GLG News by Metallurgical Coal Experts

Reports of stress fractures on the Hebei Innovator, one of the first VLOC conversions, is likely to be a common problem for other conversion vessels.

SCR, EGR and Scrubber Technologies are an important step into the right direction. Nature shows different ways too.

Tradewinds reported that Brazilian oil major Petrobras is preparing to announce a $10b order for 100 OSV's to serve their offshore segment.  With a world order book already prompting experts to predict a glut by 2010, this is not welcome news.

Jones Act liner shipping company Trailer Bridge (Nasdaq:TRBR) appears headed for a takeover by rival Crowley Maritime.  TRBR's market, the Puerto Rico trade, has been beset by overcapacity and anemic demand.  Consolidation should improve rates.

A new Clarkson's report indicates that the number of potential tanker conversion candidates are even higher than earlier reported, raising the issue of a potential positive impact on tanker rates and negative impact on dry bulk rates.  Neither is likely to happen before mid-2009.

Speakers at the 2008 Annual Peak Season Forecast Conference in Long Beach cast a gloomy view of the transpacific container shipping market.

    Coal lease rates in the PRB are climbing and will cut in coal companies’ margins as exhibited by Foundations recent successful lease bid and Rio Tinto’s higher, but unsuccessful bid.  Also, the upfront payments are due often before the coal is even mined.

    Railroads impose fuel surcharges in transportation agreements such as for coal transport, but the recovery mechanism timing follows the railroads’ purchase of the fuel causing an earnings lag.     Also, legacy coal transportation agreements do not have fuel...

    New Jersey vs. EPA was filed by several states and environmentalists against the EPA’s removal of power plants from the list of mercury sources subject to a Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) standard and that mercury cannot be regulated by a cap and trade system under...

The expansion of the Panama Canal will change the economics of all-water routing of eastbound containers to midwest and east coast destinations.  There will be an added benefit of avoiding the increasing congestion and costs of west coast ports, rail lines, and highways.  NOLA is ideally positioned...