#Ports&Shipping –The latest IMDO Weekly Shipping Market Review includes the following stories as detailed below.

Shipping Finance: Worst annual losses for largest maritime lender - HSH Nordbank, the world's largest maritime lender, revealed losses recently of €814 million for 2013, an 18% increase on 2012 losses. The Financial Times reported the reasons for the increase were raised loan loss provisions for the bank's sizeable shipping portfolio during the closing months of last year, in addition to the costs of €902 million for a state guarantee of €10bn from the German states of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein.

Irish Economy: Trade surplus increases on stronger exports -Ireland's trade surplus rose 4% in February as a result of stronger exports and the subsiding effects of the pharmaceutical patent cliff. Exports rose 1% (+€57mn) on a seasonally adjusted basis, compared with the previous month. Year-on-year figures meanwhile showed exports increased 3% (+€168mn) compared with February 2013, owing primarily to double-digit growth in food & live animal and essential oils exports.

Global Economy: WTO raise forecast for trade growth -The World Trade Organisation has raised its forecast for global growth in merchandise trade for 2014 to 4.7%, up from last September's estimate of 4.5%. The main drivers for this upward revision have been the accelerating global recovery combined with upturns in the US and key European economies. The raised forecast contrasted with the views of several trade economists who had instead predicted a downgrading of the earlier forecast of 4.5%, while the WTO acknowledge that "Downside risks to trade abound."

For more on each of the above and other stories click the downloadable PDF IMDO Weekly Markets Review (Week 16). In addition to coverage on Afloat.ie's dedicated Ports & Shipping News section.

#Ports&Shipping –The latest IMDO Weekly Shipping Market Review includes the following stories as detailed below.

Irish Trade: Food exports to UK - The UK imports over 30% of its food consumption and remains the largest export market for Irish food and drink, with 42% of Irish food and drink exports destined for the UK market in 2013. The value of these exports rose 8% in 2013 to € 4.2bn, over €1bn higher than in 2009. Beef and dairy exports were particularly strong, with beef exports increasing €90m to €1.12bn, dairy exports up €150m to €1.1bn. 37% of Ireland's total dairy exports now go to the UK.

UK Economy: IMF raises growth forecast for Britain as recovery proceeds - The International Monetary Fund last week raised their forecast for the UK's GDP growth to 2.9% for the current year, up from an earlier projection of 2.4% in January, as stronger than anticipated growth has been observed in the UK. According to the IMF, the stronger rebound in growth was due to easier credit conditions and increasing confidence, although exports and business investment continued to disappoint, leading to cautions of an unbalanced recover.

Ports: Mega-alliances to place pressure on European Intermodal transport - Increasing vessel size and fewer port calls are expected to place further pressure on intermodal transport on the European continent, according to Drewry Maritime Research. Over the last two years, the average container vessel size on the Asia/North Europe trade lane has increased by 17% to reach nearly 11,000TEU, while the number of port calls has dropped from 104 to 87. The establishment of the P3 Alliance later in the year will further increase the average container vessel size on the route and will see port calls in Northern Europe drop from 41 to 32 for Maersk, MSC and CMA CGM.

For more on each of the above and other stories click the downloadable PDF IMDO Weekly Markets Review (Week 15). In addition to coverage on Afloat.ie's dedicated Ports & Shipping News section.

#Ports&Shipping –The latest IMDO Weekly Shipping Market Review includes the following stories as detailed below.

Container Market: Further consolidation predicted - Consolidation is set to continue in the container market, as low freight rates and persisting overcapacity will lead to further alliances or mergers, according to the ratings agency Fitch. The agency believes that smaller and less financially stable operators in the market will be pressured into consolidation as the larger players continue to form alliances amongst themselves and intensify competition. This follows the recent FMC approval of the P3 Network, covering the markets three largest participants (Maersk, MSC, CMA/CGM), while the CKYH alliance also recently expanded to incorporate Evergreen.

Shipping Industry: Confidence rises to near 6 year high - Confidence in the global shipping industry has risen to its highest level since May 2008 during the course of the last three months, according to the latest Moore Stephens Shipping Confidence Survey. Confidence rose across the board for all respondent categories– which included owners, charterers, managers, brokers and others–to bring February's confidence rating up to 6.5 on a scale of 1 to 10.

Irish Economy: Ireland forecast to outperform Eurozone - Ireland economy is forecast to outperform other peripheral Eurozone countries in its emerging recovery from the crisis, according to EY's latest Eurozone Forecast. EY have increased their growth forecast to 1.8% in 2014 for Ireland, up from 1.7% in December, stressing the recovery in domestic demand appears to now be more entrenched, while net trade will continue contributing positively to the economy, especially given the strong growth in the UK.

