It’s official! High-profile protection and indemnity brands North P&I Club and Standard Club are set to become one. We also explore why ship to ship transfers off Greece are all the rage these days, and sanctions are sanctions pushing up coal fixture rates from Russia.
Amid the misery and suffering caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, at least one sector is enjoying a boom time. Ship to ship transfers of Russian crude and oil products off the coast of Greece are enjoying somewhat of a bonanza. And what was the top destination for these cargoes last month? The US, according to data platform Vortexa.
Spot fixture prices for Russian coal to China were also buoyant this week, with one Greek owner securing a capesize rate not seen since before the financial crash of the late noughties. Similarly, Russia’s coal exports to Europe are hitting five-year highs as buyers rush to beat the ban entering force in August.
A new protection and indemnity club is born: North P&I Club and Standard Club today received the go-ahead from their respective shipowner members to combine. NorthStandard will be the second-largest club with an annual income exceeding $750m, and subject to regulatory approval, intends to start operations ahead of the February 2023 renewals.
Glencore has closed the book on swirling investigations by agreeing to nearly $1.1bn in penalties in the US and Brazil, with a portion of the criminal charges focused on price manipulation in bunker fuel deals. The story’s not over, though, in other countries. The company’s agreement in the UK could bring the total bill to $1.5bn, and Swiss and Dutch investigations continue.
The problems posed by the so-called rogue tanker fleet also apply to the LPG carrier sector, according to Avance Gas. It said that around 30 older VLGCs are transporting sanctioned cargo, mainly from Iran. If sanctions against Iran were to be lifted, this fleet would probably go to scrap, the company’s executive chairman Oystein Kalleklev posited.
And finally, defunct cruise ship operator Genting Hong Kong’s latest ship sale has answered a higher calling. The 3,370-gt Taipan casino ship has been sold to a Christian organisation in Germany that will convert it into a missionary vessel.
