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The Leading Maritime & Transport News Portal
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Thursday, September 19, 2013
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Freight rate enquiries from shippers
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Type
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Loading Port
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Discharge Port
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Cargo Type
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Volume
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Action
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Sea
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XIAMEN
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CALLAO
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General Cargo
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LCL 933 KGS, 9 CBM
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Sea
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HONG KONG
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ACAJUTLA
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General Cargo
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FCL 2 x 20'
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Sea
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LAEM CHABANG
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NHAVA SHEVA
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General Cargo
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FCL 23 x 20'
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Sea
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KANDLA
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COTONOU
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General Cargo
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LCL 25000 KGS
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Trucking
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General Cargo
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FCL 6 x 20'
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Trucking
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General Cargo
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FCL 6 x 20'
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To enhance your shipping knowledge, e-news is now cooperating with :
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Highlights
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Supply Chain Management
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Where to now for China as low-value goods manufacturing reaches plateau
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Supply and Demand
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Information overload leaves industry confused about outlook
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Industry Legislation and Regulation
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Emissions regime brings new costs and new problems
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Management Strategies
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Future container demand growth is harder to predict
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US east coast planners expect smaller vessels rather than the mega ships to come
US east coast ports in recent years are competitively united seeking drafts of 12 to 15 metres in expectation of docking postpanamax ships no larger than 12,000 TEU.
This obsolete approach is inadequate given that shipping alliances have since moved on from their usual limits of 6,500-10,000 TEU into the 13,000 TEU range, and in a few years to come, rising to 15,500-TEU ships.
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Carrier Service Comparisons
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For the fastest transit time between Da Chan Bay and the Sri Lankan hub port of Colombo is China Shipping offers an 8-day service.
China Shipping's AMX 2 service departs from Da Chan Bay every Thursday and arrives the following Friday.
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Shippers ask why high bunker surcharges if ships are so fuel-efficient
BUNKER surcharges should be falling faster than fuel prices because of more efficient ships, but this is not happening and shippers are asking, says London's Drewry Maritime Research.
No change is evident in bunker surcharges despite the arrival of Maersk's first fuel efficient 18,000 TEUer, and the availability of cheap fuel at Russian ports, said the report.
The new 18,000 TEU vessels burn 35 per cent less fuel per TEU carried on a round voyage between Asia and North Europe than 13,100 TEU vessels, which in turn burn 20 per cent less than a 9,000 TEUer, assuming constant speeds of 20 knots westbound and 14.6 knots eastbound.
In the third quarter of 2011, the average size of vessel on the Asia-Europe run was 9,158 TEU, which increased eight per cent over the next year to 9,881 TEU, then by another nine per cent over the following year to 10,800 TEU.
Mathematically, this means bunker surcharges should be falling faster than fuel prices, which is not immediately apparent except for Maersk Line.
The availability of cheap Russian bunker oil since the beginning of the year should have brought down fuel surcharge levels. But carriers do not calculate surcharges on the basis of Russian prices.
Pressure from shippers for lower or fixed bunker surcharges is expected to remain high.
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MSC Long Beach shift flattens LA as LB cargo rises 13pc to 6-year high
THE Port of Long Beach August throughput scored its highest monthly volume since October 2007, rising 13.4 per cent year on year to 630,292 TEU.
Meanwhile the adjacent Port of Los Angeles posted a 0.4 per cent increase in August to 709,676 TEU, and what gains were made came from an eight per cent increase in empties to 195,508 TEU.
One negative factor for LA was the decision by world's second largest box carrier, the Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC), to shift its business from Los Angeles to Long Beach late last year, which has resulted in poor year-on-year comparisons ever since.
While Long Beach laden imports increased 19.2 per cent year on year to 327,817 TEU, LA's fell 1.4 per cent to 355,683 TEU in August. Long Beach laden exports were up 20.2 per cent to 154,118 TEU while LA's declined 3.8 per cent to 158,485 TEU.
Year to date, LA's total volume fell 5.6 per cent to 5.1 million TEU year on year while Long Beach's year-to-date throughput increased 13.6 per cent to 4.4 million TEU.
