Mediterranean Shipping Co News

Hapag-Lloyd will continue to divert its vessels around the Suez Canal for security reasons, a spokesperson for the German container shipper said on Friday, adding a further assessment would be made on January 2.Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and Nippon Yusen, Japan's largest shipping companies, also said their vessels with links to Israel were avoiding the Red Sea area. Both companies said they were monitoring the situation.Shipping companies including Hapag-Lloyd and Denmark's Maersk earlier…

France's CMA CGM is increasing the number of vessels travelling through the Suez Canal, it said on Tuesday, joining Maersk in returning to the area after U.S.-led efforts to prevent attacks.The world's top shipping companies, including Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, stopped using Red Sea routes after Yemen's Houthi militant group began targeting vessels this month, disrupting global trade through the Suez Canal.Instead they have rerouted via southern Africa, a longer and more expensive journey.

France's CMA CGM is increasing the number of vessels travelling through the Suez Canal, it said on Tuesday, joining Maersk in returning to the area after U.S.-led efforts to prevent attacks.The world's top shipping companies, including Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, stopped using Red Sea routes after Yemen's Houthi militant group began targeting vessels this month, disrupting global trade through the Suez Canal.Instead they have rerouted via southern Africa, a longer and more expensive journey.

Swire Bulk announced it is voluntarily rerouting its vessels off southern Sri Lanka to avoid whale strikes in one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.The move comes after researchers identified ship strikes as the leading cause of death for whales in the area, a feeding ground for many cetaceans.Swire Bulk, part of the Swire Group, said its vessels will now pass at least 15 nautical miles south of Dondra Head traffic separation scheme and avoid sailing through marked out as “no go areas”.

Prices in the most volatile segment of ocean shipping are collapsing, but top retailers like Walmart and Home Depot should not expect relief until the spring contract renegotiation season, industry experts said.Spot rates, which cover anywhere from 10% to 40% of ocean container shipments and are considered a key indicator of the industry's health, are in free fall as recession looms and the pandemic-fueled U.S. import bubble deflates.The cost to send a container from Asia to the United States on the demand-sensitive spot market has tumbled more than 80% from its September peak above $20…

For more than two years, Isaac Larian has used every available tool to overcome global supply-chain bottlenecks and keep retailers stocked with enough Bratz and LOL Surprise! dolls to meet pandemic demand.Asked how he's preparing for this summer's West Coast port labor talks, the chief executive of Los Angeles-based MGA Entertainment deadpanned, "I'm praying two times a day."Larian and a half-dozen suppliers for major retailers like Walmart WMT.N, Amazon.com AMZN.O and Target…

The Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore reports it has again topped its record for most container moves from a single ship.The 6,000 container moves conducted by longshore workers from the Maersk Edinburgh at the Seagirt Marine Terminal this week are the most ever in the port's the 315-year history. Maersk Edinburgh arrived at the port on Monday, February 8, and left early Thursday, February 11. The final container move was completed at 9:40 p.m. Wednesday.The new high mark—which counts the number of times an imported container is unloaded from a ship…

The Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore’s Seagirt Marine Terminal topped its record for most container moves from a single ship.The 5,536 container moves conducted by longshore workers handling the Maersk Edinburgh over three days was the largest number of moves for a single ship in the port’s 314-year history, surging past the previous record of 5,181 moves set last year.“This record container activity is a significant milestone for the Port of Baltimore and a sign that the maritime shipping industry is coming back and fueling Maryland’s economic recovery,” said Governor Larry Hogan.

South Korean ocean carrier HMM held a naming ceremony for the newly constructed 24,000 TEU-class containership HMM Algeciras, the world’s largest containership, at the Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering’s (DMSE) Okpo shipyard in Geoje, Korea.The 399.9-meter HMM Algeciras is the first of a dozen 24,000 TEU-class vessels scheduled to be delivered this year, and takes the "world's largest" title from the 23,656 TEU Gülsün-Class ships owned by Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC).In September 2018…

A.P. Moller - Maersk has appointed Patrick Jany as its new chief financial officer, effective May 1, 2020.Jany, a German citizen, joins the world's largest shipping company as CFO and a member of the executive board after more than two decades with Swiss chemicals company Clariant, where he's been CFO since 2006. Prior to his role as CFO, he held several leadership positions within finance, general management and corporate development in Clariant in Germany, Mexico, Singapore, Indonesia and Spain.“I am pleased to welcome Patrick Jany to A.

South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering has secured an order for five new container ships set for delivery next year. The contract is worth KRW 903.9 billion (about USD 762 million), DSME said in a stock exchange filing.DSME announced the order without naming the buyer. But according to a WSJ report, Mediterranean Shipping Co.(MSC) is the company that placed order for  five giant container ships in a new sign that ocean cargo carriers are building up their capacity despite falling freight rates and weak trade growth.The report said that the Geneva-based MSC, the world’s second-largest container shipping carrier by capacity…

Over recent years the United Arab Emirates has emerged as an important maritime hub with grand ambitions. Mark Venables visited the region to discover what is driving that growth.When the UAE was elected to the IMO Council as a Category B member, it immediately raised its profile within the maritime community. The Emirates have taken a significant step forward in the maritime world.Despite this success, the region remains a challenging market for shipping and logistics. One of…

