Yang Ming settles FMC complaint with NY importer

PostTime:2022-08-26 09:16:31 View:14

TAIWAN's container carrier Yang Ming has agreed to settle a complaint filed with the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) by a New York importer alleging the carrier failed to honour capacity commitments that resulted in more than US$1.3 million in additional costs for the shipper. Terms of the settlement, filed with the FMC this week, were not disclosed. The initial complaint was submitted to the agency in March. A spokesperson for Taiwan-based Yang Ming was not immediately available, reports IHS Media. Achim Importing Company said it signed a one-year contract with Yang Ming in May 2020 for 200 TEU of capacity. But only 31 TEU was made available within the contracted time, according to the complaint, causing Achim to spend just over $1.3 million on the spot market to make up for the capacity shortfall. It is the second FMC complaint filed against Yang Ming this year, although both were submitted prior to President Joe Biden signing the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 into law on June 16. On May 31, MSRF, a manufacturer and importer of gourmet food and gifts, filed a complaint against Yang Ming, also alleging the carrier violated its contract by failing to provide the agreed capacity. Under OSRA-22, the FMC has until November to deliver rulemaking clarifying when it is "unreasonable" for ocean carriers to refuse to serve shippers.  

MSC delays September sailings due to North American port congestion

PostTime:2022-08-26 09:15:17 View:14

MEDITERRANEAN Shipping Co is telling customers that ship departures next month on a host of Asia services to the US and Western Canada will be a week or more behind schedule due to berth congestion and a backlog of ships at anchorage that still need to unload at key North American ports. MSC on Monday adjusted September departure schedules for two East Coast services, two Gulf Coast services, and four West Coast services "due to the ongoing challenging market situation generating congestion and schedule delays across the supply chain". The East Coast services include MSC's Elephant and America services, which 2M Alliance partner Maersk brands as TP17 and TP11, respectively. The Elephant/TP17 sailing for mid-September will slide one week, while the America/TP11 sailing at the end of September will leave two weeks later, according to IHS Media. The Gulf Coast services affected include the Lone Star/TP18 and Pelican/TP88. An early September sailing for both services will fall behind one week due to the schedule change. MSC's West Coast services will also see departure delays. Those include the Orient/TP8 and Sequoia/TP3 services to Southern California, which will fall behind a week. Also affected are MSC's Eagle/TP9 service into Seattle and Vancouver and the Maple/TP1 service to Canada's West Coast ports. The schedule shifts come as "ocean container volumes continue to flow at substantial rates into the US West and East coasts", according to a July customer advisory from Maersk, which noted "congestion has continued to build" off ports on the East and Gulf coasts. Port Newark Container Terminal, where MSC's Elephant service calls at the Port of New York and New Jersey, is seeing wait times for an open berth of one to three weeks due to congestion, Maersk said. The Port of Houston, where both of the Gulf Coast services call, is seeing berth delays of two to 18 days, the carrier said. Carriers, too, are dealing with congested Vancouver berths, resulting in longer wait times for ships. Maersk said that ship schedules are being adjusted to accommodate the delays, and vessels are looking at other nearby ports as optional discharge points.  

