In line with The Bahamas Maritime Authority’s (BMA) commitment to consistently high standards and exceptional service has developed a comprehensive online reporting portal for use by managers and owners which has now been launched.
The BMA’s online reporting portal is the first of its type to be employed in the maritime sector and has been developed to simplify the process for its clients, acting as a one-stop shop.  Replacing the nine forms that might currently be used to report anything from a serious marine casualty to a birth at sea, the portal meets all the reporting requirements of the Merchant Shipping Act and other national and international requirements. The main benefit of the new system is efficiency, with all relevant information being captured at the same time, reducing duplication of effort completing multiple forms.  Equally important will be that the collected data can be more effectively analysed for trends within The Bahamas fleet.
Nick Dowden, Assistant Director and Marine Investigator in The BMA’s Investigations Department, explained how clients will benefit from the new system: “Currently it can be quite a laborious exercise to report an incident, perhaps requiring the completion of three or four different forms. By digitalising the process the system itself will handle any duplications of information needed and will also lead the user through the stages of reporting - asking only for relevant details and flagging any supporting material that is needed.
“In terms of data collection and analysis, it will make it much easier for us to identify trends across our fleet so that clients can benefit from each other’s experiences. This will be particularly helpful to managers and owners who have only one or two vessels operating and so wouldn’t have the benefit of seeing the wider trends in the industry.”
The new portal, which initially will run concurrently with the paper system, has been specifically designed to work even in the event of the ship’s connectivity being lost. Any report that is submitted whilst offline – even if that loss occurs midway through the reporting process -  will be stored in the client’s computer cache and will synchronise with The BMA server once the connection to the internet is restored.
The new reporting tool is just one of a number of initiatives that The BMA has been introducing recently to enhance its online services and digital offering to its customers.
Image: Nick Dowden, Assistant Director and Marine Investigator in The BMA’s Investigations Department

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In November 2022, experts from Greece and Italy, as well as other EU countries and Canada, joined a webinar series to share inspiring environmental education initiatives from the Mediterranean region, North America and the Arctic as part of the “Ride the Wave” Erasmus+ project.
Case studies in ocean literacy and environmental education were presented and practical knowledge was exchanged between experts on the global communication of ocean science and its role in promoting ocean literacy, links between marine science and Blue Economy sectors, such as tourism, the value of Marine Protected Areas on the preservation of biodiversity as well as the role of NGOs and other organizations in promoting environmental education among the general public.
The webinars were organized by the Hellenic Marine Environment Protection Association (HELMEPA), MAREVIVO, and two Nautical High Schools, "G. Da Verrazzano” in Porto Santo Stefano, Italy and the 1^st Vocational High School of Konistres in Evia, Greece and hosted more than 100 participants attending as well as expert organizations such as Acquario Mediterraneo dell’ Argentario, Cooperativa Ziguele, G.Eco, Hellenic Center for Marine Research (HCMR), Hydrographic Institute of the Italian Navy, International Ocean Institute (IOI) – Canada, MIO-ECSDE/MEdIES, and the Tsakos Enhanced Education Nautical School (T.E.E.N.S).
Participants and other stakeholders active in the protection of the sea and environmental education will continue to cooperate through the development of a “Local Sea Network” of organizations, which are directly or indirectly supporting the blue Economy Sector. The aim of the network is the exchange of good educational practices that could be adapted locally in different geographical and cultural contexts, and the development of common initiatives and integrated actions towards protection and conservation of our seas. The first step will be the development of a tailor-made educational program for Nautical High Schools, which will be tested as a pilot in Spring 2023 in both Italy and Greece, accompanied by a replicability toolkit to support non-expert educators.
Note to editors: “RIDE THE WAVE” – Ocean and Climate Literacy for Nautical High Schools project is funded by the European Erasmus+ Program 2021-2027- KA210-SCH-000049369. For more information, please visit the official website and Facebook page of the project.

