Category: Exports

SECURITY UPDATE: Red Sea

The recent sinking of the Prestige Falcon oil tanker, following a Houthi attack, marks the deadliest incident involving these strikes to date. The vessel capsized near the Omani coastal city of Duqm, and while the Indian Navy rescued nine of the 16 crew members, one was found deceased, and six... Read more

A New Government – a New Britain; Strengthening UK Supply Chains for Economic Resilience

The Labour party’s manifesto outlines a commitment to bolster the resilience of supply chains in key sectors, a task that Transport Secretary Louise Haigh will spearhead. Recent global events, such as the war in Ukraine and pandemic-induced disruptions, have underscored the necessity of this... Read more

Port congestion (amongst other things) continues to push rates up

With increasing amounts of ocean freight capacity soaked up by COGH (Cape of Good Hope) diversions and port congestion, spot rates are spiking, with indexes up significantly on 2023 and market led spot/FAK rates up by nearly 500%. Now, carriers desperate for ships and more capacity are setting n... Read more

Felixstowe train derailment

At 22:09 on Wednesday 19th June a GB railway locomotive and loaded wagons en-route to the Port of Felixstowe derailed on the branch line approaching the main Central and Northern railheads, causing significant damage to the track and closing both terminals to train movements. The Central and N... Read more

New US demurrage and detention regulations in force

The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) final rule on demurrage and detention billing requirements came into force on the 28th May, except for two provisions that are delayed. The rule applies to ocean common carriers trading to or from the US, including vessel-operating common carriers (VOCCs) ... Read more

India exporters face more challenges

Shipping lines are imposing surcharges and raising freight rates as capacity from India to Europe, North America and The Rest of The World tightens. Indicative of why this is, can be seen with exports to the US up 13% and significant ocean network changes expected on the India-North America trade... Read more

New Silk Road will link the Gulf to Europe

Turkey, Qatar, and the UAE are joining with Iraq to develop a new land corridor - Development Road Project - which will connect the Gulf to Europe. The Development Road Project is a multi-billion dollar land corridor that will stretch 750 miles from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea, e... Read more

Summer 2024; France supply chain alert

This summer, a number of large-scale sporting events are likely to create some supply chain disruption, with the Olympic and Paralympic Games taking place in Paris between the 26th of July to the 11th of August, and the 28th of August to the 8th of September. The Paris 2024 Olympic Games, whic... Read more

UK is world’s 4th largest exporter – we look behind the headline

The UK, which ranked 7th in 2021, leapt up to become the world’s 4th largest exporter in 2022, according to new data published by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). But it may not be all good news and there’s plenty to consider within the data. The UK’s rise to become t... Read more

US importers face multiple challenges

The rapid escalation of transpacific ocean freight spot rates is reminiscent of the spike experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, while the air freight surge from Asia to the United States, that began late last year, looks likely to continue through the traditionally quiet summer months and int... Read more

Red Sea crisis expanding and growing

After the longest period of attack-free shipping in the Red Sea since December, the situation in the region is escalating, with an increase in Houthi attacks, fears that the ‘danger area’ may be expanding into the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean and an Iranian vessel hijack off the Gulf of Oman.... Read more

Maersk vessel collapses Baltimore bridge

The Dali, a time chartered Maersk container vessel with two pilots onboard, crashed into a support pylon of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, in the early hours of Tuesday 26th February, collapsing a large section of the 1.6 mile bridge into the Patapsco River. The Francis S... Read more