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MOL Comfort sinking insurers face US$300 million - $400 million claims
CARGO insurers face estimated claims of US$300 million to $400 million after the 8,110-TEU MOL Comfort split in two with the stern section sinking in June in the Indian ocean while the forward section under tow caught fire and sank in July off Yemen.
The estimate, reported by London's Insurance Day, is based on the average value of a container's contents at $50,000, but then increases on the Asia-Europe route as boxes hold consumer electronics and high-value clothing bound for western markets, said the report.
Also, contents are insured at sale price rather than cost. Indeed, one cargo insurer told Insurance Day journal that these containers will often be insured for between $50,000 and $1 million each.
MOL also had a $66 million hull and machinery policy in place for the vessel, with Mitsui Sumitomo holding a 77 per cent share, Tokio Marine 20 per cent and the final three per cent placed with Sompo.
An additional increased value policy of $17 million was placed in the London insurance market by broker Miller Insurance Services. This policy was led by QBE's Lloyd's syndicate 1036, also known as the O'Farrell syndicate, said the report.
Insurers in Japan and London have been hit with claims though Japanese underwriters face the heaviest blow.
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Evergreen takes in 13,800-TEU Thalassa Hellas, its biggest ever box ship
TAIWAN's Evergreen Marine Corp. has taken in charge the 13,806-TEU Thalassa Hellas, making its debut in the world of mega ships.
Waiting to make its move, Evergreen won big savings, noted Lloyd's Loading List, adding that others ordered at the peak of the market when prices ran from US$160 million to $170 million against $116 million each of these ships cost.
New fuel-efficient vessels burn 175 tonnes less fuel per day, equivalent to that of a 8,000-TEU ships, and 75 tonnes less than earlier 14,000-TEU vessels. Over a 10-year period, Evergreen stands to save $1 billion, say experts.
This is another first is for the ship's owner Enesel SA, as the newbuilding is the first box ship delivered to the Greek company, which has a long tradition in dry cargo vessels and tankers.
The Thalassa Hellas is the first vessel in a series of 10 sister ships ordered by Enesel in July 2012 from Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), with the backing of a 10-year charter from Evergreen.
Enesel entered the container shipping business in July 2011, with an order for a reefer-rich 9,814-TEU ships from Hyundai Heavy Industries that were backed by a long-term charter to Hamburg Sud.
The new vessel was named last week at Hyundai Heavy Industries in a double christening ceremony in which the second ship in the series was also named. The Thalassa Patris is due to be delivered at the end of November. The other eight vessels are slated for delivery between January and September 2014.
Alphaliner reports the Thalassa Hellas will be deployed on the Far East-Europe CEM/ANN service operated by Evergreen and Hanjin. She displaces the 8,452 TEU Ever Legion, which will be transferred to the Evergreen-CKYH CES/APN loop.
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Loss-making CSCL to auction off its 55pc stake in Jiangsu box terminal
CHINA Shipping Container Lines (CSCL) plans auction off its 55 per cent stake in the newly-built two million-TEU capacity terminal in Lianyungang, in Jiangsu province for no less than CNY756 million (US$124 million), the opening bid.
The Lianyungang New Oriental Container Terminal has been jointly invested and developed by China Shipping Terminal, a CSCL subsidiary, and the local port operator since 2006. The local port operator holds the remaining 45 per cent stake, reports Lloyd's Loading List.
The terminal is equipped with five berths and has begun trial operations.
"The purpose of the transaction is to increase asset utilisation and optimise the asset structure of China Shipping Terminal and to fulfill the overall needs of the company," CSCL said in a filing to the Shanghai Exchange.
The terminal will be sold through a public bidding process in the local asset exchange, with a floor price of CNY756 million. The report said that CSCL could make a profit of at least CNY206 million in the proposed sale, as it invested CNY550 million in the greenfield project, the filing said.
In the first half of the year CSCL posted a net loss of CNY1.26 billion, almost the same as its CNY1.28 billion deficit recorded in the same period last year.
In a related development, the company announced plans to dispose of two 27-year-old 1,000 TEU feeder ships.
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MOL takes third 14,000 TEUer on APL charter for G6 Asia-Europe Loop 7
SINGAPORE's APL, the container shipping arm of Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), has taken delivery of the sixth in a series of ten 14,000 TEU newbuildings from Hyundai Samho.
