/ By tjchinafreight ivy / Shipping

“MSC, Yixing Shipping and SIPG provide “”land-to-water”” services

Recently, the new crown epidemic has rebounded in China, and the anti-epidemic situation is very serious. In order to further improve the service level of Shanghai Port, continue to optimize the collection and distribution system of Shanghai Port, and relieve the pressure of tight road transportation resources in Shanghai Port affected by the epidemic, SIPG has launched "container land-to-water" services to serve all sectors of society, providing customers with efficient, Convenient water transport service.

Mediterranean Shipping (MSC)

On April 9, Mediterranean Shipping (MSC) announced that it will jointly provide "land-to-water" services with Shanghai Port Group.

MSC said that in the early stage of the new round of the epidemic, SIPG made corresponding preparations in advance to ensure the normal operation efficiency of ports and terminals, and MSC's shipping schedule in Shanghai was effectively guaranteed.

However, since the closure of the city in Shanghai, land transportation has been restricted to a certain extent, which has affected customers' order exchange and case pick-up business. A large number of imported containers piled up at the terminal, resulting in a tight storage space.

In order to effectively alleviate this situation and help customers have more choices, MSC and SIPG actively communicated and cooperated and launched the following two major measures: First, to provide "land-to-water" services to alleviate the current status of land transportation. The second is to actively respond to the call of SIPG to promote the paperless order exchange business.

According to reports, the "land to water" service uses the advantages of waterways to alleviate the shortage of road transportation resources under the epidemic through the golden waterway of the Yangtze River and ensure the timeliness of transportation. The paperless and contactless operation model is an initiative currently being fully implemented by SIPG. MSC said that it will actively respond to help customers effectively ensure the efficiency of logistics and transportation.

Also cooperating with Shanghai Port Group is Xingchen Shipping.

On April 10, Yixing Shipping issued an announcement stating that due to the severe epidemic situation, it is difficult to provide card collection services. To this end, Yixing cooperates with Shanghai Port Group to provide customers with "land-to-water" solutions (Taicang undertakes the Shanghai-Taiwan Stock Connect service) to promote the normal operation of the container transportation business.

Yixing said that at the export service outlets, the transportation fee from the "land to water" port to the Shanghai terminal will be settled by the booking agent directly with the shipping agency, and the rest of the booking operation process is related to Shanghai local export.

In terms of import services, customers can handle the "land to water" entrustment on their own on the SIPG platform. "

/ By tjchinafreight ivy / Shipping

“The shipping company notified the port jump, involving Shanghai/Ningbo/Yantian/Qingdao

Recently, a screenshot of the densely crowded ships near Shanghai waters has been circulated on the Internet. The picture said that ""hundreds of ocean-going freighters have been stranded in the outer seas of Shanghai, and the supply chain is broken here.Sea freight severely affected in Shanghai.

Cargo ships around the world in Shanghai port during the epidemic
Cargo ships around the world in Shanghai port during the epidemic

There are differences in the performance of dry bulk carriers, oil tankers and container ships. According to feedback from industry insiders, the reason for the decrease in container ships may be that shipping companies have made port-hopping adjustments to container ships, and canceled ports of call including Shanghai Port, Ningbo Port, Qingdao Port Port and Yantian Port.

Under the epidemic prevention and control in Shanghai, shipping companies responded urgently

Maersk

Yesterday, Maersk issued an announcement saying that due to the impact of epidemic prevention and control, the density of dangerous goods and refrigerated container yards at Shanghai terminals has increased. Customers are advised to ship or transfer the goods to other Chinese destination ports where possible to avoid port congestion. Goods arriving in Shanghai may be diverted to other locations.

MSC

In order to avoid port congestion and ship schedule delays, the 2M Alliance announced that the 17th week of the Jade/AE11 and Shogun/AE1 routes will cancel calls to Qingdao Port and Ningbo Port, respectively.
In addition, MSC issued an announcement on April 7 that the Shanghai port was congested and there were few or no refrigerated container plugs available. MSC will not be able to unload reefer containers at designated ports if there is no power available. Cargo may be time sensitive and delayed unloading may result in damage to the cargo. MSC said that if customers want to make a change of destination (COD), please communicate with them as soon as possible. In addition to the operating costs incurred, a COD fee will be charged.

