Sunny side up for Hamburg 
The port of Hamburg witnessed an upswing in seaborne cargo throughput in Q1/2021, above its forecast. A steep increase in March, especially, led to higher volumes in total (+0.4% to 32,1 million t) compared to the same period last year. Container handling performed even... more
Fast forward to 2050 
These days, many a port is busy making plans for 2025 or 2050. Merce Conesà, president of the port of Barcelona, gave Christian Doepgen her take thereon. more
On the box ships' renaissance
The shipyards are busy again. According to Clarksons, the order book for container ships is also on the rise. Since 2010, when 30% of the global order book were container vessels, their share of the operating fleet worldwide saw a constant downward trend to the low of 8.8% in... more
A new giant in Southampton
The first unit in a new generation of HMM ships has docked at DP World’s container terminal at Southampton. The HMM “Nuri” is the first of eight 16,000 teu class mega-ships to sail the Asia and North Europe trade lanes. This vessel’s port rotation includes Busan, Shanghai,... more
More inland navigation on the Elbe
In Germany, promoting the shift of cargo from road haulage to other modes of transport, including inland waterways, continues to be an important political issue. In central Germany, favourable water levels recently ensured a significant increase in large shipments on the... more
Race for containers continues
It is the time of major coups: Hapag-Lloyd has ordered 60,000 teu of standard containers from China. The Hamburg-based shipping company has decided to push its container fleet to a total of 210,000 teu, while the sharp increase in demand has led to a shortage of boxes across the... more
Joint service by Arkas and Evergreen
Arkas and Evergreen are joining forces with regards to their services in the Med and the Black Sea. They will integrate their respective Med-Black Sea TGR and BSX service into a new loop to which they will contribute a single vessel each. The services will be called... more
Central American Express launched
Having introduced its first service linking the US Gulf Coast with Brazil and other parts of South America in March 2020, the Chinese shipping company Cosco now adds a new route from the United States to Central America - in a joint operation. Cosco will run its new Gulf... more
New standards at AAL
Singapore-based heavy-lift carrier AAL Shipping (AAL) recently complied with the latest 2020 IMO Intact Stability Code standards with its heavy-lift cargo handling procedures and new levels of sailings efficiency and safety. This qualification was achieved thanks to the... more
Beyond the peak of container flows?
For the first time in around a year, the months-long catch-up process in global trade is likely to be interrupted in May. The Kiel Trade Indicator, Germany, signals stagnation or a decline in imports and exports. For total world trade a slight decline of 1.4% is expected in... more