Logistics Chain News

In his 2026 goal setting message, IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez noted that all eyes will be on the finalization of the autonomous ships code.The MASS Code is a framework for the safe, secure, and environmentally friendly operation of remotely operated and autonomous ships.Maj. Joseph DeFlorio, U.S. Army 8th Theater Sustainment Command, National Security Law Team, highlighted in a December piece on the Indo Pacific Defense Forum that there is a lot to be gained from autonomous shipping.Autonomous systems can monitor hazards and respond with precision…

Shipping and logistics firm Wilson Sons has opened new facilities at its Training Centre and Towage Operations Centre in Santos, São Paulo, including a tugboat manoeuvre simulator designed to improve operating safety, efficiency and sustainability.This simulator will train the company's captains and maritime workers on safety procedures and cutting-edge technology for its fleet of over 80 tugboats, which operate in more than 25 ports along the Brazilian coast, supporting domestic and international trade…

Vattenfall has signed a deal with EMS Maritime Offshore (EMO) to establish an operations and maintenance (O&M) base in the Dutch port of Eemshaven to support construction and operation of its planned Nordlicht 1 and 2 wind farms, which will become Germany’s largest offshore wind project.The site will provide direct access for service operation vessels (SOVs) and crew transfer vessels (CTVs), reducing travel times to the German North Sea exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Vattenfall…

Dating back to the year 1786, Thomas Jefferson wrote to a member of the Continental Congress on the importance of free press keeping government in check. He was quoted as saying if he had a choice between “a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to choose the latter.”The basis of the statement being that the government is the opinion of the people. It is not in the current U.S. shipping reporting.The first “newspaper” shipbuilding announcements consisted of new legislation capable of delivering us back to our former maritime dominance.

The Port Authority of Valencia (PAV) presented its Strategic Plan at the Clock Building of the Port of Valencia, outlining a vision and series of projects with a clear target year of 2035.This is a ten-year plan designed to consolidate Valenciaport as a generator of wealth and quality employment, while also acting as a driver of investment and transformation in the port and logistics ecosystem. Its mission is to deliver the best possible service to the business sector.By 2035, Valenciaport aspires to handle up to 45% of Spain’s loaded container traffic for imports and exports.

SAAM christened Trapananda, reported to be the first electric tugboat in Latin America. Thanks to a strategic partnership with Enap, the electric tug will operate in one of the southernmost terminals in the world, Puerto Chacabuco, in the Aysén Region, supporting ship berthing and deberthing operations.The tug measures 25 x 13m and brings 70 tons of bollard pull capacity, enabling it to assist large vessels in challenging harbor conditions. The craft is equipped with two, 2,100-kW electric azimuth thrusters and is powered by a 3…

The Ice Memory Foundation is preparing for the upcoming transport of ice cores from mountain glaciers to the Ice Memory Sanctuary in Antarctica.The announcement was made as part of the launch of the UN Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences (2025-2034) during the third UN Ocean Conference in Nice on June 8.Preserved in the Ice Memory Sanctuary at Concordia Station, the cores will be available for study by future generations of scientists.The first Ice Memory alpine ice cores – extracted between 2016 and 2023 – will leave the laboratory cold rooms of the CNR-ISP in Italy in October.

This month, Wilson Sons received approval from ANP to conduct the first tests on using HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil) in the Brazilian maritime sector, with efen and Port of Açu as partners.To replace marine diesel oil, efen will import HVO, also known as renewable diesel or green diesel, to be tested on Wilson Sons' tugs in the Port of Açu, in São João da Barra (Rio de Janeiro). The liquid handling operation will be conducted at the Açu Liquid Bulk Terminal (TLA), owned by Vast Infraestrutura.“After the testing period, we expect to expand the distribution of HVO to Platform Supply Vessels (PSVs) and other offshore support vessels in the Port of Açu…

CEO Mike Corrigan outlines Interferry’s mountain of objectives – including a game-changing campaign to keep ferries front and center in reducing GHG emissions.Interferry’s origins stem from the launch of a knowledge-sharing US networking initiative in 1976. Those relatively modest roots have grown beyond recognition into a highly respected global trade association with membership exceeding 270 companies – operators and suppliers – in more than 40 countries. We have consultative…

Empresa Portuaria San Antonio (EPSA) filed a Material Event with the Financial Market Commission (CMF), informing that San Antonio Terminal Internacional (STI) had met the investment conditions agreed in 2020 and, therefore, its concession will be extended until January 1, 2030 (the second extension since the concession originally ended in 2020).“In recent years we have implemented an intensive capex plan, investing US$66 million, of which US$47 million was to extend the concession.

At the Sanmar shipyard, located in Tuzla Bay, Istanbul, Latin American's first electric tug was launched.The vessel is scheduled to arrive in Chile per the service agreement signed in January this year between Empresa Nacional del Petróleo (Enap) and SAAM. This advance reaffirms both companies’ commitment to the energy transition, since the tug's electric propulsion structure does not emit greenhouse gases and reduces environmental and underwater noise.After this first launch stage…

Cargo owners seeking to determine their Scope 3 emission liabilities from the logistics chain must contend with multiple calculation methods from different shipping lines that will affect their costs exposure to the EU ETS for shipping. To resolve this conundrum for its clients, pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) owner and operator UECC has adopted a standardised methodology based on an existing and trusted industry framework.The EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), set to be phased in for shipping from January 1…

“If we are to state our strategy in one word, it’s decarbonization,” said Juha Kytölä, director of R&D and engineering at Finnish tech company Wärtsilä. “What we are going toward is to supply the market with a portfolio of products that are ready for zero-carbon fuels.”In order to achieve its sustainability goals—including a 2030 target for carbon neutrality in its own operations—Wärtsilä has been taking big strides in research and development, having ramped up its investment on this front in recent years, Kytölä said.

