Carrier Alliance News

Babcock International Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Hyundai Heavy Industries Co Ltd (HHI), to focus on the Republic of Korea’s CVX Aircraft Carrier Program opportunity.John Howie, Babcock Group’s Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, signed the MoU on behalf of the company with Mr. Sam-Hyun Ka, CEO, Korean Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering (KSOE), the holding company of HHI at the Babcock Korea Limited facility in Busan. The agreement brings the two parties closer together…

Pursuant to direction from FMC Chairman Michael Khouri, the Federal Maritime Commission has issued letters to the three global carrier alliances (2M, THE, and OCEAN) requiring that certain carrier-specific trade data currently filed with the Commission quarterly, must now be submitted on a monthly basis.The Commission’s Bureau of Trade Analysis (BTA) has traditionally relied on a combination of individual vessel operator confidentially provided data and information from commercially available industry data to monitor and analyze container carrier freight rates and service market trends.

HMS Prince of Wales, the second of the U.K.’s Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers, has recently completed a successful sea trial in Scottish waters.The ships are the largest ever built for the Royal Navy and the carriers are powered by GE’s energy-efficient, integrated full-electric propulsion system.As part of the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, GE’s Power Conversion business has provided the HV Distribution system, HV Drives and Propulsion Motors as well as the Electrical Power Control and Management system.GE also supplied the HV Generators to support generating power for the entire carrier. Out of the 110 megawatts (MW) of power running through the system…

Britain's newest aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales sails into home port of Portsmouth Naval Base for the first time.The £3.1 billion warship left Rosyth dockyard, Scotland, where it was built in September before undergoing eight weeks of sea trials.The ship’s arrival into Portsmouth represents the culmination of 16 years of work by the ACA – a unique alliance relationship between BAE Systems, Babcock, Thales, and the UK Ministry of Defence.More than 10,000 people across the UK have been involved in the program to deliver the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers, with six British shipbuilding yards across the country playing a vital role in the ships’ design and construction.Sir Simon Lister…

Britain's newest aircraft carrier has sailed out of Rosyth dockyard for the first time. The GBP3bln, 65000 ton HMS Prince of Wales will sit at anchor in the River Forth for around 2-7 days following departure from the dockyard to complete Initial Sea Safety Training.The vessel is the sister ship of HMS Queen Elizabeth."Cammell Laird is proud to have played a key role in the construction of this magnificent vessel – one of the most powerful surface warships ever constructed in the UK," said a press release from the British shipbuilding company.Following Cammell Laird’s successful completion of nine units for the first Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier, the company’s block building expertise was called upon once again in 2013.

Container volumes at the Port of Long Beach were 1.9 percent lower in August compared to the same month the year before.A total of 679,543 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) were moved through the Port. Imports declined 3.6 percent to 343,029 TEUs. Exports increased, inching up 1.9 percent to 119,546 TEUs. Empty containers sent overseas dipped 1.1 percent to 216,968 TEUs.August 2017 was one of the busiest months in the Port of Long Beach’s 107-year history. At the time, it was the third-busiest month ever, and the mark has been exceeded three times since.Long Beach’s volumes through the first eight months of the year stand at 5,320,930 TEUs.

Korean carrier Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM)’s expansion plans are incompatible with market stability. Will it settle for more limited ambitions? An Analysis by Drewry. South Korean carrier Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) is back in the news with an impending order for as many as 14 Ultra Large Container Vessels (ULCV) of 22,000 teu and for its intriguing re-entrance into the Asia-Europe market as a vessel provider, with reports suggesting a new standalone service called Asia Europe Express (AEX) using 10 Classic Panamax ships of 4,700 teu will commence in April. The AEX ships would be the smallest deployed on the route that is usually reserved for ULCVs…

Britain’s biggest ever warship, the new 3.1 billion pound ($4.2 billion) aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, has a leak and needs repairs, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said on Tuesday. The 65,000-tonne ship is hailed as Britain’s most advanced military vessel and was only commissioned by the queen two weeks ago but it has a problem with a shaft seal that was identified during sea trials, the MoD said. “Sea trials are precisely for finding manageable teething problems like this and rectifying them,” a Royal Navy spokesman said.

The U.K.’s newest aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth was commissioned into the Royal Navy fleet this morning by Her Majesty The Queen. Serving as the ship's Lady Sponsor, The Queen addressed guests before the ship's Commanding Officer, Captain Jerry Kyd, and read the commissioning warrant at a ceremony in Portsmouth Naval Base. The ceremony, attended by Her Royal Highness Princess Anne, Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson and military chiefs, marked the first time the Queen has visited the new warship since the formal naming ceremony in Rosyth in July 2014.

Today, the Office of Commissioner William P. Doyle of the U.S. “Last week, I notified The President of the United States Donald J. Trump of my intention to leave the Federal Maritime Commission effective January 3, 2017. It has been an honor and a privilege to continue serving in the Trump Administration. I thank President Barack Obama for nominating and appointing me twice as a Commissioner. “I am proud to have worked alongside my fellow Commissioners and with such a dedicated and hardworking Commission staff. Over the past five years there has been an enormous amount of change in the international maritime industry including consolidations, mergers, bankruptcies, and the advent of mega ocean carrier alliances. As a Commissioner, Mr.

The U.K. Royal Navy’s new 65,000-metric-ton aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, the largest warship ever to be built in Britain, has been undergoing sea trials since setting sail from Scotland's Rosyth dockyard in June, and is now set to enter her new home in Portsmouth in around two weeks. The warship will be the latest in a long line of famous Royal Navy ships to call Portsmouth home, though the exact date of the historic moment is to be determined depending on weather conditions. The window for entry will open August 17, with her arrival expected no later than the August 22.

