<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Agricultural shippers in the U.S. Midwest are facing rail delays of a day to three days because of the sizable harvest, snow and record-breaking freezing temperatures, said the executive director of the Soy Transportation Coalition. </div>

Agricultural shippers in the U.S. Midwest are facing rail delays of a day to three days because of the sizable harvest, snow and record-breaking freezing temperatures, said the executive director of the Soy Transportation Coalition.

<div>Some U.S. agricultural shippers are facing rail delays of more than a week because of the sizeable harvest, snow and record-breaking freezing temperatures.A lack of capacity caused by the booming transport of domestic oil also appears to be causing some delays. The delays are particularly hurtful for soy shippers because 80 percent of their exports are shipped between September and February. The normally 12-day transit of grain on a unit train from Minnesota or Iowa, for example, is now taking as long as 18 to 22 days, Mike Steenhoek, executive director of Soy Transportation Coalition, said in a briefing.Inclement weather...

Some U.S. agricultural shippers are facing rail delays of more than a week because of the sizeable harvest, snow and record-breaking freezing temperatures. A lack of capacity caused by the booming transport of domestic oil also appears to be causing some delays. The delays are particularly hurtful for soy shippers because 80 percent of their exports are shipped between September and February. The normally 12-day transit of grain on a unit train from Minnesota or Iowa, for example, is now taking as long as 18 to 22 days, Mike Steenhoek, executive director of Soy Transportation Coalition, said in a briefing. Inclement weather has caused delays of one to three days, as snow and cold can slow down train speed and cause equipment for the unloading and loading of grain and oilseeds to malfunction. "The weather delays, along with the service delays that were already occurring, have resulted in fewer turns for locomotives and rail cars, which is the equivalent of removing rail assets from a network," Steenhoek said. A grain shipper executive out of Montana and North Dakota saw its shipments stalled for 16 days and then take an extra six days to reach the Pacific Northwest for transloading into containers, said Bruce Abbe, executive director of the Midwest Shippers Association. The unidentified shipper was hit with demurrage charges after the vessel left before the delayed grain shipments could be loaded onto the ship. Another shipper executive told Abbe that the rail delays had less to with a healthy harvest and more with a lack of rail capacity caused by the transport of domestic oil in the region. The shipper said bidding for prompt service of hopper car capacity via BNSF Railway's Certificate of Transportation program is on average $2,000 higher than usual and some bids have hit up to $4,000, forcing his company and others to hold off on shipments. Swallowing the additional $2,000 price tag adds roughly another $1 of cost to each bushel, the shipper told Abbe. A western Minnesota grain shipper told Abbe that shuttle trains are "pretty much booked" through at least into the end of February. Shippers are also feeling the squeeze on the inland waterway side, with increased ice formation and accumulation reducing capacity on the Illinois River and the Mississippi River between Quincy, Ill., and St. Louis. The delays to soybean shipments reduce U.S. farmers’ global competitiveness, as demand for their products drops between February and April, when the South American soy harvest hits the market. “The soybean industry — given the competitive pressure from South America — does not enjoy the luxury of holding onto a shipment of soybeans for an elongated period of time and then resuming those shipments once the logistical constraint has been addressed without some sort of penalty or cost,” Steenhoek said. The delays have less of an impact on U.S. corn and wheat shippers because they don’t face the same level of competition from their South American counterparts. Seven percent of U.S. grain and soybean exports in 2011 were shipped via container, with China receiving 32 percent of the shipments, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The USDA today increased its production estimate for soybeans by 31 million bushels to 3.289 billion bushels for the 2013-2014 marketing year. The agency also increased its forecast for soybean crush production by 10 million bushels to 1.7 billion bushels after seeing an increase in exports of soybean meal, an animal feed. The USDA raised its soybean export forecast by 20 million bushels to 1.495 billion bushels in the same period, after farmers saw record shipments in the first quarter of the marketing year and strong demand through last month. The value of U.S. soybean exports hit a record of more than $28 billion in the 2012-2013 marketing year through the outbound shipment of 1.7 billion bushels, according to th U.S. Census Bureau. China was the largest buyer of U.S. soybeans in the last marketing year (772 million bushels), followed by Mexico (98 million bushels) and Japan (63 million bushels). Mexico was the top buyer of soybean meal (59 million bushels), with the Philippines taking the second spot with a total import of 47 million bushels. Canada, the third largest importer of soybean meal from the U.S., bought 43 million bushels in the last marketing year. Contact Mark Szakonyi at mszakonyi@joc.com and follow him at www.twitter.com/szakonyi_joc .

