News

Carriers to fine rogue shippers for misdeclared goods in containers



August 14, 2019 /

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…


Post-Brexit freeport ‘gateway to prosperity’ plan comes under fire



August 7, 2019 /

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…


Independent Container Line moves UK call from Liverpool to Southampton



July 10, 2019 /

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…


China-US trade war won’t affect global container supply chains



June 26, 2019 /

The trade dispute between the US and China could have fewer ramifications across global container supply chains than initially thought. According to new research from Drewry, although the transpacific trade, particularly headhaul eastbound, is expected to be hit hard by the introduction of billions of dollars’ worth of new tariffs, the way China has established…