Over one hundred years of the American Club
Starting off in June 2017, the Club had its main celebratory event marking its 100th Annual General Meeting of the Members in New York. This was followed in October by tributes to its cooperating markets in Asia. On Friday December 8th, 2017, the management of the American Club paid special tribute to the loyalty of it’ s Greek membership over the last two decades of its 100 years of servicing the P&I marine insurance market overall. More than 300 exclusive guests representing its shipowning membership, producing brokers, representatives of shipping organizations, associates, correspondents, and lawyers that do business with the Club, from the local community were present to enjoy an exciting evening full of entertainment and what can only be described as a very electric celebratory atmosphere.
Mr. Joseph E. M. Hughes, Chairman and CEO of Shipowners Claims Bureau, Inc., graciously noted many significant figures that played important roles in the history of the American Club and told guests that it’s a privilege to serve the world’s top maritime industry which carries centuries of maritime heritage. A special highlight of the evening was Mr. Vincent J. Solarino, President and COO of Shipowners Claims Bureau, Inc. who, in an inspiring address, stressed the importance of those individuals who take on the day to day load of the Club’s business servicing the membership. Mr. Solarino then went on to explain the spirit of the American Club through a rousing rendition of the legendary Frank Sinatra’s “That’s Life” backed up by the beautiful ladies of the SCB Hellas office through which the team spirit and bond of the Club’s management team resonated.
With central offices in New York, the Club's Manager, Shipowners Claims Bureau, Inc., has operations in Piraeus, Houston, London, Shanghai and Hong Kong. Winner of the Lloyd’s List North American Maritime Services Award for 2016, winner of the Seatrade “Investment in People” Award for 2017 and with its Dorothea Ioannou taking the Lloyds List Next Global Generation Award for 2017, the Club prides itself with over 80 dedicated specialized staff and a proven track record of exceptional personalized service, know-how and capability to accommodate the needs of members both large and small. The American Club is the only P&I mutual domiciled in the Americas. A member of the International Group of P&I Clubs, which collectively insures approximately 90\% of the world's tonnage, the American Club offers full cover for Protection and Indemnity and Freight, Demurrage and Defense risks and has in recent years grown and globalized its tonnage.
Centennial Speech by Joe Hughes
 |
| The Senior Management of the American Club with the staff of SCB Hellas and AHHIC |
 |
| Chrysanthi Paplomata, Noni Vakontiou Vakirtzi, George Vakirtzis, Antonis Stellas and Dorothea Ioannou |
 |
| Vincent Solarino with Michael Gotsis |
 |
| Antonis Bavas, Elena Chari Prifti, Constantinos Priftis, Joanna Kouk¬ouli & Angelos Kostakos |
 |
| Athena Giannouli & George Gourdomichalis |
 |
| Annie Papadimitriou, Achilleas Tsouknidas & Stavroula Leontara |
 |
| Vincent Solarino & Joseph Hughes |
 |
| Vincent Solarino addresses the prominent guests and members of the American Club sur-rounded by SCB Hellas personnel |
 |
| Dorothea Ioannou, Panagiotis Kouroumblis & Joseph Hughes |
 |
| Christina Anagnostara, Ilias Tsakiris and Ilias Bobolos |
 |
| Stuart Todd & Thomas R. Hamilton |
 |
| Nikos Tourvas, Dorothea Ioannou & Vincent Solarino |
 |
| Cap. Nikolaos Liadis, Dorothea Ioannou & Maria Christina Ktistaki |
 |
| Arpad Kadi, Vincent Solarino, Dorothea Ioannou & Joseph Hughes |
Certification of the Managing Adequacy of PPA SA from EBETAM SA
 |
• Planning and designing of new projects.
• The design, implementation and monitoring of projects, services and supplies.
• Financial management of projects.
The Quality Management System provides "management tools", such as monitoring the achievement of objectives regarding the organization's processes and investigating the degree of stakeholder satisfaction.
The certification of the PPA's Management Authority according to ELOT1429 constitutes a further step following the confirmation of the management adequacy (type A, B and C) of PPA SA., as beneficiary of the operational programs of the NSRF by the Interim Management Authority of the Region of Attica and proves that the Organization does not rest in its effort to continuously improve its activities.
