Tag: containerships

Weak demand growth in the European and US economies The container shipping industry is heading towards a prolonged slump that could last longer than the 2009 downturn, warns Shipping Gazette, quoting Paris-based maritime consultancy Alphaliner.The current slump, unlike the 2009 recession, is caused by an oversupply of capacity and weak demand growth in the European and US economies. In the absence of a strong rebound of the Western economies, trade growth is expected to remain behind fleet growth for quite some time, it is said. The lull in containership orders between the fourth quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2010 brought the order book down from 60 per cent to 26 per cent of the fleet, but the strong recovery in 2010 led many shipping to add to capacity hoping a sustained recovery for the industry.This triggered a new wave of containership orders and the 2.3 million TEU of capacity contracted since June 2010. Some industry sources continue to underestimate the impact of the excess supply problem, citing supply growth figures of 7 per cent for 2011 and 2012 and a capacity shortage in 2013 but the report emphases that the growth rate for 2011 and 2012 will ...

52 post-Panamax container ships have been ordered since the beginning of 2011 Declining freight rates are not stopping lines from investing in new post-Panamax ship buildings, according to analyst Braemar Seascope.Since the beginning of this year, 52 containerships of 10,000 20-foot container equivalent units or larger have been ordered, the London-based ship brokers said. Ten ultra large container ships were ordered in the 2010 and none were ordered in 2009.A.P. Moller-Maersk Group leads the way in placing new orders in 2011 by commissioning Daewoo Shipbuilding to build 20 vessels each of 18,000 TEU capacity.OOIL, the parent company of Hong Kong-based carrier OOCL, ordered 10 vessels each of 13,000 TEU capacity from Samsung Heavy Industries in March."This year's container ship orders add 765,000 TEU to the post-Panamax boxship order book," said Braemar. "As of August 30, 2011, the total number of vessels of this size on order reached 158 ships, totaling 2.13 million TEU, which represents 48 percent of the fully cellular order book."Source: The Journal of Commerce

Container shipping and terminal handling facilities are the main focus for investment This week saw freight and energy giant AP Moller Maersk produce half year figures and the group are quick to point out the way the business is being developed. Container shipping and terminal handling facilities are said to be the main focus for investment within the seven shipping sectors that the group undertakes with others, such as tankers, logistics and towing and salvage, taking a back seat and relying on the influence of trade fluctuations, as opposed to leading the market.These days of course Maersk are about much more than shipping, in the past year Maersk Oil has invested $ 3.4 billion on acquiring SK Energy's Brazilian assets and the sanctioning of the Golden Eagle development (GEAD) which will see up to 24 North Sea oil wells come on stream in the North Sea. Maersk Drilling is intended to become one of the leading drilling contractors within deep water and ultra harsh environments and expected by management to become a significant and stable contributor to Group profits.The news means Damco, the logistics arm, and Svitzer, Maersk's salvage subsidiary will have to ensure their own future prosperity and the ...

Crew heard a number of small 'explosions' inside one of these containers A container vessel loaded some containers of Aluminium Phosphide (IMDG Class 4.3, UN No. 1397) from an Asian port. The consignment used plastic bags as inner packaging and steel drums as outer packaging. The drums were then secured on wooden pallets and these were finally stacked inside a standard marine freight container.During the voyage, the crew heard a number of small 'explosions' inside one of these containers, after which some smoke escaped past the rubber seals of the door. On seeing the smoke, the crew assumed that the cargo inside was burning and sprayed water on the outside of the container exterior in order to cool it.Although the cargo had been correctly declared at the time of shipment, the relevant Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) was not provided to the carrier or to the vessel. The crew was unaware of the fact that contact between water and Aluminium Phosphide produces phosphine, an extremely flammable and toxic gas. (See note)The vessel diverted to the nearest port down the coast, where the affected containers were discharged. During the discharge operation, further small explosions were heard coming from the within the ...

Maersk saw its container shipping unit slide into the red this quarter Ocean freight leaders like Maersk and COSCO will likely see shipping capacity outgrow trade demand.Many global economic experts view container shipping as an economic bellwether, pointing to international shipping traffic as a leading indicator when talking about future economic prospects.If that's true, we could be in for a double-dip recession after all. Global shipping leader A.P. Moller-Maersk saw its container shipping unit slide into the red this past quarter, lowering economic expectations around the globe.Bunker fuel prices have skyrocketed, while freight rates have dipped approximately 30 percent to an unsustainable level, according to The Wall Street Journal.Maersk controls about 16 percent of the world's total shipping market and operates 500 ships around the globe. The company has ordered a full line of larger container vessels called Triple-E ships, the largest container vessels ever built, which will grow shipping capacity to a dangerously large level.In 2011, capacity for Maersk will grow by an estimated 8.5 percent, with a similar growth pattern in 2012. Then, when the first wave of its Triple-E container ships arrive, Maersk will see its capacity increase by 10.2 percent.During a growing economy, this wouldn't be ...

