Shipping News

Canadian Pacific Kansas City said on Wednesday it and U.S.-based Lanco Group have sold the Panama Canal Railway Company to a unit of Denmark's Maersk, one of the world's largest container shipping groups.The Canadian railway company did not disclose terms of the deal, but added the deal would help it focus on its core assets in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.The acquisition "represents an attractive infrastructure investment in the region aligned to our core services of intermodal container movement…

Danish shipping company Maersk has benefited from robust U.S. demand so far this year and expects that to continue, though the outlook could be clouded by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff plans, it said on Wednesday.Maersk's regular global market outlook was published before Trump is expected to announce fresh tariffs later on Wednesday against nations that have duties on U.S. goods."U.S. growth is (the) main scenario, but volatile geopolitics cloud economic visibility," the…

Nippon Yusen (NYK), Japan's largest shipping line, is concerned that U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs could push up the cost of automobiles and daily goods, denting consumer demand and slowing cargo flows, its president said."The tariffs are not directly borne by consumers, but the burden ultimately falls on them, which in turn reduces the actual flow of goods. That's our biggest concern," President Takaya Soga told Reuters in an interview on Monday.Trump last week unveiled plans to impose a 25% tariff on automobile imports, a move expected to hit Japan's export-driven economy.

Low water levels after recent dry weather are preventing cargo vessels from sailing fully loaded on the Rhine River in Germany with surcharges added to the usual freight rates, commodity traders said on Tuesday.Low water is hampering shipping on all of the river south of Duisburg and Cologne, including the chokepoint of Kaub, traders said.At Kaub, cargo vessels can only sail about 50% full.Shallow water means vessel operators impose surcharges on freight rates to compensate for vessels not sailing fully loaded, increasing costs for cargo owners.

Taiwanese shipping firm Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp has purchased three 8,000 TEU methanol dual-fuel-ready container ships from Japanese ship leasing company Shoei Kisen Kaisha.The vessels, being built by Imabari Shipbuilding, are scheduled for delivery between 2028 and 2029.Yang Ming said the acquisition will strengthen its global service network and reinforce its commitment to providing customers with reliable and sustainable transportation service.To support business growth and maintain core competitiveness…

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipping company Flex LNG has informed its chief executive officer (CEO) Øystein Kalleklev resigned from the role.Kalleklev joined Flex LNG in October 2017 and was appointed CEO the following year.Following Kelleklev’s resignation, the company’s board has appointed Marius Foss, chief commercial officer, as interim CEO.Kalleklev will remain available in an advisory capacity until end of the third quarter to ensure a smooth transition period.“On behalf of the Board…

Russia's leading tanker group Sovcomflot's saw transportation volumes drop around 16% to 63 million metric tons last year compared to 2023, Russian news agency Interfax reported on Friday, citing the group's CEO Igor Tonkovidov as saying.The United States and the European Union imposed sanctions on state-controlled Sovcomflot and its fleet in 2024 in an effort to reduce Russia's revenue from oil sales that it can use to finance its war in Ukraine. The company's net profit dropped by 55% to $424 million last year.Sovcomflot hopes that the transportation volume of oil…

Wallenius Wilhelmsen, the world’s largest RoRo vessel operator, has renewed a shipping contract with a European based automotive manufacturer, lasting five years.The contract has an estimated value of $380 million over the contract period.The new five-year contract lasts starts on April 1, 2025, with the rates are in line with current market levels, according to the company."We are pleased to announce this multi-year agreement with a long-term customer strengthening our existing…

Some drugmakers are taking the unusual step of sending more medicines by air to the U.S., two executives and two logistics firms said amid fears President Donald Trump's April 2 tariffs announcement could include products made in Europe.Two European-headquartered drugmakers told Reuters this week they are sending as much of their medicines across the Atlantic as possible over the past several weeks and heard other pharmaceuticals companies were doing the same.One of the executives…

Danish shipping company Norden has announced the addition of two Capesize newbuilding leases with purchase options, reinforcing the company’s commitment to building a highly efficient and modern Capesize fleetThe vessels will be built in Japan with expected deliveries in 2026 and 2027.This brings Norden’s core fleet of owned and leased Capesize vessels to 13 ships, including seven newbuildings, with an average age of two years.“This will enhance our ability to serve customers…

RobotPlusPlus has demonstrated its cargo hold cleaning robot at Sea Asia 2025 in Singapore.The HighMate C20 robot is designed to simplify maritime cleaning, blasting and painting tasks. It simplifies cargo hold cleaning with efficient operations in most sea conditions, covering up to 95% of the hold's surface and reducing the risks of manual cleaning at heights.The robot was debuted at SMM 2024 and features advanced driving controls with a flexible design allowing it to precisely navigate confined spaces.The HighMate C20 performs even with a closed cargo-hold hatch, eliminating cherry picking.

Increasing incidents of interference with aviation, maritime and other satellite telecommunications services mean States need to urgently enhance their protection of a critical radio-frequency band, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and IMO said in a joint statement.These cases of harmful interference are in the form of jamming and spoofing that disrupt Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) operating in the frequency bands allocated to the Radio Navigation Satellite Service (RNSS).