MHB and BV Solutions in decarbonisation partnership

PostTime:2022-08-26 09:13:12 View:15

Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Berhad (MHB) has signed an agreement with Bureau Veritas (BV) Solutions Marine & Offshore (M&O) to provide solutions to decarbonise shipping. Michele Labrut | Aug 25, 2022 The partnership, signed through MHB’s wholly owned subsidiary, Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering (MMHE), brings vessel owners and operators a wide range of vessel improvement opportunities and services. These services are targeted to increase vessel performance, thus enhancing energy efficiency of vessels, and contributing to the reduction of carbon emissions as well as vessel improvement services and related services for Energy Efficiency eXisting ship Index (EEXI) and Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) compliance. Related: MHB Q2 profit halved to $4.7m MMHE, an LNG carrier repair yard in Asia, will be main contractor to execute the modification works on the vessels in its yard in Pasir Gudang, Malaysia, close to Singapore. “We are delighted to sign this agreement with BV Solutions M&O… Together, it allows us to bring the … combination of MMHE’s retrofit and conversion technical expertise, and BV Solutions M&O’s maritime technical advisory to market in supporting our customers’ decarbonisation strategies, thus accelerating the industry’s transition to cleaner shipping,” Pandai Othman, MD & CEO of MMHE, said. Related: PaxOcean, Hong Lam, BV collaborate on ammonia bunker tanker design BV Solutions M&O, the marine and offshore independent technical advisory component of Bureau Veritas Group, will provide technical and consultation services on vessel improvements such as bow modification, vessel lengthening, vessel life extension, hull roughness, propeller modification assessments and other related advisory services. “By working together, we aim not only to raise awareness among our combined customer base … but also to encourage adoption of energy efficiency technologies more widely in the industry as an essential step in shipping’s decarbonisation journey,” Paul Shrieve, President of BV Solutions M&O, commented. Earlier this year, MMHE signed a strategic agreement with Silverstream Technologies (UK) Limited for air lubrication system retrofit opportunities for vessel owners and operators.

Zero containership demolition sales in first-half 2022

PostTime:2022-08-26 09:11:18 View:12

FOR the first time in years, the number of fully cellular container vessels sold for demolition in the first half of 2022 dropped to zero, as recycling sales continue to evolve at historic lows, according to Alphaliner's Weekly Newsletter. The highly remunerative charter and freight markets, which have prompted both non-operating vessel owners and liner operators to keep trading their older vessels and steer clear of the recycling scene despite attractive demolition prices, are the main cause of this scrapping drought. "The demolition misery observed in the first half of 2022 follows on from already particularly poor recycling figures recorded in 2021, when only nineteen vessels for a total capacity of 16,500 TEU reached the scrapping beaches. "Recycling sales in 2021 were sharply down from the 194,500 TEU scrapped in 2020 and well below the 417,000 TEU and 655,000 TEU recycled in 2017 and 2016 respectively," the newsletter said. Alphaliner expects that containership demolition sales will remain particularly subdued in the second half of 2022, with current full-year estimates of 30,000 TEU likely to be substantially less by the end of the year, and possibly even lower than the 16,500 TEU recycled in 2021. With historically high charter and cargo rates throughout the semester, owners have had little incentive to sell their ships for recycling, despite robust demolition prices. The latter which have oscillated between US$600 and $700 per light displacement ton (ldt) in the Indian Sub-Continent and between$300 to $450 per ldt in Turkey have been particularly strong, but not good enough to convince owners to scrap tonnage. Alphaliner believes that vessel owners will continue to snub the demolition scene in the coming months as the persistent short supply of tonnage, which could extend until the end of 2022 or early 2023, will continue to support sky-high trading earnings. However, Alphaliner anticipates that risks of overcapacity will reappear in 2023, with a staggering 2.3 million TEU of newbuild capacity expected to hit the market. The impact for owners and carriers could start being felt more markedly from the second half of the year, prompting a pick-up in demolition sales, which could reach 250,000 TEU for the whole year, Alphaliner forecasts. Recycling sales are expected to rise even more in 2024, as a further 2.8 million TEU of newbuild capacity will hit the market. Alphaliner anticipates that 350,000 TEU of older container tonnage could then be torched.

Port of Virginia sets July volume record handling 318,000 TEU

PostTime:2022-08-25 09:31:33 View:16

PORT of Virginia continues processing record-setting amounts of cargo having handled nearly 318,000 TEU for July - ahead of the same month last year by more than 24,500 units, or 8.4 per cent, reports London's Port Technology. July was the fourth consecutive month of TEU volumes exceeding 317,000 units. The combined volume of April, May, June and July is 1.3 million TEU, resulting in the busiest four-month stretch in port history. Comparatively, the total TEU volume for the same period in 2021 was 1.17 million TEU, a difference of more than 10 per cent. Stephen A Edwards, CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority, is expecting business to remain strong during the peak retail months leading up to the holiday season. "We've brought on 10 new vessel services in the last 12 months and 5 of those in the last 5 months, so our growth is attributable to the reworked [and new] ship line services that are calling here and our efficiency is the result of an experienced team maximising modern terminals," Mr Edwards said. "What we are seeing is growing interest from ship lines and cargo owners that are working to restore some predictability and reliability to their vessel services and supply chains. We have a proven track-record of success in what remains a challenging trade environment and the result is growth at The Port of Virginia."  

