Central China News

China has launched a crackdown on illegal sand mining operations on the Yangtze river, which have made large parts of central China more vulnerable to drought.Excessive sand mining on the Yangtze, which provides water for a third of the Chinese population, is believed to be responsible for the abnormally low levels of water during the winter drought season in recent years.Sand mining in the river and its connecting lakes and tributaries has also affected shipping routes and made it harder for authorities to control summer floods.According to a notice issued by the water…

An Australian frigate has joined three U.S. warships in the South China Sea near an area where a Chinese vessel is suspected to be exploring for oil, near waters also claimed by Vietnam and Malaysia, officials said on Wednesday.The warships arrived this week close to where the Chinese government survey ship Haiyang Dizhi 8 has been operating, which is in turn near where a vessel operated by Malaysia’s Petronas state oil company is conducting exploratory drilling, regional security sources have said.The U.S.

Japan's military prepared a chartered ferry on Wednesday to use as a quarantine ship that could house hundreds of suspected coronavirus cases as the number of infected people in the country rises.The 17,000 ton Hakuou was docked at the Yokosuka naval base near Tokyo, which is also the home port of the U.S. Navy's Ronald Reagan carrier. If put into service, the ship will initially take up to 94 people, but can accommodate more."Around 300 people could comfortably live on the ship and it has a maximum capacity for 500, although that would mean queues for the baths and other facilities," a Japan Self Defense Force official told Reuters.Preparations aboard the Hakuou come as health authorities placed more than 3…

The members of THE Alliance, Hapag-Lloyd, Ocean Network Express, and Yang Ming have welcomed Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) as a new core member of THE Alliance.With the US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) acceptance of HMM membership, THE Alliance offers an attractive upgraded product package and it will be launched around April 1st, 2020.Based on the existing comprehensive network of THE Alliance, the newly en-hanced product package will offer increasing frequency particularly from South East Asia, as well as new direct port coverage and improved transit times.Now that HMM joined The Alliance, its new offering for 2020 will consist of 33 services, 280 ships and a coverage of 78 ports globally.

The global container shipping line Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd (Zim) announced a further expansion of its strategic cooperation with the members of the 2M Alliance, Maersk & MSC, to the Asia - US Gulf Trade."The new services, catering for both Central and South China and South Korea, offer significant advantages for customers, including direct connections to major ports in Asia and the US Gulf; best-in-market transit time with reliable dedicated service; Two weekly cutoffs in Houston & Mobile to better serve growing US exports requirements," said a press note from the biggest cargo shipping company in Israel.Eli Glickman, ZIM President and CEO said: "This is the third phase of our tightening cooperation with the 2M Alliance, now extending to four major trades.

Zim Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM) has announced the new Strategic Partnership Agreement with the 2M alliance, details of the new improved Asia - U.S. East Coast – Asia network that are now available.Nissim Yochai, ZIM EVP Trans Pacific Trade, said: "The new alignment will enable ZIM customers to enjoy the best of both worlds: ZIM’s highly reputed personalized service, along with the best-in-market infrastructure and product.”The new upgraded network includes 5 services under the ZIM+2M cooperation, as detailed below:ZIM Container Service Pacific (ZCP) - Excellent service from North & Central China, South Korea to US Gulf, Caribbean and South Atlantic…

Members of THE Alliance, Hapag-Lloyd, Ocean Network Express, and Yang Ming have announced a services update regarding their Trans Pacific - West Coast products in response of schedule integrity improvement, extensive product enhancement and better cost efficiency. The update of THE Alliance product will feature total six services in Asia/North America West Coast. The PS5 and PS8 services will conjugate into one combined service and cater for customers connecting the key ports of North China, Central China and North America gate ports. Final sailing: Eastbound – M/V YM MANDATE 056E, ETA Xingang 23 July. PS5: Qingdao – Shanghai (Waigaoqiao) – Ningbo – Los Angeles/Long Beach – Oakland – Qingdao. Effective sailings: Eastbound – M/V CONTI CRYSTAL 104E, ETA Qingdao 6 August.

Chinese President Xi Jinping called for achieving high-quality economic growth through developing the Yangtze River economic belt. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks at a symposium on promoting the development of the Yangtze River economic belt in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province. He stressed the importance of enhancing reform and innovation, strategic coordination as well as planning and guiding in developing the economic belt. "It is a major decision made by the CPC Central Committee and a major strategy concerning overall national development to promote the development of the Yangtze River economic belt," Xi said.

