I expect we cargo ship agents will see at hit as a result of this -- the company I work for perhaps less so than some others.
I often have vessels complete discharging cargo in the Mississippi River with no orders in place for loading in or out of our port system. In at least half of those cases, orders will eventually come to have the vessel anchor in the river to clean holds in preparation for loading grain (usually soybeans) for export to China. Now, with the tariffs in place, there will be fewer charters for these cargoes and ship owners will have collective breakdowns, waiting for someone -- anyone! -- to charter their vessels, whose day-to-day expenses (wages, fuel consumed, provisions and stores, maintenance costs, etc.) typically mount to the tens-of-thousands of dollars per day whether the ship is active or idle.
Even before Trump blundered into trade policy, ship owners had been hurting. There are hundreds and hundreds of ships anchored off Singapore, just waiting for orders. Last week, I finished working a ship that had been anchored at Singapore for a month before receiving orders to proceed to New Orleans to load cargo for export to Mexico. No word on what they are to do after discharging at Altamira.
I often have vessels complete discharging cargo in the Mississippi River with no orders in place for loading in or out of our port system. In at least half of those cases, orders will eventually come to have the vessel anchor in the river to clean holds in preparation for loading grain (usually soybeans) for export to China. Now, with the tariffs in place, there will be fewer charters for these cargoes and ship owners will have collective breakdowns, waiting for someone -- anyone! -- to charter their vessels, whose day-to-day expenses (wages, fuel consumed, provisions and stores, maintenance costs, etc.) typically mount to the tens-of-thousands of dollars per day whether the ship is active or idle.
Even before Trump blundered into trade policy, ship owners had been hurting. There are hundreds and hundreds of ships anchored off Singapore, just waiting for orders. Last week, I finished working a ship that had been anchored at Singapore for a month before receiving orders to proceed to New Orleans to load cargo for export to Mexico. No word on what they are to do after discharging at Altamira.
