Maritime

Oil and gas supply chains are in jeopardy as the government of Equatorial Guinea announces that it plans to nationalize a major port asset owned by Netherlands-based UAL Group.

The Georgia Ports Authority is expanding the Port of Savannah’s Ocean Terminal to eventually grow its annual container capacity from 300,000 TEUs to 1.5 million TEUs.

The top end of the global 3PL sector is populated by companies that see a down market as a chance to focus on higher-yield customers and those that see a chance to build market share.

The port is struggling to relieve excessive rail container dwells on its docks caused by an unexpected jump in imports and what some stakeholders say is an inadequate supply of railcars.

Maersk is the first container line to publicly promote a direct pipeline of ocean freight to what’s known as Section 321 shipments, though the model has been used for years by freight forwarders.

Meeting interim emissions benchmarks will be increasingly difficult unless decisive policy action is taken, according to a new report from consultancy AlixPartners.

The acquisition will add significant volume of air and ocean cargo to the MSC subsidiary and extend its reach into European markets.

The letter is a further sign that the work of the non-profit carrier group has stalled at the adoption phase for its members.

But there remains significant horse trading ahead as IMO member states try to reach agreement on a fuel standard and a global greenhouse gas pricing measure that need to be decided on by next year and rolled out in 2027.

The legislation is an attempt to give federal maritime law more teeth to go after what its backers see as market manipulation and potential espionage from China.

The carrier said the restored TP20 service will offer “competitive” transit times just as shippers need to ensure products are in stock for spring and summer.

The carrier gave a highly uncertain outlook for the industry, outlining a litany of potential disruptors for 2024 that include Red Sea vessel diversions, high interest rates and geopolitical tensions.

The global forwarder is up for sale, and its high level of profitability during an otherwise challenging year for logistics could improve a selling price that analysts have already said could top $20 billion.

The purchase of an industrial site next to the terminal is part of Charleston’s plan to allow the facility to handle container ships that are double the size of the vessels it can currently accommodate.

The terminal operator said it hatched a new agreement with a Vietnamese logistics company that increases its involvement in developing an ultra-large container terminal in the country’s northern region.

As the market softens, carriers have jettisoned previously announced rate activity for March, with Mediterranean Shipping Co. canceling a $1,000-per-container general rate increase and CMA CGM again postponing a peak season surcharge.

The railroads say they are deploying more intermodal railcars to Los Angeles-Long Beach and adjusting their operations so marine terminals can clear out rail containers and reduce dwell times following strong import volumes early this year.

US imports from Asia last month were up 40% over February 2023, the biggest year-over-year jump for any month since May 2021.

The deaths of three bulk carrier crew in early March has spurred an international body representing seafarers to downgrade the busy shipping lanes from “high risk” to “warlike” and has urged all carriers to avoid sailing through the region.

Tougher environmental rules are expected to drive more MPV scrapping even as the order book expands thanks to new MPV and open-hatch ship orders.

This year’s annual service contract negotiations are occurring amid the latest disruption in container shipping as vessels divert away from the Red Sea and Suez Canal to avoid possible attacks by Houthi militants.

Longer voyages around Africa to avoid Red Sea attacks have naturally resulted in greater fuel consumption from vessels, but with Europe now charging carriers per ton of emissions, the cost implications are significant.

New orders for open-hatch multi-purpose ships, some of them heavy-lift capable, have increased the MPV fleet growth forecast by 3.5% through 2028.

The entry of Hede International in the eastbound trans-Pacific comes as US imports from Asia have been rising on a year-over-year basis since October.

Dubai continues to be one of the more popular destinations for European importers with time-sensitive cargo, with the airport able to covert ocean freight to air cargo in 24 hours.

The carrier grouping is untouched by the latest alliance changes roiling the container market and will assume its position as the largest global alliance early next year after 2M dissolves.

Billions of dollars in federal funds are available to scale up innovative green energy projects, once would-be developers make it through the DOE’s loan qualification process.

The “essential” designation request, which if granted would have barred workers from striking, comes as talks on a new contract have dragged on for seven months with no resolution.

But both carriers have seen a rebound in revenues for the first two months of 2024 amid the higher freight rates the market saw early this year.

Small shippers that have historically been out of reach for CMA CGM are being targeted through a loyalty program connected to the carrier’s online spot booking tool.

Hapag-Lloyd's CEO insists the total cost of the network will be lower because Gemini will be able to better utilize controlled assets and deliver more efficient cargo connections in the hub and spoke model.

The carrier, after steadily increasing its coverage on trade lanes between Asia and North and South America while building its fleet and volumes, aims to leverage that market strength into new slot-sharing agreements.

Brightening prospects of Asia import growth in the first half have pushed container lines to significantly increase Asia-US West Coast capacity, writes Journal of Commerce Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi.

The Israel-based carrier is expecting a significantly improved 2024 driven by a larger and more efficient fleet, new services and double-digit growth in volumes.

The ability of Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd to achieve unprecedented levels of on-time performance rests on core assumptions, among them their control of transshipment ports, consistently high levels of productivity at those ports and a reduction in the number of origin and destination ports.

Carrier rates for loads from West India to Europe and the Mediterranean have slid by double-digit percentages in the last week or so as trade flows settle into the new normal journey around southern Africa.

Seaboard is adding calls to Costa Rica and Panama, among other countries, as Central American economies look to source raw materials from the US.

The uncertain security situation in the Red Sea and the pending partnership between Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd were, not surprisingly, popular talking points outside the conference’s formal agenda, says Lars Jensen.

The port operator has grown its global forwarding footprint to 100 offices, using its network of terminals, warehouses, road and rail to provide greater visibility and control of shipments.

As the shock of diversions around southern Africa wears off and weekly schedules mostly return to normal, the spot rates that peaked in mid-January are falling fast.