News

A fresh sequence of strikes have ben announced for the UK port of Felixstowe, the UK’s largest for container traffic

Fresh strikes have been announced from September 27th to October 5th after 82% of surveyed members of the Unite union, which represents 1,900 blue-collar workers at the port, rejected a 7% pay offer.

The union has asked for a pay rise to match the UK’s inflation rate, which is predicted to hit 13% later this year.

Felixstowe handles near to 50% of the UK’s containers and the recent eight-day strike in late August, caused significant disruption.

“We are very disappointed that Unite has announced this further strike action at this time. The collective bargaining process has been exhausted and there is no prospect of agreement being reached with the union,” the Port of Felixstowe said.

The planned Felixstowe strike will coincide with a two-week walkout by Liverpool port workers which is set to start on September 19th.

Source: https://insurancemarinenews.com/insurance-marine-news/date-set-for-new-strike-at-felixstowe/

Evangelos Marinakis has shown his hand in the much hyped nascent liquefied carbon dioxide (CO₂) trades.

Marinakis’s Capital Gas Ship Management Corp has come onboard a project in South Korea to develop and commercialise 30,000 cu m liquified CO₂ carriers.

Lloyd’s Register (LR) and the Liberian International Ship and Corporate Registry (LISCR) have awarded design approval to Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) for the development of the world’s first 30,000 cu m CO₂ carrier. The new carrier will incorporate a new type of steel in its tanks making scantling lighter whilst keeping the tanks’ structural integrity intact. This innovation allows an upscale in the size of the CO₂ carrier, improving storage and transportation, something shipbuilders were not able to do with more conventional materials.

Capital Gas has come onboard the project, advising on operational and commercial matters.

Miltos Zisis, managing director, Capital Gas, said: “We see the move to the transportation of CO₂, as a natural extension of our existing commercial and technical management expertise, which underlines our commitment to playing a significant role in the carbon value chain and the advance of decarbonisation of the shipping industry and beyond”.

HMD has now developed three different CO₂ carriers – a 12,000 cu m CO₂ carrier with high pressure cargo tanks, 22,000 cu m CO₂ carrier with low pressure cargo tanks and this latest 30,000 cu m design which comes with low pressure cargo tanks.

Many other owners are getting into this up and coming trade. Furthest down the track is Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), which last year invested in Norway-based Larvik Shipping, a pioneer in this unique trade.

Currently, the maximum capacity for transporting liquefied CO₂ is approximately 3,600 cu m, or roughly 1,770 tonnes in dedicated CO₂ tankers predominantly with specialist operators such as Larvik leading the way.

Earlier this year MOL and Mitsubishi Shipbuilding showcased a concept design for an ammonia/liquefied CO₂ carrier with a carrying capacity of 50,000 cu m. It has since received an approval in principle from ClassNK for its large CO₂ carrier design, capable of transporting 1m tons of CO₂ every year.

Knutsen NYK Carbon Carriers (KNCC) has an approval in principle (AiP) for its recently developed high pressure liquid CO₂ tank system, potentially unleashing a far larger carrying capacity for the growing gas trades. KNCC is a new joint venture company established by the Knutsen Group and Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) to provide CO2 transportation and storage solutions.

Hyundai Mipo’s sister firm Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has come up with a 40,000 cu m liquefied CO₂ carrier design and is also working with compatriot owner Hyundai Glovis on a 74,000 cu m version.

South Korea’s other shipbuilding majors – Samsung Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering – have both debuted their own designs.

Source: https://splash247.com/evangelos-marinakis-eyes-the-co2-trades/

The Port of Los Angeles, the highest-volume container gateway in America, is diverging from the nationwide trend. U.S. container imports remain close to record highs, yet imports to LA are falling double digits.

On Thursday, the Port of Los Angeles reported total throughput of 805,672 twenty-foot equivalent units in August, down 15.5% year on year (y/y). Imports came in at 404,313 TEUs, exports at 100,484 TEUs and empties at 300,875 TEUs.

Imports were down big, sinking 16.8% y/y and 16.7% compared to July.

