Sea Container News

The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) led a large-scale joint customs operation, NOXIA II, successfully targeting shipments suspected of containing illicit cigarettes, waste, drug precursors, and pesticides.The operation led to the coordinated seizure by the participating customs authorities of 149.5 million cigarettes, over 3,000 tonnes of illicit waste, 66.5 kg of pseudoephedrine, 52 tonnes of solid pesticides, and 21,000 liters of liquid pesticides.NOXIA II revealed the use of sophisticated global routes to smuggle cigarettes into the Asia-Pacific region and Europe.

There’s an obvious fuel saving advantage, but partnering energy storage systems with new fuels brings other advantages too.There’s a new generation of vessels emerging which is exemplified by Grimaldi’s PCTC Grande Shanghai, claimed to reduce fuel consumption by 50% compared to previous-generation car carriers, and the NCL Vestland, a container feeder vessel similarly claimed to reduce energy consumption per TEU per nautical mile by 63%.What these vessels have in common is a propulsion system that combines energy storage systems and new fuels.As Henrik Helgesen…

Yara Clean Ammonia, together with Yara International, CMB.TECH and North Sea Container Line, has marked the official start of construction on Yara Eyde, the world’s first container ship powered by renewable ammonia.The steel cutting ceremony, held earlier in September, represents a major milestone in efforts to decarbonize short-sea shipping and demonstrate the viability of ammonia as a low-emission fuel.Set to operate on the Oslo–Porsgrunn–Bremerhaven–Rotterdam route, the 1,200 TEU vessel will connect industrial clusters in Northern Europe with sustainable logistics solutions.

Hydrogen fuel cell power plants for ships face the challenge of hydrogen’s low volumetric energy density at normal temperature and pressure and its low electricity-to-electricity energy conversion efficiency compared to batteries.The justification for persevering with hydrogen as a marine fuel, though, is that other leading candidates for future fuels (such as e-methanol and e-ammonia) require a hydrogen feedstock for production. Therefore, hydrogen will always be less energy…

eCap Marine has secured two contracts to supply hydrogen-based propulsion systems for zero-emission vessels. The Hamburg-based engineering specialist will deliver hydrogen fuel cell power solutions for bulk carriers for Møre Sjø and short-sea container vessels for Samskip.eCap Marine is one of the very few companies worldwide to have retrofitted a commercial vessel, the offshore supply vessel Coastal Liberty, with hydrogen-powered propulsion. The expertise derived from this project opened the doors for another significant order for eCap Marine.

MPC Container Ships (MPCC), in partnership with North Sea Container Line (NCL) and Elkem, have christened the NCL VESTLAND, the first of two dual-fuel 1,300 TEU newbuildings to be delivered in 2025The ceremony marks the start of the vessel’s service between Western, Central and Northern Norway and Rotterdam.The container feeder vessel is the first of two MPCC dual-fuel 1,300 TEU newbuildings to be delivered in 2025, and is also the first dual-fuel vessel in the MPCC fleet which enables operation on methanol.The vessels come with 15-year time charters to NCL…

Norwegian shipowner MPC Container Ships (MPCC) has taken delivery of its first dual-fueled methanol container ship newbuilding from Chinese-based shipyard Taizhou Sanfu Ship Engineering.This is the first of the two dual-fuel methanol container ships up for delivery from the Chinese shipayrds, which are secured by 15-year time charter agreements with North Sea Container Line (NCL).The vessels feature dual-fuel engines that enable operation on green methanol, and according to MPCC, the methanol use will reduce the CO2 emissions from the vessels by up to 95%.“This innovative vessel embarks on a 1

Greek authorities have confiscated cocaine valued at more than 1 million euros ($1.10 million) that was hidden in a sea container for bananas, the coast guard said.The drugs, seized from a vessel in Piraeus port on Monday, were found with the help of the Homeland Security Investigations unit of the U.S.

Disruption to Red Sea container shipping is rising, Maersk said on Monday, forecasting this will cut the industry's capacity between Asia and Europe by up to 20% in the second quarter.Maersk and other shipping companies have diverted vessels around Africa's Cape of Good Hope since December to avoid attacks by Iran-aligned Houthi militants in the Red Sea, with the longer voyage times pushing freight rates higher."The risk zone has expanded, and attacks are reaching further offshore…

Norwegian shipowner MPC Container Ships (MPCC) has signed a $55 million pre and post-delivery ECA covered financing agreement with Deutsche Bank and SINOSURE for its two dual-fuel methanol newbuildings.The vessels are scheduled for delivery towards the end of 2024 and are secured by 15-year time charter agreements with North Sea Container Line (NCL). The loan matures in 2036, according to MPCC.Chinese-based shipyard Taizhou Sanfu Ship Engineering is in charge of the construction…

The FBI said on Monday it opened a criminal probe into the collapse of a Baltimore bridge in March when a ship crashed into a bridge support, while local officials confirmed the recovery of a fourth body from the incident.FBI agents boarded the cargo ship Dali to conduct court-authorized law enforcement activity regarding the crash, an FBI spokesperson said. The spokesperson said there was no other public information available and the bureau will have no further comment.The body…

Rescuers have lost hope of finding more survivors of the Baltimore bridge collapse, the coast guard said, as efforts switched on Wednesday to looking for bodies of the missing and more answers to why a container ship smashed into the span.Search divers were expected to return near dawn to the waters surrounding the twisted ruins of the bridge in Baltimore Harbor to search for six workers missing and now presumed dead.The disaster has forced the indefinite closure of the Port of Baltimore, one of the busiest on the U.S.