Five of these vessels have been chartered out to MOL upon delivery, under an arrangement between the two New World Alliance partners, reports Alphaliner. The ship is being operated as the MOL Quartz on the G6 Asia-Europe Loop 7 from September 18, sailing from Qingdao.
The MOL Quartz is the third of the five MOL-chartered units. She was originally named the APL Agile and follows the APL Vanda delivered in July.
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China, Germany hunt for backhaul freight for Sino-European railway
GERMANY and China are working together to promote the Chongqing-Duisburg railway in Europe to attract backhaul freight.
The both sides will focus mainly on seeking goods such as automobile and parts, household articles and food, according to Xinhua's report.
The Chongqing-Duisburg line runs through six Asian and European countries to Duisburg in the German Ruhr, taking 16 days, 20 days faster than by ocean shipping.
After two years' operation, the growing volume of electronic products manufactured in Chongqing is already able to support one or two runs a week to Germany, but backhaul remains freight light.
Port of Duisburg chairman Erich Staake said, Duisburg is the largest logistics hub in Europe. Its transport network covers the whole continent. Over 70 leading players in the logistics industry have set up branches there, making it an ideal place to collect backhaul freight.
Germany's railway logistics giant DB Schenker said it will cooperate on strengthening promotion of the service among Germany firms. The company also hoped to improve intermodal services connecting the railway to offer door-to-door delivery to attract more customers.
The report revealed that some German firms have agreed to use the railway to move their goods to China. A Chinese-founded company in Germany said that they will cooperate with the Chongqing Transportation Group on a 50,000-square-metre site of showcase for Germany-made household products in 2014, which will bring 500 TEU to the Chongqing-bound of the railway every month.
At the same time, Chongqing is also seeking to attract automobiles, scrap metal and meat product for the backhaul service.
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World Shipping Council: IMO must approve mandatory container weigh-ins
THERE must be no further delay in solving the problems associated with mis-declared container weights, said World Shipping Council (WSC) president Christopher Koch.
The UN's International Maritime Organisation (IMO) is on the verge of a "compromise". Those against mandatory weigh-ins find it hard find the compromise in that it comes down being able to discuss one form of mandatory weight verification system over another.
The Asian Shippers Council and the European Shippers Council oppose the measure as being costly, and unnecessary and throws into doubt who to blame in case of delays and resulting costs.
But Mr Koch said the collective work and agreement of 15 governments and 13 industry groups have forged a "compromise solution" for consideration by the IMO's sub-committee on dangerous goods, solid cargoes and containers (DSC).
Mr Koch said overweight container present safety hazards for ships, their crews, other cargo on board, workers in the port facilities handling containers, and on roads. Incorrectly declared weights also lead to incorrect ship stowage and accidents.
Furthermore, the problem facilitates unlawful evasion of taxes and impair authorities' ability to perform cargo security risk assessment, he said.
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STX Pan Ocean runs two loops, sells short sea slots, despite bankruptcy
IN SPITE OF being in receivership since early June STX Pan Ocean has managed to continue operating two short-sea liner services.
The 702-TEU STX Tokyo is retained on its Busan-Japan service, while the chartered 932 TEU Reverence remains on the Incheon-Qingdao service, reports Alphaliner.
It said two STX PO operated ships are the only remaining ships that are active in the STX PO fleet that totalled 22 ships for 41,700 TEU at the beginning of the year. Six other STX PO-owned ships are idle and one 1,815 TEU newbuilding is awaiting delivery in Guangzhou.
In addition, the shipping line also retains slots on several short-sea services covering Korea, Japan and North China on services operated by Namsung, Sinokor, Dongjin Shipping and EAS Datong. However, the report said it is not clear if these services are maintained by STX Pan Ocean itself or by related parties.
All of its long-haul services were suspended in June.
As of September the carrier has only managed to sell one of its owned ships, yet it put several up for sale. The 1,815 TEU STX Hong Kong that was delivered in May from the Guangzhou Wenchong shipyard was sold to Ipsa Capital in July for a reported price of US$17.8 million. It has since been renamed Bindi Ipsa and chartered to Hyundai Merchant Marine for a fixed period of 6-8 months at $7,500 per day.
