The new coronavirus (COVID-19) has cost the lives of more than 549.000, while confirmed cases exceed 12.043.000. Although coronavirus started in China in early 2020, now it has spread over Europe where Italy and the UK have the most deaths. Also, Brazil, Canada, France and Spain top the list with the countries affected significantly.
The European Union warned China over its global trade ambitions with an unprecedented tariff decision to address Chinese subsidies to exporters. Namely, the EU took aim at alleged market-distorting aid granted by a country to exporters based in another state.
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) published a study according to which total commodity exports to China could fall dramatically as a result of the coronavirus crisis.
China will construct its first liquefied natural gas bunkering centre for international vessels in the city of Shenzhen, as part of a deal between Yantian Port Group, state-owned energy giant PetroChina, and city gas supplier Shenzhen Gas.
China’s busiest oil ports are seeing queues of tankers waiting to offload crude for refineries that are quickly ramping up production amid a rapid rebound in fuel demand.
China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and Guangdong Provincial People’s Government recently signed an agreement concerning LNG power conversion for inland waterway shipping.
On May 20, 2020, Tianjin Port Group and Xiamen Port Holding Group signed the “Comprehensive Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement for Construction of World-Class Ports”.
Qingdao Shipyard recently reported the construction of China’s first autonomous containership, named as Zhi Fei, according to Chinese media sources.
Following China’s extension of the treaty to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, ships flagged to Hong Kong will now be required to apply the requirements of the Ballast Water Management Convention (BWM).
Following the COVID-19 crisis, Canadian and Alaskan crude which normally travels to the US West, started to finding a market in China, where condition is almost back to the pre-outbreak levels.
