World Maritime News

June 14, 2023

Panama Canal draft restrictions could cut boxship loads by 40% According to marine insurance sources, draft restrictions on the Panama Canal could force a 10,000 teu boxship to offload around 4,000 teu before transiting the key waterway. The maximum draft was set at 13.56m until 12 June, then falling further to 13.41 m. On 25 June, the limit will be lowered again to 13.26 m. These drat adjustments directly affect vessels transiting the neopanamax locks. Ships arriving with draft exceeding the a

World Maritime News (57)

May 30, 2023

World Maritime News

Topics on container shipping Container spot freight rates indicate the market is "fundamentally above pre-pandemic rate levels" despite the large falls from the peaks early in 2022. Earlier this year, rates had fallen back to levels last seen in 2019 in some cases, prompting some analysts to suggest carriers were engaging in a price war to secure cargoes as demand retreated. But an analysis by Sea-Intelligence indicates that despite the falls in the first quarter of 2023, freight rates have sta

World Maritime News (56)

May 17, 2023

World Maritime News

US imports to remain ‘well below’ 2022 levels most of the year According to the latest Global Port Trackerreportby the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates, US import volumes are expected to continue climbing throughout the summer. But they will remain far below last year’s record levels. Revising previous projections, the report forecasts imports to the US’s 12 largest ports in the first half of the year to total 10.4m teu, down from earlier projections of 10.8m teu and 22.8% belo

World Maritime News (55)

May 02, 2023

World Maritime News

US shipping bill targets 'unreasonably anti-competitive' agreements The US Congress has unveiled more ocean-shipping-focused legislation for "foreign" carriers. The Ocean Shipping Competition Enforcement Act was introduced by Democrat representative John Garamendi who said shipping is dominated by "nine foreign-flagged ocean liners that openly collude under three carrier alliances handling some 80% of cargo". The act will allow the Federal Maritime Commission to block agreements among ocean car

World Matime News (54)

April 19, 2023

World Maritime News

Box shipping is down but far from out The end of the pandemic boom was inevitable. But industry discipline and capacity management will mean it is well placed to benefit from a recovery in the second half of this year. The container shipping sector is nowhere near as bad a shape as some think. Shippers should be wary of trying to “nickel and dime” carriers in contract negotiations ahead of a possible upturn in demand. Read more: Lloyd's List SIPG sees record profit for 2022 despite slow c

World Maritime News (53)

April 05, 2023

World Maritime News

Box ports clear congestion as demand falls Falling demand for containerized goods has positively impacted container ports as congestion has declined, and fewer vessel calls have improved productivity. The latest World Ports Tracker Report from the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) "confirms the end of the global supply chain crunch," with the last quarter's average call sizes dropped in all port regions compared with the third quarter of 2022. IAPH said the biggest falls wer

World Maritime News (52)

March 22, 2023

World Maritime News

Maersk shifts detention billing to shippers ahead of FMC regulation Maersk will begin billing container detention charges directly to shippers on so-called merchant haulage moves from 1 April, which portends evolving invoicing practices related to potential new requirements from the US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC). The move by Maersk comes as the FMC is in the midst of a rulemaking process around detention and demurrage billing mandated by the passage of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 20

World Maritime News (51)

March 08, 2023

World Maritime News

Container lines' challenges, new building deliveries, capacity removal, and negative rates The huge containership order book that began to build in late 2020 is about to start emerging into the world fleet, just as demand falls back to pre-pandemic levels and carriers face lower load factors on their key trades. At least for now, it looks as if all this extra tonnage will hit the liner trades at a time of faltering demand. Carriers are trying to blank sailings to move capacity in line with dem

World Maritime News (50)

February 22, 2023

World Maritime News

Topics regarding the end of 2M Alliance The decision by Mediterranean Shipping Co. and Maersk to end their 2M Alliance will not lead to a breakup of the two other vessel-sharing agreements or spark a round of musical chairs with carriers searching for new partners, according to Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc. Clerc said a way to look at the breakup of 2M was that instead of three major networks on the east-west trades come 2025, and there would now be four — Ocean Alliance, THE Alliance, Maersk, and

World Maritime News (49)

February 08, 2023

World Maritime News

Topics related to the end of 2M Alliance MSC and Maersk will go their separate ways, which pulled back the curtain on another industry era. That means the largest carriers can operate at scale outside of a formal alliance. The potential impact on factors such as long-term pricing can’t be underestimated. Alliances allowed the carriers via their partners to build extensive service networks, distribute and lower the costs of deploying tonnage, increase utilization, and engage in capacity manageme

World Maritime News (48)

January 25, 2023

World Maritime News

Maersk and MSC to discontinue 2M alliance in 2025 Maersk and Mediterranean Shipping Co are to close their 2M alliance vessel-sharing agreement when the arrangement expires in 2025. In recent years, there has been speculation that the alliance was coming under pressure as the world’s two largest container lines’ strategies diverged. Maersk has focused itself on becoming an “integrated provider of container logistics”, while MSC has overtaken Maersk in terms of pure ocean capacity, dramatically

World Maritime News (47)

January 11, 2023

World Maritime News

Lines struggle to push up rates amid weak market fundamentals Container shipping lines are facing an uphill battle to increase rates as market prospects remain bleak. The recent traditional cargo rush ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday improved vessel utilization and boosted carriers’ confidence for a price hike. But the reality is less upbeat than expected. Container freight markets are expected to head further south despite a stabilizing spot rate index seen ahead of the Chinese New Year,