Virus control - News
The latest Neptune Indicator research shows that the number of seafarers onboard vessels beyond the expiry of their contract has decreased slightly to 4.2% from 4.3% in the last month, while the number of seafarers onboard vessels for over 11 months has remained stable at 0.3%. For the eighth consecutive month, Global Maritime Forum observe little change in the numbers reported, as it confirm the entry into a ‘new normal’. The Neptune Indicator also reports a 2.8 percentage point in...
In early June 2022, representatives of shipping companies and Customs authorities from across the globe came together, in order to discuss ways to step up the fight against drug trafficking. The Conference was organised by the World Shipping Council (WSC) and the Container Control Programme (CCP), which is a joint initiative between the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the World Customs Organization (WCO). UNODC 2021 World Drug Report According to the UNODC 2021 World Drug Report, aro...
It’s been another bumper month for long-term contracted ocean freight rates, as the cost of securing container shipments climbed by 10.1% in June 2022. Following on the heels of a record 30.1% hike in May 2022, this now means rates stand 169.8% higher than this time in 2021, with just two months of declines in the last 18 months. Despite a degree of macro-economic uncertainty clouding the horizon, all major trades saw prices moving up, with some corridors showing significant gains. Xenet...
Nauti-craft technology is not only making waves (well actually, quite the opposite!) here in Australia, but is also being developed in some exciting projects overseas. In Wilhelmshaven, a seaside town on the Jade Bight on Germany’s North Sea coast, nauti-craft technology will soon be put to work onboard the WB18, a collaborative project between nauti-craft and German boat-building company, Wallaby Boats. The 18m vessel will fill the role of pilot vessel at the port of Wilhelmshaven, ensur...
The Port Authority of Valencia (PAV) and the Provincial Council of Valencia have organised the first ‘Cruise Tourism’ training course, aimed at municipal technicians and tourism agents. A meeting point to expand the tourist offer, offered by the destination of Valencia for cruise passengers, with sustainable experiences in municipalities of the province, beyond the city of Valencia, and to work to deseasonalise cruise tourism that calls at the Port of Valencia, in Spain. From the p...
The Seafarers’ Charity is delighted to welcome five new trustees to the charity following the retirement of three trustees who stepped down at the end of their tenure at the charity’s Annual Meeting; two further trustees will retire at 2023’s Annual Meeting. Creative, collaborative, and evidence-based solutions The Seafarers’ Charity is governed by a strong General Council (trustee board) made up of trustees who both set the direction and ensure the charity meets...
Maritime welfare charities are pulling together to publicise the support available to seafarers who have been made redundant, including ex P&O Ferries staff. The Maritime Charities Group Redundancy and Retraining Bursary provides help towards the cost of training to stay in maritime while The Seafarers’ Charity‘s UK Maritime Anchor Fund provides financial help, relationship counselling and mental health and wellbeing support. Taken together this package of measures is helping se...
The Port of Rotterdam Authority and Eneco are going to install shore-based power facilities in the Waalhaven, so that Boskalis work boats moored there can run on green power instead of fossil fuels. A shore-based power installation will be built on the Boskalis site in the Waalhaven, Rotterdam. There are two berths on the quay at this location which are in frequent use. Vessels come to the Waalhaven service centre for maintenance and to be prepared for offshore projects. Reaching climate neutr...
Blue Water’s Aid & Development Logistics team was contacted by a customer regarding the transport of a special shipment from Shanghai, China to the NGO Hope Walks in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The transport faced challenges due to container shortages in Shanghai and fully booked vessels as a consequence of COVID-19. However, Blue Water succeeded in finding a container as well as booking space on the required vessel thus saving the transport. Medical supply delivery The contact wit...
Finding a project freight forwarder users can trust to handle the oversized or hard-to-move cargo is more critical now in 2022 than ever before. With new challenges around global shipping and varying COVID-19 laws and guidelines per region or per country, having a hands-on, experienced team is a key asset in project planning. TGI Cargo pride itself on being not just a service provider to clients but a true end-to-end partner, working with users to find tailored solutions for their freight needs...
