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Far East News

11 Mar 2024

Yang Ming Starts Using Biofuel

Source: Yang Ming

Yang Ming Marine Transport is adopting sustainable biofuel for its fleet, starting at Hong Kong and Singapore, and will now incorporate biofuel into its annual fuel consumption on an on-going basis.The adoption of biofuel began with Yang Ming’s 1,805 TEU class container ship, YM Inception, and 6,600 TEU class container ship, YM Masculinity. These vessels are currently deployed on the Japan to/from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Thailand service and the Far East to/from Middle East service…

10 Mar 2024

Sleepy Week for Ship Recyclers

Source: GMS

Even though the Indian sub-continent ship recycling markets have taken on a collection of smaller vessels of late, the week remains “sleepy” says cash buyer GMS.Virtually no deals have been concluded, and this has put the squeeze on the global ship recycling sector.“Dry bulk charter rates have been pushing on by the week as ship owners monetize the most from this sector. Containers and tankers too remain oddly off the recycling buffet, and this in turn is driving the ongoing dearth of viable candidates into overdrive…

16 Feb 2024

Red Sea: Far East-US Spiraling Ocean Freight Rates Set for Decline

© MAGNIFIER / Adobe Stock

Spiraling ocean freight rates from the Far East to the United States, caused by the Red Sea crisis, may have peaked, with some relief on the horizon emerging for the shippers, according to the latest analysis from Xeneta, and ocean and air freight rate benchmarking and market analytics platform.The latest data released by Xeneta indicates a peak may have been reached after spot rates from the Far East into the US declined slightly since the last round of General Rate Increases (GRIs) were implemented at the start of February.Into the US East Coast…

12 Jan 2024

As Missiles Soar, Freight Rates Soar, too

Peter Sand, Chief Analyst, Xeneta. Image courtesy Xeneta

Missile strikes by the US and UK against Houthi militia in Yemen has brought heightened tensions across the region with disruption to ocean freight shipping set to deteriorate further.At approximately 2.30am (Sanaa/Red Sea time) today, Friday, the US and UK military carried out air strikes on targets in Yemen in response to Houthi militia attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea, which have totalled 27 since November 19.“We want to see safe, risk-free voyages through the area for vessels and the situation must calm down for that to happen," said Peter Sand, Chief Analyst, Xeneta.

28 Dec 2023

Red Sea Shipping Workarounds Add Costs, Delays for Suppliers

© EvrenKalinbacak / Adobe Stock

Toymaker Basic Fun's team that oversees ocean shipments of Tonka trucks and Care Bears for Walmart and other retailers is racing to reroute cargo away from the Suez Canal following militant attacks on vessels in the Red Sea.Suppliers for the likes of IKEA, Home Depot, Amazon and retailers around the world are doing the same as businesses grapple with the biggest shipping upheaval since the COVID-19 pandemic threw global supply chains into disarray, sources in the logistics industry said.Florida-based Basic Fun usually ships all Europe-bound toys from its China factories via the Suez Canal…

19 Dec 2023

Markets Spike Following Houthi Attacks on Shipping

© Dragoș Asaftei / Adobe Stock

Continued missile attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea have plunged supply chains into chaos, and consumers around the world will have to pay the price, according to Xeneta.Latest data from the industry analyst shows spot rates in the ocean freight shipping market spiked by 20% since Friday after major shipping liner companies such as Hapag Lloyd, MSC and Maersk announced they are avoiding the Red Sea amid the attacks by Houthi militia.Xeneta chief analyst Peter Sand said…

21 Nov 2023

Shipbuilder Diverse Marine Launches Client Finance and Lease Program

(Image: Diverse Marine)

U.K. shipbuilder Diverse Marine has introduced its own finance and lease program designed initially for the financed construction of offshore wind crew transfer vessels (CTV).Funding for offshore wind CTVs has been challenging, and the company said it has observed over the last 24 months pressures felt by clients and vessel owners trying to justify builds in the U.K., with conventional vessel procurement methods uncompetitive against yards in Europe, Scandinavia and the Far East…

09 Nov 2023

World's First: Japanese Firms to Looking to Build Sustainable Bulk Carriers for Copper Transport from Chile

Signing ceremony
First from left, Masashi Suda, President, NBP
Second from left, Koichi Kawamura, Director, OSHIMA
Third from left, Norihiko Nonaka, Managing Executive Officer, SUMITOMO
Fourth from left, Máximo Pacheco, Chairman of the Board, CODELCO - Credit: NYK Lines

Japan's NYK Line said Thursday its NYK Bulk & Project Carriers Ltd. (NBP), Oshima Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (OSHIMA), and Sumitomo Corporation (SUMITOMO) had signed a memorandum of understanding to study, design, and construct the world’s first Handymax bulk carrier (ammonia dual fuel type) dedicated to the transport of copper products, that will reduce CO2 emissions to zero.The MoU signing comes just a year after Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile (CODELCO), a Chilean state-owned company and one of the world's leading copper producers, and NYK Bulk & Project Carriers Ltd.

