Container Ships News

Donald Trump’s victory in the US Presidential Election is has importers on edge, fearing another spike in ocean container shipping freight rates premised on President Trump's vow on blanket tariffs of up to 20% on all imports into the US and additional tariffs of 60% to 100% on goods from China.Data from Xeneta shows the last time that President Trump ramped up tariffs on Chinese imports during the trade war in 2018, ocean container shipping freight rates spiked more than 70%.

Just ten months into 2024, shipyards’ deliveries of container ships have reached a new annual record. A total of 410 ships with a capacity of 2.5m TEU have been delivered, surpassing the previous full year high of 2.3m TEU in 2023,” says Niels Rasmussen, Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.As recycling of older ships has remained low, the deliveries have increased the size of the container fleet by 2.4m TEU (8.7%) since the beginning of 2024. The container fleet now consists of 6…

Yemen's Houthis said on Monday that they targeted three ships in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea, attacks they called part of their efforts to enforce a naval blockade on Israel.Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a televised address the vessels were targeted for attempting to approach ports bound for Israel.According to the latest data from LSEG, all three targeted vessels were Liberia-registered.One of the vessels, identified by the Houthis as bulk carrier Motaro, was last seen off Yemen's western coast in the Red Sea…

Orient Overseas Container Lines (OOCL) announced it has entered into charter agreements  with Seaspan, to charter six brand new 13,000 TEU container vessels for a maximum aggregate amount of RMB 11.2 billion. The expected delivery of these vessels is from the fourth quarter of 2026 to the first quarter of 2028 and is to be chartered for 15 years from delivery."OOCL has been continuously assessing the global economic situation, operating environment of the shipping industry, the supply and demand for container vessels as well as seeking the appropriate timing to introduce larger…

The owner and operator of the cargo ship that struck Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge in March, killing six people, have agreed to pay $102 million to the federal government, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday.The department in September filed a civil claim seeking $103 million from two Singaporean companies, Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited. The claim was intended to recoup the money the U.S. government spent responding to the disaster…

International shipping company Hapag-Lloyd raised its full-year earnings guidance on Thursday citing stronger-than-expected demand and higher freight rates.Despite increased expenses from the diversion of vessels around the Cape of Good Hope, Hapag-Lloyd says it now expects earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) for 2024 of between $4.6 billion and $5 billion, up from previous guidance of $3.5 billion to $4.6 billion.However, given very volatile freight rates and major geopolitical challenges…

Danish shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk said on Monday it had raised its full-year forecasts on the back of strong third quarter results, robust demand and the continuing disruption to shipping in the Red Sea.Maersk said it had revised its outlook for global container market volume growth in 2024 to around 6% from a range of between 4% to 6% seen previously.Maersk reported preliminary underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $4.8 billion for the third quarter.

A.P. Moller - Maersk on Wednesday held a naming ceremony in the U.K.'s Port of Felixstowe for its latest dual-fuel methanol container vessel, Alexandra Maersk.The newbuild is the the sixth vessel in Maersk’s owned fleet that is capable of running on methanol fuel in its main and auxiliary engines, and the fifth ship in Maersk's series of 18 large dual-fuel methanol vessels scheduled for delivery in 2024 and 2025—each with more than 16,000 TEU capacity.The new ship Alexandra Maersk is named after Alexandra Mærsk-Møller (1868-1953) who was an older sister of Mr. A.P. Møller, the founder of A.P.

Shares in shipping companies fell heavily in Europe and Asia on Friday after workers and U.S. port operators agreed a deal to end a strike on the East and Gulf coast docks far sooner than expected.In early trading in Europe, shipping group A.P.

The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) on Tuesday has gone ahead with strike action at U.S. ports from Maine to Texas and accused ocean container carriers of ‘gouging customers’.The ILA confirmed the strike in an announcement yesterday, Monday, while at the same time claiming ocean container carriers are now charging $30,000 per container in a ‘whopping increase from $6,000 just a few weeks ago’.Xeneta data – which is based on more than 450 million crowdsourced datapoints – shows the ILA claim is misleading. Average spot rates on the major fronthaul from the Far East to U.S.

