tankers

In this episode, we dive into the world of the maritime shipping industry's "dark/grey fleet" with Michelle Wiese Bockmann, senior analyst for Lloyd’s List Intelligence, and markets editor Lloyd’s List.

We discusses the origins and growth of the dark fleet, the geopolitical events contributing to its expansion, and the subsequent challenges in tracking these vessels. We talk about the digital tools that are now at her disposal to shed light on thos ships that rather stay dark.  A spotlight is cast on the human cost of these unregulated operations through a discussion about a recent tragic incident. 

Finally, Michelle  emphasizes the need for the maritime industry to better promote itself and work towards more diversity.

Why you should listen: 

1.     The "dark fleet" represents a significant portion of the international fleet, operating outside regulatory frameworks and posing numerous risks.

2.     Iran's evasion tactics laid the foundation for the dark fleet, but the Russian invasion of Ukraine caused a significant surge in its size.

3.     A discussion of the methodology used to track the dark fleet and discusses the challenges introduced by Russia's involvement.

4.     She elaborates on how geopolitical changes like the invasion of Ukraine have shifted global trade lanes, with an increased global distribution of Russian diesel.

5.     The episode concludes with a discussion on the need for diversity and better self-promotion in the maritime industry.

Guest Bio
Michelle Wiese Bockmann is a senior analyst for Lloyd’s List Intelligence, and markets editor Lloyd’s List, one of the world's oldest continuously-running journals, providing news for the shipping industry.

Flows of naphtha from the US Gulf Coast to Asia have reached record highs in May and June, drawn by fresh demand from Asia’s steam crackers returning from seasonal maintenance and new units coming online over the second half of June.

Though higher refining rates and dampened demand for gasoline in the US have opened wide this normally delicate naphtha arbitrage, tanker owners operating in the Americas have shown resistance to making the trans-Pacific voyage, citing low daily earnings and weak freight levels in both the Americas and Asia Medium Range tanker markets as deterrents for repositioning their fleets.

Marieke Alsguth, S&P Global Platts clean tanker editor, sits down with Houston naphtha editor MK Bower and Singapore naphtha editor Wanda Wang to discuss the factors that opened the floodgates for naphtha barrels to move from the USGC to Asia, and how the resurgence of petroleum product demand as countries emerge from pandemic-related lockdowns could affect activity on the trans-Pacific trade flow.

As the shortest route from the US Gulf Coast to East Asia, the Panama Canal has emerged as a key fixture in global trade flow dynamics.

We spoke with Ricaurte Vásquez Morales, administrator of the Panama Canal Authority, who has been working to reduce congestion of the canal, which has grown in part because of LNG shipments from the US.

Refinery outages from the cold snap on the US Gulf Coast Feb. 15-19 put even more bearish pressure on the already weak Americas clean tanker market, and heightened diesel prices in the USGC.

With petroleum product demand still low globally, the Americas clean tanker market continues to move along the freight floor as typical arbitrages to Europe and Latin America remain closed. Heightened diesel prices and ever-drawing stocks in the USGC have reversed the typical arbitrage to Europe, exacerbating the already low cargo supply for clean tankers looking to carry USGC product exports to other regions.

Marieke Alsguth and Troy Duffie of the Americas shipping team sit down with Maha Husseini from the clean oil products team in Houston to discuss immediate impacts from the mid-February cold snap refinery outages and potential outlooks for petroleum product demand in the Americas as the vaccine effort rolls out.

Tanker freight for clean and dirty ships hit multiyear lows in October, subverting winter seasonality which typically brings year highs for freight for both sides of the market.

Demand for crude and petroleum products remains low worldwide, and as Europe and the Americas face second- and third-wave lockdowns, tanker market participants have mixed
expectations for the rest of the year.

Marieke Alsguth, Catherine Wood, and Nicole Baquerizo of the S&P Global Platts shipping team discuss how 2020 freight patterns have diverted dramatically from the norm in the
Americas, and what shipowners have their eyes on as potential strengtheners of the market.