08 Nov 2023

Varamar, COSCO Shipping Enter Strategic Commercial Partnership

Credit: Varamar

Varamar DMCC has entered into a strategic commercial partnership with ASL Shipping & Logistics Pvt Ltd, a COSCO Shipping Group company,  with the aim of helping both companies to strengthen their respective trades.Varamar, a liner and tramp carrier that specializes in breakbulk, dry-bulk, oversized, and containerized cargo, has historically focused on trade lanes connecting Europe with the Middle East, Asia, and the Far East, while also trading to Africa and the Americas. The recent expansion of Varamar to 10 international branches…

30 Oct 2023

Shapoorji Pallonji Energy Secures ABS AiP for Next-Gen FPSO Hull Design

Credit: Shapoorji Pallonji Energy Pvt Ltd

Shapoorji Pallonji Energy Pvt Ltd (SP Energy) said Monday it had obtained a Class Approval-in-Principle for the Concept and Design Basis of its FPSO Newbuild Hull from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS). SP Energy has been working on the concept design of ‘STERLING STREAMLINE’, described as a new generation of its standardized newbuild hull concept design for large FPSOs, since July this year. According to SP Energy, the new FPSO hull will be designed for a circa 33-year lifespan with a topside capacity of up to 65,000 MT of wet weight.

31 May 2023

Container Shipping Rate Collapse Continues

Copyright AdobeStock/fotofox33

The ocean freight industry saw a slump in global long-term rates of unprecedented proportions in May, as the contracted cost of shipping containers fell by 27.5%. The development, detailed by Xeneta’s Shipping Index (XSI), marks the ninth consecutive month of rates drops, and is the largest ever monthly fall recorded on the XSI.“If industry observers were left wondering just how bad it could get for carriers after the 10% fall in long-term rates seen in April, here’s the answer,” said Patrik Berglund, CEO of Oslo-based Xeneta.

23 Oct 2023

Container Shippers in Store for Stormy 2024 - Xeneta

© TIMDAVIDCOLLECTION / Adobe Stock

Supply chains around the world could be at serious risk amid expected increases in the cost of ocean freight shipping during 2024.Oslo-based Xeneta has carried out in-depth analysis of the latest ocean freight rates and branded the current market as unsustainable.Xeneta CEO Patrik Berglund said: “The cost of moving goods by sea has plummeted during 2023 by almost 60% for long term contracts on a global level and some corridors, such as the Transatlantic into US East Coast and Far East to Europe…

18 Jul 2023

Container Industry Emissions Fall

Source: Yang Ming

The latest industry analysis from Xeneta shows that CO2 emissions from the container industry fell during the first quarter of 2023 across 10 of the world’s busiest 13 ocean freight lanes.According to the Carbon Emissions Index (CEI), a unique environmental benchmarking tool from Xeneta and Marine Benchmark, the trade corridor making the biggest emissions inroads was the US West Coast to the Far East lane, while Yang Ming emerged as the industry’s ‘emissions hero’ for the second consecutive quarter.The CEI is built on a foundation of real-time AIS data and individual vessel specifications…

31 Jul 2023

Container Rate Collapse Deepens as New Capacity Enters the Market

Copyright eyewave/AdobeStock

According to Xeneta’s Shipping Index (XSI), global long-term shipping rates sank to a two-year low in July, falling 9.5% since June, plummetting 57.8% since the same period in 2022. And just as rates hit a fresh low, the bad news for carriers could continue for some time as June saw the highest ever monthly deliveries of new ships, with more than 300,000 TEU of capacity from a total of 40 new ships added to the market. In the first six months of the year, a total of 990,000 TEU was delivered…

06 Sep 2023

Russia In Talks with China, India to Develop More Ice-class Vessels

© owr / Adobe Stock

Russia must boost production facilities for the construction of ice-breaking vessels in order to meet its targets for increasing trade via the Northern Sea route, Moscow's official in charge of Arctic development has said.The government has been in talks with India and China on such projects, Alexei Chekunkov, the head of Russia's Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic, told RBC media.Russia has long viewed the route, which runs from Murmansk near Russia's border with Norway eastwards to the Bering Strait near Alaska…