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The Eugenides Foundation donated two small ambulances to Ios and Rhodes and the Minister of Health Thanos Pleuris and the Deputy Minister of Health Mina Gaga attended the delivery ceremony to the 2nd DYPE.
This is a donation of two small ambulances in the amount of 117,120 euros to strengthen the Health Center of Ios and the Health Center in Genadi of Rhodes.
The event was attended by the President of the Foundation, Leonidas Dimitriadis Eugenides and the Governor of the Foundation, former Rector of the National Technical University of Athens, Ioannis Goliasthe commander of the 2nd DIPE Christos Roilos the deputies of Cyclades Philip Fortomas and Yannis Vroutsis and the mayors of Ios Gikas Gikas and the mayor of Rhodes Antonis Kambourakis.
The President of the Foundation, Leonidas Dimitriadis Evgenidis, speaking at the event, said that “we feel that our donation is an obligation we have towards Greek society. The Eugenides Foundation, while its main purpose of operation and action is technical, scientific and professional education, has always been present when there were serious difficulties and crises in our homeland.
Such as the silent and large contribution of Evgenios Eugenides to the earthquakes of Zakynthos, or the donation of 3,000,000 dollars by Nikolaos Vernikos – Eugenides to the earthquakes of 1999. With the outbreak of the pandemic, we have directly and indirectly donated more than 1.5 million euros to actions.
But we didn’t stop there. We considered it our duty to offer to Public Health as well, with a program of targeted donations to Sotiria, Attikon and Children’s hospitals and beyond. We estimated that especially at these times our islands should be strengthened and insularity should be supported.
I am an islander, I am Cycladic and I know very well the problems our islands face. The donation of an ambulance to Ios is the result of our excellent cooperation with the Health Center of Ios, an island where during the summer months its population doubles. At the same time, the decisive contribution of the commander of the 2nd DYPE of Piraeus and Aegean, Mr. Christos Roilos, where he pointed out the huge shortage of ambulances in Southern Rhodes, makes us feel that this donation has a great impact. We are sure that these actions will take place, in a holistic way”.
For his part, the Minister of Health Thanos Pleuris said: “This offer is important for our islands and we thank you for the donation of the two ambulances.
With initiatives that we voted in the previous period, we give incentives mainly in the summer months to have more staff in order to cover the needs.
There is also the particularity of medical technological equipment where we have committed resources from the Recovery Fund and from other financial tools such as the NSRF.
I want to thank Mr. Eugenides because the money given from donations is money that goes back to society.
They are donations that we have complete dependence on the patient’s transport. We are working on a broader framework to have a proper air transportation system from our islands with more helicopters and stations that we will present soon.”
The Deputy Minister of Health Mina Gaga pointed out: “The Eugenidou Foundation offered and continues to offer health services, without even being asked. In Health, in the pandemic, in “Salvation” Leonidas Eugenidis offered himself during the corona virus period and made very large donations, just like in Attiko and many hospitals.
Now about the islands: Greece has this great gift of God, the islands and the issue is how we make sure we have good health services and health personnel.
At the Ministry, we have taken important initiatives these years.
We take care, cooperating with everyone, with the Municipalities and with the hoteliers, for the accommodation of the health workers, whenever they need to move.
We enable doctors, nurses and technologists, by doubling their salary, to go to the islands in the summer to provide health services. And we can do the same with ambulances, giving more flexibility to the National Health System, to cover the population both in winter and in summer when we have more needs.
We consider the safe handling of both chronic and Emergencies as well as safe transports to each place, so that every citizen has the health services they need, as capital issues.

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The NYSE listed company Dorian LPG Ltd. one of the world's largest owners and operators of modern and ECO very large gas carriers ("VLGCs"), has signed a Partner Agreement with the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping (the "Center"), formalizing Dorian LPG as a Mission Ambassador to the independent not-for-profit research and development center. As one of the leading VLGC owners and operators with in-house technical and commercial management, Dorian LPG will share with the Center its experience and capabilities that are relevant to decarbonization projects.  
John Hadjipateras, Chairman and CEO of Dorian LPG said: "To meet and exceed the industry' decarbonization targets there is an essential need for research and development collaboration amongst shipping and logistics organizations. We believe that the Center is performing a very important service to the industry and are happy to contribute Dorian expertise from Copenhagen, Athens, and the U.S. to help facilitate some of their important work.

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 The NYSE listed shipping company Euronav NV and Frontline plc has unilaterally decided to terminate the combination agreement between the two companies signed 10 July 2022 and confirm to have received a letter pursuing such termination.
Euronav will examine such letter and reserves all rights and actions in this respect. Regardless of the combination taking place, the supportive and sustainable fundamental factors of the tanker markets have started to deliver (during Q3 and Q4 2022) what Euronav and most sector commentators believe will be a prolonged upcycle. Such favourable conditions coupled to Euronav’s strong balance sheet, best-in-class operating system with the most developed sustainability platform in the sector positions our company well for the future.

