Suez Canal Must Upgrade Quickly to Avoid Future Shipping Disruption
Egypt's Suez Canal must move quickly to upgrade its technical infrastructure if it is to avoid future shipping disruption, shipping industry sources said, as the major trade route tries to bounce back from a costly six-day closure.International supply chains were thrown into disarray on March 23 when the 400-meter-long (430-yard) container ship Ever Given ran aground in the canal, with specialist rescue teams taking almost a week to free her after extensive dredging and repeated tugging operations.Egypt will get two new tugboats…
Mega Ships, Mega Challenges
The mega container ships raising concerns among vessel operators, insurers and regulators about the potential for catastrophic accidents. Shipping lines have sought to stay competitive by running larger, more fuel-efficient container ships in major shipping lanes, holding down the cost of ocean shipping and reducing their cost per container. But the gigantification of container ships and tanker vessels, as well as more particular stability problems of car carrier designs, need to be addressed from an insurance risk perspective, says Dieter Berg, president, International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI). In this Insurance Institute of London Lecture, Peter Townsend, Head of London Marine at Swiss Re cautioned how these new bigger ships were bringing new concerns to the insurance industry.
