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…
LNG is the most environmentally friendly, readily available fuel for shipping today – and in the foreseeable future, according to a new study. With the IMO’s 0.5% sulphur cap regulations coming into force next January, along with its target of halving C02 emissions from shipping by 2050, decisions need to be taken on alternative fuels.…
The port of Shanghai has maintained its position as the world largest container port. However, new data from Alphaliner today shows its lead over second-placed Singapore narrowed last year. Shanghai posted 2018 throughput of 42.01m teu, 4.4% growth on 2017, while Singapore handled 36.6m teu, representing growth of 8.7%. And the 5.41m teu differential between…
The chaos at Gatwick last month emphasised the UK air freight sector’s over-reliance on the south-east region. When Heathrow and Gatwick are working at full tilt – which is almost all the time – they can claim to be the most efficient airports in the world. Between 19 and 21 December, thousands of flights were…
The prospect of unmanned container vessels serving global container supply chains has taken another step forward. Sea Machines Robotics, a US developer of autonomous vessels, announced it had raised $10m from venture capital funds. The investors were led by Accomplice VC and Eniac Ventures, but also include Toyota AI Ventures, TechNexus Venture Collaborative, NextGen VP, Geekdom Fund,…
CMA CGM Group, which includes ocean carrier APL, has raised its emergency bunker surcharge (EBS) to $100 per teu for all deepsea cargo movements from 1 December. Introduced by the French carrier and a number of its peers on 1 June, in response to higher fuel prices, the controversial EBS was initially set by CMA CGM at…
Unusually tight capacity for the time of year is leading to rising rates, booking restrictions and backlogs for European exporters needing to ship from Europe to the Middle East and Asia. This is in part attributed to exceptionally high levels of post Chinese New Year shipping cancellations, which have meant price increases for Europe to…
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