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Dry bulk and tanker shipping time charter rates July 9, 2026 Weekly update of tanker and dry bulk time charter rates fromAlibra Shipping. Seatrade Maritime Our news reporters and editors draw on over 40 years experience of covering the maritime and shipping industries and bringing you the latest news and insights.

Redazione AnsaMILANO - Luglio 09,2026 - News Toyota Gazoo Racing punta sull'idrogeno anche nel motorsport e annuncia la partecipazione al Rally Dakar 2027 con il nuovo Dkr Gr Fc Hilux, un prototipo elettrico alimentato da celle a combustibile (Fcev) sviluppato per affrontare una delle competizioni più impegnative al mondo.L'obiettivo è utilizzare la gara come banco di prova per accelerare lo sviluppo della tecnologia a idrogeno e trasferire le soluzioni più efficaci ai futuri modelli di serie.Il nuovo Dkr Gr Fc Hilux deriva dall'attuale Hilux impegnato nei rally raid, ma sostituisce il tradizionale motore a benzina con un sistema di propulsione a celle a combustibile Toyota.Durante la marcia il veicolo non produce emissioni di CO2 allo scarico, rilasciando esclusivamente vapore acqueo, a conferma della strategia del costruttore giapponese di sviluppare diverse tecnologie a basse emissioni per raggiungere la neutralità carbonica.Il prototipo prenderà parte alla categoria Dakar Future Mission 1000, riservata ai veicoli sperimentali che rappresentano le tecnologie del futuro. Si tratta di una classe introdotta dagli organizzatori per favorire lo sviluppo di nuove soluzioni di propulsione attraverso il confronto con le condizioni estreme del deserto, dove temperature elevate, polvere e forti sollecitazioni mettono a dura prova ogni componente meccanico.Per Toyota Gazoo Racing la Dakar rappresenterà quindi un vero laboratorio a cielo aperto. Attraverso l'esperienza maturata nelle competizioni, il marchio intende migliorare ulteriormente l'efficienza e l'affidabilità dei sistemi a celle a combustibile, lavorando in particolare sulla riduzione delle dimensioni del sistema, sull'ottimizzazione del raffreddamento e sull'incremento della durata dei componenti.

Analyst expects spot and contract rates to ease only modestly in the next six months, despite rapid fleet growth and weak fundamentals. July 9, 2026 Speaking on the occasion of the publication of its mid-year market report, Xeneta chief analyst Peter Sand said: “Let's just keep our fingers crossed that we narrowly avoided an outright energy crisis.” Sand saved an own goal by adding: “It isn't a hugely challenging global economy that we’re looking at. But, as always, there are dark clouds on the horizon.” No sooner had the he delivered the line, theUSattacked Iran and the president promised further widespread bombing, with Iran retaliating with missiles of its own,crude oilalso sky-rocketed, from a pre-war level of $64/bbl to a less comfortable $78/bbl yesterday, a more than 10% jump in less than a week. And it is still rising. The rise in oil prices is significant because, as Sand pointed out, when inflation in Europe, the US and other key economies is on its way up, that “eats into the purchasing power of consumers here, there, and everywhere.” Related:Maersk deepens Red Sea return with MECL shift Fleet growth has outpaced container trade growth since 2022, and that is forecast to continue this year at a lower level, around 3% trade growth compared to approximately 5.5% capacity growth. This equation is expected to deteriorate over the next two years as deliveries accelerate to nearly 8% and 11% of the fleet in 2027 and 2028, respectively. “When you open up the hood and look beneath into the engine [of container trade] some of the cylinders are not operating in the same way as they are elsewhere,” said Sand. According to Sand, the “Short-term [spot] market is on fire,” and that means there is little interest from owners to recycle vessels, adding to the capacity glut. Fundamentally, this year, next year and in 2028, overcapacity is literally being built into the market, regardless of where demand is. In the next six months Xeneta believes that spot rates will fall no more than 10%, compared to the Q3 benchmark, while long-term [contract] rates will fall a similar, 8-10% over the same period. In October 2025, however, Xeneta expected spot rates to fall 25% over the benchmark level. “If you were a carrier, you were looking at loss-making rates back by the end of February. Now the picture has completely changed,” commented Sand. Each crisis has a silver lining for container carriers, and the elevated spot ates are likely to remain in the coming weeks, according to Sand, In part this is because the impact of the Middle East conflict has created ripples far out from its epicentre, said Sand. Essentially there have been twin peaks to the crisis, the first in the initial stages of the Iran conflict where services were realigned and services re-established. Related:Seapsan and Maersk unveil efficiency drive across 18 ships That was followed by the second peak: “We have seen an increased stress level in Southeast Asia and also other Asian hubs and ports that have created operational challenges, impacting services and supply chains way beyond the epicentre in the Middle East,” said Sand. In effect, spot rates have increased over 50% since 28 February when the US and Israel first attacked Iran; that has transformed carrier fortunes, from heading into loss-making territory back in profitability. “What a difference another crisis makes,” said Sand. Barring yet another crisis, the rate support is not expected to last. Ships are being delivered fast and the geopolitical shake up that has characterised Donald Trump’s second term in office is seeing changes to trade. Chineseexports increased 2.2mn teu, 11.5%, in the first four months of 2026; US imports were down 1% in the same period in 2025 and fell again by 5% this year. Oceania saw a 20% growth in Chinese imports, up from 7% in the same four month period. Other Far Eastern markets increased Chinese imports by 19% and sub-Saharan Africa imported 28% more Chinese goods. “We know from our data provider for container demand, transportation demand, Container Trade Statistics, that China’s exports were at all-time high in May. And it is going anywhere but North America,” said Sand. Related:EGPN enters container market with shore power-ready feeders 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.

