TOP STORY

The unrelenting appetite of Belgium’s CMB.Tech for giant bulkers has seen the company add two more vessels to an orderbook that now stands at 26 ammonia-fuelled and ammonia-ready vessels. The Antwerp-based company’s dry bulk arm, Bocimar, has returned to China’s Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry for two dual-fuel newcastlemaxes to be delivered in the second half of 2026.

IN THE NEWS

Norden has bought four capesize newbuildings in a deal valued at over $271m, bringing its owned fleet of the larger bulkers up to nine vessels. The Danish owner-operator, which has a fleet of product tankers and bulkers of all sizes, said the acquisitions will be delivered in 2025 and 2027.

G7 insurers have pulled their protection and indemnity cover for Russian tanker specialist Fractal after it was hit by UK sanctions. The American Club, which provided P&I for two-thirds of the 24-strong Fractal fleet, said it had terminated its coverage. The remaining eight ships were covered by the West of England, which no longer lists the vessels after taking “appropriate action”, the company said.

Frontline is to repay loans from major shareholder John Fredriksen as it refinances 24 of its tankers. The Oslo-listed shipowner will also use cash from recent vessel sales to clear funding arranged with the tycoon to part-finance the $2.35bn acquisition of 24 VLCCs from Euronav last year.

Bulker owner Golden Ocean Group has positioned itself for an upturn in spot markets this year and has been putting new financing in place to help it keep paying out to shareholders. The Oslo and Nasdaq-listed company finished 2023 on a positive note with its most profitable quarter of the year and its biggest dividend since 2022, as TradeWinds reported on Wednesday.

International Seaways has confirmed a purchase of six MR tankers built in 2014 and 2015 from private equity player Wayzata Investment Partners, saying it used shares for part of the cost. The New York-listed diversified tanker owner did not specify the seller as it reported fourth-quarter 2023 earnings on Thursday. It cited the deal price at $232m, saying 15% of the price came in shares.

Two Genco Shipping capesizes are back on the sales block after a deal imploded. The deal to offload the 169,025-dwt Genco Maximus (built 2009) and 169,001-dwt Genco Claudius (built 2010) to an unnamed buyer has been “terminated … due to the buyers’ breach of the agreements’ terms”, Genco said in a filing with US securities regulators this week.

London shipowner and operator Ashley Group Holdings Limited has taken a major step forward on fleet renewal with a deal to take over the charters of four bulk carriers. The low-profile, privately held company has bought the term deals held by Oslo-based Vincent Shipping on three kamsarmaxes and an ultramax owned by Japan’s Nisshin Shipping.

PROFILE

Robert Yuksel Yilderim is president of Samsunspor Football Club. Photo: Samsunspor official website

CMA CGM shareholder Robert Yildirim has an unusual hobby: he buys football clubs for fun. It is an expensive pastime, but the Turkish billionaire has done well out of the container shipping boom as a result of investments such as his 24% stake in CMA CGM, the world’s third-largest line. Read Ian Lewis’ full story here.

COMMENT

A rare spat between bank equity analysts erupted over Teekay Tankers’ earnings this week, reports Joe Brady. The rift emerged after Teekay shares fell 7% in New York on 22 February in the hours after the diversified tanker owner reported nearly $100m in net income from a robust fourth quarter of 2023.

PODCAST

In Episode One of the TradeWinds Wavelength podcast, we explore the latest developments in the Red Sea, including the resumption of sanctions, how the situation is impacting other nations in the region and how state-based attacks on shipping could become a new normal.

We also look at the bullish LNG market, and by looking at the recent rush of financial results detect a growing bullishness about the future of the energy commodity.

The episode includes a high-level assessment of the state of the industry and a summary of the week’s news.

Read more