On September 24, 2020, it was reported that a man was found dead in the West Sea near the North Korean borders. According to South Korea’s military, the man was Lee Dae-jin, a 47-year-old who worked for the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. He was shot dead by North Korean soldiers, who later burned his body.
A few days after the incident, the South Korean Coast Guard told the media that Lee was killed in the process of “voluntarily” fleeing to North Korea, which was highly unusual, to say the least.
On September 21, Lee, who was among 18 officials on a fishery inspection ship, went missing and only his shoes were found onboard. A day later, his body was found in North Korean waters in the West Sea. North Korean soldiers allegedly killed and burned Lee to prevent the Covid-19 virus from entering the country.
In an initial report to the Blue House, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the possibility of Lee defecting to the North was low. The fisheries department also said on September 24 that there was no evidence to support such a claim.
However, on September 28, the Coast Guard reported that Lee escaped from the ship in an attempt to defect to North Korea, based on what it said was evidence collected through wiretapping. There were also unverified allegations that Lee had incurred heavy gambling debts.
Two years have passed but Lee’s bereaved family and the South Korean public are still waiting for answers. The government refused to make public its “evidence” because of confidentiality.
Last June 16, the Coast Guard made a U-turn on its claim about Lee’s voluntary defection and said that there is no evidence to show that is the case.
“We investigated whether the dead public official had defected to North Korea but could not trace how he reached North Korean waters or find any intention of defecting to the North,” Park Sang-chun, who leads the Incheon Coast Guard, said.
Shortly after the announcement, nine high-ranking Coast Guard officers, including Commissioner General Jeong Bong-hoon, offered to resign but the new president did not accept their resignations.
However, as with the Moon administration, the new administration refused to grant access to records of Lee’s death. The records are now classified as presidential records, to be kept concealed for up to 15 years. The president will only release these records when two-thirds of lawmakers at the National Assembly voted yes, which is highly unlikely, or when the court ruled so, which it did last November when Lee’s family filed a lawsuit.
Although Lee’s family won the case, the former administration filed an appeal, citing national security concern. When the new administration took over in May 2022, president Yoon Suk-yeol withdrew the appeal and promised to disclose parts of the records, subject to national security clearance. Lee’s family and the public will then be able to finally find closure.
Saudi ports recorded a significant increase in cargo throughput volumes to reach 27.1 million tonnes, which is 16.1% increase compared to the 23.4 million tonnes recorded during June 2021.
The development plans launched by the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) to enhance the operational efficiency and upgrade ports’ capabilities resulted in a 55.7% increase in general cargo volumes to reach 790,000 tonnes.
Liquid bulk cargo increased by 31.8% to reach 15.5 million tonnes, while the dry bulk cargo decreased by 6.9% with a total of 3.9 million tonnes.
June statistics reflect Mawani’s continuous efforts to develop the maritime sector and position the Saudi Arabia as a global logistics hub in line with the National Transport and Logistics Strategy (NTLS).
As a result, the number of containers increased by 5.5% to reach 642.3 thousand TEUs compared to the 608.8 thousand TEUs recorded in June of last year, as well as the transshipment containers with which increased by 4.2% with a total of 244.6 thousand TEUs compared to the last year’s total which reached 234.7 thousand TEUs.
As Saudi ports recorded a 13.6% increase in the number of vessels with a total of 1,126 vessels, as well as the number of vehicles which increased by 25.8% to reach a total of 74 thousand vehicles, along with the total of food volumes which reached 1.6 million tons.
Considering the Hajj season, Saudi ports managed to receive 79 thousand passengers which is a 79.28% increase, and unload 990 thousand heads of livestock to record a 265.5% increase during June 2022.
Georgian Ministry of Inside Affairs on Saturday marked the annual Coast Guard Day by handing out awards to servicemembers for his or her “distinctive service”, whereas additionally celebrating the granting of associate standing to the nation by NATO for the alliance’s Sea Guardian maritime safety operation.
The Georgian Coast Guard service, which operates below the Ministry’s Border Police pressure, celebrated its twenty fourth anniversary, with Main Basic Nikoloz Sharadze, the Head of the Border Police, and Ramaz Papidze, the Director of the Coast Guard Division, joined by representatives of native municipal authorities and different officers within the ceremony hosted within the Black Sea port metropolis of Poti.
