Container lines

The conflict could also spur increased spending on ports and landside infrastructure in the Middle East as investors seek to develop alternative transport solutions to avoid areas that have been closed or heavily impacted by the hostilities, executives said Thursday on a pair of webinars.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is revising the excess empty container fee in place since 2023 as off-dock depots become the focal point of trucker ire.

The varied strategies employed by ocean carriers to manage war-driven volatility in bunker fuel prices are delaying the completion of some 2026–27 service contract negotiations as the key May 1 date looms.

The new surcharges will be introduced immediately on cargo to and from specific locations in the Caribbean and South America before being progressively rolled out in other regions globally.

Hapag-Lloyd said the changes “reflect the consolidation of capacity into alternative services to ensure continued reliable coverage in the region.”

Some 320 gigawatts of new wind capacity are expected to be added worldwide between 2026 and 2030, comprising about 200 GW of onshore capacity and 123 GW offshore, according to a new report.

The ocean carrier said switching up Asia and US East Coast rotations on three trans-Pacific services will provide more reliability and consistency.

The Port of Khor Fakkan “offers a relatively stable operating environment and will serve as the primary discharge hub operations,” Premier Alliance member Yang Ming said in an advisory.

The alcoholic beverage industry is going through changes that are roiling demand forecasts, with a growing number of people drinking less than they were during the pandemic and different tastes apparent among young drinkers.

The agency said it will begin a non-adjudicatory probe into ocean carrier practices around shipping hazardous and radioactive goods out of the US, with a focus on packaging such shipments.

CMA CGM and MSC have repurposed some of their vessels for feeder and shuttle activity while they await the opportunity for safe passage out of the war zone, sources say.

Ocean carriers say there is still enough bunker fuel availability in general, but the different fuel types are unevenly distributed and affecting key refueling hubs in Asia, notably Singapore.

The deal is the latest in a growing trend by cash-rich carriers to develop terminals, particularly in Asia and especially in Vietnam, as they move to secure access at key regional ports to gain preferential berthing rights and minimize delays.

The three liners saw their first-quarter revenues come in between 9% and 21% lower than last year amid sharply softer rates on the key Asia-US and Asia-Europe trades.

Local BCOs are adopting a wait-and-watch strategy until there is greater clarity regarding cargo insurance costs and vessel passage through the Strait of Hormuz before committing to contract deals with carrier partners, sources say.

The doubling in bunker fuel prices in some key hubs since the war in the Middle East began six weeks ago is focusing industry attention on energy costs as supply scarcity worsens.

While the $4.2 billion transaction still requires approvals from the Israeli government, it points to an appetite for consolidation among carriers despite the lack of financial distress that accompanied earlier merger eras.

The start to the year was largely unaffected by the Middle East conflict, but the lagging effect of high bunker fuel prices will be felt from the second quarter onward.

Most of the increases represent a significant premium on current pricing levels, but it remains to be seen how sticky the aspirational rates will be with cargo markets also under pressure from high energy prices.

The carrier said the ships, with a combined value of up to $1.8 billion, will be deployed on Asia-Europe services as part of a strategic plan to increase the size of vessels serving that trade by 2030.

As part of the deal, Iran said it would allow shipping to resume through the strait with vessel passages coordinated by the Iranian military, but it has not yet issued any technical details.

The ocean carrier said it would no longer call Oakland on one of its trans-Pacific services, with another service into the Pacific Northwest dropping a Vietnam call.

The unanimous decision prevents the carrier from immediately implementing the fee, which is meant to help recoup fuel costs on US trades that have been driven higher due to the war with Iran.

The CMA CGM Kribi successfully transited the strait late Thursday, the first passage for a Western-operated container ship since the war between the US/Israel and Iran disrupted access to the crucial waterway five weeks ago.

The announcement comes as the Singapore-based regional carrier outlined a strategic restructuring of its overall operations, including scaling down trade coverage across its key intra-Asia trade territories.

The comments by the US Secretary of State heighten the Trump administration’s involvement a week after the top federal maritime regulator flagged the ship detentions.

With more than 50% of the city-state's bunker fuel imported via the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively closed since the war started on Feb. 28, suppliers are feeling the pinch.

The carrier is implementing a second surcharge on US trades to recoup higher operating costs driven by the war in the Middle East, and is asking maritime regulators for permission to levy the fee immediately.

The first vessel on the carrier’s Caribbean-North America service will call the port next week, offering Canadian exporters more transshipment options to other markets.

The decision to push back the late-April implementation is in response to industry appeals and the Middle East crisis, which has left Indian ports handling significant rerouted volumes of stranded Persian Gulf-bound containers.

With operations at Salalah suspended on Saturday due to a drone strike, Hapag-Lloyd has positioned its upcoming westbound sailing on the India-USEC “TPI” service to call at Port Qasim in Pakistan.

With big carriers “ferociously” integrating, those down the pecking order like smaller liners, neutral terminal operators and leasing companies have seen their market shrink and need to review strategy as a result, writes Jeremy Masters.

The ocean carrier is acquiring a 30% stake in a Hutchison-owned terminal operator that runs four terminals at the port in Thailand.

Forcing liners to wait for the 30-day notice period to end before implementing war-related surcharges reflects a multi-year ascendency of shipper influence in Washington and the corresponding decline in carrier heft, writes Peter Tirschwell.

The deals come as regional rate indexes are trending at multi-month highs for key markets including Southeast Asia, South Korea, Japan and China.

Several regional carriers, typically second- and third-rung players in the industry, have opened new dedicated shuttle services connecting Nhava Sheva and Mundra in India to the Middle East/Persian Gulf corridor.

Rolf Habben Jansen told reporters that most of the new costs were coming from rising bunker fuel prices, with other areas such as insurance, container storage and inland transportation adding millions of dollars to weekly expenses.

The French liner is implementing changes to its Epic and Medex services due to operational complications caused by the war in the Persian Gulf.

Stocks that were already in the fuel supply chain and en route to refueling hubs when the Middle East conflict started have now been delivered, and those ports are running down their inventories.

Ocean carriers have a stronger financial backstop than past downcycles after having retired significant debt and increasing their profitability in the last five years post-pandemic, writes Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi.