North America West Coast News

Shofu Maru, the world’s first coal carrier equipped with the Wind Challenger - a hard sail wind power propulsion system - this week made the maiden port of call in Newcastle, Australia. Japanese shipping giant Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) held a ceremony on October 24 to mark the occasion. "The Australian government has set a decarbonization policy to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, and local port officials in Newcastle have high expectations and interest in the Shofu Maru, which contributes to decarbonization while transporting energy resources that support people's lives," MOL said.

Japan’s shipping major Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and Oshima Shipbuilding have jointly obtained Approval in Principle (AIP) from Nippon Kaiji Kyokai  (ClassNK) for the design of a hard sail system.The system converts wind energy to propulsive force with telescopic hard sail, and is a fundamental technology of the "Wind Challenger Project"  that MOL and Oshima Shipbuilding are spearheading.Along with other participating organizations, MOL and Oshima Shipbuilding have played a central role in research and development on the Wind Challenger Project, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by using wind energy.Obtaining the AIP marks…

San Diego utility company Sempra Energy Sempra Energy said that its subsidiary Energía Costa Azul (ECA) LNG received two authorizations from the US Department of Energy (DOE) to export US produced natural gas to Mexico and to re-export LNG to countries that do not have a free-trade agreement (non-FTA) with the US.Permission to export to non-free trade agreement nations such as China, Japan and South Korea is desirable status to LNG exporters because due to higher natural gas prices in East Asia. Now Sempra can export from its Phase 1 and Phase 2 liquefaction-export facilities in development in Baja California, Mexico."The timing of these approvals is great news as we meet with customers and partners this week in Shanghai," said Joseph A.

THE Alliance members Hapag-Lloyd, Ocean Network Express(ONE) and Yang Ming have published details of a rationalised revamped network for east-west trades effective from next year.The forthcoming THE Alliance products of 29 services will cover 76 ports in Asia, Europe including Mediterranean, North and Central America, the Middle East, Red Sea and Indian Subcontinent, said a joint press release.Deployment of over 249 efficient container ships with expanded capacity, offering improved service coverage, comprehensive port connections and rapid transit times.The major enhancement of THE Alliance product includes a newly designed pendulum service to replace Far East Europe 1 service (FE1)…

Sempra Energy, the US group that aims to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility near Ensenada, Mexico, to serve customers in Asia moved closer to becoming reality as the natural gas utilities holding company  announced agreements with three international firms.The San Diego-based company announced in a press release that  that its subsidiaries Infraestructura Energetica Nova  (IEnova) and Sempra LNG & Midstream have signed three Heads of Agreements (HOAs) with affiliates of Total, Mitsui & Co. and Tokyo Gas Co. for the full export capacity of Phase 1 of the Energia Costa Azul liquefied natural gas (ECA LNG) project located in Baja California…

Ocean Network Express Pte. Ltd. (ONE) announced it has taken delivery of the 14,00 TEU capacity ONE Aquila at Japan Marine United Corporation’s Kure Shipyard in Hiroshima.

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.

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…

CMA CGM, a leading worldwide shipping group, launches Saturday April 1st the 40 new maritime services of its new operational alliance OCEAN Alliance. Combining this new offer of maritime services with a global intermodal and logistics offer, CMA CGM Group and its subsidiaries supply its customers with tailored solutions, even more competitive on the routes Asia-Europe, Asia-Mediterranean, Asia-Red Sea, Asia–Middle East, Trans-Pacific, Asia-East Coast of North America trades and Transatlantic. CMA CGM Group is the major player in this operational alliance, as it brings 119 of the 323 ships to OCEAN Alliance. With its 650 offices in more than 160 countries…

As part of the CMA CGM Group, APL will join the league of the world’s largest container shipping lines in the OCEAN Alliance from April 2017. Navigating forward as a member of the world’s third largest container shipping Group, APL is poised to serve a network coverage of 38 loops within the OCEAN Alliance; along with more than 70 other loops beyond the Alliance. APL Chief Executive Officer, Nicolas Sartini said, “APL will be well-placed as a formidable container shipping carrier as we stand amongst the strongest forces behind the Alliance. While the Alliance will be characterized by unparalleled port coverage, frequent sailings and very competitive transit time, APL will continue to make a difference beyond the reliable transportation of cargoes from origin to destination.

Two services will be merged into one until further notice / Reason is change in market demand / All other services remain unchanged. Members of the G6 Alliance today announced a change within their Asia - North America West Coast products in response to changes in market demand. All other services of the G6 Alliance covering Asia to North America West Coast will remain unchanged. The G6 Alliance continues to offer a variety of services between Asia and the North America West Coast covering all major port pairs with weekly sailings, and to make further service adjustments where necessary. The G6 Alliance members are: APL, Hapag-Lloyd, Hyundai Merchant Marine, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Nippon Yusen Kaisha and Orient Overseas Container Line.

Mitsui O.S.K. Tokyo, May 13, 2016 - Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL, President & CEO: Junichiro Ikeda), Nippon Yusen Kaisha, “K” Line, Hanjin, Hapag-Lloyd and Yang Ming have agreed to create a new alliance covering all East-West trade lanes namely, Asia-Europe / Mediterranean, Asia-North America West Coast, Asia-North America East Coast, Transatlantic and Asia-Middle East / Persian Gulf / Red Sea. A binding agreement has been concluded by all partners and “THE Alliance” is scheduled to begin operation in April 2017 subject to approval of all relevant regulatory authorities. The initial term of the cooperation will be five years. The new…

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.

