Global News

Container leasing rates reach for the skies

Container leasing rates reach for the skies

US shippers are diverting east coast cargo, already shifted from the Panama Canal to via Suez, to west coast ports, boosting southern California port volumes and raising box leasing prices through the roof. Online box leasing and trading company Container xChange...

AD Ports takes over Karachi Port East Wharf operations.

AD Ports takes over Karachi Port East Wharf operations.

The agreement will see a joint venture between AD Ports and Kaheel Terminals, Karachi Gateway Terminal Multipurpose Limited (KGTML), develop, operate and manage berths 11-17 at the East wharf of Karachi. The new concession grants 1.5 km of quay wall to KGTML for...

Piraeus port inaugurates expanding car terminal.

Piraeus port inaugurates expanding car terminal.

Greek Shipping and Island Policy Minister Christos Stylianides pointed out at an inauguration ceremony 6 February for the new car facilities, the Ministry's goal is to promote sustainable urban development, the use of sustainable transportation methods and advanced...

ICS Proposes $40 Carbon Levy With No Automatic Increases

ICS Proposes $40 Carbon Levy With No Automatic Increases

The International Chamber of Shipping has formulated a revised proposal for an IMO carbon emissions fund. As with earlier proposals, it would see two-way financial flows going in and out of one fund - carbon-emitting shipowners would pay money in, while...

Vietnam’s Ports Benefit From Geopolitics and Trade Wars

Vietnam’s Ports Benefit From Geopolitics and Trade Wars

Vietnam’s main ports have shot up the world rankings in terms of volumes of container-based traffic as manufacturers increasingly pull out of China in the wake of the tariff-based trade war with America. As the latest data on Vietnam’s growing “connectivity” –...

The Law and Practice of Container Shipping

The Law and Practice of Container Shipping

The evolution of container shipping has played a crucial role in transforming international trade and shipping, making it more efficient, cost-effective, and interconnected. Today, container shipping is ubiquitous and efficient. The most recent ULCV, the MSC...

Red Sea Tanker Fire Extinguished

Red Sea Tanker Fire Extinguished

The fire aboard the Marshall Islands registered tanker Marlin Luanda is reported to be out and the vessel is proceeding to an unspecified safe harbor. Trafigura, which chartered the vessel, provided the update confirming that the crew of 23, including...

Chinese automobile exports surge 58% in 2023

Chinese automobile exports surge 58% in 2023

China’s automobile export market reached 4.91 million units in 2023, increasing some 57.9 year-on-year. With sharp rise in exports China is expected to become the world’s largest automobile exporter. During in 2023, automobile production and sales volume of...

Red Sea crisis drives inflationary trading costs.

Red Sea crisis drives inflationary trading costs.

Carriers have told shippers and forwarders that rates will rise substantially as shipping heads around the Cape of Good Hope, soaking up excess capacity, and redressing the supply and demand imbalance. One forwarder has been told to expect European rates out of Asia...

Port of Corpus Christi handles record cargo tonnage in 2023

Port of Corpus Christi handles record cargo tonnage in 2023

The 203 million tonnes moved through the port last year represented an 8.1% increase over 2022. The new record primarily can be attributed to a jump in crude oil exports to 126.1 million tonnes in 2023, a 12.5% increase compared to 2022. Related: New leadership...

IAEA Uses Nuclear Tools to Study Antarctic Plastic Pollution

IAEA Uses Nuclear Tools to Study Antarctic Plastic Pollution

Last week, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) launched its first scientific research expedition to investigate the extent of microplastics pollution in the Antarctica. Argentine President Javier Milei and IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi led the...

Norway’s Turn Towards Deep-Sea Mining Dismays Experts

Norway’s Turn Towards Deep-Sea Mining Dismays Experts

Norway, renowned for its substantial offshore oil and gas reserves, made a surprise move in 2021 to rebrand itself as an ocean champion. However, this environmental turn is being reversed as the government pursues commercial mining in the country’s extended...

High Speed Internet at Sea

High Speed Internet at Sea

Low-Earth-orbit satellites are revolutionizing maritime connectivity – to the delight of shipowners and crew alike. Far above the planet, thousands of satellites are orbiting Earth. Some are taking high-resolution photographs and beaming them back to ground stations,...

Top ocean shipping stories of 2023: War, drought and detours

Top ocean shipping stories of 2023: War, drought and detours

Ocean shipping routes are always in flux, but 2023 took it to a whole new level. Trade routes were blocked or impeded by geopolitics, labor and weather: sanctions on Russia, U.S.-China tensions, dockworker union unrest, drought-driven cuts at the Panama Canal, and...

Russia Claims New Record for Cargo on the Northern Sea Route

Russia Claims New Record for Cargo on the Northern Sea Route

As of the last week of 2023, Russian officials were claiming to have reached a record level of cargo moving along the Northern Sea Route while expecting to continue to increase the total to the end of the year. The reports are saying that volumes recovered from the...

More Than 280 Boxships Have Diverted Away From Red Sea

More Than 280 Boxships Have Diverted Away From Red Sea

The degree of disruption from attacks on shipping in the Red Sea continues to escalate. As of Sunday, more than 280 container vessels - not counting tankers, bulkers, car carriers or other vessel classes - have diverted to the Cape of Good Hope, according to an...

Conflict and climate conspire to reroute container ships

Conflict and climate conspire to reroute container ships

Geopolitical and meteorological events are continuing to reshape global container shipping trading patterns as vessels look for alternatives to all water routes via the Suez and Panama Canals. Nick Savvides | Dec 19, 2023 Low water levels in the Panama Canal have...

Panama Canal transits plunge as larger ships are turned away

Panama Canal transits plunge as larger ships are turned away

The official Panama Canal transit numbers for November are out — and they’re ugly. November could be the tip of the iceberg. Reservation slots are being slashed further this month and in January. The total number of transits declined 22% in November versus October,...

Singapore gets its first methanol bunkering vessel

Singapore gets its first methanol bunkering vessel

Singapore has welcomed the delivery of its first methanol bunkering vessel, marking its commitment to serve as a living lab for bunkering alternative fuels. Michele Labrut | Dec 15, 2023 Singapore, a global maritime bunkering hub, has welcomed the delivery of its...

Salvage industry needs to prepare for new fuels

Salvage industry needs to prepare for new fuels

As the drive to develop new zero emission fuels intensifies the salvage industry must recalibrate its training programmes to handle the patchwork of fuels that will replace oil in the transition and beyond. Nick Savvides | Dec 11, 2023 A panel of industry experts...

12 container ships divert from Red Sea over terror threat.

12 container ships divert from Red Sea over terror threat.

Initially attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and the Straits of Hormuz, which have included hijackings and missile strikes, targeted Israeli-linked ships recent incidents such as the drone strike on the OOCL chartered containership Number 9 had no current Israeli...

The Virtual Watch Tower: A Public Good

The Virtual Watch Tower: A Public Good

Building the new economy revolves around data, internet-of-things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), cloud and federated computing. The shipper-driven, terminal-centric Virtual Watch Tower / VWT (www.virtualwatchtower.org) is a federated computing initiative,...