A Trump administration proposal aimed at reviving the U.S. shipbuilding industry may backfire by imposing steep fees on China-linked vessels—penalties that industry leaders say would hurt American ship operators and ports rather than help them, industry executives said at U.S. Trade Representative hearings on Monday.At issue are proposed, stacking fees on China-built vessels that could top $3 million per U.S. port call. The Trump administration says the fees would curb China's growing commercial and military dominance on the high seas and promote domestically built vessels. U.S.

Cargo movements into and out of the United States could be re-shaped by proposals to levy fees on port calls by Chinese built or operated vessels, as well as potential sanctions based on whether the operator controls ships built in China or has tonnage on order there.In its Q1 2025 Dry Bulk Market Report, Maritime Strategies International (MSI) noted that as currently envisaged, the rules provide little clarity but could have a significant potential impact on North American dry bulk trades.

The Baltic Exchange's dry bulk sea freight index, which monitors rates for vessels moving dry bulk commodities, snapped a four-session losing streak on Friday, buoyed by an uptick in rates across all vessel segments.* The main index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, added 8 points to 1,643 points. However, the index fell 2% for the week.* The capesize index gained 6 points to 2,676 points, ending a five-session losing streak, but was down close to 7% for the week.* Average daily earnings for capesize vessels…

Mitsubishi Shipbuilding, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group, has received additional orders for three methanol-fueled roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) cargo ships from Toyofuji Shipping, Miyazaki Sangyo Kaiun, and Nichitoku Kisen.The three ships will be built at the Enoura Plant of MHI's Shimonoseki Shipyard & Machinery Works in Yamaguchi Prefecture, with scheduled completion and delivery in order from fiscal 2028.The ships will be approximately 168.0 meters in overall length and 30.2 meters in breadth…

Panama's President Jose Raul Mulino said on Thursday that he didn't place any value on reports the U.S. military is looking into options for ensuring full U.S. access to the Panama Canal, since these reports came from unnamed sources."If no one puts their name to such an assertion, I don't ascribe any value to it," he told a press conference.Two U.S. officials, speaking anonymously, told Reuters last week that the Pentagon had been instructed to evaluate options, amid President…

Russian and U.S. experts will discuss ways to ensure the safety of shipping in the Black Sea at talks on a possible Ukrainian peace settlement in Riyadh on Monday, the Kremlin said.After Russian forces made gains in 2024, President Donald Trump reversed U.S. policy on the war, launching bilateral talks with Moscow and suspending military assistance to Ukraine, demanding that it take steps to end the conflict.Trump envoy Steve Witkoff earlier this week said U.S.-Russian talks would take place on Sunday in Jeddah.

Ferry shipping executives have called for broader shore power funding at Interferry’s European Shipping Summit Seminar.Access to onshore power supply for ferries and ships is crucial for the further development and implementation of sustainable battery-based propulsion, and ultimately the decarbonization of the maritime sector. Shipping executives at the European Shipping Summit's side seminar, 'Shore Power offers promising carbon cuts – are we on track?', called for an expansion of funding for shore power infrastructure.

Dubai-based ports and logistics firm DP World and shipping giant Maersk have signed a long-term agreement to boost container-handling capacity and increase weekly vessel calls to support Brazil’s growing trade demands.DP World operates one of the country’s largest private terminals at the Port of Santos. Under the terms of the eight-year agreement, Maersk will introduce additional long-term services and maintain a minimum service level at the port.In the first year, Maersk will launch six new services with eight weekly calls…

The European Shipowners organization has released a Deloitte study on EU Shipping Competitiveness and a CE Delft study on the economic value of European shipping, both highlighting the importance of the sector.European shipping represents a geopolitical asset for Europe facilitating the export and import of goods, food and energy, a Deloitte study finds.Whilst the EU represents around 15% of the global GDP, the European shipping fleet is one of the largest in the world, representing around 35% of the world fleet in terms of global tonnage across all segments, a CE Delft study finds.

Maersk on Tuesday denied shipping arms or ammunition to Israel during its war in Gaza in response to a shareholder proposal at its annual general meeting (AGM) but acknowledged shipping military-related cargo."Maersk has a strict policy of not shipping weapons or ammunitions into any active conflict zone," CEO Vincent Clerc told shareholders.The proposal to ban Maersk from shipping arms to Israel was put forward by Danish shareholder group Kritiske Aktionærer.Activist group Eko in a separate proposal called for Maersk to enact greater transparency in its human rights processes…

Crowley has raised the U.S. flag on American Energy, marking the start of operations of the first domestic liquified natural gas (LNG) carrier to transport U.S.-sourced natural gas to Puerto Rico.Crowley and Naturgy have entered into a multi-year agreement that provides for the regular delivery of the U.S. mainland-sourced LNG to Naturgy’s operating facility in Penuelas, Puerto Rico. This will provide Puerto Rico with increased access to the reliable supply of U.S.-produced LNG, helping address the island’s ongoing power demands.