Newsletter – January 27, 2023

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OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

Ocean rates ex-Asia under pressure, while PSSs return to the transatlantic

theloadstar.com
Container freight rates from Asia are expected to come under renewed pressure in the usual soft-demand period following the Chinese New Year.
However, with spot rates on the transpacific and Asia-North Europe tradelanes having alread plummeted below break-even levels, ocean carriers will not hesitate to blank sailings with little or no notice – over and above those already announced – if potential utilisation levels dip below a minimum. Read more here.

Tsawwassen Container Examination Facility New Fee Schedule

ciffa.com
Tidewater Container Services has issued a new fee schedule, effective March 1, for marine container examination services at the Tsawwassen Container Examination Facility.   Read more here.

Carriers cough up as complaints rain in at the FMC

splash247.com
The US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has received more than 200 charge complaints since the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 (OSRA) was enacted in June 2022. More than 70 of those complaints met the FMC’s threshold requirements to be referred to investigators.
Commission staff reported at a meeting on January 25 that the charge complaint process is proving successful at promoting informal settlements as well as waivers of demurrage and detention billings. Staff estimate that more than $700,000 in charges have been refunded by carriers since June. Read more here.

Maersk to consolidate brands

splash247.com
Maersk is moving towards a single, unified brand that will see shipping lines Hamburg Süd and Sealand as well as newer acquired brands like Senator and LF Logistics discontinued and integrated into Maersk.
“We believe that by integrating these into the Maersk brand, we will be able to ease logistical difficulties, whilst also offering more variety, ease, and connectivity than ever before, all under one roof,” the company said in a notice to its customers. Read more here.

Hapag-Lloyd acquires stake in Indian terminals, logistics provider

freightwaves.com
Hapag-Lloyd on Wednesday signed a binding agreement to acquire a 35% stake in J M Baxi Ports & Logistics Ltd. (JMBPL), a private terminal and inland transport service provider in India.
The seller is a Bain Capital Private Equity affiliate, Hapag-Lloyd said. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.  Read more here.

‘Humongous’ container logjams at Pakistan ports as forex crisis bites

theloadstar.com
Container carriers serving Pakistan’s ports are wrestling with an acute foreign exchange crisis in an already challenging market environment.
Local industry sources say the inability of importers to secure delivery orders for the timely clearance of cargo has created a bottleneck of alarming proportions at the port city of Karachi, which includes nearby Port Qasim. Read more here (login required).