At the official meeting for the delivery of the Certificate by EBETAM at PPA SA premises in Piraeus, the CEO of PPA SA Captain Fu Chengqiu and the President of EBETAM Mr. K. Stournaras, members of the EBETAM Management and executives from the Strategic Planning and Marketing of PPA S.A., as well as the Managing Advisor, Mr. I. Spanoudakis, and the Special Advisor of EBETAM for China Mr. D. Moursas.
As the CEO of PPA SA Captain Fu Chengqiu stated:
"A further step was taken to implement the investment plan of PPA SA, which proceeds with strategy and planning for the development and upgrading of the Piraeus port according to the provisions of the Concession Agreement with the Greek State".
Dry Bulk FFA: Capesize Market on a Corrective Phase
The main focus of this technical should be on the Cal 19 futures, as this has the longest data history, and allows us to look at the longer term technical trend.
Pretcher and Frost in their book the Elliott Wave Principal, agreed with Elliot that wave 3 could never be the shortest wave (page 27). On this basis this would suggest that the middle leg (Marked 1 with no brackets), should in theory be the 1st leg of wave 3, as this is the shortest wave in the sequence. Implying that after this current corrective phase we should continue in an upward trend.
Pretcher and Frost also noted, that unlike equities, commodities markets often had an extended 5th rather than 3rd wave.
Capesize Index
Support – 12,899, 11,087, 5,224
Resistance – 20,890, 22,613
The Capesize index is currently in a corrective phase with price below its short and long term moving averages.
The stochastic is showing a bullish divergence. However, this does not mean the market is going to go up, but a warning that downside momentum could be slowing.
Technically price action looks oversold, but remains bearish due to lower highs and lower lows.
Upside moves that close above the USD 20,890 resistance would suggest the technical argument is firming, as would price action above the shorter period EMA’s. Ultimately these need to be supported by higher highs and higher lows, as price action is the lead indicator. Upside moves that fail to close above USD 20,890 would keep the trend in bear territory.
The bullish divergence is not a buy signal. With price below short period EMA’s and not producing higher highs this trend remains technically weak at this point.
Capesize Feb 18 Daily
Support – 11,200, 10,270, 9,990
Resistance – 13,990, 16,130
Like the index the Feb futures are in a corrective phase, and below the shorter period MA.
Momentum remains bearish with the stochastic at 32 and could soon enter into oversold territory. Technical support is at USD 11,200, as this is the 100\% projection of A – B from point C. At this level the current wave will be regarded as technically overextended to the downside.
Upside moves that fail to close above the minor technical resistance at USD 13,990 would have technically bearish implications going forward, as this will create a lower high.
A close above the USD 13,990 resistance would create a market high, and have potential bullish implications going forward. However, point C was a single upward move, making this a weak technical signal. If the fast EMA (orange) is above the medium EMA (pink) and point C has been broken this would strengthen the bullish argument.
Capesize Q2 18 Daily
Support – 15,100, 14,850, 14,045
Resistance – 16,415, 16,850
Like the rest of the Cape complex, the Q2 18 futures have entered into a corrective phase. Unlike the Index and the Feb 18 futures, the Q2 remains above key moving averages, and in bullish territory.
A support zone has formed between the April 2017 high and the peak on the 11th Dec 2017 (USD 15,100 and USD 14,850).
Downside moves that hold above this zone would keep the Q2 18 futures in bull territory.
From an Elliott wave perspective if we hold at the support zone this would also suggest that the corrective phase is part of a larger cycle, and imply higher prices going forward.
If the support zone is broken it would imply that market buyers are not willing to protect a key support zone, and from a technical point of view it would suggest continued weakness in the market.
In a corrective phase, but remains in bull territory at this point.
Capesize Cal 19 Weekly
Support – 14,800, 14,180
Resistance – 16,121, 16,453
For the Cal 19 futures we are going to look at the longer term trend (weekly chart), as this has the most data, and gives a view on the longer term footprint of the market.
For this we are going to look at the Elliott Wave, particularly the later stages of the cycle.
Longer term the cycle appears to be on wave 5. We also seem to have 5 waves in final wave, however the middle wave is the shortest wave. Both Elliot, as well as Pretcher and Frost believed that the 3rd wave could not be the shortest wave in any cycle. If this is the case, and they are correct, then the then this would suggest that the current wave is in fact a wave 3, inside of a wave 3, and have longer term bullish implications for the market going forward. This would also suggest that when we look at the individual quarters in the Capsize complex where we have less data to evaluate, that providing they follow the same technical footprint they should replicate the Cal 19
Technically we are in a corrective phrase, if the Elliott cycle is correct, then this trend should continue to remain bullish.
