Newsletter – July 8, 2021

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

Port-au-Prince Airport Closed Following President’s Assassination

simpleflying.com
Toussaint Louverture International Airport, Haiti’s main airport in the capital Port-au-Prince, has been closed in the aftermath of an attack on the Haitian President, Jovenel Moïse. The President was assassinated in his home in the early hours of July 7th by a group of unidentified gunmen. Several flights in and out of Toussaint Louverture International Airport have been canceled or diverted. Read more here.

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

Jebel Ali port rocked by containership explosion

splash247.com
An explosion and subsequent fire rocked DP World’s Jebel Ali terminal in the United Arab Emirates last night.
Social media posts caught the huge explosion from afar in scenes reminiscent of last year’s Beirut port blast.
Dubai Media Office confirmed the source of the blast was a small containership preparing to dock at the Jebel Ali container terminal. The media office said the fire was extinguished in 40 minutes, with the cooling process now underway. No casualties have been reported. Read more here.

Port of Vancouver feels squeeze from CN, CP wildfire backlog

freightwaves.com
A disruption in CN and Canadian Pacific rail service caused by a wildfire in western Canada is rippling through the supply chain to the Port of Vancouver, bringing additional delays and congestion at a time of unprecedented container traffic.
While CP (NYSE:CP) has resumed maritime service, CN (NYSE:CNI) is rerouting some traffic as it assesses the damage from a fire that devastated a village in British Columbia last week. The impacts are beginning to take shape in Vancouver, Canada’s largest port, where the railways provide on-dock service. Read more here.

Ever Given undergoing inspections at Port Said

splash247.com
After a packed media send-off, the Ever Given headed north yesterday, arriving at Port Said in the evening where it anchored at the port’s outer limits.
The ship, which became lodged across the Suez Canal for six days in March sparking a huge legal tussle over compensation claims, remains at anchor this morning.
London-headquartered cargo claims specialist WK Webster reports that the Evergreen-operated vessel will undertake bottom cleaning, a dive survey and a further inspection by the vessel’s classification society, ABS. Read more here.

Ocean Carriers Underway to Making $100 Billion Annual Profit in 2021

gcaptain.com
Ocean carriers could be on course to make a profit of $100bn this year.
And Drewry says their medium-term profitability is virtually assured, due to a paucity of supply.
Even with the flood of orders for newbuild containerships stemmed for delivery in 2023 likely to break all-time records for an injection of liner capacity – and potentially tip the supply-demand scales back in favour of shippers – carrier profits in the interim will see them “set up for years to come” says the maritime consultant. Read more here.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

Vietnam orders COVID-19 lockdown in Ho Chi Minh City

channelnewsasia.com
HANOI: Nine million people in Ho Chi Minh City have been ordered into lockdown, state media said Wednesday (Jul 7), as the commercial hub struggles to contain Vietnam’s most serious COVID-19 outbreak so far.
Beginning in the early hours of Friday, residents will be mandated to stay at home for two weeks after 8,000 cases were recorded in the city during the latest virus wave. Read more here.