Shipping

The Felicity Ace, which caught fire in the Atlantic on Feb. 16, was transporting luxury vehicles to the United States.

Container lines, shipowners and shippers have a new way to navigate the market chaos: cleared freight futures.

FreightWaves is covering the logistics-related fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine from the air to the ground to the sea.

The container port business is booming and the big are getting bigger, particularly in China.

There are now more container ships waiting off East and Gulf Coast ports than there are off Los Angeles/Long Beach.

Tanker and dry bulk trades could be disrupted; container shipping faces heightened risk of cyberattacks.

Expeditors announced its earnings while it is in the midst of a cyberattack.

“Partnering with Bunker Holding will accelerate the marine industry adoption of biodiesel to achieve aggressive carbon reduction goals,” said Bob Kenyon, senior vice president of sales and marketing at REG.

Volkswagen Group has not said how many vehicles are on the Felicity Ace or the breakdown of the models, although it has been reported they included 2022 Porsche Boxster Spyders as well as Audis, Bentleys and Lamborghinis.

The more ocean shipping is in the news, the more attention it gets from tech founders and investors.

Of 18 companies that Friend of the Sea evaluated, it identified Hapag-Lloyd as “the international shipping company most committed to minimizing the risk of whale ship strikes.”

The crew of 22 was rescued for ship headed to the United States.

“Removing plastic waste is a priority when discussing the protection of our oceans and conserving biodiversity,” CMA CGM Group said.

Green ammonia production emits no carbon dioxide, but it has major safety, cost and scaling hurdles to overcome.

After last year’s historic run-up, factories are producing fewer containers and pricing of new boxes is down.

Xeneta CEO Patrik Berglund explains how carrier negotiating power has changed the annual contracting equation.

Long-term contract rates are at record highs. Shipping lines hold all the cards at the negotiating table.

They can take my gravy when they pry it from my cold, greasy skillet.

A carbon price is an “essential element in any decarbonization plan,” John Butler, president and CEO of WSC, said during a press conference Thursday.

COVID container boom continues: Maersk may earn even more this year than in record-trouncing 2021.

A.P. Moller – Maersk announced the $1.8 billion acquisition of U.S. forwarder Pilot Freight Services. The deal is the company’s latest move in building out a land-based logistics network.

The number of ships waiting off Los Angeles/Long Beach fell 23% over the past week.

Value Maritime has developed a system to capture carbon onboard vessels, fill up CO2 batteries and use the captured carbon dioxide in greenhouses.

The cost of ship fuel looks like it’s about to topple records set in 2012 and 2008.

Accusations fly as shipping lines rake in billions, but the numbers imply more carrier competition, not less.

Barring an economic downturn, U.S. demand could still be squeezing ports a year from now.

Carrier profits are reaching previously unimaginable heights as supply chain disruptions supercharge gains.

“International collaboration is essential to decarbonize global supply chains. It’s time to get started on this important work,” said Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles.

Despite voluntary sustainability efforts and increasing regulations, shipping emissions are on the rise.

SoCal imports suffering multimonth slide, not because of falling demand, but because of supply chain bottlenecks.

Volkswagen aims to support sustainability in shipbuilding and ship recycling through the initiative, said Simon Motter, head of Volkswagen Group Logistics.

Shipping analysts rethink outlooks on crude and product tanker rates: already grim market appears even grimmer.

An attack on Ukraine could hike costs for shipowners and cargo shippers across the globe.

Could container shipping and tanker stocks end 2022 very differently than they began it?

“An earlier transition will allow more gradual changes, thereby reducing the risk of significant disruptions of the sector and of asset stranding,” the report said.

For bulk commodity shipping, a rough start to the year. For container shipping, the profit bonanza continues.

“Climate protection is an issue that impacts everyone. While we can work towards this goal internally, we also wanted to provide an opportunity to enroll our customers in our mission toward carbon neutrality,” said Mark McCullough, Gebrüder Weiss USA CEO.

No letup yet: It’s taking even longer for Asian exports to get across Pacific to American buyers.

“This year will be the year for Maersk to ensure green solutions are developed end to end,” said Henriette Hallberg Thygesen, CEO of fleet and strategic brands at Maersk.

Shares of Zim are flirting with a new peak while shares of ship-leasing, dry bulk and tanker companies lose ground.

Popular interest in the supply chain may have faded, but the pileup of ships waiting offshore keeps growing.

New barometer from NY Federal Reserve highlights how extreme supply chain crunch has become.

“2022 must be the year where commitments are turned into concrete steps and binding regulations,” said Madeline Rose, climate campaign director at Pacific Environment.

How could the consensus — that container spot rates will remain extremely high — be wrong?

MSC sues Deere, patent owner sues six shipping lines, box-overboard cases pile up, and Hanjin’s ghost tries to collect.

There has never been a year like this for container shipping. Here are the biggest stories of 2021.

After an exceptional year for ocean shipping, the data points to more action ahead in 2022.

Spot rates topped $300,000/day, sank to teens, rose to over $360,000, now back near $100,000.

Carriers and shippers are turning to East Coast ports as Los Angeles/Long Beach remains mired in congestion.

Import demand remains exceptionally strong but volumes through America’s largest port are falling.

SoCal port crunch “has really become as bad as it’s ever been,” reports industry veteran Jon Monroe.