CMA CGM

CMA CGM issued an announcement on April 8: Due to the impact of the epidemic prevention and control measures on truck transportation speed and available truck capacity, the pickup of imported goods has slowed down significantly, so the container stays for too long, resulting in a greater burden on the Shanghai Port yard. pressure. To prevent the potential occurrence of a reefer container being refused discharge due to a limited number of plugs, shippers are strongly advised to anticipate potential problems and identify options for rerouting shipments.

Hapag-Lloyd

On April 7, Hapag-Lloyd announced that Shanghai Port will not accept refrigerated containers and dangerous cargo containers. These two types of containers will be unloaded at the previous port before arriving at Shanghai Port.

ONE

ONE issued a notice a few days ago saying that the Shanghai port is still in operation, but the availability of trucking is limited, which hinders the customs clearance of imported goods. The resulting impact is that the utilization of hazardous goods and reefer yards is extremely high, especially the Yangshan and Waigaoqiao PH2. Due to operational constraints in the yard, some Dangerous Goods and Reefers (DG Classes and Reefers) may not be allowed to unload if the volume does not hold.

In this case, ONE will arrange a change of destination (COD) to unload the goods at other ports instead, or unload the goods at other transshipment ports and transport them to Shanghai if circumstances permit.

Take the star

On April 11, Yixing issued a notice of jumping to the ports of Yantian, Shanghai and Busan. Since the ship will gradually withdraw from the ZSA service, ZSA-CEZANNE9W will cancel the call at Yantian, Shanghai and Busan.

In view of the above situation, the adjustment of shipping companies' port-hopping and the launch of ""land-to-water"" by Shanghai Port Group have all diverted container ships in Shanghai Port to a certain extent. In view of the increase of dry bulk carriers and oil tankers, generally speaking, Shanghai Port is dominated by container transportation, and the above two types of ships account for a small proportion. It is not clear the exact reason for the increase of dry bulk carriers and oil tankers.

Some people in the shipping industry said that dry bulk carriers mainly transport iron ore, coal, grain, etc., and oil products are in the non-scheduled ship market. The upstream and downstream customers are relatively concentrated, and the transportation is mainly from port to port. The impact of the epidemic on the supply chain is relatively small. At the same time, dry bulk cargo mainly relies on mechanical equipment for loading and unloading, and oil products are mainly connected through pipelines."

/ By tjchinafreight ivy / Shipping

Customs fraud

What is customs fraud?

Customs fraud is any fraudulent practice that attempts to reduce the duties (or duties or taxes) levied on goods imported into the United States from abroad.

CBP officers can only inspect a small percentage of shipments entering the country each day. The country's customs system relies on allowing importers to accurately identify the type, value and country of origin of the goods they import, and pay import duties as required by law. From fiscal 1993 to 2018, CBP attempted to collect about 65,000 unpaid tariff bills totaling $4.5 billion, according to a 2019 CBP study.

Not only do dishonest importers defraud the U.S. government of hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, but these companies can and do gain a significant unfair pricing advantage over competitors who obey the law and pay the correct import duties on similar goods.

Common types of customs fraud

Valuation Fraud

The most common type of customs fraud involves understating the dutiable value of imported goods. Importers must declare the value of imported goods on entry documents, including Entry Summary Form 7501. They are also usually required to provide copies of invoices from unrelated third parties to determine the "transaction value" of the relevant imports.

Underestimation schemes often involve falsified or falsified invoices, or failure to disclose required components of the transaction value, such as "auxiliaries" - materials provided by the buyer for use in the manufacturing process. Schemes also often involve submitting invoices that claim to be from unrelated third parties but are actually from affiliates or accomplices in tax evasion schemes.

Country of Origin Fraud

Another broad category of customs fraud involves falsifying the "country of origin" of imported goods. Violators commit "country of origin" fraud by mislabeling goods or transshipping goods through a third country to make it appear as if they came from a country with a lower applicable Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) rate or with no import quota for the goods in question. Country of origin fraud is also used to evade anti-dumping and countervailing (ADD or CVD) duties. This type of fraud often involves deceptive practices such as repackaging, relabeling, and mixing items from other sources to hide the true origin.

