ONE and MTI Establish AI Joint Venture
Ocean Network Express (ONE) and MTI have established a joint venture, QUAVEO, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The new company aims to promote the digital transformation of operations and business models in container shipping by utilizing AI technology.ONE operates over 260 vessels and provides container transport services connecting over 120 countries globally. The company says the need for digital transformation involving AI technology adoption—such as responding to diversifying market needs…
Evergreen Confirms Fleetwide Rollout of Inmarsat Nexuswave
Evergreen Marine, a leading container shipping company, has become the first Taiwanese operator to upgrade its fleet to NexusWave bonded connectivity solution from Inmarsat Maritime, a Viasat company. Following successful trials, Evergreen is transitioning to NexusWave to enhance crew welfare, strengthen cybersecurity, and provide high-performance connectivity for its vessels and seafarers.Building on Evergreen’s years of experience with Fleet Xpress, the upgrade to NexusWave introduces bonded, multi-network connectivity with fast speed, unlimited data and always-on performance.
Maersk Names New Regional President for North America
A.P. Moller - Maersk has appointed Ditlev Blicher as the new Regional President for North America, effective January 1, 2026.Blicher assumes the role after most recently serving as the company’s Regional President for Asia Pacific since 2023.A logistics industry veteran, Blicher joined Maersk in 2020 with deep global experience in operations and general management. Prior to joining Maersk, he was APA CEO at DB Schenker. He also served as President of Asia Pacific and Europe for…
Container Vessels: Return to Suez Canal Looms Large
"Assuming a significant increase in recycling of older ships and a reduction in average sailing speeds, we forecast that average market conditions in 2026 will be like those in 2025 but 2027 could see slightly weaker market conditions. We forecast ship demand growth of 2.5%-3.5% in both 2026 and 2027 while supply is estimated to grow 3% in 2026 and 3.5% in 2027,” says Niels Rasmussen, Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO. The return to normal Red Sea and Suez Canal routings in the not-too-distant future, however, seems increasingly likely, which could result in a 10% reduction in ship demand.
Danish Container Traffic Hits Record in Third Quarter
The third quarter of this year has broken all records when it comes to the most loaded containers transported to or from major Danish ports.Containerized goods equivalent to 137,000 TEU containers arrived at a Danish port in the third quarter, while in the other direction, containerized goods equivalent to 122,000 TEU were shipped out of Danish ports.The majority of containers to and from Denmark go via APM Terminals' container terminal in Aarhus, where there has also been a significant increase during 2025.The increase in volumes is due…
UN Launches Decade of Sustainable Transport
The United Nations has launched the first ever United Nations Decade of Sustainable Transport (2026–2035).The Implementation Plan, launched in New York, is the result of a participatory consultation process and provides a roadmap to align policies, finance, technology and data with sustainable transport to advance the Sustainable Development Goals.“This consultative and inclusive process has opened new avenues for cooperation, and we have been privileged to lead it. It has brought together governments…
US Has Other Options if Supreme Court Rules Against Tariffs
The United States can use other measures to recreate the roughly $200 billion in revenues it is collecting under tariffs based on a 1977 law if the Supreme Court strikes down use of that law, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Wednesday.Greer, speaking at an event hosted by the Atlantic Council, said it would make sense for Congress to legislate new rules for U.S. trade in the longer term.He declined to provide any details on the Trump administration's backup plan…
Brazil Court Recommends Auction of Santos Terminal
Brazil's Federal Audit Court (TCU) on Monday voted six to three to recommend that operators of existing container terminals at the Santos port be barred from participating in the first phase of bidding for a planned mega terminal, citing concerns over market concentration.The decision deals a blow to companies such as Danish shipping group Maersk, MSC and others already operating container terminals in Latin America's largest port, as these companies will only be able to enter a second phase of the auction if the first does not attract valid bids.The two-phase model, proposed by port regulator
China Trade Surplus Tops $1 Trillion on Non-US Growth
China's trade surplus topped $1 trillion for the first time as manufacturers seeking to avoid President Donald Trump's tariffs shipped more to non-U.S. markets in November, with exports to Europe, Australia and Southeast Asia surging.Shipments to the United States dropped by close to one-third from the same month a year before."The tariff cuts agreed under the U.S.-China trade truce didn't help to lift shipments to the U.S. last month, but overall export growth rebounded nonetheless," said Zichun Huang, China economist at Capital Economics.
