World Maritime News
WMNF 2020/08/06
US ports call for federal funding to tackle unique challenge
The Florida Ports Council has appealed to the US Congress to allocate funds to aid seaports in the state and across the country in weathering the current financial crisis created by the coronavirus backdrop. The FPC appeal echoes a similar effort 23 July by the American Association of Port Authorities to the Trump administration and Congressional leaders. It is critical that the Trump administration and Congress take immediate steps to ensure that our nation’s ports have the resources necessary to address the unique and unexpected challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic, the AAPA said.
Read more: AAPA | Lloyd’s List
Major ports begin aligning data networks with CargoSmart, TradeLens
The operators of the ports of Rotterdam and Singapore are working with three software providers to link the two most prominent container data-sharing networks, promising a seamless exchange of operational data and shipment transactions. An agreement announced 28 July includes the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), the Port of Rotterdam Authority, terminal operator PSA International and software providers CargoSmart, which is developing a competitive data-sharing platform called the Global Shipping Business Network (GSBN). Both Singapore and Rotterdam are members of chainPort, a 12-port network led by the Port of Hamburg to determine digitalization opportunities between key container gateways in Europe, North America and Asia.
Maersk to levy manual change fee in September
Maersk on 21 July said it will begin hitting customers in the US and Canada with fees for changing bookings or documentation by phone or e-mail in a move designed to push users toward digitalization. The fees – U$ 50 for booking amendment and U$ 75 for a documentation amendment – go into effect 1 Sep and also apply to changes made by live chat.
The extra costs can be avoided by using Maersk’s online portal or non-Maersk electronic platforms, such as INTRA. Maersk’s ambitions to digitize are also tied to its ambitions to expand to integrated container logistics with its e-commerce functions, a key part of that transformation.
Read more: JOC
ONE reports U$ 167 million profit
Ocean Network Express (ONE) reported 3 Aug a U$ 167 million profit in its first fiscal quarter, saying pandemic hit volumes are rebounding from the 20 % drop it saw in the Apr-Jun period. The carrier said blank sailings were key to boosting ship utilization. Meanwhile Cosco Shipping Holdings’ shares have been boosted by transpacific rates reaching a record high amid a puzzling peak-season rebound. The container shipping and port arm of state conglomerate China Cosco Shipping Corp saw its stock price increase as much as 10 % on 3 Aug. The movements come on the heels of a 17% jump in the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index from Shanghai to the US west coast last week.
Read more: JOC | Lloyd’s List
Antitrust laws
Two of the five US Federal Maritime Commissioners (FMCs) said they want to take a closer look at how the agency monitors blank sailings even as the FMC has stepped up its monitoring of how alliances cut and add capacity in response to the pandemic-driven decline in container volume. Under its four-tiered approach, the FMC first reviews notifications of canceled alliance sailings or any changes in capacity that affect more than 5 % of the group’s prior weekly vessel capacity. In Europe, shipper groups said conditions in container shipping have worsened to the point where a review of the regulation is needed, just four months after the carrier exemption from European antitrust law was declared “still fit for purpose” by European Commission and extended until 2024.
First LNG cargo delivered via northern sea route to Japan
Russia’s LNG producer, Novateck has shipped its first cargo via the northern sea route to Japan. The 172,600 m3 ‘Vladimir Rusanov’ delivered the spot cargo from Novatek’s Yamal LNG plant to the Ohgishima terminal at Kawasaki, marking the first discharge of a cargo from an Arc 7 ice-class tanker at a Japanese port. Novateck has commissioned Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering to build two LNG Floating Storage and transhipment units that will be deployed at transhipment terminals in Kamchatka and Murmansk.
Read more: Lloyd’s List
Shipping names joint hydrogen coalition
The rapidly growing Hydrogen council – a global initiative of leading energy, transport and tech corporates working to enable the global energy transition through hydrogen – now has several maritime names on its membership list. CMA CGM, NYK, the Port of Rotterdam and TechnipFMC are among the latest cluster of companies to sign up.
Read more: Lloyd’s List
LNG’s role as a bridging fuel for shipping faces challenge
LNG has long been understood by the shipping industry as a bridge fuel, a low carbon step on the pathway to a zero-carbon future. But LNG has strong opponents. In a position paper on shipping’s progress on decarbonization, released in June, analysts at Climate Action Tracker stated that the fuel “is not an option to support the transition to alternative energy sources, notwithstanding a perception in the industry that it is a key bridge fuel”.
In a paper entitled “Path to Hydrogen Competitiveness: A Cost Perspective” published this year, the Hydrogen Council concluded that hydrogen could serve as a competitive low-carbon alternative to electric ferries before 2030. After 2035, the hydrogen fuel cell ship could become competitive as the cost of fuel cells and hydrogen fuel declines. For deep-sea shipping, especially container ships, the Hydrogen Council acknowledged that the most viable low-carbon fuel would be ammonia.
Read more: Lloyd’s List