There have been no comprehensive statistics kept Proper cargo loading and stowage of containers is very important to the safety of acontainer ship, its cargo and its crew, to shore-based workers and equipment, and to theenvironment. Even with proper loading of the cargo into the container and secure stowageaboard ship, a number of factors ranging from severe weather and rough seas to morecatastrophic and rare events like ship grounding or collision can result in containers being lostoverboard while at sea.A question which has deserved an informed answer is: How many containers actuallyare lost at sea? The World Shipping Council (WSC) has seen various statements in public thatthe industry loses 10,000 containers a year at sea. The WSC understood that this number isgrossly excessive and concurs with the statement of the National Cargo Bureau: "there havebeen no comprehensive statistics kept, as to the number of containers lost overboard."In an effort to shed greater clarity on the issue, the WSC undertook a survey of itsmembers to obtain a more accurate estimate of the number of containers lost overboard on anannual basis. The WSC's members represent over 90 percent of the global containershipcapacity. Members were asked to provide the actual number of containers ...

Nine empty boxes were damaged- noone was hurt A container ship had a bumpy ride on its maiden visit to Dunedin this week. Maersk Norwich arrived at the Port Chalmers container terminal at 2am on Friday from Wellington with a tier of damaged shipping containers on its stern."She was coming down from the north on Tuesday and nine empty boxes were damaged," Maersk New Zealand managing director Julian Bevis said."It was just caused by very big seas. It's not uncommon. There was a wind force of eight or nine and a swell of 4m-6m," he said."No-one was hurt, thank God, although I guess it would have spilt a few cups of tea."The ship suffered some minor damage to lashings and rails, but there was no customer impact or schedule impact at all."The containers would be repaired and returned to service, Mr Bevis said.The 210m Maersk Norwich was scheduled to leave Port Chalmers for Singapore at 9pm yesterday.Source : Otago Daily news

According to the latest statistics Port of Shanghai, the world's busiest cargo and container port, saw both its cargo and container throughput hit new high in the first half of this year, according to the latest statisticsreleased by the Shanghai Statistics Bureau.In the first six months,, the port's cargo throughput grew 10.3% year on year to 353.17 million metric tons, including 163.37 million metric tons of foreign trade cargo volume. The port's inward cargo volume climbed 8.3% year on year to 221.29 billion metric tons in the first half, and outward cargo volume rose 14% year on year to 131.88 million metric tons.The port's container throughput was 15.32 million twenty-foot equivalent units during the period, up 10.5% year on year. The figure included 7.47 million TEUs of inward container throughput and 7.85 million TEUs of outward container throughput, 9.8% and 11.2% more than in the corresponding period of last year, respectively.In 2010, the Port of Shanghai surpassed the Port of Singapore, becoming the busiest container port in the world. The port handled 29.07 million TEUs last year, 16.3% more than in 2009, and its cargo volume rose 10.4% year on year to 653 million metric tons.Source: China Knowledge

Seaspan Corporation took delivery of a new 13,100 TEU containership Seaspan Corporation yesterday took delivery of a new 13,100 TEU containership, the COSCO Development, its ninth delivery so far this year.The ship, constructed by Hyundai Heavy Industries, expands the Hong Kong-based company's operating fleet to 64 vessels and it is on charter to COSCO Container Lines under a 12-year, fixed-rate time charter.It is the third of eight 13,100 TEU sister ships and the 13th of a total of 18 vessels to be delivered by Seaspan to COSCO.Eight further new containerships are scheduled to be delivered to Seaspan by 2014.Source: Ship Management International

A Hong Kong registered container vessel lost 31 containers overboard Hong Kong Marine Department issues Merchant Shipping Information Note regarding Falling of containers causing hull damage.This Note refers to all Shipowners, Ship Managers, Ship Operators, Masters and Officers Containers on board a Hong Kong registered container vessel fell overboard and pierced the bunker oil tanks causing devastating oil spill. This information note draws the attention of the shipowners, ship managers, ship operators and officers the lessons learnt in the accident.The Incident1. A Hong Kong registered container vessel lost 31 containers overboard in gale force weather during cyclone off the coast of southeast Queensland, Australia. About 270 tonnes of fuel leaked into the sea as a result of the damage to the bunker tanks caused by the overboard containers. The oil spilled into the sea causing serious pollution.2. The investigation into the incident conducted by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau revealed that the condition of the cargo lashing equipment was poor and its maintenance and inspection programme was inadequate.Lessons Learnt3. The maintenance of cargo securing gears is of vital importance to ship stability, safety of life at sea and protection of the marine environment. A maintenance and inspection progromme should be ...