By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) - The bellwether Shanghai Container Freight Index (SCFI) did not publish on Monday, due to the national holiday in China, but current sentiment suggests that ocean carriers will find their rates under pressure following the Golden Week break. Last month, the Asia to North Europe component of the SCFI shed 21% to $735 per teu, while for … [Read more...]
Hapag-Lloyd to Introduce IMO 2020 Fuel Surcharges from 2019
FRANKFURT, Oct 8 (Reuters) - German container shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd said on Monday it is preparing customers for a mechanism to charge more for cleaner fuel starting next year to comply with tighter environmental rules. The Hamburg-based firm said on Monday that it has developed what it will call a marine fuel recovery mechanism (MFR), which it will gradually introduce … [Read more...]
Opinion: Globalization Is Alive and Well, in Regional Deals
By Daniel Moss (Bloomberg Opinion) -- Give South Korean President Moon Jae-in marks for boldness. The Korean Peninsula seems an unlikely place to plant the seeds of a northeast Asian version of the European Union. Yet that is what Moon is proposing to do with a connected rail system. So much for that talk of “globalization in retreat.” One can’t judge only by the … [Read more...]
Seaspan Diversifies as it Steps In to Take Control and Save Swiber
By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) - Seaspan, the world’s largest non-operating containership owner, has announced its first significant investment outside the sector, suggesting it intends to diversify its business model. The New York-listed lessor, with an operating fleet of 112 ships, said it planned to invest up to $200m in the restructured Singapore-based oilfield services … [Read more...]
Will Shipping Face Another Perfect Storm?
By Captain George Livingstone – One of my first columns of the year was on the state of the international maritime industry, I discussed a broad range of topics, one of which was a coming sea change in the world-wide manufacturing industry. I would like to focus on that. History is replete with both ‘metaphorical’ and ‘real’ perfect storms. Is there is … [Read more...]