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After buying several container factories from its smaller competitor Singapore-based shipping company Pacific International Lines (PIL), China’s Cosco Shipping Holdings Co. is eyeing it as a potential takeover target.The Chinese state-run ocean carrier  had bought part of debt-ridden PIL’s container-manufacturing business, and executives at the Chinese carrier believe they could wrap up a deal for the entire business if family-owned PIL’s owners decide to sell, reported WSJ.Cosco Shipping is looking  to expand its footprint in developing markets and a take over would be an edge towards deeper logistics services beyond conventional ocean shipping…

The new head of South Korean flag carrier Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) Jae-hoon Bae is on a charm-offensive trip to Europe to cement the shipping line's relations with global majors.HMM said Bae, who became HMM's president and chief executive last month, will meet this week with executives at A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S and Mediterranean Shipping Co.First of all, Bae plans to visit the European headquarter of HMM, located in London, to encourage its employees and make sales strategies based on the character of each region after gathering the various opinions from the site.Furthermore, he will lead an effort to reinforce the trust of its valued customers through business meetings.Bae is scheduled to converse with Ki-tack Lim…

The sound part of the vessel Maersk Honam, which was hit by a serious fire last year, is being transported to Hyundai Heavy Industries Shipyard in South Korea, where it will be rebuilt. The sound section of Maersk Honam was successfully loaded aboard the heavy-lift vessel Xin Guan Hua on open waters outside Dubai (UAE) on Saturday, 2 February. It was expected to pass Singapore Strait on Monday, 18 February 2019. The heavy-lift vessel will deliver the 228.5-metres-long section from midship to stern at Hyundai Heavy Industries Shipyard in South Korea in March…

Ocean Network Express (ONE) announced the further expansion of its Asia - east coast South America service as a follow-up to the earlier announcement detailing the expanded cooperation with Hapag Lloyd.A week ago, ONE announced the expansion of its Asia-South America service. ONE had said it is cooperating with Hapag-Lloyd and Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC) in the Asia-South America trade lane.Commencing in the 2nd week of December 2018, the additional weekly offering will enhance ONE’s service frequency and broaden its coverage between Asia and the east coast of South America, it said in a press release.According to the press release…

China’s Cosco Shipping Holdings Co received the clearance  of a U.S. national-security review body, removing a major overhang of the USD 6.3 billion deal of taking over Orient Overseas International Ltd (OOCL). According to a Reuters' report, the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States had notified it that it does not have any outstanding security issues following an agreement with the U.S. government to divest the Long Beach container terminal business to a third party. Cosco said the U.S. regulator has cleared its planned takeover of the Hong Kong-based container shipping operator, after Cosco agreed to place a large container terminal in Long Beach, Calif., into a U.S.-run trust and put it up for sale.

Efforts to suppress a fire on containership Maersk Honam continue more than a month after a blaze aboard the 15,000 TEU vessel killed five crew members. On March 6, a fire broke out in a cargo hold aboard Singapore-flagged Maersk Honam while the vessel was en route from Singapore toward Suez, about 900 nautical miles southeast of Salalah, Oman. At the time of the incident, the ship was carrying 7,860 containers for the 2M Alliance between Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC).

China's COSCO Shipping Holdings Co Ltd reported a first-half profit on Wednesday and forecast that improved demand in the container shipping market would continue for the rest of the year. China's largest shipping group, which last month offered to buy a Hong Kong peer to become the world's third-largest container liner, said January-June net profit was 1.86 billion yuan ($288.32 million). That matched an estimate it announced in July, citing improved market conditions. It also booked revenues of 43.5 billion yuan for the period. COSCO Group booked a 7.2 billion yuan loss in the first half of last year before merging with China Shipping Group to create COSCO Shipping.

COSCO Shipping Holdings Co Ltd saw its stock climb on Monday after bidding $6.3 billion for a Hong Kong peer, a deal that would see it become the world's third-biggest container shipper and underline China's supply-chain ambitions. The offer for Orient Overseas International Ltd (OOIL) comes as China's government pushes to raise the country's profile in global shipping, which dovetails with its Belt and Road initiative aimed at increasing China's influence over distribution from Asia to Europe. Beijing merged two shippers last year to form COSCO Shipping which, after the latest deal, will rise from fourth to rank only behind Denmark's Maersk Line and Switzerland's Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC).

Chinese Shipping Major Cosco Group has agreed in principle to buy its shipping rival and  Hong Kong’s No. 1 box mover, Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL), in deal that could be valued around USD 6.3 billion. The takeover will catapult Cosco the world’s third-biggest container carrier after Denmark’s Maersk Line and Swiss-based Mediterranean Shipping Co. In a press release, the State-owned Cosco said that it will pay shareholders of OOCL,, HK$78.67 a share in cash, a 31 percent premium over the stock’s last closing price. According to Reuters,  OOIL's controlling shareholders had on Friday agreed to sell their 68.7 percent stake at that price to COSCO Shipping, which is making the offer with Shanghai Port International Group (SIPG) that will take 9.9 percent, they said.

Renewed activity at the Port of Long Beach’s largest terminal and extra ships calling ahead of the Lunar New Year pushed cargo 8.7 percent higher in January compared to the same month a year ago. Dockworkers moved 582,689 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) last month. Exports were strong, jumping 10.8 percent year-over-year to 118,234 containers. Imports increased 7.4 percent to 298,990 TEUs, while empties sent back to the Far East rose 9.6 percent to 165,465. Growth at terminals was led by the Port’s Pier T terminal, operated by Total Terminals International (TTI). The terminal is now controlled by Terminal Investment Limited (TIL), a subsidiary of Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC), the world’s second-largest ocean carrier.