An agreement has been signed to begin the development of an intermodal logistics and  freight terminal in the Sydney area. Over the past five years, the Government says that Port Botany has had around 7% annual growth in freight volumes. A further 6.7% per year increase is expected over the next 25 years. The new facility [...]

Two container shipping companies have announced that they will begin services from South China and Vietnam to the East Coast of the USA via the Suez Canal.  Beginning in June, the service is designed to answer customer’s requirements for improved transit times   for container freight shipping from Asia to the USA.  The route will [...]

Against advice, shipping companies are opting to steam at slower speeds in waters known to be threatened by Somali pirates.  The reason is that the reduction in fuel costs more than pays for armed guards for the whole journey.  The accepted advice is to steam at over 18 knots in these areas, as pirates have [...]

Last week container freight rates on the Asia to Europe shipping routes rose by 19%, but carriers were unable to increase rates on the eastbound transpacific trade.  Commentators expect rates on Asia – Europe to ease as volumes shipped are expected to fall. The difference between freight rates on the transpacific and Asia to Europe [...]

The Annual Global Liner Shipping Conference took place in London on 17 April. The main themes of the conference were consolidation and globalisation. Shipping lines frequently merge and take over other companies, as ships get bigger and more expensive to operate. A few years ago shipping lines ordered new ships, on the assumption that world [...]

A new shipping service between the Far East and Europe has added a call at Gothnburg, Sweden to its route. This is the second weekly service linking Gothenburg with Asia, and will provide links to the China – at the ports of Ningbo and Shangai – as well as Singapore, Jeddah, Tangier, Bremerhaven and Rotterdam. [...]

The freight cargo ship Carrier, which went aground off the Welsh coast on 4 April, will be cut up on site.  All the fuel has been successfully removed, and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency says that fuel oil, oily water and other hazardous materials have all been taken away.  There is therefore likely to be [...]

Shipping lines are refusing to lay up ships in spite of over-capacity in the market.  They have implemented freight increases, but there is no guarantee that customers will continue to accept this, and forecasts for the year ahead are not optimistic. A recently published report forecasts that east-west freight rates including fuel will rise by [...]

The shipping line which owns the freight ship Rena, which foundered near New Zealand in October, has been charged with the discharge of harmful substance from ships. The stern of the Rena sank in high seas this week, and further debris on the country’s east coast beaches will necessitate more cleaning operations. Maritime New Zealand said it had [...]

Lloyds of London Maritime Academy is offering a new distance learning course covering all aspects of container shipping. The course examines the commercial, technical and operational aspects of the liner shipping industry and is ideal for people working for shipping lines. It would also be especially beneficial to personnel engaged in the wider container logistics [...]

While the new Thames Gateway port is hoping to attract freight from Asia, the port of Felixstowe, currently the UK’s largest container port, is emphasising its own advantages. A spokesman for Felixstowe said that its proximity to major shipping lines will minimise ships’ deviation when they transport freight to several European countries at once.  It [...]

The Danube, one of the main rivers in Europe used for freight shipping, is not being used by at least four countries. Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and Serbia decided this after up to 90 per cent of the river’s surface became covered with floating ice. The busy river flows 2860km from Germany and serves as the natural [...]

Shipping traffic in the Black Sea is being severely disrupted by freezing seas and excessively cold temperatures. Port authorities are working hard to keep shipping lanes open but vessels heading to Eastern Black Sea ports in Russia and Ukraine are subject to berthing delays. Novorossiysk port in Russia was closed for two days last week.

The main shipping organisation in Holland is criticising current rate increases on the Asia trade.  Freight rates from Asia to Europe have been increased, but the organisation says that this is illogical because there is over-capacity in both vessels and containers.  

The downturn in world trade and increased fuel costs are affecting profits and cash flow in Chinese shipping companies. One major shipping line has handed back two chartered vessels to their owners, whilst another company halted payments on some long-term charters mid-term.  The Chinese Ministry of Commerce is expecting the foreign trade situation to be [...]

Shipping services suffered delays on Monday when public sector workers went on strike in protest against austerity measures.  The management of the Port of Antwerp said that they regretted that a strike which has nothing to do with the port should cause so much disruption. Further action cannot be ruled out and is likely to [...]

Shipping lines based in France, represented by Armateurs de France (AdF), says the EU directive on reducing sulphur emissions to 0.1% would seriously threaten French shipping companies.  The directive affects the SOx Emission Control Areas (SECAs) of the Baltic Sea, North Sea and the Channel to 0.1% from 1 January 2015. Shipping companies argue that the [...]

Shippping lines are facing a difficult year this year but many are surprisingly optimistic.  Over capacity remains a problem, but planning for the future is dangerous as economic prospects remain unpredictable. Financing and operating costs are expected to increase, and many owners will be trying to re-neogtiate their finance deals.

