<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The MPV/HL market is on the upswing, but a lack of finance and lingering overcapacity will hold back investment in new ships. 
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The MPV/HL market is on the upswing, but a lack of finance and lingering overcapacity will hold back investment in new ships.

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<div>Update: a previous version of this story said the MPV/HL order book was 55 percent heavy-lift vessels. New data from Drewry indicates that heavy-lift ships make up 53 percent of the orderbook. The busy breakbulk market has carriers feeling genuinely optimistic for the first time in years, but investment in multipurpose/heavy-lift (MPV/HL) ships will remain scarce, according to carrier executives who spoke with JOC.com<a> during a March 25 webcast on the MPV/HL fleet</a>.“The number of newbuildings, especially heavy-lifts, coming into the system is very limited,” said Ulrich Ulrichs, CEO of BBC Chartering. “It's very low compared to the fleet size.”The...

Update: a previous version of this story said the MPV/HL order book was 55 percent heavy-lift vessels. New data from Drewry indicates that heavy-lift ships make up 53 percent of the orderbook. The busy breakbulk market has carriers feeling genuinely optimistic for the first time in years, but investment in multipurpose/heavy-lift (MPV/HL) ships will remain scarce, according to carrier executives who spoke with JOC.com during a March 25 webcast on the MPV/HL fleet . “The number of newbuildings, especially heavy-lifts, coming into the system is very limited,” said Ulrich Ulrichs, CEO of BBC Chartering. “It's very low compared to the fleet size.” The breakbulk segment has been under-valued and underpaid for 10 years, Ulrichs said. Low income and low time charter rates have made the idea of investing in MPV/HL ships unattractive. Based on financial performance, “you can't make an investment case for new ships,” he said. The unique German KG ship finance system, where investors bought tax-advantaged shares in single ships, essentially disappeared in the wake of the 2008–09 recession. Additionally, “the German banks that did a lot of financing in the multipurpose industry are not there anymore,” Ulrichs said. MPV/HL shipping is a niche market that executes very complex operations. This creates a high boundary for new entrants into the market, Kyriacos Panayides, managing director with AAL, said during the webcast. While this reduces competition, it creates a disadvantage in that investors do not understand the segment or its financing in the same way that they understand containers, tankers, and bulkers, he said. “Any shipbuilding activity…will come straight from the operators, rather than from outside [investors],” Panayides said. Thus, any newbuilding activity in the sector will serve the needs of existing operators and replace existing tonnage, rather than being speculative. “We get feedback that more contracts are being signed…but that alone isn't much of a threat,” he said. Chinese shipyard nationalization is also having an effect, Ulrichs said, in that there are now only a limited number of shipyards that can build sophisticated MPV/HL ships. Singapore-based carrier AAL operates 25 vessels, including 14 heavy-lift ships between 19,000 deadweight tons (dwt) and 31,000 dwt in semi-liner, liner, and tramp services. Leer, Germany-based BBC Chartering is the world's largest breakbulk operator, with a fleet of more than 150 MPV/HL vessels ranging from 4,300 dwt to 56,800 dwt. While operating several semi-liner services in the Americas and other regions, BBC is primarily a global tramp operator. The fleet's makeup The MPV/HL fleet as measured by London-based maritime consultancy Drewry totals about 3,172 ships and about 29 million dwt. Of this number, 2,239 ships, most of them 10,000 dwt or less, comprise a ‘simple’ sector that is either not geared or geared up to 100 mt; 581 ships that can lift from 100 metric tons (mt) to less than 250 mt; and 352 ships that are ‘premium’ project carriers able to lift more than 250 mt. Drewry expects the ‘simple’ sector to contract by 1.6 percent through 2025, and the project carrier segment to grow by only 0.9 percent, adding up to overall capacity reduction for the MPV/HL fleet. Newbuilding orders are thus scarce, with 55 ships to be delivered in 2021 and 17 scheduled for delivery in 2022, according to a recent Drewry report. The present orderbook represents just 2 percent of the MPV/HL fleet by vessel count and about 4 percent by dwt. The orderbook is slightly skewed toward the heavy-lift sector at 53 percent, Susan Oatway, senior analyst for multipurpose and breakbulk shipping with Drewry, told JOC.com. “It's a very small orderbook compared to the operating fleet,” she said. In 2020, orders for non-heavy-lift capable newbuildings ‘surprisingly’ picked up slightly, Oatway said, probably because bulk demand is increasing, while the project sector is facing a potential project cargo ‘hole’ due to 2020 capital expenditure cutbacks and delayed capital projects. These cutbacks and delays were triggered by the pandemic-driven crash in oil prices during the second quarter of 2020. The delayed cargo is now beginning to move, but capital expenditures are still expected to be below 2019 levels. MPV newbuilding orders are not expected to escalate any time soon. “There's still an awful lot of well-looked-after, well-maintained, middle-of-the-range 15-year vessels out there,” Oatway said. Additionally, while signs are favorable for an improving breakbulk market over time, the current cargo spillover from a chaotic container market and a high-demand bulk market is only temporary, she noted. Continued consolidation The consolidation that has reshaped operators in the project carrier end of the MPV/HL segment during the past few years is likely to continue, Panayides said. Recent consolidations include a joint venture between super-heavy-lift carriers Jumbo and SAL , and SAL partnering with ex-BBC CEO Svend Andersen and another investor to buy Houston- and New Orleans-based Intermarine . AAL has ‘open windows’ for such discussions, he said during the webcast, “although not in that desperate form that we have seen in the last years, but [on a] cooler approach.” If operators can work jointly, they may be able to “do something smarter than they could do individually," as in developing a specific niche or focus, Ulrichs said. “In the past, I think the segment has been, let's say, not helping itself…some of the operators have shot themselves in the foot,” he said. Ulrichs also said he expects to see the fleet contract over time. As an operator, “I'm quite optimistic for this year definitely [and] for the next couple of years as well,” he said. Contact Janet Nodar at janet.nodar@ihsmarkit.com and follow her on Linked In and Twitter @janet_nodar .