Latest overnight tally adds to the 21 ships hit in the 72 hours to 8 July, a massive escalation in attacks on merchant vessels in the Sea of Azov. July 9, 2026 Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces claim to have hit another 14 vessels in the Sea of Azov as Ukraine ramps up the pressure on ships supplyingRussian-occupied Crimea. The 414th Unmanned Strike Aviation Brigade, known as Magyar’s Birds, said on 9 July that 12 tankers, one dry cargo ship and a tug were hit overnight and shared further details of some of the 35 ships struck this week. The brigade said the targets of the latest attacks were a Russian-flagged tankerChelsea-6— the Equasis database shows 2008-built Chelsea-6 as a Palau-flagged general cargo ship, AIS data shows its last location as the southern Black Sea five days ago. Many ships in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov turn off their AIS broadcasts for security reasons. The other vessels Ukraine claims to have hit wereAura,Ilya Repin,Mercury,Galiasgar Kamal,Venus III,Penelope, and tugboatAlfeo. Details of five more vessels were still being confirmed. Related:Trump says ceasefire is “over” as Iran readies for Hormuz closure The latest round of drone attacks include a repeat strike on 2010-built, 7,500 dwt tankerPenelope, which was also hit on 7 July. A report from maritime security firm Vanguard Tech said Turkish-flagged tankerYasa Polariswas struck by a Ukrainian drone on 7 July while approaching the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal off Novorossiysk. The 2022-built ship is chartered by Chevron while said no critical damage, injuries, or pollution were reported. Ukraine’s reports were once again accompanied by drone footage of the attacks on the ships. While many of the videos show the drones impacting the decks of ships, at least two show the drones targeting the bridge. Commenting on Ukraine’s drone strikes earlier this week, Ambrey said the change in onboard target mirrors the approach taken by Russia, and increases the risk of seafarer casualties. The security intelligence firm said there was a realistic possibility of Russian retaliation to the attacks, adding that it typically takes Russia two to five days to respond in these circumstances. “Vessels awaiting transit at the Sulina Anchorage, including those bound for Ukrainian Danube or Black Sea seaports, face a heightened threat of direct kinetic attack by Russian forces in the coming days,” said Ambrey. Read more about: Gary Howard Middle East correspondent Gary Howard is the Middle East Correspondent for Seatrade Maritime News and has written for Seatrade Cruise, Seatrade Maritime Review and was News Editor at Lloyd’s List. Gary’s maritime career started after catching the shipping bug during a research assignment for the offshore industry. Working out of Seatrade's head office in the UK, he also produces and contributes to conference programmes for Seatrade events including CMA Shipping, Seatrade Maritime Logistics Middle East and Marintec. Gary’s favourite topics within the maritime industry are decarbonisation and wind-assisted propulsion; he particularly enjoys reporting from industry events. Gary Howard regularly moderates at international maritime events. Below you’ll find a list of selected past conferences and webinars. Ports of Refuge: Strengthening Maritime Resilience, at Seatrade Maritime Logistics Middle East 2025 Debunking LEO and Cloud for Maritime Industry, December 2022 (watch on-demand recording) Making Data Work for Shipping at Seatrade ShipTech Virtual 2021 Is the Zero-Carbon Future a Slow Shipping Future?at Seatrade ShipTech Virtual 2021 Is Ship Finance Transforming Faster than Shipping?at Seatrade ShipTech Virtual 2021

Ambiente, sindaco Pollica: progetto Bluera per valorizzazione mare 9 luglio 2026 Milano, 9 lug. (askanews) - "Bluera è il titolo del progetto che abbiamo scelto per la valorizzazione della risorsa blu del nostro pianeta, il nostro mare. E abbiamo cominciato insieme al Future Food Institute con le scuole, Bluera School, un pezzo del nostro progetto. Cambiare la cultura dei giovani verso il mare, come possono appropriarsi di questa risorsa, come possono farla diventare il volano e la risorsa principale per il loro futuro". Lo ha detto Stefano Pisani, sindaco di Pollica, a margine del Bluera Summit (8-10 luglio), appuntamento che riunisce istituzioni, mondo della