Saxo Bank has today released its annual Outrageous Predictions. Among the unlikely events predicted by the Bank are that Australia will go into recession, Basel III and regulation will force 50 bank nationalisations in Europe and Apple shares will plummet 50 percent from their 2011 high.

In its Outrageous Predictions, Saxo Bank focuses on events that are unlikely to happen, but at the same time are far more likely than the market appreciates. The predictions are not meant as forecasts, but it is important for investors to consider events with under-recognised probabilities. Should any of them come to pass, they would have a significant impact on the markets.

I believe that prediction number 9 is of special interest to us working in the maritime industry!

“9. Baltic Dry Index rises 100 percentLower oil prices in 2012 could lead to an increase in the Baltic Dry Index as operating expenses go down. Brazil and Australia are expected to expand iron ore supply, further leading to lower prices and therefore higher import demand from China to satisfy its insatiable industrial production. In combination with monetary easing this leads to a massive spike in iron ore demand.”

Full list of predictions can be found here http://www.saxoworld.com.

I came across this list of android Maritime apps so I thought that it might be interesting to share.

http://www.androidzoom.com/android_applications/maritime

For more than a decade, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority has treated the Atlantic as its very own graveyard, tossing thousands of old subway cars off a barge to rust away on the ocean floor. An environmental crime? Hardly.

The program creates habitats for marine life from Georgia to Jersey and gives New York’s aging subway cars a vibrant (and free!) retirement home. It is fascinating to see how scrap actually contributes to nature rather than tearing on it.

The full story and slide show could be found at: Surreal Photos of Subway Cars Being Thrown Into the Ocean [Slideshow] | Co.Design.

On February 23, www.marinetraffic.com launched the Marine Traffic for Ihopne app. The application shows Real-time ships positions based on Automatic Identification System (AIS) and provides worldwide coverage of more than 1000 ports and a significant number of open-sea areas.

Port arrivals and departures are recorded in real-time and search for port statistics, vessel details, historical data and estimated time of arrivals are availble.

According to marine traffic you will aslo be able to maintain your list of vessels (My Fleet) which is available on both the iPhone and the web version.

The application is available in the apple app store and costs about 3 EUR.

Hop into this Ego Compact Semi Submarine developed by the South Korean company Raonhaje.

The company plans to sell fleets of these Ego Semi-Submarines to resorts, and single units to individuals and yacht owners. The company offers to build custom moorings for the craft, as well as hoists for yachts.

We’re thinking super-safe leisure subs like these would be a huge hit at a resort, especially seaside marinas near coral reefs, with their colorful and bustling underwater wildlife. Just think, even people who can’t swim can enjoy the spectacular view.

Source: Mashable

Anyone that has any information update on grey water and black water regulations for ships? I guess that this is an area of interest in the environmental debate!

It’s been reported in the press recently about the fact that AP Möller/Maersk is likely to order container ships of 18 000TEU. It is a pretty amazing size of vessel but in the latest issue of Alphaliner news letter they suggest even bigger size of containers, 20 000 + TEU´s. They have made an good conceptual study and it will be interesting to see if we ever will see ships of that size.

I have put together an information resource about the life-cycle of a ship covering: initial stage, ordering, ship building, ship operation & recycling. If you have any ideas of improvements please let me know!

The article could be found here!

BDI is now even lower. Now at 1370! Will it keep on falling?

Yesterday BDI went as low as 1480!

While Clarkson Plc, the world’s biggest shipbroker, expects seaborne trade in the two cargoes to exceed 2 billion metric tons for the first time this year, the 7 percent increase won’t be enough to eliminate a glut. About 200 capesizes, spanning some 35 miles end-to-end, will leave shipyards this year, expanding the fleet by 18 percent, the Bloomberg survey showed.

“In 2010 the market was able to to take a hit from about 200 Capesizes and a notable large amount of smaller vessels delivered,” according to Erik Nikolai Stavseth, an analyst at Arctic Securities ASA.

The big question is whether the market will be able to take another hit from a huge amount of deliveries entering the market this year? Judging form the recent development of the BDI it doesn’t look good.

Source: Bloomberg