With market ascendancy firmly with the charterers, a tendency for flexible and short-term fixtures remains a feature

Capacity control will be top of the agenda as carriers try to mitigate against the expected volume shortfall in the weeks ahead

The liner industry is braced to receive around 400,000 teu of ‘mega vessel’ capacity this year, which is destined for the Asia-Europe trade, and a further 600,000 teu in 2020

Cosco Shipping plans to expand the zinc and silver port into a local gateway hub that can handle large containerships

Khalifa port expects to double its throughput levels in 2019 to about 3m teu, but provisions are in place to increase capacity to more than 9m teu over the next five years

Meanwhile, finance panel bemoans bank preference for big names over second tier, and discusses China’s aggressive attempts to break into sale and leaseback market

New York-listed boxship owner racked up close to $900m worth of acquisitions last year including a keynote deal for five 12,690 teu newbuildings for delivery in 2020 and 2021 against 10-year charters to Yang Ming Marine Transport

Cosco Shipping plans to expand the zinc and silver port into a local gateway hub that can handle large containerships

Khalifa port expects to double its throughput levels in 2019 to about 3m teu, but provisions are in place to increase capacity to more than 9m teu over the next five years

Bahamas Maritime Authority has reported the lowest number of detentions ever recorded. This is the result of a commitment to monitoring performance of both vessels and management, CEO Capt Dwain Hutchinson explained

Even short delays for customs clearances could have a major impact on shortsea shipping, forcing importers and exporters to consider alternative routes

Nearly 60% of respondents now expecting negative impact, according to Odgers Berndtson, with only one in four of the opinion that they can handle the changes well