KIRBY OCEAN TRANSPORT COMPANY

NewbuildingMany Chinese companies have been stepping up in the bulker market with COSCO Shipping and Avic leasing placing orders at Chinese yards. Of the total 313 Bulkers ordered over the past year, nearly 40% have been Panamax vessels, demonstrating the hot market.Source: Vessels ValueSecond hand marketThe Bulker market as a whole has shown a softening in values over the past year. The main reason for this is due to the drop off in rates throughout the first quarter of 2019.  In particular, the Capesize market suffered a substantial amount over the spring months with rates reaching three-year lows.

Vitol, the world's largest independent oil trader, has started building a small oil refinery at its storage terminal in Malaysia that will provide low-sulfur fuel for ships, a senior company official said on Monday.The project consists of a crude distillation unit that can process 30,000 barrels per day of crude and is located on the same site as Vitol's oil storage terminal at Tanjung Bin in the southern Malaysian state of Johor, Vitol Asia's President and Chief Executive Officer Kho Hui Meng said.

Denmark’s Ørsted won New Jersey’s first offshore wind solicitation with a 1.1-gigawatt project Ocean Wind, the largest offshore wind project to secure a development deal with a U.S. state to date.The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) announced in a press note that it has selected Ocean Wind, an offshore wind energy project proposed by Ørsted with support from Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG), to negotiate a 20-year offshore wind renewable energy credit (OREC) for an offshore wind farm with a capacity of 1,100MW.Located off the coast of Atlantic City, Ocean Wind will be New Jersey’s first large-scale offshore wind farm.

The expedition cruise ship market maintains its torrid pace with news that Oceanwide Expeditions has orders another Polar Class 6 ship, following the success of its ship Hondius.Croatian shipyard Brodosplit, the builder of Hondius, won the follow on order for M/V Janssonius, which is scheduled to be completed in October, 2021. The 174-passenger ship will be nearly identical in size and design, complete with a Polar Class 6 ice-strengthened vessel equivalent to a 1A super ice-class ship. Janssonius will feature a protected indoor Zodiac loading area, as well as two separate gangways to further facilitate ship-to-shore operations.

NewbuildingSince the beginning of the year, 100 newbuild orders have been placed across the tanker sector. This is a considerable amount lower than the same period last year, when 140 vessels were placed. It is no surprise to see the Greeks lead the way with the highest number and largest vessels ordered, but hot on their heels are the likes of Eastern Pacific and Ocean Tankers, the Singaporean owners ordering the clean trading vessels.Norwegian companies Hunter Group and Knutsen NYK Offshore buy few but spend a lot. Combined, they have spent close to half a billion dollars on only five vessels, ordering three VLCCs for $93.