New chartering desk for East Africa 
Dutch shipping company Universal Africa Lines has established a new chartering desk in Denmark. Allowing UAL to expand its current services with new regular sailings from the Mediterranean and the Black Sea to West Africa, the Danish chartering desk will additionally focus on... more
February 2020 already gloomy, says Drewry
British maritime consultancy Drewry reports that its global container port throughput index fell to 108 points in February 2020, 15.6% down month on month and 4.4% down year on year. The index plunged 20 points, which is the largest fall in a single month since the launch of... more
China and Europe on an equal footing?
The current container throughput index of the RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research and the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) shows mixed results. Overall, the seasonally adjusted index for March recorded an increase of 5.9 points to 111.2, which... more
Reduction of port dues insufficient, says Anave
Anave, the association of Spanish shipping companies, has voiced its criticism of the current policy of port dues in Spain. Already considering the state reductions in the port tax (T-1) contained in RD-law 15/2020 to be insufficient, Anave said that "several shipping... more
Sustainability rating for bremenports
The company running the ports of Bremen, bremenports, has published its sixth sustainability report in hard copy and online. The report is certified by TÜV Nord and presents the company’s activities in the fields of economic performance, environment, society and labour practices... more
New link between Cork and Zeebrugge
The Irish Port of Cork and the Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Navigation (CLdN) have announced a new weekly ro-ro freight service between Cork and the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium. The new service, which began operations on 24 April, is part of CLdN's expansion programme which... more
Innovative tools for Termont Montreal
The container terminal operator Termont Montreal (Termont) is introducing a number of process automation solutions for its cargo-handling equipment fleet. Delivery of the order is scheduled to begin in Q2/2020. Termont is based at the port of Montreal in Canada. Its... more
How to swap vessel crews?
A number of companies and maritime organisations have joined forces to investigate how crew changes can be made possible during the Covid-19 pandemic, said Henrik Jensen, who founded Danica Crewing Services in Odessa (Ukraine) in 2008. The company runs offices in Hamburg... more
Global idle fleet crosses threshold of 3 million teu
The pandemic forces all carriers to idle segments of their operated tonnage, now amounting to 3 million teu, according to the latest figures of Alphaliner. The maritime intelligence provider said that this number surpasses the previous peak mark of 2.46 million teu reported at... more
Port of Switzerland's versatile Q1/2020
The Swiss Rhine ports posted a turnover of 1.2 million t in the first three months of this year, more than 20% lower than in the first quarter of 2019. Q1/2019 was particularly successful, owing to catch-up effects after a period of low water levels. Although the... more