Uncertainty ahead for ocean freight rates after declines in 2020 due to the impact of the coronavirus

Uncertain Outlook as Ocean Freight Rates Fall and Carriers Respond

Cape Town takes steps to ease congestion at its terminals while shippers impose surcharges and avoid the port

Cape Town Takes Steps to Ease Congestion as CMA CGM Imposes Surcharges

By The Maritime Executive 07-01-2020 08:28:22

Transnet Port Terminals announced that it is taking immediate steps to designed to address the Port of Cape Town’s operational backlogs and congestion resulting, it says, from the coronavirus impact on operations. News of these steps came shippers began to announce that they would be imposing congestion surcharges or were diverting to other ports due to the problems they were experiencing in Cape Town. French container shipping company CMA CGM announced that considering the current congestion in Cape Town that...

Wokers at the port of Montreal will stop work for 40 hours to call attention to their need for a new contract

Montreal Dockworkers Plan 40 Hour Stoppage

By The Maritime Executive 07-01-2020 06:26:14

Workers at two of Montreal, Canada’s port terminals are planning to stop work for 40 hours beginning July 2 to call attention to the ongoing negotiations between the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 375 that represents the dockworkers and the Maritime Employers Association. The 1,125 members of CUPE 375 working at the port of Montreal originally voted in favor of a strike when their contract expired in December 2018. Talks between the two sides had recently resumed and...

Dutch Police Arrest Nine in Vlissingen Cocaine Smuggling Scheme

By The Maritime Executive 07-01-2020 06:05:05

In a series of raids across 30 locations in Zeeland Wednesday morning, Dutch police arrested nine suspects in connection with a suspected cocaine smuggling ring at the port of Vlissingen. A total of about 400 officers were involved in the operation. "Because we do not want to take risks, we deployed SWAT teams," a police spokesperson told NU.nl. Dutch authorities suspect that there are several related criminal syndicates that are involved in the importation of cocaine via Vlissingen's harbor. One...

ICS calls on ships to sound their horn on July 8 to call attention to the plight of seafarers

Call Attention to Seafarers by Sounding Your Horn on July 8

By The Maritime Executive 07-01-2020 05:18:47

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) is encouraging ships around the world to sound their horns when in port at 12:00 p.m. local time on July 8, 2020, as part of the ongoing efforts to call attention to need to actions to facilitate crew changes. The ICS’s “sound your horn” campaign is set for the day before the U.K. will host an international summit bringing together U.N., political, and business leaders to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on seafarers. Led...

Shipping

Uncertain Outlook as Ocean Freight Rates Fall and Carriers Respond

The outlook for long-term contracted ocean freight rates continues to look weak based on data from the shipping industry and economic forecasts according to the latest XSI Public Indices report from Oslo-based Xeneta. According to the report, rates fell for the second consecutive month as the ramifications of coronavirus continue to impact the global economy. Based on crowd-sourced data from leading shippers, and an analysis of data covering more than 160,000 port-to-port pairings, Xeneta reports that rates are now down...

Tugs & Salvage

Video: Container Barge Strikes Bridge in Rotterdam

An inland container barge allided with the center span of the iconic Willemsbrug bridge east of the port of Rotterdam on Wednesday. Three containers went into the water, according to local media. According to local outlet Rijinmond, no one was injured in the collision, and all of the boxes have since been recovered. The Willemsbrug bridge was closed to traffic while engineers evaluated it for any potential damage, but has since been reopened. The cause of the incident is under...

Government

Op-Ed: ASEAN Sends Muddled Message on South China Sea

[By Dr Mark J. Valencia] On June 26, the leaders of the ten-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) held their 36th annual summit by video conference. The pandemic was the main topic of discussions. Also high on the agenda was the South China Sea conundrum. In the run-up to the delayed summit, there were expectations in some quarters that the leaders – particularly of Vietnam and the Philippines – would strongly criticize China for its perceived transgressions against rival claimants...

Piracy

Cypriot Shipowners Call for Action on Gulf of Guinea Kidnappings

In a statement Thursday, the Cyprus Shipping Chamber (CSC) expressed "growing frustration at the ineffectiveness of the international community" in solving the longstanding problem of piracy and maritime kidnapping in the Gulf of Guinea. Kidnap-for-ransom incidents occur with regularity in the waters off Nigeria, Togo, Benin, Equatorial Guinea and neighboring states. Pirate attacks have been common in the region for decades, but in recent years they have shifted away from petroleum theft in favor of crew abduction. The region now...

Cruise Ships

300 Cruise Ship Crewmembers Enter Extended Quarantine in Trinidad

Authorities in Trinidad and Tobago have disembarked about 300 citizen crewmembers from the cruise ship Enchantment of the Seas for an additional term of shoreside quarantine. The crew's quarantine was originally scheduled to end on June 26, but health officials extended it for an additional "short period" of monitoring after three new cases of COVID-19 were discovered in a second round of PCR testing. A third round of tests will be taken later in the week, and those tests will...

Ports

Cape Town Takes Steps to Ease Congestion as CMA CGM Imposes Surcharges

Shipping

Uncertain Outlook as Ocean Freight Rates Fall and Carriers Respond

Tugs & Salvage

Video: Container Barge Strikes Bridge in Rotterdam

Government

Op-Ed: ASEAN Sends Muddled Message on South China Sea

Piracy

Cypriot Shipowners Call for Action on Gulf of Guinea Kidnappings

Cruise Ships

300 Cruise Ship Crewmembers Enter Extended Quarantine in Trinidad

Ports

Cape Town Takes Steps to Ease Congestion as CMA CGM Imposes Surcharges

Offshore

Sailing Ship Sets Marine Plastic Recovery Record

The motor-sailing cargo ship Kwai docked Tuesday at the port of Honolulu, bringing home a catch of more than 100 tons of fishing nets and consumer plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (also known as the Gyre). It represents the largest single cleanup at sea in the Gyre to date, and it is more than twice the Kwai's haul from last year. When the Kwai arrived in Honolulu, she completed a 48-day at sea clean-up mission that began at Hilo...

Shipbuilding

André Zijderveld discusses how shipyards and yacht builders can make their projects more profitable while also improving efficiency

You Don't Build Yachts and Ships with ERP Systems

André Zijderveld has decades of experience in the maritime sector and he now works as a maritime consultant for Shipbuilder Software based in The Netherlands. In this interview, André discusses how shipyards and yacht builders can make their projects more profitable while also improving efficiency. André: In all my years in the maritime sector, I have seen the financial departments in the maritime sector working with a broad range of ERP programs....

Training

Safebridge Announces Free Access to its Digital Certificates Platform

Safebridge announces free access to its digital certificate management platform myCert as part of a new initiative of the #BeSafe campaign launched to alleviate the adverse impact of the pandemic on the maritime industry and to ensure the welfare of seafarers. As a third initiative of the #BeSafe campaign, Safebridge has decided to offer free six months access to its digital certificate management platform myCert. The platform allows for a completely contactless creation and distribution of digital certificates. In doing so,...

Business

Van Ameyde Participates in SEAsia Group

On 16 October 2019 Van Ameyde concluded a share transaction with Singapore-based SEAsia Group. The strategic partnership is geared to expanding Van Ameyde’s marine surveying network to the Asian Pacific market. Domiciled in Singapore – the port from which Van Ameyde wishes to expand its marine business in the region – it boasts a network of surveyors in 20+ countries in the Asian Pacific. SEAsia has found a strong strategic partner in Van Ameyde to develop the region to its...

Maritime Industry Conferences and Events

Select any month to view events: July August September October November December January February March April May June

Join the conversation.

Maritime Industry Conferences and Events