Porti & ambiente — le notizie raccolte

Brazilian shippers have been left fretting after an EU decision to ban their beef exports – following an otherwise strong start to the year for trade between Latin America and Europe, with volumes recording successive months of growth. Set to take effect in September, the ban was imposed because Brazilian authorities failed to provide sufficient assurances that its livestock producers were not using excessive quantities of anti-microbials, used to promote animal growth. One forwarder toldThe Loadstar: “The decision is a nightmare. “We can still export beef until September, but the sector is definitely concerned. Our government is working to review this decision.” Asked if they thought government would be able to control the use of anti-microbials and provide assurances to European legislators, the forwarder said: “Yes, I believe so,” adding the Brazilian beef was “the most exported in the world” and of “very high quality”. But the ban is not just restricted to beef. An EC health spokesperson told Portuguese news outlets it also applied to aquaculture, eggs, honey, horses, and poultry-related produce. Shippers became aware of the ban with the release of an updated list of countries that comply with the bloc’s rules surrounding anti-microbial use, seeing Brazil’s name removed. The EC’s health spokesperson told reporters: “As soon as compliance is demonstrated, the EU may authorise or resume exports,” and pointed out that officials were working with Brazil to achieve this as soon as possible, amid strong demand for Brazilian beef – some 10,000 tonnes arriving each month. Indeed, beef has been one of the major recent success stories on the Latin America-Europe trade, volumes last year having surged some 25% year on year, with forwarders tellingThe Loadstarit was a key sector for the broader positivity surrounding Latin American growth. Latest data from Container Trades Statistics (CTS) shows overall Latin America-Europe volumes recorded year-on-year increases across January, February, and March (the most recent data available), when volumes rose 12.6%. AGL Cargo’s Jackson Campos toldThe Loadstar: “Volumes between Latin America and the EU are proving okay, and now there is a new agreement between Mercosur and the union that promises to increase movement further.” Meanwhile, taking effect some 25 years after negotiations began, the EU-Mercosur deal will remove duties on 91% of EU exports, including cars, from the current 35% for 15 years and the progressive removal of duties on 92% of Mercosur exports over 10 years. Noting that trade between the two blocs already exceeded €100bn in value, Jan Harnisch, CEO of air and ocean at Rhenus, said the deal would “change things in a very concrete way”. He added: “As volumes grow, the real challenge will be managing complexity across the entire chain. We expect increased pressure on ports, continued adjustments in freight pricing, and a stronger need for multimodal solutions. “One area that is sometimes underestimated is customs. Lower tariffs don’t necessarily mean fewer hurdles. Rules of origin, quotas, and compliance checks are still very much part of the picture, and they can quickly slow things down or add costs if they’re not handled properly.” While volumes may have proved strong for Latin American exporters in the opening months of 2026, the year began poorly for European exports headed in the other direction, with two successive months of year-on-year decline. March arrested that, recording a 3.2% uptick year on year, but there remains work to be done for officials in Brussels, with Latin America sending almost 30% more to Europe than goes the other way. On the rates side, these have more than doubled following the US/Israel attacks against Iran in late February; Freightos had pricing for 40ft containers going Santos-Rotterdam back down to its pre-war average by April, before experiencing a minor spike at the start of May. Having hovered around the $1,600 per 40ft mark for most of last month, Freightos is now quoting $2,100 per 40ft on the route, with forwarders tellingThe Loadstarthis uptick was likely due to carriers engaging in capacity control measures.

