Ocean

The most recent edition of the Port Tracker report issued today by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and maritime consultancy Hackett Associates points to a healthy month for imports in a 2017 that has seen five of the seven highest-volume import months on record.

October shipments rose 3.2% annually to 1,016,892, which was ahead of September’s 976,605, while the annual spread in October was down compared to September’s 4.9%. Panjiva said this represents the eighth consecutive month of growth and 15 of the last 16 months.

Carriers will have some hard decisions for the remainder of 2017, they must continue to drive down costs through effective post-merger integration and fleet rationalization to bring supply and demand into balance, and continuously optimize networks to make them more efficient.

This new generation of buyers and analysts will have more visibility into not only their own order status, but also to a rapidly evolving marketplace and the forces that are making an impact on costs and services globally.

Global container shipping outlook for 2017 will be like rearranging the deck chairs with only a few seats in the sun, carriers that have weathered the storm will have a difficult task in front of them, but the playbook remains clearly defined according to a new study by AlixPartners.

China's major shipping operator COSCO Shipping Holdings and Shanghai International Port (Group) Co jointly announced a takeover offer today to all the shareholders of Hong Kong-based Orient Overseas Container Line Co (OOCL).

Container shipping remains remarkably fragmented, with the top five operators accounting for less than half the global market, and this presents considerable opportunity for further consolidation.

While all vessel operations will continue, making “the majority” of port calls, the shipping line says it has “shut down” IT and communications infrastructure as a security measure.

The Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty SE’s fifth annual Safety & Shipping Review 2017 reveals cyber, autonomous vessels and piracy risks concern maritime industry as economic pressures challenge budgets.

Even with a somewhat reduced growth forecast, the most recent edition of the Port Tracker report from the National Retail Federation (NRF) and maritime consultancy Hackett Associates stated that United States-bound retail container volumes call for an all-time volume high by the end of this summer.

Are autonomous, unmanned ships the future? Do the efficiencies and savings stack up? Is broader connectivity and technology infrastructure, regulators and insurers keeping up? Or is the unmanned ship a distraction from the far wider disruption taking place?

YARA and KONGSBERG have entered into a partnership to build world's first autonomous and zero emissions ship called "YARA Birkeland" - YARA will reduce diesel-powered truck haulage by 40,000 journeys a year and KONGSBERG will integrate sensor, control, communication and electrical systems.

With Microsoft’s cloud computing services and Azure platform, Maersk has a powerful set of tools for turning its vast operational and commercial data into more efficient operations and better products and services for customers.

Maersk has finalized its purchase of container shipping line Hamburg Süd from the Oetker Group after both boards approved a Sale and Purchase Agreement today.

Norway is creating an ambitious project that will create 1,700-metre long passageway underneath rocky peninsula for cruise and freight ships by 2023.