World Maritime News
WMNF 2020/10/29
State aid for shipping nears U$ 10 billion during pandemic
At least 13 countries are offering some sort of state aid to the shipping industry, which mitigates the negative economic impacts of the crisis on the sector during the Covid-19 pandemic. Cruise and ferry operators have been the biggest recipients of aid packages. This is for example the case for Germany, France, China, Korea and Chinese Taipei in case of container carriers. OECD-ITF suggest that states should intensify the monitoring of competition as well as widen the scope of shipping competition policy.
Read more:ITF-OECD | Lloyd’s List
Carrier schedule reliability falls to 2020 low of 56 percent
Global schedule reliability of container shipping fell to just 56% in September, with on-time performance of Asia shipments to the US West and East coasts shipping below 50%. According to data from Sea-Intelligence, the average delay of late vessels globally neared five days last month. On-time performance show on the Asia-US West Coast trade 46.7% and 69% on the Asia-North Europe.
Read more: JOC
High level of cargo rolling prevails at Asian hubs
Rollovers are expected to continue deep into the fourth quarter at leading transshipment hubs in Asia. Global container tracking data provider Ocean Insights’ data shows that between a fifth and a third of transshipment cargo was subject to rollovers because of capacity and equipment shortage. Rising demand was particularly strong on the trans-Pacific trade, where US imports from China moving through Los Angeles and Long Beach in September soared by 25.5% from 2019, according to PIERS. The cargo rollings have been accompanied by deteriorating on-time performance by the carriers.
Read more: JOC | Lloyd’s List
Drewry upgraded 2020 carriers’ profit guidance but two risks remain
Drewry has upgraded its operating profit expectation for container shipping in 2020 by 16% to US$ 11 billion following “meteoric third quarter rate increases”. The upgrade comes in the same week Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd both substantially increased their own full-year guidance, with carriers citing an unexpected recovery in demand and the effectiveness of cost-cutting measures. However wide-spread infection outbreaks have been reported in Europe with many cities entering new lockdowns. Once governments start to unwind financial support schemes, unemployment could rise steeply, and reduced household disposable income would dampen consumer purchasing. Another major risk for carriers is regulatory oversight, Drewry added.
Read more: JOC
US to consider regional emissions regime for shipping
A group of US Democrat House Representatives are backing a bill to tackle ocean and air pollution, protected biodiversity and promote the development of renewable energy through the introduction of new regulations and incentive scheme. The Ocean-Based Climate Solutions Act would create a third emissions reporting regime, after those of IMO and the EU, adding more obligations on shipowners and greater scrutiny on industry emissions. The act would require all ships of 5,000 gross tons and above using US ports to report emissions based on per voyage data, including total annual CO2 emissions within the US Exclusive Economic Zone.
Read more: Lloyd’s List
Port call standards will benefit terminals and carriers
The Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) has published standard data definitions for port call processes, the first step in its Just-in-Time Port Call programme which allows carriers, ports and terminals to exchange event data in a uniform way, enabling better planning and operational optimization as well as steaming speeds of vessels to arrive at port only when a berth is available. This save waiting at an anchorage and helps reduce fuel use and CO2 emissions.
Read more: dcsa | JOC | Lloyd’s List
New Savannah distribution centers to drive medical and e-commerce volumes
Three new importers will open up distribution centers totaling 250,000 m2 near Savannah over the next year, adding to nearly about 900,000 m2 of warehouse and distribution centers currently under development around the second-busiest East Coast port. Medline Industries, a major medical supplier, and Home Meridian International, a furniture company, will open facilities in Georgia, The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) announced on 22 October during its State of the Port event. Griff Lynch, executive director of the GPA said dredging work at Savannah to deepen the harbor from 12.8 m to 14.3 m is 75% complete and anticipates the work will be done sometime next year.
Read more: JOC