Kumiai Senpaku
Nobutaka Mukae, president
What has been the biggest impact of the coronavirus on your company?
We have not seen any big issues or negative impact on our overall business to date. While we have already taken for granted the extreme volatile market over the many decades, irrespective of current virus chaos, we are concerned with potential disruption in the sales of our existing fleet if there is any procrastination of dry-dock works and the installment of ballast water treatment systems scheduled for this year.
How has the virus impacted the operation of your ships with regards to their ability to trade between ports, conduct necessary maintenance and effect crew changes?
All our vessels have been trading continuously. The seafaring community always manages to survive adversity and adapts to all requirements efficiently. Crew changes have been a challenge, but it is improving. Onboard teams have responded well and accepted the situation. Constant motivation and dialogue with them is the key.
What impact have you noticed on cargo volumes and freight rates that can be attributed to the coronavirus?
We have been mainly engaged in bareboat time charters, so we have not felt noticeable impact on cargo volumes and freight rates.
What impact has the virus had on your shoreside operations?
All operations have been running efficiently and seamlessly without any disruptions. Our operational unit was fully geared up to the demands of remote working.
This episode should surely make everyone in all industries rethink on the previous working patterns and the need to redefine and restructure. Remote working, virtual offices [and] IT can take productivity to a different level all together.
What steps have you put in place to mitigate the effects of the virus on your business?
We must manage our cash position just in case of the unexpected delay of hire or charterers’ default.
How long do you expect the coronavirus to continue to have a negative effect on the shipping industry?
We should be prepared for the long-term effect from this virus, especially in the field of dry cargo. I expect we will be more or less affected for a minimum period of eight to nine months.
When a recovery finally comes, what do you think it will look like?
It seems to me that it is unlikely we witness a drastic surge of demand in shipping to compensate for the past economic loss. I anticipate a stable recovery in demand in the long run, which would fully depend on the world politics and commodity prices, especially for crude oil, and the classic theory of tonnage supply and demand.
Precious Shipping
Khalid Hashim, managing director
What has been the biggest impact of the coronavirus on your company?
The biggest impact on not just Precious Shipping, but every sector of the maritime freight market other than tankers, has been a reduction in daily time-charter rates or freight rates. It does not matter if you are in the most consolidated sector like container shipping and you can lay up ships, your rates have still fallen.
When you put big cities into lockdown or actual countries into lockdown, you eliminate or push demand down to zero in those places. Until the lockdowns dissipate, we will have a very volatile and negative freight market.
How has the virus impacted the operation of your ships with regards to their ability to trade between ports, conduct necessary maintenance, and effect crew changes?
We, like everyone else, have stopped all crew changes as it is simply impractical to get that done due to the various nations going on lockdown and the majority of airlines grounding their entire fleet of aircraft.
In terms of maintenance, we do [that] on board on a regular basis, so that has not been impacted in any way. We have had to postpone a few dry-docks scheduled at Chinese yards due to yard closures and their staffing problems.
Some of these dry- dockings were also to fit ballast water treatment systems [BWTS] on these ships. But, due to BWTS factories not being able to deliver the systems to the dry docks, the docking did not make any sense — and hence the postponements.
We are now getting fresh dates fixed for these ships as dry docks are starting to get back to work, as are the factories producing the BWTS in China.
What impact has the virus had on your shoreside operations?
Official travel for all staff is limited to essential travel. We also encourage all staff to keep their personal travel to a minimum. We have been mostly operating from home and partly from the office.
How long do you expect the coronavirus will continue to have a negative effect on the shipping industry?
The biggest impact in the form of demand-destroying lockdowns will peak before the end of the second quarter.
When a recovery finally comes, what do you think it will look like?
In the second quarter and the second half of 2020, we will see a fairly rapid recovery of demand. I am sure that you must have read the Bloomberg article that described “revenge buying” by the Chinese consumer when they were finally released from their lockdowns, resulting in far greater amounts being spent than if there had been no Covid-19 at all.
We hope that this revenge buying is replicated across the globe and that it will help to drive demand in a much bigger way in the second half of 2020.
SDTR Marine
Gao Dehui, general manager
What has been the biggest impact of the coronavirus on your company?
We were prepared for it and reduced the cargo volume transportation. Thus, the impact on our business has not been big.
How has the virus impacted the operation of your ships with regards to their ability to trade between ports, conduct necessary maintenance, and effect crew changes?
The main problem is crew changes. It has become more difficult due to travel bans and port restrictions. We are also encountering a slowing down of the loading and discharging of cargoes.
What impact have you noticed on cargo volumes and freight rates that can be attributed to the coronavirus?
The outbreak of coronavirus has led to a reduction in the consumption of goods, trade slowdowns, the financial market taking a hit, all of which had affected shipping and has led to a fall in freight rates.
What impact has the virus had on your shoreside operations?
Our employees have been working from home for more than a month to reduce exposure to Covid-19.
What steps have you put in place to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus on your business?
Our company has ample reserves that will cover us for 24 months, and [we] are making plans that will help to mitigate the impact from the virus outbreak. This includes advance preparation for possible changes taking place at ports as well changes in trading patterns.
How long do you expect the coronavirus to continue to have a negative effect on the shipping industry?
This will depend on how various governments can cooperate to fight this virus.
When a recovery finally comes, what do you think it will look like?
The shipping market will improve when the financial market rebounds and sentiment on the global economy is positive.
We are more concerned about how this pandemic will affect future global production. We need cooperation from everyone to advance globalisation and trade.
Polaris Shipping
Unattributed
What has been the biggest impact of the coronavirus on your company?
While we have limited exposure to the market, increased uncertainty and sluggish sentiment has affected our spot activities.
How has the virus impacted the operation of your ships with regards to their ability to trade between ports, conduct necessary maintenance and effect crew changes?
Most of our fleet is employed on long-term contracts with strong visibility of schedule based on fixed routes. Crew changes have become difficult while policies and guidelines from the authorities have been implemented without enough grace period.
What impact have you noticed on cargo volumes and freight rates that can be attributed to the coronavirus?
Freight rates and cargo volume of long-term contracts remain unaffected, while spot rates and volumes are severely slashed.
What impact has the virus had on your shoreside operations?
Some ports have declared force majeure or lockdown, which completely halted shoreside loading and discharging. Even if not locked down, substantial delays are expected.
What steps have you put in place to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus on your business?
We have implemented strong guidelines for prevention of the virus so that our crew members on board will not be affected.
How long do you expect the coronavirus to continue to have a negative effect on the shipping industry?
We may start to see slow recovery from the second half of this year.
When a recovery finally comes, what do you think it will look like?
It is also subject to the global economic condition. If what we are currently experiencing is a type of recession, as in the case of 2008, the recovery may come in two to three years at the earliest. Even if the negative effect from the virus will be subdued during the second half of this year, the overall economy might still be down, which should suppress a recovery in shipping.
