MSC has revised the official capacity of its new ULCV, MSC Gulsun, by an additional 805 teu, to 23,765 teu, making it more than 2,000 teu larger than the biggest ships operated by its competitors. The liner said the new class of vessel had “been designed with a wide range of environmental, efficiency, stability and safety…

RZD have begun a new container service, with a new connection between China and Germany. Connecting Yantai and Duisburg, the service initially will operate on a limited schedule, but RZD chief executive Vyacheslav Valentik expects it to become regular by the start of Q4. “Our cooperation with Yantai station is developing rapidly – just a…

Carriers are cracking down on rogue shippers by threatening significant financial penalties for misdeclared shipments, following a series of vessel fires. Evergreen was first out of the gates announcing fines, ranging from $4,000 to $35,000, for misdeclarations (see below), with Hapag-Lloyd and OOCL following suit. Hapag-Lloyd, which suffered as misdeclared goods caused a high-profile fire…

Questions continue to be raised over the announcement that the UK government intends to establish a series of freeports across the country after Brexit. Trade secretary Liz Truss called on airports and ports to bid for the scheme, saying: “Freedoms transformed London’s Docklands in the 1980s, and Freeports will do the same for towns and cities…

Seventeen months after a devastating fire which resulted in the loss of 5 lives, Maersk is set to send the 15,282 teu boxship Maersk Honam back on active duty. The owner decided to reuse the stern section in a new ship, to be constructed at a South Korean shipyard. The damaged bow section and the…

Niche transatlantic carrier Independent Container Line (ICL) is to move its UK call from Liverpool to Southampton to improve schedule reliability. The US-headquartered, privately-owned shipping line has been serving Liverpool for the past 20 years, calling at the Mersey port along with Antwerp in a two-port North European hub strategy. However, ICL claims deteriorating weather…

The bunker market is far from ready for the substantial switch in demand to low-sulphur fuel, when the IMO’s 0.5% cap comes into force on 1 January next year, according to the Marine Bunker Exchange (MABUX).  In an article published by international shipping association BIMCO, the bunker exchange cautions that “shipowners are ready, but the bunker market…

After years of criticism that cargo airlines were failing to develop new distribution channels - the increase in digitisation and online sales means online distribution is on the increase.  Air France-KLM Cargo has signed up to Freightos’s air freight WebCargo platform, which claims to be the world’s largest. It allows AF-KLM customers to view live rates, assess capacity availability…

Policy director of the UK Chamber of Shipping Anna Ziou has slammed French proposals to impose speed limits as a way to cut shipping emissions. She claims it would give a “false impression” of the industry taking action.  Ms Ziou’s objection follows an outcry from container lines following the French IMO delegation’s proposals becoming public last month.  “To achieve a 50%…

China’s Belt and Road initiative (BRI) may have faced recent strong criticism from the EU, but that has not dented the growth in its exports to Europe. Chinese officials have claimed a 106% increase in the value of cargo travelling by rail from China to Europe, equating to some $33bn. Xiao Weiming, from the office of…