A new container shipping service between Taiwan and Northern China will take advantage of increased volumes of freight between the two countries. Two 1,200teu vessels will operate on a 14-day loop, calling at Tianjin, Qingdao, Lianyungang, Keelung, Taichung, Kaohsiung, Taipei and back to Tianjin.

Container freight shipping has been seriously disrupted today by gales affecting the coastal ports.  The UK’s biggest port by volume of freight, Felixstowe, is completely closed as the high winds make it too dangerous to use the ship to shore cranes. Freight lorries which are already en route will be parked in the port area; [...]

Although export handling problems with Ghana have been reported in the trade press, three shipping groups are set to continue collecting from there and use Amsterdam as their hub. Ghana is the world’s second largest producer of cocoa after the Ivory Coast, and the main season is just about to begin. The Ghana Docks and [...]

During one of the driest Novembers in record in Europe, shipping on the Rhine was forced to carry reduced volumes of freight, with consequent increases in freight rates. Rain has finally fallen in Germany and Austria, which has allowed ships to take full levels of freight for the whole German section of the river. However [...]

The latest statistics from the Irish Maritime Development Office show that only one of the five principal freight segments showed any growth over the same period last year. Exports  grew by 4% in Q3 and by 6% for the first nine months. Export demand to overseas markets such as the North America and Asia remained strong [...]

Imports of fruit will now move within the Rotterdam port area on barges instead of freight lorries. Research showed that inland barges would deliver fruit to the distribution warehouses as quickly as lorries, and at lower or equal cost. Importers expect to move 50% of their volume in this way. The fruit transported by inland [...]

Industry leaders are warning that 2012 will be a difficult year for freight and shipping. The chairman of one of Hong Kong’s best-known logistics and transport service companies,said that decreasing rates for Asia to USA containers suggest tough times for shipping companies in particular. The freight rate for shipping a 40-foot container from Hong Kong [...]

As well as giving substantial donations to help people affected by the floods, a major shipping line operating in Asia will provide free transprot of relief supplies. They have also supplied shipping containers to act as a flood barrier. Another shipping and logistics operator has provided free containerised transport of relief supplies and rescue boats [...]

This week sees the first trips by the largest ever barge/tug combination which can carry inland shipping.  The inland terminals of Oss and Venlo in the Netherlands will be using the combination to carry freight to Rotterdam port.  The barge will unload and load cargo in Oss and the motor ship will do so in Venlo. [...]

Freight rates for containers between the USA West Coast and China are rising, according to the Shanghai Containerised Freight Index. This could be a reaction to reduced capacity on the route, as shipping lines remove vessels in response to lower world demand. In contrast, the Shanghai-Rotterdam freight rate and the China-Europe rates are reducing. Indications [...]

Prospects for the freight industry remain uncertain, but different carriers have adopted different strategies for dealing with this.  The largest container line in the world has ordered the largest ships yet, which are being tested now but will not be used for shipping freight until 2013. Other shipping lines are consolidating their financial position and [...]

Flooding in Queensland, Australia has had a huge impact on exports; up to 30 million tonnes of iron ore were unable to be dug out, processed and shipped to China and elsewhere after the mines were flooded. Exports dropped by 8.7 per cent in the three months to March, the biggest quarterly fall in 37 [...]

In September a new weekly LCL shipping service began between Rotterdam and Asia.  The new services which are guaranteed to operate, will improve the supply chain between Asia and Europe, reducing transit times by two to four days and carbon emissions by up to 6.6%. The three services:Shanghai to Rotterdam, Hong Kong to Rotterdam and [...]

India ship owners day that piracy is costing the global shipping trade more than $9 billion a year. On Monday 3 October, the shipowners demanded that the U.N. set up a maritime force to stop pirates from operating off the Somalian coast in the Indian Ocean. The costs are made up of increased insurance costs, longer [...]

One of the world’s major shipping lines has announced a new service from Asia to Europe which will ‘guarantee’ a sailing every day at the same time, with a guaranteed arrival time.   From next month, the service will operate as a giant ocean conveyor belt, and will compensate customers if containers are not delivered [...]

Intermodal Europe will take place in Hamburg, Germany from 29 November to 1 December 2011.  Focussed on Logistics and Container Shipping by road, air and sea, you can either visit the Fair free of charge, or take a stand in the exhibition hall.  The Conference, covering subjects such as intermodal innovation, the role of rail [...]

Two major charities have published a joint report which claims that international shipping accounts for 3% of global emissions and that shipping companies should therefore pay a carbon tax of $25 per tonne.  Oxfam and the World Wide Fund for Nature argue that this would only cost the industry around 0.2% of the total value [...]

