Box shipping overcapacity crisis Saved by Red Sea diversions
THE container shipping industry by dodged a potential overcapacity crisis in 2024, thanks to the Red Sea diversions crisis that forced vessels to take longer routes around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, writes Ventura, California’s Captain.
The global container fleet expanded significantly in 2024, growing by 10.6 per cent and adding nearly 3 million TEU of capacity, according Alphaliner.
However, rather than flooding the market with excess capacity as many feared, these additional vessels were largely absorbed by the Asia-Europe trade route, where ships were forced to divert around the Cape of Good Hope to avoid dangerous Red Sea passages. In its weekly email, Alphaliner highlighted the substantial impact of these diversions, with the Asia Europe trade absorbing 1.76 million TEU, representing 59 per cent of the total fleet growth.
The extended voyage times around the Cape effectively soaked up what could have been surplus capacity, leading to remarkably low idle tonnage rates. By year’s end, just 0.6 per cent of the global container fleet remained commercially inactive.
“The year 2024 will be remembered in liner shipping-circles as
the (first) year of the Red Sea cri- sis, just as 2021 and 2022 are now commonly referred to as the lucrative Covid-19 years,” Alphaliner noted. While fleet capacity on the Asia-Europe route grew by 31 per cent over the year, the actual weekly capacity offered on the route increased by just 8.8 per cent between December 2023 and December 2024, demonstrating how the longer Cape routes consumed the additional capacity.
DP World surpasses 100 million TEUS
Tiemen Meester, COO, Ports & Terminals, DP World, stated: “Reaching such an impressive milestone is significant for us, but it’s what that figure represents in terms of the flow of global trade and what it has enabled in the markets we have invested in that is really exciting.” In October 2024, DP World and NLC carried over 1,000 containers since the start of the first direct shipping route between Pakistan and Bangladesh.
CMA CGM plans resumption of services to Ukraine's Odesa
FRENCH shipping giant CMA CGM has announced plans to resume services to Ukraine’s Odesa as Kyiv gradually rebuilds its maritime trade routes, according to Singapore’s Splash 247.
CMA CGM will launch the new Odessa Express (ODX) in late January offering a direct loop connecting Piraeus (Greece) and Istanbul (Turkey) with Odesa (Ukraine).
This move will see CMA CGM becoming the second major carrier to restart Ukrainian operations with its own vessels, following MSc earlier black sea feeder service between Constanta (Romania) and Chornomorsk|
CMA CGM’s new route will be the first direct maritime connection between Greece and Ukraine after Russia imposed its blockade at the Black Sea.
The ODX service plans to deploy two vessels: the 1,118 TEU Lila Canada and the 1,550 TEU TJ Orhan.The TJ Orhan is scheduled to depart Piraeus on January 24, with its first call at Odesa expected on January 28
Regular container services to Ukrainian ports resumed in April
when Iteris Feeders, a Ukrainian transport and logistics firm. launched a route linking Constanta
and Chornomorsk
Emirates Sky Cargo expands services to Copenhagen
EMIRATES Sky Cargo is boosting its presence in Denmark with the launch of a weekly dedicated Boeing 777 freighter service to Copenhagen Airport.
The new service, which started on January 1, 2025, will arrive in Copenhagen on Wednesdays before departing on the same day for Dubai World Central, offering ap- proximately 85 tonnes of cargo capacity for shipments from Den- mark, Norway, and Sweden, writes London’s Aviation Business News. This move expands Emirates Sky Cargo’s freighter network to 38 destinations, meeting growing demand in the region. Previously reliant on belly-hold capacity in pas- senger aircraft, the dedicated freighter will transport a diverse freighter service significantly increases shipping capabilities for customers.
A major driver of this expanpsion is the surge in pharmaceutical shipments, with Emirates SkyCargo recording over 20 per cent growth in volume from Denmark in the past financial year.
Leveraging Copenhagen’s role as Europe’s northern pharma logistics hub, the service will facilitate the export of life saving medicines, supported by Emirates specialized pharmaceutical solutions and extensive global network.
In addition to pharma, the freighter will transport a diverse range of goods, including general cargo, perishables like fish, and other food products, ensuring swift, efficient, and reliable delivery worldwide.
Mette Jensen, cargo manager for Scandinavia at Emirates Sky Cargo, said: “Demand has been strong across Scandinavia, with particular growth in Copenhagen, and we expect this year and beyond
Phnom Penh port's Jan- Nov box volume up 21pc
A BUSINESS-SERVICE performance report from the Phnom Penh Autonomous Port (PPAP), submitted to the Cambodia Securities Ex- change (CSX) on December 11, shows that from January to November, the total number of cargo vessels handled by the port was 4,644, an increase of 27.64 per cent compared to the same period in
2023.Meanwhile, the total number of containers processed reached 436,839 TEU, up by 20.69 per cent, The Phnom Penh Post.
Similarly, the volume of cargo and gas-fuel handled was 4,366,589 tonnes, an increase of 16.01 per cent. Additionally, PPAP also welcomed 633 passenger vessels an increase of 25.35 per cent, and 32850 passengers, a rise of 47.17 per cent.
