Special Report - Annual Review
Displayed below are a set of articles which belong to this Special Report.
Website now brings more up-to-the-minute news
LLOYD’S List further cemented its position as a leading maritime web portal with the introduction of new and exciting content this year, writes Nathaniel Xavier .
Owners look to falling ship values to reduce premiums
WHEN Lloyd’s List asked Peter Townsend, hull specialist at the leading marine insurance broker Aon, to characterise shipping in April, he dubbed it “a mess”, writes Tom Leander .
Lessons in dealing with the slump
LATIN American companies have navigated through their fair share of crises.
No end in sight to an ugly saga
PIRACY was so prevalent in 2009 that Hollywood has decided to make a movie about it. Let us hope that Columbia Picture’s dramatisation of last April’s Maersk Alabama hijack brings home to the cinema-going public that the reality of this horrendous crime is nothing like the celluloid image that has prevailed from Errol Flynn to Johnny Depp.
Setbacks and opportunities
FOR CHINA’S shipping sector, 2009 was a bittersweet year. So while the country’s economy continued to surge — fuelling ongoing demand for commodities — China’s shipbuilding industry inevitably fell victim to the global financial crisis.
A year full of colour and drama for nation’s shipping
THIS year, Russia’s maritime sector and its shipowners featured prominently in international news for many of the wrong reasons, writes Michelle Wiese Bockmann .
The year of waiting dangerously
THIS year was ushered in with the global banking crisis in full swing. Lehman Brothers collapsed in September and the banking system suffered what was tantamount to a financial heart attack. Banks refused to lend to each other and consequently their loans to companies froze. The commercial paper market lurched to a halt, started up again and then once again died — and that was before January.
Still optimistic despite dashed hopes
IT IS fair to say that 2009 was one long annus horribilis for much of the Middle East shipping industry as it grappled with unmitigated rates pressures, declining loads, reduced oil demand as a result of the global recession and major investment concerns, writes Dominic Ellis .
Valencia shines as first glimmers of hope appear
DESPITE a challenging year in which maritime trade plummeted across Spain’s network of state-owned ports, there were glimmers of positive news that promised a brighter outlook in the months to come, writes Brian Reyes .
Piracy attacks top most-read stories list
ANOTHER topic that remains high on the list of most-read stories is the continuing issue of pirate attacks, particularly off Somalia, writes Nathaniel Xavier .
Hamburg and its icons battle to retain big league status
THE rescue mission for Germany’s premier container line, Hapag-Lloyd, rising concerns over funding of tramp owners’ large orderbook and the falling star of Hamburg in its role as a hub port marked the year 2009 for the German shipping community, writes Patrick Hagen .
Trying to keep hopes afloat
IF NOT for floating storage, tanker owners would face even gloomier prospects in 2010.
Hidden dangers in the global orderbook
NO MATTER where you went or who you spoke to this year, the hot topic on everyone’s lips has been the mammoth orderbook, writes Liz McCarthy .
Industry braced to weather the storm
PORT ownership was a challenging business in 2009, with a steep first-half decline in container volumes resulting in a slew of postponed or cancelled mega-hub projects worldwide.
Rule B claims flood adds to turmoil from downturn
LAWYERS began 2009 on the front line of billions of dollars of maritime disputes that emerged from the shipping market’s collapse, writes Michelle Wiese Bockmann .
Slump in consumption sees 10% of LNG ships idle in July
A GLOBAL slump in consumption has seen the world awash with gas and an oversupply of gas carriers, writes Martyn Wingrove .
Fear and frustration of waiting for change
AS 2009 draws to a close, the Italian shipping industry finds itself in an ambivalent frame of mind, relieved to have weathered the storm with the loss of only a few spars, while anxious over the buffeting that may still lie ahead.
Box trades go from bad to worse
THE year began terribly for container shipping — and then it just went from bad to worse. Never before have the liner trades experienced such a catastrophic 12 months and prospects for 2010 look equally bleak.
Getting ready for the upturn
THE Nordic shipping sector’s year can be defined as one of restructuring and preparation.
The cracks are starting to show
WHEN it came to assessing the dire state of the industry’s finances at this point last year, Lloyd’s List resorted to some suitably biblical language.
Container port’s cranes come to a standstill as lion state bears brunt
AS A trading entrepot and financial centre, Singapore was bound to feel the full impact of the global financial crisis, writes Marcus Hand .
Antwerp relief over Scheldt deepening
IT HAS been a long time coming, but in 2009 Antwerp finally got the news it has been waiting for — the River Scheldt artery to the Belgian port is to be deepened at key pinch points lying within Dutch territorial waters, writes Roger Hailey .
Buying ships is still seen as the best policy
THE new left-of-centre government of George Papandreou has already caused uproar in the European Union by revealing that Greece’s public deficit is double the extent admitted by the conservative administration that was forced out in early October elections, writes Nigel Lowry .
Lucky country plays its trump card well
IT HAS been mentioned before that Australians enjoy the sobriquet ‘the lucky country’ for their nation and the past year would indicate that this is well earned.
Vessel demand sinks to lowest for five years
OFFSHORE vessel demand has swung with the tide of changes in oil prices and energy company spending this year, with some market rates hitting their worst levels for five years, writes Martyn Wingrove .
As a desperate year for shipping ends, fears 2010 could be worse
THERE is no need to belabour that it was a tough year. What might be expressed — with a sheepish smile, perhaps — is that it could have been much worse, writes Rajesh Joshi .
The year the sector sighed with relief
FOR the classification sector, 2009 will enter the history books as the year in which the European Commission finally drew a line under competition investigations.
Delay and pray is the bulk sector mantra
DELAY and pray. This was the favoured option of bulk carrier owners and operators a year ago. Delay delivery of the 3,500 ships under construction in the world’s shipyards and hope that in the meantime something — anything — would come along to soak up the tsunami of tonnage entering the global fleet.
Paper trades dive amid fallout from 2008 defaults
THE erosion of trust in shipping deals, combined with the widespread and costly paper defaults of late 2008, had far-reaching structural consequences for the still-immature dry freight derivatives sector, writes Michelle Wiese Bockmann .
Why shipping is no longer nation’s Cinderella sector
THE French maritime sector is no less affected than those of other countries by the economic crisis, writes Andrew Spurrier .
Owners’ caution pays its dividends
CAUTIOUS Hong Kong shipowners, who largely avoided the ordering frenzy of the boom years, have been spared the loss of face that has befallen their South Korean and European counterparts, who have been forced to postpone or cancel newbuilding orders.
Surging foreign investment buoys maritime industries
INDIA’S place in world trade is set to grow, despite the global crisis, as the country continues to expand both its ports and hinterland infrastructure to handle increased volumes, writes Roger Hailey .
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