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 acquiring a new concession in Beirut.
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Shanghai ready to offer green methanol bunkering service in 2024
Shanghai Port will be able to provide green methanol bunkering services to international vessels in 2024, according to Shanghai International Port vice-president Zhang Xin. At a press conference, Zhang said that Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG) will develop bunkering services for many new energy-powered vessels in addition to green methanol.
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Green corridors nearing make-or-break moment, Global Maritime Forum argues
Green corridor projects require the government and private sector to absorb risks to unlock investment before 2027, when the International Maritime Organization’s economic measures will kick in to provide funding for such projects, according to a White Paper. A report by the Global Maritime Forum suggested there were around 30 green corridor announcements since November 2021, when 24 countries signed the Clydebank Declaration during COP26, promising the establishment of six zero-carbon shipping corridors by the middle of this decade. Most green corridor projects are still in the planning phase, as governments and private sector partners have yet to decide on funding.
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Shipping must be better prepared for climate risk, warns Lloyd’s Register forecast
A new report from Lloyd’s Register warns that rising sea levels caused by climate change could render some ports inoperable as soon as 2050 unless urgent action is taken on decarbonization. LR and its charitable wing, the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, have called on maritime and supply chain stakeholders to prepare contingency plans for “significant changes and possible future scenarios,” including ports becoming unusable due to sea level rises.
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Shipping will need a ‘staggering’ 30%-40% of global CO2-neutral fuel by 2030 – DNV
Shipping will need 30%-40% of global carbon-neutral fuel supplies by 2030, class society DNV warned in its latest Maritime Forecast to 2050. The industry today uses 3% of total energy, including fossil fuels — about 280m tonnes of oil equivalent (toe). But it will demand a far bigger share of future renewable fuels, making competition with other industries another supply challenge. DNV estimated there will be 44m toe–62m toe of carbon-neutral fuels made worldwide in 2030, of which shipping will need 17m toe.
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Shipping won’t get to choose its alternative fuel, Shell says
The energy company continues to question ammonia and methanol bunkering, arguing that the shipping industry won’t get to choose an alternative fuel to decarbonize. Instead, the decision will be driven by global trade, according to Shell. “When you look at ammonia and methanol or any of the other options considered right now, none of those are in a meaningful way globally traded commodities,” said Karrie Trauth, Shell’s global head of shipping, during a London International Shipping Week panel.
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Topics on shipping line’s decarbonization
The EU Commission president named the world’s first dual-fuel methanol containership Laura Maersk (IMO: 9944546) on 14 September. Maersk is set to take delivery of much larger dual-fuel methanol boxships from next year through to 2027, comprising six 9,000 teu, eight 16,000 teu, and eight 17,000 teu capacity containerships. In addition, it recently commissioned main engine designer MAN B&W to retrofit the first of a potential eleven 15,226 teu vessels built between 2017 and 2019 next year.
AP Moller Holding, Maersk’s parent company, has set up a methanol production firm called C2X to increase the output of clean methanol. According to a press release, the new firm will initially focus on methanol production in Spain and Egypt to reach a capacity of more than 3m tonnes per annum by 2030.
AP Moller-Maersk’s chief executive calls methanol the best alternative ship fuel so far. But as the world’s first methanol-fuelled containership prepares to enter commercial service next month, he keeps the door open to other options.
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Key supply chain stakeholders commit to electronic bills of lading
An alliance of supply chain industry associations has launched the “declaration of the electronic Bill of Lading” (eBL), adding their global support to the world’s carriers that have already committed to digitalizing international trade. The declaration was signed by BIMCO, the Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA), the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Association (FIATA), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), and the international payment network Swift, collectively known as the FIT Alliance.“This eBL declaration is an opportunity for those in global trade to express their interest and participation in digitalization and work towards a paperless industry,” Niels Nuyens, head of digital trade at DCSA, said. The digitalization of trade documentation, starting with the eBL, is a pathway toward making international trade more efficient, reliable, secure, sustainable, and less susceptible to illegal activity or fraud.
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