Category: Sea

European ports used to be the world’s busiest and largest ports, but have been eclipsed by the impact of globalisation and the massive growth of container ports in Asia.  European ports still have a major role to play in global trade and, as an island nation, particularly so for the UK.... Read more

The current market conditions are a real mixed bag dependent on trade lane, mode of transport and region. Whilst some areas of global trade are experiencing extreme congestion, other areas are operating as normal for this time of year. Below is an overview of the current situation. Sea Freight... Read more

Felixstowe is experiencing very high volumes of containers throughput as hauliers are booked up from most of next week, reporting on poor loading times quay side, suggesting potential labour issues and an impact of new processes. The Port of Felixstowe is Britain’s biggest and busiest contai... Read more

Forth Ports and DP World will submit a joint freeport bid incorporating the Port of Tilbury and DP World London Gateway, to create a digitally connected multi-site free trade zone, that will focus on clean growth, while seeking to act as an innovation hub across a range of sectors. The compani... Read more

The trade press continue to report that trans-Atlantic demand is reduced by the pandemic and that carriers are adding to blanking programmes, while we have evidence of shipping lines refusing bookings due to lack of space. While blanked sailings have been reinstated on the transpacific and ext... Read more

Driven by demand surges and equipment shortages contributing to capacity constraints, container freight rates are rising to 2020 highs as carriers on the eastbound trans-Pacific implement the fourth GRI since the 1st June. Anticipating a continuation of weak demand, carriers blanked 63 sailing... Read more

We are receiving news that container shipping lines have begun diverting from the Port of Montreal as a series of strikes disrupt container handling for another week at Canada’s second-largest port.  Hapag-Lloyd has confirmed that the Detroit Express will call at the Port of Saint John ... Read more

Westbound Ocean Freight Capacity tightens as carriers turn screws and demand advanced bookings The unexpected surge in East and Westbound demand in June, exacerbated by carriers withdrawing close to half the market’s capacity in May, to match expected low demand saw China to North Europ... Read more

Development of an electronic bill of lading has long been a goal for freight forwarders and the container shipping industry, but it has been elusive, in large part due to a lack of standardisation of the document. The bill of lading is a mainstay of the global supply chain that’s present fro... Read more

Shipbuilding remains a core national industry for South Korea and the country’s shipping sector is a key supporter of its shipyards, with container shipping line HMM one of the biggest, as the yards support HMM’s aggressive expansion plan, to more than double vessel capacity. HMM’s vesse... Read more

With oil prices plunging to less than $20 per barrel, ocean carriers are coming under increased pressure to cancel their bunker surcharges, but lines are holding firm to emissions targets and cutting operating costs. Containership owners are continuing with their scrubber retrofit programs des... Read more

On Monday, K Line’s 15,000 TEU ship the Milano Bridge collided with a berth at the South Korean port of Busan, demolishing one gantry crane and damaging four others. At the time of the incident, the ship was in a berthing operation, with tugs in attendance and a pilot aboard. Port officia... Read more