Red Sea Return Imminent for Container Shipping
Major carrier CMA CGM has announced its INDAMEX service will transit Suez Canal on fronthaul and backhaul voyages between India/Pakistan and US East Coast in a notable step towards a largescale return of container ships to the Red Sea region.The first vessel to complete a full service loop via Suez Canal will be CMA CGM Verdi, sailing from Karachi to New York on 15 January. eeSea by Xeneta data shows voyages via Suez Canal rather than Cape of Good Hope reduces full loop transit time on this service by two weeks…
Return to Suez will be Gradual, Hapag-Lloyd CEO Says
There is no specific timeline for when the shipping industry will resume sailing through the Suez Canal, but any return would be gradual, the chief executive of Hapag-Lloyd, the world's fifth-largest container company, said on Thursday.Shipping companies have been sailing costly routes around Africa since November 2023 to avoid attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea by Yemen's Houthi militants, who said they were acting in solidarity with Palestinians over Israel's war in…
Liebherr to Supply STS Cranes to Port Tampa Bay
Liebherr Container Cranes has signed a contract to deliver two ship-to-shore (STS) cranes to Port Tampa Bay, marking Liebherr’s first STS installation on Florida’s Gulf Coast.The cranes will play a central role in the port’s Vision 2030 expansion and will deliver significant gains in berth productivity, vessel turnaround efficiency, and long-term operational reliability.The new cranes, manufactured at Liebherr’s facility in Killarney, Ireland, feature a 60-metre (197FT) outreach…
Ports and Geopolitics Driving Container Fleet Renewal
This week, container ship ordering news was dominated by the order by Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) for eight 13,400 TEU container ships.In a newly released report, the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA) notes that the container fleet is aging. As of August 2025, the average fleet age of the top 10 shipping lines is relatively mature at around 13 years old, although there is variation amongst the different shipping companies. Evergreen and HMM currently operate the youngest fleet with an average age of nine years…
International Cooperation Uncovers Major Vape Smuggling Operation
Australian Border Force (ABF) officers posted overseas in Beijing have prevented over 600,000 illegal vapes from hitting Australia’s streets after information sharing led to the referral of almost 70 high risk containers.The majority of the seized vapes - which had a street value of approximately $30 million, arrived into NSW between September and October 2025.The information allowed ABF officers to identify several other shipments related to the initial referrals, with majority of the containers falsely described as items such as glass bottles…
Maersk Chooses Charlotte for its North American Headquarters
A.P. Moller-Maersk (Maersk) has selected Charlotte for its official North America headquarters, committing to add more than 500 jobs to its current Charlotte-based workforce over the next several years, ultimately bringing its Charlotte workforce to more than 1,300.Maersk has had a corporate presence in Charlotte for more than two decades, and the company purchased its current space in South Charlotte in 2006.Maersk chose Charlotte for its North American headquarters because of the market's affordability, growing talent pool, and high quality of life.
Online Training Helps Maritime Professionals Recognize Signs of Human Trafficking
Human trafficking remains one of the most lucrative and devastating crimes in the world, second only to the illicit drug trade. Today, an estimated 50 million people are living in modern slavery.To combat this crisis, Invisible Traffick, a Northern Ireland–based charity, is providing both in-person and online training to help maritime professionals recognize the warning signs of human trafficking and make the invisible, visible.Invisible Traffick’s founder and CEO, Gayle Bunting…
Upgraded Koala Service Boosts Australia - Asia Link
Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT), Australia’s fully automated container terminal operated by International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI), recently enhanced maritime connection to Asian markets through a revamped Koala service.The service, operated by MSC, made its inaugural call at VICT on October 4, linking the Port of Melbourne directly with major ports in China and Indonesia.Fixed weekly route will offer increased flexibility to supply chains serving…
Australian Authorities Seize Cocaine from Shipping Container
The Australian Border Force (ABF) and Australian Federal Police (AFP) have seized almost 65kg of cocaine potentially worth more than A$21 million ($14 million) from a shipping container in Brisbane.The consignment came from Panama and was declared as 20 packages containing 2380 wooden slats.Officers x-rayed the shipping container and noticed anomalies within its flooring that turned out to be 108 bricks of a white substance wrapped in black plastic.ABF detector dogs attended and provided a positive indication of narcotics within the consignment.
Container Freight Rates Could Plunge with End of Houthi Attacks
Houthi militia have reportedly ceased attacks on Israel and shipping in the Red Sea, and the impact could be seismic for global ocean container shipping, warns Chief Analyst Peter Sand at Xeneta. However, an immediate largescale return to the region will require a series of further assurances.“Details are sketchy, and you cannot base the safety of crews, ships and cargo on the word of Houthi militia. Carriers need far more assurance than that and, perhaps more importantly, so do insurance companies…
October U.S. Container Imports Flatten
Descartes Systems Group has released its November Global Shipping Report highlighting that U.S. container imports were essentially flat in October as year-to-date volumes continue to decrease.The 2,306,687 TEU of imports was down a slight 0.1% from September and 7.5% lower than October 2024. After volume declines in August and September, imports from China were up 5.4% over September but down 16.3% year-over-year.Compared to September, port transit time delays increased modestly in October across most top U.S.
WSC Launches Updated Global Whale Chart
The World Shipping Council (WSC) has released the third edition of the WSC Whale Chart, a global voyage planning aid that maps where slower ship speeds and route changes can help protect whales from ship strikes and reduce underwater noise.The WSC Whale Chart brings together all known mandatory and voluntary ship-strike and underwater noise reduction measures worldwide, including speed restrictions, routing measures and seasonal protection zones. It is the first tool of its kind to make this global information available in a single source…
CMA CGM Reverses Mali Suspension
CMA CGM has reversed a decision to suspend cargo shipments to Mali over safety concerns and a fuel shortage, the French group said on Thursday following a meeting with the authorities.In early September, al Qaeda-linked militant group Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) announced a blockade on fuel imports to the landlocked West African country. The group has since attacked convoys of fuel tankers attempting to enter the country or reach the capital, Bamako."Overland transport has been heavily impacted in terms of both transit times and costs…
Container Ship Emissions Remain Steady
In its latest quarterly analysis, VesselBot analyses 73,353 container ship voyages completed by 4,750 vessels between July and September 2025, revealing that total container ship emissions reached 50.3 million tons in Q3 2025, remaining virtually unchanged (-0.2%) compared to Q3 2024 despite a 2.3% increase in voyages.Average well-to-wake emissions intensity improved to 195.9 g CO2e/TEU km, down 1.6% year-over-year, driven by longer steaming times and reduced port dwell times.Direct China-U.S.