Intermodal providers

US Midwest Ag Shippers Grapple With Rail Delays of More Than a Week

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Even if the terminal operator arm of the Virginia Port Authority violated the terms of its contract with the International Longshoremen’s Association, the VPA’s influence did not violate national labor law, the court said in its ruling.</div>

Even if the terminal operator arm of the Virginia Port Authority violated the terms of its contract with the International Longshoremen’s Association, the VPA’s influence did not violate national labor law, the court said in its ruling.

Feature image

<div class="phx-topic">A federal court has dismissed the International Longshoremen’s Association’s (ILA) lawsuit alleging that the Virginia Ports Authority (VPA) and its chief executive violated national labor law by installing automated yard cranes without notifying the union as mandated by its master contract. A spokesperson for the VPA said the authority was “grateful for the court’s careful consideration of the matter,” but had no further comment on the lawsuit. The ILA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The VPA in October 2025 <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/virginia-port-looks-to-dismiss-ila-lawsuit-on-rail-crane-rollout-6099283">filed a motion to dismiss the ILA complaint</a>, arguing that the union knew about plans to roll out new rail-mounted gantry (RMG) cranes in Norfolk in May 2023, nearly two years prior to their installation. The union’s lawsuit, <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/ila-suing-virginia-port-chief-executive-over-rollout-of-new-rail-cranes-6070318">filed last August</a>, said its members were only made aware of the new cranes as the first batch was installed in April 2025. In its ruling issued Thursday, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia said that although the ILA “appears to have demonstrated” that the purchase of the RMG cranes without prior official notification violated the master contract, the contract is with Virginia International Terminals (VIT), which was not named in the complaint. VIT is a legally separate entity that handles daily operations and directly employs longshore workers. Under the ILA master contract ratified in March 2025, any new technology implemented by ports along the East and Gulf coasts must be vetted by a new technology committee comprised of the union and maritime employers to determine staffing levels for the new equipment, training and pay rates. The local union must also be notified so it can negotiate with employers about the new technology.</div>

A federal court has dismissed the International Longshoremen’s Association’s (ILA) lawsuit alleging that the Virginia Ports Authority (VPA) and its chief executive violated national labor law by installing automated yard cranes without notifying the union as mandated by its master contract. A spokesperson for the VPA said the authority was “grateful for the court’s careful consideration of the matter,” but had no further comment on the lawsuit. The ILA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The VPA in October 2025 filed a motion to dismiss the ILA complaint , arguing that the union knew about plans to roll out new rail-mounted gantry (RMG) cranes in Norfolk in May 2023, nearly two years prior to their installation. The union’s lawsuit, filed last August , said its members were only made aware of the new cranes as the first batch was installed in April 2025. In its ruling issued Thursday, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia said that although the ILA “appears to have demonstrated” that the purchase of the RMG cranes without prior official notification violated the master contract, the contract is with Virginia International Terminals (VIT), which was not named in the complaint. VIT is a legally separate entity that handles daily operations and directly employs longshore workers. Under the ILA master contract ratified in March 2025, any new technology implemented by ports along the East and Gulf coasts must be vetted by a new technology committee comprised of the union and maritime employers to determine staffing levels for the new equipment, training and pay rates. The local union must also be notified so it can negotiate with employers about the new technology.

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North American ports

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Longshore labor

Container Shipping News

Maritime

Federal court dismisses ILA complaint over Virginia rail cranes

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The new service comes as cargo owners are facing a drop in direct connections between Japan and the main markets of Europe and North America.</div>

The new service comes as cargo owners are facing a drop in direct connections between Japan and the main markets of Europe and North America.

