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Transatlantic Trade News

21 Feb 2024

ARC Keeps the Cargo Rolling

Flags on M/V ARC Defender.
Image courtesy ARC

With a fleet of nine U.S.-flag RoRo ships, American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier Group (ARC), is the U.S.’ premier commercial RoRo carrier of U.S. government and military cargo. As the world becomes an increasingly contentious place, Eric P. Ebeling, President & CEO, ARC, discusses the vast capabilities of the ARC fleet and logistics network, as well as the challenges and opportunities ahead for U.S.-flag ships in the international trade.By the numbers’ is a simplistic means to gauge the size and shape of any shipping company…

27 Apr 2023

“Friendshoring” Impacts Container Shipping Trade Patterns

© Peter / Adobe Stock

As geopolitical upheaval continues, Peter Sand, Chief Analyst, Xeneta, explores how global trade patterns have (and will) evolve.Geopolitical unrest could have dramatic and long-term impacts on global trade patterns for all goods and commodities, as political alliances are essentially being ripped up and rewritten. Spurred by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, changing trade patterns are emerging in the container shipping sector, said Xeneta’s Peter Sand, as the term of the day is “friendshoring”…

19 Mar 2021

First-Ever: Sovcomflot’s Gagarin Prospect Tanker in LNG Bunkering Milestone in U.S.

Russian oil and gas shipping giant Sovcomflot said Friday it had on March 15, together with Shell, "broke new ground," with the completion of the "first-ever Aframax tanker fuelling using LNG in the USA."Sovcomflot’s Gagarin Prospect tanker, on long-term charter to Shell, was en-route from Corpus Christi to Europe. It received 1,075 cubic metres of marine LNG from the Shell NA LNG LLC chartered Q-LNG 4000 outside the Port of Canaveral, Florida. "This represented the first ever ship-to-ship LNG fuelling of a large capacity Aframax tanker in the USA…

17 Mar 2021

Katherine Tai Confirmed by Senate as US Trade Chief

Katherine Tai (Photo: The White House)

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday voted unanimously to confirm veteran government trade lawyer Katherine Tai as the first woman of color to serve as U.S. Trade Representative, putting her to work enforcing trade deals, confronting China’s trade practices and patching up ties with U.S. allies.The rare 98-0 vote for Tai, a Yale and Harvard-educated daughter of immigrants from Taiwan, reflects support from pro-labor Democrats, traditional free-trade Republicans and China hawks from both parties.Tai…

11 Jul 2019

Will High-Speed Container Transport Ever Work?

Figure 2 is a first pass sketch of what it may look like (I already see various areas for improvement on this sketch, but for illustrative purposes it will do). Photo credit: Martin & Ottaway, Inc.

Every few years I am handed a high-speed container transport proposal. Generally it consists of some type of high speed vessel design that would be able to move containers at high speed and thereby attract a new market by taking a chunk out of the air cargo market and the premium ocean market. Occasionally we are asked to look at the economics for potential investors, and it always falls short of being economically viable. While it is possible to move containers a little quicker over the ocean with faster vessels…

01 Feb 2019

Product Tanker Market Looks Up

The product tanker market registered a robust recovery in the fourth quarter of 2018, partially reversing the downward trend observed in the first nine months of the year, said Capital Product Partners.The Marshall Islands' tanker company said in a stock exchange annoucement that the beginning of the quarter was weak in line with the previous quarters, as rates hovered close to historically low levels, but the market gained momentum from early November onwards.In the West, the product tanker market experienced strong gains as earnings for MR product tankers on the benchmark transatlantic trade and from the U.S. Gulf reached three-year highs.

06 Jun 2018

EU Plans to Hit US Imports with Duties from July

© beketoff / Adobe Stock

The European Union expects to hit U.S. imports with additional duties from July, ratcheting up a transatlantic trade conflict after Washington imposed its own tariffs on incoming EU steel and aluminium.EU members have given broad support to a European Commission plan to set 25 percent duties on up to 2.8 billion euros ($3.3 billion) of U.S. exports in response to what is sees as illegal U.S. action. EU exports that are now subject to U.S. tariffs are worth 6.4 billion euros."The…

24 May 2018

Europe Can Expect Only Modest Trade Deal with U.S. - EU Trade Chief

© Pavel Losevsky / Adobe Stock

The European Union's trade chief described on Thursday the lack of a full trade accord between the bloc and the United States as ridiculous, but said the best that could be expected now was only a very modest agreement.Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom also rebuffed suggestions that the EU should simply seek to settle its differences over tariffs with the United States at the World Trade Organization, questioning whether the WTO's appeals process could survive in the longer term.EU leaders agreed last week to discuss opening their markets wider to U.S.

