Weight of Freight: VLGC troubles to persist through the rainy season at Panama Canal
Weight of Freight: VLGC troubles to persist through the rainy season at Panama Canal
As draught restrictions ease with the start of a much-awaited rainy season in the Panama Canal, difficulties are likely to persist for very large gas carriers (VLGCs) as other shipping markets move back to the route and escalate competition for transit slots.
Listen to Andres Pacheco, Analyst at the LPG Trading desk for Spain’s Repsol, and Yohanna Pinheiro, LPG Freight Market Reporter, discuss how increased competition to transit the Panama Canal and other market drivers will shape the costs of shipping LPG.
Listen now
Key topics covered
- Competitive advantages of the Panama Canal route in US-Asia routes for VLGCs
- Details of the Panama Canal booking system and slot auction price trends
- Effects of eased restrictions at the canal in heightening competition for slots among other markets
- Weather outlook and possible La Nina effects in the markets
- Long term projects to alleviate transits at Panama Canal
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Brazil's farm logistics emerge as key divide in runoff
Brazil's farm logistics emerge as key divide in runoff
Sao Paulo, 23 October (Argus) — Brazil's presidential runoff between left-wing incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and right-wing senator Flavio Bolsonaro could bring sharply different approaches to moving grain and fertilizer across the continent-sized country. Logistics costs in Brazil are among the highest in major agricultural exporting nations. It consumed 15.5pc of Brazil's GDP in 2025, according to the Institute of Logistics and Supply Chain (ILOS). That was nearly double the 8.7pc share reported for the US and slightly above the 13.9pc ratio registered in China, according to data from the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) and China's state council, respectively. While both candidates support agribusiness expansion, Lula has emphasized federal infrastructure programs, public-private partnerships and subsidized rural credits since taking office in 2023. Bolsonaro proposes an aggressive private construction effort and private operations. The state provides legal certainty, stable and predictable tariff regulations, and respect for the rationale behind private economic decisions, without interventions that distort market incentives, according to Bolsonaro's infrastructure plan. It is on this basis that private investment would be responsible for construction and operations. Lula said he expects to move forward with Brazil's growth acceleration program if reelected, known as PAC. The government plan invested R280bn ($55.6bn) in infrastructure in 2025 and expects R300bn destined to infrastructure in 2026. Bolsonaro's government plan calls for R900bn in infrastructure investment over four years and identifies logistics costs as one of the main constraints on the competitiveness of Brazilian agriculture. At the center of the proposal are Bolsonaro's "Intelligent Logistics Corridors", designed to improve connections between the central-western grain belt and export terminals. The plan prioritizes projects such as Ferrograo railway , which will link the central-western region — Brazil's largest grain-producing hub — to the Northern Arc export corridor. It also promises to complete the Transnordestina railway , potentially improving grain and fertilizer flows across the northeast. The 1,200km (745.6-mile) Transnordestina railroad connects the northeastern states of Maranhao, Ceara, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraiba, Alagoas, Pernambuco, Sergipe and Piaui. It is considered strategic for inland transportation of grains, fertilizers, cement, fuels and iron ore because it connects key producing areas to the Pecem port complex, in Ceara, and the Suape port, in Pernambuco. Construction started in 2006 but the project has been delayed several times. Bolsonaro's platform also ties logistics policy to fertilizer security, reducing the country's reliance on imports. For commodity markets, the proposal links transportation, mining and agricultural policy more directly than the current administration's approach. Lula's approach ties to long-term national development, decarbonization and the reduction of regional and social inequality. None of the platforms specifically mention Brazil's national land transportation agency ANTT's minimum freight rates, which have been in effect since 2018, cleared by former president Michel Temer. The standard rate came into effect after a truckers' strike over payment and rising diesel prices. The demonstrations blocked major highways and disrupted logistics chains. Credit underwriting Despite the candidates' focus on logistics, access to financing remains a central concern for producers. Lula's platform promises larger volumes of rural credit, financing irrigation systems, machinery and productivity-enhancing technologies, and measures to simplify access to official credit lines. It also proposes expanding funding for family farming and maintaining credit as a tool for agricultural modernization. The government would seek to align interest rates more closely with farm profitability and diversify funding sources through capital markets and agribusiness securities, according to the plan. Bolsonaro's proposal takes a different approach. Rather than committing to larger budgets for Brazil's farm loans program, known as Plano Safra, the platform links access to financing primarily to land titling, legal certainty and debt restructuring mechanisms. The document argues that regularized property ownership would improve producers' ability to obtain credit and invest, but it stops short of defining funding targets, official lending volumes or interest rate objectives for future Plano Safra programs. The debate comes as agricultural groups warn that financing has become one of the sector's main structural constraints. A joint study by agribusiness association ABAG, confederation of insurance companies CNseg and credit, financing and investment association Acrefi estimates that Brazilian agribusiness requires more than R1 trillion in annual funding for production, investment and commercialization, compared with R516.2bn provided under the 2025-2026 Plano Safra. That leaves both candidates facing the same hurdle: translating broad policy goals into mechanisms capable of expanding investment while keeping borrowing costs manageable during a period of elevated interest rates. Whether either strategy can reduce freight costs and close the sector's financing gap may ultimately matter more than campaign rhetoric for Brazil's commodity markets. By João Curi Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US plan to utilize shadow fleet faces headwinds
US plan to utilize shadow fleet faces headwinds
