Container Shipping News

While carriers are permitted to collaborate on freight rates under South Korea’s maritime shipping act, it must be done in discussion with shippers and details reported to the Oceans and Fisheries Ministry within 30 days.

Members of the Ocean Alliance outline plans to add new Asia services to the US West and East coasts as part of a series of 2022 network changes.

Frustration over sailing disruptions continues in the new year for Indian exporters, with MSC skipping calls at Mundra and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust on its INDUSA service this week.

Maersk is going beyond its previous efforts to cut emissions, accelerating its decarbonization timeline and extending net-zero targets across its land, sea, and air business.

Mediterranean Shipping Co. has edged out Maersk as the world’s largest containership company by capacity, according to Alphaliner, amid fleet growth and higher trans-Pacific volumes.

The trans-Atlantic trade will report significant volume growth in 2021 as heavy US demand fills all available capacity and pushes rates to record levels.

Wan Hai has come under scrutiny from the US Federal Maritime Commission for assessing detention charges on containers that shippers assert could not be returned to a container terminal.

Global vessel schedule reliability remained at a six-year low in November amid the ongoing chaotic market for trans-Pacific shipping.

A sea change in ocean freight rate volatility has precipitated new efforts to drive usage of derivatives, with index providers suggesting there is previously unseen appetite from shippers and forwarders for hedging tools.

Forwarders are raising red flags as a more integrated Maersk becomes better equipped to establish direct relationships with shippers.

Maersk will significantly expand its Asia Pacific contract logistics and e-commerce footprint in Asia Pacific with its latest multi-billion-dollar acquisition.

Futures contracts based on container rates across several major trade lanes will start trading at the end of February on one of the world’s largest financial exchanges.

Mediterranean Shipping Co. has made an offer for the largest port and logistics provider on the African continent as it looks to expand on a growing market.

Mediterranean Shipping Co. is temporarily omitting New York-New Jersey from a Suez service to the US East Coast and instead making Savannah the first port of call, citing vessel congestion along the coast.

Wan Hai Lines is looking to clear out a backlog of its vessels at anchor or drifting off the ports of Los Angeles-Long Beach after securing a new terminal deal with SSA Marine.

HMM India officials said the carrier plans to use a fleet of eight to 12 vessels with an average capacity of 5,000 TEU on its new service linking the Indian port of Kattupalli with the Far East and Latin America.

There was a lack of substantial debate in the House before passing major ocean shipping reform legislation even after the ranking member of the maritime subcommittee warned that while he supported the bill, he had reservations.

Mediterranean Shipping Co. is changing a trans-Pacific service calling on Portland to the East Coast, but the carrier is keeping a stake at the Oregon port via a new shuttle service

One of the first cases brought under the Federal Maritime Commission’s interpretative rule on detention and demurrage has been settled, but the larger issue remains an open question since the deal means there was no ruling by FMC.

Shippers will be forced to dig deeper when South China barge operators limit services later this month to allow sea-going crews extra time to comply with China’s strict COVID-19 quarantine rules ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.

The House voted overwhelmingly in favor of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act, which if passed by the Senate and signed into law by President Joe Biden would herald the first rewriting of US shipping law since 1998.

End-to-end recovery in the global supply chain will only come through slower demand growth and a period of calm that is far from guaranteed as long as COVID-19 continues to affect manufacturing and consumption.

Retailers project continued strong imports into 2022, with no traditional post-holiday slack period, as sales remain strong and ports work overtime to reduce vessel backlogs.

DP World’s new feeder service is further proof that demand for short-sea or coastal shipping activity in India has grown significantly after restrictive cabotage rules applied to foreign-owned vessels in that segment were abolished three years ago.

A growing number of blank sailings comes as carriers are also skipping ports in both Asia and the United States in an effort to recover sailing schedules.

Liner carriers find themselves in the unusual position of having cash to both repay debt and invest in a range of ways, from new ships to technology to strategic acquisitions.

The latest talk about a share sale that would start the path toward privatization comes after HMM announced record third-quarter results on Nov. 10 with a near 10-fold increase in net profit to almost $2 billion.

An investigation into Australia’s shipping sector follows months of disruption to supply chains due to port congestion, stevedore industrial action, and curtailed carrier services.

The impact of the Omicron variant on the operational aspects of the container shipping sector will be found in the political responses, and the variant holds more operational risk for Asian origin ports, writes maritime analyst Lars Jensen.

Shippers with no alternative but to secure annual contracts are finding long-term rates at highly elevated levels even as the spot market shows signs of easing.

Zim noted that in addition to significant transit time advantages, its new India string offers customers project cargo services and connections with other markets via its global network.

Cosco was coy on how it plans to develop its relationship with SF Holdings, which has an extensive domestic air express cargo and ground transportation network and is growing its international operation.

The looming storage tariffs in Los Angeles and Long Beach are starting to force carriers, marine terminals, and shippers to break through the gridlock of competing interests.

The White House has endorsed proposed shipping reform legislation and said the Department of Justice is ready to assist maritime regulators if they find alliances are violating the US Shipping Act.

Zim joins other leading carriers in reporting record earnings in the third quarter on the back of surging freight rates and container volumes.

Although US imports from Asia were down 2.4 percent in October year over year, it was the third-busiest month ever for containerized imports from Asia.

Through the suspension of a trans-Pacific service to Southern California, Zim Integrated Shipping Services has become the latest carrier to shift vessels out of trade, blaming port congestion.

Maersk’s joint venture with Durban-based forwarder and terminal operator Grindrod — along with other recent purchases and partnerships — could be the start of a splurge of similar deals as a cash-rich Maersk strengthens its global logistics footprint.

Detention and demurrage costs have soared in 2021, and shippers complain that many of these storage fees are mistaken and difficult to correct.

Electricity shortages slowing Chinese factory output and lowered production in Vietnam due to COVID-19 lockdown measures are providing a slight — and likely temporary — easing of short-term Asia–US container rates.