The Loadstar

By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) – Maersk Line is upgrading its eight E-class 15,550 teu vessels to load a further 1,300 teu. Raising the accommodation

By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) — As ocean carriers reel from a disastrous first half this year, they seem to have lost lost their appetite for ordering

By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) – Japanese classification society ClassNK is claiming a “world-first” breakthrough finding in the required crack

By Gavin van Marle (The Loadstar) – Following the inauguration of the Panama Canal’s new lock system at the end of last month, the waterway is already

By Gavin van Marle (The Loadstar) – Shipper representatives have claimed that some freight forwarders and carriers have looked to use the recently

By Gavin van Marle (The Loadstar) Declining asset costs and a variety of external factors are driving the container shipping industry into increasing use of

By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) – The debate on the reasoning behind the potential alliance grouping of the 2M’s Maersk Line and MSC and the financially

By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) – Ahead of the official opening of the $5.25bn expanded Panama Canal this Sunday, the insurance industry is preparing

By Gavin van Marle (The Loadstar) – The continuing cost-per-slot supremacy of ultra-large container vessels (ULCVs) was called into question by speakers

By Mike Wackett (TheLoadStar) Ship scrapping appears set to hit record levels this year, according to shipbroker and services firm Clarksons. In its

By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) – The first post-panamax containerships are on their way from Asia to the US east coast on enhanced services going via the

By Gavin van Marle (The Loadstar) Maersk Line has responded to criticism from an environmental group accusing it of using flags of convenience to bypass EC

By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) – The number of container vessels sent to breakers’ yards so far this year will shortly eclipse the total demolished in

By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) – Maersk Line’s aggressive growth strategy in the first three months of this year was a contributing factor in the 23%

By Alex Lennane (The Loadstar) – The IMO has urged regulators to take a “pragmatic” approach to the new SOLAS VGM requirements for the first three

By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) – “Alliances are only as stable as their member carriers,” was maritime consultant Drewry’s first comment on plans

By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) – Despite Maersk Line’s better-than-expected $37m first-quarter net profit, Drewry today reiterated its view that ocean

By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) – The chief executive of Hanjin Shipping, Tai Soo Suk, has written to owners of the ships it has on charter – and

By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) – Ocean carriers CMA CGM, COSCO Container Lines, Evergreen and OOCL have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to form a

By Mike Wackett, (The Loadstar) – The shock waves from the collapse of a top-20 container line such as Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) could be the