Previously Chief Operating Officer for APMT Tangier, Morocco Jackson will assume the new role effective September 2022.

With this appointment, Rex Jackson takes on the role previously held by Henrik Kristensen, who has since then assumed the position of Managing Director of APMT Port Elizabeth.

“With his first-hand experience in operations, Rex will build on our need and plan to standardise core operational processes and systems”, said Jack Craig, APMT Chief Operations Officer (ad interim).

“In his new role, Rex will focus on building a global team that will help implement APMT’s operational approach across our portfolio of terminals.

“This will allow us to further develop the operations performance management system and create value through our global footprint – all with a strong focus on serving our customers’ needs.”

Rex Jackson will continue to be based in Tangier, where APMT said it plans to accelerate research and development activities by establishing a centre of excellence for its global operations. The centre will, among other things, focus on continuous improvement, labour excellence, standardising IT processes and applications.

“I am very excited about this new opportunity and I look forward to building a strong and passionate team, focused on delivering a great customer experience rooted in safe, innovative and reliable operations”, said Rex Jackson.

In June, Kalmar received a repeat order for shuttle carriers to APMT Tangier.

APMT selected Kalmar to deliver 23 additional units – manually-driven, semi-automated hybrid shuttle carriers.

Source: https://www.porttechnology.org/news/apmt-appoints-new-head-of-global-operations/

 

CREWEXPRESS STCW REST HOURS SOFTWARE - Paris and Tokyo MoU have announced that they will jointly launch a new Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) from 1st September 2022 to 30th November 2022

 


  • The Bureau of Customs will require accreditation from empty container yards
  • The accreditation allows the bureau to supervise the yards, according to BOC Assessment and Operations Coordinating Group deputy commissioner Edward James Dy Buco
  • BOC is also discussing a proposal to automate the monitoring of return of empty containers to shipping lines’ designated depots

The Bureau of Customs will soon require accreditation for empty container yards, according to BOC Assessment and Operations Coordinating Group deputy commissioner Edward James Dy Buco.

In a phone interview with PortCalls, Dy Buco said the accreditation allows BOC to exercise authority over such yards which, he pointed out, are currently not regulated by any government agency.

Drafting a customs order on the issue is a priority, he said, adding the order will include among its requirements equipment that should be provided in the yard.

He noted the accreditation of empty container yards will complement BOC’s monitoring of containers, which, under the law, should be re-exported within 90 days, otherwise they will be considered importation and subject to payment of duties and taxes. He said this is also to help prevent possible congestion outside the ports.

BOC has said empty container yards are considered a type of customs facilities and warehouses under Customs Administrative Order No. 09-2019 and Customs Memorandum Order No. 18-2022, and thus require accreditation from the agency.

CMO 18-2022 implements CAO 09-2019, which provides the guidelines on the establishment, operation, supervision, and control of CFWs under the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.

CFWs are facilities for temporary storage of goods established and authorized by BOC. These include container yards, container freight stations, seaport temporary storage warehouses, airport temporary storage warehouses, and other premises, for customs purposes.

Automating container movement monitoring

Relatedly, Dy Buco said the BOC is discussing a proposal to adopt a system that automates the monitoring of movement of containers, particularly the return of empties to shipping lines.

Dy Buco attended a presentation in August by the Alliance of Container Yard Operators of the Philippines (ACYOP), which has been implementing its own online booking system to properly handle and schedule the return, withdrawal, and repositioning of empty containers in member-operated depots.

ACYOP is also working on the second phase of its online booking system that will allow truckers to book an appointment for returning empty containers through a mobile app to make it more accessible and provide truck drivers visibility on their booking appointments.

Dy Buco said this system will help BOC monitor the stay of containers in the Philippines. He said BOC collection districts already have their own system to monitor the movement of containers, but noted that the current system is “very limited” and not national in scope.

Stakeholders, particularly truckers and customs brokers, have been raising issues on the return of empty containers, including the non-availability of slots and queuing in container yards.

BOC has formed a task group to work closely with stakeholders on issues relating to the return of empty containers.

