Shipping chaos not going away with most seafarers unvaccinated
Global vaccinations of seafarers are going too slowly to prevent outbreaks on ships from causing more trade disruptions, endangering maritime workers and potentially slowing economies trying to pull out of pandemic slowdowns.
Infections on vessels could further harm already strained global supply chains, just as the U.S. and Europe recover and companies start stocking up for Christmas. The shipping industry is sounding the alarm as infections increase and some ports continue to restrict access to seafarers from developing countries that supply the majority of maritime workers but can’t vaccinate them.
Source: AJOT, Bloomberg
Antwerp is the new European pinch point as 2M shifts service calls
Antwerp is the latest North European box port to suffer from the knock-on effect of terminal and quay congestion, with vessel berthing waiting times now extending to five days at the Belgium hub.
But there are also some indications that congestion at container hubs in North Europe, which have been plagued by supply chain issues this year and especially since the unblocking of the Suez Canal at the end of March, is set to improve over the next month.
Source: The Loadstar
World Shipping Council says normal demand, not more regulation, will help solve supply chain issues
The World Shipping Council (WSC) is coming to the defense of ocean liners after President Biden issued an executive order addressing anti-competitive behavior in shipping and other industries, suggesting it is the unprecedented demand for imports that has thrown supply chains into disarray rather than any fault of the liners.
The United States has faced unprecedented cargo congestion since the second half of last year when the U.S. and global economy began emerging from COVID-19 shut-downs.
Source: gCaptain
Import containers to be fumigated as Australia enforces Khapra beetle rules
Regulations requiring import containers from 40 countries across Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa to be fumigated to prevent the migration of Khapra beetles into Australia will be enforced from today.
All containers from 40 designated countries, listed by Australia’s Department for Agriculture, Water and Environment (DAWE), will need to be treated either using methyl bromide, heat treatment or pesticides, and to be issued with a valid certificate before leaving the port of export, from 12 July.
Source: The Loadstar
Xinhua-Baltic ISCD Index 2021: Container imbalance stymies trade
Surging demand for containerised goods, a rapid bounce-back from the world’s production powerhouse China, and disruptions to vessel supply as pandemic restrictions took hold at ports all combined to create the perfect storm for a crippling east-west container imbalance in 2020 and into 2021.
While containers from Asia were sent to North America and Europe, due to Covid-19 restrictions comparatively little moved in the opposite direction. Analysts calculated a 40% container imbalance in North America as of March 2021, meaning that for every ten containers that arrived only four containers were sent back, leaving six at the arrival ports.
Source: Container News
Suez Canal reports record revenues and increases in transits
Despite the high-profile incident that disrupted transits for six days in March, the Suez Canal Authority reported strong results over the past fiscal, year reflecting the surge in global trade. It reported that increases in global shipping contributed to record financial results for the year as well as growth in the number of vessels passing through the Canal in the first half of 2021.
Lieutenant-General Osama Rabie, head of the Suez Canal Authority, said that the navigation statistics during the first half of 2021 “recorded a remarkable increase in the number and tonnage of ships transiting the canal. The flexible marketing and pricing policies pursued by the authority succeeded in maintaining the rates of ships crossing the canal.”
Source: The Maritime Executive
CULines launches Transpacific service to support foreign trade SMEs
The Shanghai-based container line, China United Lines (CULines) has announced the start of its first Transpacific service (TPX) aiming to provide solutions to major foreign trade customers, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The new service will commence on 18 July and will link China to the West Coast of the United States. According to CULines announcement, the TPX service will run with five 1,700-4,400TEU container vessels, connecting Shanghai and Los Angeles, "providing customers with point-to-point express service."
Source: Container News
EU Fit for 55 policy to bring global maritime and aviation into climate change rules
European Union officials are to announce a revision to environmental policy that will substantially increase the bloc’s targets for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions over the next 10 years, including for the first time those from the international aviation and maritime sectors.
However, Cyprus’s deputy maritime minister has warned the policy “must be scaleable”.
Source: The Loadstar
US extends cargo-in-the-cabin exemption
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has extended the exemption allowing airlines to carry cargo in the cabin of aircraft.
The exemption had been due to expire on July 10, but Airlines for America and others petitioned the administration to extend the exemption for another year.
They argued that cargo capacity was still constrained due to fewer passenger flights and that allowing flight to carry cargo in the cabin would help alleviate supply chain constraints.
Source: Air Cargo News
