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Covid measures continue to impact SE Asia repair yard capacity
Strict Covid-19 could continue to restrict yard capacity for drydocking in the coming year warn Nippon Marine Paint. Marcus Hand | Feb 03, 2022 The number of vessels drydocked at Southeast Asian yards for paint jobs dropped sharply in 2020 and 2021, and while...
Supply chain chaos and port gridlock could drag on into 2023
The timetable for a container shipping correction keeps receding into the distance, which is either very good news or very bad news, depending upon which side of the market you’re on. The first predictions for a downturn were for October 2020 after China’s Golden Week...
Maersk Reports Record-Setting $24 Billion Profit for 2021
PUBLISHED FEB 9, 2022 1:55 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE Calling 2021 an exceptional year, A.P. Moller – Maersk reported year-end results producing the expected records, including the largest profit by any shipping company and the largest ever profit for any...
Maersk boosts integrated logistics strategy with Concor collaboration in India
By Angelo Matthias in India 04/02/2022 Maersk Line is raising the bar on integrated logistics solutions in India, as customers continually demand more on the supply chain-side in a highly competitive market environment. The carrier’s latest effort around...
Maersk Overtaken as World’s No. 1 Shipping Line by MSC
Supply Lines is a daily newsletter that tracks Covid-19’s impact on trade. Sign up here, and subscribe to our Covid-19 podcast for the latest news and analysis on the pandemic. A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S is no longer the world’s largest container line. The...
World’s largest container vessel Ever Ace makes maiden call at PTP
JOHOR BARU: Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) became the first port in Southeast Asia to welcome Evergreen Marine Corporation's latest, and the world's largest, container ship Ever Ace as part of the vessel's maiden voyage in the region. The vessel arrived at the port...
Port of LA threatens penalties for empty boxes left at clogged-up terminals
By Ian Putzger, Americas correspondent 21/12/2021 To nobody’s surprise, the spectre of late dwell charges on containers at the prime US port complex receded yet another week yesterday, as the port authorities of Los Angeles and Long Beach deferred a decision...
Maersk hatches ‘winter plan’ to counter record transatlantic storm season
By Mike Wackett 20/12/2021 A record-breaking Atlantic hurricane season has severely disrupted transatlantic liner services, adding to capacity shortage issues on the route. Moreover, an acceleration in modal shift from severely congested US west coast ports...
UN groups in crisis mode over key workers as Covid border restrictions return
As some countries move to reintroduce border restrictions for transport workers – a repeat of last year’s measures which contributed to the supply chain crisis – the World Health Organisation (WHO) and International Labour Organisation (ILO) are forming an emergency...
Trade facilitation: Critical to COVID-19 recovery
Lines of trucks, often hundreds of vehicles long, were a frequent sight at many border crossings at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Quarantining of containers at sea ports and increased delays for restricted goods, including medicine and personal protective...
FACT SHEET: Summit on Global Supply Chain Resilience to Address Near-Term Bottlenecks and Tackle Long-Term Challenges
President Biden announces new domestic steps to continue building supply chain resilience President Biden has made resilient supply chains a top priority of his Administration since Day One. Today, the President is holding a Summit on Global Supply Chain Resilience...
DP Word increases container volume by 11.9%
DP World handled 58.4m teu across its container terminals during in the January-September period, with container volumes increasing by 11.9% year-on-year on a reported basis and up 11.4% on a like-for-like basis. Michele Labrut | Oct 27, 2021 During the third...
Shifting economic demand could be positive for supply chains, long-run
Maersk has warned that the energy crisis in China and the consequent delays and congestion caused by Covid-19 is disrupting services, but some believe the power problems may lead to falling demand following the rush to get goods to market for Christmas. Chinese New...
‘Exceptional’ financial year for the Panama Canal
The Panama Canal closed Fiscal Year 2021 (October 2020-September 2021) with historic PC/UMS (Panama Canal/ Universal Measurement System) tonnage transported through the waterway, increasing by 8.7 %, to 516.7m PC/UMS, up from 475.16m PC/UMS in FY 2020. The...
Waiting ships around the world are the effect of inland logistics bottlenecks, ONE CEO Jeremy Nixon said in a release.
Gary Howard | Oct 29, 2021 In an update on its FY 21 Q2 initiatives, Nixon said that the company continued to see bottleneck constraints as a result of landside labour shortages and high consumer and industrial demand for products. “Hundreds of ships waiting...
Cosco bites the charter bullet, while CMA CGM buys more ships
Ocean carriers are turning the heads of non-operating containership owners with “offers they can’t refuse” in their fervent buying spree. Oslo-headquartered MPC Container Ships announced last week it had agreed the sale of six of its 74-vessel feedership fleet,...
Sea-Intelligence: Two-Thirds of All Containerships Are Behind Schedule
Global port congestion and backlogs continue to play havoc on liner schedules. According to new data from Sea-Intelligence schedule reliability remains at the low end of the range seen in 2021. In September, two out ever three vessels were behind schedule with the...