Israeli shipping hit by Iran-linked hacking group: US cybersecurity firm

PostTime:2022-08-25 09:28:08 View:13

 A HACKING group that appears to be linked to Iran has been targeting Israeli shipping in recent years, as the shadow war between Israel and Iran began to play out at sea after mainly being waged on land and in the air, a leading US cybersecurity firm said. The hacking group focused on collecting intelligence from Israeli entities and has also targeted Israeli government, energy and health care organizations, said the Virginia-based cybersecurity firm Mandiant, reports The Times of Israeli. The cybersecurity group warned that intelligence and data the hackers obtained could be leveraged for nefarious activities, such as becoming fodder for damaging leaks or guiding direct military action. It wasn't clear how successful the hackers had been in their attacks. The hacking group has also targeted some global companies, indicating its activity may go beyond Israel, although there is no known target outside Israel so far. Mandiant said it was moderately confident that the group is linked to Iran and has found some technical remnants pointing to an Iranian link, such as the use of Persian, including the word khoda, which means "God." The group appeared to pursue activities that would support Iranian interests and operations, including shipping groups that handle sensitive components. The focused targeting of Israeli entities was similar to that of other Iranian attackers. "The shipping industry and the global supply chain are particularly vulnerable to disruption, especially in places where a state of low-level conflict already exists," John Hultquist, the vice president of threat intelligence at Mandiant, said in a statement. "This is a reminder that global companies face global threats. Iran's cyberconflict with Israel threatens Israel and those who operate there," he said. The hacking group has been active since at least late 2020, and was still operating as of the middle of this year. Mandiant dubbed the unnamed hacking group UNC3890, using the "UNC" designation for "uncategorised" groups.    

Hapag-Lloyd to make more than 150 ships fit for the future

PostTime:2022-08-25 09:21:29 View:10

HAMBURG-HEADQUARTERED German container shipping company Hapag-Lloyd has embarked on a massive fleet upgrade programme in an effort to reduce the fleet's CO2 emissions. The Fleet Upgrade Programme will encompass more than 150 of the company's vessels in the next five years, and the container shipping company said the investment volume of the programme will be in the three-digit million range. With the loading of the first retrofit propeller in the port of Hamburg, Hapag-Lloyd is starting its comprehensive programme aimed at the technical modernisation of its existing fleet. The propeller, which has been optimised for energy efficiency by the German manufacturer MMG, will be installed on Hapag-Lloyd's 7,500 TEU container vessel, Ningbo Express, in Dubai in September. In this way, the ship is expected to save around 10-13 per cent fuel and CO2 emissions, depending on sailing conditions, reports Container News. Hapag-Lloyd plans to equip at least 86 ships with the new and more efficient propellers, while 36 vessels will receive a new flow-optimised bulbous bow. It should be noted that during scheduled dry dock stays, a resistance-reducing coat of anti-fouling paint will also be applied to all vessels on the outer hull section below the waterline, according to the carrier's announcement. Hapag-Lloyd aims to have completed most of the measures by 2025. "We aim to be climate-neutral by 2045. To reach this goal, we have set ourselves the interim target of reducing the CO2 intensity of our own ships by 30 per cent already by 2030," commented Dr Maximilian Rothkopf, COO of Hapag-Lloyd. "To do so, we are investing in new future-proof ships while simultaneously focusing on making our existing fleet fit for the future. The Fleet Upgrade Programme will boost the energy efficiency of the entire fleet."

