Container Shipping News

German ocean carrier Hapag-Lloyd will increase rates by $500 per 20-foot-equivalent unit on its trade route from East Asia to Mexico and the west coasts of Central America and South America...

Liu Hanbo, president of Cosco Americas, has announced two appointments within management of both Cosco Container Lines Americas and its parent company Cosco Americas.

Last year’s drought in the Midwest, the worst since 1956, slowed U.S. agricultural exports, but the farm sector in 2012 still was on pace to set a second consecutive record in terms of total value of exports.

Danaos booked a $129.6 million impairment loss on 13 older container ships which are laid-up or on short term charter in the fourth quarter of 2012, but the Greek shipowner closed the year with sharply higher operating revenues.

CMA CGM announced today it has finalized a debt restructuring agreement with its banks that will stabilize its financial position and ease the way to an initial public offering of the world’s third-largest ocean container carrier.

Zim Integrated Shipping Services will restructure its network this month, to enhance the carrier’s Asia to east Mediterranean and Black Sea service.

Hapag-Lloyd will launch the Finland Express, a fixed-day, weekly service connecting German hubs with ports in the Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Bothnia.

Maersk Line has announced that Lucas Vos, the ocean carrier’s chief commercial officer, will leave his position as head of the commercial part of the business and as member of...

OOCL will increase freight rates for westbound traffic from Asia to Europe by $700 per 20-foot-equivalent unit, effective March 15.

The United States Department of Agriculture has announced that the theme of its Agricultural Outlook Forum on Feb. 21 and 22 will center on managing risk in today’s markets.

“K” Line, Shell, BP, Maersk, Stena, NYK and MOL are jointly collaborating with the United Nations Development Programme to support capacity building projects and job creation in Somalia.

Hapag-Lloyd has revised its South/West Africa Service’s port rotation to resume weekly calls to Cotonou, Benin, starting on westbound MED voyage 1302W, departing from Asia by March 9.

Several Illinois Soybean Association directors and staff recently traveled to Asia to promote the state’s transportation system and discuss ways to improve shipping soybean exports.

Global Port Tracker projects an 8.5 percent surge in containerized imports this month over February 2012 despite uncertainties surrounding labor negotiations on both the East and West coasts and a decline in fourth quarter 2012 gross domestic product.

Ocean carrier Hamburg Sud has announced a general rate increase for all cargo from West Coast ports in the U.S. and Canada to North Europe, effective March 15.

Ship and container performance indicators showed “significant” quarter-on-quarter increases in reliability in the fourth quarter of 2012, according to Drewry Maritime Research’s recently published quarterly report.

The Coalition of Gulf Shrimp Industries, an industry group of U.S. commercial shrimp fishermen, asked two government entities to impose import sanctions on shrimp imports from seven countries — Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam — arguing they give billions of dollars in subsidies to their domestic industries each year.

Container shipping is holding its collective breath as Hapag-Lloyd and Hamburg Sud negotiate the terms of a merger that could unleash far-reaching changes across the industry.

Matson, a U.S. carrier in the Pacific, reported net income in the fourth quarter of 2012 was $15.6 million, compared with $1.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2011.

MOL will launch its new China-Middle East Express service, departing from Ningbo, China, on March 11.

“K” Line (India), “K” Line’s subsidiary in India, has launched a new transportation service with a triple-decker motorcycle carrier from the distribution center of a motorcycle manufacturer in the Delhi area to its domestic depot.

Damen Shipyards Bergum, a subsidiary of Damen Shipyards Group, has delivered the Hoogvliet, a Damen Combi Freighter 3850, to Hartel Shipping and Hudig & Veder.

Container shipping company APL has appointed Peter Jongepier as regional president of its business in Europe.

Cheng Lie Navigation, CMA CGM’s intra-Asia carrier, will launch a new intra-Asia service this month from Ningbo, China; Shanghai; and Xiamen, China, to Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia.

The Los Angeles Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association, which represents licensed U.S. customs brokers, freight forwarders and non-vessel-operating common carriers and firms in Southern California...

Emirates Shipping Line today announced a general rate increase on its trade route from the Far East and Southeast Asia to the Middle East, effective March 15.

Zhang Yuangzhong, a lawyer in Beijing, is leading a shareholders’ revolt against China Cosco Holdings, a subsidiary of Cosco Group, in order to get rid of Wei Jiafu, the maritime group’s chairman.

Hapag-Lloyd has announced changes in port rotation for its WAS and WAN services between the U.S. West Coast and Australasia.

Fesco Transportation Group’s ocean carrier saw its deep-sea container traffic grow 14.1 percent in 2012 compared to 2011, driven by expansion of its liner network in its domestic Russian market and international routes.

German ocean carrier Hapag-Lloyd has announced that it will offer two new services, the North China India Service and the Central China India Service, starting in March.

Maersk Line’s Emma Maersk, which took on water while transiting the Suez Canal on Friday, Feb. 1, faces a lengthy period out of service.

Crowley Maritime and Customized Brokers, the company’s Miami-based customs brokerage company, have opened a new cold storage warehouse facility in Miami.

Ocean container carrier Mediterranean Shipping Company will increase rates on its trade route from Canada, the U.S. and Mexico to North Europe and west Mediterranean, including Israel, effective March 15.