IT IS a well-established fact (or that we should remind all market players again) that the global shipping sector remains plagued by a massive supply overhang amid meagre demand prospects up to 2013 at least.

(WASHINGTON) A US proposal to sanction Iran's state-owned oil company and its main tanker fleet may ensnare any person or business in the world involved in purchasing or shipping Iranian oil.

(VENICE) It's a matter of perspective. From aboard a 12-deck cruise liner, the sight of St Mark's Square, the Doge's Palace and Bridge of Sighs gliding past from a cabin balcony is a breathtaking thrill.

(LONDON) D/S Norden A/S, Europe's biggest publicly trading commodity shipping company, hired a Supramax vessel at no cost other than fuel charges, its first such transaction in a quarter century.

WHILE the global shipping industry's attention has been focused on the capsize of the Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia, another passenger ship sank with loss of probably well over 100 lives but with much less media interest.