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30 Dec 2021

2022 & Beyond: Will the Container Carrier Debacle Ever End?

Copyright: Idanupong/AdobeStock

When the global supply chain runs smoothly, it’s like a well-choreographed dance. Everything comes together elegantly and effortlessly. But when someone misses a step, the show can quickly turn into a disaster. And that’s what’s currently unfolding before our eyes, headline after headline.Those of us in the supply chain industry know it takes a Herculean effort to keep the wheels of commerce turning without so much as a squeak or rattle. And it’s going to take just that to get…

31 May 2019

VLCC Market Remains Strong in Q1: Hunter

The very large crude carriers (VLCC) market market was relatively strong in Q1, with VLCC earnings averaging USD 29,000/day an increase of close to USD 20,000/day versus Q1’18, said Norway's Hunter Group ASA.High USG activity was the main contributor to the rate increase, said the company focusing on shipping and oil services investments.However, rates have dropped significantly towards the end of Q1 due to amongst other things; continued OPEC+ production cuts, heavy refinery maintenance ahead of IMO 2020, and a high number of newbuildings being delivered."We believe this trend will continue through H1. Although we expect the market to remain weak for the above-mentioned reasons until the end of H1…

09 Jan 2019

Seaway Tolls, Wharfage Charges both to Increase by 1.0% in 2019

The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) announced a toll rate increase of 1.0% for the 2019 navigation season.Tariffs:The new revised tariff will be posted and available on the Seaway website today.Wharfage Charges:The St. Lawrence Seaway Wharfage and Storage Charges have been revised for the 2019 navigation season. Effective with the commencement of the 2019 navigation season, Wharfage Charges will increase 1%.The revised Tariff will be available today on the Web…

04 Dec 2018

Interview: Admiral Karl Schultz, Commandant, United States Coast Guard

Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz visits with Coast Guard crews stationed in
New York City. U.S. Coast Guard photo illustration by Petty Officer 1st Class Jetta Disco.

Maritime Reporter & Engineering News was offered the opportunity to interview Admiral Karl Schultz, the 26th Commandant in the history of the United States Coast Guard, in his office in Washington, DC. Just five months into his tenure, his plate is predictably full with a number of challenges, including: Attracting and retaining future U.S. Coast Guard personnel; addressing a number of assymetric threats, including cyber attacks; and ensuring captial and operating budgets are adequate to safely and efficiently carry out a global mission envelope, to name but a few.

19 Oct 2018

Houston Pilots Withdraw Tariff Adjustment Application

© Oleksii Fadieiev / Adobe Stock

In an unexpected reversal, it has been reported that the Houston Pilots yesterday notified Chairman Janiece Longoria of the Port of Houston Authority that they had withdrawn their latest application for a change in pilotage rates. Beyond this, the pilots requested in their letter dated October 18 that the application be removed from the agenda for the upcoming October 30 Board of Commissioners meeting.Upon being notified of the rate change application in September, no less than 15 shipping companies…

27 Sep 2018

Proposed Rate Hikes for Houston Ship Pilots Under Fire

No less than 15 shipping companies, many of them top 10 liner companies, have written to Port of Houston Chairman Janice Longoria to reject the latest call for substantial rate hikes on the Houston Ship Channel. Local pilots already earn salaries that approach $500,000 annually.Like any other major U.S. port, registered foreign flag vessels must use a local state pilot on the Houston Ship Channel. According to local shipping stakeholders, the rates for those mandated services have spiraled more than 50% in the past 14 years alone.The rate increase proposal, a seemingly regular event at most U.S. ports over time, has on this occasion, struck a raw nerve at precisely the wrong time for industry.

11 Sep 2018

Genco Acquires Three Bulk Carriers

Dry bulk shipping company Genco Shipping & Trading Limited said it has taken delivery of three 2016-built bulk carriers and sold off older tonnage as part of its fleet renewal strategy.The New York based company has taken delivery of two 180,000 dwt Capesize vessels as well a 60,000 dwt Ultramax vessel in September 2018. Genco agreed to acquire the two Capesize vessels, Genco Defender and Genco Liberty, in July 2018, while the Ultramax vessel, Genco Columbia, is the last of four vessels that Genco agreed to acquire in June 2018.Genco said it funded the purchase of these vessels with cash on hand and drew down an additional $56.25 million under its new $108 million credit facility…

20 Jun 2017

Fitch: Boxship Rates Rise, Capacity Still Key

Fitch Ratings' Report: What Investors Want to Know: Container Shipping. Container shipping companies have benefited from a modest increase in freight rates since the start of the year, but a sustainable recovery in the container market will only be achieved by reaching a viable supply/demand balance through capacity cuts, Fitch Ratings says. Container transport volumes outstripped capacity growth in 2016 for the first time since 2010-2011, helped by a higher rate of vessel scrapping and delayed deliveries. We expect this to be only a temporary reversal, as net capacity growth will accelerate in 2017 and 2018, exceeding demand growth and contributing to increased overcapacity.

