Containershipping News

HJ Shipbuilding & Construction (HJSC) held a christening ceremony for two 7,700 TEU LNG dual-fuel (DF) container ships at its Yeongdo Shipyard in Busan last week, marking the company’s first LNG DF container ship construction.The event was attended by more than 100 guests, including Angeliki Frangou, Chairwoman of Navios Maritime Partners LP, Shunji Sasada, President of Navios, Kim Kyung-bae, President of HMM, Yoo Sang-cheol, CEO of HJSC, along with other officials. The two vessels…

The Panama Canal Authority could double in coming years the number of containers that move through the commercial waterway that links the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans, the canal's chief told a maritime conference.The authority, which has an $8 billion investment plan, is putting in place a water conservation strategy following a severe drought that forced ships between late 2023 and early 2024 to take alternative routes between the United States and Asia.As part of that, it is encouraging shippers to consolidate cargoes so less water is used for vessels to pass…

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services is accelerating the global deployment of smart containers, helping to advance visibility and transparency through the integration of Hoopo’s innovative hoopoSense Solar trackers.ZIM’s smart container solution enables end-to-end tracking, including the inland leg, giving customers full transparency into their shipments and a more accurate ETA, even after the containers exit terminals or depots enroute to their final destinations. The hoopoSense Solar tracker boasts a battery life of more than 12 years, sufficient to last a container’s lifecycle and eliminating the need for replacements. Each tracker is designed to deliver precise location data and features a built-in door-opening detection system with 99% accuracy.

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%.

CMA CGM and Google announced a  partnership to accelerate the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) across CMA CGM's operations globally.“By combining CMA CGM’s deep expertise in shipping and logistics with Google's AI tools and secure infrastructure we can help CMA CGM digitally transform its own operations and those of its customers," said Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet. "This partnership is a prime example of how AI can assist employees, improve outcomes for customers…

Unifeeder A/S and MPC Container Ships ASA (MPCC) announced a new collaboration to make joint investments into energy efficiency technology (EET), a partnership that will see the parties unite to increase decarbonization and efficiency in maritime transport.Under the agreement, Unifeeder and MPCC will jointly invest in efficiency-enhancing retrofits with advanced EET solutions. The investments will be shared between the charterer, Unifeeder, and MPCC. Subsequent cost savings resulting from these energy efficiency enhancements will also be shared between the two parties…

“In 2023, 2.3 million TEU of container ship capacity was delivered, beating the former all-time high by 37%. Year-to-date another record has been set as more than 1 million TEU has already been delivered during the first four months of the year, an increase of nearly 80% compared to the previous record,” says Niels Rasmussen, Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.As ship recycling has so far only retired 19 smaller ships, the fleet has expanded by nearly 1 million TEU, a 3.5% increase compared to the beginning of the year.

Genoese group Ignazio Messina & Co.has been taken delivery of the container vessel Jolly Rosa. Flying the Italian flag and enrolled in the International Registry at the Genoa Port Authority, the ship measures 260 x 32m with a gross tonnage of 42,112 tonnes and a transport capacity of 4387 TEU containers, 360 of which are reefer. Under the command of Captain Simone Galli with a crew of 23 people, 13 of whom are Italian, 4 EU and 6 non-EU, she joins in the Messina fleet the Jolly Oro and the Jolly Argento which have been purchased and entered service for the group in recent months.

Pain in the containershipping sector is not uncommon in 2023, and Israel's ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. (NYSE: ZIM) is no exception, today reporting 2Q and six month results:Net loss for the second quarter was $213 million, negatively impacted by a non-cash after tax item of $51 million related to the redelivery of certain vessels.Operating loss (EBIT) for the second quarter was $168 million, compared to operating income of $1,764 million in the second quarter of 2022Revenues for the second quarter were $1…

The beleaguered carrier industry took another major hit in June, with the latest data from Xeneta’s Shipping Index (XSI) showing a decline of 9.4% in global long-term shipping rates. Following on the heels of a 27.5% collapse in May, and a 10.3% fall in April, contracted rates have now shed 47.2% of their value in the last three months alone, and 51.7% over the course of 2023.Xeneta’s data shows falls in the prices of valid long-term contracts across all key trading corridors…

As geopolitical upheaval continues, Peter Sand, Chief Analyst, Xeneta, explores how global trade patterns have (and will) evolve.Geopolitical unrest could have dramatic and long-term impacts on global trade patterns for all goods and commodities, as political alliances are essentially being ripped up and rewritten. Spurred by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, changing trade patterns are emerging in the container shipping sector, said Xeneta’s Peter Sand, as the term of the day is “friendshoring”…

“Despite the collapse in freight rates, shipowners still have an appetite for new container ship orders and the order book has continued to grow. The record high order book of 7.54 million TEU will result in significant changes to the container fleet in the coming years,” says Niels Rasmussen, Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.During the last 10 quarters, 8.61 million TEU has been contracted, matching the level contracted during the preceding 30 quarters. The order book has now increased for 10straight quarters…

