China's transportation minister said recently the global shipping sector is in a downturn even worse than during the 2008 financial crisis with the outlook for the industry made increasingly uncertain by euro zone debt turmoil.   

"For dry bulk, I remain pretty pessimistic because the supply overhang is still pretty significant," said Michael Parker, Citi's global head of shipping.   

"Essentially the dry market is going to be pretty poor for the next two to three years — I don't see anything changing that," he told Reuters in an interview. 

Parker said crude tanker owners have to expect more or less zero positive cash-flow in the coming months.  

"They can't expect to do more than break-even at best unless they have locked in charters or there is some significant move to lay up," he said.  

"One should expect 2012 to be a very poor year for the (crude) tanker market again. There are supply issues and it does not look like global demand is really going to pick up in a way that will change that."