World Shipping Council (WSC)

Container lines are manoeuvring ahead of EU ETS decision claims NGO

An environmental NGO said that container lines calling for urgent action on market-based measures (MBM) from world leaders and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) are attempting to slow the introduction of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS).

Faig Abbasov, Director, Shipping at NGO Transport & Environment, told Container News does not believe that the lines have made a U-turn on MBMs, but he believes that the European lines are trying to head off the challenge posed by the EU...

https://container-news.com/container-lines-are-manoeuvring-ahead-of-eu-ets-decision-claims-ngo/

Box losses don’t stack up. Part Two

In Part One of the container losses story the emphasis was on the commercial pressures on the shipping lines and how those pressures were transmitted further down the line adding to the pressures on masters.

However, another aspect of the complex issue of container stack collapses is how regulation and commercial pressures interact to affect operational matters. That will include a scrutiny of cargo planning and the verified gross mass (VGM) regulations that are supposed to help masters and...

https://container-news.com/box-losses-dont-stack-up-part-two/

FMC eases contract guidelines for carriers

Container lines will be better placed to ship more last-minute cargoes to and from the US after the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) acquiesced to requests from the World Shipping Council (WSC) to ease rules regarding when shipping lines need to file original service contracts with US authorities.

The amendment formalises an existing waiver for shipping companies that allows them to file details of contracts up to 30-days after they go into effect, loosening former FMC regulations that require...

https://container-news.com/fmc-eases-contract-guidelines-for-carriers/

Box losses don’t stack up. Part One

Container stack collapses have seen a spike in recent months with vessels losing a combined total of around 5,762 containers from five major incidents between November last year and February this year. The industry is looking to unravel the puzzle as to why large container ships have started to shed boxes at such an alarming rate.

Those losses amount to more than the 1,382-annual average from World Shipping Council (WSC) surveys, and they have alarmed the shipping lines, shippers and regulators...

https://container-news.com/box-losses-dont-stack-up-part-one/

US drayage costs more than double as ocean rates spiral ever upwards

Rising costs in the US market have continued apace as the latest news reports suggest the cost of trucking has more than doubled, from US$35 to US$75/day, while some beneficial cargo owners (BCOs) are paying super-rates to ensure their cargo gets shifted, while others have decided the costs are too high and the service is too poor.

Meetings between carriers and authorities are expected to take place in China this week, with the Federal Maritime Commission and the EU both reporting that they are...

https://container-news.com/us-drayage-costs-more-than-double-as-ocean-rates-spiral-ever-upwards/

FMC probe finds evidence of common carrier rule infringements

The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) investigation into the carrier’s alleged refusal to carry US export cargo has found some evidence that lines are not meeting their regulatory obligations, according to commissioner Carl Bentzel.

Allegations from US exporters, particularly from the agricultural industry, that the lines have refused to carry cargo, preferring instead to rush containers back to Asia for the more lucrative eastbound Pacific trade, in contravention of the common carrier...

https://container-news.com/fmc-probe-finds-evidence-of-common-carrier-rule-infringements/

WSC elects new chairmen

The board of the shipping company association World Shipping Council (WSC) has elected Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd and Jeremy Nixon, CEO of Ocean Network Express (ONE) as co-chairs of the board for a two-year term.

Succeeding Ron Widdows, who chaired the WSC for more than 10-years the new chairmen of the Board will also welcome two new member lines in Matson Navigation and X-Press Feeders. Widdows had announced that he would step down from the chairmanship once his successor was...

https://container-news.com/wsc-elects-new-chairmen/

Research fund proposal receives mixed response from IMO delegates

A generally positive response to the broad idea of establishing an industry research & development body was tempered by legal concerns, including financial considerations over fund control and dissemination and the considerations over intellectual property rights.

Proposals from industry bodies, including the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) to fund an industry supported R&D programme through the levy of a US$2/tonne charge on the price of bunker fuel. According to the proposal, the...

https://container-news.com/research-fund-proposal-receives-mixed-response-from-imo-delegates/

Kitack Lim opens MEPC 75 virtual meeting

International Maritime Organization (IMO) secretary general Kitack Lim opened today’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) 75 by highlighting the importance of moving the greenhouse gas (GHG) debate on in spite of the slimmed down agenda for the meeting.

MEPC 75 will take place online due to the pandemic and as a result of this shortened meeting, at only three hours deliberation per day, the pressure to debate the critical issues around GHG emissions from ships.

“It is of utmost...

https://container-news.com/kitack-lim-opens-mepc-75-virtual-meeting/

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