Porti & ambiente — le notizie raccolte

Excluding ships caught up in the fracas in the Persian Gulf, the container shipping sector’s scheme for full employment appears to be working, with virtually none of the rest of the world’s 33m teu cellular fleet idle. In its latest round-up, Alphaliner counted just 59 (representing 189,285 teu) vessels out of action, meaning carriers had found opportunities for 22 ships to get back in the game since April’s update, supported by continuing strength in the charter market. “Despite the situation in the Middle East, demand for tonnage remains sustained across the board, which, given the persistent shortage of ships especially above 3,000 teu, supports continuously healthy charter rates,” Alphaliner noted. “Rates are even firming up further, especially for modern, energy-efficient tonnage. Most fixing activity, unsurprisingly, took place in the smaller sizes below 2,000 teu, where tonnage liquidity is a little higher than in the bigger sizes, where the volume of fixing remains low.” For those seeking capacity, part of the aim appears to be chasing fuel-efficient tonnage – “not surprising considering current oil prices”, Alphaliner noted – with momentum building in the forward fixing of smaller, modern vessels. Those in the 1,700-1,900 teu range, otherwise known as Bangkokmaxes, are being locked in for third and fourth quarter deliveries, with some charterers even looking to get ahead of the game and making bookings for the start of next year. Forward deliveries notwithstanding, non-operating owners are finding “very healthy” deals on the market, Alphaliner quoting rates of $25,000 a month for a two-year period or $30,000 for a year-long deal being “commonly agreed”. Source: Alphaliner – idle container fleet 26 May All of which is good news for those keen to get capacity back in the game, although a caveat comes in the shape of the Iran war, which has taken some 280,000 teu out of action – around 0.8% of global capacity. And Alphaliner noted that “at least” 57 box ships had been put out of action by the conflict, by either having been diverted or sheltered, and suggested the actual number could be a lot higher. It noted: “With widespread AIS transponder deactivation and contingency plans still in the making, the actual number could be higher. Since these ships are not ‘available’ on the market, this forced inactivity further drains tonnage supply.” Then, of course, there is the capacity tied up for conversion, maintenance, repair, or retrofit, which, while remaining stable over the closing weeks of May, amounts to 164 vessels, or 682,000 teu, equating to 2% of the global container fleet.

Nel porto svedese di Wallhamn si è svolta la cerimonia di battesimo della Grande Svezia, nuova nave Pure Car & Truck Carrier del Grimaldi Group e ulteriore tassello del piano di transizione energetica della compagnia armatoriale napoletana.Consegnata alla fine del 2025, l'unità appartiene alla nuova generazione di navi 'ammonia ready', predisposte per il futuro utilizzo dell'ammoniaca come carburante a zero emissioni di carbonio. La Grande Svezia sarà impiegata sul servizio EuroMed che collega regolarmente Mediterraneo e Nord Europa. Il battesimo si è tenuto a Wallhamn, unico scalo privato della Svezia gestito proprio dal gruppo Grimaldi, mercato servito dalla compagnia da oltre trent'anni.Alla cerimonia hanno partecipato clienti e partner storici del gruppo, tra cui Volvo Cars e Volvo Trucks. Dopo gli interventi di Sven-Göran Sjöström, amministratore delegato di Grimaldi Maritime Agencies Sweden, e di Costantino Baldissara, Automotive Atlantic Director del gruppo, la nave è stata benedetta prima della tradizionale rottura della bottiglia affidata alla madrina Francesca Gamboni, Chief Industrial Operations Officer di Volvo Cars.Costruita dal cantiere China Merchants Heavy Industries Jiangsu, la nave misura 220 metri di lunghezza e 38 di larghezza, ha una stazza lorda di 91.611 tonnellate e una capacità di carico fino a 9 mila Ceu distribuiti su 14 ponti, per il trasporto di auto e mezzi commerciali anche elettrici.Particolare attenzione è stata riservata alle tecnologie ambientali. La Grande Svezia dispone infatti di mega batterie al litio da 5 MWh, sistemi per il cold ironing che consentono di azzerare le emissioni durante la sosta in porto, oltre a pannelli solari, air lubrication e soluzioni avanzate per l'efficienza energetica e la riduzione dei consumi. Secondo il gruppo, rispetto alle precedenti generazioni di car carrier il risparmio di carburante può arrivare fino al 50%.Con la Grande Svezia salgono a undici le unità Pctc ammonia ready già operative nella flotta Grimaldi, destinata ad ampliarsi ulteriormente con l'arrivo di altre sei navi entro il 2027. Riproduzione riservata © Copyright ANSA Da non perdere Condividi

