An index for LNG units 
An index for the seaborne trade in liquified natural gas (LNG) went live this week. The Baltic Exchange introduced it on the basis of carriers burning LNG as their primary fuel (and not marine fuel oil or marine gas oil).The new index, with the acronym BLNGg, will be published... more
Sweden turning from land to sea
The Swedish government wants to drive the ecological transformation in the country further. Shipping companies are eligible to apply for an environmental compensation bonus to transition from overland to maritime transport. It was revealed at the end of February that three of... more
Hamburg Süd sells entity
Hamburg Süd is continuing to focus its business on its container transport and logistics activities, in line with the Maersk’s policy. Thus the London-based ATPI Group, which offers corporate travel management services, has now taken over the line’s travel agency subsidiary... more
Seasonal upgrade for PAD
CMA CGM and Marfret will enhance their joint Europe-Australasia Panama Direct (PAD) as from the end of March. The frequency will be increased from fortnightly to weekly, with CMA CGM providing eleven vessels and Marfret one unit. The rotation will remain the same. Ports of... more
UK selects first eight freeports
In his annual budget announcement, British chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak said that eight freeports will be established in England, with Teesside and the Solent amongst the winners. The first wave of freeports includes successful bids from the Thames (including London... more
More than 100,000 teu at Liège
The Autonomous Port of Liège, Belgium, witnessed a new mark in 2020 for the volumes of river container traffic. With 115,921 teu and an increase of 20% (+19,701 teu), the container terminals of the Port of Liège thus recorded their eighth consecutive increase. Total traffic... more
From transatlantic to transpacific?
Transpacific is one thing, transatlantic another. Sea Intelligence, the maritime intelligence provider from Copenhagen, recently analysed the volume of blank sailings on the transatlantic trades. CEO Alan Murphy: "In 2020 there was only a single 2020-1H spike in blank... more
HMM's fleet growing faster
The South Korean carrier HMM, formerly Hyundai Merchant Marine, will deploy its latest newbuilds earlier than expected. The eight vessels with a capacity of approx. 15,300 teu were ordered by HMM in 2018, delivery was scheduled for the first half of 2021. In March, two of... more
MGI and TGI join forces
Software provider MGI, a port community systems (PCS) specialist, and TGI Maritime Software, which focuses on the francophone terminal operating system (TOS) market, are working together to ensure AP+ migration to Ci5 for the following maritime terminals: Terminal Des Flandres... more
Barcelona in the black
Despite the impact of the pandemic, the Port of Barcelona closed its FY 2020 in the black with a result of EUR 17 million. The port generated a turnover of EUR 139 million over the year, down 20% from 2019’s level of EUR 172 million. This decrease is due mainly to the decline in... more