Hapag-Lloyd has entered into a partnership with logistics provider DB Schenker to decarbonise supply chains through the use of biofuels.The two companies have signed an agreement for emission-reduced container transports with a waste- and residue-based biofuel. By end of 2023, DB Schenker plans to claim approximately 3,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions avoidance. This is based on at least 1,000 tonnes of pure biofuel.Hapag-Lloyd launched the Ship Green product to offer its customers emission-reduced ocean transports.

Japanese container shipping company Ocean Network Express (ONE) announced it has acquired controlling stakes in three California container terminals amid a push by many of the world's largest global shipping lines to expand their presence in the port infrastructure component of the logistics chain.ONE, which is jointly owned by the Japanese shipping lines Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYL), Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and K Line, said it signed definitive agreements to acquire a 51% stake in each of TraPac and Yusen Terminals (YTI)…

CMA CGM, one of the world's largest container shipping lines, said on Tuesday that it has agreed to acquire two container terminals at the port of New York and New Jersey from Global Container Terminals (GCT), which will extend its presence in a crucial hub for trade.The deal comes after French-based CMA CGM last month said it expects a pullback in shipping markets to accelerate in the fourth quarter due to high energy prices and flagging consumer spending, resulting a drop in its profitability following an earnings surge in the past year.Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Chevron Marine Lubricants said it made its first delivery of a 40 BN Category II lube oil on August 30, in a breakthrough moment for operators of MAN ES Mk9 and above two-stroke engines, when it supplied a stem of its new Taro Ultra Advanced 40 to SIEM Car Carriers.“We are very pleased that Taro Ultra Advanced 40 is now available to our customers and that we have successfully made the first delivery,” said Pat McCloud, General Manager, Chevron Global Marine Lubricants. “From September, it will be available at major ports across Europe and Asia Pacific, including Singapore and Rotterdam.

Despite another slew of rises in long-term contracted ocean freight rates across key global trade corridors, month-on-month growth is slowing - and spot rates continue to weaken – suggesting prices may have peaked. However, according to the latest Xeneta Shipping Index (XSI), which crowd-sources real-time data from the world’s leading shippers, today’s valid long-term agreements stand 112% higher than this time last year, and a massive 280% up against July 2019.“The carriers have enjoyed staggering rates rises…

Eagle LNG marked a series of firsts when it fueled the 7,500-car carrier SIEM Aristotle from its Talleyrand LNG Bunker Station at the Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT) in Jacksonville, Fla. It was the first time SIEM has refueled the vessel from a landside bunkering facility and the first ship that Eagle LNG refueled of that size from the bunkering facility.SIEM Aristotle is the first deep-sea pure car, truck carrier (PCTC) equipped with dual-fuel engines, designed to operate on LNG and marine gas oil (MGO).

Long-term contracted ocean freight rates fell 3.6% in January, according to the latest Xeneta Shipping Index (XSI) Public Indices, the second consecutive monthly rates decline following 14 straight months of increases. Despite the recent stumble, contracted rates stand 98.1% up year-on-year.“The logistics chain remains stressed,” said Patrik Berglund, CEO of Oslo-based Xeneta, “with demand outstripping supply, port congestion, a lack of equipment and the ongoing pandemic impacting across key global trades.

SAAM, a provider of port, towage and logistics services in 14 countries in the Americas, reported net income of $55.5 million for the nine months ended September 2021, up 40% from the January-September period in 2020. EBITDA reached $202.3 million and sales totaled $548.9 million, marking rises of 28% and 29%, respectively (all consolidated figures).Figures for the quarter were also positive: Net income was $18.8 million (+162% with respect to 3Q2020), Sales totaled $192.6 million…

Shipping group CMA CGM has agreed to acquire the Fenix Marine Services (FMS) container terminal at the port of Los Angeles in a deal worth around $2 billion that will extend its presence in a crucial hub for transpacific trade.CMA CGM currently has a 10% stake in FMS and it is to buy the remaining 90% from investment fund EQT Infrastructure III on the basis of an enterprise value of $2.3 billion, CMA CGM and EQT said on Wednesday.France-based CMA CGM, one of the world's largest container shipping lines, expects to pay out around $1.8 billion for the 90% stake and will finance the deal from its

Some €6.5 billion (around $7,9 billion) in port infrastructure investments will be necessary for Europe to reach its 2030 offshore wind objectives, according to WindEurope.WindEuope, which says that ports are key to offshore wind development, has called for the European Commission to develop a Ports Strategy "and recognize the societal and ecological value of ports.""To deliver the offshore wind expansion set out in the EU’s Offshore Renewable Energy Strategy, Europe’s ports must expand and add new infrastructure," WindEurope said Thursday."Ports are central to offshore wind.