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Freight Costs News

04 Mar 2024

Houthi Attacks Having Limited Impact on Israeli Trade, Prices - Ministry

Attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis on cargo ships in the Red Seas are having limited effect on trade to Israel and have not led to any significant inflationary pressures, Israel's Finance Ministry said in a report on Monday.Houthi militants have repeatedly launched drones and missiles against international commercial shipping in the Gulf of Aden since mid-November, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians against Israel's military actions in Gaza.Their Red Sea attacks have disrupted global shipping…

30 Jan 2024

Chevron Reroutes Kazakh Oil to Asia Around Africa

Chevron is sending cargoes of Kazakhstan's CPC Blend oil to Asia around Africa's Cape of Good Hope rather than via the Red Sea to avoid the risk of attacks by Yemen’s Houthis, according to three industry sources and LSEG ship-tracking data.The Iranian-aligned Houthis have stepped up attacks on shipping despite U.S.-led air strikes on the group's positions in Yemen, leading more vessels to avoid using the Red Sea and the Suez Canal - the shortest sea route between Europe and Asia.CPC Blend crude is loaded at the Russian Black Sea terminal of Yuzhnaya Ozereevka, near Novorossisk.

22 Jan 2024

Red Sea Shipping Attacks Pressure China's Exporters

© ABCDstock / Adobe Stock

For Chinese businessman Han Changming, disruptions to Red Sea freight are threatening the survival of his trading company in the eastern province of Fujian.Han, who exports Chinese-made cars to Africa and imports off-road vehicles from Europe, told Reuters the cost of shipping a container to Europe had surged to roughly $7,000 from $3,000 in December, when Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement escalated attacks on shipping."The disruptions have wiped out our already thin profits…

11 Dec 2023

Panama Canal Woes to Delay Grain Ships well into '24

Copyright searagen/AdobeStock

Bulk grain shippers hauling crops from the U.S. Gulf Coast export hub to Asia are sailing longer routes and paying higher freight costs to avoid vessel congestion and record-high transit fees in the drought-hit Panama Canal, traders and analysts said.The shipping snarl through one of the world's main maritime trade routes comes at the peak season for U.S. crop exports, and the higher costs are threatening to dent demand for U.S. corn and soy suppliers that have already ceded market share to Brazil in recent years.

10 Nov 2023

Baltic Index Logs Weekly Gain as Rates Across Vessels Rise

Credit: Kamchai/AdobeStock

The Baltic Exchange's dry bulk sea freight index rose on Friday, marking a weekly rise, steered by higher rates across vessel segments.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, rose 45 points, or 2.8%, to 1,643. The index added 12.4% this week.The capesize index added 103 points, or 4.1%, to 2,589, up 21.4% for the week. Average daily earnings for capesize vessels, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes carrying commodities such as iron ore and coal…

10 Nov 2023

Ukraine Corridor Freight Costs Up after Missile Attack, Brokers Say

Credit: olyasolodenko/AdobeStock

Freight costs for ships using Ukraine's alternative export corridor have risen following an attack on a cargo vessel in the Black Sea off Odesa, brokers said on Friday.Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday a Russian missile damaged a Liberia-flagged civilian ship entering a Black Sea port in the Odesa region, killing one person and injuring four others. The vessel was supposed to transport iron ore to China.Later, they said that the corridor was working despite the attack. "As a result of a Russian missile hitting a cargo ship...

02 Nov 2023

Israel's Ship Industry Urges Government to Help with Jump in War Insurance

© MagioreStockStudio / Adobe Stock

Ships sailing for Israel face a 10-fold jump in war risk premiums as the conflict in Gaza intensifies, prompting industry calls for the government to help ensure vital imports keep coming.Israel has vowed to annihilate Islamist group Hamas after its fighters stormed through Israeli towns from Gaza on Oct. 7, killing 1,400 people and seizing more than 220 hostages.Israeli forces have hit back with deadly air strikes and now a ground offensive on the narrow coastal strip, with growing fears the conflict could escalate and pull in the whole region.Israel…

26 Oct 2023

World's Ghost Fleet in Focus Over US Russian Price Cap Crackdown

Credit: komi$ar/AdobeStock

U.S. penalties on shippers transporting Russian oil in breach of the G7's price cap could push more Russian cargoes onto vessels referred to as the ghost fleet and away from mainstream tankers, shipping sources and analysts told Reuters.The cap bans Western companies from providing maritime services for Russian seaborne oil exports sold above $60 a barrel.It was designed to keep oil flowing to markets while reducing Russia's energy earnings that it can use to finance its war on Ukraine…

