World Maritime News
WMNF 05/02/2025
Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd launch Gemini Cooperation
The new Gemini Cooperation between Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd will launch on February 1, more than a year after it was announced. When all vessels are fully phased into the new schedule by June 2025, the alliance will boast 57 services and a capacity of 3.7m teu on around 340 vessels. Those 57 services will comprise 29 mainline routes and 28 inter-regional shuttles, utilizing the alliance’s “hub and spoke” strategy. This relies on key ports, or hubs, with fewer port calls on mainline services and high-capacity shuttle services to link those hubs to smaller “spoke” ports. Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd say the hub and spoke model can achieve more than 90% reliability, well above the current levels in the container sector.
Read more: Lloyd’s List
Shipping starts to test Red Sea waters
The partial lifting of restrictions in the Red Sea has not triggered a mass return to the beleaguered shipping lane that passes through these waters, but the Bab el Mandeb is now a viable option for some who had been avoiding the area. According to Lloyd’s List Intelligence vessel-tracking data, transits through the Bab el Mandeb totaled 223 from 20 to 26 January 2025, up 4% weekly but in line with levels seen during the past several months. Transits through the Suez Canal dropped 7% to 194. As anticipated, the numbers confirm a normalization in Red Sea traffic volumes will not happen overnight. But they do reveal there are some shipowners and operators who now view the Red Sea as being open for business. Political volatility is one reason shipowners and operators are continuing to reroute. The other is the unpredictability of the Houthis themselves. While the door has seemingly been opened to much of the shipping industry, Israel-owned tonnage is at risk of being targeted. This naturally puts other parts of the industry at risk.
Read more: Lloyd’s List
Reopening Suez Canal expected to trigger 60%-70% drop in container rates
A resolution to the Red Sea crisis could trigger a dramatic 60%-70% drop in global container shipping spot rates within six months, according to a new analysis by Sea-Intelligence. The findings, detailed in the consultancy’s latest weekly report, highlight the potential market upheaval as carriers consider reverting to Suez Canal routes amid seemingly easing geopolitical tensions. While a fragile ceasefire in Gaza has temporarily halted Houthi attacks on merchant vessels — excluding Israeli-linked ships — major carriers have yet to resume Suez transits en masse. Fleet capacity grew 10.4% in 2024, while container demand in teu rose just 6%. This gap and removing pandemic-era disruptions could force spot rates down 60-70% by mid-2025 compared to average levels seen in January.
Read more: Lloyd’s List
FuelEU Maritime gives e-fuels their big break
According to a green methanol start-up, FuelEU Maritime offers renewable e-fuels a path to viability. ETFuels chief technology officer Anthony Wang said the future penalties of non-compliance with FuelEU Maritime, and the incentives it offered for pooling and over-compliance, could change that. Wang said e-methanol at $1,300-$1,500 per tonne offered an economically attractive compliance strategy because of the upside from over-compliance with FuelEU. Biofuels are competitive today but unlikely to stay that way amid future competition from cars and aircraft. Wang said a 6% rise in biofuel prices would make e-methanol at $1,300 per tonne a better option. ETFuels estimated the higher capex need over a conventional HFO ship at 25% to 30% for LNG but 10% to 15% for methanol.
Read more: Lloyd’s List
MAN to deliver first ammonia dual-fuel engines in early 2026
MAN Energy Solutions’ ammonia dual-fuel engine project reached a significant milestone following confirmation by the two-stroke engine designer that its prototype full-scale engine has run at 100% load for the first time. MAN now appears to be on schedule to deliver its first pilot ammonia dual-fuel engine in the first quarter of 2026. The initial engine will be delivered to South Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries to fit a very large ammonia carrier. The 93,000 cu m vessel is one of two ships that Singapore’s Eastern Pacific Shipping ordered in 2023. Rival two-stroke engine designer WinGD confirmed earlier this month that it will deliver its first ammonia dual-fuel engines to customers in the last quarter of 2025. WinGD’s first ammonia dual-fuel engine will be supplied to South Korea’s Hyundai Mipo Dockyard for the lead ship of four liquefied petroleum gas carriers ordered by Belgium’s Exmar.
Read more: Lloyd’s List