According to Bloomberg via gCaptain, there were at least 23 attacks on ships in and near the Strait of Hormuz in the first half of October. At least 5 ship engines were hit, and at least 2 ships sank last week (including 1 container ship); Iran is switching from drones to more use of infrared-guided missiles. INTERTANKO and BIMCO warned of rising risks to crews, and the available tanker capacity was tightened. The U.S. Secretary of Energy said that the traffic volume in the strait was about 80% of normal levels.
The European Shipowners Association (ECSA) released a new study: Shipping accounts for about 10% of the emissions covered by the EU carbon market, but pays nearly 20% of the carbon cost and has never received free quotas; the Sustainable Maritime Propulsion (SMAP) mechanism proposed by the European Commission only contains 110 million quotas, about one-third of the required scale. ECSA calls on the European Parliament and Council to increase the SMAP dedicated quota to at least 330 million (about 30 billion euros), To cultivate the market for sustainable marine fuels and technologies.
Shipbroker Banchero Costa's weekly report shows that this week's new shipbuilding is mainly bulk carriers and oil tankers: Yangzijiang Shipping is reported to have ordered 4+2 82,000-dwt bulk carriers in Jiangsu Watts, for delivery in 20283-June; Eurodry is reported to have ordered three 82,000-dwt bulk carriers from Hengli Heavy Industry, each worth about US$37 million, for delivery in September 2029. For oil tankers, Liquimar is reported to have ordered three 157,000-dwt crude oil tankers from Jiangsu Xinhantong, Top Ships is reported to have ordered four 50,000-dwt oil tankers (Ice Class 1A) from Guangzhou International, and Emarat Maritime is reported to have ordered five 74,000-dwt oil tankers from Jiangsu Hantong, with each ship worth approximately US$55 million.
Capital Tankers, a Greek shipowner owned by Marinakis, has signed four financings totaling US$930.3 million since the end of September: Dalian Shipbuilding Industry has five 307 thousanddwt VLCCs (450.6 million US dollars), Hanwha Marine has three 320 thousanddwt LNG dual-fuel ready VLCCs (241.8 million), and Hengli Shipbuilding has three 306 thousanddwt VLCCs (237.9 million). The financing period of Chinese shipyards is 10 years, and that of South Korea is 5 years. The company currently controls 33 oil tankers, and 16 new ships are to be delivered by mid-2028.
Union Maritime signed a contract for two 4,334 dwt platform supply ships (delivered in 2028/2029, with options for two more) at the 160th anniversary event of Fujian Shipbuilding Shipbuilding, which will be built by Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding. In the same batch of orders, COSCO Shipping Bulk ordered 16 multi-purpose grain ships of 87,000 tons, and the group also has eight 113.6 thousand tons LR2 oil tankers built in Fujian.
On October 20, the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) rose by approximately 1.9% to 2,593 points, the Capesize Index rose by 4.7% to 3,522 points, and the Panamax Index fell by 1.7% to 2,247 points. However, the BDI still fell by approximately 23.7% in the past month. (Baltic Exchange data)
The Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the National Energy Administration jointly issued a plan on October 13 to deploy the promotion and application of new energy ships on my country's inland rivers from the late "14th Five-Year Plan" to the "15th Five-Year Plan" to promote the green and low-carbon transformation of inland waterway shipping.
Issued on October 14, it provides official guidance for the implementation of AI technology in various water transportation scenarios.