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Shanghai handles record number of containers in July

PostTime:2022-08-09 07:14:49 View:44

THE Port of Shanghai is reporting a new monthly record for the total number of containers moving through, reports Fort Lauderdale's Maritime Executive. The volume growth comes as the port recovered from earlier Covid crisis lockdowns and from the new surge in volume across many of China's largest container ports. The Shanghai International Port Group declared it handled 4.3 million TEU in July. It compares with a previous record of 4.2 million TEU in October 2020. On average, the port handled 3.93 million TEU a month in 2021. Seeking to give a sense of the magnitude of the volume, the Chinese media highlighted that Shanghai handled 140,000 TEU daily in July. The Shengdong International Container Terminal also reported a new monthly record of 840,000 TEU. July's volume is 16 per cent over July 2021 and 13 per cent ahead of June. The port worked in June to catch up after May's lockdown, including restrictions on inter-city trucking. Shanghai has handled 26.85 million TEU in 2022, putting it at a rate similar to the port's monthly average in 2021. Shanghai was ranked as the world's busiest container port for 12 years running since China launched an effort in 2010 to expand the port operations. The China Ports & Harbour Association reports overall solid growth in port operations in 2022. There was growth at eight of the 10 largest coastal ports.  

Biggest box ship - 24,116 TEU - afloat for MSC in Shanghai

PostTime:2022-08-05 09:32:55 View:56

SHANGHAI's Hudong Zhonghua shipyard has floated out what it calls the world's largest containership based on TEU capacity, reports Fort Lauderdale's Maritime Executive. Rival Taiwanese carroer, Evergreen Marine, has ships of 24,004 TEU. The stacking design the shipyard reports for the MSC vessel permits boxes to be piled 25 layers high. The vessel, which is being built for MSC, increases capacity versus a similar vessel built for Evergreen and delivered weeks ago as the world's largest containership. The newest vessel, the MSC Tessa, has the same overall dimensions as the Ever Alot and Ever Apex recently delivered by Hudong Zhonghua, a division of CSSC. While the main dimensions are unchanged, the company's containership design team has optimised the ship's superstructure, radar mast, and other related designs according to the characteristics of the ship owner's operating route. The shipyard developed the design with its internal design team and is calling the vessels the "Hudong-type" class. They measure 1,312 feet in length with a beam of 202 feet. The shipyard points out that they are 196 feet longer than the largest aircraft carrier and have a deck area equivalent to four football fields. The design incorporates several features which are reported to improve their energy efficiency. They have a small bulbous bow, large diameter propellers, and energy-saving ducts. The MSC Tessa is also the first newly built ship for the line and the shipyard to employ an air lubrication system for the hull which they estimate will reduce fuel consumption by three to four per cent. The design also used a shaft generator system to reduce fuel consumption and optimise the vessel's EEDI energy efficiency rating. They also are outfitted with a hybrid scrubber unit. The shipyard expects to deliver the MSC Tessa this year. It is the first of four vessels being built by the yard. Block assembly for the second and third vessels was started simultaneously in two drydocks at Hudong Zhonghua on June 13 shortly after work resumed from the Covid lockdowns in the Shanghai area. The shipyard reports it is using a batch construction method to speed the work on the two ships and improve efficiency in the construction process. Work on the fourth vessel for MSC began after the first vessel was floated out.  

Shanghai and Singapore port calls added to Gulf China service

PostTime:2022-07-05 09:08:51 View:103

THE Saudi Ports Authority (MAWANI) announced the addition of two new port calls, Shanghai and Singapore, to the Gulf China Service (GCS) in a bid to increase trade operations in King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam. GSC is a direct weekly service operated by Pacific International Lines (PIL), connecting China with the Gulf area in the Middle East. MAWANI has recently added seven new shipping line services to strengthen Saudi ports' connectivity with logistics networks around the world in line with the objectives of the National Transport and Logistics Strategy and Saudi Vision 2030. The King Abdulaziz Port has capacity to handle 105 million tonnes and extends for a total area of 19 square kilometres with 43 berths. Last March, the port recorded the highest daily container throughput for any port in Saudi Arabia handling a total volume of 18,020 TEU on a single vessel, according to London's Port Technology.  

Mixed messages as Shanghai port reboots back to normality

PostTime:2022-06-16 10:03:00 View:133

MIXED messages on demand are occurring throughout the shipping industry as Shanghai reopens and the feared congestion and chaos of peak season may not materialise, reports the American Journal of Transportation. Still, National Retail Federation (NRF) Projections for imports throughout the summer remain elevated and ocean spot rate futures and contract rates remain high too. Changes in inventory and spending are signs that things are changing, but there is enough demand and congestion to increase delays and ocean rates as Shanghai reopens. Taken together, this mix of competing indications may signal the start of a gradual return to normal. Meanwhile, Asia to US west coast prices fell 11 per cent to US$9,574/FEU. This rate is just nine per cent higher than the same time last year. While some measures record a drop in orders for US-bound imports in April and May, April volumes were five per cent higher than last year. May and June volumes are projected to be higher than April, 7.5 per cent greater than in 2021, and tied for the third-highest monthly volumes on record, with July and August not far behind. Regardless, consumer spending shifts are new developments and signs that inflation and the wane of the Covid crisis in the west are changing the market.    