(Chart: American Shipper based on data from the Port of Los Angeles)

It was the lowest import total in Los Angeles for any month since December, when volumes were suppressed by extreme landside congestion.

It was also the lowest import total in LA for the month of August since 2014, eight years ago, back when Barack Obama was president and Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” topped the charts.

But last month’s import plunge in Los Angeles is not indicative of a countrywide trend. According to data from Descartes, U.S. imports in August were essentially flat compared to July. The nationwide import total was up 18% versus August 2

Los Angeles’ performance stands in stark contrast to the blowout numbers just announced by the Port of Savannah in Georgia. Savannah handled 290,915 TEUs of loaded imports in August, by far the highest tally in the port’s history.

Savannah’s August imports were up 15.6% from July, 14.7% from the previous record month in May, 20% y/y — and 34% versus August 2019, pre-COVID.

Demand drivers of decline

During a news conference Thursday, Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka pointed to multiple reasons for the drop.

“Some of the cargo that usually arrives in August for our fall and winter seasons is already here,” Seroka said. “Cargo owners who expected longer lead times shipped earlier in order to guarantee delivery schedules. This just-in-case strategy versus the traditional just-in-time approach has been widespread in the market.”

Meanwhile, with 8.3% inflation, Seroka said “consumers are naturally getting a bit anxious, as are retailers. We’re starting to see canceled production orders out of Asia.”

Competitive drivers of decline

Another reason for weaker August numbers, as highlighted by the booming stats out of Savannah: Imports have shifted to the East and Gulf coasts at the expense of West Coast ports.

“Some shippers diverted cargos to East and Gulf Coast ports in order to avoid port congestion and as a possible hedge against West Coast labor contract negotiations,” Seroka said. “Consequently, those ports have substantial backlogs, while here in Los Angeles, we have very little congestion.”

Yet another driver of August’s drop: local competition from Long Beach, the port next door. A substantial volume of cargo shifted to Long Beach from Los Angeles. Long Beach imported 384,530 TEUs of cargo in August, up 2.2% from July.

Asked by American Shipper about the cause of the local shift, Seroka said, “There are some discussions on the ground between union leadership and the folks over at APMT [APM Terminals] about health and safety measures around the automated area.”

This led to a shift of around 40,000 TEUs from Los Angeles to Long Beach in August, he disclosed. (This equates to around half of LA’s sequential import drop in August versus July.) Seroka said that shift to Long Beach could be even higher this month: 60,000-80,000 TEUs.

He maintained that the shift will be temporary and the situation will “get back to normalcy between Los Angeles and Long Beach very soon.”

More LA volume weakness ahead

Seroka expects the volume pullback to continue in the months ahead.

“The bottom line is that we’re projecting lighter numbers in September and for the balance of the year,” he said. “But to keep things in perspective, even with this projected softer volume in the back half of the year, the Port of Los Angeles is headed toward the second busiest year in our history.”

Source: https://www.maritimeprofessional.com/

COSCO Shipping, the world’s fourth largest carrier, is to massively add to the global containership orderbook, detailing a $4.9bn outlay in new ships.

The container arm of China’s largest maritime conglomerate has laid out plans to order 32 ships totalling 580,000 teu, all for delivery by the end of 2025, according to Nikkei Asia. The ships will be duel fuelled with many set to incorporate methanol.

Last month, COSCO Shipping unveiled a corporate reorganisation. COSCO said the organisational overhaul would position the company as a “global digital supply chain operation and investment platform” with a core focus on container shipping, ports and logistics.

The corporate reshuffle sees the creation of a new supply chain logistics division as well as a capital operation division.

Source: https://splash247.com/cosco-plans-4-9bn-boxship-fleet-expansion/

nCircular Maritime Technologies International (CMT) from the Netherlands has debuted a brand new way of breaking up ships, where humans are not placed in danger.

At CMT’s proposed yard, no human lives will be put at risk as the ships will be taken out of the water and dismantled by a fully mechanised and automated system (pictured).

A proof-of-concept prototype is planned to be launched in the Netherlands soon with the company claiming it will then establish yards with international partners and attract business from shipowners by matching the price paid by South Asian competitors.

