Germany’s unionized port workers and the association representing the seaport operators agreed to terms for a new contract after one of the longest running labor disputes in Germany in decades. The tentative agreement came just three days before a cooling-off period imposed by the Hamburg Labor Court was due to expire and removes the threat of further strikes which have been disrupting operations in all the North Sea Ports since June.

“This is a very good result. Our most important goal was real inflation compensation so that employees were not left alone with the consequences of the galloping price increases. We succeeded in doing that,” said ver.di negotiator Maya Schwiegershausen-Güth after the final collective bargaining round which concluded on August 23. The union, which represents more than 12,000 workers including the major ports of Hamburg, Bremerhaven, and Wilhelmshaven, reports that it is recommending that members accept the agreement, which is due to be finalized on September 5.

The first of the so called “warning strikes” in decades was carried out by the union members on June 9 in an effort to put increased pressure on Zentralverband der deutschen Seehafenbetriebe (Association of German Seaport Operators) was talked stalled covering 58 collective bargaining agreements. In the following weeks, the trade union Ver.di (United Services Union) sought to escalate pressure further through a series of follow-up strikes.

The issue came to a head after seven failed rounds of negotiations when ZDS went to the labor court. Citing the broader damage to the economy and disruptions to the supply chain, the court ordered the two sides back to negotiating table and set a moratorium on further strikes until August 26.

According to the union, it took 10 rounds of negotiations but they finally reached mutually agreeable terms. Depending on their positions, workers in container operations will on average receive a 9.4 percent wage increase including bonuses retroactive to July 1. Workers at general cargo operations receive a smaller 7.9 percent increase including bonuses.  Effective June 1, 2023, they all will receive a further 4.4 percent increase that could be extended to 5.5 percent based on the rate of inflation next year. They also agreed if inflation is above those levels to commence further negotiations for the second year of the contract which expires May 31, 2024.

ZDS issued a brief statement at the conclusion of the negotiations saying it was pleased that the terms had been recommended for acceptance by the Federal Tariff Commission. They however noted that the terms also placed an increased burden on the seaport operators and would not only impact performance but also the competitiveness of the industry.

Compensation addressing the retail inflation rate had been one of the major sticking points during the negotiations much as it has also emerged as a key point in the negotiations in the UK. Workers at the UK’s Felixstowe struck this week over similar concerns while the workers at Liverpool have also authorized a strike focusing on compensation that matches the rate of inflation.

Source: https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/german-ports-and-workers-agree-to-terms-to-end-three-months-of-strikes

Shipowners and charterers carrying commodities in the Indian Ocean are unlikely to see lower insurance premiums in the near term despite industry bodies’ decision to remove the region’s High Risk Area, or HRA, status, several maritime executives said Aug. 23.

The piracy situation near Somalia has improved, which has warranted the decision of key international shipping associations to remove its HRA status, though that will not take effect until next year, a maritime insurance executive in Singapore said.

Industry bodies, including the International Chamber of Shipping, BIMCO, International Marine Contractors Association, INTERCARGO, INTERTANKO and Oil Companies International Marine Forum forwarded a submission Aug. 22 to the International Maritime Organization to remove the HRA from Jan. 1, 2023, they said in a statement. It is likely to be taken up by IMO end-October.

Once the industry bodies remove the categorization of Indian Ocean as an HRA for commercial maritime operations, pressure will build for insurance clubs to cease charging any additional war risk premiums, senior executive of a Protection and Indemnity, or P&I, Club told S&P Global Commodity Insights.

Lloyd’s leads
Maritime insurance companies typically take a cue from the HRA list of the Joint War Committee of Lloyd’s Market Association. Neil Roberts, the association’s head of marine and aviation said. “The JWC will consider this announcement at its next meeting in September, also noting the expressed need for continued caution.”

While it is a regular practice for war risk insurance clubs to charge an annual premium, an additional premium is triggered when ships move in designated HRAs.

War risk insurance also covers third party liabilities and pollution, which in normal practice would be under P&I, because such damages may be triggered by war or other violent perils in such regions.

Additional war risk premium is not always the same and may have already been reduced in many insurance covers in recent years due to the lowered threat perception in the Indian Ocean region, the P&I Club executive said.

In such a scenario, any incremental reduction in insurance costs will be limited, he said.

According to the ICC International Maritime Bureau, there was no incident of piracy and armed robbery against ships in the first half of this year in Nigeria and Somalia nor at any other location attributed to Somali pirates. The four locations where 60% of all such incidents were reported over January-June were the Singapore Straits, Ghana, Indonesia and Peru, the IMB said in its half yearly report.

Individual assessment
It was now up to the individual underwriters to assess the risk of ships moving in the Indian Ocean region and to adjust their terms and conditions accordingly, maritime executives said.

One of them pointed out that the cost reduction may be gradual because it will not be wise to instantly remove armed guards, lest it results in a reversal in the security situation for the worse.

Such security measures, including the armed guards, are deployed under the shipping industry’s BMP-5 grade Best Management Practices to Deter Piracy and Enhance Maritime Security.