For more on each of the above and other stories click the downloadable PDF IMDO Weekly Markets Review (Week 13). In addition to coverage on Afloat.ie's dedicated Ports & Shipping News section.

#Ports&Shipping –The latest IMDO Weekly Shipping Market Review includes the following stories as detailed below.

Container Market: FMC approve P3 Alliance –The US Federal Maritime Commission has granted regulatory approval for the P3 vessel-sharing agreement between the world's top three containerlines, Maersk, MSC and CMA-CGM; however the alliance will be subject to stricter monitoring than usual. The FMC approval is immediate however only applies to routes to and from US ports as the alliance still requires approval from Chinese and European regulators before it can become fully effective.

Irish Economy: Export growth positive in January - Irish exports grew in value terms by 4% (€302mn) in January compared with the same month last year signalling a tentative recovery in the sector following a 5.2% decline in 2013. The latest merchandise trade statistics released by the CSO showed exports of €7.031bn for January, driven by the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors growth of €223mn, up 6%, while food and live animals continued to record strong gains, with exports rising €59mn.

UK Short Sea Market: Record capacity reached - UK Short Sea Capacity in 2013 broke the 15m unit barrier once again, reaching 15.2m units (FEUs) and equating 2007's record capacity. The findings in PRB Associates' UK Short Sea Freight RoRo and LoLo Annual Capacity Analysis and Report show that capacity increased 3. 2% in 2013 and has grown 21% since 2000.

For more on each of the above and other stories click the downloadable PDF IMDO Weekly Markets Review (Week 12). In addition to coverage on Afloat.ie's dedicated Ports & Shipping News section.

#Ports&Shipping –The latest IMDO Weekly Shipping Market Review includes the following stories as detailed below.

Container Market: Asia-Europe trade increases 8% in January - Volumes on the main Asia-Europe trade lane began 2014 strongly, increasing 8% in January compared with the corresponding period last year, according to figures from Container Trade Statistics (CTS). Lloyd's
List reported that these figures, corresponding to an increase from 1.3mn teu to 1.4mn teu, marked the largest volume improvement on the trade lane since August last year when volumes rose 10%.

Cruise Market: Record voyages by European passengers - Last year saw a record 6.35 million European passengers undertake cruise voyages (a quarter of which were from the UK) marking a year-on-year increase of 4%, according to figures released by Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA).

Regulation: EU seek maritime security strategy - The European Commission and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy recently adopted a joint communication to the European Parliament and the Council "For an open and secure global maritime domain: elements for a European Union maritime security strategy"

For more on each of the above and other stories click the downloadable PDF IMDO Weekly Markets Review (Week 11). In addition to coverage on Afloat.ie's dedicated Ports & Shipping News section.

#Ports&Shipping –The latest IMDO Weekly Shipping Market Review includes the following stories as detailed below.

Container Market: Carrier reliability declines once again - Global containership schedule reliability, the proportion of ships that arrive into port on time, decreased 3.5% in January to a new record low of 70%, compared to 73.5% in December 2013, according to SeaIntel's latest Global Liner Performance Report.

Technology: Batteries as alternative power source - Using batteries as a significant alternative power source for short-sea shipping has been forecast by Remi Eriksen, executive vice president and COO of classification society DNV GL.

Sulphur Emissions: Need for Europe wide enforcement controls  - New sulphur regulations in Emission Control Areas (ECAs) arrive in January 2015 and European authorities have been considering methods of enforcement. The new regulations stipulate ship's fuel must contain less than 0.1% sulphur by weight in the Baltic Sea, North Sea and English Channel.

Infrastructure: Panama Canal delay  - With construction on the Panama Canal about to restart once again after the latest cost dispute, the completion and commercial opening date has been extended to the first quarter of 2016, three months later than planned according to Lloyds List. The project, already running eight months behind schedule due earlier problem over the type of concrete used, is now a total of 11 months behind.

For more on each of the above and other stories click the downloadable PDF IMDO Weekly Markets Review (Week 10). In addition to coverage on Afloat.ie's dedicated Ports & Shipping News section.

#Ports&Shipping –The latest IMDO Weekly Shipping Market Review includes the following stories as detailed below.

Industry Sentiment: Improved shipping optimism -Current market conditions were described as 'positive' by 69% of shipping industry respondents to the latest Norton Rose Fulbright annual transport survey. While this figure marked an increase in optimism from one year ago, it remains below confidence levels in the aviation and rail industries, which stand at 75% and 81% respectively.

