Container lines

Mega-ships are both bane and opportunity for container lines, reducing per-container costs while simultaneously fueling overcapacity that puts pressure on freight rates.

U.S. containerized exports fell 6.1 percent year-over-year in June, to 925,043 20-foot-equivalent units, according to preliminary figures from PIERS, a JOC sister company.

United Arab Shipping Co. has placed a $1.4 billion order for five 18,000-TEU container ships and five 14,000-TEU vessels with South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries.

Maersk Line said Thursday that the Maersk Kampala was fighting a fire in two containers within the foremost bays on deck.

Cosco Container Lines reported a loss of $366 million for the first half of 2013, China Cosco Holdings Co. said in a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange Thursday.

Zim Integrated Shipping Services reported a $72 million net loss for its second quarter, up from a $47 million loss in the same period of 2012, but an improvement on the $110 million deficit in the 2013 first quarter.

CMA CGM’s second quarter net income jumped to $268 million from $169 million a year ago, mainly because of the sale of a large minority stake in its ports unit.

Maersk Line and its intra-Europe subsidiary SeaGo Line said they will not accept cargo to or from Iceland beginning Oct. 1.

Drewry Maritime Research is taking a negative view of the outlook for publicly traded Korean container shipping lines.

Sluggish volume on all-water routes between Asia and the East Coast of North America “does not bode well for this year’s peak season” and may force carriers to cancel sailings later this year, Drewry Maritime Research warned in its current Container Insight Weekly.

Shipping Corporation of India has announced a general rate increase in its westbound trade from the Indian subcontinent to Europe, starting Sept. 1.

Hamburg Süd has christened a ship in the U.S. for the first time in the company’s history.

The crisis engulfing German owners of container ships deepened with reports that Ahrenkiel, a leading charter operator, is being pressed by its bankers to put itself up for sale.

U.S. Sen. David Vitter, R-La., the ranking member of the Committee on Environment and Public Works, along with industry and Louisiana transportation officials...

The naming ceremony for Evergreen Group’s first L-type container ship, the Ever Living, was held at China Shipbuilding Corporation’s Kaohsiung shipyard in Taiwan today.

DFDS’s operating profit grew 5 percent in the second quarter from a year ago, as a rebound in traffic on key North Sea routes offset a slowdown in Russian shipments and increased competition on the English Channel.

Zim Integrated Shipping Services has launched a new Florida Central America service connecting Miami; Santo Tomas de Castilla, Guatemala; and Puerto Cortes, Honduras.

Bahri, the National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia, has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Saudi Aramco and Sembcorp Marine to prepare a feasibility study for the development of a maritime yard in Saudi Arabia.

Yang Ming Line plans to upgrade its intra-Asia service network by joining the China-India Express Service operated by a consortium of Evergreen Line, “K” Line, Hapag-Lloyd and Simatech Shipping.

Compañía Sud Americana de Vapores said it hopes to raise $330 million, compared with its initial goal of $500 million, in a share offering that will run until Sept. 18.

Clarksons, the world’s biggest shipbroker and shipping services group, posted stagnant profits and revenues for the first half of the year amid depressed markets in most shipping sectors.

The Navios Group has announced the formation of Navios Europe as the next step in concluding its letter of intent signed with HSH Nordbank in April 2013.

Regional Container Lines’ board of directors has appointed Jamlong Atikul as chairman.

Japan’s exports to the United States rose for the seventh straight month in July on a year-on-year basis, surging 18.4 percent to ¥1.106 trillion ($11.3 billion), according to preliminary figures released by the Finance Ministry on Aug 19.

After contracting in June, total exports from Asia last month accelerated, and double-digit growth is likely in the months ahead, according to analysis by Nomura.

Cash-strapped container carriers are retreating to port-to-port operations from door-to-door services, allowing freight forwarders to increase their ocean market share, according to industry consultant Drewry.

The United Nations Security Council has called for a comprehensive regional approach to combat the threat of piracy and armed robbery at sea in the Gulf of Guinea.

Major container lines have announced rate increases for a variety of trades, as detailed below, slated to take effect in August, September and October.

Maersk Line almost doubled its second quarter profit as above-target cost cuts, buoyed by lower fuel prices, more than offset sluggish growth in container volumes and a double-digit decline in freight rates.

The intra-Asia, Thailand-based carrier Regional Container Lines reported a net loss of 132 million Thai bahts (about US$4.2 million) in the second quarter of 2013...

Pacific International Lines has revised the port rotation for its China Transpacific Service, which connects the U.S. West Coast, Oceania and Asia.

Compañía Sud Americana de Vapores has approved the sale of two 6,500 20-foot-equivalent unit ships, in line with the Chilean carrier’s strategy of having larger and more efficient ships.

The world’s fleet of operationally leased containers rose annually by almost 11 percent throughout 2011 and 2012, according to a “Container Leasing 2013/14” report published by Drewry Maritime Research.

Hapag-Lloyd Holding will merge with the Hapag-Lloyd parent corporation, effective retrospectively from Jan. 1, 2013.

Shipping Corporation of India reported its net loss in the first fiscal quarter, which ended June 30, widened to $16.2 million from $9 million a year earlier, as operating income and profit from disposal of ships declined sharply in a tight global shipping market.

The National Industrial Transportation League is asking the federal government to find out how China’s recently implemented value-added tax on freight transportation relates to international cargo movements.

Maersk Line has revised its South Atlantic Express service.

Maersk Line has announced general rate increases of between $400 and $500 to transport a 20-foot container from Asia to northern Europe and the Mediterranean, effective Sept. 1.

China has begun its first commercial transit of the Northeast Passage, with the Yong Sheng, a 19,000-ton multipurpose cargo ship, heading for Russia’s Arctic waterway en route from Dalian to Rotterdam.