Photograph: Ministry of Inside Affairs/Fb.
Sharadze congratulated servicemembers on their skilled day and highlighted their “vital function” in guaranteeing maritime safety of the nation, in addition to its commitments in help of worldwide maritime initiatives.
Sharadze additionally rewarded 16 representatives of the Coast Guard for his or her “distinctive service”, and laid a wreath on the memorial of the servicemembers who died within the line of obligation within the 2008 August conflict between Russia and Georgia.
Photograph: Ministry of Inside Affairs/Fb.
In remarks to Coast Guard professionals, he additionally pressured the “vital progress” made by the nation lately, together with the profitable accomplishment of all 4 levels of NATO Operational Functionality Idea Analysis and Suggestions Programme by the Georgian Coast Guard regulation enforcement tactical sub-divisions, which have resulted in alliance granting the nation Operational Associate Standing to the Sea Guardian operation.
Launched in 2016, the operation is aimed toward “maritime safety capability constructing, […] help to maritime situational consciousness and to maritime counter-terrorism”, in addition to with the ability to be used to “uphold freedom of navigation, conduct maritime interdiction, struggle the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and defend important infrastructure”, NATO has stated.
Which of these two is happier? Someone who wins $3 million in the lottery then blows $2 million in Vegas, or someone who wins $1 million in the lottery and puts it in the bank?
Containerized cargo shippers face the reverse emotional scenario. Who’s less upset if spot rates quintuple? A shipper who’s used to paying $1,500 per forty-foot equivalent unit and suddenly sees rates jump to $7,500? Or one who pays $1,500 per FEU for years, gets slammed with crippling rates of $20,000 per FEU including premium charges, then gets “relief” as rates slide all the way back down to $7,500?
No one believed $20,000-per-FEU spot rates in fall 2021 were sustainable. If rates stayed that stratospheric for too long, it would destroy transport demand and compel competition regulators to step in. As Hapag-Lloyd CEO Rolf Habben Jansen said during a conference call in November, “It would be better for everybody if we saw more normalization.”
The best-case scenario for shipping lines is for the COVID rate surge to have emotionally and financially acclimated customers to higher freight costs, and for rates to stabilize at levels high enough to generate strong and sustainable profits for ocean carriers, but not so high that competition authorities intervene. For shippers, this new normal for rates would be much higher than pre-COVID levels but might seem like a bargain compared to all-time peaks.
Drewry spot rate indexes
Drewry’s weekly assessment for Shanghai-to-Los Angeles spot rates came in at $7,480 per FEU on Thursday. That’s down 23% year on year and down 1% week on week. This assessment is now 40% below its peak of $12,424 per FEU in late November 2021, yet still 5.3 times higher than rates at this time of year in 2019.
Drewry’s weekly spot assessment for Shanghai-to-New York was at $10,164 per FEU, flat week on week, down 14% year on year, down 37% from the peak of $16,183 per FEU in mid-September — but still quadruple 2019 levels.
Weekly spot rate assessment in $ per FEU. Blue line: Shanghai to LA. Green line: Shanghai to NY. Chart: FreightWaves SONAR
On one hand, a sharp drop in rates over the past nine months is reducing costs for shippers (at least, compared to last fall) and is showing that the market is functioning: Ocean carriers are competing on price to fill slots. On the other hand, rates are still very profitable to ocean carriers and transport costs for shippers are still dramatically higher than they were pre-COVID.
Freightos spot rate indexes
Different indexes show different numbers but the same trends.
The Freightos Baltic Daily Index (FBX) China/East Asia-to-North America West Coast assessment was at $7,264 per FEU on Thursday, down 65% from the all-time high of $20,586 per FEU in September but still five times more than rates at this time of year in 2019.
The FBX China/East Asia-to-North America East Coast rate was $10,020 on Thursday, less than half its all-time high of $22,234 per FEU in September but more than triple pre-COVID levels.
