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What to watch

High levels of port congestion in China continue to keep the numbers of tankers used for floating storage near record-breaking levels.

All parts of the supply chain need to join in the effort to solve the crew change crisis before it is too late, a global shipping body has warned.

‘Why are we still having to talk about women in shipping in 2020?’ was the view of panellists on the CapitalLink women in shipping webinar.

Analysis

The port of Mobile, Alabama, has proven a golden opportunity for APM Terminals, increasing the operator’s business by triple-digit figures since it set up there in 2008, with even more growth on the horizon.

Container line voyage blankings and the rolling over of cargo are making shippers’ lives more challenging as they face downstream effects on their supply chains.

Weekly briefing: Minimal damage caused to the terminal in Beirut means that container traffic has resumed calls to the port, while Mauritius is preparing for a ‘worst case scenario’ following the grounding of the Wakashio capsize.

Opinion

THE fate of Singapore’s beleaguered shipyard sub-sector once again hangs in the balance after state-owned Temasek Holdings walked away from a bid to seize control of Keppel Corp, writes Hwee Hwee Tan.

Markets

HMM has warned of murky prospects for container shipping despite a significant improvement in its bottomline for the first half of 2020.

Changing lanes: The easing of global lockdowns has prompted lines to resurrect a number of blank sailings, with more services expected to be brought back online in the months ahead.

UK ports throughput inched up last year, according to the Department for Transport.

In other news

The United Nations is shipping food supplies to Beirut in the aftermath of a blast that knocked out some port infrastructure and Lebanon’s largest grain silo.

Xihe Group, the shipowning affiliates of Hin Leong Trading, has appointed V.Group to manage 16 tankers it has sought for redelivery from Ocean Tankers’ court-appointed supervisors.

DFDS, the Danish ro-ro and passenger ferry operator, posted a brighter outlook and a slim second-quarter profit as travel bans eased and freight volumes picked up faster than expected.

The Hong Kong Seaport Alliance has passed the first stage towards getting the green light from the city’s Competition Commission, having made efforts to address competition concerns, particularly in the Hong Kong Gateway market where the alliance partners have a high combined market share and where there is a lack of alternatives.

NYK Line, Japan Marine United and ClassNK have teamed up to develop a liquefied ammonia carrier that can be fuelled by the same gas as part of efforts to decarbonise the shipping sector.

While container lines have cut capacity to manage reduced demand during the coronavirus backdrop, container terminals have no such tools at their disposal and are suffering from reduced throughput and revenue.

Hapag-Lloyd and CMA CGM have resumed container operations at the Beirut terminal a week after a huge explosion devastated much of the city’s port and surrounding district.

Maersk Tankers has said it has appointed a new chief commercial officer to help drive digital transformation and gain competitive advantage in the product tanker sector.

Indonesia’s Samudera Shipping Line has appointed Bani Mulia as chief executive officer in a management reshuffle which sees company veteran Asmari Herry Prayitno redeployed to run the domestic shipping business.

Hermitage Offshore Services has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy amid low oil prices and the coronavirus pandemic, after failing to agree a debt deal with lenders.