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The management team of PPA S.A. welcomed Viking Sky, the first cruise ship to arrive at the port of Piraeus in the new year through a special ceremony for the exchange of plaques and Christmas treats for all passengers during their arrival at the Cruise terminal.
According to Viking Sky’s annual schedule, 12 more additional arrivals (homeport) are expected in 2023 with the passenger occupancy rate to exceed 85%, despite the fact that it just launched in January. Overall, the liners’ cruise ships perform homeport arrivals at the Piraeus port throughout the whole year; in 2023, according to bookings’ data, 35 additional arrivals of the liners cruise ships are expected at the port of Piraeus, indicating a significant growth rate of 13%.
Overall, based on the pre-bookings data, the cruise industry at the port of Piraeus sees a momentum this year, since 786 arrivals with a growth of 16% from previous year are expected. In 2022, the arrivals growth rate has already exceeded the pre-pandemic performance indicators. Moreover, an increase of approximately 5% from last year is also expected in homeport arrivals, while it is worth noting that in 2022 the homeport arrivals saw an increase of more than 30% compared to 2019.
PPA’s Deputy CEO, Capt. Jin Beiyuan, welcomes the dynamic path of the cruise business at the Port of Piraeus, by highlighting the fact that this result is a combination of the consistent and focused work, the significant investments and all the modernization and upgrade works, alongside Greece’s and the port of Piraeus’ undeniable strategic location. Continuing the dynamic path of the cruise industry is a vital component of PPA’s strategy, since it constitutes a win-win activity for all stakeholders, but mainly for the local community, the neighboring municipalities, the Attica region and the country overall.

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The Swedish Club welcomed in the New Year its incoming Managing Director, Thomas Nordberg, on the first day in his new role. 
Thomas has spent the last four months behind the scenes with the Club, and is now more than ready to hit the ground running: “I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to take the helm at this unique organisation,” he said, as he addressed Club employees. “The drive for quality that I have seen from both our team and our members is outstanding, and I look forward to working with you all to support that commitment.
“We are operating in uncertain times, but The Swedish Club has seen many changes in its 150-year history. We will benefit from this strong platform when moving forward together and facing the challenges and opportunities that the next few years will bring,” he said. 
Thomas Nordberg joins the Club with a solid pedigree in the marine insurance industry, having spent, as he says, a 30-year educational journey just to prepare for the role.
“I feel in many ways that heading up The Swedish Club has been tailormade, because the kind of roles that I have held in the past have been preparing me for this moment. I now hope to be able to transfer some of the experiences and insights that I gained during my career to help move the Club forward,” he added.

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On the occasion of a presentation by The Hellenic Association of Insurance Companies that One Global senior management attended on Tuesday Dec 6^th, 2022 in London with the theme, Greek Economy and Insurance Market Outlook, Challenges & Prospects – we had the honor of being joined by our guest Mr John Kefallogiannis, Former Deputy Minister of Infrastructure & Transport in Greece and Member of Parliament with the current Greek administration.
The presentation was hosted by Lloyds in the Old Library and given the opportunity, Mr Kefallogiannis was given a tour of the Lloyds Building as well as the One Global offices located at 30 St Mary Axe, and met with company executives, Jonathan Palmer-Brown, Group Chairman, Mike Reynolds, Group CEO, George A. Tsavliris, Non-Executive Chairman Greece & Cyprus, Manos Sofronis, CEO Greece & Cyprus. Mr Kefallogiannis was also introduced to Iain Henstridge - Chair Joint Hull Committee  & Head of Apollo Syndicate Management Limited and Andrew Moulton – Chairman of Joint War Committee  &  Class Underwriter of Ascot Underwriting Limited.
Image: Jonathan Palmer-Brown – Group Chairman Oneglobal, Iain Henstridge - Chair Joint Hull Committee  & Head of Apollo Syndicate Management Limited, Andrew Moulton – Chairman of Joint War Committee  &  Class Underwriter of Ascot Underwriting Limited, Manos Sofronis, CEO Oneglobal Greece & Cyprus, George Tsavliris – Non -Executive Chairman Oneglobal Greece & Cyprus, John Kefallogiannis – Former Deputy Minister of Infrastructure & Transport in Greece & Mike Reynolds -  Group CEO Oneglobal