Tariff Misclassification Fraud

Another major type of customs fraud involves the improper use of HTS tariff rate classifications.

Structured

 

Structuring occurs when an importer divides a shipment into multiple shipments of lower value. Customs law includes a minimal exception whereby imports below a certain value are not subject to customs duties. By dividing larger shipments into many parts, importers can fraudulently claim that the shipment is under the quota to avoid tariffs.

Start your voyage. Honest business competitors are unfairly disadvantaged by competitors who evade import duties. You can fully trust TJ-china freight, we can provide customs clearance services, we are one of the most reliable agents in China!

/ By tjchinafreight ivy / Shipping

U.S. imposes sanctions on Russian state-owned shipbuilders

The "Bucha Massacre" has become an important turning point in the Russian-Ukrainian crisis. Recently, the United States launched a new round of sanctions against Russia, targeting large strategic state-owned enterprises. Russia's largest state-owned shipbuilding company, United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), and its executives have become the latest "victims" on the sanctions list.

Washington, April 8. /TASS/. The U.S. government has imposed sanctions on eight board members and 28 subsidiaries of Russia's United Shipbuilding Corporation.

The U.S. Treasury Department describes USC as "the principal Russian state-owned enterprise (SOE) responsible for the development and construction of Russian Navy warships."

The USC officials who were blacklisted were USC Board of Regents Chair Georgy Poltavchenko and CEO Alexey Rakhmanov. Other blacklisted board members include Andrey Lavrishchev, head of the Federal Service for Maritime Affairs and River Transport, Vitaly Markelov, deputy chairman of the Gazprom Management Board, Vladimir Pospelov, board member of the Russian Federal Military-Industrial Council, and deputy minister of industry and trade, Russian Federation Fisheries Minister Oleg Ryazantsev, Federal Fisheries Director Ilya Shestakov and JSC Rosneft Vice President Andrey Shishkin.

According to the statement, the 28 subsidiaries included in the sanctions list include:

1. JSC 33 shipyard, specializing in warship maintenance;
2. JSC Admiralty Shipyards, which builds warships and submarines;
3. The Baltic Shipyard, which builds naval ships;
4. Vyborg Shipyard, participating in the construction of icebreakers;
5. Shipbuilding Plant Severnaya Verf, which builds guided missile cruisers, anti-submarine and torpedo boats, and destroyers;
6. Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard, specializing in the construction of warships;
7. Severnoe Design Bureau, involved in projects related to frigates and destroyers;
8. Nevskoe Design Bureau, which designs warships, including aircraft carriers;
9. Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau, which designs fast missiles and patrol ships;
10. Krasnoye Sormovo Shipyard, which produces military ships, including submarines;
11. Central Design Bureau for Marine Engineering Rubin, which designs submarines and conducts other Russian defense activities;
12. Research Design and Technological Bureau Onega, which provides engineering and design support for Russian Navy submarines;
13. St. Petersburg’s Sea Bureau of Mechanical Engineering Malachite, designed submarines;
14. 10 Ordena Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni Dockyard, participating in ship repair activities;
15. Baltic Shipbuilding Plant Yantar, engaged in the construction of military ships;
16. Amursky Shipbuilding Plant, engaged in submarine construction and manufacture of weapons and defense products;
17. Ship Repair Center Zvezdochka, engaged in submarine repair and other military activities;
18. Proletarsky Zavod, participated in the completion of strategic orders of the Russian government and the production of submarine products;
19. Khabarovsk Shipbuilding Yard, involved in the construction of ships for the Russian Navy and the Federal Security Service (FSB) of the Russian Federation;
20. Aysberg Central Design Building, engaged in ship design;
21. Kaspiyskaya Energiya Administration Office, responsible for completing strategic work related to USC and the oil and gas industry;
22. Northern Production Association Arktika, engaged in production activities related to military ships;
23. Northern Machine-Building Enterprise, which builds submarines for the Russian Navy;
24. Svetlovsky Enterprise ERA, for activities related to ship automation;
25. Shipbuilding Plant Lotos, a Russian military-industrial complex shipyard;
26. Kronshtadtskyy Morskoy Factory Minoborony Rossii, for the Russian Ministry of Defense;
27. Sudoexport, representing USC to enter the world shipbuilding market;
28. Design Office for Shipbuilding Vympel, which designs special-purpose ships for the Russian Navy and other projects for the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Companies blacklisted by the United States face asset freezes in the United States. U.S. citizens and corporations are prohibited from conducting any business activities with these entities.