Project cargo

Breakbulk carriers

Busy breakbulk market will not spur MPV newbuildings

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Ocean carriers are unable to evacuate the containers quickly due to operational restrictions and/or landside constraints at alternative ports of discharge in the United Arab Emirates and Oman.</div>

Ocean carriers are unable to evacuate the containers quickly due to operational restrictions and/or landside constraints at alternative ports of discharge in the United Arab Emirates and Oman.

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<div class="phx-topic">Indian ports offering temporary shelter to stranded Middle East-bound containers are grappling with multiple operational challenges. Notably, the pileup of rerouted hazardous or dangerous cargo containers on dock, especially at Nhava Sheva (JNPA), has become a serious concern for Indian authorities, local sources say. That is because ocean carriers are unable to evacuate the containers quickly due to operational restrictions and/or landside constraints at alternative ports of discharge in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman. Khor Fakkan and Fujairah in the UAE and Sohar in Oman, which have become the supply chain lifeline for trades into the Persian Gulf during the war, are prioritizing general dry cargo handling. Additionally, vessels calling at Omani ports must pre-declare that they carry no dangerous goods. According to data from industry sources, a leading European liner alone is holding about 600 TEUs of rerouted hazardous loads at Nhava Sheva as part of recent trade diversions, exposing the dock to potential safety risks. Sources told the Journal of Commerce that the port authority there has sounded alarm bells through stakeholders about the urgency of clearing accumulated dangerous boxes, saying the cargo could become a ticking time bomb if it continues to be stacked up inside. Responding to that pressure, some carriers are now said to be exploring an alternative evacuation option via the Saudi Red Sea port of Jeddah. Adding to the alarm, the Nhava Sheva region reported multiple incidents of fires breaking out in off-site container storage depots over the past week, though the specifics of the cause were not immediately known. Nhava Sheva’s transshipment volumes in March swelled to 121,247 TEUs, up from 34,883 TEUs in February before the war began, data shows. JNPA was unavailable for comment. <h3>Hazmat exports a concern, too </h3>Mundra, Kandla and Pipavav are the other Indian ports holding Middle East-bound hazmat boxes, albeit fewer than Nhava Sheva, sources say. The predicament of carriers facing Middle East port woes extends to the storage of local/gateway hazmat bookings — mostly Indian chemical exports — already picked up for loading. Asian regional operators typically have a stronger appetite for hazmat handling, so they likely also have such volumes rerouted to India. One major factor driving that specialized shipping activity is the growing scale of lithium battery exports from China to the Middle East for renewable energy and electric vehicle (EV) needs, which have now accelerated due to the oil supply shock caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Contact Bency Mathew at <a href="mailto:bencyvmathew@gmail.com">bencyvmathew@gmail.com</a>. </div>

Indian ports offering temporary shelter to stranded Middle East-bound containers are grappling with multiple operational challenges. Notably, the pileup of rerouted hazardous or dangerous cargo containers on dock, especially at Nhava Sheva (JNPA), has become a serious concern for Indian authorities, local sources say. That is because ocean carriers are unable to evacuate the containers quickly due to operational restrictions and/or landside constraints at alternative ports of discharge in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman. Khor Fakkan and Fujairah in the UAE and Sohar in Oman, which have become the supply chain lifeline for trades into the Persian Gulf during the war, are prioritizing general dry cargo handling. Additionally, vessels calling at Omani ports must pre-declare that they carry no dangerous goods. According to data from industry sources, a leading European liner alone is holding about 600 TEUs of rerouted hazardous loads at Nhava Sheva as part of recent trade diversions, exposing the dock to potential safety risks. Sources told the Journal of Commerce that the port authority there has sounded alarm bells through stakeholders about the urgency of clearing accumulated dangerous boxes, saying the cargo could become a ticking time bomb if it continues to be stacked up inside. Responding to that pressure, some carriers are now said to be exploring an alternative evacuation option via the Saudi Red Sea port of Jeddah. Adding to the alarm, the Nhava Sheva region reported multiple incidents of fires breaking out in off-site container storage depots over the past week, though the specifics of the cause were not immediately known. Nhava Sheva’s transshipment volumes in March swelled to 121,247 TEUs, up from 34,883 TEUs in February before the war began, data shows. JNPA was unavailable for comment. Hazmat exports a concern, too Mundra, Kandla and Pipavav are the other Indian ports holding Middle East-bound hazmat boxes, albeit fewer than Nhava Sheva, sources say. The predicament of carriers facing Middle East port woes extends to the storage of local/gateway hazmat bookings — mostly Indian chemical exports — already picked up for loading. Asian regional operators typically have a stronger appetite for hazmat handling, so they likely also have such volumes rerouted to India. One major factor driving that specialized shipping activity is the growing scale of lithium battery exports from China to the Middle East for renewable energy and electric vehicle (EV) needs, which have now accelerated due to the oil supply shock caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Contact Bency Mathew at bencyvmathew@gmail.com .

