The Suez Canal Authority was in bullish form this week, suggesting that many shipping companies are readying to ditch the Cape of Good Hope and return to Red Sea transits, something that will have an enormous impact on freight rates. 

Diana Shipping made its move on New York-listed Genco Shipping & Trading, tabling a cash offer to acquire all remaining shares it does not already own at $20.60 per share. Diana Shipping’s chief executive Semiramis Paliou said merging the two platforms would boost scale and operating leverage “at what we consider an opportune time in the dry bulk cycle.”

South Korea’s largest LNG shipowner is heading for new ownership as private equity firm IMM is readying to sell Hyundai LNG Shipping to Indonesia’s Sinar Mas Group in a deal valued at around KRW400bn ($274m).

Israeli shipping company ZIM rejected an offer from its CEO Eli Glickman and Rami Ungar, who heads up Ray Car Carriers, to acquire the company at a $2.4bn valuation. ZIM announced on Tuesday that it has formed a team to examine strategic alternatives regarding the company’s future.

The November issue of Splash Extra, shipping’s free markets guide, was published on Wednesday with the lead report assessing how long today’s shipbuilding boom will last. 

This week’s big Maritime CEO interview was with Clare Urmston, chief executive of UK rotor sails supplier Anemoi. Better data, and easier-to-fit hardware will accelerate wind-assist adoption, she maintained, claiming the momentum behind wind-assist is stronger than ever — and shipowners are finally linking emission cuts with financial returns.

This week’s Splash Wrap podcast, carried below, condenses all the key themes from our recently published Seafarers magazine.