20 Apr 2017

Pat Folan Weighs in on All Things 'Tugboat'

Photo: Pat Folan

Pat Folan is a partner in Daphne, Ala.-based Tug & Barge Solutions, a safety and compliance company that focuses on Subchapter M compliance for towing companies. The company also performs surveys of towing vessels and barges, manages safety management systems for towing companies and trains people on towing vessels and in offices. A professional mariner, for 27 years, he also operated towing vessels from Maine to Corpus Christi, Texas, including the Alabama Rivers, Lower Mississippi, Great Lakes and Erie Canal. A graduate of St.

25 Jan 2017

St. Lawrence Seaway Tolls to Rise 2%

The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) announced a toll rate increase of 2 percent for the 2017 navigation season.

30 Sep 2016

Why Should I Care About Thermal Insulation?

Photo: Thermal Structures, Inc.

There are a million important things to worry about on any vessel, so why does high-performance thermal insulation deserve a place on the list? Answer: Because it has a very important role to play in keeping your vessel out on the water, being operated safely by a crew and safely carrying passengers. What is High-performance Thermal Insulation? When we talk about high-performance thermal insulation, we’re talking about insulation that can stop a significant amount of heat, in a relatively small space.

28 Jun 2016

EU to Accept Antitrust Offer from Maersk, MSC, 13 Others

File photo: Maersk Line

World No.1 container liner Maersk, Swiss peer MSC and 13 other shipping firms are set to escape possible penalties as EU antitrust regulators plan to accept their offer to end a five-year probe, three people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. The European Commission is likely to announce its decision next month, which means no fine or finding of wrongdoing against the companies, the sources said. Commission spokesman Ricardo Cardoso declined to comment. The case, which focuses on the way the companies announce price increases…

28 Jun 2016

EU to Accept Antitrust Offer From Maersk, MSC, 13 Others

World No.1 container liner Maersk, Swiss peer MSC and 13 other shipping firms are set to escape possible penalties as EU antitrust regulators plan to accept their offer to end a five-year probe, three people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. The European Commission is likely to announce its decision next month, which means no fine or finding of wrongdoing against the companies, the sources said. Commission spokesman Ricardo Cardoso declined to comment. The case, which focuses on the way the companies announce price increases, could have repercussions for other sectors such as supermarkets and chemical firms, which use similar methods and are keen to stave off any suspicion of collusive behaviour.

22 Feb 2016

Container Freight Market Hit by Exceptionally Weak Demand

The latest Container Shipping Forecaster from Maritime Strategies International reports ‘flickers of improvement’ in February after an opening to the year which saw 1.3m teu of capacity idle, freight rates struggling and the charter market on its knees. Having suffered a torrid end to 2015, liner companies finally managed to produce some upwards movement in freight rates, albeit as a result of the slower erosion of the massive General Rate Increase imposed on January 1. As of mid-February freight rates on the China-North Europe route were assessed at $431/TEU by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange, a level suggesting little positive momentum.

18 Feb 2016

Maersk Announces Rate Increase

The world’s largest container shipping company Maersk Line said that it will increase the rate from north Europe to west central Asia by US$100 per TEU, $150 per FEU and 40-foot high cube from March 1. This will apply to shipments from Finland, Russia, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia to Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Yemen, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Maersk Line would also change the way it announces price changes to its customers, following the European Union’s antitrust investigation into price collusion. Maersk also issued another general rate increase (GRI) adding US$100 per TEU, $150 per FEU and 40-foot high cube from March 1 for shipments from Ireland…

10 Feb 2016

Maersk, MSC, 13 Others Offer to Settle EU Probe

Companies offer to announce actual prices, not future plans. Shipping container groups Maersk, MSC and 13 other companies have offered to change their pricing practices to settle an EU antitrust probe and stave off possible fines, two people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. The case is being closely watched by other sectors such as supermarkets and chemical firms which use similar methods to announce future price hikes to enable customers choose the best rates. The European Commission opened an investigation into the world's 18 largest shipping companies in November 2013 following dawn raids in May 2011. The EU competition…

18 Dec 2015

Asia-Europe Box Rate Drop Continues

Freight rates on world's busiest route down 20.6 pct; forward contracts indicate continued weak 2016 market. Shipping freight rates for transporting containers from ports in Asia to Northern Europe plunged by 20.6 percent this week and there is nothing to indicate that shippers can expect better rates in 2016, a container derivatives trader said. Freight rates for transporting 20-foot container (TEU) on the world's busiest route fell to $558 dollar from $703 a week earlier which is widely seen as a loss-making level. "Sadly for the carriers, at least, 2016 doesn't look like it will be much better," said Richard Ward from brokerage firm Freight Investor Services.