The year ended with critical changes in grain flows due to geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine. In parallel, the Chinese real estate crisis seriously impacted Capesize vessels, while the energy crisis drove up coal flows and Panamax freight rates.
Amid the macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges, it is interesting to see that the volume of bulk cargo flows has remained stable over the past two years. Cargo flow volumes were helped by the Black Sea Grain Corridor Initiative in the third quarter, but freight rates in the Supramax and Handysize segments remained weaker.
A serious concern for bulk demand growth in the coming year is Chinese economic growth, as 2022 ended with GDP growth of at least 4.4%, but well above economists' expectations. Economists had generally expected growth to fall to a rate between 2.7% and 3.3% in 2022. The Chinese government had maintained a much higher annual growth target of around 5.5%.
In our annual review using Signal Ocean data, we examine freight market trends on reference routes and current patterns of bulk flows compared to the previous two years. 2021 surprised many with exceptionally high levels for Capesize and Panamax vessels, while 2022 saw a downward cycle for smaller vessel sizes. 
For the first quarter of 2023, it is becoming apparent that the explosion of Chinese Covid cases will pose a new threat to the global economy and seaborne iron ore demand, while the current trend in seagoing ballast speed for dry bulkers has already fallen to its lowest level since 2020.
The following sections present the evolution of trends in dry bulk flows, demand, freight rates, vessel speeds, and supply.

Dry Bulk Flows – China
The volume of dry bulk flows from all countries to all destinations was stable similar to last year, with the exception of January and February, while December ended with a slightly higher volume than November. Image 1 shows that the overall trend for this year and last year for bulk shipments supports the recovery in freight rates despite ongoing macroeconomic challenges. Total volume over the past two years is estimated at about 9.8 billion tonnes, with China accounting for 40% of flows (image 2) and Australia as the origin country accounting for 29%.
Image 2 shows the breakdown of the volume of bulk cargo flows over the past two years by origin and destination countries, ship size category, and cargo types. Iron ore fines and thermal coal accounted for 27% and 21%, respectively, while Capesize and Supramax vessels had the largest volume shares, accounting for 30% and 21%, respectively as measured in metric tons.

Focus on China
Looking at China as the main destination for bulk flows and demand growth, image 3 shows that the volume of flows has increased, especially in the fourth quarter of this year. In the last two years, the total volume of commodity flows was 3.9 billion tonnes, with iron ore accounting for 60% of the volume and Australia remaining the top source country for Chinese bulk imports with a 42% share (image 4).
Image 5 shows the total volume of iron ore and coal flows to China over the past two years, as well as the top three source countries. It is interesting to note that the fourth quarter of 2022 saw an exceptional increase in coal flows to China compared to the previous two quarters, with Indonesia leading the origin countries with a 57% share. For iron ore, December saw a higher import pace than November, matching the volume of December 2021. Overall, the year ended with a promising outlook for Chinese iron ore and coal demand, although slower momentum was feared given the outbreak of Covid cases.

Demand Growth - Tonne Charts
The higher volume of iron ore and coal dry bulk flows to China is reflected in the growth of dry bulk demand tonne-days, where the fourth quarter of the year ended with increasing momentum in the Capesize and Panamax segments. Overall, the tonne-days trend for the larger vessel categories was higher than in 2021 and 2020, and December suggests similar strength for the first days of 2023, (image 6).
Looking at the smaller ship segments (image 7), growth in tonne-days was also higher in the Supramax segment than in the previous two years, while slower momentum was observed in the Handysize size in the fourth quarter. The slowdown in Handysize demand growth in tonne-days at a lower level than in previous years in the fourth quarter leads to a downward revision of freight rates for the first months of the New Year, as geopolitical tensions are still causing difficulties in grain exports from Ukraine to the main Asian markets.

III. Freight Market - $/tonne
Overall, 2022 was a year of strong growth in freight rates for the larger vessel categories, although rates for Capesize vessels grew at a slower pace after the exceptionally high levels of 2021 (image 8). Although the freight market for the larger vessel categories was above 2020 levels, rates for the Supramax and Handysize vessel classes were very weak, while the Panamax segment appears to be the winner in 2022. In the last days of the year ending, Panamax freight rates showed a strong performance and Asian coal demand paved the way for stronger demand and higher freight rates in the upcoming first quarter of the New Year.

