What The Ship! Weekly News on the Maritime Shipping Sector (Episode 46) What's Going on With Shipping? August 17, 2022 In this episode, Sal Mercogliano - maritime historian at Campbell University and former merchant mariner - examines the key sectors of global shipping - tankers, containerships, bulkers, cruise ships, and roll-on/roll-off ships, along with droughts that are impacting trade on the Rhine and Yangtze rivers. First, the tanker sector, in particular the crude VLCC trade, is seeing an uptick due to demand for crude oil from the United States. Second, as container rates are falling, backlogs off the east coast of the United States and strikes in Europe, are manifesting as port congestion. Third, in the dry bulk sector, a clearing of the backlog of bulkers off China, along with decreased demand, has seen a decline in Capesize rates, with similar decreases in Panamax and Supramax. Fourth, the cruise lines, after a series of starts and stops are seeing issues with getting enough crew and plunging stock rates. Fifth, the demand for roll-on/roll-off shipping has increased with nearly all vessels returned to service. Finally, falling river levels on the Rhine and Yangtze rivers are impacting trade in Europe and Asia.