Dockworkers on the U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast began a strike early on Tuesday, their first large-scale stoppage in nearly 50 years, halting the flow of about half the nation's ocean shipping after negotiations for a new labor contract broke down over wages.The strike blocks everything from food to automobile shipments across dozens of ports from Maine to Texas, in a disruption analysts warned will cost the economy billions of dollars a day, threaten jobs, and potentially stoke inflation.The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) union representing 45…

Philly Shipyard on Monday held a steel-cutting ceremony to signal the start of construction on the first of three new Aloha Class liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fueled containerships to be built for U.S. ocean carrier Matson. Matson placed the $1 billion three-ship order with Philly Shipyard in 2022 following the deliveries of Aloha-class vessels Daniel K. Inouye and Kamina Hila from the same yard in 2018 and 2019 respectively. The shipyard also delivered four containerships to Matson between 2003 and 2006.“Today we celebrate not only the beginning of production…

U.S. companies that rely on East and Gulf Coast seaports have been importing early, shifting goods to the West Coast, and even putting cargo on pricey flights to hedge against a threatened Oct. 1 strike that could jam supply chains and reignite inflation ahead of the U.S. presidential election."This is just another headache after everything else we've been dealing with," said Kenneth Sanchez, CEO of Chesapeake Specialty Products, which sends goods like metallic abrasives and foundry…

The state of Maryland on Tuesday filed civil claims against the owner and operator of the cargo ship that struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March, killing six people and paralyzing a major transportation artery for the U.S. Northeast.The lawsuit seeks damages from two Singaporean companies that are the registered owner of the Dali cargo ship, Grace Ocean Pte Ltd, and its manager, Synergy Marine Group, for the cost of the bridge, cleanup efforts, environmental claims and other costs.

The families of the six workers who died in the March collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore filed lawsuits on Friday against the owner and operator of the cargo ship that struck the bridge.The lawsuits filed in Maryland federal court by the families of Carlos Daniel Hernandez Estrella, Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, Miguel Angel Luna, Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, Maynor Yasir Suazo Sandoval and Jose Mynor Lopez seek unspecified damages from the registered owner of the ship…

The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday filed a civil claim seeking $103 million from the two Singaporean companies that owned and operated the container ship that in March toppled the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, killing six people and paralyzing a major transportation artery for the U.S. Northeast.The department is seeking to recover from Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited the money the U.S. government spent in responding to the disaster…

Investigators have placed a Cyprus-registered containership in their crosshairs as the possible source of an oil spill in Algoa Bay off South Africa's East Coast.The spill, which has spread at sea and is impacting the region's wildlife, is believed to have originated from the MSC Apollo, a container vessel anchored in the bay, according to the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA).MSC Apollo is scheduled to dock at the Port of Ngqura as soon as a berth is available for a thorough inspection to identify the source of the oil leak…

Imports of U.S. container cargo in August jumped 12.9% from a year ago as a summer volume surge delayed cargo at major ports and anxiety builds over a threatened longshore worker strike on the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico on Oct. 1, trade data provider Descartes Systems Group said on Tuesday.U.S. seaports processed almost 2.5 million 20-foot equivalent units in August. That was 3% less than in July, when imports hit a 26-month high. Volume above 2.4 million TEU created bottlenecks and cargo backups in the early days of the pandemic…

Container liner shipping company ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd., announced it has entered into a new long-term operational cooperation with Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) on the Asia - U.S. East Coast and Asia - U.S. Gulf trades.The new services are scheduled to be launched in February 2025, subject to regulatory approvals and filings, ZIM said.Eli Glickman, ZIM President & CEO, said, "This important collaboration reflects ZIM's commitment to both delivering an outstanding shipping solution to its customers…

The U.S. government signaled in a court filing on Wednesday for the first time that it may file a claim against the owner of the ship that caused the March collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.U.S. Justice Department attorney Laine Goodhue submitted a letter, opens new tab notifying U.S. District Judge James Bredar that the government is among the "claimants and prospective claimants” that have negotiated with the registered owner of the ship Grace Ocean and its…

A Singapore-registered containership allided with an iconic training tall ship at berth in Australia's Port of Fremantle on Friday, causing damage to both vessels.The 332-meter box ship Maersk Shekou was proceeding into the harbor under pilotage, assisted by four tugs when it struck the STS Leeuwin II, which was at berth.Two night watch crew members on board the 55-meter tall ship were taken to a nearby hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, while the 26 crew members on board…

A U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) cadet was airlifted to safety after suffering an injury on board a commercial vessel in the Gulf of Mexico.The U.S. Coast Guard said it medevaced the a 20-year-old female cadet who sustained an arm injury aboard the U.S. registered Maersk Ohio. USMMA cadets sail aboard commercial vessels as part of their training to gain practical, hands-on experience in the maritime industry.The ship captain requested the medevac to Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston at 5 p.m.

Hong Kong headquartered ocean carrier Orient Overseas Container Line Ltd. (OOCL) said it is running its ships biofuel as a means to reduce emissions from its operations.The company, which has been using biofuel on some of its vessels since 2023, said it has partnered with customers IKEA and Kyocera for the most recent trial voyage, which commenced in early August. The fuel used on the voyage is a B24 biofuel blend, with ISCC certified Used Cooking Oil Methyl Ester as a component in the VLSFO.By substituting fossil fuels with biofuels…