.

The container shipping market has perhaps been dealt the hardest blow by the US-China trade war. Not only has the global GDP growth been negatively affected by the trade spat, but also the Trans-Pacific container trade lane between the US and China has been hit with negative demand growth. Faced with external pressure from a synchronized slowdown of the major economies and a GDP-to-trade multiplier of approximately one, BIMCO expects that container shipping will once again have to turn inward and focus heavily on cost-cutting measures in the near-term future.

The IMO 2020 Sulphur Cap

The regulation set to enter into force on 1 January 2020 could be regarded as the most ambitious new year’s resolution ever undertaken by an industry. The shipping industry must reduce sulphur emissions from bunker fuel oil to 0.50%, which entails a significant hike in the fuel oil bill for many companies. Credit lines will be stretched and operating margins put under pressure, as companies navigate their way through the new regulation and accompanying uncertainty.

BIMCO has underlined that passing on the higher fuel costs can only be successfully achieved, when the market is in the best possible balance.