The proposed CMT yard runs on its own power and produces clean steel. The yard will reduce the size of the vessel step by step through various automated tools, up to the point where each part of the ship’s steel structure is reduced to many small pieces. The CMT yard will go from a 3D structure to a 2D material package of steel plates, a process the company says will be executed quickly and precisely, managed by tailored control tools and software, overseen by specialised CMT staff.

Among CMT’s backers are Damen Shipyards, Huisman Equipment, Jansen Recycling Group, and Sojitz Corporation.

Many in shipping have been demanding more advanced and greener recycling options in an industry that has had to contend with the exit of China, deemed the most environmentally conscious of the shipbreakers, four years ago.

Signing up for the SteelZero initiative earlier this year, Danish carrier Maersk said that more than 700 of its operated vessels are projected to be recycled in the next decade.

Speaking on the occasion, Palle Laursen, senior vice president and chief technical officer at Maersk, noted: “Global ship recycling volumes are projected to nearly double by 2028 and quadruple by 2033. Recycled steel will progressively be recognised as a viable raw material for steel consumers with net-zero emissions targets.”

Driving circularity in the steel industry, Laursen said, would help Maersk reduce its Scope 3 emissions.

Impending legislation from the International Maritime Organization such as EEXI and CII is widely anticipated to make a tranche of the global fleet obsolete.

Source: https://splash247.com/dutch-debut-clean-automated-ship-recycling-solution/

Around 1,500 military and civilian personnel from NATO and partner countries are gathering in Portugal this month for two maritime exercises aimed at testing the interoperability of new maritime unmanned systems. Both exercises are being held in areas around the Troia Peninsula.

Photo: Portuguese Navy

Exercise REPMUS 22, held from 12 to 22 September, brings together a wide range of contributions from NATO and partner countries, NATO Centres of Excellence, the NATO Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE), as well from industry and academia. During this period, around 1,500 personnel are testing the coordination of unmanned systems above the water, on the water and under the sea. Approximately 120 unmanned assets are being integrated into a single network for a range of experimentation scenarios. REPMUS 22 is led by Portugal and supports the NATO Maritime Unmanned Systems Initiative (MUSI). The NATO Maritime Unmanned Systems Initiative (MUSI) was launched in October 2018 to promote interoperability in the development of Maritime Unmanned Systems and since then it has been playing a growing role in the REPMUS exercise series.

Dr. Giorgio Cioni, Director for Armament and Aerospace Capabilities in NATO’s Defence Investment Division, welcomed the exercise, saying: “This is the first time that so many NATO nations have the opportunity to test the effectiveness of so many systems, concepts, techniques and procedures related to Maritime Unmanned Systems, ensuring they can work seamlessly together.”

Exercise DYNAMIC MESSENGER 22 will take place from 23 – 30 September 2022 with an emphasis on integrating maritime unmanned systems into maritime operations. It will be the first-ever exercise with a focus on unmanned underwater systems held under NATO command and on integrating unmanned systems into NATO naval task groups. The exercise will test Alliance readiness to use unmanned systems to counter security challenges ranging from conventional submarine threats, to sea mines and asymmetric threats. Both NATO’s Standing Naval Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1) and Standing NATO Maritime Counter Measures Group 1 (SNMCMG1) will be part of DYNAMIC MESSENGER 22.

DYNAMIC MESSENGER 22 will be conducted under joint leadership of NATO’s Allied Command Transformation in the United States and NATO’s Allied Maritime Command MARCOM in Northwood, UK.

Source: https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_207293.htm

Supply chain software company Shifl said there had been a recent acceleration in the drop in spot rates and carriers are attempting to renegotiate long term contracts secured when rates were higher. High longterm contract rates are expected to support container line earnings well into next year, stretching the financial benefits to lines of the congestion-backed peak in rates last year.

Both Hapag-Lloyd and Yang Ming said shippers have asked to renegotiate deals, the former saying it is standing firm and the latter open to hearing customers’ requests.