Search divers were expected to return near dawn on Wednesday to the waters surrounding the twisted ruins of a bridge knocked down in Baltimore Harbor by a faltering cargo ship, leaving six workers missing and presumed dead.The disaster also forced the indefinite closure of the Port of Baltimore, one of the busiest on the U.S. Eastern Seaboard, and created a traffic quagmire for Baltimore and the surrounding region.As the odds of their survival vanished, the search for the six workers was suspended on Tuesday evening…

Six workers were missing and presumed dead from a bridge that collapsed in Baltimore Harbor early on Tuesday after a massive cargo ship crippled by a power loss rammed into the structure, forcing the closure of one of the busiest ports on the U.S. Eastern Seaboard.With dive teams facing increasingly treacherous conditions in the darkened, wreckage-strewn waters, active search-and-rescue operations were suspended about 18 hours after the accident, U.S. Coast Guard and Maryland…

A massive cargo ship smashed into a bridge while sailing out of Baltimore early on Tuesday, sending cars and people into the river below and closing one of the busiest ports on the U.S. Eastern Seaboard.Rescuers pulled out two survivors, one of whom was hospitalized, and searched for more in the Patapsco River after huge metal spans of the 1.6-mile (2.57 km) Francis Scott Key Bridge crumpled into the icy water around 1:30 a.m. (0530 GMT).The ship reported a power issue before impact…

The ship that caused the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore early on Tuesday was also involved in an accident in the port of Antwerp, Belgium, in 2016.The Antwerp port authorities said the container ship Dali hit a quay on July 11, 2016, as it tried to exit the North Sea container terminal.The port authority could give no details about the cause of the accident, but said the ship had remained at the dock for repairs for some time after the incident."As a general rule, these accidents are investigated and ships are only allowed to leave after experts have determined it is saf

Indian shipbuilder Cochin Shipyard has cut first steel for the first vessel in Samskip's new series of zero-emission, autonomous ready shortsea containerships.The first of two contracted vessels, Samskip SeaShuttle, will also be among the world's first zero-emissions short sea container vessels fueled by green hydrogen.The 135-meter-long containerships were ordered by marine robotics specialist Ocean Infinity for scheduled delivery in 2025 and will be operated under long-term charter by Rotterdam-based shipping company Samskip on its west European routes.

Partners behind a project to develop the world’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 Sea…

Yara Clean Ammonia, North Sea Container Line, and Yara International have joined forces to realize the world's first container ship that will use clean ammonia as fuel. Named Yara Eyde, the vessel will be the first to sail emission-free sea route between Norway and Germany.Yara Eyde will operate between Oslo, Porsgrunn, Hamburg and Bremerhaven, so that from 2026, Norwegian companies can trade their products emissions-free in and out of Norway. Yara International is participating as cargo-owner.

A new containership planned for operations in Europe is set to become the world's first to use pure ammonia as fuel.Yara Clean Ammonia and NorthSea Container Line are establishing a joint venture, NCL Oslofjord, to operate the ammonia-powered ship Yara Eyde on routes between Norway and Germany from 2026.The project has been awarded just over NOK 40 million (US$3.6 million) from Enova, a Norwegian government enterprise promoting clean energy technologies.Ammonia is one of several alternative fuels gaining traction in commercial shipping to help cut emissions.

ABB has won a contract to deliver a power, propulsion, and automation system for two new-built short-sea container ships for Rotterdam-based global logistics company Samskip Group.According to ABB, the vessels will be among the world’s first of their kind to use hydrogen as a fuel. Financial details of the contract were not disclosed. Built by India-based Cochin Shipyard, the 135-meter ships are due for delivery in Q3 and Q4 of 2025, respectively. Both vessels will be operating between Oslo Fjord and Rotterdam, a distance of approximately 700 nautical miles.

APM Terminals, a subsidiary of Danish shipping company Maersk, plans to double its capacity at Rotterdam Port, a spokesperson for the company said on Tuesday. APM, one of the largest operators at the port, currently operates a one-kilometer-long quay in Rotterdam capable of loading and discharging the largest class of deep-sea container ships. The spokesperson said they could not provide financial details ahead of a formal announcement planned for Friday. (Reuters - Reporting by Toby Sterling; editing by Jason Neely)

Shipping and logistics company Samskip said it is “venturing into zero-carbon, emissions-free shipping” through the operation of two hydrogen powered, autonomous-ready vessels from Indian shipbuilder Cochin Shipyard Ltd.The containerships were ordered by marine robotics specialist Ocean Infinity for scheduled delivery in 2025 and will be operated under long-term charter by Samskip on its west European routes. Once commissioned for service between Oslo and Rotterdam, the 500 TEU…