Back in January, the shipping line had operated a number of intra-Asia services covering North Asia, South East Asia, the Indian Sub-continent, Middle East and Australia.
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Bid to save Air France/KLM market share as unions urge competition limits
AIR France's unions have called on the French government to limit traffic rights to Arabian Gulf carriers, claiming "distortion of competition" as operating conditions in Europe remain tough.
In a letter to the French authority, the unions outlined that the country's air transport sector was under threat, describing the situation as "a crisis of exceptional gravity, the consequence of which places Air France in serious economic, financial and social difficulties".
"It is clear that further steps will be needed to reduce losses in the medium-haul and cargo areas, which are in a critical condition. We urge you and your government to freeze any new allocation of traffic rights until a more equitable competition is established. We ask you to act...to create a power balance between European airlines and those of the Gulf," said the union statement.
Traffic rights in the EU are negotiated under bilateral agreements between individual member states and non-EU countries. However, the EU's regulation on air services states: "Restrictions may be imposed under bilateral agreements between a member state and a third country, as long as these restrictions do not limit competition, that they are non-discriminatory and that they are no more restrictive than necessary."
A spokesman for the European Commission would not be drawn on whether freezing traffic rights equated to "limiting competition".
The letter cites that between 2005 and 2010, Gulf carriers saw their market share rise fivefold on European routes, while European carriers lost significant market share, London's Loadstar reported.
"Emirates won the French government rights to additional traffic, which directly threatens Air France... Whenever additional traffic rights are granted to these companies, it results in a loss of activity and related employment in Europe. Not only do these companies benefit from lower taxes and operating costs, but they are also based in countries that have nothing to offer in exchange," the letter added.
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AT&T's Mobility Solutions to help steer Air China to improve efficiency
AIR China has enlisted the help of AT&T's specialist consultancy support by embracing the power of mobile communications and other leading-edge technologies to help the mainland flag carrier to set a course for success in the highly competitive international aviation industry.
AT&T will help Air China to realise its international ambitions by providing specialist consultancy support to develop a five-year roadmap for mobile communications and technology. AT&T will conduct interviews with Air China executives and operational staff, while closely observing the airline's operations at key facilities.
Following this intensive research, AT&T will make recommendations in a five-year plan that details how mobile technologies and procedures can be implemented to deliver superior customer service and generate revenue.
Air China's strategy is to combat the effects of rising oil prices and increasing pressure from low-cost carriers by improving the customer experience and enhancing its operational efficiency.
"As a world-class airline operating in a very competitive environment, Air China is always looking for ways to further improve customer service, offer more self-service options, and control costs," said the airline's, Li Qiang. "With AT&T's help, we are now developing an effective five-year technology strategy to ensure we can continue to compete with the world's best."
Key mobility solutions that AT&T can offer airline companies include ground operations applications for airline's staff, mobile passenger reservation system, baggage and cargo tracking applications and digital signage at airport terminals.
Said AT&T vice president Mike Troiano: "A holistic global mobility strategy that goes beyond standalone applications and piecemeal processes is crucial for corporations like Air China that are serious about transforming their international business and avoiding unnecessary complexity."
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DHL launches DHL Interactive upgrade to manage air freight shipments
DHL Global Forwarding, the air and ocean freight specialist within Deutsche Post DHL, has relaunched an enhanced version of its web-based shipment management tool for air freight customers, called DHL Interactive (DHLi).
Key improvements include increased information transparency for customer consignments and new design layout to improve ease of use. The IT solution offers shipment booking, tracking and reporting.
"In today's logistics world, sending shipments from multiple locations via different transport modes is a given. The enhanced DHL Interactive ensures customers real-time visibility of their air shipments and allows them to handle transport reports and other enquiries with ease," said DHL vice president Michael Young.
Users of DHLi can request documents such as certificates of origin, consular invoices and letters of credit. Customers can also use booking templates, request instant house bill (HB) numbers, and can create a commercial invoice and pack list via the booking function.
Additionally, customers can request alerts for chosen shipment stages such as the "POD" (Point Of Delivery), and the tool's report function allows customers to compile comprehensive information on up to one year of shipment history.
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