In carriers’ seventh heaven 
In line with many other shipping lines, Hapag-Lloyd has raised its forecast for financial 2020 on the basis of a better-than-expected business performance in the ongoing Q4/2020. The group expects an ebitda of EUR 2.6–2.7 billion (up from EUR 2.4–2.6 billion) and an ebit of EUR... more
ShipMoney hiring in Greece and the Philippines
The firm Maritime Payment Solutions, a provider of payment solutions for maritime companies which does business as ShipMoney, has recruited two managers. Vanessa Torres has become a strategic client and business development manager in Manila, and Theo Tsokos a client account... more
Capacity crunch in Asia
Shipping containers have become a scarce commodity across the whole Asian continent, with 40' high-cube containers in especially short supply. Movers and shakers are expected to see these equipment shortages carry on through the first quarter of 2021. Container shortages... more
AI against piracy
Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a part of the guidelines and recommendations to be regularly published by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), naval forces and various maritime organisations to help shipowners protect their vessels against piracy. These... more
Refitting ships on Suez Canal 
The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has replaced the rubber cutterhead bearings on the 102 m (335 ft) dredger "Mahmoud Younis" with a water-lubricated composite. The retrofit, which took place at the Port Said Shipyard’s floating drydock, follows the success of a... more
Sea Cargo launches new service
A new freight service will commence at the turn of the year, linking Gothenburg to the industrialised Western Region in Norway via the ports in Stavanger, Bergen, Sunndal and Ålesund. The rotation will also include the Polish port of Swinoujscie, which will in turn open up... more
LNG carriers supported by Wärtsilä
Teekay Gas, a part of the global Teekay Group, has signed LNG support agreements with the technology group Wärtsilä for eight LNG carrier vessels it owns. The two agreements, each for four vessels, were signed in August and September of this year. They took effect from one... more
K5 Freeport active in Equatorial Africa
K5 Freeport & Oil Centre in Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Africa, was selected by Noble Energy as platform support specialist and logistic service provider for the Alen gas monetisation project. A capacity to store 5,864 concrete coated pipes was required. The work... more
Numbers on the rise
Measures taken to counter the pandemic have got a strong hold on the Emilia-Romagna region too – home to the Bologna Interporto. The logistics hub is doing a good job of catching up again after the first half, as Sergio Crespi told Christian Doepgen recently. more
BGT record in Basra
The 6,600 teu containership ‘Yang Ming Mutuality’ sailed from the Basra Gateway Terminal (BGT) in Um Qasr (Iraq) recently, having set a new turnaround mark. BGT recorded a total of 1,768 moves on the vessel in 17.5 hours, achieving a record berth productivity of 101 moves per... more