11 Oct 2023

Vessels Run Aground in the Rivers of the Drought-hit Amazon Region

© juerginho / Adobe Stock

A barge carrying three trucks and 2,000 empty cooking gas cylinders lies stranded on the vast sand banks of a diminished Rio Negro river after running aground last month, highlighting the plight of river transport in the Amazon region hit by severe drought.Officials warned that low river levels risk disrupting grains exports from nearby farm states. On the Madeira, they said barge routes used by grain firms such as Cargill, Bunge and Amaggi, are open but loads are being reduced as a precaution.Shipping and logistics group A.P.

29 Sep 2023

Mississippi River Near Historic Lows, Grain Exports at Risk

(Photo: Eric Haun)

A key stretch of the lower Mississippi River dropped this week to within inches of its lowest-ever level and is expected to remain near historic lows just as the busiest U.S. grain export season gets underway, according to the National Weather Service.Low water has slowed hauling of export-bound corn and soybean barges over recent weeks as shippers lightened loads to prevent vessels from running aground and reduced the number of barges they haul at one time to navigate a narrower shipping channel.The water woes come at the worst possible time for U.S.

12 Sep 2023

Panama Canal to Further Reduce Daily Transits if Drought Continues

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The Panama Canal could further reduce the maximum number of authorized daily vessel transits if this year's drought continues, the waterway's administrator said on Tuesday.A backlog of ships is waiting to pass through the trans-oceanic canal, which handles an estimated 5% of world trade. It began restricting vessel draft and daily passage authorizations this year to conserve water.Many vessels have had to lighten cargoes before passing, and freight costs have risen ahead of the Christmas shopping season.Up to 32 ships are currently authorized to transit every day…

06 Sep 2023

Panama Canal Water Levels at Historic Lows, Restrictions to Remain

© Arthur / Adobe Stock

The Panama Canal's water levels have not recovered enough as the end of the rainy season approaches and limits on daily transit and vessel draft will stay in place for the rest of the year and throughout 2024, the waterway's authority said on Tuesday.The restrictions, implemented earlier this year to conserve water amid prolonged drought, triggered a backlog of ships waiting to pass the key global waterway, which handles an estimated 5% of world trade, contributing to more expensive…

25 Aug 2023

Panama Canal to Extend Transit Restrictions

© searagen / Adobe Stock

The Panama Canal expects to maintain restrictions on daily vessel transit and maximum draft for at least 10 more months amid a prolonged drought that has lowered the water level, an official from the waterway said on Thursday.The canal's authority earlier this year began imposing restrictions, causing a backlog of vessels waiting to pass. The curbs have forced vessel owners to lighten cargoes or shift to alternate routes as freight costs increase for some routes.The extension of the restrictions would give the canal room for preserving water before the next rainy season arrives…

23 Aug 2023

Insurers Raise Premiums for Black Sea Tankers as Tensions Mount

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Insurance companies have notified charterers of ships operating in Russia's Black Sea ports of an increase in additional payments known as "war risk premiums", four traders said.A war risk premium was added to the common insurance costs for tankers last year after the start of Russia's military action in Ukraine, which Moscow calls a special military operation.Military actions in the Black Sea area of Russian and Ukrainian Black Sea ports have escalated since the grain export deal fell apart in mid-July.Most recently Russia reported several attacks at its Black Sea ports.

18 Apr 2023

India and China Snapping Up Russian Oil Above Price Cap

© moofushi / Adobe Stock

India and China have snapped up the vast majority of Russian oil so far in April at prices above the Western price cap of $60 per barrel, according to traders and Reuters calculations.That means the Kremlin is enjoying stronger revenues despite the West's attempts to curb funds for Russia's military operations in Ukraine.A G7 source told Reuters on Monday the Western price cap would remain unchanged for now, despite pressure from some European Union countries, such as Poland,…

05 Apr 2023

Russia Using Ship-to-ship Diesel Transfers for Transatlantic Exports

Russia has started to make ship-to-ship (STS) transfers of diesel near African ports as it seeks transatlantic sales, according to traders and Refinitiv Eikon data.A full EU embargo on Russian oil products on Feb. 5 has boosted Russian diesel exports to Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, with STS loadings in the Mediterranean helping to shorten eastern routes. Last month, Russia sent about 1.0 million tonnes of diesel to African countries, some of which could be re-exported, traders said."Some volumes could be blended and resold or transshipped to reduce freight costs on the long routes," one trader said.About 42,500 tonnes of diesel…