“With the increasing pressure from shippers, shipping lines may not have a choice but to accede to customer demands as contract holders are known to simply shift their volumes to the spot market,” said Shabsie Levy, CEO and Founder of Shifl.

The pressure on lines and shippers alike comes from a steep drop in spot rates. Shifl’s forwarded-driven rate index Shifex recorded its lowest rate for two years on the Shanghai-LA route; at $3,500 per feu, the rate is down 80% on-year.

On the China-New York route, rates have held up slightly better but are still down 59% on-year at $7,950 per feu compare to a high of $19,600 in September 2021.

“While in July, there was a relatively steady decline in spot rates, the pace has definitely picked up as a milieu of factors continue to soften the market for containerized goods between China and the rest of the world. Tightening monetary policy, a shift in consumer spending, bloated inventories in the US, and growing geopolitical tensions between the US and China continue to play a role in the movement of rates,” said Levy.

“With the latest dramatic slump in rates, the market is closer than ever to the pre-pandemic rate levels, especially to the largest entry ports in the USA – Los Angeles and Long Beach,” said Levy.

Shifl also noted a drop in transit times on Asia-US routes as congestion—one of the factors that supported high freight rates over the past two years—begins to clear.

Transit times on the main China – LA/ Long Beach route fell by 25% in August to 24 days, levels last seen in July 2021 and moving closer to pre-pandemic levels of 16 days. That reduction is partly fuelled by a movement of cargoes from the West to East coast, however, and China-New York transit times edged up from 46 to 50 days in August.

“The ripple effect of the shift in cargoes from West Coast to East Coast is taking its biggest toll now in New York with an overflow of empties and shortage of chassis. We expect this to improve soon as lower volume forecasts will ease the pressure off the system,” said Levy.

Source: https://www.seatrade-maritime.com/containers/shippers-push-contract-renegotiations-spot-rates-tumble

A co-operation agreement between The Ashdod Port Company and Port of Barcelona aims to promote Israeli innovation in Europe. Under the agreement, Israeli start-ups from Port of Ashdod’s incubator that successfully complete a pilot programme at the port of Ashdod will be able to conduct a pilot programme at the Port of Barcelona.

“The start-ups will benefit from field conditions in which they can implement their developments, will be accompanied by an innovation agent acting on behalf of the port, alongside the expansion of business and technological opportunities in the Port of Barcelona, one of the largest ports in Europe,” said Ashdod Port Company.

The Barcelona scheme follows a similar arrangement with the port of Newark in the US, where five Port of Ashdod incubator start-ups have launched pilot programmes.

A delegation from the Ashdod Port Company went to Barcelona on September 12 and was led by the Chairlady of the Board of Directors, Orna Hozman Bechor. The participating start-ups in the delegation included:

CYBER 2.0, which has developed technology to prevent the spread of cyberattacks within the corporate network
CYBERVIEW, which has developed an ongoing and effective information security management platform
Airwayz, which is responsible for an operating system that controls a fleet of drones and enables effective supervision
EnWize, which developed augmented and virtual reality technology for training operations teams, which helps to prevent mistakes and create a safe work environment are also part of the delegation.
Captain’s Eye, which offers a network of advanced cameras and image processing that help identify and quickly deal with accidents and security threats

According to Orna Hozman Bechor: “Our technology incubator has a great deal to offer in order to make the world of shipping and ports more efficient, from the field of logistics and transportation to control systems and green energy”

The technology incubator was established in 2021 and has since accompanied over 60 start-ups in various fields, including operations, logistics, cyber protection, and safety, said the port.

Ashdod Port’s Board of Directors recently announced an investment of around NIS 4.5m ($1.3m) in four of the incubator’s start-ups, incorporating the technologies into the port’s work through purchases and royalty agreements.

“Expanding the activity of the start-ups to leading ports around the world is an important milestone for reinforcing the international, technological, and economic connections of the start-ups and their ventures, as well as of the Port of Ashdod and the entire State of Israel as the start-up nation”, said Bechor.

“As Israel’s national port, we are proud to nurture the spread of Israeli innovation overseas.”

