First up, shipping industry organisation Bimco is seeking to give charterers the responsibility for the commercial effects of new Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) regulations. The Bimco documentary committee announced the release of its new model CII time-charter clause after eight months of deliberation and just six weeks before the new regulation comes into force. Both sides were represented in the drafting of the document, but the focus is on giving the paying customer responsibility, rather than the transport service provider.

Mediterranean Shipping Co’s massive expansion in secondhand vessels, newbuilding and charter markets has proven unrelenting. The extraordinary secondhand purchase spree has already added around 250 vessels to MSC’s fleet in the past two years. Factor in newbuildings and forward charter commitments, and it amounts to what one shipowner calls “the greatest bet in container shipping history”.

Shipbroker Braemar looks set to expand further after building its securities operations. The London-listed UK group brought in the 10-strong former Arraco Global Markets natural gas desk this month. And chief executive James Gundy told TradeWinds this week more news is expected soon on the growth front. The CEO also reassured owners that fresh tanker orders trickling in will not become a flood any time soon. He said a lot of owners were still hesitant and a dilemma about which fuel to use remained.

Up to 20 new large ammonia carriers need to be ordered now and built every year to 2030 to meet the potential demand for transporting green fuels to reach global climate goals, a report claimed this week. The report — named Shipping’s Role in the Global Energy Transition — said shipping will be crucial in transporting green fuels, but there is a yawning gap between announced government-led projects and what is required.

It took black­listed Viktor Artemov just four months to build much of his fleet of 11 ves­sels he then allegedly used to trade sanc­tioned oil. A review of shipping databases, broker reports and corporate registry data carried out by TradeWinds shows how the Ukrainian national was able to acquire much of his $260m dark fleet.

Vitol-backed Elandra Tankers reportedly sold off two ships in its VLCC fleet at prices that have not been seen since 2009. US and UK brokers said the Swiss company sold the two 2020-built vessels to Saudi shipping giant Bahri for $112m each.

Our Green Seas environment newsletter this week explores the effort to highlight how climate change is enticing more ships to the sensitive Arctic region, which is contributing to more climate change.

And finally, Cypriot owner Castor Maritime is plotting a spin-off of its tanker fleet after diversifying from bulkers last year. The Nasdaq-listed owner of 28 ships went on a buying spree from 2020, adding dry cargo ships and then crude and product carriers. Now it wants to split off its aframax, five LR2s and two handysize vessels into a new company called Toro Corp.

Read more