Source: Freight Investor Services (FIS)
World’s 2nd largest ship registry prepares for continued success in 2018
 |
| From Left to Right. First Row: Luiz Freitas (IRI Rio), John Sidérais (IRI Piraeus), Ozgur Azik (IRI Istanbul), and Jasbir Jaspal (IRI Reston). Second Row: Joe McKeown (IRI Ft. Lauderdale), Jason Clifton-Samuel (IRI London), Vangelis Moutafis (IRI Piraeus), Michael Manning (IRI Houston), Patrick Horan (IRI Baltimore), and John Taverner (IRI London). Third Row: Marc Verburg (IRI Roosendaal), Brian Bubar (IRI Houston), Simon Bonnett (IRI London), Richard Dias (IRI Hong Kong), and Davis Kong (IRI Ft. Lauderdale). Fourth Row: Brian Poskaitis (IRI Baltimore), Hans Krijger (IRI Roosendaal), Charles McHardy (IRI Houston), Hans Molver (IRI Reston), Dave Wamsley (IRI New York - Downtown), and Jon Maiorine (IRI Baltimore). |
Commenting on prospects for 2018, Bill Gallagher, President, IRI said, “we anticipate continued future growth for the RMI Registry, but this growth needs to be supported by an investment in our processes and people. We remain dedicated to preserving the quality that our customers have come to expect, while evolving our services in line with a changing industry.”
A number of internal changes to management were announced during the meeting, including changes to the head of the Investigations and Technical departments. Rob Lorigan, who has been responsible for both the Quality Management System (QMS) and Investigations, will now focus his attention just on the QMS.
“We are working towards a new ISO standard which includes ISO certification for all of our 28 worldwide offices,” said Bill Gallagher. “Rob has done a tremendous job working as the head of both departments, but in order to ensure all of our offices are able to meet the new ISO standard, his audit schedule has intensified and it is important for him to focus in on just the QMS now,” he continued.
Hans Molver has agreed to take on the lead of the Investigations group. With more than 10 years co-leading the worldwide Technical team with Charles McHardy, Hans is in a good position to continue to support the Registry in this new role. Simon Bonnett, who is based in London, will take on the role of head of worldwide Technical on the blue water side. He has a background in naval architecture, with over nine years of involvement in shipbuilding with Lloyd’s Register based in Korea, and over seven years of experience with IRI in a technical role. Simon will be working in coordination with Charles McHardy, who will continue in his capacity as head of Technical for the offshore side.
John Ramage, Chief Operating Officer, IRI said, “Rob, Hans and Simon have all shown their dedication to IRI and to the customers that we serve, proving time and again their commitment to the responsibilities of investigation, quality management systems, and technical services. These changes ensure our worldwide team is able to serve industry stakeholders and fulfill our obligations as the Registry continues to grow.”
These changes come at a time of shifting QMSs, with significant amendments to the internationally recognized ISO 9001 certification. As ISO 9001:2008 will be obsolete from September 2018 and replaced by ISO 9001:2015, IRI is committed to strengthening its QMSs and meeting these new requirements.
In addition to personnel changes, IRI continues to make improvements to the services offered through its growing number of worldwide offices. The industry is always evolving and IRI is looking towards the future to better understand the challenges faced by owners and operators and develop innovative solutions to the issues they face.
Source: IRI (International Registries Inc.)
Capital Product Partners L.P. Announces Cash Distribution
 |
The fourth quarter common unit cash distribution will be paid on February 13, 2018 to common unit holders of record on February 2, 2018.
About Capital Product Partners L.P.
Capital Product Partners L.P. (NASDAQ:CPLP), a Marshall Islands master limited partnership, is an international owner of tanker, container and drybulk vessels. The Partnership currently owns 36 vessels, including twenty-one modern MR (Medium Range) product tankers, four Suezmax crude oil tankers, ten Neo Panamax container vessels and one Capesize bulk carrier. Its vessels trade predominantly under period charters to CMA-CGM S.A., Cosco Bulk Carrier Co. Ltd., CSSA S.A. (Total S.A.), Flota Petrolera Ecuatoriana ("Flopec"), Hyundai Merchant Marine Co. Ltd., International Seaways, Inc., Shell International Trading & Shipping Company Ltd., Pacific International Lines (Pte) Ltd, Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. ("Petrobras"), Repsol Trading S.A., and Capital Maritime & Trading Corp.
www.capitalpplp.com.