<div class="phx-topic">CMA CGM will launch a standalone ocean express service connecting Japan and Europe beginning in April using 14 container ships ranging in size from 7,000 TEUs to 10,000 TEUs, the carrier said Friday. The weekly service, called Ocean Rise, will start April 2 and includes calls at Japan’s leading ports including Yokohama, Nagoya and Kobe, plus Yantian in southern China, Rotterdam and Hamburg. The Marseille-based carrier said in a statement there will be a 38-day transit from Yokohama to Rotterdam, with 41 days to Hamburg. From Yantian, cargo will reach Rotterdam in 32 days and Hamburg in 35 days. “Shippers can expect greater schedule reliability, streamlined transit flows, and a more resilient end-to-end service...,” CMA CGM said. The full rotation will be Kobe, Nagoya, Yokohama, Xiamen, Yantian, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Southampton, Nansha, and Kobe. <h3>Decline in direct connections from Japan </h3>The new service comes as cargo owners are facing a drop in direct connections between Japan and the main markets of Europe and North America, with carriers instead transshipping cargo at ports such as South Korea’s Busan and Qingdao in northern China. While container volumes at Japan’s main ports have steadily increased, the ports are prone to berth congestion, leading to delays. Carriers such as Ocean Network Express (ONE) regularly skip calls or alter port rotations at Japanese ports such as Kobe, Osaka, Nagoya, and Yokohama to maintain schedule reliability, according to recent service schedules. Carriers ending direct services include those in the Premier Alliance, which will halt express connections between Japan and Europe when it launches its new schedules in April, instead relying on a shuttle network to link Japanese ports and Busan. The alliance, comprising ONE, HMM and Yang Ming, will split its Far East Pacific 1 (FP1) pendulum service connecting North Europe, Asia, and the US West Coast into two separate loops, PS1 and FE1, from April. While direct links between the US West Coast and Tokyo, Nagoya and Kobe will be maintained under the PS1 service, the Japanese ports will be dropped from the FE1 loop that will connect Thailand and Vietnam with Europe instead. That follows the delivery of larger 13,000- to 15,000-TEU ships that will replace the 9,000-TEU vessels deployed on the FP1 service. Contact Keith Wallis at <a href="mailto:keithwallis@hotmail.com">keithwallis@hotmail.com</a>.</div>

CMA CGM will launch a standalone ocean express service connecting Japan and Europe beginning in April using 14 container ships ranging in size from 7,000 TEUs to 10,000 TEUs, the carrier said Friday. The weekly service, called Ocean Rise, will start April 2 and includes calls at Japan’s leading ports including Yokohama, Nagoya and Kobe, plus Yantian in southern China, Rotterdam and Hamburg. The Marseille-based carrier said in a statement there will be a 38-day transit from Yokohama to Rotterdam, with 41 days to Hamburg. From Yantian, cargo will reach Rotterdam in 32 days and Hamburg in 35 days. “Shippers can expect greater schedule reliability, streamlined transit flows, and a more resilient end-to-end service...,” CMA CGM said. The full rotation will be Kobe, Nagoya, Yokohama, Xiamen, Yantian, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Southampton, Nansha, and Kobe. Decline in direct connections from Japan The new service comes as cargo owners are facing a drop in direct connections between Japan and the main markets of Europe and North America, with carriers instead transshipping cargo at ports such as South Korea’s Busan and Qingdao in northern China. While container volumes at Japan’s main ports have steadily increased, the ports are prone to berth congestion, leading to delays. Carriers such as Ocean Network Express (ONE) regularly skip calls or alter port rotations at Japanese ports such as Kobe, Osaka, Nagoya, and Yokohama to maintain schedule reliability, according to recent service schedules. Carriers ending direct services include those in the Premier Alliance, which will halt express connections between Japan and Europe when it launches its new schedules in April, instead relying on a shuttle network to link Japanese ports and Busan. The alliance, comprising ONE, HMM and Yang Ming, will split its Far East Pacific 1 (FP1) pendulum service connecting North Europe, Asia, and the US West Coast into two separate loops, PS1 and FE1, from April. While direct links between the US West Coast and Tokyo, Nagoya and Kobe will be maintained under the PS1 service, the Japanese ports will be dropped from the FE1 loop that will connect Thailand and Vietnam with Europe instead. That follows the delivery of larger 13,000- to 15,000-TEU ships that will replace the 9,000-TEU vessels deployed on the FP1 service. Contact Keith Wallis at keithwallis@hotmail.com .

Container lines

Trans-Pacific

International ports

CMA CGM to launch standalone Japan-Europe express service in April

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Five services are covered by the adjustments, which are being made to give “stronger market coverage and faster products,” on the trades, Hapag-Lloyd said. </div>

Five services are covered by the adjustments, which are being made to give “stronger market coverage and faster products,” on the trades, Hapag-Lloyd said.