There will be an open auction in Russia next month, to sell 75% of the freight subsidiary of Russian Railways.  There seem to be three main contenders to purchase the business, funds from which will help Russian Railways to finance its future investments.  The funds will be a key element in reforming the freight side [...]

A new base in Parsdorf near Munich will forward containers arriving by train from Hamburg for delivery of the cargo by road in the Munich area.  The new base forms part of the strategy to organise regional forwarding of shipping containers which have arrived at the North European sea ports within the different regions of [...]

Totally Logistics North will take place at Doncaster Racecourse on 28 and 29 September.  As well as an exhibition hall, featuring stands with handling companies, computer suppliers, freight forwarders, specialist software and shipping companies, there will be a schedule of seminars on topics of interest to the industry.

A report issued jointly by a shipping consultancy and the Bremen Institue of Shipping Economics and Logistics, warns that freight rates will remain low next year unless carriers reduce the amount of capacity available. The report suggests that shipping volumes will be flat in December with any increase well below those of 2010. The report [...]

The World Shipping Council warned earlier this year that there would be a shortage of shipping containers in the second half of 2011.  An industry analyst has said that the predicted shortage has not materialised, and that container availability is likely to be sufficient during the peak season for imports from the Far East.

The Indian Ministry of Shipping unveiled plans to triple its exports of merchandise by March 2017.  Part of the plan is to create seven new ports, as so far export growth has been limited by inadequate investment in infrastructure. Freight handling is extremely slow in Indian ports compared with major ports in the rest of [...]

Logistics managers for the military services in Iraq are planning the transport of eight years of war materiel within months.  It is uncertain whether US bases will remain in Iraq next year, and logistics staff estimate that they will have to arrange the shipping of about 1 million pieces, either to other locations or within [...]

One of the world’s major shipping lines has announced that profitability is suffering as higher volumes were offset by increased fuel costs and competition. Container shipping rates are under pressure because there are now more ships sailing the seas and the future will be difficult.  Rates for containers have been especially volatile, and various measures [...]

The world wide economic climate resulting in lacking consumer confidence has meant that orders for consumer goods are falling below expectations, and ships are sailing below capacity.  Carriers on the Asia-US container lines usually introduce surcharges around mid-June.  But this year, the surcharges have been delayed because the main routes have excess shipping capacity. The [...]

The port of Tilbury has submitted plans for an extension of about 26 hectares.  The port was built in the 1880′s by the East and West India dock company, and has continued to adapt to changing shipping methods.  It is now Britain’s third largest container port. Concentrating on port-centric processes, Tilbury is expanding to meet [...]

The Port of Gothenburg in Sweden received an environmental award in London last month.  The Sustainable Shipping Award for Environmental Protection, was given for the port’s environmental and climate initiatives. Together with shipping companies and environmental organisations, the port has developed a program in which vessels which contribute to cleaner seas and air are rewarded. [...]

The World Shipping Council claims that its members operate 90% of global container ship capacity.  The Council has just published research, showing that previous estimates of 10 000 freight containers lost per year were grossly exaggerated. The shipping inndustry has been supporting a number of efforts to reduce the number of containers lost at sea: one [...]

Freight rates on shipping lines operating services from Asia to Europe seem to be on the rise, in spite of the fact that ships have been operating below full capacity.  Spot market prices from Shanghai increased by $17 per tonne last week compared to the week before. Cargo volumes have been gradually increasing, with ship [...]

The balance between the supply of ships and demand for space has become more and more unstable since 2009, according to a specialist shipping analyst.  They expect this volatility to remain in force for about the next four years. There are a number of reasons for this: firstly, shipping lines are taking time to adjust [...]

Container shipping lines are imposing surcharges on shippers, to recoup the extra costs caused by drastic congestion at Mumbai, the busiest port in India.  The port has been suffering equipment failure, work to replace cranes and monsoon delays. The Western India Shippers’ Association, which represents about 130 exporters and importers, have advised that six shipping [...]

A gas tanker followed by three ice breakers left Murmansk on Saturday carrying gas condensate for China.  The journey will take two weeks, and the crew will collect data on ice conditions in the area. This is the first time a high-tonnage tanker has travelled from Europe to Asia via the Northern Sea Route.  Sailing [...]

Freight and shipping to and from Greece has been severely disrupted by the 48 hour general strike which began on Tuesday.  Thousands of protesters took part in the strike, including port staff, air traffic controllers, rail workers, hauliers and seafarers. The port of Piraeus near Athens links most of the Greek islands with the mainland. [...]

Although rain is now giving relief from China’s six month drought, navigation for cargo shipping is still restricted on the Yangtze river – the longest river in Asia – as conditions vary from drought to flood. The drought suspended cargo shipping along a 224-kilometer (140-mile) stretch in the middle and lower reaches of the river [...]