World Maritime News
WMNF 19/12/2023
Topics on the Houthi attacks against ships
CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, Maersk and MSC are pausing Suez Canal transits and instead routing services around the Cape of Good Hope as they await the US Navy to step up maritime protection in the Red Sea following an increasing number of attacks on commercial shipping, including missiles hitting MSC’s Palatium III and Hapag-Lloyd’s Al Jasrah ships on 15 December.
Liner shipping could need up to 1.7m teu additional capacity to reroute all their services that normally use the Red Sea route via the Suez Canal following the disruption caused by the Houthi attacks, according to analysts. Rerouting all containership traffic around Africa would soak up 5%-6% of global capacity, said Lars Jensen, chief executive of Vespucci Maritime.
Read more: JOC1 | JOC2 | Lloyd’s List
CMA CGM flips newbuild fuel pick from methanol to LNG
According to sources, CMA CGM has switched the dual-fuel systems on a batch of 9,200 teu containerships ordered earlier this year in China from methanol to LNG. It suggests the French shipping giant remains undecided between the two alternative fuels and that the race between them continues before truly emissions-free solutions emerge for shipping. The eight new buildings from Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding were initially ordered with methanol-burning engines when announced in September, but CMA CGM changed course shortly after signing.
Read more: Lloyd’s List
Crowley to pilot Carbon Ridge’s onboard carbon capture and storage system
Crowley will pilot a carbon capture and storage system developed by San Francisco-based start-up Carbon Ridge on board the 974 teu boxship Storm (IMO: 9389435) starting next year. The collaboration will include engineering, manufacturing, and integrating a small-capacity version of the Carbon Ridge’s future full-scale system for the first time. Carbon capture and storage have been gaining popularity in decarbonization while also encountering skepticism. The International Bunkering Industry Association told the IMO this summer that onboard carbon capture and storage was a viable option to reduce total shipboard CO2 emissions by, on average, 40%. However, the energy and fuel required to capture carbon from an engine increase the more carbon is captured, and the returns are said to diminish to the point of becoming uneconomical after about 30%-40%.
Read more: Lloyd’s List
Leading terminals spark up zero-emissions alliance
APM Terminals and DP World have used a session at COP28 to launch an industry-wide coalition to accelerate the decarbonization of zero-emissions container handling equipment. The Zero Emission Port Alliance, which will start its activities early next year, is open to all industry participants, including terminal operators, equipment manufacturers, port authorities, and government entities, the terminal operators said in a joint statement. The alliance aims to promote using battery-electric container handling equipment to reduce emissions at ports and terminals. It is basing its work on a recent White Paper the two companies commissioned. Advocates of equipment electrification argue that it is a low-hanging fruit in the decarbonization debate. If all terminals were electrified, it would save emissions equivalent to a small country and not rely on hard-to-obtain low- or zero-carbon fuels. But costs remain high, and there are questions regarding the availability of electricity via existing grids to meet the requirements and of sufficient equipment at costs competitive with diesel equivalents.
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EU emissions trading to impact 37% of boxship fleet
Data from Alphaliner show that 37% of the global containership fleet will fall under the European Union’s emission trading system, which is set to include shipping from next year. The vital Far East-Europe trade lanes will account for most of the 10.5m teu capacity expected to be impacted. At the same time, the rest will come from routes including transatlantic and intra-Europe, said analysts from the consultancy.
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Wide variances remain in Europe ETS levies ahead of 1 January start date
Two weeks before the European Union’s emissions trading system (ETS) is applied to shipping, there remains a wide variance in surcharges across carriers within the same alliances and trade lanes. While carriers have been revising their ETS surcharges with carbon pricing on the markets becoming clearer ahead of the 1 January implementation, the price differences have shippers and analysts scratching their heads.
Read more: JOC
Green methanol to lift transpacific freight rates 17% in 2030, UMAS report says
Green methanol could increase freight rates by up to 17%, or $450 per teu, on a transpacific route in 2030, according to a new study by maritime consultancy UMAS. A 15,000 teu containership operating between Los Angeles and Shanghai could pay a premium of up to $450 per teu if it bunkers with renewable hydrogen-derived green methanol, while green ammonia premium is $350 per teu, the UMAS study found. It found that a flat rate levy of nearly $600 per tonne of CO2 would be needed to close the price gap between green methanol and low-sulfur fuel oil on the transpacific boxship route, while the required levy for green ammonia is around $450 per tonne.
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Narrow focus on IMO targets could mean others are missed, report warns
Shipping could fall short of its 2030 target for cutting greenhouse gas emissions even if it meets other targets for GHG intensity and reaches a 5% uptake of new fuels, a report has found. The Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping report said that shipping had to consider decarbonization to meet the goals of the International Maritime Organization’s revised GHG strategy. But it added investments in energy efficiency could yield significant savings in fuel production costs — up to a factor of 10 higher — since using less green fuel would reduce the need to build production plants.
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IMO’s Dominguez vows to find compromise among member states
Arsenio Dominguez, the incoming secretary-general of the International Maritime Organization, says he will work “tirelessly” to bring member states on board to deliver on the UN specialized organization’s new targets, adding that he will ask for some member states to support countries that are most vulnerable to climate change.
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US DOT data-sharing initiative on cargo visibility gaining momentum
The Freight Logistics Optimization Works (FLOW) program, launched in March 2022, released an application programming interface (API) that lets participants pipe supply-demand data across several metrics directly into the systems they use to make transportation management decisions. The new capability comes as membership in FLOW has risen to 55 participants, up from 18 at the program’s launch, according to Andrew Petrisin, a supply chain advisor at the Department of Transportation (DOT) leading the FLOW initiative. Since its launch, FLOW has provided data measuring the nation’s cargo traffic to Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Dollar General, and other major shippers. Current FLOW members include carriers, chassis providers, railroads, and warehouse operators.
Read more: JOC