Tag: shipping industry

Two of the biggest container shipping companies, Maersk and the Mediterranean Shipping Company, were cleared in an investigation of the sector by the US Department of Justice, on Tuesday February 26. If the investigation was to charge the companies, it could have imposed large fines at a time when the container sector faces many difficulties due to slowing global economic growth.

During the 2019 SMART4SEA Conference, Andreas Chrysostomou, Chief Strategy Officer, TOTOTHEO, said the near future is expected to form a new era for shipping through technological advancements. Mr. Chrysostomou explained that new society realities are calling upon a new “re-thought” model in shipping. The new digital era in connection with new thinking in relation to enforceable instruments can provide the way forward.

The Port of Amsterdam informed that it cannot open up the route via the IJmuiden lock complex for traffic in April 2019. This is because the safety on the lock route can still not be sufficiently guaranteed due to the many construction activities at the new sealock. It is not  known when the route will open again. This will not affect the delivery date of the new sea lock at the beginning of 2022.

An Australian Labor government could establish a 'strategic shipping fleet', aiming to address economic and security worries about Australia's high dependence on foreign-flagged vessels. Specifically, if elected in May, Labor would try to set out the fleet to boost local maritime workforce. The fleet would likely include up to twelve Australian-flagged and crewed vessels, consisting of oil tankers, container ships and gas carriers.

Hapag-Lloyd announced on February 25, a 32% year-on-year increase in 2018 operating profit, citing higher transport volumes, enhanced freight rates and ongoing cost synergies from merging with rival UASC in 2017. The operating profit before interest and tax (EBIT) reached the  443 million euros ($502.63 million) up from 411 million euros in 2017, according to the company's statement in detailing preliminary results.

A.P. Møller - Maersk is moving forward with the demerger and separate listing of Maersk Drilling Holding, as the company aspires to focus on shipping and trade. The decision was made official in August 2018. The shares from the demerger will be contributed to a new company under the legal name 'The Drilling Company of 1972 S/A'. The company will be known as 'Maersk Drilling Listco'.

Female seafarers marked themselves lower than the general average in the latest Seafarers Happiness Index while deck crew and officers tended to be happier than their engineering counterparts. How does the industry challenging injustice and valuing diversity though? Are any equal opportunities out there?

The latest review of skills and capacity for Australian seafarers has concluded that more than 560 new workers will be needed in the next four years. These seafarers will have to be experts beyond standard qualifications. Maritime Industry Australia warns that in spite of expected increases in demand for seafaring skills, there is no increase in training options for new workers.

Vale informed on February 15, that there was a fire in one of the transfer houses of the belt conveyor system at its distribution centre in Malaysia. Vale anticipate this will result in a 10 to 15 day stop in operations and note that a planned 10 day shutdown for maintenance was already scheduled for this period.

Fitch Ratings resulted to the fact that the Russian container port market continues recovering, despite the fact that future growth is likely to be silent. According to the estimations, 2018 full-year throughput growth in Russia reached about 10% to 5 million TEUs. Yet, the market seems predominately import-driven.