Porti & ambiente — le notizie raccolte

South Korean consumer electronics giant Samsung has lodged the largest claim to be put before US maritime regulators at the FMC and is seeking $186m in damages from French carrier CMA CGM over erroneous detention and demurrage charges. The size of the claim surpasses the $161m in damages sought by Bed, Bath & Beyond administrator Butterfly One from OOCL last year. The FMC eventuallyawardedthe claimant $45m. Samsung’s docket was lodged at the FMC in late August, and claims CMA CGM billed the shipper with excessive and unlawful detention and demurrage charges, as well as reneging on its contractual commitments under “store door” delivery terms – from the beginning of 2020, Samsung had moved from buying freight for its US imports from a port-port basis to a store-door contract, which meant CMA CM was responsible for both the ocean leg to the US and the inland leg within the US. “SEA [Samsung Electronics America] was forced to pay excessive and unlawful charges assessed by CMA—known as “demurrage and detention” charges—and was forced to undertake and perform significant parts of the ocean common carrier’s inland transportation responsibilities (responsibilities that CMA had already been paid to perform) in order to obtain delivery and possession of its cargo and continue to import its products sold to American consumers,” the claim says, alleging that despite the merging problems with intermodal transport in the US during the pandemic, the carrier “continued to transport SEA goods under store door through bills of lading or sea waybills for inland delivery in the United States, and continued to fail, repeatedly, to perform its inland transportation obligations properly, exposing SEA to unreasonable costs, charges, delays, and other harms”. It further claims that since mid-2020 Samsung had to settle 121,000 individual detention, demurrage and other charges passed to it by CMA CGM, while the carrier often refused to release cargo unless D&D charges had been settled with supply chain third-parties including railroad, container depots and sub-contracted truckers. In one example, it cited a container booked from South Korea’s largest port, Busan, to an inland destination in Texas. The box was unloaded in Long Beach, but there it stayed. “Although the container was moving under a store door bill of lading, obligating CMA to deliver it to the inland destination, CMA notified SEA that the container was showing as ‘merchant haulage’ upon arrival. “CMA later clarified that, due to repeated scheduling changes and unpaid rail storage fees, the store door shipment had been terminated at the rail ramp and SEA was responsible for arranging delivery. “As a result of CMA’s unilateral conversion from door to CY, this container accrued $162,799 in rail storage,” the claims says. A number of other examples, running through to 2024, were also disclosed.

Newly installed Long Beach Harbor Commission President Steven Neal said Monday he will prioritize the infrastructure, sustainability and technology programs underpinning the Port of Long Beach’s long-term “Port of the Future” strategy. At his first meeting as board president, Neal said the commission would maintain progress on initiatives intended to reinforce the Southern California gateway’s position in cargo handling, rail connectivity, customer service and environmental performance. The agenda includes the port’s recently launched objective of doubling annual container throughput to 20 million twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs) by 2050 while transitioning to a fully zero-emissions seaport. “Innovation has always defined the Port of Long Beach,” Neal said. “From pioneering environmental initiatives to building world-class infrastructure, we have never been afraid to explore bold ideas. Today, we are continuing that legacy by responsibly evaluating technologies that could redefine how ports operate for generations to come.” A central infrastructure project is the Pier BOn-Dock RailSupport Facility, which is designed to triple the port’s on-dock rail capacity, strengthen connections to the national rail network and reduce rail dwell time from about four days to 24 hours. The project is also intended to reduce truck traffic and associated emissions in and around the harbor complex. This week, the port purchased a 13-story office building in downtown Long Beach for $36 million, with plans to create a maritime business hub. Neal also highlighted the port’s efforts to expand the use of electricity, hydrogen and methanol as lower-emission energy sources. He pointed to a recent partnership with the U.S.Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration aimed at developing operational, safety and security standards for potential nuclear-energy deployment in port operations. “As global trade continues to expand and the demand for reliable, clean energy grows, we have an opportunity to lead — not simply by adapting to change, but by helping shape it,” Neal said. Neal is serving his second six-year term on the Harbor Commission after first joining the board in 2019. He previously chaired the commission from 2021-2022 and has served two terms as vice president. Before joining the commission, he represented North Long Beach on the Long Beach City Council from 2010-2014. Under the city charter, the five-member Harbor Commission establishes policy for the port and oversees Chief Executive Officer Noel Hacegaba, who leads an organization of about 600 employees. Read more articles by Stuart Chirlshere. Read more: Trump extends Jones Act waiver; direct effect “pennies per gallon,” say analysts Asia-US East Coast box rate hits new high of $9,400 After massive Q1 loss, Maersk returns another service to Suez Sale of major shipping line in U.S. trade on the rocks: Report Asia ocean line in $135M expansion of US box terminal Brokerage Compliance Symposium The day before F3. Every compliance issue you face - fraud exposure, carrier liability, FMCSA rules, cargo theft, insurance gaps - navigated by attorneys and operators defining best practices in a changing industry. F3 Awards Dinner The night before F3. FreightTech100 companies honored. FreightTech 25 and Shipper of Choice winners revealed live. Cocktail reception into dinner and live music - 300 industry leaders in one purpose-built room. F3: Future of Freight Festival Industry-defining keynotes, rapid-fire technology demos, and industry leaders networking in experiences across Chattanooga - plus the inaugural F3 Awards Dinner featuring the FreightTech and Shipper of Choice reveals. The day before F3. Every compliance issue you face - fraud exposure, carrier liability, FMCSA rules, cargo theft, insurance gaps - navigated by attorneys and operators defining best practices in a changing industry. The night before F3. FreightTech100 companies honored. FreightTech 25 and Shipper of Choice winners revealed live. Cocktail reception into dinner and live music - 300 industry leaders in one purpose-built room. Industry-defining keynotes, rapid-fire technology demos, and industry leaders networking in experiences across Chattanooga - plus the inaugural F3 Awards Dinner featuring the FreightTech and Shipper of Choice reveals.