Shanghai trucking shortage eases but hurdles remain

PostTime:2022-06-10 10:29:51 View:177

THERE is optimism that a trucking shortage in Shanghai is shrinking, providing relief to the supply chain congestion, though hurdles remain, reports Bloomberg. Some logistics experts see activity returning to 80 per cent of levels seen before Shanghai's Covid crisis lockdowns. Digital freight forwarder Flexport declared the trucking situation in Shanghai could return to normal soon. Although there are increasing levels of export containers heading into the city, IT logistics firm FourKites declared the volume heading out of Shanghai remains muted. FourKites' customers had an average of 52 per cent more volume brought by truck and rail into Shanghai recently, while levels remain 31 per cent lower than March 12. Meanwhile, container volumes transported from Shanghai were 84 per cent below March 12 levels.. The situation in Shanghai is being followed closely after a two-month lockdown impacted supply chains. The easing of port congestion is expected to unleash a wave of containers on the US west coast that could clog supply chains further. Citigroup declared in its June supply chains report that the global challenges look to be as sensitive as any time since the Covid crisis began. "Supply chain pressures have proved to be more persistent, and apparently deep-rooted than we had expected even a few months ago," said Citigroup. "Given these realities, any hopes of near-term improvement in supply chain conditions have been shattered."  

May imports, exports up for China as Shanghai ends its lockdown

PostTime:2022-06-10 10:26:09 View:157

CHINA's exports are expected to have expanded at a faster pace in May as factories reopened and supply chain disruptions calmed after Shanghai began to emerge from a lockdown, while imports also likely rose, reports Reuters. The recovery adds to evidence the world's second-largest economy has begun to chart a path out of the supply side shock that rocked world trade and global markets. But China's trade outlook faces risks from factors such as high raw material costs, uncertainties from the Ukraine war and as recovering production overseas affects demand for Chinese goods. Official and private surveys showed China's factory activity contracted at a slower pace in May as Covid curbs in major manufacturing hubs eased, with a gauge on export orders improving.

Shanghai ship queues shorten as world's top port returns to normal

PostTime:2022-06-08 09:20:48 View:135

QUEUING times at the Port of Shanghai, the world's largest port, have shortened as the Chinese economic hub gets back on its feet after a two-month lockdown, reports Beijing's state-run Global Times. Comparing research notes sent to the Global Times by Elane Inc, a well-known shipping data company, dated end of April, mid-May and end of May, the congestion situation at the Port of Shanghai recovered as the average time for vessels waiting to anchor increased from 28 hours at end-April to 71 hours in mid-May, then fell to 29 hours at end of May. Thirty-four vessels were waiting in mid-May compared with 30 at the end of May, both up from the end of April's 23, suggesting ships now wait for shorter periods as port efficiency improves. Shipping experts said the shortened waiting time and recovered port calls could be a sign of more business getting back to the port, as the city declares that it will officially emerge from its "static management". Zhang Yongfeng, director of the shipping market analysis department of the Shanghai International Shipping Institute, warned that there is uncertainty, since US consumption of Chinese products is declining. The Port of Shanghai told the Global Times that the port "never stopped for a single day, having handled 15.3 million TEU at an annual growth rate of 1.9 per cent. In closed-loop management, more than 20,000 employees have been stationed at the port since mid-March, and it has issued over 800,000 green passes for truck drivers moving containers in and out of the port. The port also said that infrastructure expansion projects, including automation, are on schedule. As of end of May, daily throughput stood at 120,000 TEU, returning to 95.3 per cent to normal operation levels.  

Restricted to Ship – Shanghai shipyard coming back to life

PostTime:2022-06-06 10:59:27 View:131

 The fourth episode of Restricted to Ship sees shipyard workers starting to return to the President Wilson as Shanghai moved to get major industries back to work in early May amid the Covid-19 lockdown. Starting on day 73 the vessel had been in the yard, and 43 of the lockdown, the latest episode documents the yard crawling back to life. Initial numbers of workers are small compared to the 500 plus the ship saw before the lockdown, and they face twice daily Covid testing. The crew remain stranded on the ship uncertain when they will be able to leave dock, but at least there is the start of some light at the end of the of the tunnel. Since the episode was recorded Shanghai has lifted its lockdown on 1 June with a gradual return to normality, albeit with many restrictions in place.