<div class="phx-topic">Gemini Cooperation partners Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd on Friday announced a revamp of some Asia-Europe and Mediterranean alliance services, with extra port calls and larger ships, mainly beginning in April. Five services are covered by the adjustments, which are being made to give “stronger market coverage and faster products on key Asia-North Europe and Mediterranean trades,” Hapag-Lloyd said in an advisory. The most significant change on Asia-Europe services has been made on the AE3/NE3 loop, which will see the introduction of a Baltic rotation with calls at Aarhus (Denmark) and Gothenburg (Sweden), significantly enhancing market coverage in that region. Southampton will become the final European outbound call to Asia, strengthening UK export flows, while Spain’s Algeciras will be dropped from the rotation, the carriers said. In Asia, the service will call at Shenzhen’s Yantian port, “improving optionality for customers favoring Pearl River Delta connectivity,” Hapag-Lloyd said. While the service will continue to start from Shanghai, the call at Ningbo has been relinquished. The new rotation is: Shanghai, Yantian, Tanjung Pelepas (Malaysia), London Gateway, Aarhus, Gothenburg, Rotterdam, Southampton, and Singapore. The Gemini partners confirmed that Antwerp would be added to the AE1/NE2 service, but the loop would no longer call at APM Terminals TC1 facility in Tangier. The call at Tanger Alliance TC3 terminal will continue. The Antwerp call, initially announced by the carriers in an advisory earlier this month, will expand the “hinterland reach and improving access to key Benelux and European cargo flows,” Hapag-Lloyd said Friday. The first westbound sailing will be made by the 23,664-TEU Hamburg Express that will depart Shanghai on March 6 and call Antwerp on April 21. The revised rotation is: Shanghai, Yantian, Tanjung Pelepas, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Antwerp, London Gateway, Tangier (TC3), and Singapore. Hapag-Lloyd said the NE4/AE4 loop will revert to its previous rotation without the Baltic loop, which is now covered by the NE3. “This creates one of the fastest, direct Ningbo-Germany connections in the market, responding to strong customer demand,” the carrier said. Consequently, Maersk said calls will be added at Ningbo and Algeciras, but Yantian will be dropped. The full loop comprises Qingdao, Ningbo, Tanjung Pelepas, London Gateway, Bremerhaven and Hamburg in Germany, Rotterdam, Algeciras, and Tanjung Pelepas. <h3>Larger ships deployed on Asia-Med services </h3>The major change on Asia-Mediterranean services is the deployment of 20,000-TEU vessels on the AE15/SE3 loop, which will replace ships of about 13,000- to 14,000-TEUs, including the 13,169-TEU Essen Express currently assigned on the route. The ships will increase capacity and product strength on the service, Hapag-Lloyd said. Calls will also be added at Port Said in Egypt and the new hub terminal at nearby Damietta, with Istanbul and Izmit in Turkey served via dedicated shuttle connections. Hapag-Lloyd said the new, simplified rotation comprising Qingdao, Gwangyang, Ningbo, Tanjung Pelepas, Port Said, Damietta, Colombo, and Singapore “will enhance service robustness.” The final changes are to the AE12/SE1 service that will see Algeciras and Singapore added to the port rotation. The revised loop is Ningbo, Shanghai, Tanjung Pelepas, Algeciras, Koper (Slovenia), Rijeka (Croatia), Algeciras, and Singapore. The Gemini partners said further changes would be made to the Asia-Mediterranean services when they decide to revert to routing the loops through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. They gave no timeline when that might happen. The revamp of the alliance services came as Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/maersk-hapag-lloyd-to-reroute-some-march-sailings-away-from-red-seasuez-6177149">announced Friday they would reroute some Suez Canal and Red Sea services</a> back via the Cape of Good Hope because of “unforeseen constraints” in the volatile region. Contact Keith Wallis at <a href="mailto:keithwallis@hotmail.com">keithwallis@hotmail.com</a>. </div>