New York, 20 October (Argus) — The US' proposal to purchase and employ so-called "shadow fleet" vessels to transport mainstream crude to counter high freight costs may struggle to overcome obstacles, including sanctions from outside the US and insurance risks. The plan to use older, often uninsured tankers that move sanctioned oil was described by US energy secretary Chris Wright in speech on 19 October as moving ships from the "bad guy fleet" to the "good guy fleet." Wright suggested that shadow fleet ships could be sold to non-sanctioned owners "to carry legitimate oil in a legitimate fashion". The proposal comes as crude freight rates surged to record highs in October, with the rate for a US Gulf coast-China very large crude carrier hitting an all-time high that was nearly four times higher than its pre-Iran war high . Refined oil products freight rates are also rising after clean tankers were enlisted into the crude trade chasing those same surging freight rates, tightening refined oil products tanker supply overall. But the vessels in the shadow fleet that Wright said the US may tap are often under sanctions not just by the US but also by the EU and UK. They are also typically older, less well-maintained and not properly insured, which limits where they can operate. "The shadow fleet is characterized by limited transparency, opaque insurance arrangements and operation outside well-established industry standards, regulatory oversight and commercial inspection regimes," the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners said last week. Lifting sanctions does not make the vessels safer, and only adds risks to safety at sea, the marine environment and coastal states, the group said. Easing US sanctions on shadow fleet tankers is unlikely to have a significant and immediate impact on tanker freight, as the number of ships which it could impact is "too small to move the needle", shipbroker BRS said on 19 October. There are fewer than 150 tankers that are only sanctioned by the US, equal to about 2.5pc of the global fleet, according to BRS. Vessel tracking firm Vortexa holds a similar assessment of the limited reach of such a move by the US. "Overall, the limited pool of potentially returning vessels suggests that fleet redistribution will remain modest, with limited implications for freight rates," Vortexa said. By Charlotte Bawol Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Attacks on tankers in Mideast Gulf increase
Attacks on tankers in Mideast Gulf increase
New York, 19 October (Argus) — The threat to commercial vessels in the Mideast Gulf has increased following attacks on two tankers inside the Gulf on 16 October, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre. Two tankers were attacked northeast of Al Jubayl, Saudi Arabia, with one struck by an unknown projectile and another attacked by a rocket-propelled grenade launched from a small boat, according to the UKMTO. Crews of both vessels have been reported safe. The threat level in the Mideast Gulf was raised to "substantial" by the UKMTO following the incidents, noting that attacks in the region remain a strong possibility. Stationary vessels in the area are advised by UKMTO to consider taking steps to mitigate risks including "periodic repositioning within anchorages" because "even limited movement may complicate adversary targeting cycles". Attacks against vessels in and around the strait of Hormuz continue, including two strikes against a tugboat in the strait on Sunday which caused a minor crew injury reported by the UKMTO, although additional attacks are likely going unreported . Mine hit claims unsubstantiated Attacks against vessels in the region have been reported by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as vessels hitting mines, rather than as projectile strikes, despite little evidence of this being true. The IRGC Navy issued a statement on Monday, carried by Iranian state media IRNA, stating that a tanker attempting to exit the strait of Hormuz through the "unauthorized southern route in disregard of regulations governing transit through the strait" struck a naval mine, causing a fire in the engine room of the vessel. The US Central Command (Centcom), which oversees US forces in the Middle East, said on 15 October that a vessel the IRGC said hit a mine in the strait of Hormuz was actually hit by an IRGC projectile. The statement added that the primary transit routes through the strait of Hormuz remain free of mines. UKMTO said in a report on Sunday that there is no substantiation to claims made on 17 October by the IRGC that two supertankers hit mines in the strait of Hormuz. By Charlotte Bawol Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Armed boat fires on LNG tanker in Gulf of Aden: UKMTO
Armed boat fires on LNG tanker in Gulf of Aden: UKMTO
Singapore, 19 October (Argus) — Armed persons on a small skiff fired on an LNG tanker in the Gulf of Aden on 17 October, in the latest maritime security incident as Somali piracy shows signs of resurgence in the region. The vessel was approached by a skiff carrying seven people around 140 nautical miles (260km) southwest of Al Mukalla, Yemen, according to a report by the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO). The master of the LNG tanker reported that the skiff fired two shots at the vessel. The tanker's armed security team responded with two warning shots, prompting the small craft to alter course and abandon its pursuit of the tanker, UKMTO said. No injuries or damage were reported. Authorities were investigating the incident, while UKMTO advised vessels transiting the area to exercise caution and report any suspicious activity. The incident follows the hijacking of the Eritrean-flagged "shadow fleet" tanker Sibu 1 off Yemen in August, when six armed men boarded the vessel and took control of the ship while it was sailing through the Gulf of Aden. The vessel and its crew were later freed at the end of September following a military operation. Security risks in the Gulf of Aden remain elevated. The Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) on 18 October assessed the threat level in the region as "substantial", citing piracy-related incidents alongside Houthi rhetoric and attacks. JMIC warned of a "strong possibility" of maritime security incidents in coastal approaches, transit corridors and established small-craft operating areas. There have been 15 piracy-related incidents reported off Somalia and in surrounding waters during January-September this year, according to the ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB), up from three during the same period a year earlier. The IMB said in its 15 October report that Somali pirates were responsible for eight hijackings and four incidents in which vessels were fired upon during the first nine months of the year. Attacks have spread across the Gulf of Aden, the eastern Somali coast and the Bab el-Mandeb strait, the organisation added, highlighting a growing threat to commercial shipping transiting one of the world's busiest maritime corridors. By Sean Lui Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
