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The latest Breakbulk News News & Analysis

Regulatory support missing in drive to scale up green fuel: Ørsted

Greg Knowler, Senior Editor Europe |

Danish power company Ørsted says policymakers must provide a regulatory environment that allows companies to commit to the huge investment required in developing shipping’s fuel of the future.

Container Shipping NewsContainer linesTrans-PacificAsia-EuropeEnergy projects

Car carriers enjoying ‘exceptional conditions’: Clarksons

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor |

Longer voyages, high demand, and tight capacity are boosting earnings and charter rates in the global car carrier segment.

Breakbulk NewsRo/ro cargo

US offshore wind push runs into bureaucracy, investment headwinds

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

Ambitious plans to build offshore wind off the coast of the United States has run up against permitting bottlenecks and a lack of investment.

Breakbulk NewsEnergy projects

Costco exits ship chartering with $93 million charge

Michael Angell, Associate Editor |

Peak supply chain congestion prompted major US retailers to charter their own ships, but Costco is now unwinding that bet.

ForwardingBreakbulk News

Long-term demand to steady MPV/HL fleet: analysts

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

The multipurpose/heavy-lift vessel sector is proving to be less volatile than the container and bulk sectors as the pandemic market normalizes, analysts say.

Breakbulk carriers

GPA building new container berths at Ocean Terminal in Savannah

Ari Ashe, Senior Editor |

The Ocean Terminal project is part of a larger strategy by the GPA to expand the footprint in Savannah to handle bigger vessels and more containers.

North American portsBreakbulk News

Meeting Europe’s modal shift to rail will top $500 billion: study

Greg Knowler, Senior Europe Editor |

Moving a significant share of Europe’s inland cargo from road to rail will be costly and challenging, but it is achievable through better utilization of door-to-door combined transport, a new report has found.

International railBreakbulk carriers

Intermarine partners with Thailand-based project specialist on new Asia JV

Keith Wallis, Special Correspondent |

US-based MPV operator Intermarine is expanding into Asia and Europe via a partnership with Thailand’s WeShip.

Breakbulk carriers

Drought-stricken Mississippi disrupts northbound breakbulk cargo

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |

Drought is keeping the Mississippi River at historically low water levels, tying up barge capacity and extending the southbound grain season.

Breakbulk reefers positioned to weather downturn

Richard Bright, JOC analyst |

As evidenced over the past chaotic 24 months, dry cargo demand and the supply of reefer equipment are more intimately linked than it might first appear.

Booming heavy transport demand driving new project partnerships

Keith Wallis, Special Correspondent |

Engineered transport providers are gearing up for heavy demand as an energy buildout in both renewable and oil and gas sectors gains strength.

Pent-up demand to fuel project logistics volumes into 2024

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

Two years of pandemic-related oil and gas project delays and cutbacks in global supply due to the Russia-Ukraine war are driving demand for project logistics services in the short and long term.

Breakbulk NewsProject cargoEnergy projects

Lack of infrastructure could stymie global, US wind energy targets

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

Bottlenecks and a lack of needed infrastructure may put the “aspirational” global offshore wind installation schedule out of reach, an analyst says.

Breakbulk NewsEnergy projectsProject cargo

MPV rates decline as market chaos unwinds

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

Confident of project demand ahead, the multipurpose vessel sector sees November’s softening rates as a move toward stability, analysts say.

Demand for heavy-lift air transport outstrips supply

Keith Wallis, Special Correspondent |

Sanctions against Russia have sharply reduced available heavy-lift air tonnage even as energy sector demand escalates.

Heavy-haul transportAirport News

Grimaldi Group orders up to 10 vessels to carry electric vehicles

Keith Wallis, Special Correspondent |

The new ships ordered by the Grimaldi Group, designed for carrying electric vehicles, will burn 50 percent less fuel than earlier car carriers.

Shippeo investment a sign that visibility not yet a winner-takes-all market

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |

A funding round into Shippeo shows that demand for visibility and fragmentation of the market continue to grow despite a slowing venture capital environment.

Logistics Technology NewsBreakbulk News

Mobile breakbulk dockworkers avoid strike, head to mediation with employer

Michael Angell, Associate Editor |

Union workers at Mobile’s breakbulk and general cargo docks are the only ones working for a maritime employer without a ratified contract during the ILA’s current 2018-2024 master contract term.

Breakbulk carriers

Mobile’s breakbulk docks face strike threat after talks with ILA local fail

Michael Angell, Associate Editor |

The ILA’s local union at Mobile’s general cargo and breakbulk docks may walk off the job this week if a deal can’t be reached with breakbulk stevedore CSA Equipment.

Breakbulk carriers

In tight tonnage market, AAL adds three secondhand ships

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

Multipurpose and heavy-lift carrier AAL is aiming to increase tonnage despite market volatility as it pursues “long-term sustainable expansion.”