Liverpool City Region (UK) shipyard Cammell Laird has announced it will be honoring its illustrious naval and military heritage next month by being headline sponsor of the UK’s Armed Forces Day (AFD). The AFD celebrations will take place in Liverpool this year on June 24, with more than 1,000 serving personnel, veterans, cadets and marching bands taking part in a parade followed by a full program of events near the city’s iconic waterfront. Cammell Laird CEO John Syvret, CBE,…

AWO testifies before Congress on dangers of foreign carrier alliances negotiating collectively with U.S. Tom Allegretti, President & CEO of The American Waterways Operators, testified before the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee's Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation on the dangers posed by the Federal Maritime Commission's (FMC) decision to allow foreign carrier alliances to collectively negotiate with U.S. tugboat operators. Allegretti also emphasized AWO's view that such agreements violate both the letter and congressional intent of the Shipping Act…

With Ocean Alliance released its long-awaited network information, with members CMA CGM, China Cosco Shipping, Evergreen Line, and Orient Overseas Container Line to offer 40 services on the east-west trades with 498 port calls, battle looms in the global market as it challenges 2M, another major global container carrier alliance. According to China Daily, with a total carrying capacity of 3.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units, or TEUs, OCEAN Alliance will be able to provide a service coverage in the market on a number of trade lanes including 20 trans-Pacific and six Asia-Europe shipping services. Formed by Denmark's Maersk Line and Switzerland's Mediterranean Shipping Co SA…

Israeli carrier Zim Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM) might join the 2M Alliance between Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Co., Alphaline said quoting industry sources. This news followed the last week's news of South Korea’s Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM), currently a member of the G6 Alliance, that it was in negotiations to join the 2M partnership. 2M alliance currently consists of Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A. (MSC). Zim has a 3.3 percent share in the trans-Pacific route, Alphaliner said and that would be good synergy for 2M. Zim is the only major global container ship operator that has not officially joined any of the existing alliances or the new groupings that will begin next year.

The second of the largest warships ever built for the U.K. Royal Navy, the Queen Elizabeth Class carrier HMS Prince of Wales, was given the royal seal of approval when HRH The Prince of Wales, (or Duke of Rothesay, as he is referred to in Scotland), visited Babcock’s Rosyth Facilities and signaled for the final section to be lowered into place, shipbuilder BAE Systems announced. The 570-metric-ton block – known as Sponson 11 – was the final section of the 280-meter-long warship to be manufactured.

The Middle East container shipping group United Arab Shipping Co. (UASC ) met with shareholders at the company's corporate office in Dubai to discuss a possible combination with German rival  Hapag-Lloyd, but no decision was finalized. According to sources, Shareholders in Ocean carrier were supportive during extraordinary general meeting (EGM), but no decision on merger. "While the shareholders' representatives at the EGM were generally supportive of the ongoing discussions with Hapag-Lloyd and recognised the strategic value of a potential combination of both businesses, no formal vote was held today on this topic since the full agreement has not been finalised," UASC said in a statement.

The restructuring of the ocean carrier alliance system, triggered by merger and acquisition activities by shipping companies, is a logical business development, but if not carefully monitored and regulated, could also represent a move toward reduced services for shippers, said Mario Cordero, Chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC). Cordero articulated this concern during remarks he made at the 2016 International Trade Symposium hosted by the Virginia Maritime Association in Norfolk. Cordero participated on a panel entitled Ocean Carrier Mergers & Acquisitions.

China COSCO Shipping Corp Ltd and three partners, including France's CMA CGM SA, announced a new shipping partnership, OCEAN Alliance, formed to challenge 2M - the world's largest container carrier alliance. Other members of the new COSCO alliance are Taiwan-based Evergreen Line and Hong Kong's Orient Overseas Container Line. The partnership, called “Ocean Alliance”, would involve a fleet of 350 container ships and in a first stage cover more than 40 services. The carriers said: "The alliance will also bring service reliability and the most efficient integration of the latest vessels in a fleet of over 350 containerships. The partners plan to begin operations in April 2017 for an initial period of five years, CMA CGM said in a statement.

The Aircraft Carrier Alliance successfully lifted one of the final sections of the second Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier in Rosyth on Friday, January 8 following its arrival from Glasgow. The 750-metric-ton block was raised 25 meters in the air using the Goliath crane and placed on the deck of HMS Prince of Wales, bringing assembly work on the ship significantly closer to completion. This section to be assembled is known as the Aft Island and will control aircraft operations aboard HMS Prince of Wales.

The final section of aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales began its delivery voyage from Glasgow to Rosyth today, 10 weeks ahead of schedule. As part of the the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier program, newbuilds HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales will be the Royal Navy’s largest and most advanced ever warships and were constructed in blocks in different shipyards throughout the U.K. The final section being delivered, known as the Aft Island, weighs 750 metric tons and will control aircraft operations aboard the second aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales.

The second MT30 Gas Turbine Alternator (GTA) has been installed into the U.K. Royal Navy’s latest aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales, at Rosyth, the Aircraft Carrier Alliance reported. ‪Generating 36 megawatts (around 50,000 horsepower), the power-dense Rolls-Royce MT30 marine gas turbine is key for naval ships where high power occupying minimum space is essential.‬ Each 120-metric-ton GTA package consists of a GE supplied alternator coupled to a Rolls-Royce supplied MT30 Gas Turbine contained within an enclosure.

The final sections of the second Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier produced by Cammell Laird arrived at Babcock Rosyth Facilities in Fife on Thursday, September 3, following their voyage from Birkenhead. Center Block 4 is the longest of the upper sections of hull of HMS Prince of Wales, the second of two new aircraft carriers being constructed by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance. Comprised in two parts (rings C and D), it contains a mixture of aviation workshops, mission system compartments and training rooms.