Activists demand Spain halt port calls of Maersk Line ships carrying arms
The continuing effort by activist groups to interrupt the shipment of military supplies to Israel took a new turn as an activist group demanded that Spain stop permitting port calls for Maersk Line, Limited ships. The groups calling themselves Progressive International and the Palestinian Youth Movement pointed to at least 25 shipments that were aboard vessels making port calls at Port Algeciras.
A member of the Spanish Congress of Deputies and secretary-general of the Communist Party of Spain Enrique Santiago also stepped into the controversy sending a letter to Spain’s Attorney General calling for two Maersk Line, Limited vessels currently sailing toward the Mediterranean to be denied port calls in Spain.
Maersk Line, Limited is a Maersk subsidiary that operates U.S.-flag, U.S.-crewed ships under U.S. government subsidy. A large share of MLL cargoes are government-owned goods and equipment, including military cargoes.
Two current voyages became the target of the activists. The Maersk Denver (6,200 TEU) departed New York on October 31 with its declared first port on its AIS and published schedule as Tangiers Med 2. It is scheduled to proceed to Oman, the UAE, Pakistan, and India. The Maersk Seletar (6,648 TEU) departed New York on November 4 and shows on its schedule Algeciras as its first port.
In the first 10 months China foreign trade up 5.2pc
According to statistics released by China’s General Administration of Customs, exports rose 6.7 percent year-on-year to RMB20.8 trillion, while imports increased 3.2 percent to RMB15.22 trillion in the first ten months.
Merchandise trade grew by 4.6 percent year-on-year in October alone in yuan-denominated terms.
With the rising of international recognition of the Chinese currency, yuan’s application in global shipbuilding contract is growing. In October, Canadian shipping company Seaspan placed the first yuan-dominated shipbuilding order at the Chinese shipyard CSSC Hudong-Zhonghua.
Ghosts in the machine: cybersecurity
In the dead of night, a fully laden LNG tanker quietly navigates the narrow channel of a strategic U.S. port. Suddenly, the ship’s GPS blinks and alarms, showing the vessel miles off course. The crew has no idea their instruments have fallen prey to a sophisticated spoofing attack—where false GPS signals are broadcast to deceive a ship’s navigation system into believing it’s in a different location.
Without their knowledge, the tanker was silently steered off track, headed toward critical infrastructure.
Hours earlier, a shoreside vendor had completed what appeared to be routine maintenance, leaving behind a smartphone in the engine control room—a harmless oversight, or so it seemed. Unbeknownst to the crew, that phone was a Trojan horse, silently infiltrating the ship’s systems despite the air gap designed to safeguard critical functions.
As the crew struggled to regain control, the malware awoke, crippling the ship’s electrical network, communications and emergency uninterrupted battery supply.
Attempt to develop first U.S. liquid hydrogen-fueled ropax ferry
An effort is underway to leverage the cutting-edge technology for hydrogen-fueled vessels to develop the first RoPax vehicle ferry in the U.S. to be fueled by liquid hydrogen. SWITCH Maritime, the U.S. shipowner that launched the first hydrogen-powered ferry in the U.S. is in collaboration with LH2 Shipping and LMG Marin in Norway to commence construction in the U.S. of a hydrogen-fueled RoPax ferry.
SWITCH’s first hydrogen-powered vessel, the Sea Change, is a 75-passenger catamaran ferry featuring 600 kW of electric motor propulsion, powered by 360 kW of fuel cells with 246 kilograms of gaseous H2 (GH2) storage at 250 bar pressure. The Sea Change started public passenger service as part of the San Francisco Bay Ferry system in July 2024, after receiving its final Certificate of Inspection (COI) from the U.S. Coast Guard in May 2024.
Government of Canadia steps in to end port lockouts
On Tuesday morning the Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon announced he would use his powers under Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code and direct the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to order Parties at ports in Quebec and across Canada’s West Coast to resume operations and impose binding arbitration on the employers and unions in order to reach a settlement.
Dockworkers were locked out of terminals at Vancouver and Prince Rupert ports on 4 November after the ILWU Local 514 issued a strike notice. While on Saturday longshoremen at Montreal port were locked out on Saturday following the union’s rejection of its latest contract offer.
On Silk Logistics DP World Australia splashes $115.6m
DP World Australia, a subsidiary of DP World, has announced it has entered a binding Scheme for the acquisition of 100 percent of the issued share capital of Silk Logistics Holdings Limited. The transaction values the equity of Silk Logistics at approximately $115.6m.
This transaction is subject to shareholder approval of Silk Logistics and standard closing conditions, including necessary regulatory approvals, and is expected to complete in the first half of 2025.
SeaLead enlarges into the Latin American market
The new service will call Brazil’s Wilson Sons Rio Grande Container Terminal, in Rio Grande do Sul.
SeaLead’s new MEDSA Service will between South America and the Mediterranean, heading for Morocco. It will South America connectwith North Africa, the Mediterranean, the Middle East and India. A relatively new player in container shipping SeaLead has until now focused on the Asia, Middle East and the Med. The new service will call Brazil’s Wilson Sons Rio Grande Container Terminal, in Rio Grande do Sul.