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Tuesday, March 19, 2024
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Freight In News

17 Mar 2024

Ferry Destined for Scottish Islands Launched by Cemre

The MV Isle of Islay, the first of two vessels to serve the islands of Islay and Jura in Scotland, has been launched at Cemre Marin Endustri shipyard in Turkey.The vessel, which is one of four ferries being built at the yard, marks a significant milestone in Caledonian Maritime Assets Limitedā€™s (CMAL) commitment to delivering new ferries to serve the Scottish islands.Scheduled for delivery in October 2024, the vessel will have capacity for up to 450 passengers and 100 cars, or 14 commercial vehicles.

17 Mar 2024

Mexico Could be Back Door for Chinese Imports into US

Ā© EvrenKalinbacak / Adobe Stock

Growth in demand for container shipping imports from China into Mexico in January 2024 increased by 60% compared to 12 months ago, further fuelling suspicions it has become a back door into the US.According to analysts at Xeneta, 117,000 TEU was shipped in January of this year compared to 73,000 TEU in January 2023 (source: Container Trades Statistics).Annual growth in container shipping between China and Mexico had already increased by 34.8% in 2023 compared to just 3.5% in 2022.Peter Sandā€¦

14 Mar 2024

Hapag-Lloyd to Seek Cost Cuts After Net Profit Slump

Ā© olrat / Adobe Stock

German container shipper Hapag-Lloyd said on Thursday the global oversupply of container ships and a crisis in the Red Sea will force it to cut costs in 2024, adapting sailings and ports following a bruising 83% fall in net profit.Ship operators face prolonged disruption while Yemen-based Houthi militants are attacking vessels travelling on one of the world's busiest routes, wiping out the benefit from higher freight rates with costly redirections around Africa.Hapag-Lloyd's problems chime with those of competitors such as Maersk and CMA CGM, exacerbated by the arrival of additional ships orde

13 Mar 2024

Zim Reports Fourth Quarter Loss

Ā© Dmitry Pistrov / Adobe Stock

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services has announced consolidated results for the three and 12 months ended December 31, 2023, noting a net loss for the fourth quarter of $147 million (compared to a net profit of $417 million in the fourth quarter of 2022).The net loss for the full year, including a $2.06 billion non-cash impairment loss, was $2.69 billion (compared to a net profit of $4.63 billion for the full year of 2022).Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter was $190 million, a year-over-year decrease of 80%.

13 Mar 2024

MARAD Announces $500 Million in Funding for Port Infrastructure

Ā© trekandphoto / Adobe Stock

As a part of President Bidenā€™s Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Department of Transportationā€™s Maritime Administration (MARAD) published a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for $500 million in Federal Fiscal Year 2024 funding through MARADā€™s Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP).Investments made under the PIDP focus on modernizing the Nationā€™s coastal and inland waterway ports as well as strengthening its supply chains and economic security for generations to come.

07 Mar 2024

Sharp Uptick Seen in Crude Tanker Ordering

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Contracting activity for for crude tanker newbuilding has risen sharply to start 2024, driven by a steep rise in orders for very large crude carriers (VLCC), according to shipping organization BIMCO.In the first two months of 2024, crude tanker newbuild contracting surged to 7.4 m DWT, a 490% leap y/y. Notably, the 19 VLCCs ordered in January and February is more than was ordered for the entirety of 2023.Freight rates for crude tankers spiked at the start of the war in Ukraine, and they have largely stayed strong since, said Filipe Gouveia, shipping analyst at BIMCO.

06 Mar 2024

US Container Shippers Slow Walk New Contracts, Eye Easing of Red Sea Rate Hikes

Ā© Mariusz / Adobe Stock

U.S. importers are playing the waiting game with new container shipping contracts, gambling the rate spike from Red Sea vessel attacks will fade and put them in a stronger negotiating position, shipping industry analysts said.Iran-aligned Houthi missile and drone attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea have forced most container carriers to reroute vessels around Africa and sent spot rates soaring.That price shock is a "gift" that carriers will be giving back when the assaults stopā€¦

