Strong February in NSWA 
The Northwest Seaport Alliance on the US West Coast handled more than 263,000 teu (+1%) in February 2020. Full imports increased by 10.3%, while full exports decreased 13.6%. The upward trend is clear: the year-to-date volumes improved 5.1% to almost 552,000 teu, with full... more
ZIM's performance validated
The carrier ZIM reported that in 2020, its revenues went up by 21% to USD 3.99 billion, its adjusted ebit for the full year increase to USD 722 million (+372%) and its net income amounted to USD 524 million, compared to a loss of USD 13 million in 2019. Volumes remained... more
Bimco on maritime emissions - and cost
Accoding to Sadan Kaptanoglu, president of the Baltic and International Maritime Council (Bimco), current low-emission technologies require market-based measures (MBM) that equalise costs to be able to compete with traditional fuels on equal terms. Bimco wants to foster... more
OOCL drives CIS and PHF2
Hong Kong-headquartered Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL), an affiliate of Cosco, will change its China and Indonesia services as well as its feeder network to the Philippines. The CIP service will be replaced by the China Indonesia Service (CIS) from 18 April. The CIS... more
Crew crisis on the rise again?
Shipping companies fear that the number of seafarers affected by the crew change crisis is on the rise due to travel restrictions imposed by governments to combat the new variants of the virus. The latest industry analyses show that 200,000 seafarers are currently affected, a... more
Ghana's FRU and FSU classified
The Torman LNG floating regasification unit (FRU) has been inspected and classified in sheltered waters at Tema port, Ghana, by Bureau Veritas (BV). The unit is combined with a floating storage unit (FSU) for the delivery of gas to onshore consumers. The 95 m long, newly... more
Much better than expected 
Europe’s ports experienced 2020’s ’annus horribilis’ in many different ways. Only Antwerp improved; Algeciras maintained its throughput. In the end box volumes were better than most had expected. more
Newbuild for DShip Carriers
Hamburg-based DShip Carriers has added a F-500 vessel to its fleet. The ‘MV Charlie’ was launched at the beginning of March. It is equipped with two Liebherr cranes, featuring a lifting capacity of 250 t each, and has a deadweight of 12,385 t.Utilising energy-saving technology,... more
BDI at record high
The Baltic Dry Index (BDI), an index of the international dry cargo freight market, stood at 2,105 points on 17 March. The BDI thus reached its highest value since 4 September 2019, when it scored 2,518 points, the record in almost nine years.By size, the panamax index, covering... more
MOL banks on hybrid bonds
Japanese shipping company MOL has submitted an amended version of the shelf-registration statement regarding the issuance of publicly offered hybrid corporate bonds (no collateral and subordinated corporate bonds) to the director-general of the Kanto Local Finance Bureau.In... more