Container shipping firm CMA CGM Group and reefer transport specialist SEATRADE Group will together create a new vessel sharing agreement incorporating the services known by CMA CGM as PAD and by Seatrade as MERIDIAN, linking Northern Europe, the East Coast of the U.S., Central America, the Pacific Islands, Australia, New Zealand, Peru and the Caribbean on a weekly basis. The new service, expected to launch in October 2017, will bring together CMA CGM, SEATRADE and shipping company MARFRET and improve their frequency and port coverage.

Rate correction likely after low S-Oil charter drags market. Freight rates for very large crude carriers (VLCCs) could see a small respite next week, building on the slight improvement seen in the last two days although sentiment is likely to remain pessimistic of any real recovery, brokers said on Friday. "There was a large drop on Tuesday when South Korea's S-Oil fixed at 45.50 (on the Worldscale measure). But rates are now correcting," a Singapore-based supertanker broker said.

Welsh workboat builder Mainstay Marine said it has delivered a newly built 15-meter crew transfer vessel to Scottish tug operator and owner Targe Towing. The Camarc designed vessel is constructed with a steel hull and aluminum superstructure. It sails at speeds in excess of 15 knots and has a bollard pull of 6 metric tons. Compliment is for two crew and 12 passengers. Targe Towing provides dedicated towage for north east Scotland ports including BP’s Hound Point Marine terminal on the Firth of Forth.

Direct services between Asia and the East Coast of South America will begin port calls at APM Terminals Buenos Aires, Argentina, and APM Terminals Itajaí, Brazil. The joint service deployed by Hapag-Lloyd, NYK, ZIM, Hyundai and Hamburg Sud prefers their vessels call APM Terminals' facilities in Itajai (Brazil) and T4 in Buenos Aires (Argentina). The weekly Asian service, operated jointly with 13 vessels from Hapag-Lloyd, NYK, Zim, Hamburg Süd and Hyundai, will call the Asian ports of Kelang, Singapore, Qingdao, Shanghai, Ningbo, Hong Kong, Shekou and Busan.

The Grand Alliance, comprised of OOCL, NYK Hapag-Lloyd, and the New World Alliance, comprised of APL, MOL and Hyundai Merchant Marine announced the addition of the Asia-East Coast service (also known as the EC3 service), a new express, all-water service between Asia and Savannah via the Panama Canal. The Asia-East Coast will be a weekly service and make its first call on Savannah in September. Port rotation is Shanghai, Chiwan, Shekou, Hong Kong, Manzanillo, Savannah, Norfolk and back to Shanghai. The Asia-East Coast is an express service from Asia to Savannah further reducing transit times in all-water services to the East Coast.

Maersk Line will transform its TP12 service in to a standalone, around-the-world service that provides significantly faster transit times between Far East Asia and the US East Coast. From the Far East to the US East Coast the TP12 service will transit the new Panama Canal locks and call the ports of Newark, Norfolk and Baltimore on the US East Coast. On the return leg to Asia, the TP12 will go through the Suez Canal and call the ports of Salalah (Oman), Colombo (Sri Lanka) and Singapore.

​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.

MOL (America) Inc. announced the expansion of its Americas service profile. In May 2004, MOL will be adding a new service, the Americas Container Express (ACE), which will call the U.S. East Coast, Northern Caribbean, and the East Coast of South America. MOL has operated an extensive, South America service network for nearly 90 years. However, this is the first time the company has offered a direct service link between the East Coasts of North and South America.

A very rapidly developing storm is expected off the East Coast of U.S. and Canada as air pressure is forecast to drop abt 30 hPa in 12 hrs; from abt 998 hPa 26/00UTC to abt 968 hPa at 26/12UTC, after that the low deepens further on NE-ly track.   Widespread Storm and high sea (9-14 max 20m) in connection with the low 26-27 as it moves NE-wards along U.S./Canada East Coast.   Also vessels moving short coastal distances along U.S. and Canada East Coast should keep themselves updated on the development.  

CMA CGM has introduced its new Bengal Bay Express service, operated with 11 vessels of 6,500 TEU on a weekly basis, in a continuous effort to provide its customers with the best quality service.

Unusually bloated gasoline inventories in the U.S. during peak summer driving season has kept the transatlantic arb barely workable. EIA data indicates that gasoline imports into the U.S. East Coast (PADD 1) for June averaged 549 kb/d so far, down by 15.4 percent m-o-m. As such, an atypical influx of LR tankers carrying gasoline from Europe have been fixed to the East in recent weeks. At least 6 LR2 and LR1 tankers loaded with gasoline are heading from the ARA region to AG/Singapore in June.

