Page 4 - Al-Rashed Newsletter January 2021

SHIPPING WORLD
DID YOU KNOW?
The top speed of the winning car in the
first U.S. race was seven miles per hour.
Sleeping burns more calories than
watching TV.
SHIPPING NEWS
Record-low container carrier reliability extends through December
Growing port congestion, equipment shortages, and months of strong
demand are overwhelming container supply chains, with ocean carrier on-
time performance plummeting to record lows for the fifth straight month in
December and average vessel delays also hitting an all-time high. Global
liner schedule reliability in December fell to 44.6 per cent, down from 50 per
cent the previous month, and 76.3 per cent a year ago, according to the
latest data from Sea-Intelligence Maritime Analysis. Average vessel delays
globally increased by 0.53 days over November to 5.74 days.
Unexpectedly strong — and sustained — demand has created bottlenecks
on the trades out of Asia, particularly on trans-Pacific routes to the US West
Coast, where US imports reached record levels in December and congestion
at the crucial Los Angeles-Long Beach gateway led to lengthy vessel delays.
Carriers face load restrictions after new container spill, from Maersk
Essen
There are calls for an urgent review of container lashing practices and stack
height restrictions after another box ship lost a huge number of containers in
the Pacific Ocean. The 13,092 teu Maersk Essen, en route from China to Los
Angeles, lost approximately 750 containers on 16th Jan 2021 during heavy
seas, confirmed the carrier. Maersk said “all crew members are safe and a
detailed cargo assessment is ongoing” as the ship continues its voyage.
This is the third such serious incident on the trade lane in less than two
months, the ONE Apus loss of more than 1,800 containers on 30 November
the largest. According to a World Shipping Council report in November, an
average of just 1,382 containers is lost at sea each year from around 5,000
container vessels in operation.
Container trade 'madness' driving more Asia cargo to other modes
Forwarders are increasingly looking to multipurpose vessels to
circumnavigate the laundry-list of delays and costs disrupting Asia-Europe
container trades – in some cases ditching boxes in favour of breakbulk. And
the de-containerisation trend appears to be gathering steam on intra-Asia
lanes, too, where commodity shippers – used to rock-bottom freight rates –
have been suddenly left facing a bill significantly higher than in previous
years. chartering specialist, Ahlers said cargo shipped “for decades” by
containers is now moving on breakbulk vessels in South-east Asia.
Cargo such as sawn timber and plywood is shifting towards breakbulk
general cargo vessels due to the big shortage of containers, high freight
rates and container rollovers.
For many industries, the shipping cost is not the only consideration when
deciding on a mode shift. Inventory costs, potential penalties related to late
deliveries and the urgent need for raw materials to keep the factories
operational are all factors
Source: Loadstar.com, JOC.com