Hong Kong’s effort to rebuild itself as an international shipping centre continues. The territory’s Legislative Council met yesterday to debate a motion by lawmaker Yiu Cho-fai to strengthen Hong Kong’s shipping ecosystem in the face of competition from neighbouring ports on the Chinese mainland. Hong Kong’s secretary for transport and logistics, Chan Mei-po, told the council a multi-pronged strategy was being implemented, including cooperation with ports in the Greater Bay Area, namely those in Macau and Guangdong province, particularly Yantian. “Hong Kong’s port continues to serve as a key transhipment hub and ‘time-stopping port’, thanks to its free port status, fast customs clearance, high efficiency, and strong international network,” Ms Chan claimed. In 2025, containerships spent an average of just 1.03 days in Hong Kong Port, far less time than the 1.99-day average of the world’s top 20 container ports, she claimed. “We’re deepening our integrated rail-sea-land-river transport system, allowing goods from inland provinces and cities such as Chongqing and Chengdu to be transported via rail-sea intermodal transport through Yantian Port or Guangxi, and then transferred to the Kwai-Yantian Link barge service, or ‘daily service’, to be loaded onto ships in Hong Kong. “The process can be completed in as little as three days, allowing goods to be exported to overseas markets via Hong Kong, significantly improving logistics efficiency.” Ms Chan said Hong Kong’s Kwai Tsing Container Terminal and Yantian, due to their different shipping routes served and complementary strengths, could generate mutually beneficial effects through cooperation. In August 2024,The Loadstarobserved that, as container throughput in Hong Kong had seen a long-term downward trend, particularly with rising competition from Shenzhen and Nansha, the special administrative region had chosen toalign with, or operate through,these growing Chinese ports rather than relying solely on traditional transhipment in Hong Kong. Despite its efficiency at handling containerships, Hong Kong’s box volumes declined for the fourth consecutive year in 2025, to 12.99m teu, compared with 13.69m teu in 2024. Hong Kong’s faded prominence is a far cry from its halcyon days in the 1990s, when it often competed with Singapore to be the world’s busiest container port. The Hong Kong government is also encouraging the industry to seize development opportunities in the Central and South American markets to build high-end import brands. Ms Chan cited the seasonal Cherry Express service, which transports cherries from Chile to Hong Kong and then to wholesale markets in South China within hours, as a one success story. Besides cooperating with mainland Chinese ports, the Hong Kong government has been working on digitalising its port. In January, the port community system was launched as the core digital infrastructure for smart ports. Using AI, blockchain, and big data technologies, the system provides 24-hour real-time cargo tracking, connecting sea, land, and air transport information. “Within just four months of the system’s launch, the number of registered businesses has exceeded 6,000,” said Ms Chan. “The logistics data within the system has also been recognised by nine local banks, thus facilitating the digital flow of trade and capital,” she added.

Fuel supply risks could determine how early and how sharply container shipping’s peak season hits this year, with Asia-Europe most exposed if the Strait of Hormuz disruption drags on, according to Freightos head of research Judah Levine. He said shipping had so far avoided the severe fuel shortages feared at the start of the crisis, particularly in Singapore and other Far East bunkering hubs, but he warned that a prolonged closure could change that within months. “The Far East is especially dependent on oil that would normally move through the Strait of Hormuz,” he said, adding that Europe was also exposed, with North America less vulnerable initially. Although some vessels had made extra port calls to secure fuel, and there had been low levels of very-low-sulphur fuel oil in some locations, Mr Levine said supply chains had only adjusted to the initial shock, not eliminated the risk. If shortages emerge, the effect on ocean freight would be more severe than the rate moves seen so far, because the disruption would hit effective vessel supply. Carriers would likely respond by slow-steaming and blanking more sailings, reducing available capacity just as demand begins to rise. On Asia-Europe, Mr Levine expectspeak season to start early, potentially as soon as this month, because Red Sea diversions had extended transit times and narrowed the shipping window before early October’s Golden Week holiday. That means European importers moving goods from Asia are likely to ship earlier to ensure inventory arrives in time, which could put upward pressure on rates even before a traditional peak season develops. “We have longer transit times from Asia to Europe… And we’d expect that most shippers want to make sure they move. I think peak season will start early this year, maybe already some pressure this month even. But that has kind of been the norm since the Red Sea diversions started.” Rolf Habben Jensen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd, seemed optimistic during yesterday’s earnings call, noting: “If we look at forward bookings… I think there is an expectation that we will have a fairly normal peak season. “I think the outlook for this year, despite all the uncertainty that there is, is not only bleak. We’ve seen spot rates go up a bit. We see now a bit more momentum going into May. But of course, the important moment will always be end of June and July when we head into peak season. “Right now, I think the signs are that we will have a fairly normal peak season, but of course, that remains to be seen.” However, Mr Levine added that this year’s peak may also be “muted”, compared with recent years, especially on the transpacific lane. National Retail Federation projections for US ocean imports show a July peak, with volumes elevated in August before declining in September, but July volumes are expected to be 8% below last year and 6% below 2024. Mr Habben Jensen noted that transpacific contract rates, excluding the fuel component, were “a bit down compared with the previous year”, but demand remained strong. One downside risk for carriers is that higher energy prices could also weaken consumer demand. Mr Levine noted that Maersk had flagged the same concern: if fuel costs raise inflation and subdue spending, peak-season freight demand could disappoint, while carriers still face elevated operating costs. Mr Habben Jensen said: “At the moment, we also see a bit of recovery on the Atlantic, but it will be decided what is going to happen during the peak season because that’s where we’ll still need to have a further uptake on the rates, as the additional bunker costs still weigh very heavily on our P&L.” Mr Levine concluded that without a major bunker shortage, he expected no extreme rate spike –“probably more of the same until peak season kicks in”, he said.

In a nutshell: Amazon has threatened to pull delivery operations out of New York City rather than comply with a prospective law – which looks like it has a good chance of getting the green light – that would force it to directly hire thousands of drivers. The Delivery Protection Act has mayoral backing; strong Council support; and the potential to reshape last-mile economics far beyond the five boroughs. By the way, my previous, related coverage for Premium is ...