Gemini Cooperation partners Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd on Friday announced a revamp of some Asia-Europe and Mediterranean alliance services, with extra port calls and larger ships, mainly beginning in April. Five services are covered by the adjustments, which are being made to give “stronger market coverage and faster products on key Asia-North Europe and Mediterranean trades,” Hapag-Lloyd said in an advisory. The most significant change on Asia-Europe services has been made on the AE3/NE3 loop, which will see the introduction of a Baltic rotation with calls at Aarhus (Denmark) and Gothenburg (Sweden), significantly enhancing market coverage in that region. Southampton will become the final European outbound call to Asia, strengthening UK export flows, while Spain’s Algeciras will be dropped from the rotation, the carriers said. In Asia, the service will call at Shenzhen’s Yantian port, “improving optionality for customers favoring Pearl River Delta connectivity,” Hapag-Lloyd said. While the service will continue to start from Shanghai, the call at Ningbo has been relinquished. The new rotation is: Shanghai, Yantian, Tanjung Pelepas (Malaysia), London Gateway, Aarhus, Gothenburg, Rotterdam, Southampton, and Singapore. The Gemini partners confirmed that Antwerp would be added to the AE1/NE2 service, but the loop would no longer call at APM Terminals TC1 facility in Tangier. The call at Tanger Alliance TC3 terminal will continue. The Antwerp call, initially announced by the carriers in an advisory earlier this month, will expand the “hinterland reach and improving access to key Benelux and European cargo flows,” Hapag-Lloyd said Friday. The first westbound sailing will be made by the 23,664-TEU Hamburg Express that will depart Shanghai on March 6 and call Antwerp on April 21. The revised rotation is: Shanghai, Yantian, Tanjung Pelepas, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Antwerp, London Gateway, Tangier (TC3), and Singapore. Hapag-Lloyd said the NE4/AE4 loop will revert to its previous rotation without the Baltic loop, which is now covered by the NE3. “This creates one of the fastest, direct Ningbo-Germany connections in the market, responding to strong customer demand,” the carrier said. Consequently, Maersk said calls will be added at Ningbo and Algeciras, but Yantian will be dropped. The full loop comprises Qingdao, Ningbo, Tanjung Pelepas, London Gateway, Bremerhaven and Hamburg in Germany, Rotterdam, Algeciras, and Tanjung Pelepas. Larger ships deployed on Asia-Med services The major change on Asia-Mediterranean services is the deployment of 20,000-TEU vessels on the AE15/SE3 loop, which will replace ships of about 13,000- to 14,000-TEUs, including the 13,169-TEU Essen Express currently assigned on the route. The ships will increase capacity and product strength on the service, Hapag-Lloyd said. Calls will also be added at Port Said in Egypt and the new hub terminal at nearby Damietta, with Istanbul and Izmit in Turkey served via dedicated shuttle connections. Hapag-Lloyd said the new, simplified rotation comprising Qingdao, Gwangyang, Ningbo, Tanjung Pelepas, Port Said, Damietta, Colombo, and Singapore “will enhance service robustness.” The final changes are to the AE12/SE1 service that will see Algeciras and Singapore added to the port rotation. The revised loop is Ningbo, Shanghai, Tanjung Pelepas, Algeciras, Koper (Slovenia), Rijeka (Croatia), Algeciras, and Singapore. The Gemini partners said further changes would be made to the Asia-Mediterranean services when they decide to revert to routing the loops through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. They gave no timeline when that might happen. The revamp of the alliance services came as Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd announced Friday they would reroute some Suez Canal and Red Sea services back via the Cape of Good Hope because of “unforeseen constraints” in the volatile region. Contact Keith Wallis at keithwallis@hotmail.com .

Asia-Europe

Gemini partners unveil revamp of some Asia services to Europe, Med

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Separate statements from the Gemini partners said “unforeseen constraints” prompted the moves, which come as the US weighs a possible military strike on Iran. </div>

Separate statements from the Gemini partners said “unforeseen constraints” prompted the moves, which come as the US weighs a possible military strike on Iran.

<div class="phx-topic">Gemini Cooperation partners Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd are rerouting some Suez Canal and Red Sea services back via the Cape of Good Hope because of “unforeseen constraints” in the volatile region, the carriers said Friday. Separate statements from the carriers did not detail those constraints, but the moves come as the US weighs a possible military strike on Iran over that country’s nuclear program. Washington has built up a massive naval presence in the region in advance of a potential attack. “We are currently experiencing unforeseen constraints arising from the wider operating environment in the Red Sea region,” the carriers said. “After conversations with our security partners, it is clear that these constraints are making it challenging to avoid delays in regard to passage through the area.” Major liners have mostly avoided the Red Sea/Suez route since late 2023, when Houthi militants operating in Yemen began their attacks on commercial shipping to protest Israel’s move into Gaza, forcing lengthy diversions around southern Africa. With the US possibly targeting Iran, there are fears the Tehran-backed Houthis could resume attacks on vessels to launch a proxy war in retaliation. Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd said selected sailings on their ME11/IMX service connecting India, the Mediterranean and Spain would be affected starting next month. The weekly loop — known as the ME11 for Maersk and the IMX for Hapag-Lloyd — calls Jebel Ali (Dubai), Mundra and Nhava Sheva (India), Salalah (Oman), Port Tangier (Morocco), Valencia (Spain) and Port Said (Egypt). A source at Maersk <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/gemini-india-med-service-the-next-to-plan-return-to-red-seasuez-passage-6152941">told the Journal of Commerce in mid-January</a> that the service would resume transits through the Red Sea and Suez “shortly.” Maersk also said in its statement Friday that some sailings on its independently operated MECL service connecting the Middle East and India with the US East Coast would also switch back to sailing around southern Africa. That service had <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/maersk-set-to-resume-regular-suez-transits-on-india-usec-mecl-loop-sources-6152441">only resumed transits through the Red Sea/Suez weeks ago.</a> <h3>Trans-Suez route remains a priority for other sailings </h3>The Gemini partners said the first westbound Cape of Good Hope sailing on the ME11/IMX service will be made by the 15,282-TEU Maersk Houston departing Salalah on March 5. The first eastbound sailing will be by the 15,226-TEU Maersk Hamburg departing Port Tangiers on March 8. Maersk added that the first eastbound vessel on its MECL service making the longer Cape of Good Hope voyage will be the 6,648-TEU Maersk Senang departing Port Tangiers on March 1. The 6,200-TEU Maersk Detroit will make the first westbound detour, leaving Salalah on March 11. The Cape of Good Hope diversions announced Friday cover the first half of March. “On all additional sailings, we continue to prioritize the trans-Suez route for these services as it is the fastest, most sustainable and most efficient way for us to serve our customers,” both carriers said their separate statements. Contact Keith Wallis at <a href="mailto:keithwallis@hotmail.com">keithwallis@hotmail.com</a>. </div>

