Shipping broker report 03/21/25

Industry Discussions Shipping News
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A slight curveball this week - using Affinity Tankers weekly report this week.
Reasonable summary sections on the two oil flavors AND data on more routes. On crude tanker routes, I don’t think owners in any category of vessels are complaining. On the clean tanker routes, the only route with lower margins is TC 14. Small vessel - handy, so likely an MR1 (If the rate was stronger, the route might attract an older MR2)

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Adding a comment or two on dry bulk.

  • Quick perusal of broker reports suggests more active trading of bulker second-hand tonnage. Not following the segment much as I have little dry bulk investment.
  • Speaking of dry bulk investment, GOGL is my only dry bulk investment. Since CMBT are now the primary shareholders, the GOGL board is being reshuffled. Two Fredriksen favored slots have been vacated, and filled with CMBT favored appointees.
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Is this a good thing or should I be concerned?

JimA

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@JimA759s - Good question. I don’t have a straight-forward answer.

  • If I were strictly a Fredriksen backer, I would be out of GOGL too. While there is risk involved with investing in a Fredriksen-backed entity, there is also reward from a concerned backer. About 15 -20 years ago, GOGL had a convertible issue that was coming due. GOGL was having problems refinancing the debt. Fredriksen arranged to have the bond debt wiped out. In the more recent times, Fredriksen has arranged a financing credit facility available for GOGL’s use (IIRC, it is a major facility of $250M - $275M)
  • From a continuity perspective, GOGL is getting an owner familiar with the shipping sector. The original CMB shipping entity dates back to the late 19th century (I think, 1895 or 1896).
  • Will GOGL remain as a standalone entity? CMBT is now a major shipping entity with different flavors of shipping (including dry bulk) in the mix.
  • Then, there’s the issue of US trade policy and tariffs. Don’t know the outcome of those decisions, but the US and Canada (via the US) export a lot of goods carried on dry bulk vessels. Also, the US imports a fair amount of items e.g. steel, transported via dry bulk vessels.

Existing GOGL position is not significant. CMBT paid a premium to acquire Fredriksen’s stake. Not sure if CMBT would pay a similar price for the shares they don’t own. Then again, CMBT mgmt could use CMBT shares for a merger transaction.

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