World Maritime News

September 20, 2023

More carriers emerge as global terminal operators Mergers and acquisitions will increase the number of global container terminal operators next year as the sector consolidates around larger players and container lines take a more prominent role. Mediterranean Shipping Co. grew strongly after increasing its stake in Terminal Investments Ltd from 60% to 70% in 2022. CMA CGM also saw strong growth as it expanded its portfolio, buying back complete control of its Los Angeles terminal in 2021 and ac

World Maritime News (62)

September 06, 2023

World Maritime News

Carrier diversification strategies called into question Cosco has become the latest container line to promote a new logistics service as part of its container shipping mix, offering a digital end-to-end supply chain product for the Europe-China trade. Cosco is joining many container lines that have moved beyond their traditional remit of shifting boxes on ships from one port to another. This diversification of the sector has been going on for several years. Maersk got the ball rolling with its

World Maritime News (61)

July 26, 2023

World Maritime News

ICS and IAPH launch clean energy marine hubs to support shipping decarbonization Addressing challenges in infrastructure, including production, storage, and transport, is among the main targets of the initiative backed by several countries worldwide. The International Chamber of Shipping has launched the Clean Energy Marine Hubs initiative in cooperation with several other partners, including the International Association of Ports & Harbors, to support clean fuel production and infrastructure i

World Maritime News (60)

July 12, 2023

World Maritime News

Ports of Los Angeles and Nagoya agree on green shipping corridor Los Angeles and Nagoya ports have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to broaden their collaboration on sustainability and operational efficiency initiatives, including a new green shipping corridor. In addition to the green shipping corridor, the ports will collaborate on initiatives such as digital supply chain information sharing and zero-emissions vehicle and equipment testing. According to the statement, they will continue t

World Maritime News (59)

June 28, 2023

World Maritime News

Topics on the container shipping market Expectations of a "stabilization" of container shipping have been overplayed, and the market is now as good as it gets, according to Vespucci Maritime chief executive Lars Jensen. "This market was never stable, and it was never normal," he told an audience at the TOC Conference in Rotterdam. "If you look at spot rate variations in the decade before the pandemic, it was not uncommon for them to change by a factor of three. We also regularly have port strik

World Maritime News (58)

June 14, 2023

World Maritime News

Panama Canal draft restrictions could cut boxship loads by 40% According to marine insurance sources, draft restrictions on the Panama Canal could force a 10,000 teu boxship to offload around 4,000 teu before transiting the key waterway. The maximum draft was set at 13.56m until 12 June, then falling further to 13.41 m. On 25 June, the limit will be lowered again to 13.26 m. These drat adjustments directly affect vessels transiting the neopanamax locks. Ships arriving with draft exceeding the a

World Maritime News (57)

May 30, 2023

World Maritime News

Topics on container shipping Container spot freight rates indicate the market is "fundamentally above pre-pandemic rate levels" despite the large falls from the peaks early in 2022. Earlier this year, rates had fallen back to levels last seen in 2019 in some cases, prompting some analysts to suggest carriers were engaging in a price war to secure cargoes as demand retreated. But an analysis by Sea-Intelligence indicates that despite the falls in the first quarter of 2023, freight rates have sta

World Maritime News (56)

May 17, 2023

World Maritime News

US imports to remain ‘well below’ 2022 levels most of the year According to the latest Global Port Trackerreportby the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates, US import volumes are expected to continue climbing throughout the summer. But they will remain far below last year’s record levels. Revising previous projections, the report forecasts imports to the US’s 12 largest ports in the first half of the year to total 10.4m teu, down from earlier projections of 10.8m teu and 22.8% belo

World Maritime News (55)

May 02, 2023

World Maritime News

US shipping bill targets 'unreasonably anti-competitive' agreements The US Congress has unveiled more ocean-shipping-focused legislation for "foreign" carriers. The Ocean Shipping Competition Enforcement Act was introduced by Democrat representative John Garamendi who said shipping is dominated by "nine foreign-flagged ocean liners that openly collude under three carrier alliances handling some 80% of cargo". The act will allow the Federal Maritime Commission to block agreements among ocean car

World Matime News (54)

April 19, 2023

World Maritime News

Box shipping is down but far from out The end of the pandemic boom was inevitable. But industry discipline and capacity management will mean it is well placed to benefit from a recovery in the second half of this year. The container shipping sector is nowhere near as bad a shape as some think. Shippers should be wary of trying to “nickel and dime” carriers in contract negotiations ahead of a possible upturn in demand. Read more: Lloyd's List SIPG sees record profit for 2022 despite slow c

World Maritime News (53)

April 05, 2023

World Maritime News

Box ports clear congestion as demand falls Falling demand for containerized goods has positively impacted container ports as congestion has declined, and fewer vessel calls have improved productivity. The latest World Ports Tracker Report from the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) "confirms the end of the global supply chain crunch," with the last quarter's average call sizes dropped in all port regions compared with the third quarter of 2022. IAPH said the biggest falls wer

World Maritime News (52)

March 22, 2023

World Maritime News

Maersk shifts detention billing to shippers ahead of FMC regulation Maersk will begin billing container detention charges directly to shippers on so-called merchant haulage moves from 1 April, which portends evolving invoicing practices related to potential new requirements from the US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC). The move by Maersk comes as the FMC is in the midst of a rulemaking process around detention and demurrage billing mandated by the passage of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 20