Pacific International Lines (PIL) is pleased to introduce a new weekly direct service connecting key ports in China, Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam. The new service, known as China Thailand Vietnam Service (CTV), will commence on 29 June 2022 from Tianjin Xingang, China. It will be served jointly by a consortium of vessels of an average capacity of 2000 TEUs. Delivering good connections Mr. Tonnie Lim, Chief Trade Officer, PIL, said, “Following our recent rebranding exercise, we are pleas...
Final preparations have been completed for the globally renowned maritime conference - Mersey Maritime Exchange Conference 2022, which is set to take place in Liverpool, United Kingdom, on Thursday, 23rd June 2022. In its fourth iteration, the Mersey Maritime Exchange Conference 2022, will see government ministers, politicians and leading industry figures come together to debate the most topical industry issues around the environment, innovation, technology, people, skills, regional growth and...
Maersk is launching a new dedicated New Zealand coastal service – ‘Maersk Coastal Connect,’ to enable a more resilient New Zealand supply chain and improve vessel schedule reliability. The first of its kind for Maersk in its 25 years of operational history in the country, this service will help enhance domestic connection and offer sustainable and flexible supply chain solutions for importers, exporters, and domestic distributors. Providing easy access By deploying two 2,500...
ABP’s Ports in the North West have added value to their survey capabilities by investing in a Carlson Merlin LiDAR scanning system. The Merlin, supplied by Swathe Services, is a vessel-based 3D mobile laser scanner system engineered for coastal, offshore, and inland waterway surveying and will be used to survey important infrastructure around their ports and harbours. Chris Heppenstall, Hydrographer at Associated British Ports in the North West, said: “We wanted a system that would...
The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) has published a new report, commissioned by Maritime UK, highlighting the major impact the industry makes on Britain’s economy. In 2019, maritime contributed £116 billion in total turnover to the UK economy, 35% higher than 2010. For every £1 of turnover generated directly by the sector, a further £1.09 was generated indirectly across the supply chain, underscoring the far-reaching impact of an industry that carries 9...
In an effort to help pharmaceutical and food and beverage manufacturers adhere to increasingly stringent hygiene standards, Alfa Laval has developed PlusClean, the wall mounted cleaning nozzle. A 2020 survey of UK manufacturers, conducted by Harris Interactive, indicated that 79% of respondents now feel more aware of hygiene practices, following the COVID-19 pandemic. However, amid the rise of new COVID-19 variants, manufacturers working in the pharmaceutical and food and beverage sector are un...
Former Amazon consumer chief Dave Clark has a new job: co-CEO, and eventually sole CEO, of the $8 billion-valued supply chain software startup Flexport. Clark, whose resignation surprised observers, finishes up as CEO of Amazon’s massive Worldwide Consumer division last day on July 1, 2022. And on September 1, 2022, he will take over as Flexport’s co-chief executive, alongside Flexport founder Ryan Petersen. Flexport plans for the 49-year-old Clark to become the company’s sole...
Rolls-Royce will provide 70 of its mtu Series 4000 engines, produced in Yulin by MTU Yuchai Power, the Chinese Joint Venture with Yuchai Diesel, for use in generator sets that will be packaged and distributed by emergency power systems provider Hefei Calsion Electric System Co., Ltd. The gensets will be installed at multiple semiconductor manufacturing locations in China to ensure that chip production is not affected by power failures. The rapid expansion of information technology applications...
A.P. Moller - Maersk (Maersk) announces the closing of the acquisition of Senator International, a well-renowned global company in freight forwarding. Integrated logistics solutions Senator brings with it a strong organisation and a well-developed airfreight network comprising its controlled flights and long-term partnerships with best-in-class airlines, a well-established full container load (FCL) and less than container load (LCL) network, and specialised services such packaging, warehousing...
Newly introduced crew connectivity requirement adds support to calls for improved seafarer welfare – and emphasises the value of Fleet Hotspot to crew and ship owners. In May 2022, eight significant amendments were agreed to update the landmark Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC), including making onboard crew connectivity a requirement for ship owners. The new requirements come at a time when seafarer welfare is under increasing scrutiny from within and outside the shipping industry....
