By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) - Container exports from North Europe to North America increased 5.7%, year-on-year, in the first five months of the year, but Drewry is “skeptical” that this growth can be maintained for the full year. Data from PIERS and Container Trade Statistics (CTS) shows US imports from Europe up 4.9% in the period to 890,000 teu, while Canadian imports … [Read more...]
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Tempers Flare as Hamburg Selects Chinese Consortium for Container Port Expansion Project
By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) - A storm is brewing in the city of Hamburg over the port authority awarding the development of the 42ha Steinwerder South container terminal project to a Chinese conglomerate. Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) launched an ‘ideas’ competition in January for the development of the redundant area on the south side of the city to include up to 1,100m … [Read more...]
Bigger Ships Seen Adding More Pressure on Asia-Mediterranean Container Trade
By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) - Ultra-large container vessels (ULCVs) being phased onto the Asia-Mediterranean container trade are likely to put freight rates under renewed pressure in the final three months of the year, according to Drewry. The consultant estimates that by the start of the fourth quarter, six ships of 5,000-9,000 teu will have been replaced by six of … [Read more...]
Cyber Attack Continues to Haunt Maersk as World’s Largest Carrier Struggles to Recapture Volumes
By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) - Maersk Line continues to struggle to regain its cargo volumes after the ransomware cyber attack two weeks ago. In its latest customer advisory Maersk acknowledges that shippers are still experiencing delays in response times and they “feel reluctant to return your full booking volumes with us”. The carrier said it was “diligently working … [Read more...]
Rickmers Creditors to Get Just 11 Cents on the Dollar Following Completion of Fleet Sale
By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) - Unsecured creditors of bankrupt panamax containership owner Rickmers Maritime Trust (RMT) will each receive just 11.4% of the amount they are due. This will come from the final proceeds of $27m, according to an update on the winding-up process. The trustee manager of Singapore-headquartered RMT announced it had completed the sale of … [Read more...]
Cyber Hackers – Editorial, What Shipping Must Learn From Maersk Cyberattack
By Alex Lennane (TheLoadstar) The shipping industry must learn from last week’s cyber attack on Maersk, say analysts, and the line’s chief commercial officer, Vincent Clerc, said the line would “have to ask ourselves some tough questions”. Speaking to CNN, Mr Clerc said the company had focused on trying to restore normal operations, but as the … [Read more...]
Maersk Ransomware Attack has Potential to Disrupt ‘Tens of Thousands’ of Shippers, Warns Analyst
By Gavin van Marle in Amsterdam (The Loadstar) - The cyber attack on Maersk has the potential to throw global container supply chains into chaos, according to Lars Jensen, chief executive of maritime cyber security firm CyberKeel. Update: Maersk Says Booking System Back Up and Running After Cyber Attack Mr Jensen told delegates at the TOC Europe Container Supply … [Read more...]