Cruise Industry: 2014 to see positive growth - With the global economy expected to continue its recovery throughout 2014, Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) has projected its cruise line members (representing 95% of global capacity) will see total passenger numbers rise to 21.7million in the year, representing 2% growth on 2013.

Innovation: Rolls-Royce push forward with unmanned cargo ship design -The marine innovation engineering department at Rolls-Royce have created a virtual-reality prototype of an unmanned, or 'drone', cargo ship, which simulates a 360-degree view from the vessel's bridge. Bloomberg Businessweek reported that this technology could one day be used by land-based captains to control an entire fleet of drone ships.

For more on each of the above and other stories click the downloadable PDF IMDO Weekly Markets Review (Week 9). In addition to coverage on Afloat.ie's dedicated Ports & Shipping News section.

#Ports&Shipping –The latest IMDO Weekly Shipping Market Review includes the following stories as detailed below.

Container Market: World fleet supply growth to slow in 2014 - Global containership fleet growth is to moderate to its slowest rate in over a decade according to Alphaliner forecasts. The revised fleet growth now stands at 5.5%, the lowest annual figure since 1999, as scrappage levels increase and owners delay deliveries to next year.

Newbuilding Market: 71 Vessels ordered in one week - The recovery seems to be well underway in the newbuilding market according to the latest weekly report by shipbrokers Golden Destiny. Despite the difficulties players have had sourcing finance through the conventional channels.

Irish Passenger Numbers: 7% increase from last January - Failte Ireland has released their Irish passenger statistics for January, recording total passenger traffic (departures and arrivals) of 1.64million, up 7% on January last year. Passenger movements by air fared much stronger than by ferry as a number of ferries were cancelled due to the adverse weather. Overall passenger numbers on cross channel routes grew by 11% in January, broken down, this amounts to cross channel air passengers increasing 13% while cross channel sea numbers decreased 1%.

For more on each of the above and other stories click the downloadable PDF IMDO Weekly Markets Review (Week 8). In addition to coverage on Afloat.ie's dedicated Ports & Shipping News section.

#Ports&Shipping –The latest IMDO Weekly Shipping Market Review includes the following stories as detailed below.

Container Market: Sustainability on the horizon - The container market is forecast to become more sustainable in the coming years as supply and demand continue to rebalance, however pressure on shipping lines is not expected to relent. Shipbrokers Braemar Seascope expect annual demand growth in the market to reach 4-5% for the next three years,marking a more positive outlook than earlier forecasts of 3% in 2013.

Dry Bulk Market: Change of focus for leading indicator of dry bulk market health? The direction of Chinese economic policy is being touted as the main leading indicator for determining the health of the dry bulk market, according to Hellenic Shipping News. Traditionally, iron ore demand and production figures have been used by analysts as the leading indicator for the dry bulk market, with the movement of iron ore, used in steel production, seen as leading determinant of dry bulk rates.

Tanker Market: Ardmore to raise further $75 million Cork-based tanker owner, Ardmore Shipping, announced plans last week to further finance its newbuilding activities through a share offer of $75 million, according to TradeWinds. The company, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, will sell 4.6 million shares (with a further 700,000 as an option for underwriters) at a maximum price of $13.97 each.

For more on each of the above and other stories click the downloadable PDF IMDO Weekly Markets Review (Week 7). In addition to coverage on Afloat.ie's dedicated Ports & Shipping News section.

#Ports&Shipping –The latest IMDO Weekly Shipping Market Review includes the following stories as detailed below.

Container Market: Growing global container exports -Global container exports increased 5.3% year-on-year in December according to Container Trade Statistics' latest release as the global container market witnessed accelerated pace in global output. December's global exports increased 6.19% to 11,119,200 TEU from November, increasing for eight consecutive months by year-on-year comparison.

Market-Wide: Reuters forecast strong recovery in 2014 Reuters believe the shipping industry has turned a corner and that in 2014 it will emerge from its longest downturn in three decades, after prolonged overcapacity has depressed freight rates. They forecast that dry bulk vessels are likely to see the strongest recovery, as cargo growth overtakes supply of new tonnage for the first time in seven years.

Technology: Maersk's new air-cleaning reefer technology Maersk Container Industry (MCI) has partnered with technology firm Primaira to develop an air cleaning system in integrated refrigerated containers. Bluezone, the patented technology, has been shown to be an efficient eliminator of moulds, fungi and bacteria in thorough tests and trials by using an ozone concentration 300 times higher than otherwise in common usage.

For more on each of the above and other stories click the downloadable PDF IMDO Weekly Markets Review (Week 6). In addition to coverage on Afloat.ie's dedicated Ports & Shipping News section.