International ports

Container Shipping News

Maritime

Rerouted Middle East hazmat containers spark safety concerns at Indian ports

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">But the port still bested Rotterdam, normally Europe’s busiest box port, though neither gateway said it experienced much disruption in the quarter from the war in the Middle East.</div>

But the port still bested Rotterdam, normally Europe’s busiest box port, though neither gateway said it experienced much disruption in the quarter from the war in the Middle East.

<div class="phx-topic">Antwerp-Bruges, typically Europe’s second-busiest container port, nonetheless bested Rotterdam in the first quarter by recording volumes of 3.4 million TEUs, slightly higher than its competing gateway. The volume, though, was a 2.6% decline from Q1 2025, which Antwerp-Bruges on Thursday attributed to bad weather and a four-day labor strike. In tonnage terms, container throughput at the port fell 5.5% to 36.3 million mt. “Overall, an estimated 100,000 TEUs (approximately 1.1 million tons) of container throughput was lost,” as some vessels diverted to other ports due to the weather and labor issues, the port said in a statement. “From mid‑February onwards, and particularly in March, volumes recovered, once again highlighting the need for additional container handling capacity,” the port said, as ships could only be partially unloaded due to a lack of spare terminal space. Separately, Ocean Network Express noted that berth congestion at Antwerp-Bruges caused two- and three-day delays to some Asia–Europe sailings in March that were already up to two weeks late. The port said imports from and exports to the Persian Gulf fell 12% and 49%, respectively, in the first quarter, but attributed that to weather‑related disruptions rather than the war in the Middle East. <h3>Rotterdam Q1 volumes flat </h3>Rotterdam, meanwhile, reported largely flat container volume growth in the first quarter. The Rotterdam Port Authority said in a statement Wednesday that Q1 volumes were 0.3% higher at 3.37 million TEUs, up from 3.36 million TEUs a year earlier. In terms of tonnage, container volumes fell 3.2% to 31.2 million metric tons (mt) “due to the sharp 14% rise in exports of empty containers, particularly to Asia,” the port said. Inland container volumes “rose sharply by 11%...driven primarily by Asia and North America, due to larger call sizes and an expanded range of services,” the port said without giving actual figures. Overall volumes at Rotterdam were lower than expected due to an update to the terminal operating system at the Hutchison Ports ECT Euromax terminal. Work on the system upgrade began in early January, but teething problems have negatively affected terminal productivity and handing capacity for both deep-sea and feeder vessels, Hutchison Ports said in a statement in mid-March. Landside operations have also been impacted with disruption to gate and terminal processes, which led to long waiting times for road transport, Hutchison said at the time. “It is expected that throughput volumes will only recover once the container terminal expansions have been completed,” the port said in its results statement. The port authority said there was limited impact from the war in Iran in the first quarter due to longer sailings made around southern Africa, but noted that could change as the war drags on. The conflict only began during the final month of the first quarter. "The closure of the Strait of Hormuz highlights just how vulnerable global energy flows are; the effects of this were only marginally apparent in the first quarter and may become more pronounced in the second quarter," Boudewijn Siemons, Port of Rotterdam Authority CEO, said in the statement. Contact Keith Wallis at <a href="mailto:keithwallis@hotmail.com">keithwallis@hotmail.com</a>. </div>

