The World Bankhas added its influential voiceto how up to $3.7trn that could be raised from a price on carbon pollution from ships over the next 27 years may be used to drive decarbonisation, fund green bunker fuel infrastructure and support broader climate aims in the world’s most vulnerable nations. A new report from the institution may help convince some nations to support proposals for market-based measures at critical climate talks to be held at the International Maritime Organization headquarters in London over the next few weeks, Julian Bray reported.

Competitive pricing is thought to be luring Greeks back to ordering big tankers, Irene Ang reported. According to her shipyard sources, George Procopiou’s Dynacom Tankers Management and Evangelos Marinakis’ Capital Maritime & Trading are in discussions with Chinese shipyards for up to four VLCCs each. The Dynacom deal was also reported by several Greek brokers, but strongly denied by the company. Investment in new tankers is running at a 40-year low, with effectively zero growth in the VLCC fleet in the next two years, the TradeWinds Shipowners Forum heard at Nor-Shipping last week.

Shipping giants BW Group and Scorpio Group have struck a deal to form the world’s biggest owner of wind turbine and foundation installation ships, reported Gary Dixon. The pairare merging BW and Swire Pacific-backed owner Cadeler with Scorpio’s Eneti in a $1.2bn all-share deal.

The hot market for dry bulk sale-and-leaseback deals involving Japanese buyers appears to be running out of steam after a slump in deals this year, Adam Corbett reported. There has been a noticeable decline in this type of refinancing in the first six months of 2023, compared with the second half of 2022. In the story, TradeWinds looks at the possible reasons for this.

The Bangladesh government’s adoption of the Hong Kong Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships has set off coordinated diplomatic moves to try to make sure the entry into force requirement is met in the coming months, reported Adam Corbett. That move will virtually complete the convention’s entry into force conditions as far as governments representing ship recycling capacity are concerned.

Stove Shipping sells last vessel in deal with Gearbulk
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Norway’s Stove Shipping has sold its last ship as the Tidemand family-backed company turns its focus to charting a greener future, reported Matt Coyne. Back in 2020, Stove chairman Christian Andersen told TradeWinds that the company was looking to sell its existing fleet to reinvest in new ships that use greener propulsion systems. Read what the company plans to do next here.

In our Streetwise financial newsletter, Joe Brady asks whether artificial intelligence is a source of hope or concern in the future of shipping. This follows Jefferies analyst Omar Nokta dropping a somewhat unusual client note last week looking at 10 ways AI could change shipping.

Jan Dieleman, president of the Cargill shipping unit, told TradeWinds’ Eric Martin his company is in talks for one or two more vessels, in addition to the four kamsarmax bulkers already on order for charter to the company. Cargill Ocean Transportation is not the company that piled on orders for another 10 methanol-fuelled bulkers at Tsuneishi Shipbuilding, but the giant ship operator is pleased that others are getting on the bandwagon after it signed a groundbreaking newbuilding deal to start the race.

Dozens of shipping companies were surprised to receive back tax claims from Nigerian government officials to the tune of several million dollars, Harry Papachristou reported. One Greek owner was asked to pay $18m in taxes allegedly incurred between 2011 and 2019. Nigeria’s new administration is invoking hitherto ignored legislation from 2004 that applies to non-residents that impose a tax on freight rate income and profit earned transporting Nigerian oil, one source said. But, as TradeWinds reports, there may be a more practical reason for the sudden demand.

And finally, if you missed last week’s TradeWinds Shipowners Forum Oslo in Nor-Shipping last week, you can catch up with all the action via a series of videos here.

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