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an early morning televised speech that he had launched a special military operation in Ukraine in response to requests from the leaders of the Donbas republics for help. He stressed that Moscow has no intention of occupying Ukrainian territory, and the leader stressed that the sole purpose of the operation was to demilitarize and demilitarize Ukraine.

It is understood that the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) is the largest shipbuilding group in Russia. According to the Russian Presidential Decree on March 21, 2007 signed by Putin, the United Shipbuilding Corporation was officially established, and the registration was completed in mid-November 2007. , headquartered in St. Petersburg, the Russian government holds 100% of the company's shares, the group has 50 subsidiaries such as shipyards, ship repair yards and design bureaus.

The purpose of establishing the USC by the Russian government is to consolidate and develop the Russian defense industry and safeguard the national maritime security and defense system. While developing, producing, constructing, repairing and maintaining warship and submarine projects, vigorously develop the civilian shipbuilding industry and develop the world maritime market. The USC is completely controlled by the government, and its 11 members of the board of directors are elected by the Government of the Russian Federation to exercise power on behalf of the state for a 12-month term.

Western countries have imposed new sanctions on Russia due to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. According to the Russian President's Press Secretary Peskov, the Western sanctions are very strong, but Russia is prepared for this in advance. He added that this requires analysis and coordination across ministries to develop a response that is in Russia's interests.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the policy of containing and weakening Russia is a long-term strategy of the West, and sanctions have dealt a heavy blow to economies around the world. He pointed out that the main goal of the West is to make the lives of millions worse, and by freezing Russia's foreign exchange reserves, the United States and the European Union have effectively declared a default on Russian debt. He added that current events would end the West's global dominance of politics and economics.
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/ By tjchinafreight ivy / Shipping

Temporary knowledge of customs clearance of inbound and outbound goods

1. What is temporary inbound and outbound goods?

Temporary inbound and outbound goods usually refer to international organizations, foreign governments, domestic and foreign enterprises, institutions, groups or individuals for the purpose of carrying out exchanges and cooperation in economy, technology, science, culture, education, sports, health, etc., as well as engineering construction and equipment maintenance. Items such as goods that are temporarily transported into the territory of my country or transported out of the country with the approval of the customs and need to be re-transported out or re-transported into the country.

The document has special provisions on the scope of the above goods:

"Exhibitions, trade fairs, conferences and similar events" means:

1. Trade, industry, agriculture, craft exhibitions, as well as trade fairs and expositions;
2. Exhibitions or conferences organized for charitable purposes;
3. Exhibitions or conferences organized to promote scientific and technological, educational, cultural and sports exchanges, tourism activities or non-governmental friendship;
4. Conference of representatives of international organizations or international organizations;
5. Commemorative Congresses organized by the government.

"Exhibit" means:

1. The goods displayed at the exhibition;
2. Goods used for the demonstration of machines or appliances exhibited at the exhibition;
3. Set up construction materials and decorative materials for temporary booths;
4. Movies, slideshows, video tapes, audio tapes, manuals, advertisements, CD-ROMs, display equipment, etc. to promote and display goods;
5. Other goods for exhibition display.

"Sample" refers to the sample of goods used for display, operation demonstration, reference for ordering, inspection and testing, but does not include the same goods imported or exported by the same consignee and consignee in excess of a reasonable quantity.

"Equipment, instruments and supplies used in project construction" refers to the construction equipment, instruments and supplies in Sino-foreign cooperation projects that the foreign party brings into the country and the Chinese party does not need to pay external fees.

"Other temporary inbound and outbound goods approved by the customs" refers to the temporary inbound and outbound goods approved by the customs that belong to key national projects and special needs.

