Nobody's shippin' nothin' nowhere.
Posted on 09/30/2009 7:18:59 AM PDT by RBW in PA
The biggest and most secretive gathering of ships in maritime history lies at anchor east of Singapore. Never before photographed, it is bigger than the U.S. and British navies combined but has no crew, no cargo and no destination - and is why your Christmas stocking may be on the light side this year
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Ping
yikes!
Are those what green shoots look like Mommy?
Can you say, “Global deflationary collapse”?
Sure, I knew you could.
It's so secretive I read about it a couple of weeks ago.
those words scare me... mr rodgers!
How could you tell? Half the cargo ships in the world seem to be anchored near Singapore at any given time.
I’m not sure whether to make anything of this or not. But, interesting, none the less.
Good time to buy a ship...
Wow. Sets one back on their heels doesn’t it.
Opportunity abounds. Thanks for the PING
It's so secretive I posted pics of it back in March ..
With the right connections, al Qaeda couldn’t find a better place to hide a nuke.
What a joke.
this is hype....maybe a few more ships than normal but freighters normally hang there in protected waters outside Singapore docks which are expensive as hell
Example of the aftereffects of the worldwide housing/credit bubble and spending imaginary money.
These ship may sit for a very long time unless another bubble is created.
If we started reducing the massive overhead of governments cost on people around the world, we could see a recovery.
BDI reflects cost which can be indicative of shipping demand no doubt
but those peaks on your chart reflect bunker C price hikes even though yes, the fall off in mid 2008 also had demand pressure behind it too
yesterday forecasters projected BDI to double quickly over Chinese orders
Oh this is bad. Badbadbadbad
This cannot be because Obango said we stepped back from the cliff....
That’s what makes Free Repuplic cutting edge!
Imports and Exports are screwed bigtime, most definitely, but the imagery of the ‘ghost fleet’ looks exactly like the waters around Singapore in 1998 and in 2005 when I was there. It ALWAYS looks like a giant ship parking lot.
yes, but think how much we’ve reduced our carbon footprint...
Looks like a school of little fish chased by big fish.
While BDI is based on costs of booking a bottom to ship goods (and is somewhat affected by Bunker C costs), it’s principal interest is that it shows demand for shipping which, in turn, shows demand for goods and materials which must be shipped. It is a leading indicator. As I read the chart I see worldwide demand for goods which travel by ship to be tanking (again); noone, Chinese or otherwise, is pulling these ships back into service.
Truly shocking ... could be no more graphic demonstration of the state of the global economy. And this is just weeks months before the holiday buying season, when they’d routinely be booked solid.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Ghost Fleet Swells in Size Amidst Economic Troubles, Environmental Concerns
There may not be a better symbol of international trade than massive container ships and oil tankers, churning across the ocean with thousands of tons of trade goods and commodities aboard.
This connection between the vessels themselves and the idea of prosperity may be why economists, environmentalists, and regular people were shocked by the discovery of a fleet of abandoned container ships and oil barges off a remote Malaysian coast.
This ghost fleet has long existed in rumor, as economists surmised that the current state of global trade can’t support the pre-recession freight industry. Indeed, figures posted by the Daily Mail show that shipping companies have seen a 90% price drop for their services since the slump began.
When investigative journalists discovered the ghost fleet, they were appalled by its size; the rows of container ships and oil barges obscure the horizon. Far from the rusted hulks that are dismantled on Bangladeshi beaches, these ships are in pristine condition, many of them less than a year old.
They are guarded by a handful of locals who are fearful that pirates will find these massive ships. At night, the ships’ deck lights create a corona of orange on the horizon that can be seen on the nearby islands. The number of trade vessels located here are so numerous, they exceed the size of the American and British navy combined.
When I owned freighters, fuel number 2 or 3 or C was our biggest direct cost...followed by labor and repairs and then port fees..depending on port so I don't see how you can say fuel costs somewhat affect BDI.....I agree demand also helps set price no doubt....but spiraling fuel costs created that huge spike on the chart you copied from BDI site
From yesterday:
" Sept. 29 (Bloomberg) -- The Baltic Dry Index, the main measure of shipping costs for commodities, may surge more than 80 percent by the end of the year on increased demand for shipments to China, according to China Ocean Shipping (Group) Co.
The gauge may rebound to 4,000 points as local governments encourage factory output, especially of steel, Kong Fanhua, a senior researcher at the company, said in an interview. “If you believe in a China story, believe in a recovery in the shipping market,” Kong said today. The index ended yesterday at 2,192.
BDI compared to Crude is pretty instructive...and it also parallels some other shipping commodities prices but since crude prices affects it from two perspectives I'd give it most weight"
Scary. The same thing happen during the Great Depression. Vast shipments of wheat,corn, beans and cotton rotted in the docks and on trains because no-one showed up to pay for it. There was a picture on here not too long ago of empty trains cluttering up towns and tracks across the country too.
I think Jesus is going to make a huge come back this Christmas! Screw Scrooge!
The USSR had the same problem...
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