Container Ships News

The maritime industry is seeing significant fleet growth in the containership sector as the volume of newbuild deliveries eclipses previous highs.“Since the beginning of the year, the capacity of the containership fleet has increased by 1.6 million TEU. Compared to one year ago, the capacity has risen 11% to 29.5 million TEU, the fastest fleet growth in 15 years,” said Niels Rasmussen, chief shipping analyst at BIMCO.During the first half of 2024, a total of 264 ships with a combined capacity of 1.6 million TEU have been delivered from shipyards…

The United States' Federal Maritime Commission on Monday published its final rule concerning “Definition of Unreasonable Refusal to Deal or Negotiate with Respect to Vessel Space Accommodations”.The rule establishes the necessary elements for the Commission to apply 46 U.S.C. 41104(a)(3) with respect to refusals of cargo space accommodations when available, and 46 U.S.C. 41104(a)(10) with respect to refusals of vessel space accommodations.Where an alleged refusal by an ocean common carrier takes place during the “negotiation” phase of a transaction, 46 U.S.C. 41104(a)(10) would apply.

Maersk on Friday said there was a fire incident on one of its chartered vessels sailing from Mundra, off the western coast of India to Colombo, Sri Lanka.The fire started due to a short circuit resulting in explosions and the death of a seaman from Philippines, local media said, adding that there were 21 crew members on board.The vessel is in stable condition, the company said in an emailed statement to Reuters."At the moment, we are unable to confirm whether and to what extent is the impact of the fire," it added in the statement.The fire was reported around 2:30 p.m.

The cost to ship a standard 40-foot container of toys, auto parts or other goods from Shanghai to New York has jumped to nearly $10,000, fueling frustration among importers and prompting some experts to say the market is in a bubble.The Drewry World Container Index's spot rate for such a shipment hit $9,387 on July 11. That is more than double the rate from February but still below the peak of $16,000 early in the pandemic when it swelled due to spree buying by homebound consumers.Industry…

A global operational alliance between two of the world’s largest container shipping companies will not go into effect next week as planned following a move by the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission to study the potential competitive impacts of the arrangement.The FMC said on Friday it is seeking more information to determine the potential competitive impacts of the proposed Gemini Cooperation Agreement, which would allow ocean carriers Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd to share vessels in the trades between the United States and Asia…

French shipping and logistics company CMA CGM said on Thursday that its ship "Benjamin Franklin" had lost 44 containers in difficult weather conditions off the coast of South Africa on Tuesday."No injury to the crew has been reported, no pollution, no strong damage to the vessel which remains fully seaworthy," the company said, adding that 33 additional containers had been damaged.The ship was traveling westbound from Asia to Europe when it encountered "unexpectedly strong adverse weather conditions"…

U.S. ocean carrier Matson is doing its part to limit whale strikes, including rerouting vessels to avoid protected areas and helping to develop cutting-edge technology that detects whales and alerts crew members of their presence.In August of last year, Matson made route adjustments to its weekly triangulating Oakland-Long Beach-Honolulu voyage to minimize the time our vessels spend inside whale protection zones of the northern and southern California coasts. Fleet Operations…

Shipping giant Maersk said one of its vessels, the Maersk Sentosa, reported being targeted by a flying object in the north of the Gulf of Aden early on Tuesday.Maersk told Reuters that no injuries to the crew or damage to the ship or cargo were reported.A spokesperson for the Copenhagen-based company said the ship was one of its U.S.-flagged vessels sailing for the subsidiary Maersk Line, Limited.The captain of an unnamed merchant ship reported an explosion close to the vessel some 180 nautical miles (333 km) east of Yemen's Nishtun…

Solid container shipping demand has driven up freight rates over the past two months, Hapag-Lloyd chief executive Rolf Habben Jansen said in a call with reporters on Wednesday.Attacks on vessels by Yemen-based Houthi militants have led shipping firms to avoid the Red Sea that connects with the Suez Canal and instead use a longer route around southern Africa, a situation whose end was hard to predict, he said."We have seen solid demand, particularly since May 1, that meets with limited availability, also because of the Red Sea situation, that's why spot rates are going up," Habben Jansen said.T

A new partnership between container carrier Hapag-Lloyd and tech company ZeroNorth will aim to develop and launch a new bunker procurement and planning solution for the maritime industry.The partners said on Wednesday that they will set out to create a new digital solution that enables Hapag-Lloyd to effectively navigate the energy transition, reduce fuel spend, and cut cost to serve.Jan Christensen, Senior Director Global Fuel Purchasing, Hapag-Lloyd, said, “We have a clear strategic direction to advance decarbonization across our fleet and across our business.

