Container lines

A proposed Hong Kong rule requiring use of low-sulfur fuel for ships while at berth — a less stringent rule that those applied in U.S. and some European waters — will take effect on July 1 if approved by the Legislative Council next week.

Carriers in the trans-Pacific eastbound market are hoping to leverage robust volumes, higher spot rates and the disruption tied to the recent U.S. West Coast labor standoff to achieve higher rates in annual contracts with shippers that take effect on May 1.

The yawning cargo imbalance on the North America-Mediterranean container trade is still widening and carriers need an economic recovery in southern Europe to narrow the gap, according to Drewry Maritime Research.

Cargo sourced directly from beneficial cargo owners is becoming a steadily larger piece of Mediterranean Shipping Co.’s U.S. import cargo, further underscoring its transformation from an outsider, dependent on intermediaries for freight, to the largest carrier serving the U.S. market.

Bruised by the experience of the current West Coast port disruption, shippers speaking at the 15th annual TPM Conference last week in Long Beach, California, gave a ringing endorsement of service and reliability as key elements in ocean carrier relationships.

Clarksons posted higher profit and revenue in 2014 but the world’s biggest maritime services company said it faces “extremely challenging” conditions in some shipping markets.

A new design for a refrigerated ship built for banana shipments and roll-on, roll-off cargo promises more capacity, faster loading and unloading, and better fuel efficiency than its counterparts, its designer says.

Grimaldi Group is close to sealing a $300 million order for five large car carriers that will operate on the North Atlantic trade lane.

A final Japanese government report on the 2013 break-up and sinking of the MOL Comfort has called for amended ship design requirements to better ensure the safety of large container ships.

The idle container ship fleet has increased over the past two weeks and likely will continue to grow as a steady stream of new vessels is delivered, according to industry analyst Alphaliner.

While the growth pace of overall U.S. trade is slowing, perishables trade expansion is “significantly faster,” World City President Ken Roberts said at the JOC's 15th annual TPM Conference.

The 15 top container carriers are at risk of significant and damaging cyberattacks, according to the head of a leading market intelligence provider and cybersecurity firm in the industry.

Ship sizes have reached the point of diminishing returns and container lines should be focusing instead on introducing differentiation into their service offering, Martin Stopford, director of Clarkson Research Services in London, told delegates at the 15th annual TPM Conference in Long Beach.

U.S. containerized imports in 2015 will increase a paltry 1.7 percent, dragged down by West Coast port congestion, JOC Economist Mario Moreno told the 15th annual TPM Conference in Long Beach on Monday.

Japan’s third-largest shipping line, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, announced Monday it would be beefing up its LNG and bulker vessels over the next four years, while downsizing its container shipping fleet.

MOL on Monday confirmed orders and charters for six 20,150-TEU vessels that catapults the Japanese carrier into the ranks of the operators of the world’s largest container ships.

SeaLand, the hallowed container shipping brand relaunched by Maersk Line in January, sees an opportunity to gain market share in the Latin American lanes resulting from two mergers — between two German container lines and two Chilean carriers.

A premium shipping market awaits container lines who would be willing to offer premium service at a higher price than commoditized service offered by most carriers today, Kuehne+Nagel Chairman Karl Gernandt told TPM 2015.

Rickmers Group, the leading German ship owner and manager, said it has successfully concluded negotiations with its bankers to restructure 1.28 billion euros (US$1.43 billion) of loans.

Maersk Line CEO Soren Skou said ships with capacities of 25,000 20-foot-equivalent units are possible but not practical today, and that he expects 18,000- to 19,000-TEU container ships to remain the largest afloat for years to come.

Growth in the global reefer market this year will likely outpace the lukewarm performance of the past few years, according to industry analysts.

Cargo interests undoubtedly are relieved that the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association reached a tentative contract deal on Feb. 20 after more than nine months of unexpectedly difficult negotiations, but now it’s time for importers and exporters to reassess their commitment to West Coast ports.

The economic fundamentals of the trans-Pacific trade are strengthening, setting the stage for what would normally generate rapid growth in container volumes, especially in the eastbound trade. But this isn’t a normal year.

Mediterranean Shipping Co. is adding a new container service in the India-Australia-Mediterranean route, called the Australia Express, as the Geneva-based carrier beefs up its India connections to serve growing trade volumes.

Militants loyal to ISIS could bring Somali-style piracy to the Mediterranean, threatening the world’s largest trade lane, European officials warn.

Port productivity as ships get larger is stalled resulting in ships remaining in port for longer periods of time, delays to cargo and higher costs for carriers.

DFDS's pre-tax profit soared 56 percent in 2014, driven by increased short sea traffic on its key North Sea trades and reduced losses on the English Channel.

Mediterranean Shipping Co. plans in late April to launch a new container service directly linking India and China to capitalize on the booming intra-Asia cargo trade.

The top 20 Chinese ports had a throughput of 15.5 million 20-foot containers in January, with Shanghai and Shenzhen terminals handling almost half of them, according to Shanghai Shipping Exchange data.

The last two months of U.S. West Coast congestion appear to have cemented many shippers’ plans to divert cargo to other ports, according to a recent JOC.com survey.

Matson posted increases in profit for the fourth quarter and full year of 2014 and said it expects “modestly higher” operating results in 2015, aside from the company’s pending acquisition of Horizon Line’s Alaska service.

Less container ship capacity is expected to be scrapped this year, as the price of steel continues to drop and the pool of older vessels shrinks, analysts say.

Shippers can better avoid getting hit with higher costs from unscrupulous ocean carriers by insuring contracts don’t allow carriers to hike drayage and other costs just because port congestion pushes up delivery rates, possibly triggering demurrage charges, especially on door delivery shipments, a maritime attorney said.

Maersk Group is tipped to announce its second share buy-back in six months on Wednesday when it unveils fourth-quarter 2014 results that are likely to be dominated by surging container shipping profits.

Trade between China and Iran has been growing at almost 40 percent a year since 2012, driven by rapidly rising consumer demand, according to a Seabury Group study.

The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway system’s navigation season is scheduled to reopen March 27 following its annual winter shutdown that began Jan. 1, U.S. and Canadian authorities announced.

Trans-Atlantic carriers face a struggle to hike rates amid rising capacity and new competition, even as the euro’s slide against the U.S. dollar boosts shipments on the key westbound leg, according to Drewry Shipping Consultants.

Hamburg Sud said it expects to seal the acquisition of the container shipping operations of Compania Chilena de Navegacion Interoceanica by the end of March.

With growing demand and difficulty in gaining shipbuilding capacity, Taiwan's fourth-largest container carrier announced plans Monday to order four 1,800-TEU vessels.