Xeneta returns this week with a second ranking of carrier carbon emissions, this time focused on the Far East to U.S. West Coast Trade."Why are we doing this? We want to shine a light on the importance of green shipping and spotlight the progress of carriers,” said Peter Sand, chief analyst, touting the results as "Name & Fame." Results are based on the Xeneta and Marine Benchmark Carbon Emissions Index (CEI).Name & Shame: Xeneta CEI Tool Highlights Best, Worst Enviro PerformersQ4'22…

Xeneta has taken the first step in a campaign to identify the carrier industry’s best and worst environmental performers across the world’s 13 leading shipping trades. With the help of the Carbon Emissions Index (CEI), a tool from Xeneta and Marine Benchmark, carriers have been assessed on the main Far East to South America East Coast container corridor. With first results out, Hamburg Süd is likely celebrating; Evergreen, likely not.According to the latest analysis, the CO2 emitted…

January proved to be a dramatic month for long-term ocean freight rates, with the latest data from the Xeneta Shipping Index (XSI) showing the largest ever month-on-month declines. According to the XSI, average long-term contracted rates dropped by 13.3% in January,  the fifth month in a row of falling prices on the index. Xeneta warns there is little sign of change ahead in what looks set to be a challenging year for carriers.“Global demand has fallen away, congestion has eased…

In his annual New Years' address to employees, NYK President Hitoshi Nagasawa warned that while markets, particularly the containershipping market, will be more challenging in 2023 compared to the past two years, overall the group has "long anticipated that the strong tailwind would not last long," and in turn has "implemented structural reforms in the dry bulk business as well as cost reductions in various areas," to help ensure profitable operations.He cited the prolonged impact of COVID-19…

Operating on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from day one in service, the MV George III, the first of Pasha Group’s two new ‘Ohana Class’, Jones Act-qualified containerships, features a state-of-the-art engine, an optimized hull form, and an underwater propulsion system with a high-efficiency rudder and propeller. George III is the first LNG-powered vessel to fuel on the West Coast and the first to serve Hawaii. The 774-ft. Jones Act vessel surpasses the International Maritime Organization (IMO) 2030 emission standards for ocean vessels.

Facing global economic headwinds, the volume of containerized cargo movement continues to plummet, Peter Sand, Chief Analyst, Xeneta, summarizes: “It is clear that the carriers are no longer in charge, the shippers are.”Peter, it seems like the news in the container shipping sector started as a flow and has turned into a torrent. There was some data released yesterday that showed a 9.1% drop in September year on year for dry containers, and a 2.3 decline in the reefer sector.

While drama in the container shipping sector has calmed a bit, container carriers still wrestle with unexpected drops in demand. Peter Sand, Xeneta, discusses vessel capacity moves and their likely impact on rates, as well as the first containership sent to the ship scrap yard in more than 18 months.Q: Peter, the last time that we spoke, you were succinct in saying that this market is a mess, with spot rates plunging in what traditionally is the busiest shipping season in the US. Has that picture changed in the last few weeks?Peter Sand, XenetaHas it changed from being a mess? Not really.

In its latest Container Freight Rate Update note, Xeneta covers the average capacity and blank sailings on the Far East to the US West Coast while we head into the not-so-traditional peak season.The average capacity offered from the Far East to the US West Coast has fallen to its lowest since February in the past four weeks. Over this period, an average of 275,000 TEU has left the Far East heading for the US West Coast, about 50,000 TEU less than the peak in early August.Compared to the same four weeks in 2021…

South American spot rate gap set to narrow as shippers take advantage of lower Far East to West Coast ratesThe latest ocean freight rate data from Xeneta reveals that spot rates are currently $3,700 more expensive for shipping 40-ft. containers from the Far East to the South American East Coast, compared to the West Coast corridor. This huge gap – the norm is usually around a $55 East Coast premium – has opened up since 1 July. However, shippers looking to take advantage of the disparity should move quickly…

Ten trade organizations representing the owners and forwarders of cargo, port terminal operators and other parts of the supply chain dependent on container shipping are demanding an immediate review of European Union’s Consortia Block Exemption Regulation for the container shipping industry.The Regulation exempts container shipping lines from many of the checks and balances of EU competition law and permits them to exchange commercially-sensitive information to manage the number…

It’s been another bumper month for long-term contracted ocean freight rates, as the cost of securing container shipments climbed by 10.1% in June. Following on the heels of a record 30.1% hike in May, this now means rates stand 169.8% higher than this time last year, with just two months of declines in the last 18 months. Despite a degree of macro-economic uncertainty clouding the horizon, all major trades saw prices moving up, with some corridors showing significant gains.Xeneta has released the figures…