Source: https://www.portcalls.com/boc-to-accredit-empty-container-yards/

 

CREWEXPRESS STCW REST HOURS SOFTWARE - Paris and Tokyo MoU have announced that they will jointly launch a new Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) from 1st September 2022 to 30th November 2022

 


Cash-rich German global carrier Hapag-Lloyd is buying a 49% stake in Italian logistics group Spinelli Group. The Spinelli family will continue to hold a 51% majority stake when the transaction closes, expected within the next few months. No financial details have been revealed.

Since 1963 Spinelli has been offering a wide range of logistics services in Italy with a presence in most ports and intermodal centres across the nation.

For Hapag-Lloyd, which is on course to register record annual profits this year in the region of EUR18bn ($17.9bn), the Italian logistics decision is similar to many of its bigger peers, such as Maersk, MSC and CMA CGM, who have all moved to acquire other logistics infrastructure rather than just liner-related investments during container shipping’s incredible earnings run.

“It’s interesting to see that Hapag is also evolving into an integrator. Up till now, Hapag was more focused on acquiring horizontally, meaning mostly shipping lines such as UASC and NileDutch,” commented Christoph Scheithe, the host of the PlanetLogistics platform.

Source: https://splash247.com/hapag-lloyd-takes-49-stake-in-italys-spinelli-group/

 

 

CREWEXPRESS STCW REST HOURS SOFTWARE - Paris and Tokyo MoU have announced that they will jointly launch a new Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) from 1st September 2022 to 30th November 2022


MARITIME experts have advocated the adoption of new maritime technologies for cleaner and safer shipping in the African continent.

Speaking at the 7th Lagos International Maritime Week, LIMW, held in Lagos, the French Ambassador to Nigeria, Mme Emmanuelle Blatmann, who was represented by Laurence Monmayrant, Consul-General of France in Lagos, said that profound mutations are also taking place in the maritime industry for the better.

Monmayrant  noted that the conference has put ecology on the agenda to move towards a greener footprint in the shipping industry.

She explained that, more than the energy crisis, there had been repeated major natural disasters which must trigger the change for the shipping industry as a big energy consumer.

The French envoy further explained that in France, the French private sector has moved forward three years ago as 10 French ship owners and the Italian ship-owner, Grimaldi signed a the Sustainable Actions for Innovative and Low-impact Shipping (SAILS) charter aimed at drastically reducing emissions and protecting the marine environment.

Also speaking, Otunba Kunle Folarin, Chairman, Nigerian Port Consultative Council, said that the immediate concerns that needed to be addressed were issues in the maritime and shipping environment, particularly in Marine Technology and Machinery.

In her opening remarks, convener of the Conference, Mrs Tosan Edodo, lamented the decay of infrastructure in the shipping industry.

Edodo noted that Maritime transport infrastructure has suffered a deficit in the last few years, adding that efforts should be intensified towards ensuring that bottlenecks and constraint that inhibits the flow of international trade.

Source: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2022/09/maritime-experts-advocate-new-tech-for-cleaner-shipping-in-africa/

 

CREWEXPRESS STCW REST HOURS SOFTWARE - Paris and Tokyo MoU have announced that they will jointly launch a new Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) from 1st September 2022 to 30th November 2022

 


NVOCCs are caught in the middle of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 requirements for reporting demurrage and detention; FMC needs to pump the brakes and allow the industry to catch up

The Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022, passed by Congress without industry input and signed into law on June 16, has left the industry in a difficult position regarding how to comply with the new requirements for invoicing demurrage and detention (D&D) charges.

At issue is the Container Availability Date, which must now be included on all invoices as the critical piece of information that determines the fair assessment of D&D charges. However, container availability differs from the date a container is discharged from a vessel, which has been the current trigger date for demurrage.

In fact, ocean carriers and/or terminals have been unwilling or unable to provide this critical piece of information to Non-Vessel-Operating Common Carriers (NVOCCs). There is no interface currently between the parties that communicates cargo availability information. As a result, they are having difficulty providing this information on their customers’ invoices.

What’s more, it shifts the burden of proof for accurate D&D charges to the ocean carriers and/or NVOCCs, who act as intermediaries between the shippers and ocean carriers.

