Category Archives: Shipping

Shreyas Shipping and Logistics, a subsidiary of India’s Transworld Group, has acquired its first bulk carrier, diversifying beyond its container roots. The 12-year-old Ocean Rider handy bulk carrier was purchased for $14.175 million by Shreyas from Doriko of South Korea. TBC Badrinath will be the new name for the 34,250 dwt ship, bringing the Shreyas fleet to 12 ships. Shreyas also announced in a press statement that it has signed a contract for a second, unnamed bulk carrier, which it will receive later this month.

In the first nine months of the year, at 95.8 million tonnes the Port of Hamburg achieved a 2.9 per cent increase in seaborne cargo throughput. Bulk cargo throughput advanced especially strongly, being 6.1 per cent ahead at 29.7 million tonnes. Totalling 66.1 million tonnes, in the first three-quarters general cargo throughput was a modest 1.6 per cent ahead. The upward trend was also maintained on container handling. A total of 6.5 million TEU – 20-ft standard containers – were hoisted across the quay walls of Hamburg’s container terminals, a 2.4 per cent gain. Despite this positive throughput trend, the Port of Hamburg was not yet able to fully overhaul last year’s downturn caused by Corona. Axel Mattern and Ingo Egloff, HHM – Port of Hamburg Marketing’s Joint CEOs, are, therefore, pleased that pre- and post-voyage rail-borne container transport set a new record at 2.1 million TEU. “That represents an 8.3 per cent advance,” stresses Egloff. “At 709,000 TEU, the Port of Hamburg posted the highest quarterly total in its history for containers transported,” added Mattern. The Port of Hamburg has further strengthened its position as Europe’s one of the largest rail ports. Seaborne cargo throughput in the first nine months of 2021 Throughput of containerised general cargo in the first three quarters of 2021 totalled 65.2 million tonnes, representing a gain of 1.5 per cent. At 908,000 tonnes, the conventional general cargo was up by an emphatic 5.2 per cent. In the container throughput sector, exports, 2.9 per cent up at 3.2 million TEU, outperformed imports, just 1.9 per cent higher at 3.3 million TEU. At 5.8 million TEU, the throughput of loaded containers, contributing more to the port’s …

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) has poached two container shipping services from Centre-owned Chennai Port to its Kattupalli Port located nearby as competition for cargo intensifies in the Chennai cluster. “We are in the process of shifting two services out from Chennai and we expect growth to happen in Kattupalli,” Karan Adani, Chief Executive Officer, APSEZ, told analysts during the second-quarter earnings call. “We expect more market share to be taken especially in Kattupalli Port from Chennai Port,” he added. The Far East service run by COSCO is understood to be one of the two services shifting to Kattupalli Port, industry sources said. One of the container terminals operating at Chennai Port is facing congestion, a source said, pointing to the reason for the shift. During the first half of FY22, cargo handled by Kattupalli Port declined 11.2 per cent to 3.33 million mt from 3.75 mt in H1FY21. Of this, containers accounted for 2.8 mt, while dry and liquid cargoes were 0.3 mt and 0.2 mt, respectively. Liquid cargo handled at Kattupalli Port posted a growth of over 200 per cent in H1FY22 from zero compared to last year on the back of the addition of LPG and LNG cargo to its portfolio. In the dry cargo basket, Kattupalli Port added dolomite to its business. In contrast, Chennai Port handled 23.091 mt of cargo in H1FY22 from 18.381 mt a year earlier, posting a growth of 25.62 per cent. The two container terminals operating at Chennai Port handled a combined 787,000 20-ft equivalent units (TEUs) between April and September from 561,000 TEUs in the corresponding period a year ago. Kamarajar Port Ltd, a subsidiary of Chennai …

APM Terminals Pipavav (Gujarat Pipavav Port Ltd) announced the financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2021. The company reported a net profit of INR 453 million for Q2FY22 as against INR 520 million in Q2FY21. Revenue from operations for the quarter under consideration stood at INR 1,947 million as against INR 1,827 million in Q2FY21. EBIDTA for the quarter was at INR 1,090 million as against INR 1,029 million during the same quarter last year. EBIDTA margin stood at 56% in Q2FY22 as against 56% in Q2FY21. The container cargo business for the quarter stood at 157,048 TEUs, bulk business was at 1.39 MT and liquid business was 0.19 MT. 7,814 cars were handled under RoRo category for the quarter under review. During the quarter, APM Terminals Pipavav became the first Port to be connected to the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) with the completion of high-rise overhead electrification of the port rail yard. By switching to electrical loco, the Port will also be able to offer environment-friendly, long-haul, high-volume freight rail transport that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Port also loaded 100th LPG rake in less than a year of installation. The port is one of the few ports in India which can accommodate a full train.

Sarbananda Sonowal, the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Government of India and Minister of AYUSH, Government of India, visited Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), one of India’s premier container handling ports. During his visit, he got a comprehensive understanding of the port’s operations, infrastructural and technological advancements, reviewed the progress made by the port through its Public-Private Partnership initiatives, and engaged with JNPT’s key stakeholders. While addressing the press conference, Sarbananda Sonowal outlined how PPP-led synergies can transform and accelerate the country’s progress. With the majority of global trade carried by sea, ports are critical gateway infrastructure which connect an entire region and its inland transportation network (i.e. road, rails, inland waterways) to the international market. Therefore, public-private partnership at JNPT, will help developing strong, well-functioning maritime transport infrastructure is a key element of economic growth for the country. This initiative will become a means to manage port operations more effectively, as well as to develop new port infrastructure, traditionally both exclusively government functions.