12 Jan 2023

Russian Oil Revenues Falling Because of Price Cap -US Official

© ROMAN DZIUBALO / Adobe Stock

Russian oil revenues are falling due to the price cap that Western countries imposed on its crude oil shipments and, ahead of further caps on Russia's oil products, Europe is well positioned to manage any price pressures, a U.S. Treasury official said on Wednesday.The Group of Seven countries, Australia and the European Union will extend sanctions on Russia for its war in Ukraine by putting a price cap on its oil products, such as gasoline and diesel, on Feb. 5. The coalition…

06 Jan 2023

Black Sea Shipping Rates Soar 20% as Reinsurers Cut Cover

Lifting cargo cranes, ships and grain dryer in Sea Port of Odessa, Black Sea, Ukraine. Copyright Oleksandra/AdobeStock

Costs for hiring ships to transport commodities from the Black Sea have risen by more than a fifth since the start of the year, reflecting higher war risk insurance rates, industry sources said.The Black Sea is crucial for the shipment of grain, oil and oil products. Its waters are shared by Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania and Turkey, as well as Russia and Ukraine. Since Jan. 1, when policies are renewed, reinsurers that provide financial protection for insurance companies have added exclusions for ships and planes for Belarus…

26 Oct 2022

LNG Ships Play Waiting Game Off Spain's Coast as Higher Prices Eyed

Several ships carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) anchored off Spain's Bay of Cadiz are likely to stay there until late November in anticipation of a rise in European gas prices, industry sources said.Dozens of ships have been circling off the Iberian coast and in the Mediterranean sea for weeks, unable to secure slots to unload their LNG cargoes as plants that convert the superchilled fuel back to gas are operating at maximum capacity.The high volume of LNG in floating storage exposes Europe's lack of "regasification" capacity just as the continent stocks up for a winter of substantially less Russian pipeline gas.But industry sources say some of the waiting ships are part of a trading strategy from their respective companies…

21 Oct 2022

New Lock at the Soo: Unlocking the Great Lakes

(Image: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District works on unlocking the Great Lakes by providing a much-needed resiliency at the Soo Locks with the construction of the New Lock at the Soo. The New Lock at the Soo will be the same dimensions as the Poe Lock, 1,200 feet long, 110 feet wide and 30 feet deep.Often called the “linchpin” of the Great Lakes navigation system, the Soo Locks are located in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan between the upper Peninsula of Michigan and the Canadian province of Ontario. The Soo Locks enable bulk carrier vessels to safely bypass the swift-moving St.

29 Sep 2022

Rain Lifts Rhine Water Levels, Helps Cool Off Cargo Rates

© Fokke Baarssen / Adobe Stock

Water levels on the river Rhine in Germany have risen sharply after rain this week, approaching normal levels and helping cool off cargo shipping rates, vessel brokers and commodity traders said on Thursday.Prices for cargo shipping are falling as vessels are able to load more freight, they said.Spot prices for a liquid tanker barge from Rotterdam to Karlsruhe south of Kaub were at about 55 euros a tonne on Thursday, down from about 68 euros last week and peaks of about 118 in August…

23 Sep 2022

Depleted Rhine Water Level in Germany Holds Above Crisis Lows

© EdNurg / Adobe Stock

Water depths on the river Rhine in Germany have fallen after dry weather this week but remain well above the crisis lows of this summer, vessel brokers and commodity traders said on Friday.Rain is expected in south German river catchment areas over the weekend and next week, which is expected to raise water levels again, they said.Weeks of high temperatures and scant rainfall in August had reduced the commercial artery's water levels, causing delays to shipping and pushing up freight costs. There were fears disruption could even hit overall German economic growth.

19 Sep 2022

Rhine Water Levels in Germany Approaching Normal Depths

© Margarita / Adobe Stock

Water depths on the Rhine River in Germany have risen thanks to recent rain and are approaching normal levels after falling this summer to lows that disrupted transportation, vessel brokers and commodity traders said on Monday.But, since dry weather was forecast for much of this week, levels could fall again and the picture had not yet normalized, brokers said.The Rhine is an important shipping route for such commodities as grains, minerals, coal and oil products, including heating oil.Weeks of high temperatures and scant rainfall in August lowered water levels in the river…

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