Key takeaway: The comment period on the amended UP-NS filing has closed. Four Class I competitors, a major shipper group, and a string of transit agencies all said the same thing: reject it. But the specific allegations, from deleted evidence to a pricing program that covers less than 1% of rail traffic, are more damaging than the headlines suggest. The comment period on Union Pacific (UP) and Norfolk Southern’s (NS) revised merger application closed last week on 8 May, and the ...

April showed indications of partial recovery, with 312,000 tonnes handled, but that is still 43% below last year. These are among the major findings of“a comprehensive assessmentof the operational and economic impact of the ongoing military conflict in the Gulf on regional aviation infrastructure in Middle East”,by Flare Aviation Consulting,commissioned by the regional branch of Airports Council International. The restriction of Gulf airspace effectively removed nearly 20% of all east-west connecting capacity from the global aviation network within hours –“an event of systemic significance for international air transport,”the assessment noted. The nine airports sustained a combined revenue shortfall of between $900m and $1bn over the two months as passenger and cargo volumes fell 55% on budgeted target. ACI described the loss as being“of exceptional magnitude”for “an industry characterised by regulated margins, fixed cost structures, and long-term capital commitments tied to infrastructure programmes”. As to the outlook for traffic at Middle East airports, recovery is expected to follow a gradual“swoosh-shaped”trajectory – a slow initial rebound followed by a longer, gradual climb back to baseline – rather than a rapid rebound, the airport trade association noted. And continuing airspace restrictions, security risks, and elevated fuel prices are likely to weigh on demand and airline capacity. The pace of recovery will also depend on coordinated airspace reopening, clearer regulatory guidance, stabilisation of fuel markets, and the ability of Middle Eastern carriers to rebuild networks and restore customer confidence. The return of passenger services is of particular importance to air cargo, given that more than 50% of global shipments are transported in the bellyholds of pax aircraft. At a recent webinar,Ben Lambert, DHL Global Forwarding’s VP, regional head of airfreight, Middle East & Africa, highlighted that while the volume of cargo handled at the region’s airports was on the rise–it remained well below pre-crisis levels. He said the“big movers”,in terms of tonnage recovery, were Dubai airports DXB and DWC, along with Doha. Meanwhile, two of the region’s airports experienced a surge in cargo traffic during the hostilities – Riyadh, in Saudi Arabia, and Muscat, in Oman. Both continue to serve as back-up hubs for DHL. At the beginning of last month, the integrator launched a thrice-weekly freighter service between Liège and Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia, offering 100 tonne+ capacity, dedicated to pharma and life science cargo, with onward distribution across the GCC.And this month, DHL replaced Jeddah with DWC as the flight’s destination after the re-opening of Dubai airspace. Stefano Baronci, ACI’s regional director general, saidthat against a backdrop of renewed upward pressure on jet fuel prices, longer routings driven by geopolitical tensions, persistent supply bottlenecks, and chronically elevated inflation, the aviation ecosystem in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East was showing its resilience. But he warned: “We are at a critical juncture, since protracted instability over the summer may have a far more negative impact on the economic sustainability of the airport sector.”

Ziegler UK appears to have undergone a management-led restructure, according to Companies House filings and industry sources, amid wider turmoil across the European logistics group. The filings suggest control of the UK operation changed hands in March, weeks beforereports emergedthat Ziegler Belgium had been put up for sale. Documents filed at Companies House show that, on 17 March, Aquila Strategic became the new entity having significant control behind the ownership structure of Ziegler UK, replacing Switzerland’s Silvamex and Balspeed, which ceased to hold control on 16 March. Aquila Strategic is, in turn, controlled by Lee Marshall, who holds more than 75% of shares and voting rights in the group. The filings indicate a financed acquisition, or vendor-backed buyout structure, rather than a straightforward sale, and the documents include references to ‘deferred consideration and security’ over the shares, suggesting the sellers retain protections until the deal is completed. The restructuring coincided with a significant overhaul of the Ziegler UK board:Alain Ziegler resigned as a director on 16 March, the same day Joshua Leak joined the board; Diane Govaerts had stepped down in January, while Douglas Briggs left in April. New Articles of Association were adopted on 14 April, a move commonly associated with shareholder restructurings and ownership changes. LinkedInupdates appear to reinforce the timeline. Mr Marshall listed himself as chief executive officer of Ziegler Group from January, before becoming MD of Ziegler UK in February. Industry sources said the Ziegler structure had long been fragmented, with multiple entities and shareholding arrangements across Europe, stemming from historic divisions within the founding family. Sources also suggested the UK operation had historically operated under a different ownership model from that in parts of continental Europe, with local management participation in equity not uncommon. One source familiar with the business said Mr Marshall had previously shown interest in acquisitions in the sector, although financing constraints had been an issue in earlier deals. The source said the latest filings appeared consistent with a management-backed carve-out of the UK operation. The developments come as the wider Ziegler network faces mounting pressure. Its French operations entered liquidation proceedings earlier this year, affecting around 1,500 employees and dozens of branches. Separately, trade publicationNieuwsblad Transportreported that Ziegler Belgium had been put up for sale, citing comments from Belgian trade union CSC Transcom, and claiming around 10 interested parties had emerged. Other market sources suggested Transuniverse had acquired Ziegler’s Moroccan operations and some French offices, although this could not immediately be confirmed. Despite the turmoil elsewhere in the group, Ziegler UK does not currently show any insolvency notices or administration filings at Companies House. The company most recently reported turnover of around £110m ($148m), although industry contacts noted operating margins appeared thin, leaving little room for deterioration in market conditions. Mr Marshall has been approached for comment.