Antwerp-Bruges, typically Europe’s second-busiest container port, nonetheless bested Rotterdam in the first quarter by recording volumes of 3.4 million TEUs, slightly higher than its competing gateway. The volume, though, was a 2.6% decline from Q1 2025, which Antwerp-Bruges on Thursday attributed to bad weather and a four-day labor strike. In tonnage terms, container throughput at the port fell 5.5% to 36.3 million mt. “Overall, an estimated 100,000 TEUs (approximately 1.1 million tons) of container throughput was lost,” as some vessels diverted to other ports due to the weather and labor issues, the port said in a statement. “From mid‑February onwards, and particularly in March, volumes recovered, once again highlighting the need for additional container handling capacity,” the port said, as ships could only be partially unloaded due to a lack of spare terminal space. Separately, Ocean Network Express noted that berth congestion at Antwerp-Bruges caused two- and three-day delays to some Asia–Europe sailings in March that were already up to two weeks late. The port said imports from and exports to the Persian Gulf fell 12% and 49%, respectively, in the first quarter, but attributed that to weather‑related disruptions rather than the war in the Middle East. Rotterdam Q1 volumes flat Rotterdam, meanwhile, reported largely flat container volume growth in the first quarter. The Rotterdam Port Authority said in a statement Wednesday that Q1 volumes were 0.3% higher at 3.37 million TEUs, up from 3.36 million TEUs a year earlier. In terms of tonnage, container volumes fell 3.2% to 31.2 million metric tons (mt) “due to the sharp 14% rise in exports of empty containers, particularly to Asia,” the port said. Inland container volumes “rose sharply by 11%...driven primarily by Asia and North America, due to larger call sizes and an expanded range of services,” the port said without giving actual figures. Overall volumes at Rotterdam were lower than expected due to an update to the terminal operating system at the Hutchison Ports ECT Euromax terminal. Work on the system upgrade began in early January, but teething problems have negatively affected terminal productivity and handing capacity for both deep-sea and feeder vessels, Hutchison Ports said in a statement in mid-March. Landside operations have also been impacted with disruption to gate and terminal processes, which led to long waiting times for road transport, Hutchison said at the time. “It is expected that throughput volumes will only recover once the container terminal expansions have been completed,” the port said in its results statement. The port authority said there was limited impact from the war in Iran in the first quarter due to longer sailings made around southern Africa, but noted that could change as the war drags on. The conflict only began during the final month of the first quarter. "The closure of the Strait of Hormuz highlights just how vulnerable global energy flows are; the effects of this were only marginally apparent in the first quarter and may become more pronounced in the second quarter," Boudewijn Siemons, Port of Rotterdam Authority CEO, said in the statement. Contact Keith Wallis at keithwallis@hotmail.com .

Port News

Asia-Europe

Antwerp-Bruges Q1 container volumes dip on poor weather, labor unrest

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is revising the excess empty container fee in place since 2023 as off-dock depots become the focal point of trucker ire.</div>

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is revising the excess empty container fee in place since 2023 as off-dock depots become the focal point of trucker ire.