05 Mar 2024

Egypt's Non-oil Business Sector Hurt by Suez Canal Disruption

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A downturn in Egypt's private sector activity deepened in February as a drop in Suez Canal freight due to attacks on shipping in the Red Sea worsened a long-running foreign currency shortage, a survey showed on Tuesday.The S&P Global Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for Egypt slipped to 47.1 in February from 48.1 in January, remaining below the 50.0 threshold that separates growth from contraction for a 39th consecutive month.The overall index reading was the lowest for 11 monthsā€¦

05 Mar 2024

Baltic Dry Index Ticks Down as Capesize Losses Offset Gains in Smaller Vessels

Ā© Daniel / Adobe Stock

The Baltic Exchange's dry bulk sea freight snapped a 12-session winning streak on Tuesday, as pressure from lower capesize rates outweighed gains in smaller vessel segments.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, was down 0.3% at 2,291 points.The capesize index .BACI snapped its nine-session rising streak, shedding 57 points, or 1.4%, to 4,148.Average daily earnings for capesize vessels, which typically transport 150,000-ton cargoes such as iron ore and coalā€¦

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 shippingā€¦

03 Mar 2024

Recycling Market Still Deprived of Tonnage

Source: GMS

As freight markets push further on, global ship recycling markets remain deprived of tonnage, making it an increasingly suffocating environment for ship recyclers to operate in, reports cash buyer GMS.Bangladesh and Pakistan rely heavily on imported shipā€™s steel, not only for domestic / large-scale infrastructure projects, but also for its comparatively ā€˜healthierā€™ and ā€˜rust-freeā€™ condition than other forms of imported scrap metal / steel (HMS 1, HMS 2, shredded steel, etc.)Thereforeā€¦

01 Mar 2024

US Gulf Coast Fuel Oil Imports Hit Five-year Low

Ā© scandamerican / Adobe Stock

Imports of fuel oil bound for the U.S. Gulf Coast fell to a five-year low last month as refiners ran more cheap, heavy Canadian crude and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East pressured fuel oil flows.Fuel oil deliveries to the Gulf Coast dwindled in February to just 318,000 barrels per day (bpd), a 20% drop from the prior month and marking their lowest level since February 2019, data from tanker tracking firm, Kpler showed.Heavy fuel oil feedstocks like high sulfur fuel oilā€¦

29 Feb 2024

CMA CGM Caps Logistics Push with $5 Billion Bollore Deal

Ā© K I Photography / Adobe Stock

France's CMA CGM has completed a $5 billion takeover of Bollore Logistics, its biggest-ever acquisition, and said it had funds for more deals as it seeks to counter volatility in container shipping.The acquisition of the logistics division of French conglomerate Bollore, announced last year, closed on Thursday at a final price of 4.85 billion euros ($5.25 billion) after debt and cash adjustments.The deal will extend the reach of CMA CGM's CEVA Logistics unit into areas such as freight management for pharmaceutical, cosmetics and luxury firms.CMA CGM, based in Marseille and privately controlled

27 Feb 2024

GAO: Coast Guard Should Address Workforce Recruitment and Retention Challenges

Chief Warrant Officer Aaron Studie climbs a Jacob's ladder to perform a vessel inspection. Marine inspectors board boats in dry dock, moored at a pier, anchored and in rare occasions while underway. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Darryl W. Bradshaw)

The Coast Guard has struggled for years to recruit and retain a sufficient workforce. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), the non-partisan, fact-based arm of the Congress, has published multiple reports related to the Coast Guardā€™s workforce including recruitment and retention challenges. Three of these reports published in 2022 and 2023 have resulted in 17 GAO recommendations to address these issues, but as of today, 16 remain open and need to be addressed. Implementingā€¦

26 Feb 2024

IMOā€™s PPR11 Agrees Guidance on Key Environmental Issues

Source: IMO

The IMOā€™s Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR 11) agreed new guidance on several key environmental issues.Meeting from February 19 to 23, 2024, the following guidance will now be submitted to the Marine Environment Protection Committee for approval this March (MEPC 81) and October (MEPC 82):ā€¢ the safe transport of plastic pellets by seaā€¢ best practices for cutting black carbon emissions from ships operating in or near the Arcticā€¢ reducing risks of use and carriageā€¦

25 Feb 2024

Ship Recycling Market Faces Tonnage Shortage

Source: GMS

Global ship recycling markets are now being exclusively driven by the relentless and futile shortage of tonnage that is expected to continue until Spring (at the very least), says cash buyer GMS.ā€œThe much-anticipated rebound in global recycling volumes that so many in our industry had been waiting (hoping) for before the turn of the year, has unfortunately failed to materialize.ā€Markets in Turkey and India remain well off the competitive pace, so Pakistan and Bangladesh remain are leading the market despite the continued drop in supply of vessels.