Breakbulk carriers

MPV/HL charter rates falling faster than expected: analysts

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

Despite softening daily charter rates, the multipurpose and heavy-lift (MPV/HL) sector remains optimistic thanks to a growing renewable energy market and near-static fleet capacity.

Ro/ro surge driving new investment by carriers

Keith Wallis, Special Correspondent |

Recovering automobile exports and demand for high and heavy cargo are driving a ro/ro resurgence and a spate of new ship orders.

Georgia Ports Authority adds Nissan to OEM roster

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

US auto imports slid 8 percent during the first seven months of 2022, reflecting supply chain snarls, even as high and heavy imports gained steam.

Investors skittish on ordering new MPV/HL ships despite strong cargo demand

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

MPV/HL ships could be harder to find in coming years as carriers have difficulty finding funding for new ship orders, despite strong demand and higher rates than they have been able to command for years.

Ship orders defy declining reefer fleet trend

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

A handful of reefer carriers, having received an unexpected shot in the arm during the pandemic, are adding vessel capacity despite the long-term decline of this niche fleet.

Breakbulk carriers

Summer slump, market uncertainty pressuring MPV rates

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

The MPV sector’s long-term outlook remains strong, but shippers are holding off booking in the hope that rates will continue to slide, analysts say.

Breakbulk carriers

Demand spike breathes new life into specialized reefer fleet

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

The specialized reefer fleet has been shrinking for years as perishables shippers have migrated away from breakbulk shipping to refrigerated containers carried on global liner services, but “the mode keeps rescuing itself,” says one observer.

Breakbulk carriers

Multipurpose ships boosting container line capacity: Alphaliner

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

Container carriers are adding incremental capacity to their regional and feeder liner services with MPV and other non-container ships, maritime analyst Alphaliner says.

Breakbulk carriers

dship Carriers acquires secondhand ship for MPV fleet

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

While spillover cargo flows back to the container market, a strong breakbulk market is keeping the MPV sector afloat.

Breakbulk carriers

Policy, pandemic disruption slowing US wind energy development

Chris Barnett |

Developers have installed a total of 139 gigawatts of onshore wind energy production across the US, with another 23 GW under construction or in advanced development as of the second quarter of 2022.

Breakbulk NewsProject cargoEnergy projects

Super-heavy carriers see war-driven energy boom

Keith Wallis, Special Correspondent |

The global super-heavy carrier fleet is at 91 percent utilization as governments accelerate energy investments amid the rush to cut ties with Russia.

New Orleans H1 breakbulk tonnage doubles amid ‘spillover’ surge

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

Pandemic congestion may be easing as container rates fall, but breakbulk spillover cargo shows no sign of slowing at the Port of New Orleans.

Breakbulk carriersBreakbulk ports

Breakbulk carrier, box maker team for trans-Pac domestic container service

Michael Angell, Associate Editor |

Carrier53, a joint venture of a breakbulk vessel operator and container manufacturer, said it will offer trans-Pacific sailings from China to the US West Coast with a special emphasis on domestic intermodal containers.

Container linesForwardingBreakbulk carriers

MPV/HL charter rates may have peaked, but no crash ahead: analysts

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

Easing container congestion and the summer “doldrums” have sent MPV rates drifting downward, but carriers expect energy-related demand and tight capacity to keep the sector healthy in the long term.

Breakbulk carriers

Maersk targets project cargo with latest acquisition

Greg Knowler, Senior Europe Editor |

Maersk is expanding its footprint in the heavy-lift sector with the acquisition of specialist logistics provider Martin Bencher that will be central to its new Maersk Project Logistics product.

Specialized reefer fills gap for shippers of perishable goods

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

Congestion and unreliable service from liner carriers is driving some cold chain shippers back to the conventional reefer fleet

Breakbulk carriers

Uneasy labor talks put US rail transport of energy-related project cargo at risk

Marco Poisler, COO of global energy and capital projects at UTC Overseas; and Daniel Elliott, principal at GKG Law |

The transport of crucial project cargo bound for power generation facilities and renewable energy projects in the US could be stymied by a possible rail strike.

Energy projects

Legislation threatens US offshore wind ambitions

Janet Nodar, Senior Editor, Breakbulk and Heavy Lift |

Legislation now under consideration by a Senate committee could put the kibosh on the Biden administration’s ambitious plans to install 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030.

Energy projects

Carrier SAL orders up to six super-heavy MPVs

Keith Wallis, Special Correspondent |

SAL joins competitors AAL and UHL with firm orders for multipurpose newbuild vessels, even as charter rates soften a bit from their current high levels.

Breakbulk carriers

Short-term breakbulk pessimism offset by long-term rate strength

Keith Wallis, Special Correspondent |

Uncertainty and congestion are undermining market confidence, but MPV rates are expected to stay well above pre-pandemic levels, according to breakbulk analysts.

Breakbulk carriers

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