The National Transportation Safety Board said on Monday it is inspecting key electrical components that were removed from the cargo ship Dali that crashed into a Maryland bridge in March, killing six people and destroying the Patapsco River crossing.In May, the NTSB said the Dali lost electrical power several times before the crash into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, including experiencing a blackout during in-port maintenance and shortly before the crash.The NTSB said it is continuing…

TCP, an arm of China Merchants Port, is working to dissuade a logistics firm from applying a surcharge on outgoing cargos at South America's largest container terminal, TCP Commercial Director Carolina Brown said.France-based logistics firm CMA CGM's $150 surcharge, which would take effect on July 1, could impact the cost of shipping goods through Brazil's main refrigerated container terminal, which is also the world's biggest chicken export corridor."We have already contacted CMA…

German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd does not anticipate the shipping industry to resume sailing through the Suez Canal anytime soon, even if a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel was reached now, a spokesperson for the company told Reuters on Tuesday.The comments from the world's fifth-biggest shipping firm come after Palestinian groups welcomed a U.N. Security Council resolution backing a proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza.Hapag-Lloyd and Danish peer Maersk shares were down 5-6% this afternoon on the news.But "even if there were to be a ceasefire now…

Yemen's Houthis on Friday said they targeted two vessels in the Red Sea with drones and missiles, but there was no independent confirmation of the purported attacks.The group targeted the Elbella and AAL Genoa vessels with "a number of drones and ballistic and naval missiles", the Iran-aligned group's military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a televised speech.Saree did not specify the date on which the strikes were carried out. Reuters did not receive any reports of incidents in the Red Sea on Friday.Eastern Mediterranean Maritime…

Russia's state nuclear agency Rosatom has signed a memorandum of understanding with a Chinese shipping company to establish a year-round container line between the two countries via the Arctic's Northern Sea Route (NSR), it said on Thursday.Russian President Vladimir Putin has talked up prospects for the Arctic corridor as Russia shifts its trade eastwards in response to Western sanctions over the conflict in Ukraine.Rosatom said the agreement with China's Hainan Yangpu NewNew Shipping Co.

Libra Group exited the container shipping market this week after selling close to 100 vessels for more than $2 billion over several years to focus on innovation and sustainability as new drivers of growth, the company's executive chairman said.The container market hit rock bottom nearly a decade ago before rebounding to record highs during the COVID pandemic as demand for consumer goods, which are carried by container ships, surged.George Logothetis, executive chairman of privately owned U.S.-headquartered Libra Group…

Hapag-Lloyd Chief Executive Rolf Habben Jansen said on Wednesday that demand for container shipments across the world's oceans has risen significantly in recent weeks but the upswing may be short-lived.The CEO told customers at an online presentation that the increase since the start of May was due to a combination of stocks being replenished in some sectors, unexpectedly high customer demand and shipping company customers bringing forward deliveries to be prepared for the upcoming peak season."People want to be on the safe side…

Spiking ocean shipping rates, vessel backups at seaports and empty container shortages - issues that wreaked havoc on global trade during the COVID pandemic supply-chain crisis - are back as the industry enters its busy season."There is a cocktail of uncertainty and disruption across global ocean freight supply chains," said Peter Sand, chief analyst at pricing platform Xeneta."It is the speed and magnitude of this recent (rate) spike that has taken the market by surprise," he said.On Friday…

A. P. Møller-Mærsk's newly developed design for an ammonia-fuelled 3,500 TEU container vessel has earned approval in principle (AIP) from classification societies Lloyd’s Register (LR) and the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS).Led by the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, the design project also involved MAN Energy Solutions, Deltamarin, Eltronic FuelTech.“To unlock the potential of sustainable ammonia as an alternative, low-emissions marine fuel, we must…

Greek authorities confiscated more than 109 kg (240 pounds) of cocaine hidden in a container with frozen squid aboard a vessel inspected at the port of Piraeus, police sources said on Tuesday.The container was shipped from Peru and its destination was Croatia, one of the officials said.South American production of cocaine has surged over the past decade and Balkan traffickers have helped turn Europe into the world’s No. 1 cocaine market.Greece last week said it had dismantled an international criminal group trafficking cocaine in shipping containers from Latin America to Europe…

A next generation feeder ship design developed by Technolog for Seaspan Corporation has been awarded approval in principle (AIP) from Lloyd's Register (LR), the classification society announced.The innovative vessel, measuring 198 meters long, is designed to be efficiently converted from liquefied natural gas (LNG) to ammonia fuel during its lifetime, trading efficiently in today’s market and being ready for tomorrow’s. The unique design is therefore prepared for future advancements in feeder vessel technology as power and propulsion systems continue to rapidly evolve.Andy McKeran…

A containership transiting the Pacific Ocean lost hydraulic oil and propulsion after its propeller blade cracked, according to a report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). A blade on the vessel’s controllable pitch propeller system did not meet manufacturer design specifications, the investigation found.The Matson containership Maunalei was travelling to Portland, Ore., from Anchorage, Alaska on August 11, 2022, for drydock repairs when the crew intentionally shut down the main engine due to problems in the controllable pitch propeller system…

Recovery teams refloated a large containership impeding shipping in the Port of Baltimore early on Monday and began pulling it free of the main channel, two months after the vessel crashed into the Francis Scott Key bridge and caused the span to collapse.Tugboats were leading the Dali to a local marine terminal after a successful effort to make the container ship buoyant at about 6:40 a.m. EDT (1040 GMT), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said on social media platform X.The removal…