Category: Sea

Shipping lines seeking to reduce costs have often contemplated the historic trade route around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, because it’s a move that would save them millions by avoiding the toll charges of the Suez Canal, but it depends on very low fuel costs and shippers willing to accept sai... Read more

While they may have ended 2019 with rising rates and a buoyant spot market, largely due to blanked sailings, the global container shipping lines will need to control capacity in 2020 better than they have in the past, particularly with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) low-sulphur fue... Read more

Felixstowe is set to be hit by industrial action over Christmas, after 110 engineers at Felixstowe voted 98% in favour of strike action over plans to outsource their employment. The stoppages will take place on Friday 27 and Saturday 28 December, and the Unite union have indicated intention of... Read more

The IMO’s global emissions regulations come into force in January 2020, imposing a large reduction in sulphur emissions by the 5,200 container vessels currently in operation globally. The IMO’s global emissions regulations impact the 5,200 container vessels currently in operation globally,... Read more

We all look forward to the extended break over Christmas and the New Year, but there are pitfalls ready to catch out the unprepared shipper. While most shipping related costs are valid and unavoidable, demurrage, detention and some port charges catch unwary shippers, particularly as these char... Read more

Carriers have been announcing more blank sailings on the Asia-North Europe trade as slowing demand threatens to pull down rate levels. With widespread factory closures during China’s Golden Week in the first week of October due to further limit volume out of Asia, shippers can expect more ro... Read more

In 2016, the International Marine Organization (IMO) agreed to limit the sulphur content in all marine fuels to 0.5% beginning in 2020, which has distinct ramifications for shippers, as carriers invest in fuel cleaning systems or switch to more expensive lower sulphur fuels. The IMO ruling, wh... Read more

Shippers from China have already seen the increased use of slow steaming, ship idling, blank sailings, and exhaust scrubbers to absorb additional capacity, and now it is announced by CMA-CGM that APL, will exit the Asia-Europe trade on 1st October. In an effort to rationalise services and redu... Read more

Asia-Europe volumes may have fluctuated in the 1st quarter of 2019, but it doesn’t hide the fact that growth has been slowing and with 460,000 TEU of ultra-large container vessels scheduled for delivery this year, capacity is going to massively outstrip demand in 2019. Despite a surge at the... Read more

With economic indicators forecasting a slowdown in trade demand in 2019 and more new container ships due on the Asian trade, the shipping lines are introducing slow steaming, ship idling, blank sailings, and exhaust scrubbers to absorb the additional capacity. December and January are traditio... Read more