Maersk announced its plans on offering digital trade finance in South Africa, in light of further boosting small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Although they contribute to S. Africa’s economy, SMEs often face challenges in accessing finance.
Insurwave Limited, a marine insurance blockchain joint venture company from EY and Guardtime, announced a new agreement with Zhuhai Port Holdings Group to collaborate on the development of frictionless trade processes across China’s Greater Bay Area, and onward into international supply chains.
On May 19, Maersk Patras reported a man overboard in the Saint Lawrence River. Search and rescue operation started but it was unsuccessful and has now been called off. Namely, the 2nd Officer of the vessel Maersk Patras fell overboard into the Saint Lawrence River (Canada) north east of the junction with Saguenay River.
From 1st August 2019, Maersk Logistics & Services will integrate APM Terminals Inland Services, as part of the company’s strategy to offer end-to-end logistics & services. The Inland Services portfolio is a network of inland terminals consisting of 36 business units with over 100 locations.
The Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) welcomed five additional, new members; CMA CGM, Evergreen, Hyundai Merchant Marine, Yang Ming and ZIM. Already existent members in the Association are Maersk, Hapag Lloyd, MSC and ONE.
Aiming to open route for low-emission drilling on conventionally powered offshore rigs, Maersk Drilling announced it is entering a series of upgrades to convert its jack-up rig ‘Maersk Intrepid’ to a hybrid rig with low levels of NOx emissions, adding data intelligence to further reduce energy consumption and CO2.
FreightHub, the first European digital freight forwarder, raised $30m in its Series B financing round, that saw Maersk joining the project. AP Møller-Maersk’s corporate venture arm, Maersk Growth, and logistics venture capital fund Rider Global joined Northzone, Global Founders Capital, Cherry Ventures and London-based investment firm Unbound, which also ploughed fresh funds into the company.
As part of its efforts to prevent delays in trade, Danish shipping giant Maersk announced launch of a Customs Clearance online shipping management platform in seven European countries. This came as international trade is subjected to diverse and wide controls and customs regulations.
The new CEO of South Korean shipping company Hyundai Merchant Marine wants to improve relations with Maersk and the Mediterranean Shipping Company of the 2M alliance. For this reason, Jae-hoon Bae will visit the two companies to strengthen their ties. Currently, the company has an agreement to swap container space with Maersk and MSC on trades between the Far East and US, which will expire in a year.
ZIM is another company to be joining TradeLens, a platform that was launched last year, as a joint venture between Maersk and IBM. Israeli carrier ZIM has signed up to participate in TradeLens, a blockchain-enabled documentation system designed to smooth bureaucracy between carriers, freight forwarders, customs officials and port authorities.