Saudi ports box volume increases 6pc in June

PostTime:2022-08-24 09:26:47 View:16

CONTAINER throughput at Saudi ports rose 5.5 per cent to 642,300 TEU in June, compared to the 608,800 TEU in June of last year. Transshipment volumes were up 4.2 per cent to 244,600 TEU, compared to the June 2021 total of 234,700 TEU, reports UK's Seatrade Maritime News, citing statistics from the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani). Saudi ports saw a 13.6 per cent increase in vessel calls in June, with a total of 1,126 vessels, while vehicle imports increased by 26 per cent to 74,000. Total food volumes reached 1.6 million tonnes.. "The development plans launched by Mawani to enhance the operational efficiency and upgrade ports' capabilities resulted in a 56 per cent increase in general cargo volumes to reach 791,000 tonnes, whereas liquid bulk cargoes increased 32 per cent to reach 15.5 million tonnes," Mawani said. King Abdulaziz Port, Dammam, managed and operated by Saudi Global Ports (SGP), set a monthly container throughput record, handling 188,578 TEU in June, beating the previous record set in 2015. "The record-breaking performance comes on the back of soaring import and export volumes, which boosted the port's productivity while reaffirming its unique operational and logistical prowess in line with the objectives of the National Transport and Logistics Strategy (NTLS) to raise logistical output and boost container throughput in Saudi ports," Mawani said. Total throughput at Dammam Port was 1.77 million TEU in 2021, a significant increase on the 2018 figure of 1.54 million TEU. However, transshipment volumes were just under 5,000 TEU in 2020, rising to almost 12,000 TEU in 2021.    

Maersk signs deal for more methanol from China

PostTime:2022-08-24 09:20:47 View:12

DANISH shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk has inked an agreement with Debo Energy in China for the supply of green methanol as fuel for its containerships under construction in South Korea. The letter of intent with Debo would see the shipping giant purchase 200,000 tonnes of green methanol annually from the Chinese company, with plans to launch commercial production in September 2024, reports Singapore's Splash 247. The deal follows Maersk's partnership with China's CIMC ENRIC and Green Technology Bank, along with Denmark-based Orsted and European Energy, WasteFuel in the US, and Swiss-based methanol producer Proman, to scale up green methanol production with the intent of sourcing at least 730,000 tonnes of fuel per year by the end of 2025. In January this year, Maersk pledged to reach net zero emission targets by 2040 across its entire business, including scopes 1, 2 and 3. The carrier has twelve 16,000 TEU dual-fuelled container vessels able to operate on carbon neutral methanol under construction at Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) for delivery in 2024 and 2025. Maersk is also working with five other companies to establish Asia's first green e-methanol plant, which converts captured biogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) into green e-methanol. The pilot plant will be set up in Singapore pending the successful conclusion of feasibility studies by the end of 2022 with a minimum production capacity of 50,000 tonnes per annum.

Survey shows 'two-tier' market surfacing in shipping industry

PostTime:2022-08-24 09:19:51 View:14

WITH the Q2 earnings season reaching its finale, a recent Alphaliner survey shows the profitability growth of the biggest carriers greatly exceeds that of the small and medium-sized lines. Moreover, the consultant suggests, a "two-tier market" may be developing between the contract-focused carriers and those that tap the short-term and spot markets for their liftings. As the European Commission begins its review of the liner Consortia Block Exemption Regulation, to decide if it should be extended after it expires in April 2024, the commissioners will no doubt take this growing profit imbalance into consideration, reports UK's The Loadstar. "Earnings for the medium and small lines typically increased by between 100 per cent and 700 per cent between 2019 and 2021," said the consultant. "By contrast, the top 10 carriers increased their profits by between 1,000 per cent and nearly 6,000 per cent." And, "following widespread consolidation at the top of the table", Alphaliner said, "there is now a large gap between the leading carriers and the rest of the field". Noting that liner consolidation had "attracted the attention of politicians and regulators", Alphaliner compared the industry in 2017 with the current market. Currently the top ten carriers are operating 21.8 million TEU of capacity, while the next 20 lines have a combined capacity of just 2.5 million TEU. In contrast, five years ago in mid-August, the cumulative capacity of the top ten carriers was 15.4 million TEU, with 3.2 million TEU of capacity operated by the lines ranked 11-30. Alphaliner added that the gap between the current leading carrier, MSC ,with its 4,476,201 TEU of capacity, and 20th-ranked SM Line, with 93,410 TEU, had grown by over 1million TEU in the past five years. "Further emphasising that consolidation has been concentrated at the very top, the number of 'supercarriers', operating more than 1 million TEU, has risen by just one, from six to seven in the past five years," said Alphaliner, adding that this was due to the merger of three Japanese lines into ONE, rather than due to growth from lower-ranked carriers. Meanwhile, Alphaliner noted, some Asian lines that grew their profits more rapidly than their peers, due to their greater exposure to the transpacific spot market, are now seeing their earnings decline more quickly.