Shanghai port container throughput rebounds to 80pc of 2021 level

PostTime:2022-05-31 11:34:51 View:123

THE world's biggest container port, Shanghai, posted an 82.4 per cent year on year increase in April throughput to 3.08 million TEU, according to the Ministry of Transport (MOT), reported Beijing state media. "Currently, logistics in Shanghai and other key areas are gradually improving, with initial results in rectifying excessive prevention and control problems," said MOT official Shu Chi, citing improvements in the country's transport capacity. To ensure efficient operation of the transportation network's backbone, a unified national pass for vehicles transporting vital supplies was adopted by 27 Chinese provinces, reported China Global Television Network (CGTN). China has introduced a raft of measures including issuing sufficient unified national traffic permits and adopting a "white list" approach to support work resumption at key domestic and foreign firms, it said. The authorities also announced that eligible express delivery income have been exempted from value-added tax since May 1 to the end of the year. It is likely to reduce the burden for related enterprises by CNY1 billion (US$148.96 million).      

Lockdown eases in Shanghai, but shipping delays continues

PostTime:2022-05-25 09:10:39 View:231

THE authorities in China appears to be gradually easing its lockdown of Shanghai, but that won't bring immediate relief to global supply-chain congestion, according to a major shipping company, reports Bloomberg The shortage of rail, port and trucking workers in China and the US need to get resolved quicker than is currently happening as they are delaying ships at the world's major ports, said Jeremy Nixon, chief executive officer of Ocean Network Express (ONE). "Every government is doing their best to address the issue, but labour shortages still exist, and infrastructure shortages still exist," Mr Nixon said in a recent interview. "We're putting more ships into service, but we can't magic up more when we're running out." The world's supply chains have taken a battering this year from China's Zero Covid policy, which has hampered the production and delivery of everything from bathroom faucets to Apple iPhones. At the same time, trucker and rail worker shortages in the US have made it difficult for industries to move their goods, prompting the Biden administration to step in. From Los Angeles to Hamburg, scores of containers ships are waiting for weeks to berth at ports, Mr Nixon said. That wait is three weeks at Vancouver in Canada, and there's currently a queue of 130 vessels waiting off the world's biggest port in Shanghai, he said. While the Chinese city's lockdown is slowly being eased as Covid-19 cases drop, the number of container ships spotted in the Shanghai and Ningbo-Zhoushan region is still 11 per cent above the median in the last year, according to shipping data compiled by Bloomberg. And the volume of container goods moving in or out of Shanghai port by truck and train has declined recently, according to data from FourKites. Some shippers have tried to shift to air routes but have faced similar problems, with many flights being cancelled as a result of staffing shortages, according to digital freight forwarder Zencargo. The disruption to supply chains has extended further south to other ports. The number of container ships off Shenzhen and Hong Kong hit a seven-month high of 184 vessels early last week. At this time last year, there were just 95 vessels in the area. Mr Nixon said ONE is planning to reduce the number of ships that it charters from other parties, adding that about 15 per cent of the company's fleet is hired on short-term contracts lasting up a year. The company is looking at ordering new ships that will run on cleaner fuel, he said.    

ABS launches sustainability centre in Shanghai

PostTime:2022-05-16 09:29:45 View:198

ABS is extending its global sustainability centre network to Shanghai to support the industry in China. Katherine Si | May 13, 2022 Following the establishment of sustainability centers in Athens, Houston, Copenhagen and Singapore, ABS has opened up its fifth global sustainability centre in Shanghai.  The Shanghai centre will focus on promoting marine innovation, providing specialized information for low-carbon economy, developing ESG strategy and supporting green financing.  Related: ABS and HHI team up on autonomous vessels “ABS’s support to the sustainable development of Pacific region has grown strongly after the launch of sustainability center in Singapore. We will provide customized decarbonisation strategy and technical guidance to Chinese clients, as well as the cutting-edge sustainable development services to the industry,” said Georgios Plevrakis, ABS Vice President for Global Sustainability.

Shanghai extending empty container service to Taicang port

PostTime:2022-05-12 09:56:40 View:265

Shanghai empty container center has opened up a unit at the neighboring port of Taicang in Suzhou. Katherine Si | May 11, 2022 Shanghai empty container center’s branch in Taicang aims to provide sufficient empty containers and convenient container distribution and transshipment services for foreign trading along the upper and mid-reach of Yangtze river Shanghai port and Taicang port started to jointly improve waterway transportation capacity in April and opened up green channel for cargos to Shanghai which could be transferred at the port of Taicang, and upgraded the land-to-water transport solutions between Shanghai and Taicang especially during the recent covid-outbreaks in Shanghai.  Related: SIPG and Evergreen team up for empty container centre development In April, Taicang port posted a container volume of 627,000 teu, an increase of 6.7% year-on-year. Among which, foreign trade volume was 349,000 teu, increased 15.2%.