<div class="phx-topic">The Port of New York and New Jersey is expanding the fee it charges ocean carriers for long-dwelling empty containers to include off-dock depots outside of the port, a move that comes as port truckers face increasingly long and frequent delays when returning empties. But trucking interests question whether the now three-year old fee will ever effectively address the port’s bouts of empties congestion, which impacts shippers downstream through delayed container returns and detention costs. In an April 1 email, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey notified ocean carriers and other stakeholders about the revised marine tariff that will go into effect May 1. One of biggest changes to the tariff is in the “container imbalance fee,” which <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/ny-nj-readies-revised-fee-plan-for-long-dwelling-empties-5194202">the port first instituted in 2023</a> to incentivize ocean carriers to remove <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/carriers-need-to-sweep-up-ny-nj-empties-fmcs-maffei-5204204">the pandemic-era backlog of empty containers</a> at NY-NJ. Along with new language that says ocean carriers must “proactively and regularly manage” their empty container inventories, the revised tariff also references empties lingering at “nearby depots” along with marine terminals on PANYNJ property. The PANYNJ said the container imbalance fee always considered empty containers at off-port depots, even if not explicitly stated in the original tariff. Port Director Bethann Rooney said in a statement the revised tariff reinforces the imbalance fee program, which also has a new formula for calculating the excess empties that face the $100-per-container fee. “The container imbalance fee is a key tool, helping reduce congestion caused by excess empty containers,” Rooney said. “This...update strengthens the programs with clearer terms and greater accountability, ensuring our port remains one of the most reliable and fluid gateways in the country.” <h3>Hundreds of trucks turned away </h3>The trouble for truckers, though, is reliability and fluidity just outside of the port. APM Terminals contracted with one off-dock facility, Port Newark Depot, in February 2025 to handle the empties from Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd as they started services under the Gemini Cooperation alliance. APM said in a statement the off-dock empty yard “helps preserve on-terminal space for full cargo moves and reduces gate congestion...while giving truckers the flexibility to pick up empties for export and return them off-terminal when appointments are constrained.” However, Port Newark Depot also faces bouts of congestion and delays that have been frustrating truckers. “The on-street backups waiting to enter the depot have remained significant,” the Association of Bi-State Motor Carriers said in its April newsletter, “Desperate truckers often line up several hours before the depot opens, contributing to the backups and causing traffic delays.” While sporadic, Bi-State President Lisa Yakomin said motor carriers have reported that drivers face four- and five-hour wait times to get into Port Newark Depot, putting truckers at risk of running out of service hours. Yakomin said Port Newark Depot is trying to manage the truck queues with a few relief measures, including signs showing the waiting times, adding another container handling machine, and providing return instructions to drivers the day prior. But the sheer volume of empties can still overwhelm the 12-acre facility. Yakomin said a three-mile-long line of roughly 500 trucks was turned away from returning empties on April 10 because Port Newark Depot was full by late afternoon. “APM chronically runs out of appointments for returning empties, so PND is taking the overflow,” Yakomin said. “But if the marine terminal can’t handle it, how can a single depot? Expecting one depot to absorb the empties is unrealistic.” To address the overflow, APM said in a notice last week to truckers that an additional PND lot will be open for receiving Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd empties. The additional four-acre site can handle between 1,600 and 2,000 empty containers. Port truckers have also been directed to a recently opened 35-acre site, World Wide Depot, for returning empty containers belonging to Zim Integrated Shipping Services. That site is on the same plot of land as PND, But Yakomin said more off-dock space for empties will just mean more off-dock congestion. The issue is being exacerbated by instances of truckers receiving conflicting empty return information from an ocean carrier and a marine terminal, she said, adding to motor carrier costs by sending truckers on dry runs. “The more room you give the ocean carriers to dump their empties and let them languish, they will use it,” Yakomin said. <h3>Next step could be FMC </h3>The PANYNJ said in its statement that “while (the current imbalance fee) has been largely effective, some congestion has taken place if and when ocean carriers allow containers to accumulate to a critical point.” To avoid that, the PANYNJ said the new tariff shortens the evaluation period for determining excess empties from one year to six months. However, Yakomin said it is not clear if that represents any improvement, given the previous tariff referenced a quarterly period for assessing excess empties. Despite the previous tariff being in effect since 2023, the port still has bouts of empty congestion, Yakomin said. “The ocean carriers need to be held accountable for not removing their empties in a timely manner,” she said. As for updating the imbalance fee program, “that’s a little too late.” Yakomin said the next recourse is through the US Federal Maritime Commission, which might have leverage into the issue due to <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/stakeholders-sorting-out-per-diem-bills-under-new-fmc-rules-5192186">the billing questions raised by empty returns</a>. She said it is not clear whether ocean carriers are charging shippers detention on an empty container that had a return location but was full. Inconsistent empty return instructions would also appear to violate FMC rules on providing accurate billing information. Moreover, motor carriers still face being shut out of marine terminals for unpaid detention bills, Yakomin added, a further violation of FMC billing rules. “We would like the FMC to take a look at incorrect billing, but also more clearly define accessibility for an empty return location,” she said. Contact Michael Angell at <a href="mailto:michael.angell@spglobal.com">michael.angell@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

