Chinese yards dominate
Privately market experts have said that the container shipping industry is heading for a “catastrophic decline”, if, as expected, market fundamentals continue to align in the way that they have been shaping up this year.
In effect renewed vessel orders, 288 percent up year-on-year in the first half of this year, and a limited growth in demand under 5 percent has only been tempered by the Middle East crisis and the Cape of Good Hope vessel diversions, according to Veson Nautical’s Mid-Year Market Report, released on 9 July.
Actual deliveries and capacity growth has been absorbed by the various crises from the Ukraine war to the Red Sea and Middle East crisis and pandemic demand spike. That is coming to an end with the counter-vailing crises of US tariffs and regulation and the prospect that the Suez Canal could reopen in 2027.
Veson analyst Dan Nash argues that there is an imbalance between supply growth versus demand growth: “It’s around 8 percent for supply and 2 percent for two-year demand growth and that assumes continued Cape of Good Hope diversions. We’re not assuming a return to the Red Sea until probably 2027 at the earliest.”
South Africa Moves to Ban Strikes
South Africa’s government is moving to forestall port strikes, which in the past have left a massive dent to the country’s economy. In a new directive, the Department of Labor is proposing to expand its list of essential services to include port operations. This step would ban strikes for certain categories of employees of Transnet, the national port and rail authority.
The government directive suggests that marine services, including navigation, pilotage, towage and berthing, will be listed as essential services. Cargo services will also fall under this category when the cargo to be offloaded consists of explosives, flammable and pharmaceutical products. Port security, emergency and firefighting personnel have also been added to the essential services list.
The directive, which was published last month, comes a few weeks after Transnet and its majority union UNTU reached a wage agreement. UNTU members had voted to approve a labor action back in May, and the deal averted a major port strike in South Africa. Transnet agreed for an 18 percent salary increase over three years, although UNTU was pushing for a 10 percent rise in a single year agreement. Earlier in March, the smaller union SATAWU had settled for a 17.5 percent increase over three years.
Eight People Sentenced for Record Cocaine Smuggling
Eight people have been sentenced to spend more than a decade in prison in connection with the 2023 drug bust aboard the merchant bulker Matthew, the largest cocaine seizure in Irish history.
In September 2023, Irish authorities received intelligence indicating a planned handoff from the bulker Matthew to the small trawler Castlemore at a designated transfer point off the coast of Cork. Several days in advance, the Irish Navy patrol vessel William Butler Yeats got under way and loitered in the area to observe.
On the morning of September 26, the Yeats received orders to chase the bulker down. When it failed to comply with directives to head for the port of Cork, the crew of the Yeats fired warning shots, which the bulker ignored.
Belgian Pilot Critically Injured
n the early hours of Monday morning, a marine pilot was seriously injured while boarding a vessel from a pilot boat.
At about 0015 hours Monday, a 66-year-old pilot was transferring from a boat of the Belgian Pilotage Service to a ship. While climbing the pilot ladder, he fell a distance of about 20 feet back onto the pilot boat, sustaining severe injuries.
The pilot was evacuated to a hospital in the town of Goes for urgent treatment, and was reportedly in critical condition. He was later transferred to another hospital in Antwerp.
The cause of the accident is under investigation. Belgian media services report that the victim was set to retire next month.
The climb from a moving pilot boat up the side of a moving ship involves risk, and tragic pilot ladder accidents are all too frequent.
Liberian-flagged bulker attacked by small craft
Yemen’s Houthi rebels appear to have resumed their campaign of attacks on shipping after a long hiatus. This weekend, a Liberian-flagged bulker was attacked by small craft in the Red Sea, giving new justification for major ocean carriers’ decision to continue to avoid the waterway.
On Sunday afternoon, the bulker Magic Seas was approached by about half a dozen small craft at a position about 51 nautical miles southwest of Hodeidah. The personnel aboard these boats were carrying rocket-propelled grenades and small arms, and the armed security team aboard the bulker returned fire. An RPG reportedly hit the bridge, according to maritime risk consultancy Vanguard Tech.
Russian Navy is a Shadow of its Former Self
Russia’s Navy is facing huge pressures, primarily as a byproduct of President Putin’s over-ambitious attempts to claim great power status. The most obvious pinch-point is in the Black Sea, where Russia’s fleet has pulled back out of danger and forced into distant ports, primarily by the effectiveness of Ukrainian drone attacks. Even more astonishing because Ukraine lost most of its obsolescent naval vessels in early rounds of the conflict, the net effect is that Russia has lost control of the Black Sea, and Ukraine has now been able to resume imports and exports through Odesa and other ports in the south-west of the country. The residual capabilities which the depleted Black Sea Fleet retains are the ability to launch cruise missiles from the Eastern Black Sea, and to deter offensive naval operations which Ukraine might otherwise have sought to mount along the Crimean coast.
For Shipbrokers Transforming Post-Fixture Operations
In the shipping world, success hinges not only on securing the right fixture — but also on what happens afterwards. The often-overlooked post-fixing phase is where operational precision, compliance, and communication come under pressure. For shipbrokers and post-fixture operators, the post-fixture stage is where deals are made good — or fall apart. Post-fixing begins the moment a fixture is confirmed. It spans everything from issuing recaps and finalizing the charter party, to monitoring vessel movements, coordinating port operations, managing laytime, handling demurrage claims, ensuring compliance, and dealing with unforeseen issues such as delays, mechanical failures, or weather disruptions.