World Maritime News
WMNF 2021/5/27
IEA Special Report: Pathway to critical and formidable goal of net-zero emissions by 2050 is narrow but brings huge benefits
World’s first comprehensive energy roadmap shows government actions to rapidly boost clean energy and reduce fossil fuel use can create millions of jobs, lift economic growth and keep net zero in reach.
The world has a viable pathway to building a global energy sector with net-zero emissions in 2050, but it is narrow and requires an unprecedented transformation of how energy is produced, transported and used globally.
Box rates stay high and container shortage continues until fourth quarter
Freight rates remain at extremely high levels to a backdrop of “maxed out” capacity and demand being sustained at peak levels, according to the latest international freight update published by digital rates specialist Freightos, which incorporates the Freightos Baltic Index.
Spot rates on the container freight indices were elevated to yet new historical highs as the tightness between supply and demand continued to push up prices.
Easing of congestion and schedule delays will only start to emerge in the third quarter of the year. With demand remaining strong, carriers could see a year-long peak season.
There is little chance of congestion in the supply chain being resolved before the fourth quarter of the year, although some signs of improvement may begin to appear in time for the traditional peak season.
According to Hapag-Lloyd, its average delay has gone up 160% to 3.9 days. This had a related impact on container availability as it took longer to get equipment back. Average usage time for containers had risen from 49 days to 58 days. Therefore 20% more containers are needed to transport the same amount of goods. Realistically, schedule reliability would not get back on track until at least the third quarter.
Read more: Lloyd’s List1 | Lloyd’s List2
Busy Asia-Europe trade waiting on ‘true’ recovery: forwarders
The real recovery in Europe has not yet begun in the opinion of forwarders.
According to data from Container Trades Statistics, despite strong year-over-year demand growth on Asia-Europe through the first quarter, volumes from April 2020 to March 2021 are up less than 1 percent (100,000 TEU) compared to the previous 12-month period. Most of that growth came in the first quarter of this year, but even that is only up 1.5 percent compared to the first quarter of 2019.
Despite the relatively low volume growth, spot rates on Asia-North Europe hit another record high Thursday, reaching $4,801 per TEU, according to data from rate benchmarking platform Xeneta. That is 495 percent above the pre-pandemic 2019 rate on the same day. And still, Xeneta said the actual price being paid to carriers to guarantee space could be as much as $2,500 higher than the base short-term rate.
Read more: JOC | Lloyd’s List
Maersk seeks a sustainable box shipping model.
Maersk is going through a “significant transformation” in its Ocean business, even as it puts its main focus on its fast-growing logistics and services division. It has now set targets for its logistics business to grow by 10% a year while increasing the company’s profitability.
Maersk focuses on its customers’ logistics needs and hopes that there will be a benefit to the Ocean business from securing those volumes in a more stable, reliable fashion.
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Japanese companies join green ammonia production study and shipping business
Japan, the world’s top LNG importing country, regards blue and green ammonia as one potential fuel to decarbonise its economy
Japan has stepped up its plans to import blue and green ammonia from Australia.
Marubeni Corp, the country’s leading trading house, and heavy industry manufacturer IHI Corp have teamed up with Woodside Energy, the Australian oil and gas producer, to explore the production and export of green ammonia from the Australian state of Tasmania.
MITSUI OSK Lines, the Japanese shipping group, has re-entered the ammonia transport business as it expands its presence in developing the future green fuel.
Read more: Lloyd’s List1 | Lloyd’s List2 | MOL1 | MOL2 | Lloyd’s List3 | MOL3 | Lloyd’s List4
European shipping companies provide customers with support for decarbonisation
According to Maersk, decarbonisation of container shipping is not just a necessity, but a strategic opportunity for competitive advantage that can be funded by customers and an increasing group of customers are willing to pay a premium to have the goods shipped carbon neutral. Maersk’s decarbonisation strategy is evolving rapidly. Earlier this year it announced it had brought forward the launch date for its first net-zero emission vessel to 2023, which will be fueled by methanol.
CMA CGM will begin offering customers the option of using biomethane in an effort to reduce its emissions, accompanied by regional and global deployment.
The French carrier will offer guarantee-of-origin biomethane to customers of its intra-European Union network specialist company, Containerships, to move products with a smaller emissions footprint.
Read more: Lloyd’s List1 | Lloyd’s List2
Shipping leaders disagree on future of LNG in shipping
Shipping’s heavyweights have continued the contentious debate over the use of liquefied natural gas as a decarbonisation option for the sector.
During a Lloyd’s List webinar on decarbonising shipping, leaders from shipping technology provider Wärtsilä, classification society DNV and Maersk, a shipping company that has not invested in LNG traded views on what the future of LNG is in shipping.
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China Unicom joins TradeLens platform
China Unicom Digital Tech, a subsidiary of the state telecommunications giant, will host and operate the Maersk/IBM developed digital platform on the Chinese mainland, making it available to exporters and importers alongside other supply chain partners.
Read more: Lloyd’s List