Dry bulk prospects are “pretty grim” despite rallying in the first two months of this year, delegates at a marine insurance conference have heard. “There’s not much light at the end of the tunnel. It’s a long tunnel and a train could be heading towards us,” said Fearnley Consultants director Sverre Bjørn Svenning at the Central Union of Marine Underwriters’s annual meeting in Oslo.
More than 400 container vessels are idle around the world and exports have plummeted, he added. Japanese exports fell 45% in 2008, while in Taiwan it was 43% and in China exports slumped 17%. Also, the freight market fell by about 95% from May to December 2008.
Figures for January and February gave signs of hope, but overall the market was down 83% on the peak in May last year.“This is quite serious, but there’s a ray of light in the tanker market,” Svenning said.
Earnings in the tanker market reached record levels in 2008, “the best year since 1973”, according to Svenning. But tankers are still feeling the pinch during the downturn.
Values have declined and demand remains weak. And global oil demand is expected to decline by up to 1M barrels a day this year, he said, with a fall of 0.4M bpd in December 2008 alone.
More than 400 container vessels are idle around the world and exports have plummeted, he added. Japanese exports fell 45% in 2008, while in Taiwan it was 43% and in China exports slumped 17%. Also, the freight market fell by about 95% from May to December 2008.
Figures for January and February gave signs of hope, but overall the market was down 83% on the peak in May last year.“This is quite serious, but there’s a ray of light in the tanker market,” Svenning said.
Earnings in the tanker market reached record levels in 2008, “the best year since 1973”, according to Svenning. But tankers are still feeling the pinch during the downturn.
Values have declined and demand remains weak. And global oil demand is expected to decline by up to 1M barrels a day this year, he said, with a fall of 0.4M bpd in December 2008 alone.