This is getting very messy indeed – a drone of some sort yesterday hit an LNG tanker in the Egyptian port of Damietta, at the northern mouth of the Suez Canal and on the Mediterranean coast, potentially dragging the wider Middle East into the conflict surrounding Iran. Let’s try to unpick this a little. The US and Iran continue to trade air strikes across the Gulf, establishing Hormuz as the epicentre of a war zone; the US and Saudi Arabia launched attacks on Iranian proxies in Iraq; the Saudis are blockading Yemeni ports and launching air strikes on Houthi-controlled airports; in return, the Houthis are attacking Saudi tankers, thus putting the Red Sea on the verge of becoming another war zone. The current thinking is that attack on Damietta was Iranian, and in retaliation for a Ukrainian drone attack on an Iranian vessel on the Caspian Sea carrying arms to Russia. These are connected events and theatres, but also disconnected; they are correlated, but not entirely causal – a détente between the US and Iran would not necessarily lead to a cessation of hostilities in the Red Sea, and vice versa. While the Houthis are clearly affiliated with Iran, they do not take orders from Tehran, evidenced by the fact that it has taken them this long to become involved in the conflict and that the catalyst was the Saudi attacks on Sanaa Airport, rather than the US and Israeli air strikes on Iran. Yemeni exporter Hashim Al-Omeisy, told this year’s TPM in Long Beach the day after the first US and Israeli attacks were launched, how the Houthi and Iranian paths had diverged over the past few years –it is well worth a quick read. But one key fact quickly become apparent since the group began attacking merchant shipping in the Red Sea in late 2023: controlling the Bab Al Mandad strait is a great money-earner. “Their tax on the Red Sea was to get legitimacy, but it was also for economic leverage, because a lot of shipping companies have been paying levies to be allowed passage – so they’ve been making a lot of money from them,” he said. Events in Hormuz over the past four months have amplified that message, and the prospect the Houthis would return to this strategy felt like an unlocked door simply waiting to be pushed open. “Unspecified regional sources toldReutersyesterday that the Houthis may start to impose fees on international commercial vessels transiting the Red Sea and Bab al Mandeb Strait,” the Institute for the Study of War (ISW)writestoday. “An Arab state official claimed the Houthis discussed prospects of establishing a regulatory authority to charge fees for vessels transiting the Bab al Mandeb, similar to Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority,” it says, adding that China appears to have already voted with its feet, so to speak. “Unspecified sources toldReutersthe People’s Republic of China has held direct negotiations with the Houthis to secure safe and toll-free passage for PRC vessels navigating the southern Red Sea”. However, it adds: “It is unclear whether the Houthis intend to establish a fee system in order to achieve other potential strategic objectives, such as securing codified permanent control over the Bab al Mandeb.” For the main tranche of commercial shipping companies that operate according to international law, and are thus subject to sanctions regimes, it is not so simple as both the Houthis and the Iranian regime are sanctioned entities, and paying either Hormuz or Red Sea transit fees would be illegal. For container carriers and their customers, there is some solace in thatthe peak shipping season has begun to waneand that there is already a long-standing Plan B (Cape of Good Hope), in conjunction with just-about-enough capacity that container supply chains should remain intact for the remainder of the year. The broader picture is deeply troubling: shipper hopes of a full-scale Red Sea reopening are in abeyance, freight costs will remain elevated and subject to sudden spikes, and the longer-term economic impact is getting grimmer by the day.