The President of the Port of Barcelona, Damia Calvet, said: “At the Port of Barcelona we are convinced that we must welcome the arrival of innovation and new technologies. Tools such as big data, blockchain, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things will allow us to become more efficient and improve our sustainability and competitiveness.

“The Mediterranean Sea has suitable conditions for the development of a network of smart ports. Through digital transformation and hosting incubators of innovation in the ports, we will be able to increase growth and employ more workers.”

Bringing to an end a surge in cargo seen in the latter half of 2021 through to July 2022 the Port of LA handled an estimated 806,000 teu in August this year, 15% lower than the same period last year.

A gateway for US imports the Port of LA saw a 17% drop in loaded imports 404,000 teu in August, while loaded exports decreased 1% to 100,000 teu, compared to August 2021. The volume of empty containers handled declined by 18% to 301,000 teu.

It was a different picture at the Port of Long Beach where volumes handled were buoyed by empties but also the fall in imports was less dramatic. Long Beach handled 860,940 teu in August, down just 0.1% on the same month in 2021.

Imports at the Port of Long Beach were down 5.6% to 384,530 teu and exports increased 1.6% to 121,408 teu. Empty containers helped push volumes as a whole and increased 7.2% to 301,001 teu.

The sharp drop in loaded imports at the Port of LA comes at a time when traditional volumes ramp up ahead of the peak holiday season.

“Some goods that usually arrive in August the for the fall and winter season shipped earlier to make sure they reached their destination in time,” Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said at a news briefing. “Additionally, inflationary concerns and elevated inventory levels have made some retailers and e-commerce sellers more cautious.”

Carriers and shippers have also sought to reroute volumes away from US West Coast ports due to the possibility of a labour strike members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU). This has resulted in a build-up of congestion at US East Coast ports.

The possible threat of a strike remains as negotiations between ILWU), and the port terminals, represented by the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) continue. Although the existing contract expired on 30 June both sides have committed to maintaining service levels while negotiations continue.

Meanwhile Seroka repeated statements from a month earlier about spare capacity at the Port of LA’s terminals. “We’ve got capacity on our terminals and the ability to handle cargo coming in more efficiently than last holiday season.”

Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero, said, “We are collaborating with stakeholders to provide more information, more space and more flexibility across the supply chain.

Export container volume declined 2.2% while the domestic volume increased 17.4%. The ports of Dalian, Tianjin, Qingdao and Ningbo-Zhoushan all posted a growth rate of over 10%.

Cargo throughput at major coastal hub ports also dropped 2.4%. The international trade cargo throughput declined 3.7% while domestic volume fell 1.23%.

Crude oil shipments at major coastal ports up 5.6% year-on-year. Among which the port of Qingdao and Yantai from Shandong province posted a growth rate of over 20%.

Metal ore shipments at major Chinese ports increased 6.8% while the port inventory grew 24.36%.

Cargo throughput at three major Yangtze River ports, Nanjing, Wuhan and Chongqing achieved positive growth in late August, slightly increased 2% and 4.9% year-on-year.

For the whole month of August, container volume at eight major coastal ports increased 3.3% while the cargo throughput of hub ports grew 0.7%.

Source: https://www.seatrade-maritime.com/ports/major-chinese-ports-box-volume-growth-slows-25-late-august

Date set for new strike at Felixstowe

Evangelos Marinakis eyes the CO2 trades

Imports to Los Angeles, America’s largest port, plunged 17% in August

Demand drivers of decline

Competitive drivers of decline

More LA volume weakness ahead

COSCO details $4.9bn boxship fleet expansion plans

Dutch debut clean, automated ship recycling solution

NATO exercises with new maritime unmanned systems

Shippers push for contract renegotiations as spot rates tumble

Israeli start-ups pitch to Port of Barcelona

Port of LA box volumes down 15%, Long Beach flat in August

Major Chinese ports box volume growth slows to 2.5% in late August

New Phishing Campaign Targeting Shipping Companies Raises Alarm

IMO Maritime Safety Committee Opens 110th Session – Safety, Technology & Seafarer Protection in Focus

IMO’s ECDIS Cybersecurity Mandate: June 2025 Compliance Status & Enforcement

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