Gemini Cooperation partners Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd are rerouting some Suez Canal and Red Sea services back via the Cape of Good Hope because of “unforeseen constraints” in the volatile region, the carriers said Friday. Separate statements from the carriers did not detail those constraints, but the moves come as the US weighs a possible military strike on Iran over that country’s nuclear program. Washington has built up a massive naval presence in the region in advance of a potential attack. “We are currently experiencing unforeseen constraints arising from the wider operating environment in the Red Sea region,” the carriers said. “After conversations with our security partners, it is clear that these constraints are making it challenging to avoid delays in regard to passage through the area.” Major liners have mostly avoided the Red Sea/Suez route since late 2023, when Houthi militants operating in Yemen began their attacks on commercial shipping to protest Israel’s move into Gaza, forcing lengthy diversions around southern Africa. With the US possibly targeting Iran, there are fears the Tehran-backed Houthis could resume attacks on vessels to launch a proxy war in retaliation. Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd said selected sailings on their ME11/IMX service connecting India, the Mediterranean and Spain would be affected starting next month. The weekly loop — known as the ME11 for Maersk and the IMX for Hapag-Lloyd — calls Jebel Ali (Dubai), Mundra and Nhava Sheva (India), Salalah (Oman), Port Tangier (Morocco), Valencia (Spain) and Port Said (Egypt). A source at Maersk told the Journal of Commerce in mid-January that the service would resume transits through the Red Sea and Suez “shortly.” Maersk also said in its statement Friday that some sailings on its independently operated MECL service connecting the Middle East and India with the US East Coast would also switch back to sailing around southern Africa. That service had only resumed transits through the Red Sea/Suez weeks ago. Trans-Suez route remains a priority for other sailings The Gemini partners said the first westbound Cape of Good Hope sailing on the ME11/IMX service will be made by the 15,282-TEU Maersk Houston departing Salalah on March 5. The first eastbound sailing will be by the 15,226-TEU Maersk Hamburg departing Port Tangiers on March 8. Maersk added that the first eastbound vessel on its MECL service making the longer Cape of Good Hope voyage will be the 6,648-TEU Maersk Senang departing Port Tangiers on March 1. The 6,200-TEU Maersk Detroit will make the first westbound detour, leaving Salalah on March 11. The Cape of Good Hope diversions announced Friday cover the first half of March. “On all additional sailings, we continue to prioritize the trans-Suez route for these services as it is the fastest, most sustainable and most efficient way for us to serve our customers,” both carriers said their separate statements. Contact Keith Wallis at keithwallis@hotmail.com .

Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd to reroute some March sailings away from Red Sea/Suez

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Onshore wind and AI energy support offer twin strands of positivity for wind shippers operating in the US despite the Trump administration’s battle against renewable energy. </div>

Onshore wind and AI energy support offer twin strands of positivity for wind shippers operating in the US despite the Trump administration’s battle against renewable energy.