ricerca, imprese, comunità della pesca e organizzazioni della società civile per discutere il futuro delle politiche del mare nel Mediterraneo. "Bluera - ha aggiunto - è anche molto altro, è soprattutto attività di ricerca, di sviluppo dei territori con due azioni straordinariamente rilevanti. Il piano di gestione dei piccoli pelagici e soprattutto l'area marina sperimentale. Una gestione di 75 chilometri di costa che ci consentono di disegnare pratiche innovative che ci consentiranno di utilizzare il nostro oro blu, quello del nostro mare". "A cominciare dalla posidonia, le nostre banche di posidonia che diventano gli strumenti di carbon capturing, diventano risorsa per coltivare la biodiversità. Immaginate cosa potrebbe accadere al nostro mare, al nostro pianeta se scomparisse la posidonia. Nel 2100 rischiamo di non avere più la nostra posidonia e il nostro mare scomparirebbe. La biodiversità del nostro mare sarebbe cancellata. Abbiamo molto da fare e si comincia da Pollica per andare in giro per il mondo e per il Mediterraneo", ha concluso.

The Emirati owner of the port of Khor Fakkan has unveiled a massive capacity expansion project to coincide with its transformation from common-user terminal operator to one-stop shop logistics service provider. At the same time as the fragile US-Iran “ceasefire” was collapsing, Gulftainer chief executive Farid Belbouab held a press conference in nearby Sharjah to outline the creation of four new business groups – GT Ports, GT Logistics, GT Parks, and GT Maritime. Farid Belbouab (Photo: Gulftainer) “This is more than an expansion of our business – it is the launch of a new chapter in Gulftainer’s history,” Mr Belbouab said. “For nearly 50 years, Gulftainer connected ports. The next 50 years will be about connecting economies,” he added. At the centre of its plans is the expansion of Khorfakkan Commercial Terminal (KCT) from 3.5m teu to 5m teu, “with a long-term masterplan exceeding 10m teu”, expected to be integrated into the UAE’s Etihad Rail, which “will further strengthen KCT as a fully multimodal gateway connecting sea, road, and rail”. This will be complemented by the Al Dhaid Logistics and Sajaa Logistics parks, which together will provide 2.3m teu of annual inland logistics capacity. “Collectively, these developments are creating one of the Middle East’s largest integrated logistics ecosystems, combining warehousing, bonded and non-bonded storage, cold chain, contract logistics, container freight stations, distribution centres, ecommerce fulfilment, cross-docking, value-added logistics, light industrial activities, and multimodal transport solutions within a single connected platform,” the company said. Prior to the outbreak of the latest conflict and closure of Hormuz, Khor Fakkan was the forgotten transhipment hub in the region, losing its previous role as the main competitor to Jebel Ali, as Abu Dhabi’s Khalifa was developed, largely via joint-venture terminal deals with MSC, CMA CGM, and Cosco. When the conflict began, designed purely as a transhipment hub and being located outside Hormuz meant shippers began using Khor Fakkan as the Gulf’s landbridge entry point, so the first thing Gulftainer had to do was to build truck gates at its landside boundaries – previously every container leaving had done so on a ship. The launch of its new business lines this week has turned that improvised supply chain into long-term strategy. According toXeneta’s eeSea liner database, annual volumes at Khor Fakkan peaked at around 3.8m in 2017, dropping steeply to 2.2m the following year – throughput figures have not been made publicly available since. “The port was basically dead, and the operator was on the ropes – to be honest, I was expecting it to close down entirely,” one former Gulftainer executive toldThe Loadstarrecently. “It might sound insensitive, but the war was like a winning lottery ticket,” he added. Vessel traffic at the port was similarly pedestrian: in January it saw seven containership calls, while in February that was down to just four. However, it received 14 ships in March, 21 in April, 23 in May, and 26 in June, and has handled 12 already this month. And from three scheduled services a month at the beginning of the year, today it hosts eight. One example is MSC’s India/Middle East-West Africa IAS service, deploying 11 vessels with an average capacity of 9,200 teu, which traditionally