US-listed shipping stocks dropped like a stone Monday along with the broader market amid coronavirus jitters and the oil-price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia.
Shipowners across maritime's various sectors saw major selloffs, led by Dorian LPG's 24.8% drop to $7.44 by the end of the New York trading day.
Teekay Corp shares also took a big hit, falling 22.9% to $2.22.
Other equities taking double-digit percentage slides include bulker player Navios Maritime Partners, which declined 22.5% to $6.53. Meanwhile, Golar LNG took a 21.5% slide to $8.29.
The cruise sector also saw major losses as Carnival Corp fell 20% to $21.74, Royal Caribbean Cruises slid 26% to $48.27 and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings took an 11% beating to $32.24.
The only shipping sector to see gains was tankers, punctuated by Frontline's 7.4% jump to $7.56.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average painted the broader picture for the biggest market plunge since the 2008 financial crash, falling 2,014 points to 23,851.
US Western Texas Intermediate Crude oil price dropped 24.6% to $31.13 per barrel while Brent crude fell 24% to $34.36 per barrel.
Stocks affected worldwide
Europe-listed stocks also fell sharply Monday as London's FTSE 100 suffered its biggest intra-day fall for 12 years as global Covid-19 cases neared 110,000.
FPSO company BW Offshore lost nearly 25% of its value in Oslo, and seismic survey vessel operator PGS' value was slashed by 38.4%. Another seismic survey company, CGG, was down by 33% in France.
Bulker owner Cosco Corp in Singapore had closed down nearly 17% on Monday.
Oslo bulker owners Golden Ocean and Jinhui Shipping & Transportation were down 6.6% and 21% respectively, while LNG carrier owner Hoegh LNG saw its price plunge 18%.
Bloodbath
One Asian finance source told TradeWinds that Monday had been "really bad, a bloodbath".
The drop in Brent was the biggest single fall since the start of the first Gulf war in 1991.
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Some experts predicted that it could fall even further unless the Saudis and Russians returned to the bargaining table following last week's collapse of the Opec+ production deal.
Amid the turmoil, the Baltic Exchange Dry Index closed down only 1 point at 616, but the capesize index was off 60 points at -372.
US stocks were poised for a major slump Monday even before the market open, with stock futures showing showing a potential 4.8% slump in the benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average.