<div class="phx-topic">Surging demand for power to support data centers is generating optimism for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of wind turbines, even as permitting bans, project suspensions and import tariffs knock the wind out of US renewable energy markets. Turbines for onshore and offshore wind projects are considered a key source of breakbulk and project cargo. Increasing energy demands could propel turbine manufacturing, while <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/trump-administration-seeks-to-undo-court-rulings-favoring-offshore-wind-projects-6173748">US project interruptions and legal wranglings</a> continue to threaten wind equipment production. Amid the Trump administration’s pushback against wind energy, German onshore turbine maker Nordex SE and Danish turbine maker Vestas remain steadfast on playing the long game on US onshore projects as data center construction rapidly drives up power demands. Nordex, which primarily serves the onshore wind market, is projecting gains this year after global project orders grew 10% to $3.7 billion in the fourth quarter and increased 25% to a record high of $11 billion for all of 2025. During the company’s Feb. 26 earnings call, Nordex CEO Jose Luis Blanco cited “momentum” in the US market as customers continue to invest in wind developments. “Unfortunately, projects are pending permits from the federal government,” he said. “And this is something that honestly nobody has a view of when those permits are going to flow.” Despite those holdups, a “super cycle” of mounting energy needs to support AI infrastructure has reinforced the company’s decision to invest in the US long term, Blanco said. “Yes, maybe most of it is going to be delivered by gas, but wind plays a fantastic role to fit more with the demand profile of data centers, which is what has mainly driven electricity demand increase in the US,” he said. Nordex in December secured contracts from Alliant Energy for up to 190 turbines for wind projects in the US Midwest. Nordex will produce the turbines at its West Branch, Iowa, facility, which reopened in July after being shuttered for 12 years. <h3>Surge in onshore wind activity </h3>Vestas came out as bullish on the power generation buildout, with the company forecasting continued growth in 2026 following a year marked by higher onshore activity that offset lower offshore orders. After growing revenues 9% to $22 billion in 2025, Vestas estimates those numbers will increase to between $24 billion and $26 billion in 2026. In its Feb. 5 year-end earnings report, Vestas described US onshore wind as a market characterized by changes to legislation and tariffs, with developers still awaiting clarity on policy issues. “Nevertheless, there remain strong, fundamental drivers of wind power deployment in the USA, in particular the fast-growing electricity demand linked to the rise of AI and the buildout of data centers,” Vestas said. CEO Henrik Andersen confirmed there are opportunities to upgrade aging onshore turbines in the US, adding that modern components make it possible to replace three turbines with one and still generate more electricity. “It’s ongoing. It’s happening. It’s only now a matter of how quickly can you get the permitting, because the capital is there to get it done,” Andersen said during an earnings call. Orders for the year fell 9% to $20.5 billion, driven by fewer offshore orders in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas. Still, those orders led to a record-high order backlog for Vestas of $84.8 billion for 2025, up 5% from the previous year. <h3>Siemens wind business narrows losses </h3>Meanwhile, tariffs continue to present uncertainties for Spain’s Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy and for its German parent company Siemens Energy AG. “In the wind power business ... the tariff impact was the most substantial of all of ours,” Siemens Energy CFO Maria Ferraro said during the company’s fiscal first-quarter earnings call earlier this month. “So of course, we're watching that very carefully,” However, the US accounted for the company’s largest growth contributor because of a $470 million onshore repowering order, even as orders for the period fell 34% to $1.8 billion. Following a period of volatility related to defective onshore turbines, Siemens Gamesa is set to break even in 2026 after narrowing its fiscal year first-quarter losses to $261 million from $499 million a year ago. Also in the first quarter, Siemens Gamesa received the first order for its SG 7.0 turbine, the successor to the troubled 5.X platform. Major flaws were discovered in 15% to 30% of the manufacturer’s already installed 4.X and 5.X onshore wind turbines in June 2023. <h3>US offshore delays wear down GE Vernova </h3>GE Vernova expects losses to widen in the first quarter after offshore wind project suspensions in the US made a sizeable dent in quarterly and full-year performance. Wind losses are on track to fall to $300 million to $400 million year over year in the first quarter, primarily from lower onshore wind volume and US import tariffs that have cost the company $70 million since the second quarter of 2025. The company’s wind business posted a $225 million loss in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the 2025 fourth quarter compared with a gain of $19 million for the same period in 2024. Losses for the year came in at $600 million, higher than initial projections of $400 million, driven by the US government’s Dec. 22 stop-work order on five offshore wind projects, including the Vineyard Wind project using GE Vernova’s blades. “Until that point, our team was on a path to achieve ... expectations as they worked to complete the Vineyard Wind project in early January,” CFO Ken Parks said during a fourth-quarter earnings call. A series of court rulings in January and February have allowed those projects to resume, but the Trump administration has pledged to appeal those decisions. Despite US setbacks, GE Vernova’s fourth-quarter wind orders increased 53% year over year to $3.1 billion, driven by improved onshore wind equipment orders, primarily outside of North America. Contact Autumn Cafiero Giusti at <a href="mailto:autumn@autumngiusti.com">autumn@autumngiusti.com</a>.</div>

