World Maritime News
WMNF 08/01/2025
Busan to undergo $10bn transformation into ‘megaport’
South Korea will invest 14trn Won ($9.8bn) to transform Busan into the world’s biggest container port. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced plans for the country’s biggest port today, which include building an entirely new port near Jinhae. When unified with Busan, the ministry said the so-called “megaport” would be the world’s biggest. When the project is completed in 2045, Busan will be able to berth 30,000 teu vessels, larger than any containership on the water. Crucially, all nine berths built in the first phase of Jinhae New Port will be run by a single operator with a more than 6m teu capacity. The port aims to increase its proportion of renewable energy generation to 25% by 2032 and 100% by 2050 and be able to bunker ammonia and methanol. Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Kang Do-hyung said, “Strengthening protectionism, regional conflicts and changes in shipping alliances” is both a crisis and opportunity for South Korean ports. The ministry said it was necessary to “pre-emptively strengthen competitiveness” to keep up with the world’s biggest ports, particularly in China and Singapore.
Read more: Lloyd’s List
Shanghai becomes first port to handle over 50 million TEUs
The Port of Shanghai has become the first port in the world to handle over 50 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) in annual container throughput, Xinhua reported. Shanghai Port’s extensive network spans 350 international routes connecting to more than 700 ports across 200+ countries and regions. An official at Shanghai International Port (Group) Co., Ltd (SIPG), which oversees all public terminals in the Port of Shanghai, explained that the volume growth stems from increased export containers and higher numbers of international transfers and ship-to-ship operations. The official said that ship-to-ship transfers at the port are projected to reach a record 60 percent in 2024. The port will embrace green initiatives in the future, partnering with the Los Angeles and Hamburg ports to develop eco-friendly shipping corridors.
Read more: gCaptain
Could Trump support for dockworkers spur longer US port strike?
It’s still possible that USMX, representing ocean carriers, could buckle on port automation before the next strike deadline. However, if the carriers hold firm and Donald Trump continues to side with the ILA dockworkers union, there could be an extended strike, causing significant supply chain disruptions. The December 12 decision of President-elect Donald Trump to back the International Longshoremen’s Association raises the specter of a lengthy work stoppage. US business groups would presumably be imploring the new administration to invoke the Taft-Hartley Act to force an 80-day “cooling off” period, as they did with the Biden administration. But Trump’s support of the ILA and his stated view of ocean carriers as “foreign companies” with “record profits” that are “looking for every last penny” at the expense of “the great men and women at our docks” does not sound like a prelude to invoking Taft-Hartley.
Read more: Lloyd’s List
Decision to restart talks raises hopes that US port strike will be averted
The dockworkers union and terminal management will resume talks on January 7, giving them just over a week to hammer out a deal. There is still a chance that a renewed dockworkers strike at US east and Gulf coast ports will be averted, with negotiations between the two sides finally scheduled to resume after a lengthy break. A source familiar with the negotiations confirmed to Lloyd’s List that USMX and ILA are now scheduled to restart talks on January 7, nine days before the next strike deadline at midnight on January 15. Despite the positive news on renewed talks, ocean carriers have urged shippers to prepare and warned of potential disruptions. Regardless of news on renewed talks, Hapag-Lloyd still “strongly recommends moving containers off terminals before January 15 to avoid disruptions”. Carriers are again announcing disruption surcharges that would only go into effect if the strike occurs, as they did before the October 1 deadline.
Read more: Lloyd’s List
Nuclear shipping will face significant challenges
New, smaller reactor designs are much hyped. However, ships would still have to figure out how to fit them, what to do with the radioactive waste, and how to sell the technology safely to the public. According to the European Maritime Safety Agency, nuclear power faces significant hurdles in decarbonizing shipping. A 584-page report by class society ABS, Texas A&M University, and consultancy Arcsilea said the technology was a pathway that could be explored. “But it presents a series of challenges that will need first to be addressed in relation to production, safety, security, training and also liability and insurance regime,” the report said.
Read more: Lloyd’s List