Daily spot rate assessment in $ per FEU. Blue line: China/East Asia to North America West Coast. Green line: China/East Asia to North America East Coast. Chart: FreightWaves SONAR
The drop from the peak is much steeper for the Freightos trans-Pacific indexes than for Drewry and other index providers because Freightos began including premium charges in its assessment methodology starting July 28, 2021.
Space has now opened up and shippers are generally no longer paying premiums.
Dafna Farkas, corporate marketing associate at Freightos, told American Shipper: “In the peak of the COVID surge, we ensured that the all-in rates were reflected by including premiums. We continue to ensure that all-in rates are reflected in the index and in that [regard], have not changed the methodology. On a price-point level, since premiums have largely been eradicated due to industry normalization, they aren’t really reflected in the industry price.”
Market in ‘wait-and-see mode’
S&P Global Commodities (formerly Platts) assessed North Asia-to-North America West Coast Freight All Kinds (FAK) rates at $7,100 per day on Thursday. That’s down 25% from the peak but still 4.3 times 2019 levels.
S&P Global put North Asia-to-North America East Coast FAK rates at $9,700 per day, down 19% from the all-time high albeit 3.5 times mid-July 2019 levels.
The container shipping team at S&P Global has been reporting lower-than-expected Asia-U.S. demand ever since the end of the Chinese New Year holiday in February.
Downward spot-rate pressure continues, S&P Global said this week, given ample space availability out of China and smaller carriers with chartered tonnage undercutting freight pricing of larger mainline carriers (in other words: competition). Some North Asia-to-West Coast spot offers were below $7,000 per FEU, it reported.
George Griffiths, managing editor of global container freight at S&P Global Commodity Insights, told American Shipper: “The market is just in wait-and-see mode at the moment. There are rumors of more lockdowns in Shanghai coming up, and some concerns that delays across the U.S. East Coast will begin to spread to the West Coast once more, but nothing concrete.
“High inventory levels and the rising cost of living are keeping a natural lid on demand at this point. So, the atmosphere is rather bearish, only being helped by the void [canceled] sailings that carriers are bringing in to try and protect rates.”
MANILA – The Stratbase Albert Del Rosario Institute commemorated the sixth anniversary of the July 12 ruling of the Everlasting Courtroom of Arbitration in The Hague by holding a global convention on “Redefining Maritime Cooperation within the Indo-Pacific in an Age of Uncertainty.”
A victory of epic proportions, the authorized recognition of our maritime rights is additional attested to by the rising public concern on the West Philippine Sea situation.
The Pulse Asia survey of June 24-27, 2022 that had been commissioned by Stratbase ADR Institute confirmed that nearly 9 out of 10 Filipinos, or 89 %, imagine that President Marcos Jr. should assert the nation’s rights as stipulated within the arbitral ruling. To claim these rights, 90 % agreed that the brand new administration should spend money on the aptitude of the Philippine Navy and the Philippine Coast Guard. On alliances, 84 % agreed that the President ought to kind alliances with different nations to defend our territorial rights within the West Philippine Sea.
At The Conservatory of The Peninsula Manila, world coverage and thought leaders mentioned the problems and alternatives in areas of multilateral and strategic cooperation, particularly on the collective concern over maritime safety and rising threats within the area.
Ambassador to the USA Jose Manuel “Babe” Romualdez stated: “The shifting tides of geopolitics, the sustained tensions over competing claims, and the converging pursuits within the political, financial, army, and maritime area might create flashpoints for safety points and battle.”
Amid such uncertainties, Romualdez argued that “there’s at all times the choice of strategic restraint, and there are lots of advantages to an open and rules-based regional structure.”
Lisa Curtis, director of the Indo-Pacific Safety Program and Senior Fellow of the Heart for a New American Safety, acknowledged that “standing as much as China’s maritime aggression and taking steps towards it are vital to keep up a rules-based worldwide order. And finally, that is the easiest way we will keep away from any battle.”
From a European viewpoint, Czech Republic Ambassador to the Philippines Jana Šedivá stated: “We’re in search of to conduct extra joint workout routines with Indo-Pacific companions, together with multilateral workout routines, to combat piracy and shield the liberty of navigation.”