Press release - AAL has announced the opening of a new office in Vancouver, Canada. This continues the company’s global expansion strategy, which has, in the same month, seen the opening of AAL Korea. The move strengthens the company’s on-the-ground presence and customer support function in a region experiencing growth and development. AAL is also one of the first global shipping operators established in Vancouver to have benefited from the support of the newly launched Vancouver International Maritime Center (VIMC).

The gridlock at U.S. West Coast ports that has forced McDonald's to ration French fries at its Japanese restaurants and interrupted supplies to retailers such as Lululemon is unlikely to be alleviated by routing cargoes through Canada, whose Pacific ports face their own problems. Capacity is already limited at Canada's largest port, Port Metro Vancouver, which is also staring at the possibility of another crippling strike by container truck drivers. Tensions are mounting as talks to resolve longstanding complaints at the port drag on between government…

Port Metro Vancouver, Canada's largest port, said on Thursday it has approved a new facility to transfer coal from trains onto barges at Fraser Surrey Docks, a decision that followed lengthy public scrutiny over the project's environmental and health impact. After a permitting process lasting more than two years and including environmental impact, air quality and other human health assessments, the port said it found no "unacceptable risks" in allowing the $15 million project to move forward. The Fraser Surrey Docks terminal would handle up to 4 million metric tonnes of coal from the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Co (BNSF) each year, loading it on barges bound for Texada Island, north of Vancouver, where it would be transferred to large vessels for export.

Hapag-Lloyd provides a status update for the heavily impacted ports. As noted in recent press articles, in anticipation of possible labor action on the US West Coast, shippers have significantly increased their import volumes. This is causing congestion in various West Coast Ports. We wish to provide you a status update for the heavily impacted ports. Increased cargo volumes starting in June resulted in major terminal congestion and delays. Currently rail cargo is still impacted with delays and increased dwell times. We expect this situation to further deteriorate with continuous surge of import volumes. An increase in volumes diverted away from US West Coast, coupled with limited allocation in rail cars to US corridors has resulted in significant congestion and increased dwell times.

The continuous cascading of surplus Panamax vessels into North-South trades is still contributing to over-capacity, and the problem is likely to get worse when the Panama Canal’s widened locks are opened at the end of 2015, according to the latest edition of Drewry Container Insight. MSC’s recently announced service between Asia and West Africa deploying 10 ships averaging 4,000 teu underlines a growing difficulty for North-South trades. Surplus Panamax vessels between 4,000 teu and 4,999 teu are still keeping charter rates low, making it easier for competing carriers to penetrate the markets more deeply, regardless of need. Only four of the ships deployed in MSC’s Africa Express service have so far been identified…

The Lord Mayor of the City of London, Fiona Woolf, welcomed the foreign direct investment by Dubai’s DP World into London Gateway, while visiting the recently opened deep-sea container port and Europe’s largest logistics park. During her visit, the Lord Mayor, climbed one of the world’s largest quay cranes to have an elevated view of the massive three square mile site, where work is underway for a Common User Facility and other proposed distribution centers. The Right Honorable Fiona Woolf, said, “The Port of London has a vital role in this country’s great trading history.

Members of the G6 Alliance  released details on port rotations for the proposed service expansion to the Asia-North America West Coast and Trans-Atlantic trade lanes, announced in early December last year. Subject to the completion of regulatory review process, the 17 services are scheduled to start in the second quarter of 2014. “The G6 Alliance monitors market developments closely and is continuously seeking opportunities to improve our service offerings,” member carriers said in a statement. “With the introduction of the Asia – North America West Coast and Trans-Atlantic services, the G6 Alliance will further strengthen its position to meet shippers’ demand for more comprehensive, seamless and efficient services with competitive transit times.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. Transferred sales and vessel operations of the dry bulker fleet (over 130 vessels) to Singapore to advance business expansion. ¥101.5 billion was allocated as cost of BSR during the fourth quarter of FY2012. Set forth the target of absolutely achieving profitability in FY2013 in the single-year management plan “RISE 2013”, and carried forward business model reforms (accumulating stable profits, scaling down free fleet). Participated in deepwater FPSO chartering project for T.E.N.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL, President: Koichi Muto) , a Member of the G6 Alliance has announced plans to expand their cooperation to the Asia-North America West Coast and Trans-Atlantic trade lanes. The G6 Alliance said the expanded cooperation will provide customers with more service choices and increased sailing frequency. For example, on the Asia-North America West Coast trade, each G6 Alliance member will be able to offer almost twice as many sailings, compared to what is currently offered separately by The New World Alliance and the Grand Alliance. “The proposed expansion will complement our existing services in the Asia-North America East Coast and Asia-Europe trades…

Containership Cap Cleveland inaugurated a new service offering freight connections between US Pacific Northwest and Mediterranean ports when she docked recently at the Port of Portalnd, to be greeted by port officials and container terminal managers from Philippine-based International Container Services Inc. Hamburg Süd offers new and more regular calls to Mediterraneon ports as well as feeder connections to the Far East, Middle East, Indian Ocean, Latin America and West Africa.