By Alex Lennane (The Loadstar) - Protectionist trade policies are continuing to spook the global maritime sector, although a newly released report suggests the industry has “cautious optimism”. The Navis Business Bellwether report, conducted by Business Performance Innovation (BPI), surveyed more than 174 maritime executives on expectations and fears for the coming … [Read more...]
Environmental Group Proposes Speed Limits for Ships to IMO
By Alexander Whiteman (The Loadstar) - Mandatory speed limits could be shipping lines’ best hope of achieving the IMO’s 2030 emissions reduction targets. Shipping officer for lobby group Transport & Environment Faig Abbasov told The Loadstar slow-steaming could “single-handedly” achieve the target. “We’re proposing mandatory limits, based on ship type,” said Mr … [Read more...]
Suspicious Shippers Urge Maersk to Rethink New Fuel Surcharge Plan
By Alex Lennane (The Loadstar) - Shippers have joined forwarders in condemning Maersk’s plan for new fuel surcharges to help recover the additional costs of low-sulphur marine fuel, to be introduced in January. The new charges, on top of existing contract rates, are triggered on the average cost of fuel and a ‘trade factor’ that takes into account cargo flows, with lower … [Read more...]
Idled Containership Fleet Expected to Rise Amid Capacity Cuts and Trade War
By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) - A perfect storm of radical capacity cuts by carriers and US president Donald Trump’s threat to hike tariffs on Chinese goods could see many more containerships laid-up, according to Alphaliner. Yesterday, The Loadstar reported shipping association BIMCO’s warning that over a quarter of container trade on the transpacific could be at risk … [Read more...]
Big Spike in Containership Lay-Ups Mid-Peak Season a Worry for Owners
By Mike Wackett (The Loadstar) - Alphaliner’s bellwether containership idle tonnage data has recorded a big spike in vessels being consigned to lay-up, shifting the supply-demand balance back in favour of the charterer. The consultant said the capacity of the idle tonnage fleet had risen to 341,000 teu by the end of July, representing 1.6% of the total global cellular … [Read more...]