Torna ad Ancona, con la 16/a edizione, il motoraduno benefico organizzato dall'associazione "2 Wheels 4 Benefit" a sostegno delle attività della Fondazione Ospedale Salesi Ets per i piccoli ricoverati presso il Dipartimento Materno Infantile dell'Azienda ospedaliero universitaria (Aou) delle Marche. L'appuntamento è domenica 24 maggio (intorno alle 11.30) con arrivo dei motociclisti a Marina Dorica ad Ancona. Un evento attesissimo dai bambini del Salesi, che non vedono l'ora di incontrare i centauri dal cuore d'oro, che ogni anno, si recano in visita nei reparti con una delegazione accompagnata dagli operatori della Fondazione Ospedale Salesi Ets, portando doni, ma soprattutto gioia e momenti di spensieratezza nella routine della degenza ospedaliera. Quest'anno l'evento per accogliere i partecipanti, che di anno in anno sono cresciuti in maniera esponenziale, si sposta dalla tradizionale tappa di arrivo, al Monumento ai caduti del Passetto, alla suggestiva location di Marina Dorica, mantenendo lo stretto legame con il mare e la cultura marinara di Ancona, e un omaggio ad Ancona Capitale italiana della Cultura 2028. Nel corso degli anni l'associazione 2 Wheels 4 Benefit ha donato oltre 89mila euro, grazie al grande impegno degli organizzatori e alla generosa partecipazione di un numero sempre più consistente di motociclisti da tutte le Marche, che si ritrovano, come di consueto a Petriolo (Macerata) per partire alla volta di Ancona, in sella alle loro rombanti e colorate moto, regalando uno spettacolo anche alla città di Ancona. Le donazioni raccolte hanno sostenuto le tante attività che la Fondazione Ospedale Salesi Ets ha messo in atto negli anni per migliorare la qualità di vita in ospedale per i piccoli ricoverati e le loro famiglie, per progetti di ricerca scientifica, innovazione tecnologica e per rendere l'ospedale un ambiente più a misura di bambino. "Per la Fondazione Ospedale Salesi Ets il sodalizio con 2 Wheels 4 Benefit riveste una grande importanza perché ci consente di portare avanti al meglio la nostra missione - spiega Cinzia Cocco, presidente della Fondazione Ospedale Salesi ETS e direttrice amministrativa dell'Aou Marche - : essere vicini alle bambine e ai bambini ricoverati e alle loro famiglie, rendere l'ospedale un luogo più accogliente e migliorare le dotazioni tecnologiche per supportare al meglio il livello di eccellenza del Dipartimento Materno Infantile dell'AOU delle Marche". "Sono passati 18 anni dal primo motoraduno - ricorda Matteo Fermani, presidente dell'associazione 2 Wheels 4 Benefit -, due edizioni sono saltate durante la pandemia di Covid-19. Il primo anno eravamo un gruppetto di una cinquantina di moto poi, negli anni, si sono unite sempre più persone fino ad arrivare a quasi 500 presenze l'anno scorso". Di pari passo alla partecipazione, è cresciuto anche il sostegno ai progetti della Fondazione Ospedale Salesi Ets, dai 1.250 euro della prima edizione, l'importo delle donazioni è arrivato ai 18mIla euro dell'edizione 2025". "Siamo orgogliosi di ospitare a Marina Dorica una manifestazione che unisce passione, solidarietà e partecipazione del territorio - dichiara Alessandro Domogrossi, Direttore Marina Dorica -. Accogliere la Fondazione Salesi con i motociclisti di 2 Wheels 4 Benefit significa aprire il porto a un'iniziativa dal profondo valore umano, capace di portare sostegno concreto ai bambini ricoverati del Salesi e alle loro famiglie" Riproduzione riservata © Copyright ANSA