Container shipping set to see growth despite record bunker prices Friday, 30 May 2008
Despite current record bunker prices, the container industry will still see positive growth this year, said Jasper Praestengaard, chief executive officer for AP Moeller-Maersk in the Asia Pacific region. While Praestengaard acknowledged that the container industry would not enjoy the 10% growth rate seen in 2007 and previous years, he declined to comment on the projected rate for 2008. "It [record high bunker prices] has a huge impact -- 50 per cent of our total operating cost is bunker fuel. In container shipping, we will still have
positive growth. Last year, we had a 10 per cent growth rate. This year it
will be lower, but not significantly lower," he said Thursday. Praestengaard was speaking on the sidelines of a conference --
Sustainable Shipping - Fueling a cleaner future -- held in Singapore Thursday
and attended by about 80 delegates.
Also at the conference, Shell Marine Products CEO Isabella Loh spoke on
the need to develop a "blueprint" scenario for the future -- where greater
action is taken to develop sustainable sources of fuel. And through
innovation, unique solutions prove beneficial. Loh cited the case of sulfur, a
once unwanted byproduct of the desulfurization process by refineries, which
now commands a price of more than $700/mt for use as fertilizer.
Loh also noted the increasing use of low sulfur fuel oil and 580 CST fuel
oil, which can be used in newer ships as bunker fuel.
Elaborating on this growing market, she mentioned how Asian sellers were
selling the 500 CST grade to traders in the Baltic region.
Other dominant themes at the conference included the need for the
shipping industry, which transports 90 per cent of the world's goods, to
reduce its sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and particulate matter emissions.
Source: Platts