10 Apr 2018

CMA CGM Rolls Out Ocean Alliance Day Two Product

CMA CGM Group, a world leader in maritime transport, is pleased to announce the start of the Ocean Alliance Day Two Product. Based on the success of Ocean Alliance, the Ocean Alliance Day Two Product strengthens CMA CGM’s service offering by providing even better services and upgrades to the Group’s customers. The Ocean Alliance Day Two Product has a carrying capacity of around 3.1 million TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) with 331 containerships deployed on 41 services. CMA CGM will continue to play a major role within the alliance, deploying a fleet of 121 ships. 20 Transpacific services, 4 Transatlantic services, 6 Asia-North Europe services…

04 Sep 2017

CMA CGM Major Player in US Economy

The United States represent a major focus for the CMA CGM Group’s international development, said a press statement from the company. CMA CGM, in a blog said that to cover this huge market, the company has been solidly established since 1995 in the United States with a head office in Norfolk and 5 main regional offices in New Jersey, Chicago, Long Beach, Houston and Atlanta. The Group employs 1 760 staff members in 19 offices in USA West and East coast. CMA CGM is well positioned in a market popular with both importers and exporters. The transatlantic trade is very dynamic, the statement said. The country’s central location between the Pacific to the west and the Atlantic to the east obviously dictates the trading geography: American ports on the West Coast mainly focus on Asia…

05 Jul 2016

TTIP Free Trade Deal Between U.S. and EU at Dead End

A free trade deal being negotiated by the European Union and the United States is at a dead end and an agreement with Canada is also at risk, Italy's industry minister said on Tuesday.   "I think (the TTIP deal) will fall through, and the agreement with Canada is at risk of doing the same. We have been negotiating it for too long," Carlo Calenda said at an event in Rome.   Calenda said confidence in the negotiations was lacking.   Talks on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), a sweeping U.S.-European free trade deal, started three years ago, but the two sides have been unable to settle differences over various issues, including agriculture.   (Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte, writing by Isla Binnie)

12 May 2016

Brexit: The Implications for Shipping

“Brexit” is the notion that the United Kingdom would leave the European Union. What would be the impact of Brexit on the shipping sector? Dr Vincent Power, EU & Competition Partner, looks at impacts of Brexit on the shipping sector. Shipping is extremely important to the EU. In 2014, more than 51.5% of EU external freight trade by value was transported by sea. More than 400 million people are transported by sea from EU ports annually. The EU’s 22 coastal Member States have more than 1,200 seaports offering direct employment to around 110,000 people and providing indirect support to around three million more. Almost 90 per cent of the EU’s external trade by volume is facilitated by seaports, as are 40 per cent of freight exchanges between member states.

08 Mar 2016

Global Markets Ripe for US Marine Technologies

Maryanne Burke (Photo: U.S. Commercial Service)

The growing worldwide demand for marine technologies, port construction and shipbuilding is generating new export opportunities for U.S. companies. As more firms look to boost their bottom line by maximizing their reach to the more than 95 percent of world consumers who live outside of the United States, many are taking advantage of numerous export resources along the way. At the same time, many other businesses have yet to export. International Trade Specialist Maryanne Burke leads the U.S. Commercial Service’s Marine Technology Team, and is based at the Boston U.S.

26 Feb 2016

EU-US Trade Deal on Course for This Year

EU and U.S. negotiators seeking a transatlantic free trade agreement expressed cautious optimism on Friday that they could resolve most issues by July, which could lead to a conclusion of a deal by the end of the year. The two sides are trying to agree on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), which supporters say could boost each economy by some $100 billion at a time of slowing growth in China and emerging markets. "We now have proposed texts in the vast majority of the negotiating areas... we are well into the nitty gritty of the negotiating process," Dan Mullaney, chief U.S. negotiator, told a news conference at the end of a 12th round of talks.

30 Sep 2015

G6 Announces Asia-North America Winter Program

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.