included two Gulf calls, at Jebel Ali and Abu Dhabi’s Khalifa, where MSC operates a joint-venture terminal. Within days of the closure of Hormuz, MSC dropped the Khalifa and Jebel Ali calls and replaced them with one at Khor Fakkan. In terms of monthly slot capacity offered to shippers, KCT has grown from 54,000 teu in January, to 123,000 teu in June. The war also acted as catalyst for the rapid growth of Gulftainer’s fleet of feeder ships, now rebranded as GT Lines. “Together with GT Lines, which currently operates 10 chartered vessels and is expanding through owned vessels, Gulftainer is creating integrated trade corridors that seamlessly connect ports, shipping and inland logistics across the region,” the company added. GT Lines launched two shuttle services from KCT to India in early March to ferry Gulf-bound containers unloaded in Mundra and Nhava Sheva, and a similar service to Karachi in April. Also in April, it launched two Far East-Middle East strings, with Chinese carrier CU Lines as a vessel provider. In a related development, DP World announced this morning it had acquired 700 trucks “to expand its road freight network in the GCC, providing customers greater certainty, reliability and efficiency when moving cargo across the region”. DP World GCC chief executive Ahmad Yousef Al-Hassan said: “This is a long-term investment in our multimodal network and the customers that trade in the GCC. As regional demand grows, we are scaling our capabilities to provide customers with an integrated network they can depend on at every stage.” The fleet is capable of undertaking up to 35,000 truck trips a month, “supporting both domestic and cross-border trucking for DP World’s customer base in the GCC”, the company added.

Southern Africa’s trade growth is being strangled by container shipping’s inability to absorb increasing volumes as the sector contends with constrained port, vessel, and inland logistics networks brought about conflict in the Persian Gulf. South Africa’s citrus exports were particularly hard hit by the crisis, with year-to-date exports having collapsed some 24% when measured against last year’s numbers, down from 15.2m cartons to 11.5m. While small in terms of total merchandise – 4% of South Africa’s export activity – the Middle East is a region the country is particularly exposed to when it comes to fruit and meat, which have provided substantial injections for the South African economy. “This makes the UAE/Saudi-linked routing and demand risks material, despite the limited aggregate share,” one source toldThe Loadstar, while noting other regions have stepped in to fill the void. With total year-to-date citrus exports having climbed a little over 2%, to 62.1m cartons, Asia, Europe, and the UK are playing an increasingly prominent role, European volumes topping 24.3m (up 18.6% year on year), while 6.2m cartons have headed towards the UK (12.7%), and 2.9m (28.2%) across the Asia. “Citrus is ramping up,” the source added. More broadly, South Africa experienced something of a record-breaking month in May, with global container port throughput surpassing 17.3m teu, according to Container Trades Statistics (CTS), “highlighting the resilience of underlying cargo demand despite”. Month on month, that represented 6.2% growth, despite the persistent issues with congestion, schedule disruption, and the wider supply chain pressures that have plagued the continent more broadly. “This suggests current strains are being driven not by weak volumes, but by the system’s difficulty in absorbing elevated flows across already-constrained port, vessel, and inland logistics networks,” added the source. Seven-day average vessel waiting times at Cape Town and Durban have ticked past the 48-hour mark, and it seems that in both cases, surging reefer demand for citrus exports are responsible – although each port has nuances of its own compounding this. Kuehne + Nagel has singled out Cape Town as “the port… most constrained” in its network, and that together with reefer demand, the gateway is also dealing with increased ‘late-stack volumes’, further constraining operations, with “a high risk” of delays and rollings imminent. At Durban the picture is more complex, with landside congestion and poor truck turnarounds, while the gateway is “currently experiencing heightened tensions and sporadic disruptions, linked to anti-immigration protests”.