Further, the law stipulates that failure to include the information required on an invoice with any D&D charge shall eliminate any obligation of the charged party to pay that applicable fee. Shippers and others may also file complaints with the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) regarding inaccurate D&D invoices. As a result, carriers could be forced to pay refunds and penalties if they are unable to demonstrate the reasonableness of their D&D charges.

If this technology issue concerning communication and data structure for capturing and conveying the Container Availability Date is not resolved, NVOCCs and customs brokers, who frequently advance funds for their customers to ensure the smooth movement of freight, may face a disastrous cash flow situation. As middlemen, they could be dispensing funds for customers who may later assert they do not have to pay the invoice because the D&D charges were incorrectly invoiced.

Indeed, in Bakerly vs. Seafrigo, a New York-based food importer is seeking relief from the FMC after being charged nearly $3 million in D&D fees by Seafrigo, an NVOCC at the ports of New York and New Jersey.

The new Container Availability Data element must be created, captured, and transmitted both from terminals to carriers, as well as from carriers to customers and service providers.

Interestingly, when we asked the carriers if they would provide the Container Availability Date, they responded that the terminals would. The terminals, however, do not communicate with importers, customs brokers, or NVOCCs. So, how will the carriers connect to the terminals, and how will this actually work? Nobody knows.

To complicate matters further, each ocean carrier has its own ocean tariff and rules for each trade. So, the rules could state that free time begins at midnight the day after discharge, or they could state something else. Each carrier, however, has its own set of rules. As a result, free time begins when the carrier’s tariff specifies. Another moving target is when cargo is available, which is unknown to the carrier until informed by the terminal.

How will the carriers put those invoices together when there is no standard for reporting when the cargo is available? Codifying these definitions, which are not currently reflected in the Ocean Shipping Reform Act, will be critical.

This new law affects both terminal processes and technology in terms of data structure and communication, and it is costly. It took effect without the typical industry commentary or phase-in periods. Normally, laws are broad, and then rulemaking gets specific, especially at the level of key data elements, as we have here. It is unusual for a law to be so specific right away.

Furthermore, the industry has been given no time to prepare, and the FMC has stated that there will be no grace period. The industry needs time to work through this issue.

We see the temporary solution to this cargo availability reporting problem being two-fold:

•There should be a grace period for the industry to adjust to the new cargo availability and D&D reporting requirements. The FMC should call on the ocean carriers and terminals and tell them that they must provide this new data set about cargo availability to the NVOCCs by a certain date. The NVOCCs should then be given at least another 30-45 days to put in place the mechanisms to deal with this new piece of data that does not currently exist today.

•If not, a temporary FMC ruling mandating D&D’s payment on credit in order to prevent cargo from being held for pickup should be issued. If the cargo has cleared customs and the transportation charges have been paid, the cargo should be released for pick up. Any D&D charges would be invoiced and paid after verification. In other words, the transaction would no longer be cash-and-carry.

Despite the unintended consequences of this cargo availability reporting rule, we do not oppose its intent. It encourages terminals to address the congestion issue more directly and removes the complacency that huge demurrage revenues have generated under the current calculation process. However, this is a significant change that does not appear to be registering clearly within the supply chain industry.

In closing, FMC needs to reconsider its enforcement until the industry catches up.

Trade Tech stands ready to help once clear reporting guidelines are established. Within our platform, we have added an event for the availability date and changed the detention calculation.

Further, we already have all of the carriers’ D&D rules embedded in our tech stack. We also have a tracking report that calculates the amount of demurrage owed for each container so that it can be audited.

At Trade Tech, we are ready, willing, and able to help the trade – both for VOCCs as well as NVOCCs.

Source: https://www.maritimeprofessional.com/news/nvoccs-caught-middle-ocean-shipping-379372

 

CREWEXPRESS STCW REST HOURS SOFTWARE - Paris and Tokyo MoU have announced that they will jointly launch a new Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) from 1st September 2022 to 30th November 2022

 


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/

 

CREWEXPRESS STCW REST HOURS SOFTWARE - Paris and Tokyo MoU have announced that they will jointly launch a new Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) from 1st September 2022 to 30th November 2022

 


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/

 

CREWEXPRESS STCW REST HOURS SOFTWARE - Paris and Tokyo MoU have announced that they will jointly launch a new Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) from 1st September 2022 to 30th November 2022

 


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.

