Some Shipping Execs Fear Markets Underestimate Virus Ocean shipping is the "canary in the coal mine" for how coronavirus will impact the global economy. And according to shipping executives speaking at the Tradewinds Shipowners Forum New York event on Thursday, global markets need to focus more on this particular canary. It's in trouble. "I think the markets and many people are still underestimating the knock-on effects that the coronavirus will have," warned Angela Chao, CEO of the Foremost Group, a dry bulk shipping owner that does considerable business with China. "Even yesterday, the U.S. [stock markets] were still up," she said. Just one example of potentially excessive optimism: Shares of crude-tanker owner DHT Holdings (NYSE: DHT ) are up 10% since Friday, as investors bet on a V-shaped post-virus bounce. "There's still not a full realization of the interruptions to the workforce, of people trying to get back to work in China, to our supply chains. All of that is going to have a tremendous effect," said Chao. "People are still likening the coronavirus to SARS," she lamented, insisting that this is a mistake. "The viruses are very different and more importantly, China's position in the global economy, both in terms of its connectedness as well as its impact, is completely different." She noted that SARS was a "1% blip" for China's economy.