Driver shortages and rising costs make the UK a tough market, says DSV chief
DSV is to pass on rising haulage costs to its customers, but has downplayed suggestions it has been significantly affected by the shortage of drivers. Road accounts for more than 20% of DSV’s revenue and has seen 12.4% growth in the year to date. It recorded revenue...
San Pedro ports to surcharge carriers for extended cargo dwell times
As the number of ships awaiting berths at the US west coast container hubs of Los Angeles and Long Beach grows the ports are set to surcharge ocean carriers for extended import dwell times. From 1 November, the San Pedro Bay ports will charge carriers $100 per...
Singapore opens mega-port storage early to ease container bottlenecks
Singapore’s new mega-port is just months away from full operations, but it has opened its storage area early to help alleviate the supply chain bottlenecks plaguing container shipping. Congestion has caused ships to arrive late, resulting in logjams of containers in...
PIL launching new service for China and Gulf areas
Pacific International Lines (PIL) announced the launch of a new weekly direct service connecting Central and South China to the Gulf area in the Middle East. Katherine Si | Oct 26, 2021 Effective from 23 November 2021, this new service - Gulf China...
Bunker surcharges resurface – ‘justified by oil price spike’, say carriers
As oil prices spike to multi-year highs of $80 a barrel, ocean carriers are preparing to dust off their bunker surcharge mechanisms to mitigate the impact. Although several carriers, including CMA CGM and Hapag-Lloyd, have capped further FAK rate increases, surcharges...
Zim Kingston vessel fire was caused by container collapse
A fire which broke out aboard the Zim Kingston was caused by a container collapse that damaged boxes containing dangerous cargo, a spokesperson for vessel owner Danaos Shipping confirmed today. The 4,253 teu vessel, on charter from the Greek owner, was at an...
APM Terminals places ZPMC order, establishes strategic alliance
APM Terminals and Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries (ZPMC) signed a large equipment purchasing order and formed a strategic alliance to focus on automation. Katherine Si | Oct 25, 2021 To have more access to adequate, state-of-the-art automated...
Maersk makes changes to WCSA services to/from Northern Europe
Maersk announced major changes to its connecting services between the West Coast of South America (WCSA), the Caribbean and Central America to/from Northern Europe that will take effect from January 2022. Michele Labrut | Oct 25, 2021 This includes the closure of...
ZIM buys seven secondhand boxships for $320m
ZIM has acquired seven containerships of between 12 and 14 years old for $320m since the start of October. Marcus Hand | Oct 22, 2021 The vessels purchased are five traditional panamax sized 4,250 teu boxships and two 1,100 teu. The prices of secondhand...
Exporters snap-up capacity as CargoGulf targets stranded freight for Asia
Correction: The Loadstar wishes to make some corrections to the article below that appeared in Tuesday’s edition: Contrary to the article, The Loadstar wishes to make it clear that CargoGulf is not the operator of the panamax vessel Guenther...
Amazon, IKEA and Unilver among shippers make 2040 zero carbon shipping pledge
Amazon, IKEA, and Unilever, are among nine major shippers that have united in a new coalition with an ambition for zero carbon shipping by 2040. Marcus Hand | Oct 20, 2021 The Cargo Owners for Zero Emission Vessels (coZEV) coalition brings together Amazon, Brooks...
President Biden challenges private sector to tackle supply chain logjams
US president Joe Biden has hailed a new 24-hour working system, which he says will help to shift bottlenecks in US supply chains bringing products to market for Christmas. But some industry observers do not share his optimism, believing the shift cannot be made so...
Missing port calls improves liner scheduling, but still delays final cargo delivery
Asia-North Europe ships are taking up to 54 extra days to complete round-trip voyages, due to chronic port congestion at their European hub ports. According to an Alphaliner survey, based on current schedule delays on the services, at least 44 extra ships of...
‘It’s a crazy market out there’ – shipping contract rates jump by 90%
With container spot rates from Asia appearing to have reached a plateau as China begins its Golden Week holiday, the attention has turned to contract rate inflation which, according to Xeneta’s XSI index, is showing a 91% year-on-year gain. The September edition of...
Complaints spark US FMC probe into shipping line bill of lading issues
Maritime regulator the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) yesterday launched a probe into claims that shipping lines serving the US “may be attempting to hold companies financially responsible for transport services they did not contract for and may not legally be...
Local News
‘Time to designate Labuan as full-fledged offshore financial centre’
ABUAN: A group of industry experts and stakeholders are calling for Labuan Island to be designated as a full-fledged offshore financial center and for clear policies for offshore enterprises to be established, aiming to attract international investors with tax...
ECRL freight, passenger services price structure most likely to be unveiled in 2026
KUALA LUMPUR: The price structure for the East Coast Rail Link's (ECRL) freight and passenger services will most likely be unveiled in 2026, says Malaysia Rail Link (MRL) Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Seri Darwis Abdul Razak. Addressing senior media...
Malaysia re-elected to International Maritime Organisation for 10th straight time
ONDON (Dec 2): Malaysia has been re-elected to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Council under Category C for the 2024-2025 term, marking Malaysia’s victory for the 10th consecutive time. Transport Minister Anthony Loke said Malaysia was placed 10th out of...
Malaysia must quickly assess potential impact of Thailand’s land bridge project, say experts
ALOR SETAR, Dec 3 — Malaysia cannot afford to wait until Thailand has realised its plan to build a land bridge between the Indian and Pacific Oceans before taking the necessary measures to benefit from the project, according to an economic expert. Associate Prof...
Fire Dept’s third airbase planned near Senai airport
JOHOR is expected to be the third airbase for the Fire and Rescue Department after Penang and Subang, according to its director-general Datuk Seri Abdul Wahab Mat Yasin. He said the agency was currently in discussion with state government and the land and mines office...
Loke: Enhance our ports instead of worrying about Thailand land bridge.
Malaysia must be steadfast in enhancing its ports’ competitiveness and productivity, instead of worrying about Thailand’s proposed land bridge project, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke. “What’s important is that we must improve ourselves in terms of efficiency,...
Focusing on investments that offer high-paying opportunities
SELECTED high-tech industries such as life sciences, food and beverage, electrical and electronics, transport equipment and machinery will be able to offer higher-paying jobs. Selangor investment, trade and mobility committee chairman Ng Sze Han (pic) said this was...
AFAFGIT to be implemented in Peninsular Malaysia from Jan 1, 2024.
PUTRAJAYA: The ASEAN Framework Agreement on the Facilitation of Goods in Transit (AFAFGIT), which will facilitate the movement of goods in transit in ASEAN member states will be implemented in Peninsular Malaysia from Jan 1, 2024. Transport Minister Anthony Loke, in a...
Kale And Dagang Net Win Malaysia Maritime Single Window Contract To Drive Electronic Data Exchange In Port Klang And Subsidiary Ports
Kale Logistics (Kale) and its partner, Dagang Net Technologies Sdn Bhd (Dagang Net), have been awarded the Malaysia Maritime Single Window (MMSW) contract by Port Klang Authority and its nine subsidiary ports in Malaysia. Under the contract, both parties will jointly...
Transport Minister: Homesick keeps locals away from shipping career
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 16): The agony of staying away from the family for a long period of time is the main reason why Malaysians are not keen to join the shipping and port industry despite the lucrative salary offer. Transport Minister Anthony Loke said as such the port...
Malaysia Rail Link clarifies ECRL train speed at 160km/h, dismissing ‘misleading’ high-speed claims
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 18 — Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL) today clarified that the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) passenger train will travel at a maximum speed of 160 kilometres per hour (km/h), dismissing claims from recent media reports suggesting that it could more...
Malaysia needs own economic development strategy, says Chin Tong
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia should develop its own economic strategy, rather than relying on plans from other countries, said Deputy Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry (Miti) Liew Chin Tong in Parliament today. However, he said that Malaysia will accept and take...
Strengthening flood resilience
KUALA Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has intensified efforts to tackle potential flash floods during the north-east monsoon period expected to bring heavy rainfall until February next year. One of the preventive measures is the installation of water pumps at various...
Miti: US trade and investment mission to priorities hi-tech, high value investments.
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 9 — The Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (Miti) has begun its trade and investment mission to the United States (US) from November 6 to13, covering the cities of Chicago, Seattle, and San Francisco. Miti said the mission will be led by its...
Transport minister: Belt and Road Initiative will drive Malaysia’s development, enhance cooperation with China
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 10 — The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) will continue to drive Malaysia’s socio-economic development and perpetuate the win-win cooperation between Malaysia and China, Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke said. In a recent interview with Xinhua,...
Port Of Tanjung Pelepas Bags Two Prestigious Awards At Hrd Awards 2023
Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP), a joint venture between Malaysian based MMC Group and Hague based APM Terminals has been named the winner of the Human Resource Development Corporation (HRD Corp) Awards 2023 under the Excellence In Graduate Development (Future Worker)...
Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency eye on marine and petro zones
KOTA KINABALU: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) is focusing on South China Sea waters close to Sabah and Sarawak that are abundant in natural resources. Deputy Director-General (Operations) of Maritime Malaysia, Maritime Vice Admiral Datuk Hamid...
Transport minister says govt will provide fair solution to lorry drivers while safeguarding other road users
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 — The Transport Ministry will find a solution that can safeguard both the operation of lorry drivers and at the same time keep the public safe. Transport Minister Anthony Loke said there is a need for ongoing engagements between lorry driver...
Malaysia has big EV ambitions. It wants to liberalise markets to achieve its goal
Malaysia has started down a path of market liberalisation, as Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration seeks to bolster the country’s competitiveness to draw lucrative investments in the electric vehicle (EV) space and steer the economy towards a...
Malaysia’s first shipment of humanitarian aid for Palestine totaling more than RM7m departs for Egypt.
SEPANG, Nov 4 — Malaysia's first shipment of humanitarian aid for Palestinians weighing 20 tonnes, including medical supplies, loaded on a special cargo plane, departed for Al-Arish International Airport, Egypt last night. The cargo plane took off at about 11.30pm...