The Port of New York and New Jersey is expanding the fee it charges ocean carriers for long-dwelling empty containers to include off-dock depots outside of the port, a move that comes as port truckers face increasingly long and frequent delays when returning empties. But trucking interests question whether the now three-year old fee will ever effectively address the port’s bouts of empties congestion, which impacts shippers downstream through delayed container returns and detention costs. In an April 1 email, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey notified ocean carriers and other stakeholders about the revised marine tariff that will go into effect May 1. One of biggest changes to the tariff is in the “container imbalance fee,” which the port first instituted in 2023 to incentivize ocean carriers to remove the pandemic-era backlog of empty containers at NY-NJ. Along with new language that says ocean carriers must “proactively and regularly manage” their empty container inventories, the revised tariff also references empties lingering at “nearby depots” along with marine terminals on PANYNJ property. The PANYNJ said the container imbalance fee always considered empty containers at off-port depots, even if not explicitly stated in the original tariff. Port Director Bethann Rooney said in a statement the revised tariff reinforces the imbalance fee program, which also has a new formula for calculating the excess empties that face the $100-per-container fee. “The container imbalance fee is a key tool, helping reduce congestion caused by excess empty containers,” Rooney said. “This...update strengthens the programs with clearer terms and greater accountability, ensuring our port remains one of the most reliable and fluid gateways in the country.” Hundreds of trucks turned away The trouble for truckers, though, is reliability and fluidity just outside of the port. APM Terminals contracted with one off-dock facility, Port Newark Depot, in February 2025 to handle the empties from Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd as they started services under the Gemini Cooperation alliance. APM said in a statement the off-dock empty yard “helps preserve on-terminal space for full cargo moves and reduces gate congestion...while giving truckers the flexibility to pick up empties for export and return them off-terminal when appointments are constrained.” However, Port Newark Depot also faces bouts of congestion and delays that have been frustrating truckers. “The on-street backups waiting to enter the depot have remained significant,” the Association of Bi-State Motor Carriers said in its April newsletter, “Desperate truckers often line up several hours before the depot opens, contributing to the backups and causing traffic delays.” While sporadic, Bi-State President Lisa Yakomin said motor carriers have reported that drivers face four- and five-hour wait times to get into Port Newark Depot, putting truckers at risk of running out of service hours. Yakomin said Port Newark Depot is trying to manage the truck queues with a few relief measures, including signs showing the waiting times, adding another container handling machine, and providing return instructions to drivers the day prior. But the sheer volume of empties can still overwhelm the 12-acre facility. Yakomin said a three-mile-long line of roughly 500 trucks was turned away from returning empties on April 10 because Port Newark Depot was full by late afternoon. “APM chronically runs out of appointments for returning empties, so PND is taking the overflow,” Yakomin said. “But if the marine terminal can’t handle it, how can a single depot? Expecting one depot to absorb the empties is unrealistic.” To address the overflow, APM said in a notice last week to truckers that an additional PND lot will be open for receiving Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd empties. The additional four-acre site can handle between 1,600 and 2,000 empty containers. Port truckers have also been directed to a recently opened 35-acre site, World Wide Depot, for returning empty containers belonging to Zim Integrated Shipping Services. That site is on the same plot of land as PND, But Yakomin said more off-dock space for empties will just mean more off-dock congestion. The issue is being exacerbated by instances of truckers receiving conflicting empty return information from an ocean carrier and a marine terminal, she said, adding to motor carrier costs by sending truckers on dry runs. “The more room you give the ocean carriers to dump their empties and let them languish, they will use it,” Yakomin said. Next step could be FMC The PANYNJ said in its statement that “while (the current imbalance fee) has been largely effective, some congestion has taken place if and when ocean carriers allow containers to accumulate to a critical point.” To avoid that, the PANYNJ said the new tariff shortens the evaluation period for determining excess empties from one year to six months. However, Yakomin said it is not clear if that represents any improvement, given the previous tariff referenced a quarterly period for assessing excess empties. Despite the previous tariff being in effect since 2023, the port still has bouts of empty congestion, Yakomin said. “The ocean carriers need to be held accountable for not removing their empties in a timely manner,” she said. As for updating the imbalance fee program, “that’s a little too late.” Yakomin said the next recourse is through the US Federal Maritime Commission, which might have leverage into the issue due to the billing questions raised by empty returns . She said it is not clear whether ocean carriers are charging shippers detention on an empty container that had a return location but was full. Inconsistent empty return instructions would also appear to violate FMC rules on providing accurate billing information. Moreover, motor carriers still face being shut out of marine terminals for unpaid detention bills, Yakomin added, a further violation of FMC billing rules. “We would like the FMC to take a look at incorrect billing, but also more clearly define accessibility for an empty return location,” she said. Contact Michael Angell at michael.angell@spglobal.com .

Trucking News

Surface

Container lines

North American ports

Marine terminals

NY-NJ updating port tariff to combat rising backlog of empty boxes

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">From tariffs to weather to labor shortages, the breakbulk industry has been forced to navigate a series of hurdles of late.</div>

From tariffs to weather to labor shortages, the breakbulk industry has been forced to navigate a series of hurdles of late.

<div class="phx-topic">New Orleans — With breakbulk demands and trade lanes shifting rapidly amid geopolitical events and trade volatility, coping with those challenges will call for communication, partnerships and planning among forwarders, carriers, shippers, and ports, attendees were told Wednesday at the Journal of Commerce’s Breakbulk and Project Cargo Conference 2026. “The biggest challenge that we’ve had in the last three months is making sure I have enough tonnage to take the volume increases that we are seeing out of Asia coming into the North America market,” said Brian Odell, lead ocean/barge/port mode specialist for power generation technology manufacturer GE Power, referencing cargo volumes shifting as a result of the conflict in the Middle East. Alain Akavi, managing director for COLI Group, said alongside a significant increase in traffic from Southeast Asia to the US and Europe, a lack of cargo in Europe has presented the biggest problem for the German global logistics provider, particularly when scheduling cargoes in advance. “You want to bring the vessel back in good time,” Akavi said. “But in some regions, you have a lack of cargoes, and then you need to parcel. And every time you parcel, you add more ports to the schedule.” Alex Strogen, chief commercial officer for the Port of Vancouver USA in Washington State, said that on a larger scale, US policy changes have resulted in unforeseen new challenges for the port. “We’re seeing our business impacted by policy in ways that I could not have even imagined in the past,” he said. Strogen cited wind energy cargo that previously had been moving through the port and is now routing through Canada instead. “That’s as a result of some of the shifting federal policies as it relates to wind energy here in the United States,” he said. Strogen also pointed to the effects of tariffs on aluminum imports the port traditionally handled. “Most of our aluminum came from the UAE. That’s a problem,” he said. As a result, Vancouver has focused on diversification as a long-range strategy, moving cargo in more lines of business than competing ports. “When you’ve got a broad base of different products and commodities that you’re handling, we have the luxury to try and shift and pivot,” Strogen said. <h3>‘Big influence’ from weather </h3>More so than geopolitical circumstances, weather is posing a growing challenge for moving cargo and is making it more difficult to ensure fixed-date shipping schedules, said Pieter Flohil, director with Dutch multipurpose/heavy-lift operator Spliethoff. “We’ve had an extreme number of delays this year,” he said. “Even if some people would like to deny it, weather is having a big influence on what we do.” Flohil also cited the industry’s labor shortages as a significant challenge, with fewer young professionals willing to learn the skills and work the hours necessary for a career in the trade. “That’s where we try to work closely with our partners in the port to ensure that they have invested in labor,” he said. “That’s vital for our existence in the future.” A willingness by carriers to listen to and communicate with logistics providers when there are challenges and delays goes a long way to making cargo transport easier, Akavi said. “When we have issues, it’s not on purpose. It happens,” he said. “And understanding is the easiest part.” Contact Autumn Cafiero Giusti at <a href="mailto:autumn@autumngiusti.com">autumn@autumngiusti.com</a>. </div>

