#Maritime

Panama to file charges over alleged sweetheart port contract

The comptroller of Panama said on Monday that the country will file criminal complaints against officials at CK Hutchison Holdings, the Hong Kong conglomerate that runs ports on each end of the Panama Canal, as well as Panamanian government officials, after determining that CK Hutchison’s contract heavily disadvantages Panama, the Financial Times reported.

The announcement comes as CK Hutchison considers a $23 billion sale of operations at the two ports to a consortium including U.S.-based...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/panama-to-file-charges-over-alleged-sweetheart-port-contract

Ocean shipping carbon tax could gouge US consumers, say opponents 

Government representatives are meeting this week to finalize the first-ever global carbon tax on ocean shipping emissions in a move that opponents say could disproportionately hit American consumers.

The initiative is being driven by the International Maritime Organization, which regulates global shipping, following a 2023 agreement that sets a goal of net-zero shipping emissions by 2050. 

Members of the organization’s Marine Environment Protection Committee are gathering this week in London...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ocean-shipping-carbon-tax-could-gouge-us-consumers-say-opponents

Expect ‘subdued’ peak container season in wake of tariffs, says analyst

Recent policy changes by the Trump administration — call it an upheaval — are reshaping the dynamics of international commerce, and have profound implications for freight and logistics, says a supply chain analyst.

The scope of the current tariff implementations is unprecedented, both in terms of the levels applied to China and the high rates extended to other U.S. trading partners, said Judah Levine, head of research for Freightos, in a new report. Unlike previous trade tensions where flows...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/expect-subdued-peak-container-season-in-wake-of-tariffs-says-analyst

Port of LA’s Seroka says tariffs to cut container volumes by 10%

Container traffic at the busiest U.S. import gateway is expected to drop by 10% in the second half of the year.

Container volumes at the Port of Los Angeles are expected to plunge by double digits in the second half of the year following months of frontloading and higher import prices due to U.S. tariffs.

“It’s my view that the second half of this year, beginning July 1 through the end of the year, we’re going to start to see a drop in cargo [year on year],” said Port Executive Director Gene...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/port-of-las-seroka-says-tariffs-to-cut-container-volumes-by-10

BNSF, NS, Northwestern ports trim 3 days from intermodal speed service to Chicago

BNSF Railway, Norfolk Southern (NS) and the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) have announced a collaboration to enhance intermodal service from the Pacific Northwest.

The partners aim to deliver a three-day-faster service for inland point intermodal (IPI) traffic originating from the ports of Seattle and Tacoma, Washington, destined for or connecting through Chicago.

The redesigned service plan focuses on efficiency and speed. NWSA will now build trains with less than two days of dwell time off...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/bnsf-ns-northwestern-ports-trim-3-days-from-intermodal-speed-service-to-chicago

256Camilla Wadstrup Westergaard, Vessel Assurance Surveyor

Are we following the times?

Leadership and situational awareness are not part of maritime education. If we want to achieve our goals to become sustainable, then we need the right people.

So many things have to change for us to become seriously competitive with other industries. We need to target very young children so that we can become part of their dreams.

Listen to Camilla Westergaard, one of the young people who dares to speak up. Our conversation involves a few answers to our challenges, and...

https://shippingpodcast.com/256camilla-wadstrup-westergaard-vessel-assurance-surveyor/

Tariff backdrop finds ocean rates steady

As President Donald Trump prepares for a Wednesday Rose Garden event to unveil his tariff plan, significant uncertainty remains on key details. 

Despite Trump’s claims of having decided on a course of action, reports suggest the administration is still weighing options. A major point of contention is whether to implement reciprocal tariffs at varying levels for specific trading partners or impose a uniform global tariff on all imports.

The administration faces the challenge of reconciling...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/tariff-backdrop-finds-ocean-rates-steady

As China blocks terminals deal, BlackRock chief says ports ‘will define the future’

The chairman of one of the largest global investment managers says ports are as critical to future infrastructure of the global economy as data centers and power grids.

BlackRock Chairman Laurence Fink in an annual letter to investors said that’s why the company spent 2024 transforming itself into a leader in private markets, the better to get a jump on what it estimates will be a $68 trillion infrastructure boom.

“Assets that will define the future—data centers, ports, power grids, the world’s...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/as-china-blocks-terminals-deal-blackrock-chief-says-ports-will-define-the-future

Operators of US military-contracted tanker sue over deadly UK collision

The operators of a tanker contracted by the U.S. military that was struck by a Portuguese-flagged container ship off England’s coast filed suit Monday in a London court, according to Reuters.

Crowley-Stena Marine Solutions and Stena Bulk Marine Services (USA) are suing MS Solong Schiffahrtsgesellschaft M&Co. KG, a subsidiary of the owner of the container ship Solong, shipping company Ernst Russ.

One member of the crew of the Solong is missing and presumed dead after the March 10 accident, the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/operators-of-us-military-contracted-tanker-sue-over-deadly-uk-collision

February freight volumes mixed at Gulf Coast ports

Port Houston saw less vessel activity in February due to weather disruptions on its ship channel, while New Orleans and the Port of Corpus Christi, Texas, saw an increase during the month.

Houston Ship Channel saw limited February activity amid severe weather

Port Houston handled 325,424 twenty-foot equivalent units in February, a 13% year-over-year decline compared to the same month in 2024.

Total import tonnage was down 12% year over year at 2.3 million tons in the month. Imports of steel...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/february-freight-volumes-mixed-at-gulf-coast-ports

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