Newsletter – September 23, 2022

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

HSIA Update: Severe Weather Could Impact Weekend Flights

ciffa.com
Environment and Climate Change Canada has issued weather warnings for the Halifax area regarding potential storm impacts from Hurricane Fiona starting as early as Friday and into Saturday.
The Halifax International Airport Authority said it’s possible there will be flight delays and cancellations this weekend as a result.

Japan Reopening Visa-Free Travel And Abolishing Daily Arrival Caps

simpleflying.com
Airline executives worldwide are busy reviewing schedules after Japan announced it is finally reopening to tourists. The restrictions on individual travelers and the number of tourists who can enter Japan each day will be gone from October 11. Read more here.

Rosy outlook beckons for freighter conversions

aircargonews.net
Freighter conversion suppliers expect a strong e-commerce market to support the switching of passenger jets to cargo use, although capacity and manpower could present challenges.
Mike Doellefeld, vice president of commercial freighter conversions at Boeing, is upbeat about prospects for the 737-800BCF, noting that the company has redelivered about 100 conversions, and has orders for 250 more. Read more here.

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

Maersk after drop in freight prices: “We will not renegotiate contracts”

borsen.dk
The prices for container freight have fallen in recent weeks, and this has caused shipping companies to report customers who would like to see the existing price agreements scrutinized.
However, it is not an option with AP Møller-Mærsk, who will not renegotiate the agreements ahead of time, the shipping and logistics group informs MarketWire. Read more here.

Peak season fails to materialise, blank sailings leap

splash247.com
Blank sailings are failing to shore up the deteriorating situation for carriers on most of the main container tradelanes. The peak season has been curtailed.
The average capacity offered from the Asia to the US West Coast has fallen to its lowest since February in the past four weeks, new data from online rate platform Xeneta shows. Over this period, an average of 275,000 teu has left Asia heading for the US west coast, about 50,000 teu less than the peak in early August. Read more here.

Ever Given owner back in court defending ship’s erratic passage through the Suez Canal

splash247.com
As was widely predicted at the time of its grounding, lawyers continue to be one of the big winners from the 20,388 teu Ever Given boxship’s six-day blocking of the Suez Canal in March last year.
A group of cargo owners and their insurers are suing the ship’s owner, Japan’s Shoei Kisen Kaisha, at a court in London over the accident, which saw the giant Evergreen-operated ship, carrying thousands of containers to Europe, unable to leave Egypt for months until fines were agreed upon between the shipowner and the Suez Canal Authority (SCA). Read more here.

MSC fires back in ongoing spat with Pennsylvania home decor firm

splash247.com
Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC), the world’s largest containerline, shows no sign of giving in on a legal fight it is having with a client in the US.
In August last year Pennsylvania-based home decor manufacturer MCS Industries filed a complaint with the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) in Washington DC, claiming MSC had contravened the US Shipping Act and not stuck to its agreed shipping commitments. The case has since stretched on and on with neither side backing down. Read more here.