New Orleans — With breakbulk demands and trade lanes shifting rapidly amid geopolitical events and trade volatility, coping with those challenges will call for communication, partnerships and planning among forwarders, carriers, shippers, and ports, attendees were told Wednesday at the Journal of Commerce’s Breakbulk and Project Cargo Conference 2026. “The biggest challenge that we’ve had in the last three months is making sure I have enough tonnage to take the volume increases that we are seeing out of Asia coming into the North America market,” said Brian Odell, lead ocean/barge/port mode specialist for power generation technology manufacturer GE Power, referencing cargo volumes shifting as a result of the conflict in the Middle East. Alain Akavi, managing director for COLI Group, said alongside a significant increase in traffic from Southeast Asia to the US and Europe, a lack of cargo in Europe has presented the biggest problem for the German global logistics provider, particularly when scheduling cargoes in advance. “You want to bring the vessel back in good time,” Akavi said. “But in some regions, you have a lack of cargoes, and then you need to parcel. And every time you parcel, you add more ports to the schedule.” Alex Strogen, chief commercial officer for the Port of Vancouver USA in Washington State, said that on a larger scale, US policy changes have resulted in unforeseen new challenges for the port. “We’re seeing our business impacted by policy in ways that I could not have even imagined in the past,” he said. Strogen cited wind energy cargo that previously had been moving through the port and is now routing through Canada instead. “That’s as a result of some of the shifting federal policies as it relates to wind energy here in the United States,” he said. Strogen also pointed to the effects of tariffs on aluminum imports the port traditionally handled. “Most of our aluminum came from the UAE. That’s a problem,” he said. As a result, Vancouver has focused on diversification as a long-range strategy, moving cargo in more lines of business than competing ports. “When you’ve got a broad base of different products and commodities that you’re handling, we have the luxury to try and shift and pivot,” Strogen said. ‘Big influence’ from weather More so than geopolitical circumstances, weather is posing a growing challenge for moving cargo and is making it more difficult to ensure fixed-date shipping schedules, said Pieter Flohil, director with Dutch multipurpose/heavy-lift operator Spliethoff. “We’ve had an extreme number of delays this year,” he said. “Even if some people would like to deny it, weather is having a big influence on what we do.” Flohil also cited the industry’s labor shortages as a significant challenge, with fewer young professionals willing to learn the skills and work the hours necessary for a career in the trade. “That’s where we try to work closely with our partners in the port to ensure that they have invested in labor,” he said. “That’s vital for our existence in the future.” A willingness by carriers to listen to and communicate with logistics providers when there are challenges and delays goes a long way to making cargo transport easier, Akavi said. “When we have issues, it’s not on purpose. It happens,” he said. “And understanding is the easiest part.” Contact Autumn Cafiero Giusti at autumn@autumngiusti.com .

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Breakbulk26: Trade lane shifts, policy changes among evolving challenges for breakbulk cargo

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">A prolonged war would ultimately result in a shift from supply constraint to demand destruction for oil and natural gas coming from the Middle East, according to S&amp;P Global Energy expert Amy Groeschel.</div>

A prolonged war would ultimately result in a shift from supply constraint to demand destruction for oil and natural gas coming from the Middle East, according to S&P Global Energy expert Amy Groeschel.

