Iran has been widely condemned after the suezmax tanker Advantage Sweet was seized by its forces in the Middle East Gulfen route to Texas from Kuwait. European navies patrolling the Strait of Hormuz criticised the seizure, calling ita “breach of international law”. Sources speculated that the incident was part of tit-for-tat blows between Washington and Tehran, with some seeing Iran’s seizure of the Advantage Sweet as a response to US crude seizures.
The family of Greek owner George Procopiou has inked a fresh, unusually large batch of up to 14 newbuildings just a few months after taking delivery of the last tankers he ordered three years ago. Market sources in Athens and London say Procopiou’s Dynacom Tankers Management has signed up for 10 firm and four optional LR2 product carriers in China.
“Double-handling” of product cargoes is boosting tonne-miles as the number of clean tankers handling Russian oil hits 300. Executives from giant shipowners Hafnia and Scorpio Tankers explained on an investor call with Clarksons Securities that double-handling occurs when Russian products are transported further afield, forcing other products from east of the Suez Canal to be shipped to higher-value Western markets.
Taylor Maritime Investments has been paying off debt through ship sales and an insurance payout for a bulker abandoned in Ukraine. The London-listed company said it was on track to reach its deleveraging target by the end of June after knocking $64m off the total in the first quarter. In a trading update, the handysize specialist said its strategy of using ship sales to cut debt was supported by a strong sale-and-purchase market. The shipowner was confident of support for earnings and asset values as China’s economic demand reawakens.
Three dry cargo shipbrokers have resigned from Simpson Spence Young (SSY) in Connecticut, two of whom have left to set up their own shop. Spot market-focused brokers Caleb Dorsey, Teo Tsagaris and Mike Beatty have left the Stamford office. The departures leave something of a hole in SSY’s spot chartering activities in Stamford in the meantime.
US bank JP Morgan has revealed institutional investors have acquired the 50% of Norwegian Car Carriers sold by Tom Erik Klaveness and his family earlier this month. The investors advised by JP Morgan Global Alternative’s Global Transportation Group already owned the other half of the Norwegian operator.
And our weekly Green Seas environment newsletter checks in on discussions at the global shipping regulator over efforts to tackle nurdles and other plastics pollution.