Phillips 66 has purchased a cargo of Algerian crude oil for its Bayway refinery in New Jersey for the first time since 2013, two sources said, the latest U.S. refiner on the East Coast to shun domestic crudes in favor of cheaper imports. The rare shipment suggests East Coast refiners are ramping up efforts that started in the past year to shift to a diet of foreign crudes as the era of cheaper domestic supplies continues to fade. A Panamax-sized vessel named Energy Century carrying about 433,000 barrels of Saharan Blend crude oil arrived in New York Harbor on Monday after leaving the Algerian port of Skikda on March 29, according to Reuters Eikon shipping data. BP was listed as the charterer, shipping records show. The oil, which is very similar to U.S.

requirements even more effectively. The East Coast South (ECS) and East Coast North(ECN) will be reconfigured to offer more diverse loading options and optimal transit time from South, North and Central China. The South China East Coast Express (SCE) will serve Taiwan and South China by calling at Kaohsiung, Shekou, Hong Kong, New York, Norfolk and Savannah. Savannah. Each service loop will deploy 8 ships with capacities of between 3,500 and 4,400 TEU. Both services will start from the middle of June. by offering competitive products from major Asian ports. Transit time from Hong Kong to New York and Shanghai to New York will be 23days and 21days respectively.

Grand Alliance members Hapag-Lloyd (HL), Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) and Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL), along with Partner ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd (ZIM) are pleased to jointly announce the new co-operation with Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) within the Trans-Pacific All Water sector. The South China East Coast Express 2 (SCE2) will be launched on 12th May 2011, in conjunction with the enhancement of the established South China East Coast Express (SCE), offering a comprehensive service network for Lines’ respective customers’ requirements.

CKYHE Alliance, COSCON, “K”Line, Yang Ming, Hanjin and Evergreen Line, is reorganizing their service network for Asia-US East Coast trade in 2016. CKYHE Alliance will provide five Asia-US East Coast services (AWE1/AWE3/AWE4/AWE8/NUE) from early June of 2016. The Alliance members have re-designed the services to provide optimum port coverage from Asia to US East Coast with AWE1/AWE3/NUE services upsized & AWE4/AWE8 services re-structured in order to enhance the competitiveness of the Alliance.

The surprising surge in cargo volumes from Asia to the East Coast of North America since July remained strong in September, and even appears to have continued in October says a Drewry Maritime Research analysis. Shipments from Asia to the East Coast of North America (ECNA) continued to grow impressively in September, reaching 382,000 teu. It brought the total for the peak season quarter up to 1.14 million teu, a startling 18% increase over the same period last year. In turn, this took the year-to-date increase up to 10%, which was significantly better than the West Coast’s 3%.

Following the Panama Canal expansion in 2016, up to 10 percent of container traffic to the U.S. from East Asia could shift from West Coast ports to East Coast ports by 2020, according to new research conducted by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and C.H. Robinson. Rerouting that volume is equivalent to building a port roughly double the size of the ports in Savannah and Charleston. The research -- which involved extensive scenario analyses based on differing levels of demand…

Traders prep rare East Coast gasoline exports; cargoes already sailing with exported distillates. Traders are preparing to export cargoes of coveted gasoline from the U.S. East Coast after months of heavy importing and local production swamped the region. At least two cargoes of gasoline are lined up to sail to West Africa, according to three market sources, with others eyeing their own shipments. The United States consumed more than 9 million barrels per day of gasoline in 2016, accounting for nearly 10 percent of global oil demand.

Mediterranean Shipping Company announced a General Rate Increase that will affect westbound freight moving from the USA to Asia effective January 1, 2010.

Middle East rates helped by fewer old vessels; about 96 MidEast cargoes fixed, 25 to come. Freight rates for very large crude carriers (VLCCs) could rise next week on firm sentiment in the Middle East and West Africa markets but higher oil prices and fewer floating storage opportunities could cap increases, brokers said on Friday. "Middle East rates to the east have crept up one or two points (on the Worldscale measure)," said Ashok Sharma, managing director of BRS Baxi in Singapore. "Rates are up to W52.50 today. There is a slightly firm undertone," he added.

U.S. East Coast refiners are looking to buy increasing volumes of domestic crude oil from the Gulf Coast, two sources said, the latest twist in a trade flow upheaval in the wake of the opening of the Dakota Access pipeline. Major U.S. East Coast refiners profited from railing hundreds of thousands of barrels of discounted Bakken crude to their plants daily from 2013 until 2015. But as more and more pipelines were built in North Dakota, the discount began to disappear, and so did the rail cars.

CMA CGM announces the reshuffling of its services on the Asia – US East Coast trade. A service operated by CMA CGM with 11 vessels of 5 500 teus. A service operated by China Shipping, Evergreen and UASC with 9 vessels of 4 000 teus. The Columbus Suez service operated by CMA CGM and Maersk Line with 16 vessels of 8 100 teus remains unchanged. “The strengthening of our Asia / USEC loops means 3 departures a week and a wider geographical coverage.

Ports on the U.S.’ eastern coast had a very busy 2015 in terms of container traffic, with 7.9 million TEU of loaded containers entering the U.S. East Coast in 2015, a 12.6 percent increase compared to 7 million in 2014, BIMCO reports. While the U.S. East Coast ports experienced a surge in incoming traffic, labor issues and port congestion gloomed over the U.S. West Coast. The start of 2015 was dominated by the ongoing contract negotiations between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA).