News & Insights

In our 2023 supply chain review we said that we were hopeful that the formation of a coalition naval task force to patrol the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden would restore maritime security quickly, but Sunday’s two attacks on the Maersk Hangzhou suggest it could be some time before the route... Read more

The danger to container shipping approaching the Suez Canal comes at a time when the other key maritime gateway, the Panama Canal has been restricting transit numbers and draught limits due to drought driven low water levels. Due to the impact of the prolonged Panama Canal drought carriers hav... Read more

2023 was supposed to be the year that global supply chains bounced back from pandemic lockdowns and factory shutdowns, trade wars, tariffs and war in Europe, but now container shipping is disrupted by attacks in the Red Sea and restrictions on the Panama Canal. The COVID pandemic and its after... Read more

Following further attacks on merchant shipping, entirely unconnected to the conflict between Israel and Hamas, container shipping lines have suspended sailings through the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea with immediate effect. MSC announced on Friday, after the MSC Palatium III was attacked and suffe... Read more

As we move into our second year of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) investment, with Air France, KLM, Martinair, it is great to see the successful transatlantic flight, greater SAF availability and increasing options for green sea freight transport. The first transatlantic flight by a large pas... Read more

From the 1st January 2024 the market-based mechanism to tackle greenhouse gas emissions within the European Union known as the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) will be extended to shipping, triggering new emission linked surcharges. EU ETS sets an annual absolute limit on greenhouse gas (GHG)... Read more

Increases in HGV road toll charges in Germany, which includes an additional CO2 emissions tax of €200 per tonne began on the 1st December 2023 and for vehicle combinations with a gross vehicle weight of up to 40 tons, prices will increase by almost 86% – giving 35.4 cents per kilometre. Th... Read more

With the deadline fast approaching for export declarations moving to the Customs Declaration Service HMRC are highlighting a worrying trend at the border, with misuse of valid documents leaving innocent exporters potentially non-compliant and exposed to penalties.  In their latest Customs... Read more

With sea freight rates so low, below cost on many important trade lanes the container shipping lines are looking to surcharges and all manner of ancillary charges to boost their cash flows. Macro-economics continue to work against the shipping lines, with global demand suppressed and costs ris... Read more

The United States of America is the UK's largest single trading partner, with the value of goods and services nearly five times the value of trade with Germany, the UK's second largest export market and hopes are growing of a breakthrough in US/UK trade negotiations. Total US goods imported to... Read more

The EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) extends to container shipping from the 1st January 2024, with significant legal, commercial and financial consequences for carriers and a new surcharges for shippers. Under the EU ETS carriers will purchase a capped number of permits, known as ... Read more

With 2024 just weeks away, scheduled container shipping capacity post-Golden Week on both the trans-Pacific and Asia to North Europe trade-lanes is up massively. Over 30% to the USEC and over 10% to Europe, raising fears of a massive blank sailing program between now and the end of the year. J... Read more