The Ocean Alliance has launched its new Day Two Product with an estimated 3.6 million TEU carrying capacity provided by approximately 340 containerships deployed on 41 services. The new offering will commence in April 2018. Alliance partners CMA CGM, COSCO, Evergreen and OOCL will offer 20 Transpacific services, six Asia-Europe services, four Asia-Mediterranean services, four Transatlantic services, five Asia-Middle East services and two Asia-Red Sea services. “Ocean Alliance has been a fantastic success from a customer perspective since its launch last spring and we are very enthusiastic to announce our Day Two Product,” said Olivier Nivoix, Senior Vice President Ocean Alliance Lines.

Following its announcement of the China Pakistan Express 2 (CPX2) last week, Orient Overseas Container Line Limited (OOCL) is all set to introduce the China Pakistan Express 3 (CPX3), another new Intra-Asia service to expand  its product portfolio by providing a more comprehensive service network connecting the markets of India and Pakistan. The CPX3 provides additional sailing frequency from Central China to Mundra and strategically expands its service coverage in Pakistan. "Together with the CPX2, offering direct services from Xiamen to Karachi as well as Karachi to Shanghai, and the existing China Pakistan Express (CPX) product, we are able to offer a very comprehensive network with 3 sailings per week from Asia to Pakistan that is more flexible…

In celebration of its 100th anniversary in the Philippines, APL today renewed its commitment to keep pioneering shipping solutions for the development of the Philippines’ shipping industry. Part of APL’s plan is to identify local partnerships to extend its reach to more outports in the Philippines, facilitate trading by opening new service routes and keep engaging industry stakeholders for the development of the sector. APL Chief Executive Officer, Nicolas Sartini said, “APL has laid a firm foundation in the Philippines since we established our presence here in 1917. Now, we are a leading ocean carrier in the market because of the trust of our customers and the reliable service that we deliver.

APL has unveiled its Aloha Express (AEX) service, a new fortnightly service directly connecting Central China, Korea, Japan to Hawaii. The AEX service promises cargo delivery from Shanghai, Busan and Yokohama to Honolulu in 19, 15 and 12 days respectively. “The AEX service introduces a new sea route in our portfolio to directly serve Asia and Hawaii. Instead of routing via the U.S. mainland, shippers with Hawaiian-bound cargo will find a faster shipping alternative in the AEX service,” said Jesper Stenbak, APL Senior Vice President of Trans-Pacific Trade. “To optimally coincide with market activities in the U.S. The 990 TEU APL-operated vessel the APL Aloha will be fully dedicated the AEX service…

French container shipping major CMA CGM has upgraded its SEAS1 and SEAS2 services, now providing two departures per week between Asia and the East Coast of South America. The group will thus provide two departures per week between Asia and the East Coast of South America, one of the best offers on the market. They will offer optimum port coverage across Asia (Northern, Central and Southern Chinan and South Korea and South East Asia) and South America (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay). From South America, CMA CGM will provide very competitive transit times, especially for the export of refrigerated goods from Brazil and Argentina, to Hong Kong, China and South Korea.

​ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd (ZIM) has announcd an enhanced Asia to US East Coast and Gulf service offering, with seven different weekly services, extensive direct port-to-port coverage and best-in-market Transit time from key ports in Asia to US East Coast & Gulf. The full scale services offered by zim in this trade: ZIM Seven Star Express (Z7S), inaugurated in May 2015, a premium service from South China, Vietnam and India Sub continent to US East Coast, will be upgraded with a direct Port Kelang call, offering 24 days transit time to New York. ZIM Pacific Atlantic Service (ZPA) brand new service by ZIM, covering Central China and Korea to Miami, Jacksonville and Charleston, will commence in early May, subject to FMC approval.

Members of the G6 Alliance today announced the Winter Program for Asia – North America services in response to traditional seasonal changes in market demand. The first sailing of the combined service will start with the Week 44 sailing (ETA Xiamen October 29, 2015). The G6 Alliance will temporarily suspend the Central China 2 (CC2) service between Asia and the North America West Coast during the winter period starting from Week 44. The last sailing for CC2 will be on Week 43 E/B (ETA Ningbo October 18, 2015) and Week 45 W/B (ETA Long Beach November 5, 2015). The G6 Alliance continues to offer a variety of services between Asia and North America covering all major port pairs with weekly sailings, and to make service adjustments where necessary.