Surging demand for power to support data centers is generating optimism for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of wind turbines, even as permitting bans, project suspensions and import tariffs knock the wind out of US renewable energy markets. Turbines for onshore and offshore wind projects are considered a key source of breakbulk and project cargo. Increasing energy demands could propel turbine manufacturing, while US project interruptions and legal wranglings continue to threaten wind equipment production. Amid the Trump administration’s pushback against wind energy, German onshore turbine maker Nordex SE and Danish turbine maker Vestas remain steadfast on playing the long game on US onshore projects as data center construction rapidly drives up power demands. Nordex, which primarily serves the onshore wind market, is projecting gains this year after global project orders grew 10% to $3.7 billion in the fourth quarter and increased 25% to a record high of $11 billion for all of 2025. During the company’s Feb. 26 earnings call, Nordex CEO Jose Luis Blanco cited “momentum” in the US market as customers continue to invest in wind developments. “Unfortunately, projects are pending permits from the federal government,” he said. “And this is something that honestly nobody has a view of when those permits are going to flow.” Despite those holdups, a “super cycle” of mounting energy needs to support AI infrastructure has reinforced the company’s decision to invest in the US long term, Blanco said. “Yes, maybe most of it is going to be delivered by gas, but wind plays a fantastic role to fit more with the demand profile of data centers, which is what has mainly driven electricity demand increase in the US,” he said. Nordex in December secured contracts from Alliant Energy for up to 190 turbines for wind projects in the US Midwest. Nordex will produce the turbines at its West Branch, Iowa, facility, which reopened in July after being shuttered for 12 years. Surge in onshore wind activity Vestas came out as bullish on the power generation buildout, with the company forecasting continued growth in 2026 following a year marked by higher onshore activity that offset lower offshore orders. After growing revenues 9% to $22 billion in 2025, Vestas estimates those numbers will increase to between $24 billion and $26 billion in 2026. In its Feb. 5 year-end earnings report, Vestas described US onshore wind as a market characterized by changes to legislation and tariffs, with developers still awaiting clarity on policy issues. “Nevertheless, there remain strong, fundamental drivers of wind power deployment in the USA, in particular the fast-growing electricity demand linked to the rise of AI and the buildout of data centers,” Vestas said. CEO Henrik Andersen confirmed there are opportunities to upgrade aging onshore turbines in the US, adding that modern components make it possible to replace three turbines with one and still generate more electricity. “It’s ongoing. It’s happening. It’s only now a matter of how quickly can you get the permitting, because the capital is there to get it done,” Andersen said during an earnings call. Orders for the year fell 9% to $20.5 billion, driven by fewer offshore orders in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas. Still, those orders led to a record-high order backlog for Vestas of $84.8 billion for 2025, up 5% from the previous year. Siemens wind business narrows losses Meanwhile, tariffs continue to present uncertainties for Spain’s Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy and for its German parent company Siemens Energy AG. “In the wind power business ... the tariff impact was the most substantial of all of ours,” Siemens Energy CFO Maria Ferraro said during the company’s fiscal first-quarter earnings call earlier this month. “So of course, we're watching that very carefully,” However, the US accounted for the company’s largest growth contributor because of a $470 million onshore repowering order, even as orders for the period fell 34% to $1.8 billion. Following a period of volatility related to defective onshore turbines, Siemens Gamesa is set to break even in 2026 after narrowing its fiscal year first-quarter losses to $261 million from $499 million a year ago. Also in the first quarter, Siemens Gamesa received the first order for its SG 7.0 turbine, the successor to the troubled 5.X platform. Major flaws were discovered in 15% to 30% of the manufacturer’s already installed 4.X and 5.X onshore wind turbines in June 2023. US offshore delays wear down GE Vernova GE Vernova expects losses to widen in the first quarter after offshore wind project suspensions in the US made a sizeable dent in quarterly and full-year performance. Wind losses are on track to fall to $300 million to $400 million year over year in the first quarter, primarily from lower onshore wind volume and US import tariffs that have cost the company $70 million since the second quarter of 2025. The company’s wind business posted a $225 million loss in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the 2025 fourth quarter compared with a gain of $19 million for the same period in 2024. Losses for the year came in at $600 million, higher than initial projections of $400 million, driven by the US government’s Dec. 22 stop-work order on five offshore wind projects, including the Vineyard Wind project using GE Vernova’s blades. “Until that point, our team was on a path to achieve ... expectations as they worked to complete the Vineyard Wind project in early January,” CFO Ken Parks said during a fourth-quarter earnings call. A series of court rulings in January and February have allowed those projects to resume, but the Trump administration has pledged to appeal those decisions. Despite US setbacks, GE Vernova’s fourth-quarter wind orders increased 53% year over year to $3.1 billion, driven by improved onshore wind equipment orders, primarily outside of North America. Contact Autumn Cafiero Giusti at autumn@autumngiusti.com .

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