24 Nov 2015

Transpacific Container Lines Address Economic Pressures Ahead in 2016

In a container freight market challenged by volatility and facing the prospect of further consolidation, member shipping lines in the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement (TSA) have announced a phased increase in rates and a package of 2016-17 service contract guidelines intended to ensure greater pricing predictability and service reliability. First, TSA lines are recommending adjustments to minimum rates across the board, on December 1, 2015 and on January 1, 2016. For December 1, the lines will be seeking to restore the lowest current market rate levels to at least US$950 per 40-foot container (FEU) to the U.S. West Coast; $1,700 per FEU to the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts; and $2,950 per FEU for intermodal moves to key Chicago-area inland point destinations.

01 Sep 2015

TEN Charters Tanker at 20% Premium

Greece-based crude, product and LNG tanker operator Tsakos Energy Navigation Limited (TEN) announced today a charter renewal of a handysize product carrier to a major state oil company for a period of 24 months commencing in September 2015 at a 20 percent premium to the previous rate. The latest charter, expected to generate approximately $13 million in total gross revenues, along with five charters announced last month for a suezmax crude tanker and four MR product carriers, increases the total minimum charter revenues of the fleet under secured employment to more than $750 million, the company said. “This new charter extension with its associated rate increase together with the recent announcement of the five charters is a confirmation that the tanker markets’ prospects remain strong.

24 Aug 2015

World’s Dry Cargo Transport Rate Nosedives

The key shipping freight rates for transporting containers from ports in Asia to Northern Europe fell by 26.7 percent to $469 per 20-foot container (TEU), last Friday. It was the third consecutive week of falling freight rates on the world’s busiest route and rates are now nearly 60 percent lower than three weeks ago. As expected over the past few weeks carriers have announced their plans to prop up rates come September 1st with all major carriers insisting on a general rate increase of around $1,000 TEU. These significant rate declines can be explained by the latest figures from Alphaliner, which suggest that demand on Asia-North Europe declined 3.5% during the first half of the year, whilst capacity actually increased 3.4%.

07 Aug 2015

Asia-Europe Box Rates Plunge 25 pct

Shipping freight rates for transporting containers from ports in Asia to Northern Europe fell by 24.9 percent to $833 per 20-foot container (TEU) in the week ended on Friday, one source with access to data from the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index told Reuters. The drop came after the previous week's increase of 177 percent which was a result of most of the major container shipping companies implementing a general rate increase from Aug 1. Freight rates on the world's busiest shipping route have tanked this year due to overcapacity in available vessels and sluggish demand in goods to be transported. Rates generally deemed profitable for shipping companies on the route are at about $800-$1,000 per TEU.

21 Jan 2015

Rate Restoration by SCI on Europe Trade

To continue to operate the Services with high level of  reliability, proficiency and meet expectations of the Customers, The  Shipping  Corporation of  India  Ltd., announces Rate Restoration on its Indian Subcontinent to Europe Services viz. ISE and IPAK Service  w.e.f. 9th February,   2015.          The Freight rate increase will be @ US$ 300 / TEU, USD600/FEU w.e.f.  9th February, 2015 .  The rate increase will be applicable for the shipments from  Indian Sub-continent to Europe, Mediterranean, Black Sea  & Red Sea trade route.

26 Nov 2014

Matson Raises 2015 Westbound Hawaii Box Rates

Matson, Inc., a U.S. carrier in the Pacific, announced that Matson Navigation Company, Inc. (Matson) will raise its rates for the company's Hawaii service by $225 per westbound container and $110 per eastbound container, effective January 4, 2015. The increase will be filed with the Surface Transportation Board. No adjustment will be made to the company's terminal handling charge (THC). Matson estimates that the rate adjustment will result in shipping costs rising by an average of 5.4% percent. "This rate increase will help offset rises in operating costs and support ongoing investments in our Hawaii service," said Dave Hoppes, senior vice president, ocean services.

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