A cluster of shocks is forcing freighter operators to finely balance their global capacity – and battle for more. Geopolitics, humanitarian emergencies, tightening regulation, and a structural shortage of freighter capacity have combined to reshape how airlines deploy cargo fleets. The latest weekly data from Rotate shows global cargo capacity slipped just 2%, but beneath the headline figure aircraft are being rapidly repositioned between markets. Freighter capacity between Europe and South America rose 12% week on week – while Asia-Europe fell 9% – among other big shifts. Source: Rotate One obvious destination for that additional capacity is Venezuela, where the humanitarian response to the devastating earthquakes of 24 June continues to gather pace. Amazon this week announced it would operate seven weekly humanitarian flights into Caracas using its Amazon Air Cargo network, donating aircraft and fuel through a partnership with Airlink, the UN World Food Programme, and the US State Department. The initiative adds to an expanding airlift that has already seen TAP Air Portugal resume flights to Venezuela carrying almost nine tonnes of medical supplies, while Air Charter Service has organised multiple freighter charters transporting communications and medical equipment, shelters, hygiene kits, and even a field hospital. At the same time, Europe is experiencing a different kind of adjustment. Despite expectations that shippers would accelerate imports before the EU introduced a €3 customs fee on low-value imports from 1 July, there was little evidence of the front-loading seen ahead of the similar change in the US. According to WorldACD, air cargo volumes from China and Hong Kong to Europe fell 8% and 9%, respectively, in the final full week before the new rule took effect, contributing to a 7% week-on-week decline in Asia Pacific-Europe tonnage. Spot rates eased 2%, to $5.26 per kg, although they remain 38% above last year’s levels. WorldACD suggested the relatively muted reaction reflected lessons learned following the removal of US de minimis exemptions, with lower-cost customs declaration solutions helping ecommerce operators absorb much of the additional administrative burden. The softer Asia-Europe market coincides with Rotate’s latest figures showing lower freighter capacity on the lane, although it remains too early to determine whether the new customs regime will have a lasting impact on demand. What is becoming clearer is that airlines have little spare capacity with which to respond to rapidly changing market conditions. Speaking during yesterday’s Flexport webinar, Atlas Air chief commercial officer Richard Broekman said the carrier would add no aircraft to its fleet this year, explaining:“This year is the first in many, many years that we are not adding aircraft to our fleet, and that’s really just a function of no availability out there.” He added that there remained “a disconnect between demand on the one side and supply on the other”. He also warned that delays to new passenger aircraft deliveries were preventing older widebodies from entering passenger-to-freighter conversion programmes – extending the shortage of dedicated freighter capacity. An the shortage is increasingly influencing how airlines pursue growth. Last week, Saudia Cargo announced plans to add four 777-200 freighters as the first stage of a programme to double its dedicated cargo fleet, while China Southern Air Cargo confirmed it was to introduce three 777-300ERSF converted freighters. Others are looking beyond aircraft orders to partnerships and minority stakes to boost short-term capacity. Atlas Air recently agreed to acquire a 49% stake in Icelandic ACMI operator Air Atlanta, gaining strategic access to a fleet of 14 widebody freighters, alongside its own order for 20 A350Fs. Chief executive Michael Steen described the transaction as part of the company’s “disciplined approach to strategic growth in a structurally constrained widebody freighter aircraft market”. And then, of course, there is CMA CGM’s giant deal with FedEx, which includes cooperating on “select air cargo capacity solutions”, suggesting the French group will be able to tap into FedEx’s air capacity. But the combination of fleet orders, acquisitions, and partnerships suggests airlines increasingly recognise that access to freighter capacity has become a strategic asset. Carriers appear to be competing as much for access to aircraft, as for freight itself, a dynamic which will likely persist until new aircraft deliveries finally begin to ease the supply constraints later this decade.