21 Aug 2015

EU Tries to Clear 'Fog of Confusion' Over US Trade Pact

The European Commission will publish detailed reports on its negotiations with the United States to forge the world's biggest trade pact, EU trade chief Cecilia Malmstrom said on Friday, responding to criticism that the talks have been shrouded in secrecy. If agreed, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) would encompass a third of world trade, and proponents say it would deliver more than $100 billion of economic gains on both sides. But opponents in Europe have voiced concern that it could erode EU standards on food safety and the environment, and argue the negotiations have not been transparent. In a blog post, Malmstrom said one of her first decisions as trade commissioner when she took office last year had been to make the negotiations more open…

29 Jul 2015

G6 Alliance Modifies Asia-Europe

The G6 Alliance has strengthened its Asia-Europe service by adding additional ports. The G6 alliance, consisting of APL, Hapag-Lloyd, Hyundai Merchant Marine, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Nippon Yusen Kaisha and Orient Overseas Container Line, will be upgrading its Loop 7 service to include calls at Gothenburg and Antwerp. One of the G6 Alliance operators Hapag-Lloyd, said  that in response to market demand, members of the Alliance announced the following Asia – Europe service enhancement to improve the connection between Asia and Scandinavia. This enhancement will also provide a better transit time from Antwerp to Asia. The enhancement will take effect on the 005 voyage operated by the Hyundai Drive, which departed Qingdao on July 14, 2015.

25 Jun 2015

AAPA Praises Senate for Passing TPA - 2015

“The prosperity of the United States is inextricably entwined with that of the rest of the world and international trade agreements provide stability and equity enabling increased trade,” said American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) President and CEO Kurt Nagle in support of the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 (TPA-2015), which the Senate just approved and the House approved on June 18. He added, “Port cargo activity accounts for over a quarter of the U.S. economy and provides more than 23 million American jobs. As the unified and recognized voice of seaports in the Americas, AAPA has both independently, and in partnership with the Trade Benefits America coalition, strongly urged federal lawmakers to make TPA-2015 a priority.

05 Nov 2014

Evergas & INEOS Expand Dragon Vessel Series

Evergas has reached an agreement with INEOS to expand its new-building series of ethane/multigas vessels from six to eight units. In January 2013, Evergas announced for the first time that it had secured shipping agreements of up to 15 years with INEOS for the worlds’ first transatlantic shipments of ethane with commencement in 2015. The fleet of eight vessels will bring US ethane from shale gas to INEOS’ manufacturing sites in Grangemouth, Scotland and Rafnes, Norway. This advantageously priced feedstock will have a highly positive impact for the company’s European operations that so far have relied on declining and expensive volumes from the North Sea. Furthermore it will support the company’s longevity of being a leading and cost-efficient petrochemical producer.

09 Oct 2014

Maersk, MSC Win U.S. OK to Launch Shipping Pact

Richard Lidinsky Jr, Federal Maritime Commission commissioner (Source: FMC)

Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC), the world's two largest container shippers, won approval from U.S. maritime regulators for a planned vessel sharing pact, bringing it a step closer after a bid for a larger alliance failed. The so-called 2M alliance would see the two carriers pool 185 ships on European, transatlantic and transpacific services, which Maersk Line says would save it $350 million a year. The proposal follows the rejection in June of a larger planned venture involving Maersk, MSC and France's CMA CGM by China's Ministry of Commerce on competition grounds.

15 Sep 2014

Ocean Three Containership Alliance v the Rest: DMR Analysis

Last Tuesday’s announcement of the formation of the “Ocean Three” alliance – actually a combination of vessel sharing, slot exchange and slot charter agreements – confirmed one of the worst kept industry secrets. But what will be its impact on the competition? Drewry Maritime Research consider in this excerpt from their latest 'Container Insight Weekly''. The coming together from late 2014 of CMA CGM with CSCL and UASC was widely anticipated after the decision in June of Maersk Line and MSC to jettison CMA CGM in their 10-year “2M” VSA that replaced the original P3 Network plan. Having been left out in the cold by its erstwhile P3 partners…

09 Sep 2014

CMA CGM Enters Agreements with CSCL, UASC

The CMA CGM Group announced the signature of three major agreements on the biggest worldwide maritime trades with China Shipping Container Lines (CSCL) and United Arab Shipping Company (UASC). Under the name of Ocean Three, the agreements; which include a combination of vessel sharings, slot exchanges and slot charters; concern the following maritime trades:  Asia-Europe, Asia-Mediterranean, Transpacific and Asia-United States East Coast. On the Asia-US East Coast trade: one service via the Suez Canal and one service dedicated to the Gulf of Mexico. The agreements on the Transatlantic trade are being finalized and will soon be announced. This new offering will combine both speed and reliability.

03 Jul 2014

The Port of Halifax Becomes a Member of HHM

Photo courtesy of Port of Hamburg

The Port of Halifax has joined the Port of Hamburg Marketing organization (HHM) as its first member from North America. The universal ports of Halifax and Hamburg are linked by Transatlantic trade and the cruise business. With its internationally active marketing organisation, Hamburg as a port and logistics base offers the Port of Halifax optimal conditions and an ideal marketing platform for building up contacts with shipping companies and shippers in trade and industry. Geoffrey Machum…