Two reasons for capacity crunch 
Copenhagen-based maritime consultancy Sea-Intelligence has analysed the capacity shortages in maritime transport that are leading to record margins. As there is no global container shipping boom, the company attributes the current shortage of vessel capacity (and of empty... more
Solidarity across the Indian Ocean
A week ago today, on 2 June 2021, Air Austral operated a special cargo flight from its hub on the French island of Reunion to Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. On board its B777-300ER were 45 t of medical supplies, mainly 2,000 emergency shelter kits and 4,000 tarpaulins for the... more
For "green terminals" on three continents
Bolloré Ports, a major operator of port terminals in Africa, Asia and the Americas, has introduced the "green terminal" certification process in order to reduce the company's carbon footprint by using a methodology that covers all environmental issues. A first in... more
ICS welcomes zero-emissions project
The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has welcomed the new 'zero-emissions shipping' project. Its objective is to ensure that at least 5% of the global merchant fleet operating in transoceanic traffic is propelled by fuels with zero emissions by 2030. This project is... more
Rising global fleet faces staff shortfall
London-based maritime consultancy Drewry draws attention to a growing concern of the high sea shipping industry, according to the latest Manning Annual Review and Forecast report. Due to the diminishing attractiveness of a career at sea, coupled with rising man-berth ratios... more
Nairobi number 1 of African cargo airports
In its "Air Transport Report 2020", the African Airlines Association (Afraa) also highlighted the evolution of the cargo business. The lockdowns and travel bans affected belly cargo volumes, which also declined because of disruptions in manufacturing and trade... more
A silver lining for reliability at sea?
According to Sea-Intelligence, a maritime intelligence provider from Copenhagen (Denmark), the increase in global schedule reliability in March 2021 didn’t last. Reliability levelled out, with carriers recording a 1 percentage point decrease month-on-month in April, coming to... more
Five UAL calls in Nigeria
Five vessels operated by Universal Africa Lines (UAL) will call at the Nigerian port of Onne this month. Three vessels will sail to Nigeria from Northern Europe and the Mediterranean, and two from the Gulf of Mexico. UAL, an independent breakbulk niche carrier, says that it is... more
M&M France rounds off its portfolio
Militzer & Münch France (M&M) has acquired 100% of the shares of Acte International, an SME based near Grenoble that offers global supply chain management solutions. This acquisition comes after M&M bought ITP and ITPL in December 2020, companies that specialise in... 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