China's largest shipping group expects first-half earnings to more than triple as geopolitical disruption boosts tanker returns while dry bulk markets continue to recover. July 9, 2026 China Merchants Energy Shipping (CMES) projects its operating revenue for the first six months of 2026 will range from RMB18.7bn ($2.60bn) to RMB20.6bn, representing a year-on-year increase of 48% to 63%. Net profit attributable to listed shareholders is expected to reach up to RMB7.3bn, marking a striking year-on-year increase of 214% to 248%. Commenting on the profit growth, CMES attributed the performance to multiple driving factors. Due to shifting market supply-demand dynamics and evolving geopolitical situations, the international tanker shipping market has entered a super boom cycle, with spot freight rates on certain routes hitting record highs during the reporting period. Meanwhile, the international dry bulk market has maintained a steady recovery on the back of continuous improvements in supply and demand fundamentals, driving the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) steadily higher. In terms of segment performance, the company’s tanker fleet built on its solid first-quarter performance and successfully eased short-term tanker oversupply pressure after the de-escalation of the Hormuz Strait blockade in the second quarter. Therecent escalation in the regionoccurred outside of the reporting period. Related:Weekly tanker and dry bulk time charter rates - 8 July CMES said that by seizing favourable market opportunities, the tanker business had delivered solid results, with its estimated profit contribution rising by approximately 50% quarter-on-quarter. The dry bulk segment's results were an even greater improvement as its second-quarter profit contribution jumped around 170% quarter-on-quarter. In addition, the company’s container and ro-ro shipping businesses registered a steady recovery trend, it said. Looking ahead to 2026, CMES stated that it will further optimize its business structure. The company will prioritize tanker and dry bulk shipping as its dual core businesses, while fostering the growth of LNG, ro-ro and container shipping segments to build leading competitive edges in niche markets. Read more about: Katherine Si China Correspondent China-based Katherine Si has worked in the maritime industry since 2008 is well-connected with local industry players including Chinese owners and yards. Having majored in English Katherine started at news portal ShippingChina.com where she rose to become a News Editor. In 2008 she moved to work with Seatrade and has since held numerous positions including China correspondent for Seatrade Maritime Review magazine. With extensive experience in writing, research and social media promotion, Katherine focuses on the shipping and transport sectors.

Key takeaway: Compliance certificates that used to sit in a filing cabinet must now flow through ACE at the moment of entry. For importers, brokers, and forwarders, this is another layer of pre-arrival paperwork in an already punishing regulatory season. Yesterday, July 8, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CSPC) mandatory eFiling program went live, and every importer bringing a CPSC-regulated consumer product into the country must now electronically submit certificate of compliance data before goods enter US commerce. var reg_x; jQuery(document).ready(function () { //reg_x = new RegBlockForm(); reg_x.initForm('3406b6f165','b9ed37cd11','421bcdbe7b'); });

Monsoon storms along India’s west coast have exacerbated supply chain disruption for containerised freight moving through Nhava Sheva Port (JNPA), according to industry sources. Container terminals in the harbour have been forced to suspend operations intermittently, or work at reduced capacity, this week as bad weather battered the region, triggering widespread berth schedule disruptions and vessel backlogs. The worst-hit facility was PSA’s Bharat Mumbai Container Terminals (BMCT), which suspended operations for nearly two days. This is JNPA’s largest container terminal by capacity, following the recent commissioning of its Phase 2 expansion. The dockside accident involving ONE’sDalianbox ship at Nhava Sheva Freeport Terminal (NSFT), operated by CMA Terminals and JM Baxi, further strained port operations amid the weather-related disruptions. Crane operations at terminals operated by DP World and APM Terminals were also curtailed at times due to gale-force winds, while torrential rain flooded freight storage areas in and around the port, damaging goods, industry stakeholders said. “The weather has affected cargo movement, transportation and clearance activities,” the Brihanmumbai Customs Brokers Association (BCBA) said in a trade advisory. “Customs brokers may face challenges in the timely clearance of documentation and delivery of import and export consignments,” the association added. Container freight station operators serving JNPA have likewise cautioned customers that delays in container movement were unavoidable under the prevailing conditions. “Continuous heavy rainfall, accompanied by strong winds, over the past week has resulted in flooding, waterlogging and severe traffic congestion across several stretches connecting the port terminals and container freight stations,” the Container Freight Stations Association of India told customers. “The turnaround time of trailer trucks has increased substantially, adversely affecting the evacuation and delivery of both import and export containers between the port terminals and CFSs.” The disruption added to the operational pressures already facing JNPA, where yard congestion had intensified following an influx of transhipment cargo diverted from the Middle East, exacerbated by a severe shortage of truck drivers, limiting landside evacuation capacity and contributing to mounting yard inventories. However, that transhipment flow into JNPA is tapering off as Middle East services steadily return. The port’s transhipment handling in June was down to some 93,500 teu, from 97,500 teu in May, and 134,000 teu in April, according to data. As a result, JNPA has seen significant throughput traction in the current fiscal year (2026-27) that began in April. According to the latest data, the port handled 2.25m teu in Q1, up 15% year on year. Beyond the hurdles in seamlessly moving goods in and out of port and depot facilities, Indian exporters are facing a sharp spike in container freight rates across trades, due to a surge in bookings tied to front-loading demand and capacity disruptions. Rates ex-India to the US east coast and North Europe have more than doubled over the past month, according to sources.