US Gulf Coast market players looking to get light naphtha barrels off their hands, a hungry Asian market and weakened freight is the perfect arbitrage recipe. But with shipowners reluctant to move their ships East, where the freight market is weak, the balance has been delicate.

Sarah Raslan, US naphtha editor, and Marieke Alsguth, US clean tankers editor, chat with Americas Oil Markets Editorial Director Director Richard Swann to dissect the ingredients that have set the table for this arbitrage opportunity.

The recent floating storage boom drove tanker freight earnings to levels last seen during the Golden Tanker Era of 2004-2008, but how sustainable are VLCC time charter equivalent revenues in excess of $100,000/d? Tanker owners have now concluded their
first-quarter earnings call season and were wondering how long the current boom would last.

Barbara Troner, Catherine Wood and Marieke Alsguth discuss what’s been driving the Americas tanker markets into the second quarter, comparing shipowner hopes and concerns with current market reality.

Pandemic oil demand destruction has converted clean products tankers into offshore storage containers as onshore storage is approaching tank top. Forced floating storage as a result of discharge problems has the products tanker markets buzzing arguably at a faster pace at present than their larger sisters on the crude side.

Barbara Troner, Marieke Alsguth and Chris To of the S&P Global Platts shipping team put their heads together with Platts’ Beth Brown to explore the dynamics of current products forward pricing structures and floating storage opportunities.

The tsunami of IMO 2020 turned into a tidal wave of cheap oil as producers flood the crude oil market and refiners cut runs amid the COVID-19 demand destruction. In the meantime crude is heading toward containment in tankers floating offshore.

Catherine Wood and Barbara Troner of the S&P Global Platts shipping team put their heads together with Platts crude editor Kristian Tialios to explore the dynamics of current floating storage plays.

A little over a month into the IMO 2020 switch from 3.5% to 0.5% sulfur bunker fuels, the lifting of US sanctions on COSCO-owned tankers and dented crude oil and jet fuel demand due to the coronavirus outbreak had tanker freight take a u-turn and re-open arbitrage flows from the US Gulf Coast.

Marieke Alsguth, Barbara Troner and Catherine Wood of the S&P Global Platts shipping team talk about how the first 40 days of IMO 2020 have shaped up for the Americas loading tanker markets.

In the final Shipping Commodities Focus podcast of 2019, S&P Global Platts editors George Griffiths and Sam Eckett discuss the state of the markets ahead of IMO 2020's January 1 deadline. They review the inaugural Platts European Shipping Seminar in Athens; how the Kübler-Ross model of grief (the five stages) applies to global shipping; and investigate why public and private companies are approaching the sulfur emissions cap regulations differently.

Middle distillates have been drifting into the a softer patch on the back of frustrated expectations for IMO 2020. Amid this, arrivals of VLCCs carrying middle distillates have impacted European and African markets, middle distillates specialists Virginie Malicier and Gary Clark tell Francesco Di Salvo.

The United States has been waging an economic war against Iran ever since the Iranian Revolution overthrew the US-backed brutal shah in 1979, but that war has escalated recently with the US-imposed oil embargo. Oil is a major source of revenue for Iran. Add to that the US pulling out of the nuclear agreement, the attacks on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and Iran shooting down a US drone, and we are extremely close to a hot war that would destabilize the entire Middle East. We speak with Patrick Hiller, a conflict resolution expert who traveled to Iran with us earlier this year, about just how dangerous the current situation is, what the potential consequences are and what we can do to reconcile the hostilities. We also cover recent news and analyses.

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Join host Matt Starnes for a brief introduction to Johnston Sweepers, a BUCHER company and Bucher Municipal. Street sweepers, sewer cleaners, winter equipment, refuse and more Bucher Municipal and Johnston Sweepers products are covered. This is an overview primer meant to help listeners learn about the world of Bucher so they can understand and learn through future podcast episodes.

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