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May 10, 2010
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Of the tanker companies ... I like NAT, SFL, FRO, OSG, and especially DHT, etc.
I've been watching, and the Tanker "day rates" are increasing; as are the spot market day rates for other shipping types as well. ... and the 40% tax boost on Australia's miners ... may put a short term crimp in the dry market until that gets sorted out.
Dry bulk customers have to be concerned the Australian tax increase is going to come out of their pocket through comodity price increases ... can you see China getting ticked with that?
** Missing info and missing the boat.
The analysts writing about "new" ships entering the market in the next couple of years, whether dry or tanker, clean or dirty, are using that to tempering their ratings for shipping companies. I've called them on the missing info ... (1) the ships aren't going to load /offload themselves ... nor (2) get themselves from point A to point B without crews, (3) the ships, in getting themselves from point A to point B have SLOWED DOWN, etc.
I was on Stealth Gas's (GASS) conference call when the CEO lamented the " ... industry wide lack of seasoned crews ..."
I was also on another conference call with Shipping industry analysts ... and the moderator took my question about " ... crews ..." ... you could hear the analysts SQUIRM for an answer. That the analysts ( ha, ha!! ) were blindsided by my question ... a question they surely should have considered in their analysis ... leaves me questioning what else "they" missed.
That's why I do my own homework. Obviously, new crews ... if you can find the people, can be trained. The most likely scenario, is that the crews from older ships will be transferred to the new ships and the older ships will be relegated to storage, or refitted ( such as to service offshore oil rigs ), anchored 'til needed, or retired.
But here is a diamond I haven't yet mentioned ... .
The "green" the planet and save the oceans has hit the shipping industry. The ISO has proposed a maximum of 2.00 parts per million (ppm mg/kg) of ocean polluting Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) in bunker fuel from July 2012 to officially regulate this important test parameter.
Also, when crude went to +147/bbl, bunker fuels went to +$500/tonne and the ships SLOWED down. Now, the use of bunker fuels ( the dreggs left when the refineries have coaxed everything out of them they can ...) is being phased out and more expensive diesel MUST be used ... so the additional ships are now NECESSARY, as the slowdown means world stockpiles will be used up FASTER than they can be replenished ... unless you ADD MORE ships.