In response to market demand, members of the G6 Alliance today announced service enhancements in the Asia – North America (Pacific Southwest) trade. The CC2 service will be upgraded to include a permanent Pusan call. Transit times from other origins will remain unchanged. The G6 Alliance offers a variety of services between Asia and Europe, Asia and North America as well as on the Transatlantic covering all major port pairs with weekly sailings. The G6 Alliance members are: APL, Hapag-Lloyd, Hyundai Merchant Marine, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Nippon Yusen Kaisha and Orient Overseas Container Line. The SC1 service will be upgraded to include an additional eastbound Kaohsiung call.

A passenger ship carrying 458 people sank in the Yangtze River in central China after encountering what the rescued captain said was a storm and strong winds, the government’s Xinhua News Agency reported. The ship, which departed from the eastern Chinese city Nanjing and is bound for Chongqing Municipality in southwest China, sank "within one or two minutes" after being caught in a cyclone, according to the ship's captain and chief engineer. The accident occurred at the Damazhou waterway in the middle reaches of Yangtze River, according to the Changjiang Maritime Safety Administration (MSA). The MSA and Changjiang Waterway have begun rescue the rescue mission and have saved eight people so far, including the captain and the chief engineer.

Maersk Line on May 21 announced that Mike Fang become the company's new chief of east - and central China. He joins with effect from 1 July 2015. Fang has been head of Maersk Line North China since 2012. He replaces David Williams, who will become the new CEO of Safmarine. IHS Maritime 360 quoted Tim Smith, CEO of Maersk Line North Asia as saying that Mike had been appointed head of the organization in eastern and central China. Tim said that Mike with his expertise in local market and extensive experience would provide great value to the organization in eastern and central China. Fang started in Maersk Line as a sales representative in 1994. In the last 21 years, he has been head of the department and Shenzhen sales manager for eastern China in Maersk Line.

Almost three-quarters of all cruise passengers in the future could be Chinese, according to research by the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB). The study reveals a potential 83 million cruise passengers in seven source markets within Greater China. This figure is four times the current number of cruise passengers world-wide. Hong Kong, with its connectivity to the Pearl River Delta, Central China and Taiwan by air, high speed rail and land transportation via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, is looking at a cruise potential of 54 million passengers. The study also reveals that the make-up of these passengers is younger and more family-oriented than cruise passengers in traditional source markets such as North America and Europe, where they tend to be older, retired achievers.

DNV GL has opened a new office in Nanjing, China, covering most of the Jiangsu Province and following the Yangtze River upstream to Chongqing and Sichuan. Headed by area manager Chen Keng, DNV GL Central China aims to support business growth in the area and act as center for operations in Central China. “Central China is home to dozens of shipyards, many industry manufacturers and is therefore one of the most important areas for DNV GL to focus on in China,” said Torgeir Sterri, Vice President and Regional Manager for Greater China at DNV GL.

Container shipping firm Maersk Line said a fresh attempt made on Monday to raise freight rates on main routes from ports in Asia to those in northern Europe was already under pressure due to weak demand from shippers. Maersk Line, a unit of Danish conglomerate A.P. Moller-Maersk, controls one-fifth of all transported containers from Asia to Europe. Like other shipping lines it has been trying to curb losses on the world's busiest route where an overabundance of ships is weighing on rates. The company hiked rates on twenty foot equivalent unit containers (TEU) by $900 on Nov. However, this level was quickly dragged down by low demand, partly due to seasonally weaker demand in end-November towards the Christmas holidays, the company's head of east and central China told Reuters on Wednesday.

Hapag-Lloyd informs about the congestion at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach that has reached a critical point. I. Several container ships are anchoring off the harbor and waiting in line to berth. Now Vessels are also being delayed due to ongoing congestion. II. There continues to be an acute shortage of truck power. The American Trucking Associations (ATA) estimates that the industry has a shortage of approximately 30,000 drivers nationwide. Hapag-Lloyd continues to explore opportunities to contract additional vendor companies. III. The success of the import delivery appointment system at some terminals has been limited in part by a lack of sufficient container handling equipment to pre-mount those containers prior to the scheduled pick-up appointment.

In response to seasonal changes in market demand, the members of the G6 Alliance announced the temporary suspension of their Central China (CC2) service between Asia and the U.S. West Coast until further notice. The last sailing for CC2 will be “OOCL Italy” departing from Shanghai on October 31. All ports called by CC2 will be covered by other G6 Alliance services. The G6 Alliance will continue to offer a variety of services between Asia and U.S. West Coast covering all major port pairs with weekly sailings. The market environment will be closely monitored for the resumption of the CC2 service accordingly. The G6 Alliance members are: APL, Hapag-Lloyd, Hyundai Merchant Marine, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Nippon Yusen Kaisha and Orient Overseas Container Line.