"Packaging material" means the material used in its original state for packaging, protecting, filling or separating goods and the device used for transportation, handling or stacking.

Customs reminds attention: non-public exhibitions organized in shops or other business premises for the purpose of selling foreign goods do not belong to the exhibitions, trade fairs, conferences and similar activities mentioned in these Measures.

2. Customs clearance process for temporary inbound and outbound goods

The competent customs of the temporary entry and exit of goods is the customs of the place where exhibitions, trade fairs, conferences and similar activities are held in China, or the customs of the entry and exit of goods. For temporary inbound and outbound goods entering and exiting the country through customs transit, the competent customs shall be the customs of the transit point of shipment or the place of departure.

Your trusted customs clearance service.

/ By tjchinafreight ivy / Shipping

Seafarers have reasonable epidemic prevention, but they are maliciously harassed by Panamanian aviators!

In recent months, I have heard several times that the pilots deliberately made things difficult for the ship to pass through Panama, causing the ship to delay crossing the river. At first, I did not take it seriously, because I have always had a good impression of the management and services of the Panama Canal, just like the canal. The charming tropical rainforest scenery on both sides of the strait is the same, until recently, my personal experience has subverted the original cognition. Therefore, I decided to write it down and be a kind reminder for colleagues' reference, which may be helpful.

It is planned to enter the Pacific Ocean through the Panama Canal from the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and then return to China. According to the afternoon before the scheduled date of passing the canal (no later than 02:00lt on the same day), our ship successfully anchored in the northwest of the sea off the CRISTOBAL breakwater, and boarded the ship at 1515LT the next day. It was planned that our ship was at the fleet number S10, and the actual 0518LT arrived at the PILOT STATION (the mouth of the breakwater). The first pilot successfully boarded the ship with a boarding speed of 5 knots. Due to epidemic prevention and control, all crew members are required to wear four sets of epidemic prevention suits: protective clothing, masks, face shields or goggles, and rubber gloves. As soon as PILOT boarded the ship, his attitude was very unfriendly. He had to walk into the bridge from the living area, otherwise he would not lead the boat (during the epidemic, the pilot water was generally allowed to go outside).

After the water was brought to the bridge, he got angry again and again, complained that we were wearing protective suits and disrespected him, mocked that everyone was like a WHITE RABBIT, and kept expressing what seemed to be "reasonable anger". When he had a conflict, he could only explain it well: "During the epidemic, we traveled through various countries, and the risk factor was high, and it was also for everyone's safety... At the same time, the company also clearly stipulated and so on." I thought that PILOT's vexatious troubles would end with our friendly consolation, but I didn't expect that the nightmare had just begun.

About 500 meters before entering the first gate, the speed of the ship is 2.2 knots, and the PILOT requires the bow thruster to turn to the left at full speed (BOW THRUSTER FULL TO PORT). I was worried that the water diversion would take advantage of the problem. After checking with the old track, after turning off some unnecessary equipment loads, I took a risk and adjusted the thruster load to 100%. However, PILOT said NO GOOD, IT'S PROBLEM, we must let it go. The chief engineer came up to explain and repaired it. It was ridiculous. With a side thrust of 900KW and a full-load displacement of more than 40,000 tons, how could the effect be immediate. I knew in my heart that the Chief Engineer came to no avail. Once he came up, he would have less flexibility to deal with it, so I explained that the Chief Engineer couldn't go away and kept procrastinating.

During the period, the worst thing was that PILOT insisted that the cooling effect of the air conditioner was not up to standard, and secretly called the canal authorities to complain (the canal prosecutor has inspected the equipment of our ship, and the condition is good, including the air conditioning system), PILOT also Said to me, due to the fleet adjustment, I passed the third LOCK and went to drop a short anchor first, which I believed at the time. It was not until ten minutes later that I received an inquiry call from the company on the bridge that my boat had been delayed to cross the river due to a complaint about the air conditioning system. After hanging up on the phone, he was furious, but quickly realized that he couldn't get angry, otherwise it would be counterproductive. First of all, go to check the thermometer on the bridge, the actual temperature at that time was 26 ℃, take evidence, photos and videos, and send them to the company and the agent to ask the authorities to reconsider and verify. In the third LOCK, the canal authorities sent a third-party inspection engineer to board the ship to inspect and test the air-conditioning system, including the bridge and living area, and finally concluded that the temperature was comfortable and normal, and the plan of crossing the river was resumed again, but The anger that caused the diversion rebounded sharply, and the difficulties became even more intensified. The second PILOT boarded the ship at 0625LT. The two of them seemed to have negotiated well, and then began to criticize the protective clothing of my ship, especially the PILOT reported earlier, which was even more unreasonable. They communicated, otherwise, they refused to communicate. For the sake of safety, of course, we did not agree. We still maintained peaceful exchanges and tried our best to avoid the escalation of conflicts.