After brief reprieve, trans-Pacific shipping rates head back up, pointing to ongoing supply chain pressure.

Some public shipowners are turning toward more diverse fleets. Others are moving in the opposite direction.

The unique design will improve port efficiency and increase capacity, according to Maersk.

Controversial plan to charge for containers lingering on terminals keeps getting delayed. Yet containers still linger.

Container, dry bulk and tanker stocks are down from recent highs. Temporary setback or something more?

Marine Exchange now counts ships waiting farther out to sea, confirming just how big the backlog really is.

Despite claims to the contrary, the ship backlog is not getting smaller. Vessels are waiting on both sides of the Pacific.

As demand for shipping increases, whales are more at risk of colliding with vessels. A new certification provides strategies to prevent collisions.

An environmental coalition urges Target, Walmart, Amazon and Ikea to clean up their maritime emissions and shipping routes.

Here’s how omicron variant could impact tanker, container and dry bulk shipping rates.

Record number of container ships waiting but they’re harder to see, as new plan spreads queue across Pacific.

Price of low-sulfur fuel is rising faster than high-sulfur fuel. Ships with scrubbers stand to gain.

Ship arrival data confirms seasonal surge to Southern California has ebbed — even as port congestion has risen.

Zim’s profits are still going up — way up — despite more vessels getting snared in West Coast port gridlock.

Los Angeles and Long Beach hold off on charging highly controversial fee on import containers.

Rates expected to remain strong into 2022, fallout from new ship deliveries in 2023-2024 to be muted.

FreightWaves CEO Craig Fuller provides analysis regarding the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Crude and product tankers may be totally different markets, but 2021 proved how connected they are.

A climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, hosted Transport Day on Wednesday, when global leaders signed on to create at least six green maritime routes by 2025.

Just five days before emergency SoCal container fee is set to begin, offshore traffic jam reaches new heights.

A small number of non-U.S. entities determine vessel and container levels for U.S. ocean supply chains.

Port congestion forced container ships to go faster. Congestion remains extreme, yet ships are slowing down.

A trucking trade group is urging California Gov. Gavin Newsom to enforce a state law to prevent terminal operators and ocean carriers from charging excessive per-diem and demurrage fees and using port truckers as “a convenient ATM to bolster their profits.”

“The customer demand will change so much faster than the industrial processes, and I think that to be early might be challenging, but to be too late will be devastating,” said Anna Borg, president and CEO of Vattenfall.

Crude-tanker owners continue to pile up huge losses, but hopes are high for next year.

California congestion hits charter rates as ship operators waste millions waiting to get to terminals.

Trucking companies dispute the widely reported message that a driver shortage is largely to blame for the port congestion issues in California. In fact, drayage companies are laying off drivers because of port delays.

Virtually every U.S.-listed shipping stock fell on a day that the S&P 500 hit a record high.

Matson set additional emissions-reduction targets Monday. The Hawaii-based shipping company plans to reach its goals by improving efficiency and accelerating zero-carbon fuels and technologies.

Maersk expands air business after earning more in a single quarter than in any prior full year.

Trans-Pacific container shipping rates remain exceptionally strong despite a dip earlier this month.

Biden-backed plan to tackle container congestion could make logjam even worse, critics believe.

Media coverage increasingly links consumer price inflation to container shipping and supply chain chaos.

The Clure Public Marine Terminal now can handle “international shipping containers transported by vessel.”

It’s no coincidence that spiking trans-Pacific trade coincides with more boxes overboard and more shipping accidents.

The number of idling vessels has roughly doubled in the past decade, in part due to port congestion, a recent study finds. Idling vessels are at higher risk of biofouling, especially in warm waters.

Ocean cargo shippers are paying more than they ever have before for the worst service they’ve ever experienced.

California port congestion is as bad as ever. Some imports have been stranded offshore for over a month.

Several large retailers are pledging that in less than 20 years, they will ship goods across the ocean without emitting greenhouse gases. Some environmental groups say that’s not soon enough.

The ocean shipping boom is spreading across vessel types. Spot LNG shipping rates just topped $150,000 per day.

More public shipping companies go private as IPOs remain rare. Here’s why exits outpace new listings.

Liner deals in the ship-leasing market imply strong confidence in high freight rates for the foreseeable future.

The transportation industry needs to transition to cleaner fuels to keep global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius. Green hydrogen-based fuels have potential to decarbonize shipping, aviation and long-haul trucking, according to recent reports.

As America struggles with a growing supply chain crisis, ocean carriers rake in even more profits.

Pullback in trans-Pacific shipping rates: beginning of the end or brief reprieve with end still not in sight?

Despite Ikea’s many climate-related goals, Ship It Zero is calling out the Swedish retailer and other major players such as Amazon and Walmart via “die-ins” to highlight shipping emissions’ impacts on human and environmental health.

Cost of fuel consumed by container ships, bulkers and tankers is effectively at a seven-year high.

Captured carbon dioxide and green hydrogen are combined to make e-methanol. Sweden-based Liquid Wind has big plans for this alternative shipping fuel.

The ongoing supply chain crisis and lack of seafarers is leading to a global shortage of key commodities, Salvatore R. Mercogliano, an associate professor of history at Campbell University, told FreightWaves’ Anthony Smith at the virtual OceanWaves Summit on Wednesday.