Asia/Pacific News
Slow Steaming Claims Rubbished by Thai Shipper
Khalid Hashim, the managing director of Thai dry-bulk shipper Precious Shipping Plc, has rubbished claims by the Thai National Shippers' Council (TNSC) that slow steaming can drop bunker consumption by 80 percent, the Bangkok Post reports.
Thai exporters were said to be angered by rising freight rates in light of the fact that ship operators were making huge savings from slow steaming, which Paiboon Ponsuwanna, an honorary adviser to the TNSC, said could not only lower bunker consumption by up to 80 percent, but also allow large ships to increase volume by 40 percent.
"I have yet to see any container or other ship getting an 80 percent savings on fuel and only lengthening the voyage by four to seven days," said Hashim.
"If the dream that this 'shipper' floats in were real, we would all want to be a part of that. This is pure rubbish."
In May container shipping giant Maersk Line said super slow steaming helped it lower bunker its consumption by 19 percent compared to the period last year, but Hashim says Precious Shipping does not slow steam its vessels because the practice only benefits large ships.
Globally, weak demand and rock-bottom rates have caused huge financial problems for the industry, with shipping mogul John Fredriksen predicting last year that many companies were simply "not going to make it."