Dr. Yusuke Takagi, an affiliate professor of the Nationwide Graduate Institute for Coverage Research, mentioned the three pillars of the Free and Open Indo Pacific: 1. the promotion and solidifying of the rule of legislation, freedom of navigation, free commerce, and many others.; 2. the pursuit of financial prosperity by way of enhancing connectivity; and three. dedication for peace and stability.
John Blaxland, professor of worldwide safety and intelligence research on the Australian Nationwide College, stated: “We’ve an awesome quantity of overlap of curiosity between Australia and the Philippines together with our pursuits and our enemies. We are able to’t simply sit on the fence. We’ve pursuits to defend. Our pursuits are being challenged. Our deterrents must be bolstered.”
Because the worldwide convention demonstrated the awe-inspiring help of the worldwide group for the Philippines’ authorized victory, we should always acknowledge the efforts made by companions and allies to advertise a free and open Indo-Pacific.
With like-minded states, we face a brand new age of uncertainty within the maritime area. This can be a shared duty amongst Asean members and the worldwide group.
With our collective will and energy, we should not permit any blatant disregard of the United Nations Conference on the Regulation of the Sea or of the rule of legislation by any state.
The Philippines is at a crossroads in its international coverage, and the Filipinos anticipate nothing much less from Mr. Marcos and his administration.
We deserve an adaptive, resilient, and pro-Filipino international coverage that can permit the nation to advance its strategic pursuits, tackle points within the West Philippine Sea, and turn into a extra important participant in regional and world affairs.
Austria has offered to contribute to the reconstruction of Beirut port alongside other European Union members.
The announcement was made by the Lebanon’s Presidency on 14 July.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer had previously met with Lebanese President Michel Aoun to discuss cooperation between the two countries, and submitted the offer.
“The port is very important, especially in light of the current food crisis; we have looked with Lebanese authorities into ways to cooperate in this regard,” Nehammer said.
Nehammer added he hoped that a new Lebanese Government would quickly form quickly so Austria could extend its ties with the country and provide necessary assistance in the port reconstruction – and food support in light of the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
President Aoun said that Lebanon welcomes Austria’s contribution to the port reconstruction while reiterating the country’s commitment to protecting the oil and gas wealth in the Exclusive Economic Zone in southern Lebanon.
He later thanked Austria for its participation in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon and its various donations to help Lebanon combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
Global Ports Investments PLC (Global Ports) has registered a 22.6 per cent decline in container throughput for the first half of 2022, as Baltic ports have suffered a significant loss due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
According to the company’s statement, consolidated marine container throughput of came at to 611,000 TEU, well below 2021 figures from the same period which stood at 789,000 TEU.
Global Ports is a leading operator of container terminals in the Russian market by capacity and container throughput,.
The global and local geopolitical tension and a considerable decrease of calls by container carriers to the ports of Russia have heavily impacted the company’s results.
Against this backdrop, Russia’s container market in the Baltic Basin and the Group’s terminals in the country showed a considerable decrease of container, car, and RoRo cargo handling in the second quarter of the year.
Container handling in the Far East including the terminal of Vostochnaya Stevedoring Company (VSC) was more stable although negatively impacted by COVID-19 restrictions in China, said Global Ports.
A considerable fall was registered at the Ust-Luga Container Terminal, First Container Terminal, and Petrolesport. However, VSC in the Far East showed an increase of container throughput by 9.4 per cent to 274,000 TEU.
According to Global Ports, Russia’s container market has decreased by 17.3 per cent to 899,000 TEU in the first half of 2022. The steepest fall was seen in the Baltic region, 38.9 per cent down to 770,000 TEU.
The market outlook for 2022 in the Baltic basin remains well below 2021, while Far Eastern market is expected to be more stable, said the company.
“In the Baltic region the Group is concentrating on the utilisation of its terminals with non-containerised cargo as well as on cost management initiatives while key focus at VSC is on operational efficiency on the back of growing demand on logistics chains via Far East,” reads its statement.
Edda Wind’s new Service Operation Vessel Edda Goelo (C416) was launched at Astilleros Balenciaga shipyard in Spain on Friday.
Edda Goelo will serve as a mother vessel for wind turbine technicians as they perform maintenance work on offshore wind turbines.