BIMCO launches new innovative contract editing solution
"SmartCon is a brand-new approach to contract editing, we believe that it will significantly ease the work life of our current users and will attract new users to BIMCO's contract universe," says Grant Hunter, Head of Contracts and Clauses at BIMCO.
The key innovation in SmartCon is that the features are built into a Word document, which will integrate and merge seamlessly with the normal workflow of shipping professionals and legal staff. The contracts can be shared until it is fixed, without security risks, as everything is protected and authenticated by Microsoft's Cloud security infrastructure.
"Our contracts are widely used around the world, which provide greater certainty of the intended commercial outcome - helping the users manage their contractual risk," says Grant Hunter.
SmartCon replaces IDEA, which handles close to 40,000 contracts a year, and was introduced in 2000.
BIMCO is the largest shipping organisation in the world. It is best known for drafting standard contracts and clauses for the maritime and offshore industry. Providing the contracts in an editor is a natural extension of that focus.
Contract ecosystem
The SmartCon contract editing software has all of IDEA's software features, but is now based on an encrypted Word-document, which provides additional security, significantly enhanced editing functions and dramatically reduces complexity. In addition, it has context sensitive explanatory notes, direct access to eLearning modules and members can write directly to BIMCO's Support & Advice function.
"We see it as a full ecosystem for shipping professionals working with contracts," says Grant Hunter.
An authentic contract can be opened using the software, and then edited and changed as required, however the editing does not compromise the integrity of the document. The changes can be seen by both parties and the core features, which make it a binding legal document, cannot be removed.
Thirty-five of BIMCO's most popular contracts are available in SmartCon today, with more to be added. The available eLearning modules will be limited at launch.
Security in the cloud
BIMCO has used a suite of Microsoft's Cloud technologies to offer a 'solution as a service' product (see appendix), which eliminates existing internet bandwidth issues and increases the number of potential users.
The development of SmartCon was made possible by several recent advances in the Microsoft universe, including the advent of Office Groups.
"With today's focus on cyber security, we believe this tool is very timely. It provides the best security possible and ensures users always work on authentic BIMCO documents," Grant Hunter says.
SmartCon customers can use multifactor identification, for example through Microsoft's app, where opening a document requires an additional code to be sent to the user's phone. In SmartCon, BIMCO does not store user information - everything is in Microsoft's cloud and protected by Microsoft's technology.
"BIMCO has wrapped our technologies into a creative and novel package to offer a valuable service to its subscribers, and it potentially shows the way for other industries that frequently use standard contracts," says Lasse Svane Ryby, Business Group Lead, Cloud and Enterprise at Microsoft Denmark.
SmartCon will be further developed with new features as the technology becomes available.
FACT BOX: Important features of SmartCon
SmartCon is not just an editing tool, it includes a range of complimentary products giving users access to relevant explanatory notes, eLearning and direct messaging access to BIMCO's Support and Advice service.
SmartCon's forerunner, IDEA, currently has around 3000 companies using it.
The pricing structure of SmartCon has been simplified. There is little actual price difference between SmartCon and IDEA.
At launch, SmartCon contains the 35 most popular contracts, all ready to go. Further contracts will be added subject to customer demand.
In common with other charter party editor's, it's not possible to turn off "Track Changes" in SmartCon. This allows two parties to work on a contract as part of their regular work flow, but gives each of them the assurance that the other party can't make any changes to the document, without both being able to see it.
FACT BOX: SmartCon
BIMCO is a membership organisation, which derives its revenue from member fees. BIMCO Informatique is a company, owned by BIMCO, which is dedicated to creating products relevant for the entire maritime industry and BIMCO members.
SmartCon is part of the BIMCO Informatique portfolio, along with, among others, Shipping KPI and BIMCO's training and publishing activities.
SmartCon was developed together with Hosters.com, a Microsoft Gold Competency Managed Services Provider.
SmartCon is available to anyone. BIMCO members get a discount.
SmartCon is built on Microsoft's Cloud technology, using Azure Active Directory, Azure Information Protection and Office Groups.
Minimum requirements are Microsoft Windows 7 and Microsoft Word 2013.
