Container lines

Members of the G6 Alliance have canceled two voyages scheduled for early October, as a result of vessel maintenance and a national holiday week in China.

The U.S. Merchant Marine could lose up to 15 vessels, dealing a blow to mariners who operate the vessels, if federal sequestration cuts take effect next year, according to a maritime trade union.

The U.S. trade deficit in goods expanded to $58.6 billion in July, up $4.5 billion from June, as exports fell by $1.1 billion to $132.7 billion and imports rose $3.4 billion to $191.3 billion.

Hyundai Merchant Marine said it expects to return to profitability after a long interval of operating losses.

Canada’s merchandise exports in July slid 0.6 percent month-to-month, while imports inched up 0.6 percent, resulting in a trade deficit of C$931 million (about US$887.3 million)...

Firefighters today extinguished a fire aboard the Maersk Kampala which broke out on Thursday as the container ship was preparing to transit the Suez Canal en route to Europe.

“K” Line and two shipbuilding companies, Shin Kurushima Dockyard and Japan Marine United, have reached agreements to build four new car carrier vessels.

After a strong start in the first quarter, container volumes in the trans-Atlantic trade have declined, and average vessel utilization has dropped sharply, eroding freight rates.

Firefighting tugs early Monday were making progress toward extinguishing a blaze on the Maersk Kampala, five days after fire broke out in a container in the ship’s forward bay as it steamed toward the Suez Canal, Maersk Line said.

The container ship Cosco Asia was attacked while it passed through the Suez Canal on Aug. 31.

Shreyas Shipping and Logistics, India’s leading feeder operator, has started a fortnightly coastal container service linking DP World’s Vallarpadam Transshipment Terminal at Cochin with major ports on the east coast.

China Shipping Container Lines’ loss shrank 1.8 percent year-over-year, to RMB 1.3 billion (approximately US$205.6 million), in the first half of 2013.

The Maersk Kampala, adrift south of the Suez Canal, for a third day was still fighting a fire that broke out in two containers in the foremost bays on its deck.

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.