Against the backdrop of a United Nations summit to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the shipping industry, Catholic institutions that are connected to the oceans are announcing their divestment from fossil fuels. These include institutions in Panama, the world’s largest shipping registry, the Philippines, home to the largest group of seafarers, Greece, the world’s largest shipowning nation, and port cities across Europe.

The announcements were made at a Vatican-convened conference, The Common Good and Our Common Seas, which explored Catholic teaching on protection of the marine environment. The Catholic conference coincides with a highly anticipated meeting of the International Maritime Organization, or IMO, the UN agency charged with coordinating security and environmental protection for the world’s shipping industry.

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Posted on - 2019-05-10

Speed reduction of up to -30% will lead to net cost savings for shipping industry and states in the majority of cases.

The highest savings are to be achieved especially when fuel prices are high and shipowners’ earnings are low, including on long journeys (30,000 nautical miles).

These findings are applicable to long-distance trades like iron ore exports from Brazil to China.

Savings will diminish or become negative when fuel prices are very low or if ships slow down too much (beyond -30%). But even in that case the negative cost impacts will likely be insignificant.

This study looks only at bulk carriers only, but the results are likely hold true for most other ship types too, which are engaged in comparable trades.

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Posted on - 2019-05-09

Singapore has successfully built itself into a maritime powerhouse through exploiting its strategic location within the old trade routes. Innovation and sound strategic planning by the city-state’s founding fathers helped entrench this position and made the maritime sector an important economic participant in world trade by connecting trade markets. The Tuas Mega Port currently under construction is a natural extension to entrench Singapore’s regional dominance as a transhipment port.

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Posted on - 2019-05-09