Notable risks remain on several key maritime routes. The Middle East is a major source of oil for Asian buyers and this region is still an area of concern due to US sanctions against Iran. There have been several violent terrorism related incidents in the region in the last three years.

The Persian Gulf and its adjacent waters, including parts of the Gulf of Oman, are still listed as areas under risk of Hull War, Piracy, Terrorism and Related perils, as declared by the JWC of Lloyd’s Market Association.

The Persian Gulf is a separate issue, well understood by the shipping industry and not significantly affected by the latest HRA decision on the Indian Ocean, Roberts said.

Insurers continue to charge a premium to owners whose ships pass the Gulf of Oman, that includes waters around the bunkering port of Fujairah, a chartering executive at a global commodities trading company said. It has been more than three years that owners have been passing on these additional charges to charterers, the executive said, adding to the delivered cost of cargoes.

At a time when freight has hit multi year highs on several routes, this is adding to the burden of charterers.

The Worldscale rates on Platts benchmark Persian Gulf-China route for VLCCs, which carry around 270,000 mt of fuel oil or crude each, are at their highest for the year, according to S&P Global data.

Charterers are shelling out an over two-year high $16.50/mt for moving cargoes on this route, which is three times the amount they paid in mid-March, the data showed.
Source: Platts

Safetytech Accelerator and Lloyd’s Register Maritime Decarbonisation Hub are pleased to announce their partnership with two companies, TYMLEZ and Authentix, selected to undertake a feasibility study on the assurance of green fuel in the maritime industry.

The global maritime industry currently contributes 3% of global CO2 emissions. While the industry has taken steps in recent years to reduce its carbon footprint, major change is still needed to meet the industry’s goal of a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

There are different possible avenues industry players can investigate to reach these ambitious targets: transitioning to fuels with lower greenhouse gas emissions such as green ammonia and hydrogen is one of the most promising ones. Greener fuels have the potential to power the next generation of container ships and tankers with one of the biggest barriers to their adoption being assurance: How can buyers of fuel that is sold as being “green” be assured that it was produced, transported, and handled in a truly green way?

Recognising the need for verified green hydrogen and green ammonia, Lloyd’s Register Maritime Decarbonisation Hub and Safetytech Accelerator identified around 30 companies with interesting technologies which could play a role in assuring the well-to-tank supply chain for green fuels. Five finalists were invited to take part in a pitching contest, of which two companies, TYMLEZ and Authentix were selected and offered partnerships.

The objective of the partnership is to conduct commercial feasibility studies to determine how the two companies can play complementary roles in assuring the greenhouse gas footprint of these new low carbon fuels.

Between August and November 2022, TYMLEZ will focus on the feasibility of guarantee of origin solutions to verify the production of green fuels for the maritime industry. In parallel, Authentix will concentrate on the tracing of these fuels throughout the maritime supply chain using their chemical markers.

The technologies presented in the two studies will help industry to understand what role could be played by human intervention and how these can be minimised as we strive for net-zero. They will also contribute to a better understanding of how standards in the certification green hydrogen and green ammonia in the maritime industry could be developed in the near future.

TYMLEZ is a pioneer in the development and delivery of carbon reporting and guarantee of origin solutions built using blockchain technology. TYMLEZ provides solutions for complex industrial applications that can guarantee the origin of green resources including green fuels such as green hydrogen and green ammonia.

TYMLEZ CEO Daniel O’Halloran said “The partnership with Lloyd’s Register Maritime Decarbonisation Hub and Safetytech Accelerator is exciting as it will allow us to help shape the future of guarantee of origin for the maritime industry globally. Being selected for this project is a sign of confidence from these respected organisations, and we look forward to working closely with them.”

For over 25 years, Authentix has been the leading global authentication solution provider serving over 20 national governments and major oil companies through managed fuel integrity programs on five different continents. Authentix provides environmentally safe, covert fuel marking technologies along with cloud-based information monitoring systems to prevent illicit trade and enable clients to track real-time compliance in fuel supply chains for quality assurance and revenue optimization.

Authentix Vice President Jim Seely commented on the partnership, “Authentix is excited to be selected as a key partner for this important project for the Maritime industry to reach its goals of overall reduction in carbon emissions. As these innovative green fuel sources are utilized, it will provide a substantial impact towards that cause. We will endeavour to be on the cutting edge of technology development ensuring these new fuel sources can be properly verified and tracked by industry and government to prevent illicit trading and adulteration in the future.”

Charles Haskell, Decarbonisation Programme Manager at Lloyd’s Register Maritime Decarbonisation Hub had this to say, “Whilst the shipping industry looks to alternative fuels, the lifecycle impact of these fuels must be taken into account rather than pushing the emissions upstream. This presents a challenge when verifying the fuels for shipowners, ports and regulators. This study is aimed to demonstrate that technology is available to determine the traceability and impact of the emissions in producing these fuels.”

Maurizio Pilu, Safetytech Accelerator’s Managing Director commented: “Technologies which can support the assurance of supply chains are evolving rapidly and are starting to be adopted in many sectors. Through these two connected feasibility studies we hope to show how they can be applied to the important area of assurance of greener fuels in shipping and stimulate more innovation and entrepreneurs to help the maritime industry move towards net-zero.”