World Maritime News
WMNF 02/10/2024
MSC to challenge Maersk with new Aarhus terminal
Mediterranean Shipping Company will build a container terminal at Aarhus after leasing land from the Danish port. A new “omniterminal” has been planned for many years, the port said, but will finally be completed in 2027 on a 170,000 sq m piece of land. MSC chief executive Soren Toft said the “port of Aarhus offers a good location for the future network plans we have made. MSC will call at the existing terminal at Aarhus, operated by Maersk’s terminal-operating arm APM Terminals, as part of its Asia-north Europe service rotation starting in February of next year as part of its weekly Swan loop. Following its split with MSC, Maersk in its new alliance partnership, Gemini, with Hapag-Lloyd, will no longer call the Danish port on a direct mainline service.
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Over half of cargo owners blame box carriers for holding back digitalization, survey finds
Over half of the cargo owners blame shipping companies for delaying digitalization. While they recognize the benefits of digital supply chains, outdated infrastructure, lack of investment, and resistance to change are major hurdles. Many cargo owners feel ready for digitalization but seek external assistance. Cargo owners in France and Germany were far more likely to say they were fully or very ready for digitalization, at 78% and 72%, respectively, against just 53% of respondents in the UK and US.
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Red Sea crisis remains chief driver of containership demand growth says BIMCO
The Red Sea crisis remains the main driver of container shipping demand growth, with vessel capacity demand expected to increase three times faster than cargo volumes in 2024, according to BIMCO’s latest forecast. Containership demand is expected to have increased by 15.5% in 2024, while container volume growth is forecast at between 4% and 5%. BIMCO warns that should vessels return to the Suez Canal route, demand for containership capacity will fall by 5.5% in 2025 due to the reduced tonne-miles. It forecasts slower cargo volume growth in 2025, compared to 2024, between 3% and 4% in 2025. If vessels continue to avoid the Suez Canal, BIMCO said containership demand is forecast to grow by 3.4%-4.5% versus 2024 levels.
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Terminal operators eye MPP investments
Terminal operators are showing more interest in multipurpose concessions to gain entry to the more competitive container terminal market. Drewry senior analyst Eirik Hooper emphasizes the greater availability of MPP concessions than container concessions, especially by new entrants. “The broader range of cargo opportunities are often slightly less competitive, and therefore more commercially attractive, than chasing container market share in established markets.”
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Typhoon aftermath in China drives global port congestion to highest level outside pandemic
Congestion at global container ports has been accelerated, impacted by recent typhoon-related disruptions at Chinese gateway hubs. More than 3m teu of vessels waited at anchorages worldwide as of September 23, accounting for 9.9% of the global fleet, which is the highest level outside the Covid pandemic era, according to data from Linerlytica. “The surge is driven mainly by very high levels of vessel bunching at the ports of Shanghai and Ningbo in the aftermath of Typhoon Bebinca, which has also spilled over to other downstream ports in Asia,” said the research firm in its new weekly report.
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Ammonia-fuelled containership designs jockey for adoption
Recent developments are bringing the realization of ammonia-fueled containerships closer. Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea and Seaspan have each received approval in principle for the designs of 9,300 TEU and 3,100 TEU ammonia-fueled containerships, respectively. These ships target specific market segments and follow the success of recent ammonia bunkering simulation trials. Korean shipbuilders are striving to enhance their competitiveness in this field. Lloyd’s Register and other companies are also advancing the design of an 8,200 TEU ammonia dual-fuel containership for the Chinese market. These projects aim to provide sustainable shipping solutions and achieve carbon neutrality.
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MOL invests in US e-fuel producer HIF
Mitsui OSK Lines has invested in US-based e-fuel producer HIF Global to finance the latter’s expansion of e-fuel projects in the US, Australia, Chile, and Uruguay. MOL did not disclose the exact investment amount, although HIF said it secured $220m in total equity investments in 2024. Houston-based HIF aims to produce 4m tonnes of renewable hydrogen-derived e-methanol per annum, with 1.4m tonnes of the total coming from HIF’s Matagorda plant in the US. HIF also has plans to produce 875,000 tonnes of e-methanol from its two projects in Chile.
Read more: Lloyd’s List