 

CREWEXPRESS STCW REST HOURS SOFTWARE - Paris and Tokyo MoU have announced that they will jointly launch a new Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) from 1st September 2022 to 30th November 2022


The SCFI reported on Friday that the index had dropped 249.46 points to 2312.65 points from the previous week. It is the third week in a row that the SCFI has fallen in the region of 10% as container spot rates tumble steeply from the peak early this year.

It was similar picture for Drewry‘s World Container Index (WCI), which has generally shown a less steep decline in recent weeks than that registered by the SCFI.  Published on Thursday the WCI fell 8% week-on-week to $4,942 per feu, some 52% below the peak of $10,377 recorded a year earlier.

Drewry reported that spot container freight rates on Shanghai – Los Angeles dropped 11% or $530 to $4,252 per feu in the last week, while on the Asia – Europe trade spot rates between Shanghai and Rotterdam fell 10% or $764 to $6,671 per feu.

The analyst expects spot rates to keep falling saying, “Drewry expects the index to decrease in the next few weeks.”

At present the WCI  remains 34% higher than its five-year average of $3,692 per feu.

While different indexes show differing freight rates, all agree on a sharp decline in container spot rates, that has accelerated in recent weeks.

Analyst Xeneta noted rates from Asia to the US West Coast had seen “dramatic declines” compared to the peak recorded earlier this year. Xeneta said that since the end of March, rates from Southeast Asia to the US West Coast have fallen by 62%, while those from China have collapsed some 49%.

“Spot prices from Asia have, to be blunt, been falling considerably since May this year, with increasing rates of decline over the last few weeks,” commented Peter Sand, Chief Analyst, Xeneta on Friday. “We’re now at a point where the rates are down to their lowest level since April 2021.”

The question is how the continued plunge in spot rates will impact long-term contract rates between lines and shippers, and to what extent customers will be successful in pushing for renegotiations. Lines have been enjoying record levels of profitability with the sector raking in a massive $63.7bn profit in Q2 according to the McCown Container Report.

Xeneta’s Sand sees the situation as remaining positive for container lines at present. “We have to remember though, those rates are dropping from historical highs, so it certainly won’t be panic stations for the carriers just yet. We’ll continue watching the latest data to see if the trend continues and, crucially, how that impacts on the long-term contract market.”

A more negative picture was presented by Supply chain software company Shifl earlier this week with pressure for renegotiations from shippers. It said 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.

CREWEXPRESS STCW REST HOURS SOFTWARE - Paris and Tokyo MoU have announced that they will jointly launch a new Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) from 1st September 2022 to 30th November 2022


Supply chain visibility company FourKites said it saw a significant increase in the time containers spent at Felixstowe during and after the strike, which started on 21 August.

On the date the strike started, ocean shipments had been at the port for an average of 5.3 days for FourKite’s customers, and went on to peak at 9.9 days average come 30 August.

Arrivals at Felixstowe plummeted during the two-week strike, from 20% of UK arrivals to 0%, while Southampton arrivals ramped up from 13% to 24% over the same period.

Over Felixstowe’s recovery period since the strike, containers spent on average slightly more time in major European ports including Rotterdam, Bremerhaven, Hamburg and Antwerp.

The return to normal at Felixstowe comes just weeks ahead of another round of industrial action which will have a greater impact on UK supply chains. Workers at Liverpool are set to strike from 19 September to 3 October, overlapping with a strike at Felixstowe from 27 September to 5 October.

“FourKites has seen some possible initial signs of rerouting at Liverpool, where the share of port arrivals has decreased from 11% to 8% week-over-week for FourKites customers,” said the company.

Source: https://www.seatrade-maritime.com/ports/felixstowe-strike-congestion-clears-ahead-fresh-stoppages

 

CREWEXPRESS STCW REST HOURS SOFTWARE - Paris and Tokyo MoU have announced that they will jointly launch a new Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) from 1st September 2022 to 30th November 2022

 


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