Felixstowe Strike Poses Challenge to Supply Chains

Port workers at Felixstowe are striking for eight days from Sunday 21 August until Monday 29 August, after rejecting the latest pay offer from Port Operator Hutchinson Ports. Felixstowe is one of the UK’s top Container ports and a critical hub in the region’s logistics network. Any disruption will be a key risk factor in …

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EEXI: Achieving Vessel Compliance

Introduction The International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) attempts at curbing the emissions of Shipping have been in the headlines for nearly a decade. Their flagship policy, EEDI (Energy Efficiency Design Index), has laid the way for a host of acronymic additions to its regulatory roster, including EEXI (Energy Efficiency Existing Index), CII (Carbon Intensity Indicator), and …

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Congestion Alert for Dry Bulk Carriers at Rotterdam

Congestion for Dry Bulk Carriers at Rotterdam has soared due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Since the outbreak of war in late February, the average waiting time for a Bulker at Europe’s busiest port has often been above the high end of its three year range. But over the seven week period from May 9th to …

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What Happens in the Dark?

It has been reported by several agencies that grain from Ukraine is being loaded in Sevastopol, a major terminal in the province of Crimea, currently controlled by Russia. However, this is difficult to determine as the vessels in the relevant area of the Black Sea are increasingly operating in the ‘dark’. Going ‘dark’ refers to …

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Sowing the Seeds of a Food Crisis

Introduction The economic environment for global trade has profoundly shifted in the past year. Recovering demand from the pandemic has collided with supply side constraints in many industries, inflation and interest rates are rising, and the Ukraine war, together with sanctions on Russia have disrupted global commodity flows. Amid the myriad uncertainties, perhaps the most …

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Posidonia Then and Now: A Look into the Greek Fleet

To celebrate the much awaited return of Posidonia after 4 years, we take a look at how the Greek fleet has developed since the last event in 2018, using VesselsValue data. From 2018 to 2022, the value of the Greek owned fleet increased by 92%. This is a considerable increase considering the fleet only grew …

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Car Carrier Bidding Wars Spark All Time Rates Boom

Bidding wars for Car Carriers are driving rates up to record highs never before seen in the sector. Eastern Pacific’s Lake Wanaka (4,902 CEU, May 2008, Xiamen Shipbuilding Ind) was fixed for 1 year at 50,000 USD/Day to Volkswagen in March. A premium of 10,000 USD/Day compared to the larger, younger Lake Geneva (6,178 CEU, …

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Consolidation is King – Tidewater and Swire Pacific Offshore

Tongues are wagging in the Offshore sector this week, as one of the longest running rumours in the market has finally come true. Tidewater Marine (USA) has acquired Swire Pacific Offshore (Singapore) for USD 190 mil, the company’s biggest powerplay since its acquisition of GulfMark Offshore back in 2018. But why SPO, and why now? …

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