SmartCon works on iOS and Android devices, that support the respective Microsoft Word App required.
SmartCon documents are strongly encrypted using state-of-the art Microsoft technology.
First ever container ship to receive cyber enabled ship descriptive note ‘Cyber AL3 SECURE PERFORM (Energy Management System)’ is delivered
MV COSCO Shipping Aries, delivered to COSCOS today, is the first ever container ship to receive LR’s Cyber-enabled ship (CES) descriptive note ‘Cyber AL3 SECURE PERFORM’ for its energy management system. The ship was built by Nantong COSCOS KHI Ship Engineering Co., Ltd (NACKS).
Shi Yongxin, COSCO Shipping Container Line Co., Ltd, Safety & Technology Department, General Manager said: “MV COSCO Shipping Aries is the first 20K TEU level ultra large container ship built in Chinese shipyard owned by COSCO Shipping Container Lines. She is not only one of the largest container ships in the world, but also a ship with high cyber functions. We have always attached great importance to cyber enabled fleet in order to enhance fleet management, reduce energy consumption and control emission. In the field of cyber enabled ship, LR has great research findings and well established requirement. During the construction of the MV COSCO Shipping Aries, we are very fortunate to have the great support from LR and finally, successfully obtain the first AL3 level descriptive note for ultra large container ship in the world, this ensure our goal is successfully achieved. We hereby express our heart-felt gratitude and look forward to more cooperation between the two sides in the field of cyber enabled ship.”
 |
The ship complies with the revised version of LR's Cyber-enabled ships ShipRight procedure, issued in December 2017. The descriptive note gives an Accessibility Level (AL) for autonomous/remote access for the system, this ranges from the information-only AL0 (no access) and AL1 (manual access) through AL2 (cyber access for remote or autonomous monitoring) up to the highest AL5 (autonomous monitoring and control, with no onboard permission required or override possible). AL3 is defined by LR as ‘Cyber access for autonomous/remote monitoring and control (onboard permission is required and onboard override is possible).’
’Cyber-enabled systems’ are considered to be systems installed onboard ships that would conventionally be controlled by the ship’s crew but which, through recent advances in IT and Operational Technology (OT), now include the capability to be monitored, or monitored and controlled, either remotely or autonomously with or without a crew onboard the ship.
The functionality provided by cyber-enabled systems can range from simple remote monitoring with a crew onboard through to a fully autonomous vessel without a crew onboard. Consequently, as the risks can vary considerably, the assessment of cyber-enabled systems requires a risk-based approach to identify the hazards introduced by cyber-enablement and to mitigate the associated risks
COSCOS is now hoping to apply LR’s CES descriptive notes to some of their other vessels.
Nick Brown, LR Marine & Offshore Director said: ”The request from COSCOS to apply LR’s descriptive note was made relatively late in the project, which represented quite a challenge for LR, NACKS and COSCOS to complete this prior to delivery, especially with the system being AL3. However, with support from LR’s global network of experts, we were able to ensure that the system could be certified in time for delivery and we are delighted to have been able to work on this innovative project.”
LR is a leading player in the safe adoption of digital technologies within the marine and offshore sector, and has pioneered a ‘total-systems’ approach. In February 2016, LR issued the first guidance on cyber-enabled ships: ‘Deploying Information and Communications Technology in Shipping – Lloyd’s Register’s Approach to Assurance’. This identified the elements that constitute a cyber-enabled ship and the activities that need to take place to ensure that cyber technology does not introduce a safety risk, effectively providing the industry with a route map to understanding the implications of digital technology. This was followed with the introduction of the industry’s first ShipRight procedure, which details LR’s framework for accepting cyber technology. This was recently revised using lessons learnt from live projects that are leading the progression in this field and where LR is in partnership with key clients such as Rolls-Royce, CSSC and Synergy Marine, as well as through lessons learnt by working with academic and industry partners at QinetiQ, the University of Southampton and the National Oceanography Centre, to name a few.
Turkish Repair Shipyards 2018
Our concluding remarks are also reported with suggested steps to be taken for our clients in Turkish Shipyards. Finally, you will find short introduction of our represented Turkish Repair Shipyards together with “Turkey 2018 Holiday Calendar”.
Turkey is a unique geography with historical and natural beauties. Because of its geographical location, the mainland of Anatolia has always found favour throughout history, and is the birthplace of many great civilizations. It has also been prominent as a centre of commerce and trading routes due to its land connections to three continents and the sea surrounding it on three sides.