In Zurich, industry pioneers from across the global maritime value chain came together to launch the All Aboard Alliance, which will provide a platform for collaborative action to make the maritime industry more diverse, equitable, and inclusive. Global seaborne trade The backdrop for setting up the All Aboard Alliance is the fact that global seaborne trade relies on millions of people working in the maritime sector on shore and at sea. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and in light o...
In May 2022 Managing Director Caroline Levey attended the Smart Digital Ports of the Future event in Rotterdam. Below she gives her insights from what she felt was an ‘excellent conference on Digitalisation in Ports which highlighted the need for better data sharing and interoperability.’ “Refreshingly the first two panel sessions kicking the conference off were focused on data standards, data sharing and the need for interoperability. It struck me how fitting it was to see th...
Iridium Communications Inc. announces that Kay Sears has been elected to the Iridium Board of Directors, effective May 17, 2022. As a director on the Iridium Board, Sears will play a role in helping shape the strategic direction of Iridium's business. Sears currently serves as Vice President and General Manager of Autonomous Systems for the Boeing Defense, Space and Security (BDS) unit of The Boeing Company, which she joined in February 2022. At BDS, Sears oversees the development of cutting-ed...
In 2021, Wrist further consolidated its position and increased operating profit as the supplier of marine provisions, stores, and spare parts logistics to the ship and offshore industry not least through a strategic transition and substantial investments in the development of customised digital solutions. Increasing business and revenue Wrist succeeded in increasing business volume and revenue, improving the underlying operating profit. Several major, global customer frame agreements we...
The maritime industry’s most forward-thinking sustainable technologies will be on exhibition at the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition Final Showcase on 24th May at Portsmouth International Port. Zero-emission shipping In March 2021, the Department for Transport (DfT) launched the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC), which allocated over £23 million of research and development funding to 55 projects across the UK supporting the design and development of zero-emiss...
Norway-funded Carib-SMART Preparatory Phase Programme will enable Caribbean SIDS maritime sector to build-back better, post the COVID-19 pandemic. A new programme to develop and implement a Sustainable Maritime Transport (SMART) system in the Caribbean has begun in a preparatory phase, aimed at supporting the small island developing states (SIDS) of the Caribbean region, in order to build-back better from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the maritime sector. Carib-SMART Preparatory Phase...
The May Crew Change Indicator records a tiny increase in seafarers onboard vessels beyond their contract expiry since April, but overall does not indicate that the fears of a re-escalation of the crew change crisis due to the war in Ukraine have been fulfilled. May Indicator The latest Indicator shows that the number of seafarers onboard vessels beyond the expiry of their contract has increased slightly from 4.2% to 4.5% in the last month, while the number of seafarers onboard vessels for over...
Babcock’s Vehicle Support Team (Operations), part of the DE&S Organisation, has won a Minister for Defence Procurement Acquisition Award for supporting the deployment of British troops to Mali on Operation NEWCOMBE, which was a collaborative effort involving Army HQ, DE&S, Babcock and other industry partners. The team, comprised of both military and civilian personnel, is responsible for the in-service support of the land vehicle fleet on operations and training worldwide. Urgent...
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA as the lead agency under the Ministry of Transportation and the Nigerian Navy in partnership with the Inter-Regional Coordination Centre ICC Yaoundé has concluded arrangements to host the fifth plenary of the Gulf of Guinea Maritime Collaboration Forum for the Shared Awareness and Deconfliction (GOG-MCF/SHADE). The Gulf of Guinea MCF/SHADE 5th plenary which is scheduled to take place in the Federal Capital Territory Abuja fro...
April 2022 saw the third consecutive monthly climb in long-term contracted ocean freight rates, with shipping costs rocketing by 11.1% globally to stand 109.9% up year-on-year. The data, revealed in the latest Xeneta Shipping Index (XSI) Public Indices for the contract market, demonstrates how supply chain demand, successful carrier strategies and continued COVID-19 disruption in China are coalescing to ‘pile on the pain’ for shippers worldwide. Xeneta Shipping Index (XSI) Xeneta&...
