By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) - The pro-scrubber Clean Shipping Alliance 2020 has strongly criticised the EC for urging the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to restrict the use of open-loop exhaust gas cleaning systems (scrubbers) in ports around the world. But vessels fitted with scrubbers are in high demand and at least a third of newbuild vessels will have them, … [Read more...]
About The Loadstar
Elbe Deepening Turns Crucial as Port of Hamburg Throughput Falls
By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) - Container throughput at the port of Hamburg declined for the second consecutive year in 2018. The port’s throughput was down to 8.73m teu, adding urgency to the completion of the long-awaited deepening and widening programme in the river Elbe. Although this represents a marginal 1% year-on-year fall in containers handled at Hamburg’s box … [Read more...]
Fire-Stricken APL Vancouver Singapore-Bound After General Average is Declared
By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) - The fire-stricken 9,200 teu APL Vancouver is en route to a Singapore lay-by berth for inspection by surveyors, following the decision last week to declare general average (GA). In the early hours of 31 January, off the Vietnamese coast, a fire started in a cargo hold forward of the vessel’s accommodation block. The ship, in transit from … [Read more...]
Hapag-Lloyd Declares General Average on Fire-Stricken Yantian Express
By Gavin van Marle (The Loadstar) - Hapag-Lloyd has formally declared general average on its fire-stricken Yantian Express. A fire broke out in a container stowed on the 7,500 teu vessel en route to the Canadian port of Halifax early this month, which spread to other boxes while heavy weather rendered the crew’s fire-fighting efforts fruitless, forcing them to abandon … [Read more...]
LNG Seen as Box Shipping’s Fuel of the Future, But is There a Cleaner Solution?
By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) - LNG delivers the best return on investment (ROI) for container shipping lines, according to a new study, commissioned by the collaborative industry foundation SEA\LNG. The study analysed the case of a newbuild 14,000 teu vessel deployed on the Asia-US west coast transpacific trade and compares six fuel price scenarios, one featuring the … [Read more...]