02 Aug 2023

Mixed Fortunes on Far East to Europe Trades

© moofushi / Adobe Stock

With the peak ocean freight cargo season approaching, the latest data from Oslo-based Xeneta shows mixed fortunes, and outlooks, for the two main Far East to Europe trade corridors.Xeneta’s analysis reveals that shippers opting for the Far East – Mediterranean route are currently paying a spot rate premium compared to those choosing a North European option. There are also clear implications for long-term contracts, explains Peter Sand, Chief Analyst at Xeneta, across two very similar routes…

13 Sep 2023

India, Russia to Widen Maritime Cooperation

© Raja Stills / Adobe Stock

India and Russia will explore the possibility of using new transport corridors such as the Northern Sea Route and Eastern Maritime Corridor between Vladivostok and Chennai to widen maritime cooperation, the Indian government said on Wednesday.A decision to work towards this was made during a meeting between India's Ports, Shipping and Waterways minister, Sarbananda Sonowal, and Russia's Development of the Far East and Arctic minister, A.O.

11 Jul 2023

Cheniere Shunning Panama Canal for Longer LNG Routes to Asia

© Igor Groshev / Adobe Stock

Top U.S. LNG exporter Cheniere Energy LNG.A is shunning the Panama Canal to transport liquefied natural gas to Asia because the market is not supporting use of the waterway, said Chief Operating Officer Corey Grindal on Monday.The Panama Canal historically has been used by U.S Gulf Coast LNG exporters to send LNG to Asian customers via the Pacific Ocean. But a months-long drought has led to delays and depth restrictions for the largest ships accessing the canal."We use the canal when it is economical to do so, right now it is not.

27 Apr 2023

Ship Insurers Warn of Russian Oil Price Cap Evasion, Risks of 'Dark Fleet'

© momentscatcher / Adobe Stock

A rise in spot prices for Russian crude oil to above the $60 per barrel cap imposed by western powers has made ship insurers even more nervous of running foul of the rules as they are unable to independently track the value of cargoes, executives said.To curb Moscow's oil revenues following the Ukraine war, the Group of Seven Nations, the European Union and Australia imposed price caps on Russian crude and oil products from December and February, respectively.So long as the prices do not exceed capped levels…

29 Jun 2023

Long-Term Container Rates Fall (again)

Patrik Berglund, CEO, Xeneta

The beleaguered carrier industry took another major hit in June, with the latest data from Xeneta’s Shipping Index (XSI) showing a decline of 9.4% in global long-term shipping rates. Following on the heels of a 27.5% collapse in May, and a 10.3% fall in April, contracted rates have now shed 47.2% of their value in the last three months alone, and 51.7% over the course of 2023.Xeneta’s data shows falls in the prices of valid long-term contracts across all key trading corridors…

12 Jul 2023

Suez Canal Offers New Rebates for LNG Carriers

© Mariusz / Adobe Stock

The Suez Canal Authority has announced rebates for LNG carriers effective from July 1, 2023.Circular no. (7/2017) concerning LNG carriers (laden/ballast) has been amended as follows:LNG carriers (laden/ballast) operating between the American Gulf (and ports south) and areas in Asia will be granted rebates:a) Arabian Gulf ports (ports within the Arabian Gulf starting from Sur port, Oman) and eastern ports up to Cochin in India will be granted a rebate of 30% off normal Suez Canal…

21 Aug 2023

Lethargy Continues in Ship Recycling Market

© Nightman1965 / Adobe Stock

The lethargy in subcontinent recycling markets continues for another week as owners and cash buyers continue to offload tonnage at spiralling prices, chasing down rates seemingly by the day, reports GMS.“We have seen prices decline from over USD 600/LT LDT earlier this year, to seeing several standard (albeit poor condition) dry bulk sales below USD 500/LDT recently.”Therefore, a fall of over USD 100/LDT has been realized in recycling markets since the start of the summer and the problems persist of strained lines of credit and lack of financing…

03 Oct 2023

Hapag-Lloyd Welcomes "Berlin Express" - the First of its Hamburg Express Class Ships

Credit: Hapag-Lloyd

German container shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd on Monday welcomed into its fleet the “Berlin Express”, the first ship of its new Hamburg Express class. At an event attended by some 300 guests from business and politics, naming patron Elke Büdenbender performed the ceremonial christening of the ship at the Container Terminal Burchardkai (Athabaskakai) in the Port of Hamburg. Among the guests were Peter Tschentscher, the First Mayor of Hamburg, and Daniel Günther, the Minister President…

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