Seafarer lost overboard in the Philippines
A seafarer working aboard a bulker that was bound for Australia is missing overboard from his ship. Mining giant Rio Tinto confirmed the reports before its vessel the RTM Zheng He (205,400 dwt) arrived in Australia. The company issued a statement detailing the efforts while reporting its thoughts were with the family, friends, and colleagues.
The Philippine Coast Guard received a report of a missing seafarer on December 26 from the Singapore-registered bulker which is managed for Rio Tinto by Anglo Eastern. The vessel departed China on December 18 and is due to arrive in Dampier, Australia later this week.
The master of the bulker told the Philippine Coast Guard that a deck fitter named Gel Aguavia had last been seen on December 26 on the port side of the ship. He was reported wearing a dark blue reflectorized suit.
Ammonium nitrate cargo arrives in Africa
A cargo of nearly 20,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate fertilizer that drew worldwide attention and created a hysteria over the “bomb ship” quietly arrived in Africa at the beginning of the week. The cargo which was seven times the amount that exploded in 2020 devastating sections of Beirut, Lebanon, became the subject of numerous media reports as the Malta-flagged cargo ship Ruby was repeatedly denied a port of refuge.
The Barbados-flagged cargo ship Zimrida (37,296 dwt) reflects on its AIS signal that it dropped anchor on Monday, December 30, in the Abidjan anchorage in Cote d’Ivoire. The majority of the cargo, which was in bags, was transferred from the Ruby to the replacement vessel in the port of Great Yarmouth in the UK. The Zimrida departed on December 16 and made a provisioning stop in the Canary Islands.
No short-term overcapacity for container lines
According to Alphaliner’s analysis the container fleet increased by nearly 3 million teu last year, or by 10.6 percent, with some 59 percent of this new capacity deployed on the Asia to Europe trade which had diverted around the Cape of Good Hope.
Capacity on the European trades increased by 31 percent overall by the end of the year, but according to Alphaliner more tonnage is needed to plug the remaining gaps in the Asia to Europe trades.
“Weekly capacity offered on the route has risen by a much smaller percentage. On 1 December 2023, a weekly average of 434,940 slots was offered on the Asia – Europe trade. A year later, on 1 December 2024, this had risen by only 38,360 teu, or 8.8 percent, as re-routing gobbled up capacity,” said the report.
Container freight rates on the increase
The Drewry World Container (WCI) posted on 2 January was up 3 percent at $3,905 per feu driven by the transpacific trade to both US West and East Coasts from Asia. Meanwhile the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) was up 1.8 percent on 3 January 2025 over 27 December 2024 at 2,505.7 points.
According to Drewry spot rates from Shanghai to Los Angeles increased 7 percent or $330 to $4,829 per 40ft container, and Shanghai to New York rose 6 percent or $371 to $6,445 per feu.
By contrast on the Asia – Europe trade Shanghai to Rotterdam rates were down 1 percent at $4,774 per feu and rates from Shanghai – Genoa were flat at $5,420 per feu.
Looking ahead Drewry said it, “expects rates on the Transpacific trade to rise in the coming week, driven by front-loading ahead of the looming ILA port strike in January 2025 and the anticipated tariff hikes under the incoming Trump Administration”.
Shipowners switch to smaller vessels
The rerouting of global trade from China to ports elsewhere in Asia is leading shipowners to move on from the era of ordering ever-larger vessels and switch to smaller crafts instead.
Just six container ships capable of carrying the equivalent of more than 17,000 20-foot containers, known in industry parlance as TEUs, are due to be delivered in 2025, against 17 delivered in 2020, according to shipbroker Braemar.
At the same time, 83 mid-sized vessels measuring between 12,000 TEUs and 16,999 TEUs are set to be completed in 2025, almost five times the number five years earlier.
Container line reliability shows marked improvement
Sea-Intelligence’s Global Liner Report, which covers 34 global trade lanes covering over 60 container lines, showed a 4.1 percentage point improvement in November 2024 month-on-month to hit 54.8 percent – the highest level for the year.
Schedule reliability in 2024 was impacted by the disruption caused by Houthi attacks on shipping the Red Sea and subsequent diversions. Schedules were hit by the rerouting of vessels via the Cape of Good Hope, the front loading of cargoes by shippers and port congestion at major transhipment hubs.
“Schedule reliability has largely remained within the 50 to 55 percent range in 2024,” Sea-Intelligence CEO Alan Murphy commented.
China seeks to bolster ports and aviation hubs
China said on Sunday it would launch 15 measures to bolster the development of its western provinces with the construction of logistical infrastructure such as ports and aviation hubs. The General Administration of Customs said the measures would enhance the integration of rail, air, river and sea links in China’s west, state media reported. The measures are to include enhancing international aviation hubs in cities including Chengdu, Chongqing, Kunming, Xi’an and Urumqi, while developing comprehensive bonded zones, and integrating these with ports and other transport links. A number of ports would also be built and expanded. China has long sought to bolster the economic heft of its western regions, which have markedly lagged coastal provinces. But ethnic tensions in such places a Xinjiang and hard-line security measures Beijing says are needed to safeguard national unity and border stability, have drawn criticism from some Western nations.