A skipper for Mauritian repair yard 
Taylor Smith Shipyard (TSS), the oldest ship repair yard on Mauritius, has appointed Willy van Niekerk as its new general manager. TSS recently added civil construction services involving steel works for land projects to its marine portfolio. Van Niekerk knows the yard well... more
ICS2 to come into force in June
The European Union is introducing a new process for goods entering its territory by maritime and inland waterways, road, and rail. The new customs pre-arrival safety and security system, called Import Control System 2 (ICS2), will require carriers to provide data on goods... more
Astral inks global sales partnership
Effective 1 January 2024, Euro Cargo Aviation and Take Off Aviation will promote Astral Aviation’s cargo services within the designated regions. Astral Aviation CEO, Sanjeev Gadhia: “We look forward to our partnership with Euro Cargo Aviation, which will act as an extension... more
Increasing the B777 freighter network
Starting today, 9 January 2024, Ethiopian Airlines is operating a new weekly freighter service between its Addis Ababa hub and Casablanca, Morocco. The East African carrier’s first Maghreb maindeck destination, its 34th in Africa, is served by a widebody B777-200 freighter.... more
Uncertainties and opportunities in 2024
In its latest weekly market data analysis, ocean and air freight rate benchmarking and market analytics platform Xeneta says that 2024 may herald the start of a new economic growth cycle for the global air cargo industry after last year ended with a +9% year-on-year rise in... more
Tangier port: bigger and greener
APM Terminals Med Port Tangier in Morocco has recently completed phase 2 of its expansion, increasing its capacity by over one million teu. The upgrade adds seven new container stacks, a 400 m berth and features 14 automated gantry cranes and eleven hybrid shuttle carriers... more
A vibrant industry in Miami, Singapore, Brussels! 
The time when fairs and conferences worldwide either had to be cancelled, or shifted (sometimes to virtual spaces), went on for far too long for many people in aviation. more
A takeover in South Africa
With the acquisition of the last 30% of shares in Dachser South Africa, Dachser now becomes the sole owner of its lovechild with Jonen Freight. Dachser South Africa was a successful joint venture between Dachser and the local family-owned Jonen Freight company. It employed 250... more
Energy shock easing, according to RWI / ISL
The RWI / ISL Container Throughput Index, a measure of global trade activity, decreased slightly in October to a seasonally-adjusted 125 points. This slight decline follows a period of recovery from the impacts of energy price shocks. Chinese ports experienced minor... more
How many keels laid down – and by whom?
An overview of new ships on order in South Korea. The euphoric years of 2021 and 2022 are over for shipowners, but their effects in the form of newbuildings are now only gradually reaching the market. An analysis of the order backlog in South Korea was recently carried out by... more