When completed, the new SOV will start operations for wind turbine maker Siemens Gamesa at Iberdrola’s offshore wind farm in the Saint-Brieuc Bay off France in the third quarter of 2023. The vessel has a five-year contract with Siemens Gamesa, and its first assignment will be at the Saint Brieuc wind farm.
Unlike the other Edda Wind vessels, which are normally painted orange and yellow, the Edda Goelo will be painted blue and white, in accordance with the Siemens Gamesa’s profile colors.
The vessel can accommodate up to 40 maintenance technicians from Siemens Gamesa and Iberdrola, plus approximately 20 crew members from Edda Wind.
“The technicians perform scheduled maintenance activities and any other matters that may arise during the two weeks they spend at the wind farm. After those two weeks, the vessel takes the technicians back to shore and they are replaced by another team that spends another two weeks at the wind farm, so there are always technicians servicing the wind farm,” Edda Wind explained.Credit: Edda Wind
The launching ceremony in Zumaia, Balenciaga Shipyard’s headquarters, was attended by representatives of the shipyard, Siemens Gamesa, Iberdrola and Edda Wind.
“Launching is always a special moment in the building process and a milestone to celebrate. We are very pleased with launching our second SOV built by Astilleros Balenciaga, and to successfully witness Edda Wind’s second launch this year. Once again, we deliver on our ambitions for the company and the industry as a whole, Kenneth Walland, CEO of Edda Wind, said.
“This is Edda Wind’s first SOV to go on a long-term charter to Siemens Gamesa, and we look forward to working with one of the key players within offshore wind,” Walland added.
Edda Wind has a newbuild program of eight vessels in addition to Edda Breeze delivered in May this year and Edda Passat and Edda Mistral delivered in 2018. Balenciaga will deliver the first SOV, “Edda Brint” in August.
The Saint Brieuc wind farm, where the SOV will have its debut, with 62 SG 8.0-167 DD turbines, will have a capacity of 496 MW, equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of 835,000 people
Siemens Gamesa will maintain the Saint Brieuc wind farm for a minimum of 10 years. The contract includes, among other things, maintenance personnel, spare parts, and remote-control service.
“We are delighted to be able to have the Edda Goelo for the maintenance of the Saint Brieuc wind farm, which we are going to install for Iberdrola, and that this vessel has been built in Bizkaia, which demonstrates, once again, Siemens Gamesa’s commitment to the Basque Country,” says John Paul Larrañeta, CEO of Services for Southern Europe and Africa at Siemens Gamesa.
The data, according to a forecasting report released by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), places Shanghai top with the most throughput capacity in 2022.
CAS added most of China’s container ports hold growing demand for shipping services, including the Ningbo-Zhoushan port, as well as ports in Qingdao and Tianjin.
Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp. (Yang Ming) has welcomed its newest 11,000 TEU container vessel YM Tutorial.
The vessel was chartered from Shoei Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. and built by Imabari Shipbuilding Co., Ltd.
The YM Tutorial was named at a ceremony held at Imabari Hiroshima Shipyard on 17 June and has entered Yang Ming’s transpacific West Coast route PS6 on 15 July.
The port rotation for the first voyage of YM Tutorial in PS6 will be Qingdao – Ningbo – Pusan – Los Angeles – Kobe – Qingdao.
The company has ordered a total of 14 11,000 TEU containerships through long-term charter agreements with ship owners, and the YM Tutorial is the 12th vessel in the series.
This type of vessel has a nominal capacity of 11,860 TEU and is equipped with 1,000 plugs for reefer containers. With a length of 333.9 metres, a width of 48.4 metres, a draft of 16 metres, these vessels are designed to cruise at a speed of up to 23 knots.
The containerships have also been equipped with scrubbers, Water Ballast Treatment Plant and Alternative Marine Power system to adhere to environmental regulations.
Yang Ming said this type of vessel adopts the twin-island design to increase loading capacity and navigational visibility to ensure greater efficiency and safety, as well as increase energy saving and reduce overall emissions.
Their dimensions enable them to call at major ports worldwide and pass through the new Panama Canal with little restriction.
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Photograph: Ministry of Inside Affairs/Fb.
Photograph: Ministry of Inside Affairs/Fb.
