Two dry bulk fixtures for West Africa loading canceled on Ebola fears

 

    Trades involving two dry bulk vessels expected to load from Kamsar port in the West African nation of Guinea were canceled at the last minute last week due to the Ebola outbreak, prompting concern that shipping companies will curtail services to the region, shipping sources said Monday.

　　The two vessels — Ultramax and Supramax class dry bulker carriers — were to be fixed for moving bauxite to India, with loading scheduled for September 7-13.

　　“The charterers want to fix [ships], but they don’t understand the complexities on the shipowners’ part,” a shipping source with knowledge of the trades said. “The owners don’t want to take risk with the governments of [West African] countries having declared [Ebola] as an epidemic.”

　　The same source said that if port authorities in the affected nations refuse to serve the ships, it would put the shipowners in a quandary.

　　Some shipowners have resisted higher premiums offered by charterers for loading out of West African ports, a source with a ship-operator said.

　　Shipowners are also worried that their vessels will not be allowed to enter the destination ports after they have been loaded in Ebola-affected areas.

　　“[A few] owners are asking for premiums to call West Coast Africa,” said a Singapore-based Supramax shipbroker. “They do that generally as there are not many cargoes to bring out of there. The Ebola outbreak is only increasing the premiums [that owners are quoting].”

　　According to a shipping agency source, the Ivory Coast port of Abidjan, which is a major bunkering center in the region, issued an advisory August 12 informing that it will not allow entry of vessel coming from Ebola-affected countries.

　　Bunker suppliers based in the region could not confirm this development.

　　“No force majeure has been issued by any port [in West Africa],” said the second ship-operator source. “What is happening is within the country and is controlled. The ports are not affected so far. It’s business as usual.”

　　Supramax and Handysize vessels are the dry bulk markets being affected by the Ebola crisis, according to a third source with a ship-operator, who added that very few Panamax class ships call on West Coast Africa.

　　Supramax dry bulk carriers are in the 50,000-57,000 dwt range, Handysize vessels are 28,000-35,000 dwt, and Panamax vessels are 74,000-82,000 dwt.

　　An insurance broker said there is a lack of clarity on premiums to be paid for covering Ebola-related damages and claims.

　　“It’s not unusual for insurance companies to exclude something like this, but brokers like us can request that our client be covered against it,” he said. “The insurance companies may quote an additional premium to do it.”

　　The insurance broker said issues related to the Ebola crisis are relatively new and premiums could not be precisely quantified.

　　“[A few owners are] dispatching vessels with equipment to screen stevedores and agents who come on board the ship for symptoms of the virus,” the source with the first ship-operator said.

　　WEST AFRICAN BAUXITE OUTPUT UNAFFECTED

　　Meanwhile, aluminum major Alcoa, one of the bauxite producers in West Africa, said it is closely monitoring the Ebola situation in Guinea and surrounding countries.

　　“At present, there are no confirmed Ebola cases near the mines where we source bauxite,” Alcoa said in email to Platts Friday. “Alcoa has provided training to our 14 local Guinea employees on precautions to take in order to avoid the spread of Ebola, is cooperating with local authorities, and has suspended non-essential travel into the country. There has been no impact on production or shipments.”

　　La Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinee, or CBG, has not seen any impact on the production and shipment of bauxite due to the Ebola epidemic, according to joint venture partner Alcoa.

　　CBG is owned by Alcoa, Rio Tinto Alcan and the government of Guinea. It produced 15.4 million mt of bauxite in fiscal 2013, according to Rio Tinto’s annual report.

　　A total of 1,975 cases and 1,069 deaths suspected to be caused by Ebola have been reported by the World Health Organization as of August 11. Of those, 1,251 cases and 686 deaths have been confirmed to be Ebola.

　　WHO is not recommending any restrictions to travel or trade except in cases where individuals have been confirmed or are suspected of being infected with Ebola virus or where individuals have had contact with Ebola cases.