Maersk is looking to capitalise on the “firm” China-Australia lane with its latest “lean service” announcement. The Danish shipping line on Friday announced a new service serving the Greater China region to/from Australia. The Qilin service will link Shanghai, Sydney and Melbourne from 24 July and complement Maersk’s existing Dragon service. “The launch of this premium product offers significantly improved transit times from Shanghai to Sydney and Melbourne and will better support your supply chain needs into these markets,” the carrier told customers, and added that it reflected a “continued commitment” to those in the region. Maersk claimed the “lean rotation” could offer transit time improvements between the three cities, with weekly departures. China is Australia’s largest trading partner, and while Australia exports mostly raw materials and food, the fronthaul transit from China is primarily finished manufactured products. Shanghai–Sydney spot rates on the SCFI jumped 19% in a single week recently, following increases of 7%, 14%, and 12% in the three preceding weeks, according to Australian forwarder Magellan Logistics, with MSC, CMA CGM, Cosco, and others implementing new surcharges on 1 May. Indeed, the Freightos terminal notes that rates from Shanghai to Melbourne saw a peak in early May of $2,043 per teu, but recently reduced to $1,275 per teu. “This is not a single carrier testing the market, it is an industry-wide move, and the alignment across carriers on both the quantum and timing of increases suggests the pricing will hold,” said David Thatcher, founder of Magellan Logistics. “Rates that held relatively steady through the early part of the year have now moved sharply, and the coordinated nature of carrier rate actions in May signals that the increases are here for the medium term,” he added. He explained that Australian importers were facing tighter equipment availability, rising peak season surcharges, and stronger airfreight pricing as the Red Sea disruption and Middle East tensions continued to distort global shipping networks.

The Canadian government has been aggressively pursuing trade agreements with partners around the world to reduce the economy’s reliance on US trade, and is pouring money into transport infrastructure to support this. However, a new study raises questions about the nation’s ability to boost maritime traffic. With little over a month before the deadline for renewal of the USMCA trade pact, manufacturers in all three nations have appealed to their governments to preserve the framework – but Canada and the US haven’t even begun negotiations. Various demands from the US for concessions ahead of the talks have been rejected by Ottawa, with prime minister Mark Carney saying serious negotiations could resolve both sides’ concerns fairly quickly, but that Washington was not ready owing to other pressing issues. He added that some governments that had rushed into agreements with the US to avert tariffs subsequently were disappointed with their trade deals. Meanwhile, Ottawa is pushing ahead with its objective to double non-US exports by 2035. Its diplomatic offensive to strike trade agreements with the EU and Mercosur blocs as well as China, India, Australia, and other nations, has been flanked by the creation of a Trade Diversification Corridors Fund (TDCF), which will receive C$5bn ($3.61bn) over seven years, to beef up transport and logistics infrastructure. “By investing in the infrastructure that moves our products to global markets, this fund will strengthen supply chains, unlock new export opportunities, and build a more resilient, diversified economy,” states the administration’s Budget 2025. Over the coming four years, another C$1bn will be poured into Ottawa’s new Arctic Infrastructure Fund. While ports stand to figure prominently in the TDCF, money will also go to inland elements like rail and trucking, noted Julia Kuzeljevich, director of policy and regulatory affairs at the Canadian International Freight Forwarders Association. It is not clear at this point how funding would be allocated, she noted. A new research paper, produced by the Bank of Canada, raises questions over the nation’s maritime links’ ability to support the government’s ambitious trade development plans. It points out that the top ports had suffered a decline in connections since 2016. Over the past ten years, deadweight tonnage at Canadian ports has shrunk from 167m tonnes in 2016 to 119m last year, a 28% decline. And connectivity to 11 trading partners was lost, resulting in a decline of 6m tonnes in capacity, while connections to 18 new trading partners added only about 3m tonnes. This loss in connectivity increases the chance of disruption at distant hubs on domestic markets and prices, as Canada’s trade relies more on indirect traffic flows, the report warns. According to the authors, one factor for the decline was the limited capacity of Canadian ports to handle ultra-large containerships, as they cannot accommodate vessels of over 15,000 teu. Hence a large chunk of the imports from South-east Asia is routed via the Los Angeles/Long Beach port complex. However, the main driver is the development of global trade flows, which have grown the fastest in Asia. Not only Canadian ports, but also their US counterparts, have fallen in the global connectivity charts, according to the bank report. Three US gateways ranked among the top 10 most-connected ports in the world in 2016, but none remained in the top 10 by 2023, while the number of East Asian ports in that bracket rose from six to eight. “The North American problem doesn’t have an easy fix for Canada and, despite our attempts to diversify trade, many decisions regarding ship calls to North American ports will rely on the strength of US trade with others. Shipping lines won’t necessarily consider Canada’s very small market in isolation,” said Ms Kuzeljevich. A study produced by the Simon Fraser Institute argues that labour relations is an aspect that should be addressed. “Ottawa must also take action on the labour relations front,” its authors wrote. “The challenge here is to improve the actual and perceived reliability of Canada’s trade gateways, notably on the west coast, where a pattern of strikes and other labour disruptions has damaged Canada’s reputation as a reliable supplier, raised import costs for Canadian households and businesses, and prompted some shippers to redirect their business to competing North American gateways.” Ms Kuzeljevich concurred: “Yes, we will continue to rely on transhipments if we do not solve our labour reliability, which is always mentioned as a concern in international circles.” Canada’s west coast gateways of Vancouver and Prince Rupert have actually fared well in the first quarter this year. According to Sea-Intelligence, their containerised imports climbed 9% and 7.8% respectively, outperforming US west coast ports. A large chunk of this traffic is headed to the US, though. The future of USMCA and the marriage of Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern creating a transcontinental US rail giant will be significant factors shaping flows through Canada’s ports.