News Highlights week: 01-2021

According to Chinese forwarder contacts, carriers are inviting offers for available slots on end January sailings from ports in China, with all-in bids below $16,000 per 40ft H/C for the UK and $10,500 for Rotterdam, Antwerp and Le Havre unlikely to be successful. Meanwhile, today’s Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI), which does not include additional premium fees to guarantee equipment and space, saw its North Europe component gain a further 9%, to $4,452 per teu, an astonishing 344% higher than for the same week of last year. Most forwarding contacts said they expected rates from Asia to Europe to fall after the China’s new year holiday, especially as carriers have, so far, this year untypically blanked very few sailings.

Container volumes on the principal deepsea trades continued their ascent in November, as the market recovery gained further strength through the fourth quarter of 2020. The latest figures published by Container Trades Statistics show that global volumes carried that month were recorded at 15.2m teu, a rise of 8% on November 2019 to prolong the trend of rising box numbers way beyond the sector’s traditional peak season. Despite a slight drop on October traffic, the marked rise in figures brought the global year-to-date total up to 152.9m teu, which is down just 1.7% on volumes reported through the first 11 months of 2019, according to CTS.

A number of containerships have been waiting for berths at the congested terminals at Los Angeles and Long Beach since Christmas Day, with one vessel now reported at anchor for a full two weeks. The Marine Exchange of Southern California, which oversees vessel ovements in San Pedro Bay, reported 34 containerships at anchor awaiting a berth, with another nine expected to arrive. 
Bank of Communications Financial Leasing (Bocomm Leasing) is said to have signed up for six ultra-large containerships at Chinese shipyards, with the backing of Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC). Industry players said Bocomm Leasing has split the order for the 24,000-teu newbuildings equally between Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group), Jiangnan Shipyard and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding. 

Shoei Kisen has signed an order for six 24,000-teu boxships — to be built by Imabari Shipbuilding and Japan Marine United — for delivery in 2023 and 2024. Singapore-based Ocean Network Express (ONE) said it has penned a letter of intent to charter Shoei Kisen’s ULCs for 15 years. 
Hapag-Lloyd signed an order worth up to $1bn for six ULCs at DSME just before Christmas. The 23,000-teu vessels will be equipped with LNG dual-fuel engines and are scheduled for delivery between April and December 2023.