EVs and the supercharging of dry bulk forms one of the new exciting sessions at next year’s Geneva Dry with organisers today able to highlight some of the high-level speakers who will take to the stage to discuss how electric vehicles are changing seaborne trading patterns dramatically.
Among confirmed speakers for this new session at the world’s premier commodities shipping conference are Emilie Nourry, head of shipping at Eramet, Karim Coumine, manager of chartering for minor bulks at Anglo American, Khalid Hashim, managing director of Precious Shipping, and William Fairclough, the managing director of Wah Kwong Maritime Transport Holdings.
“Electric vehicles became such a plank of discussion at this year’s Geneva Dry that we felt they could make for an interesting standalone session,” commented Sam Chambers, one of the co-founders of Geneva Dry.
Hamish Norton, president of Star Bulk Carriers Corp, was one of the many who discussed the impact of EVs at the inaugural Geneva Dry in May.
“China is pushing electric cars on its population at a tremendous rate,” he said, noting how taxes had been skewed to favour cars that do not rely on imported oil, albeit this, in turn, has pushed up demand for coal-fire-powered electricity usage.
Global demand for electric cars could grow from nearly 14m in 2023 to 58m in 2035, according to a new study from the International Energy Agency, in part spurred by incoming bans on new internal combustion engine (ICE) registrations.
Guinea’s emergence as a source of great cargoes for the cape trades and China’s booming electric vehicle manufacturers is increasingly being joined by other West African nations.
The booming cape trades out of Guinea and other West African nations are giving extra life to ageing capesizes.
Unlike the other major capesize routes, which often have an age limit of either 15 or 18 years old, vessels calling Guinea have no such limit for the time being and, as such, the route generally attracts older tonnage that cannot be easily traded elsewhere.
The news of Star Bulk selling its oldest bulker Star Triumph, a 20-year-old standard 180,000 dwt capesize vessel, for $20m certainly made headlines with broker SSY describing the sale as a “testament” to the continued interest in the segment.
“For a 20-year old vessel to be bought for $20m, the expectations for the market in the next few years must be very high,” SSY noted.
Led by Guinean stems, capesize and above parcels ex-West Africa have increased by a per annum growth rate of 19.6% since 2018, according to analysts at broker BRS who expect volumes to hit north of 150m tons this year.
The extraordinary growth of the bauxite capesize trades out of Guinea to China has made many headlines this year, with the route now firmly entrenched as a “pivotal pillar” of capesize prospects, BRS noted in an earlier report.
Bauxite, the only minor bulk cargo traded primarily on capes, represents roughly 13% of global cape volumes, up from 10% last year and 5% in 2020, according to analysis from Jefferies, an investment bank.
With more than 30 sponsors already onboard and more than 100 delegates signed up, Geneva Dry 2025 set for April 28 and 29 is set to welcome back familiar sessions such as iron ore, coal, agri-commodities, minor bulks and dry decarbonisation, as well as featuring some new panels based on feedback from attendees to this year’s show. New sessions include a 50-minute special on forward freight agreements, a chartering spotlight, while digital efficiency drivers at port and then at sea will form the first two sessions on Day Two.