For November alone, the number of cargo vessels handled was 247, up by 38.76 per cent compared November 2023,
The number of containers processed in November reached 35,588 TEU, up by 32.01 per cent while the cargo and gas-fuel volume stood at 400,970 tonnes, by 29.27 per cent
Sam Soknoeun, chairman of the Board of SAM SN Group, recently led a delegation of five local and international companies to meet with Sun Chanthol, first vice chairman of the council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) at the CDC headquarters
He told The Post that Cambodia is entering a “golden era” of development across all sectors. He stated that shipping through PPAP would become even busier once the Funan Techo Canal project is completed.
He explained that waterway transportation offers significant cost advantages compared to other modes of transport, such as road and air. Lower shipping costs will enhance the competitiveness of Cambodian goods in international markets.
In the future, waterway transportation in Cambodia will become increasingly busy, especially in areas near the Funan Techo Canal project. The canal will become a vital shipping, route linking the Phnom Penh Autonomous Port with seaports in Preah Sihanouk and Kampot provinces, among others,” he noted.
According to Mr Soknoeun, the five companies that met with the CDC leadership were from the US, Singapore and HONG KONG as well as cambodian company SAM SN GROUP The firms are collaborating to study the feasibility of establishing a special economic zone near the Funan Techo Canal area and several other investment projects.
MSC upgrades connectivity in South Africa
Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has announced it is enhancing its network in Southern Africa to facilitate trade with Europe and other regions.MSC unveils updates of its NWC to South Africa service and the launch of two new shuttle services:
The NWC to South Africa service offers direct connections between North Europe and South Africa and now to Namibia with a direct call to Walvis Bay. Namibia Express connecting Cape Town (South Africa) and Walvis Bay (Namibia) can now deliver cargo from all across Eu- rope to Namibia via transshipment by Cape Town.
Mozambique Shuttle connects Walvis Bay (Namibia), Maputo, and Beira (Mozambique) and up to Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania) and Mombasa (Kenya). For cargo im- port-export Europe, Walvis Bay will serve as a transshipment hub for cargo destined for Maputo and Beira. Walvis Bay will become its new transshipment hub in South- em Africa’s West Coast, facilitat- ing the movement of goods from Europe via our NWC to South Af- rica service. Additionally, MSC strengthens its intra-Africa net- work in the region.
NWC to South Africa: The revised rotation will start with the MSC Rosaria voyage NZ504A from London Gateway on 20 January 2025.
London Gateway – Rotterdam – Antwerp – Bremerhaven – Le Havre Sines – Las Palmas
Walvis Bay-Gqeberha (Port Eliza- beth) – Durban-Cape Town – Las Palmas-London Gateway
Namibia Express: The first sailing will start on 08 January 2025 from Cape Town with the MSC Himanshi III voyage OA502A, and ETA Walvis Bay on 11 January 2025. Cape Town – Walvis Bay – Cape Town
Mozambique shuttle:
The first sailing of will start from Beira on 14 January with the MSC Imma III voyage JO502A, and ETA Walvis Bay on 24 Janu- ary 2025.
Beira-Walvis Bay – Durban- Maputo-Mombasa – Dar Es Sa- laam-Beira
Late last year, MSC announced an increase in the Emergency Op- eration Surcharge (EOS).
Shanghai port kicks off 2025 with methanol bunkering operation
Methanol, with its low emissions, is becoming a key alternative marine fuel. The Haigang Zhiyuan, the first methanol bunkering vessel at Shanghai Port, features 12 cargo tanks with a total capacity of 16,000 cubic metres. It enables ship-to- ship bunkering while supporting container operations, boosting ef- ficiency and sustainability. The Yangshan Port MSA put in place extensive safety protocols and emergency procedures to guarantee safe operations.
They worked closely with shipping companies, port operators, and pilot stations, keeping a care- ful eye on the entire process. There will be two more methanol operations in January after this successful bunkering.
Iran's ports handle 175m tonnes of cargo in 9 months
During this period, 20.83 mil- lion tonnes of oil goods and 39.55 million tonnes of non-oil goods were unloaded’, ‘ringing total un- loading operations to 60.38 million tonnes.
Cargo loading operations in- cluded 58.84 million tonnes of oil goods and 55.77 million tonnes of non-oil goods, totalling 114.61 million tonnes.
Combined loading and un- loading operations amounted to 174.99 million tonnes, with 79.67 million tonne of oil goods and 95.32 million tonnes of non-oil goods. Additionally, Iran’s ports handled 2.33 million TEU of containers during this period, reflecting a 14 per cent increase com- pared to 2.05 million TEU in the same period last year.
The growth in container operations highlights increased efficiency and rising trade volumes at Iranian ports. Iran’s ports have a total nominal capacity of over 260 million tonnes per year, allowing them to handle a wide range of oil and non- oil commodities.
Key ports, such as Shahid Rajaei Port in Hormozgan Province, account for a significant por- tion of the country’s trade activity due to their advanced infra- structure and strategic location along international shipping routes.
Investments in port infrastructure have further enhanced the efficiency of loading and unloading operations, reducing turnaround times for vessels.