Capacity on major Asia-Europe and transpacific routes has bounced back from post-Iran war disruption, but freight rates remain sharply above pre-crisis levels across key East-West lanes. July 6, 2026 After steep decline following the start of the Iran war, capacity on the two major container trades out of Asia to Europe and theUShas returned to similar levels seen a year. Xeneta’sfour week rolling average capacity index revealed that Asia to US West Coast capacity is at an all-time high of 350,000 teu and, in spite of the increased space availability, rates have continued to rise, reaching $6,639/feu by 3 July, up 14% on the previous week. Chief analyst Peter Sand commented: “Ocean container shipping is running hot on the Transpacific, with offered capacity from Far East to US West Coast hitting an all-time high this week and spot rates showing another double-digit increase to now sit +253% compared to pre-Strait of Hormuz crisis at the end of February.” According to Xeneta, capacity on the Pacific is rising fast, withMSChaving reinstated its Pearl service on 13 June, adding around 6,200 teu/week between Yantian and Long Beach. Meanwhile, “Yang Ming and ONE are also running extra-loaders,” said Xeneta. Related:China launches first zero-carbon sea-river container corridor Although capacity on the Asia to Europe trades has not been as volatile as on the Pacific, spot rates have also reach 142% of their post Iran conflict lows, rising to $5,377/feu on 3 July, up from around $2,500/feu in early March. Spot rates to the Mediterranean and US East Coast have followed a similar pattern with capacity to the USEC up 9% week-on-week, and rates soaring 215% compared to pre-Iran war conflict. Meanwhile, Mediterranean offered capacity has edged up 1.7% since last week spot rates have increased 103% over the four months since 1 March. Atlantic spot rates, westbound, are also experiencing something of a recovery, rising 7% week-on-week to $2,523/feu, up 71% on pre-war levels. “The expectation is that the market is not ready to turn a corner just yet with spot rates continuing to rise into mid-July at least on the major fronthauls to Europe and US. More capacity is welcome and will help shippers to move goods more reliably, but it is not enough to reverse the upwards trend,” said Sand. A similar sentiment is seen onDrewry’stranspacific market analysis: “Carriers continue to announce GRIs and PSS for July in anticipation of strong cargo volumes, with HMM introducing a PSS of $3,000 per 40ft container effective 15 July. Drewry expects rates to rise further in the coming weeks.” Asia–Europe spot rates increased this week as carriers implemented higher FAK rates and a peak season surcharge “amid strong peak season demand”. Drewry added: “The East-West container freight market has remained resilient this year, supported by early peak season demand and higher shipping costs stemming from geopolitical disruptions.” Related:FedEx names CMA CGM preferred ocean carrier in $1.4bn logistics deal Those disruptions continue, albeit at a significantly lower level, and carriers remain nervous on whether the fragile ceasefire on the Straits of Hormuz can hold steady. Even though the interim US–Iran agreement has allowed Strait of Hormuz to partially reopen, vessel traffic is still largely controlled by Iran. “Security risks remain elevated after the suspension of ship escort operations following an attack on a containership near Oman. As a result, ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continue to underpin market uncertainty,” said Drewry. Read more about: Nick Savvides Europe correspondent Experienced journalist working online, in monthly magazines and daily news coverage. Nick Savvides began his journalistic career working as a freelance from his flat in central London, and has since worked in Athens, while also writing for some major publications including The Observer, The European, Daily Express and Thomson Reuters. Most recently Nick joined The Loadstar as the publication’s news editor to develop the profile of the publication, increase its readership and to build a team that will market, sell and report on supply chain issues and container shipping news. This was a similar brief to his time at ci-online, the online publication for Containerisation International and Container News. During his time at ci-online Nich developed a team of freelancers and full-time employees increasing its readership substantially. He then moved to International Freighting Weekly, a sister publication, IFW also focused on container shipping, rail and trucking and ports. Both publications were published by Informa. Following his spell at Informa Nick joined Reed’s chemical reporting team, ICIS, as the chemical tanker reporter. While at ICIS he also reported on the chemical industry and spent some time on the oil & gas desk. Nick has also worked for a time at Lloyd’s Register, which has an energy division, and his role was writing their technical magazine, before again becoming a journalist at The Naval Architect for the Royal Institution of Naval Architects. After eight successful years at RINA, he joined Fairplay, which published a fortnightly magazine and daily news on the website. Nick's time at Fairplay saw him win theSeahorse Club Journalist of the Year and Feature Writer of the Year 2018 awards. After Fairplay closed, Nick joined an online US start-up called FreightWaves.

The port is giving financial awards to early purchasers of EV trucks as it works toward its goal of being the “world’s first carbon-free port,” CEO Noel Hacegaba said. Elizabeth Warren and Mark Kelly want the Trump administration to reinstate port fees against China’s maritime industry after their one-year suspension expires in November. The company is dealing with the fallout from a $77 million accounting error that has delayed its financial reporting, led to the departures of its CFO and COO, and is possibly behind slow payments to some third-party vendors.