World Maritime News
WMNF 2021/2/4
Cargo rollovers rose at 75% of major ports in December
Many key transhipment ports and the leading container lines are continuing to see elevated level of cargo rollovers. Cargo levels remain far above seasonal averages, causing further delays to cargo, which is increasingly lying stranded at the quayside. Of the 20 global ports, 75% saw an increase in the levels of rollover cargo in December compared with the previous month.
The world’s largest transhipment hub in Singapore and leading primary ports, such as Shanghai and Busan saw rolling over more than a third of their containers in December.
CMA CGM and Ocean Network Express left more than 50% of cargo at the departure port.
Read more: JOC | Lloyd’s List
Maersk Essen loss marks second trans-Pacific incident in two months
“Maersk Essen” (13,000 teu flag Denmark built 2010) experienced heavy seas with the loss of 750 containers on 16 January during her North Pacific crossing from Xiamen to Los Angeles. Evergreen’s “Ever Liberal” (8,452 teu flag UL built 2014) lost 36 containers on 2 January on the way from Busan to Los Angeles. The root cause of a container stack collapse can frequently be back up the supply chain and long before any box has been loaded on a ship. Some estimates are that up to 20% of containers are mis-declared and upwards of two thirds of cargo claims may be attributed to mis-declaration and poor packing, said a chief operating officer of maritime consultancy TMC Marine. The verification of gross mass regulation was supposed to be the answer to weight declaration issues, but experience shows that it is not always as reliable as we hoped.
Read more: JOC | Lloyd’s List1 | Lloyd’s List2
Priority COVID-19 vaccines for transport workers
Singapore is taking the lead to vaccinate front-line maritime personnel, announcing a plan to offer COVID-19 vaccinations to more than 10,000 workers by the end of January. These front-line personnel include port workers, harbor pilots, cargo officers, marine surveyors and marine superintendents who work on board ships carrying out essential work.
In US two members of the Federal Maritime Commission have urged President Joseph Biden and his administration to prioritize vaccines for dockworkers, a plea echoed by the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA).
Read more: Lloyd’s List | JOC1 | JOC2
Pandemic will not change global trade patterns
The pandemic may lead to the manufacturing of some specialist goods being moved from China to closer to consuming markets, but there is unlikely to be any significant impact on global volume shipped. For security reasons, we saw a policy of not to rely on China as the sole source of antibiotics, for example, but these policies will not really influence transport on a large scale. There is a shift within Asia, but when it comes to nearshoring, it may be doubtful because logistics have become so entrenched. There would be a move to increase inventory sizes that would impact on logistics.
Read more: Lloyd’s List
Port of Los Angeles offers U$ 7.5 million incentives to boost terminal throughput
Port of Los Angeles executive director Gene Seroka has announced two new measures aimed at improving the speed of drayage trucks through terminals at the Southern Californian facility.
The announcement came as Long Beach and Los Angeles continue to experience an extraordinary backlog of ships at anchor and awaiting berths with container dwell time followed suit with an alarming 4.99 day average stay in December, up from 4.85 days in November. Under the programs, the port will offer terminal operators two ways to earn financial rewards; one for shortening the time it takes to process trucks dropping off and/or picking up cargo, and the other for trucks handling transactions in the same trip. The Port of Los Angeles begins from 1 February doling out some U$ 7.5 million in incentive awards to encourage terminals to meet the metrics for truck turn times and dual transactions.
Read more: JOC | Lloyd’s List1 | Lloyd’s List2
Shipping accepts ‘Mission Possible’ to tackle emissions
A coalition of leaders in the shipping industry and other heavy industry and transport sectors has been formed to tackle global emissions. The ‘Missions Possible Partnership’ brings together 400 companies from shipping, aviation, trucking and four other industries which between them account for around 30% of global emissions.
Partners involved with the scheme include Lloyd’s Register, AP Moller-Maersk, Trafigura and the Global Maritime Forum. Within five years, the partnership aims for clear shifts in investment patterns across the seven sectors.
Read more: Lloyd’s List | JOC
Shell, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Vattenfall to produce green hydrogen
A green hydrogen production project in Hamburg that could be used by ships is being proposed by a group of leading multinationals. Shell, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Swedish energy company Vattenfall and Hamburg municipal heating company have signed a letter of intent for the construction of a wind and solar-based hydrogen production at the Hamburg-Moorburg power plant located next to Hamburg’s container terminal. While the facility is aimed at powering Germany through its connection to the national and city electricity grid, it could also serve the terminal sector.
Read more: Lloyd’s List1 | Lloyd’s List2
World Bank and IAPH urge rapid maritime digitalization
Better digital collaboration between public and private entities in maritime supply chains could lead to a host of currently unrealized benefits, a new report “Accelerating Digitalization: Critical Actions to Strengthen the Resilience of the Maritime Supply Chain” released 21 January by the World Bank and the International Association of Ports and Harbors, asserts.
The report doubles down on work done last summer by a consortium of 10 maritime groups advocating for rapid digitalization and data sharing among global ports.
Read more: JOC