<div class="phx-topic">New Orleans — How long it takes to resolve the war in the Middle East will ultimately decide how deep the compounding effects of the disruption to oil and natural gas production, refining, and the delivery of refined products will cut into global economies, Amy Groeschel, head of energy spending at S&amp;P Global Energy, said Wednesday. Groeschel was speaking at the Journal of Commerce’s Breakbulk and Project Cargo Conference 2026. A prolonged conflict would ultimately result in a switch from supply constraint to demand destruction for oil and natural gas coming from the Middle East, she said. “The longer the fields are not flowing, the longer and more expensive it will be to restart production,” Groeschel said, noting, too, the capital costs of repairing refining infrastructure at facilities damaged in the war. “The longer the conflict goes, and the more that affects access to fuel transiting [the Strait of Hormuz], the more it likely incentivizes oil and gas exploration elsewhere and incentivizes shifts toward other energy sources,” she added. Groeschel, a specialist in upstream energy analysis, described a “widespread destruction of refining in the Middle East” that would likely benefit engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) companies as well as the logistics providers that serve them when it comes time for costly repairs. But she said the scale of the outages and what OPEC countries produce, with some 16 million barrels of crude and refined products trapped inside the Strait of Hormuz each day, is “not replaceable in a short amount of time.” <h3>Venezuela not an option to replace Gulf oil supplies </h3>Groeschel noted that upstream spending on renewable energy was already on pace to outstrip oil and gas spending before the Middle East conflict broke out, with S&amp;P Global Energy forecasting peak demand for oil and gas by 2032. That trend might accelerate in the wake of the supply constraint, with countries and energy producers now looking at alternatives earlier than they might have. “It was an eventuality that clean tech spending was going to overtake oil and gas,” she said. “The infrastructure needed to build offshore wind would be larger. But the fastest growing sector is more modular solar, much of that coming from China.” Asked whether Venezuela could offset the oil supplies constrained by the Middle East conflict, Groeschel downplayed those expectations. “Venezuela produces heavy crude that has to be upgraded to even be transported by ship,” she said. “Rebuilding of those [upgrade] facilities will take time and massive investment, and a real commitment of government to produce stable conditions that let producers invest.” She added that even in the most optimistic forecast, Venezuela would be able to produce 3 million barrels of crude per day by 2030. Other potential oil-producing locations that could contribute to offset the lost supply from the Persian Gulf include Western Canada, the US, Argentina and Africa. S&amp;P Global is the parent company of the Journal of Commerce. Contact Eric Johnson at <a href="mailto:eric.johnson@spglobal.com">eric.johnson@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

New Orleans — How long it takes to resolve the war in the Middle East will ultimately decide how deep the compounding effects of the disruption to oil and natural gas production, refining, and the delivery of refined products will cut into global economies, Amy Groeschel, head of energy spending at S&P Global Energy, said Wednesday. Groeschel was speaking at the Journal of Commerce’s Breakbulk and Project Cargo Conference 2026. A prolonged conflict would ultimately result in a switch from supply constraint to demand destruction for oil and natural gas coming from the Middle East, she said. “The longer the fields are not flowing, the longer and more expensive it will be to restart production,” Groeschel said, noting, too, the capital costs of repairing refining infrastructure at facilities damaged in the war. “The longer the conflict goes, and the more that affects access to fuel transiting [the Strait of Hormuz], the more it likely incentivizes oil and gas exploration elsewhere and incentivizes shifts toward other energy sources,” she added. Groeschel, a specialist in upstream energy analysis, described a “widespread destruction of refining in the Middle East” that would likely benefit engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) companies as well as the logistics providers that serve them when it comes time for costly repairs. But she said the scale of the outages and what OPEC countries produce, with some 16 million barrels of crude and refined products trapped inside the Strait of Hormuz each day, is “not replaceable in a short amount of time.” Venezuela not an option to replace Gulf oil supplies Groeschel noted that upstream spending on renewable energy was already on pace to outstrip oil and gas spending before the Middle East conflict broke out, with S&P Global Energy forecasting peak demand for oil and gas by 2032. That trend might accelerate in the wake of the supply constraint, with countries and energy producers now looking at alternatives earlier than they might have. “It was an eventuality that clean tech spending was going to overtake oil and gas,” she said. “The infrastructure needed to build offshore wind would be larger. But the fastest growing sector is more modular solar, much of that coming from China.” Asked whether Venezuela could offset the oil supplies constrained by the Middle East conflict, Groeschel downplayed those expectations. “Venezuela produces heavy crude that has to be upgraded to even be transported by ship,” she said. “Rebuilding of those [upgrade] facilities will take time and massive investment, and a real commitment of government to produce stable conditions that let producers invest.” She added that even in the most optimistic forecast, Venezuela would be able to produce 3 million barrels of crude per day by 2030. Other potential oil-producing locations that could contribute to offset the lost supply from the Persian Gulf include Western Canada, the US, Argentina and Africa. S&P Global is the parent company of the Journal of Commerce. Contact Eric Johnson at eric.johnson@spglobal.com .

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Breakbulk26: Loss of Persian Gulf oil supplies difficult to replace quickly

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The Journal of Commerce has covered breakbulk shipping — the mode by which all dry cargo was shipped prior to containers — since its 1827 founding. Following the 1950s onset of containerization, modern breakbulk has come to mean a small but important subset of global freight movement, one that includes oversized, out-of-gauge industrial equipment and machinery, rolling stock, non-containerized steel and forest products, palletized and bagged cargo, and energy-related equipment. Led by associate editor Carly Fields and senior research analyst Susan Oatway, the Journal of Commerce addresses topics such as supply and demand, the specialized multipurpose vessel fleet, and the geopolitical, economic and regulatory forces that shape this sector. The annual Journal of Commerce <a href="https://breakbulk.joc.com/en">Breakbulk and Project Cargo Conference</a> brings together decision-makers and industry stakeholders to provide relevant analysis and critical networking opportunities.

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