Vessel Speeds
The geopolitical crisis prompted shipowners to reduce the ballast speed of ships at sea, and 2022 ended with a record low ballast speed for bulk carriers. It is estimated that last year's levels are the lowest compared to 2021 and 2020 (image 9), as the larger vessel categories continue to have lower ballast speeds at sea (image 10). The fourth quarter suggests a similar slowdown in ballast speeds as freight rates enter a downward cycle at the start of the new year.

Vessel Supply - Ballasters’ View
Finally, looking at the weekly trends of ballast vessels in the main vessel categories (image 11), we see that the number of vessels in ballast increases in the New Year in the Capesize and Panamax segments, but remains below the average trend. In the Handysize segment, the number of ballasted vessels remains above the average trend, and there is also an increase in the Supramax segment.
Overall, the weekly trends for ballast vessels show an upward trend, suggesting a continuation of the weakening trend in freight rates for the first few days of the new year. It remains to be seen how the January days will play out for vessel employment given the economic uncertainty in China and the challenges to the smooth flow of grain shipments.

Overall outlook - Looking ahead
The New Year brings uncertainty for bulk freight rates as China has a significant impact on Capesize freight rate trends. However, the energy crisis appears to be continuing to boost coal flows significantly and improve sentiment for Panamax rates between the Continent and the Far East. It is questionable, however, whether the growth in Asian coal demand will be sufficient for the increase in bulk carrier employment rates and an upward cycle in freight rates. It remains to be seen whether the Chinese economy will be able to overcome the rinderpest outbreak and successfully manage the looming threat of a new round of economic downturn with negative effects on the global economy.

You can follow our Dry Market Monitor for weekly trends in freight rates, supply, demand and Chinese port congestion.

* Image 1 - Data Source: The Signal Ocean Platform, Dry Bulk Flows 2021-2022, from All to All Destinations
* Image 2 - Data Source: The Signal Ocean Platform, Dry Bulk Flows 2021-2022, Breakdown (Origin - Destination Countries, Vessel Classes, Cargo Grades)
* Image 3 - Data Source: The Signal Ocean Platform, Dry Bulk Flows 2021-2022, from All to China
* Image 4 - Data Source: The Signal Ocean Platform, Dry Bulk Flows 2021-2022 to China, Breakdown (Origin Countries, Vessel Classes, Cargo Grades)
* Image 5- Data Source: The Signal Ocean Platform, Dry Bulk Flows 2021-2022 to China, Iron Ore & Coal
* Image 6 - Data Source: The Signal Ocean Platform, Demand, Capesize – Panamax
* Image 7 - Data Source: The Signal Ocean Platform, Demand, Supramax – Handysize
* Image 8 - Data Source: The Signal Ocean Platform, Market Prices, 2020-2022
* Image 9 - Data Source: The Signal Ocean Platform, Vessel Speeds, Ballast, Dry Bulk Vessel, All sizes
* Image 10 - Data Source: The Signal Ocean Platform, Vessel Speeds, Ballast, Dry Bulk Vessels
(Capesize Vs Panamax)
* Image 11 - Data Source: The Signal Ocean Platform, Weekly Supply Trend, Ballasters’ View

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The derivatives market for clean and dirty tankers saw increased traded volumes in 2022, according to data released by the Baltic Exchange.
Tanker Forward Freight Agreement (FFA) volumes hit 734,972 lots, up 33% on 2021.
Dry Forward Freight Agreement (FFA) volumes reached 2,218,249 lots, down 12% on 2021.
Handysize volumes continued to grow following changes implemented to the Baltic Exchange’s Handysize Index in 2020. Options trading volumes in the dry market were 395,163. 
Commenting on the figures, Baltic Exchange Chief Executive Mark Jackson said: "2022 was another year of growth for the tanker FFA market and a good performance for dry bulk. Underpinning these volumes are world-class clearing, volatility, trust in the Baltic Exchange’s settlement data and increased participation by owners, charterers and traders. The Baltic Exchange's status as a regulated benchmark provider has helped to create a mature and liquid market.” 
He added: "Tanker market volatility has largely been caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and volumes jumped significantly after war broke out. This was seen across all sizes and sectors from VLCCs down. 
"The most liquid dirty route was the VLCC route Middle East Gulf to China (TD3C), but TD20 (Suezmax) contributed volume too. There were good levels of activity on the clean routes with MR TC2, TC14 and the LR1 route TC5 all contributing significantly. We were also pleased to see continued volume growth in the handysize segment following the change in our vessel description to a 38,000-dwt type”.

Image:  Baltic Exchange Chief Executive Mark Jackson

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