Demand-led spikes are over for container shipping: Sea-Intelligence

PostTime:2022-08-24 08:54:29 View:6

A NEW analysis from Sea-Intelligence has indicated that the demand-led spikes seen during the pandemic that propelled container shipping to record earnings are now a thing of the past. Sea-Intelligence has run the numbers on supply and demand during the pandemic, and its conclusions add to the growing consensus that volumes are slipping, and it is only supply chain chaos such as port congestion that is helping prop up rates. Global demand was consistently at a level 10 per cent higher than capacity, from November 2020 to January 2022, according to Sea-Intelligence, reports Singapore's Splash 247. However, that the gap has been narrowing, and the most recent data from June, shows a gap down to 2 per cent versus the pre-pandemic levels. "All in all, what the data shows is that the extreme spikes in freight rates in 2021 were indeed driven by a situation where demand suddenly exceeded capacity at a global level - but it can also be clearly seen that this was an effect primarily driven by the unavailability of capacity," Sea-Intelligence argued in its latest weekly report. The recent trend towards normalisation has in turn also been primarily driven by gradual improvements in schedule reliability and vessel delays, Sea-Intelligence suggested, going on to predict that the supply/demand balance will continue to decline, and freight rates will be under increasing downwards pressure. "Spot freight rates continue to roll over amid absent peak season demand," a new container shipping report from HSBC stated, noting how in Q3 so far, seasonally a strong quarter, the Shanghai Containerised Freight Index (SCFI) has declined 8 per cent quarter-on-quarter on average while the China Containerised Freight Index.(CCFI) is up just 1 per cent quarter-on-quarter. In its market update for August, CH Robinson, a freight forwarder, cautioned that appetite for imports was decreasing due to inflation and inventory build-up in the US and Europe even as congestion persists and labour strikes in Europe disrupt port productivity. Drewry's composite World Container Index decreased by 3 per cent to US$6,223.82 per FEU last week. It stands 35 per cent lower than the same week in 2021, but remains 71 per cent higher than the five-year average of $3,631. However, high contract rates have more than recompensed for a falling spot market, with liners widely forecast to register another record year of earnings.  

Felixstowe strike to disrupt supply chains; 33 boxships now affected

PostTime:2022-08-24 08:49:31 View:11

THE eight-day strike at Port of Felixstowe in the United Kingdom, which started August 21 by over 1,900 port workers over wages, is expected to affect supply chains across Europe. The strike will severely disrupt trade, delay vessels and force re-routes, according to a global information technology company, IQAX, which published data about the currently affected container ships. The strike is expected to have a severe impact on supply chains and could cause over US$800 million in lost trade, according to an analysis by Russell Group, reports Container News. According to data from IQAX, 33 vessels are affected as of August 21 and the company noted that this number could change in the next days. According to data from IQAX, as of 21 August, the following vessels are likely to be affected by the strike: BF Fortaleza, BG Ireland, Cosco Shipping Star, Cosco Vietnam, CSCL Brisbane, Evelyn Maersk, Ever Alp, Henrika Schulte, Jazan, MSC Allegra, MSC Cancun, MSC Clorinda, MSC Daisy, MSC Flavia, MSC Geneva, MSC Ingrid, MSC Istanbul, MSC La Spezia, MSC London, MSC Margrit, MSC Melissa,MSC Mirja, MSC Paloma, MSC Sarah, MSC Soraya, MSC Sveva, MSC Teresa, OOCL Hong Kong, Spirit, Sven D, Vilnia Maersk, Wec de Hoogh and YM Evolution.