Matt Coyne

5 days ago | tradewindsnews.com | Matt Coyne

The US dollar is already showing weakness as the global reserve currency, DNB’s executive vice president Harald Serck-Hanssen said on Tuesday. During the Ocean Leadership Conference at Nor-Shipping on Tuesday, Serck-Hanssen pointed out that the US dollar is now less than 60% of global foreign exchange reserves, down from 65% a decade ago. “It’s happening very slowly, and it will take a longer time,” he said.

5 days ago | tradewindsnews.com | Matt Coyne

Increasing geopolitical turmoil, supercharged by shifting US trade policy, could push Norway into the European Union, the head of the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association said. Knut Arlid Hareide — the former leader of the Christian Democratic Party and current shipowners’ association CEO — said Norway is in a difficult position as a small country, but a big player in shipping and energy, caught between the US, EU and China.

5 days ago | tradewindsnews.com | Matt Coyne

The only silver lining DNV’s maritime head could find in the classification society’s latest safety report was the lack of a disastrous accident. But that could change unless something is done about the dark fleet.

6 days ago | tradewindsnews.com | Matt Coyne

Natural gas players are not buying Hanwha Group’s plans to build gas carriers in the US. Speaking at Capital Link’s Maritime Leaders Summit in Oslo on Monday, Golar LNG chief executive Karl Fredrik Staubo pointed out that MR tankers had been built in the US at five times the cost for an older design. “Either freight is going 5x up or the world will continue to produce where it’s cheapest,” he said when the prospect of US shipbuilding was raised during a panel.

6 days ago | tradewindsnews.com | Matt Coyne

Shipping wants more options when it comes to building vessels, the heads of several major shipping organisations said, but see the US port fees measure failing. Norwegian Shipowners’ Association president and Odfjell chief executive Harald Fotland said the US measures — which charge vessels fees for visiting US ports to combat Chinese shipbuilding and bolster its own domestic efforts — addressed the issue of depending too much on a single country to build ships.