Dale Wainwright
936 posts
Dale Wainwright
@DalePWainwright
I have covered shipping in Europe, the US and Asia for close to 30 years. I support Nottingham Forest. I also like cycling and sailing.
📢 Global seaborne salt flows reach peak levels at the start of 2026! 📈 Loadings of bulk salt products (including industrial salt, rock/de-icing salt, and solar salt) reached a record high of nearly 6.8 million metric tons in January. 📊 In addition to exceeding the 6-million-ton mark for the first time on record, this represents a 13.9% year-over-year increase. Preliminary February data also points to strong YoY growth, with only a few days remaining in the month. 🌍 The primary driver behind the surge in salt loadings aboard bulk carriers so far in 2026 has been Egypt. 🏆 Historically, Egypt has ranked between fourth and eighth among the Top 10 salt exporters over the past decade. However, shipments in January and February increased by more than 117.9% year over year — a trend that began gradually in October 2025 — and currently position Egypt as the largest supplier in the market since the start of 2026. 🌐 Meanwhile, salt loadings from Australia and India in early 2026 remain below last year’s levels, while Chile has shipped more than 2.2 million metric tons, broadly in line with 2025 volumes. ℹ️ For additional context, total seaborne salt shipments reached more than 57 million metric tons in 2025. While accounting for only around 1% of global dry bulk flows, this places salt on a comparable scale to commodities such as Nickel Ore and Cement. 🛰️ With our AXSInsights module, you can monitor both major and minor dry bulk commodities in real time and stay ahead of developing trends. 💡 Find out its full capabilities at public.axsmarine.com/axsinsights.
What happens to dry bulk markets when the Suez Canal normalises? A return to normalised transits would reduce sailing days, adding supply to the market and putting downward pressure on #dry bulk carrier earnings. The effect will differ across vessel segments. Hear from our analysts as they break down: ◾ How much additional vessel supply could return because of shorter voyages? ◾ Which vessel segments would see the highest increase in supply? ◾ What is the outlook for the major underlying trades transiting the #SuezCanal? Speakers: Hanif Kamar and Alexis Ellender 👉 Register here: okt.to/yOXMNT
📣 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆: 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗸𝗼𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗩𝗟𝗖𝗖 𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿 South Korean shipping major Sinokor is now the largest single commercial operator in the very large crude carrier (VLCC) fleet and is expected to keep growing, according to shipping market participant estimates. Read the full article by Charlotte Bawol: okt.to/EdqWLu #ArgusMedia #IlluminatingTheMarkets
🛑 With the US having already seized multiple sanctioned tankers, the UK preparing its own enforcement measures, and Germany denying access to a suspected shadow fleet vessel, understanding this segment is as critical as ever. 🚨 The tanker shadow fleet is no longer operating in the shadows. 📊 In DWT terms, it now accounts for nearly 20% of global tanker capacity. Around 16% sits in vessels that are formally sanctioned. Once dark and ghost fleets are included, the scale starts to challenge long-held assumptions about how the tanker market really works. 🛳️ The impact is especially pronounced by segment. Almost 30% of Aframax capacity now operates within the shadow fleet space, while VLCCs and Suezmaxes approach 20%. At these levels, this is no longer a parallel activity. It is part of the market. ⚠️ Crucially, this capacity does not behave like the conventional fleet. It trades differently, ages differently, and reacts to incentives in ways that distort availability, freight signals, and risk assessments. Ignoring it leads to flawed conclusions on supply and balance. 👨💻 To bring structure and clarity to this reality, we’ve launched a new Shadow Fleet dataset and dedicated dashboard for all AXSTanker users, enabling analysis of sanctioned, dark, and ghost fleets by segment, age, capacity evolution, deliveries, and demolitions. All in one coherent view. 💡 Find out more or ask for a demo at public.axsmarine.com/axstanker