Private inland container depots (ICDs) in Chattogram announced the new rates of five service charges with retrospective effect from 4 November. “The cost of vehicles and equipment management of the private off-docks have increased following the price hike of diesel and kerosene. Therefore, the additional charges have been imposed to cover the additional fuel costs,” said BICDA President Nurul Qayyum Khan. Bangladesh Freight Forwarder Association (BAFA) and Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) have termed the move “illogical” as it will exponentially increase import-export costs. As per the new tariffs, the transport charge for a 20-foot container (between the port and depot) has been increased to Tk1,415 from Tk1,150.

Evergreen is adding to its fleet and equipment capacity with an order for two 24,000 teu ships from China’s Jiangnan shipyard and 55,500 containers from three manufacturers. The new buildings will cost $140m-$160m each and delivery is expected 2024-2025. The new containers will cost Evergreen $338.5m – 27,500nfrom Dong Fang International Container (Hong Kong), 15,000 from Guangdong Fuwa Equipment and 13,000 from CXIC Group. They comprise 20ft and 40ft units and will be delivered in mid-2022. Among liner operators, Evergreen now has the most newbuilding orders, with 78 vessels under construction. Alphaliner estimates that Evergreen’s orderbook-to-fleet ratio is around 45%. In September, Evergreen ordered 24 ships from another Chinese shipyard, CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding, 20 15,000 teu ships from Samsung Heavy Industries in March and two 24,000 teu ships from Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding in June, as well as four 24,000 teu ships from Jiangnan Shipyard that are due for completion next year. Evergreen president Eric Hsieh said: “We never saw such high freight rates and the present situation is quite positive for liner operators’ future business prospects.”

ECU Worldwide, global multi-modal logistics major launched an intensive industry study on ‘The state of API adoption within the freight forwarding market’. The study helps discern the impact of APIs on freight forwarders and understand the forwarders’ perspective on API adoption. This report is informed on a global survey of over 120 commercial freight forwarding companies. Here are some key takeaways from the report: * Technology limitations and data streamlining are major headwinds to API adoption – The logistics industry has been slow on the uptake with technology, which holds true with data capturing and building inter-stakeholder connectivity. * Lack of awareness is a significant deterrent to data standardization – The discussions on data quality go hand-in-hand with data standardization, as disparate data that do not conform to a particular set of standards will be essentially unusable. * Human-intensive operations likely the earliest workflows to be API integrated – Respondents pursuing data integrations do so by standardizing workflows within their organization in line with other industry stakeholders—both upstream and downstream. * Improved visibility and operational efficiency are low-hanging fruits of API adoption – Visibility and efficiency have been recurring themes within the survey, reflecting the positive correlation forwarders see with API integration. Tim Tudor, CEO ECU Worldwide, said, “Digitization and innovation will play a strong role in building visibility and creating integrated end-to-end solutions for cargo owners. ECU Worldwide wants to encourage the creation of a technology enabled eco-system and supply-chain focused tools to reduce the costs of logistics and make India’s exports more competitive. Stronger technology adoption in the logistics sector will also improve transparency, reliability and predictability in the supply chains across the globe.”

Container spot rates are falling – and are unlikely to see any noticeable edge up for the remainder of what has been a record-breaking 2021. Liner shipping is on course to smash profits in excess of $150bn this year, more than five times their previous best cumulative effort as rates soared to highs never seen before. However, as the peak season has passed and carriers focus on getting more clients fixed to long term contracts, the spot market has entered free-fall. Last week saw the biggest week-on-week drop of Drewry’s World Composite Index since November 30, 2017, a global spot rate indicator, which plunged 4.9% in the first week of the month. “We think spot rates will probably continue to slide through the rest of the year, but that they will remain at high levels, feeding into strong contract rates next year,” said Drewry’s Simon Heaney.

The Hambantota International Port (HIP) recently facilitated the shipment of locally manufactured trailers, marking the beginning of its services to the local industry as a gateway port. “The master plan of the Hambantota International Port clearly spells out supporting the development of Sri Lankan industries servicing overseas markets. This shipment for Dutch Lanka Trailers emphasizes HIP’s position as Sri Lanka’s gateway port and flags a new era for local manufacturers in terms of cost effective methods to reach their respective markets,” says Lance Zuo- General Manager Commercial and Marketing. Tissa Wickramasinghe, COO of Hambantota International Port Group (HIPG) says, “The Hambantota International Port is well equipped to handle such cargo and has an advanced Turburg tractor which makes it more convenient for the shipper. Higher freight rate charges on container vessels and congestion faced by other ports in handling containerized cargo, makes HIP the better choice for such shipments. Shipping this kind of cargo via RORO vessel is becoming more of a trend because of its cost effectiveness for the shipper and we are looking to explore this new opportunity further.”