Therefore, Turkey is an attractive destination for worldwide shipowners with its world class shipyards and other favours. On the other hand, successful shipyard selection adds value and enables businesses to protect stakeholders’ interests and gain competitive advantage.
OKT Shipping - Performance Summary and Results
OKT Shipping is the Turkey’s leading provider of integrated shipyard & shipping services to complement its core Shipyard Representation business, bringing our connections, experience and research to our international client base. At present the company is located near of Bağdat Avenue which is the most popular destination of Anatolian side of Istanbul.
We with about 25 years of experience create a fertile environment for worldwide ship owners and shipyards as well as finance institutions, by bringing together connections, know-how and expertise through the following services:
· Representation (Turkish & Worldwide Shipyards)
· Shipbrokerage (NB / Sale & Purchase / Demolition)
· Research & Marine Consultancy
OKT Shipping’s successful business performance continued in 2017 despite difficult market conditions with subdued client activity. We mainly focused Oil/Product Tanker, Chemical Tanker, General Cargo and Bulk Carrier segments’ docking and repairs this year and generated strong results. In Offshore and Specialised vessel segments, we have seen fewer enquiries due to very low activity in our region this year. Our continued growth in 2017 despite a number of uncertainties that impacted shipping markets and the environment for the relevant financial sector, demonstrates the high level of trust that clients have in OKT Shipping.
This year, our clients become mainly European and Local owners/managers with their bigger size of fleets and also followed by Non-European clients. The below graphs present our repair brokerage performance in 2017.
OKT Shipping is confident that it will make further progress and achieve solid overall results for the first half of 2018 despite the environment, which remains uncertain.
Our International Shipyard Representative Partnerships
At OKT Shipping, we value partnerships and collaboration. Our future strategy relies heavily on our strategic selection of people and successful partnerships around the world. We believe that by working together, we can discover, develop, and deliver the best value for our customers. That will help us to set new standards in our industry and improve the quality of life of our customers.
In order to serve our clients better, we have established partnerships in several countries thus enable us more knowledge, skills, experience and contacts to the business, potentially giving it a better serve than any of the other companies trading individually.
We share out tasks, with each specialising in regions we are best at and enjoy most. Our partners in their countries directly follow the issues with their ship owner/managers while we manage the issues with our yards in Turkey.
Our aim is to deliver the best value for our customers.
Frontline are using Seagull onboard training system.
 |
Today’s ship owners, managers and operators are under constant pressure to demonstrate that the vessels, which they operate, are safe both in the physical condition and with respect to the ability of the crew to operate them safely. There is a growing requirement for onboard training to revive crew knowledge and verify the safe operation through training, drills and exercises. Seagull offers a complete career development solution, and our goal is together with the client to find the best total solution according to their ship type and training needs.
 |
New Baltic Exchange LNG Panellists Group
The move comes as the Baltic Exchange looks to develop a new Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) Index comprising several routes for the evolving LNG shipping market. Affinity, Braemar ACM, Clarksons and SSY are the LNG Panellists Group’s first members and they are currently assessing a range of LNG routes before reporting moves to a trial phase.
Commenting on the formation of the new group, Baltic Exchange Chief Executive Mark Jackson said:
“The growth in LNG transported by sea has led to the formation of a spot market. However, any spot market needs to be underpinned by standard contractual terms - as already happens in the tanker and dry bulk freight markets. The Baltic Exchange is looking to support the LNG freight market as it matures and we hope to deliver greater transparency through an index. We are delighted that four of the most important independent LNG shipbroking companies have joined our panel and we look forward to developing a set of standardised assessments for use across the fast-growing LNG industry.”
In recent years the substantial global increase in natural gas production and rising imports by India, China, Pakistan and Egypt has led to a fundamental change in LNG shipping market dynamics. In addition, more contracts are being signed for shorter durations and smaller quantities, without fixed destinations. Trade patterns have diversified as new import and export terminals have been built and the LNG fleet continues to expand. Until recently, the LNG shipping market was characterised by low levels of spot market activity, with the majority of business conducted on a long term contractual basis. Various routes are currently being evaluated by the Baltic LNG Panellists Group. Once finalised their proposal will be presented to the Baltic Index Council for approval and trial phase.
www.balticexchange.com
Powered by 
© Μaritimes 2019