26 Feb 2024

Xeneta Appoints Chief Product Officer

Fabio Brocca courtesy of Xeneta

Fabio Brocca after being appointed Chief Product Officer at ocean and air freight rate benchmarking platform, Xeneta.Brocca was previously Head of Product for Global Transportation Technology at Amazon.ā€œAmazon showed me the importance of working backwards from the customer and how a best-in-class tech company is run.ā€œWhen you are transforming an industry, you must think long term. What we think is needed today may not be whatā€™s needed tomorrow, so it is a continuous pursuit of innovation.ā€œThere is a beautiful quote from Jeff Bezos where he saysā€¦

16 Feb 2024

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

Ā© 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 Coastā€¦

16 Feb 2024

Worldā€™s First Ammonia-powered Containership Ordered

(Image: CMB.TECH)

Partners behind a project to develop the worldā€™s first ammonia-powered containership have placed an order to build the groundbreaking vessel at Qingdao Yangfan Shipbuilding, in China.Expected to be delivered by mid-2026, the 1,400 TEU ice-class containership Yara Eyde will run on ammonia as fuel, serving routes between Norway and Germany.The vessel will be owned by Delphis, the container division of CMB.TECH, and operated by NCL Oslofjord AS, a joint venture between North Seaā€¦

16 Feb 2024

Stena Line Commences Dublin-Liverpool Freight Route

Source: Stena Line

Swedish ferry operator, Stena Line has officially commenced its new Dublin ā€“ Liverpool (Birkenhead) freight service. The addition of the new route is expected to further boost the companyā€™s freight volumes following a record year on its Irish Sea services in 2023.The return service will operate daily from Dublin in the morning, making the evening return journey from 12 Quays terminal in Birkenhead.The addition of the new service will be Stena Lineā€™s seventh route in the Irish Sea region complementing its Belfast - Cairnryanā€¦

13 Feb 2024

Marine Power R&D Insights: Matt Hart, Wabtec Corporation

Image courtesy Wabtec

Matt Hart, Manager & Platform Leader, Marine & Stationary Power Systems, Wabtec, offers insights on how the megatrends of decarbonization, energy transition and autonomy all inspire and impact the marine power solutions from Wabtec.Matt, to start us off, can you provide insight on the journey to your present position?I graduated from the University of Notre Dame with an undergraduate in Mechanical Engineering and started with General Electric in the Edison Engineering Development rotational program at the Erieā€¦

13 Feb 2024

Port of Antwerp Disrupted by Belgian Farmers' Protests

Ā© Alexandre / Adobe Stock

Operations at the port of Antwerp, one of Europe's biggest container ports, were seriously impacted on Tuesday as hundreds of farmers on tractors blocked the roads around the port to demand better pay and working conditions, officials said.The protest follows a large number of similar actions by angry farmers in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and beyond, as farmers also demand looser environmental rules and better protection against cheap imports."Operations are heavily disrupted," Stephan Van Fraechem, the director of the association of port companies Alfaport VOKA, told Reuters.

13 Feb 2024

Dry Bulk Vessel Rates on the Rise

Ā© cloudvisual / Adobe Stock

The Baltic Exchange's dry bulk sea freight index rose for a third straight session on Tuesday to hit a one-month peak, as rates climbed across larger vessel segments.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, was up 13 points, or 0.8%, at 1,585 points, its highest since Jan. 10.The capesize index also scaled a one-month high. It added 23 points, or 0.9%, at 2,476 points.Average daily earnings for capesize vessels, which typically transport 150ā€¦

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