We made it through the canal anyway, and although it wasn't delayed, the results were good, but the process was a real ordeal. To sum up, I think we should not only carefully prepare the inspection content stipulated by the canal authorities, but also prepare how to deal with a series of malicious difficulties from PILOT. Maybe there is any interest relationship behind it, we don't know, the only thing we have to do is Resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of ships from being infringed.Want to ship goods in China? Contact us!

/ By tjchinafreight ivy / Shipping

22,000 dockworkers may go on strike

In the Port of Oakland, California. The last time dockworkers' contracts expired, ports on the U.S. West Coast suffered months of disruption. Learn more about shipping services.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union's contract expires at the end of June. For those whose livelihoods depend on the port—truck drivers, logistics companies, retailers—July 1 marks the beginning of a period of serious uncertainty.
The labor standoff could exacerbate floating traffic jams, leaving dozens of ships waiting in the Pacific Ocean before they can dock. That could exacerbate shortages and send already high consumer prices soaring.
Some port workers have accused dockworkers of fueling chaos at the port ahead of contract negotiations, increasing their leverage over terminal operators while hindering the flow of goods for everyone else.
"Every time a contract is signed, things slow down," said Anthony Chilton, 55, who drives a truck to move containers between ports and warehouses in Southern California. "We always blame the terminals. Workers. They slack off, take breaks, call in sick.”
Among those who work at the docks, such descriptions have provoked strong dissatisfaction. Dockworkers say they have no intention of slowing down or stopping the economically vital, physically draining and dangerous jobs they do without interruption during the worst pandemic in a century.

“Both sides are getting ready,” Mario Cordero, executive director of the Port of Long Beach, said in a recent interview from his office overlooking towering cranes and stacks of shipping containers , "It's an incentive because the whole country is watching.

As far as the negotiating situation is concerned, both sides appear to have sufficient advantages. For dockworkers, on the one hand, the long fleet of container ships outside the port has become their most powerful weapon. On the other hand, the full-time work of dock workers is very important to maintain the operation of the terminal and stabilize the ultra-high profits of the terminal company. At the opening of the new Pier (Pier 5) in Seattle on Jan. 7, Rich Austin, President of ILWV 19, said, "We've been working hard to improve our productivity over the past 5 to 6 years because we recognize that This is a very competitive industry and the number of containers handled per hour is important.” He also noted that the port employs a lot of temporary workers to support port operations.

For terminal companies, most of which are subsidiaries of the world's largest liner companies, the docker strike will have an impact on their supply chain operations. But recent pressure from the Biden administration to keep supply chains stable makes it likely that there will be government intervention in the negotiations, and the administration under US President Joe Biden has made it clear that it is ready to pass Regulation to optimize supply chains.
For terminal companies, most of which are subsidiaries of the world's largest liner companies, the docker strike will have an impact on their supply chain operations. But recent pressure from the Biden administration to keep supply chains stable makes it likely that there will be government intervention in the negotiations, and the administration under US President Joe Biden has made it clear that it is ready to pass Regulation to optimize supply chains.

Beyond that, if the strike takes a toll on the U.S. economy, it won't do the dockworkers themselves any favors.

Dockworkers are among the highest-paid blue-collar workers in U.S. industry, but they argue that this is what they get at risk of their lives. The so-called Class A dockworkers, who have pensions and benefits, as well as regular hours, typically earn more than $100,000 a year. Even "temps" -- those guaranteed no shifts -- start at more than $32 an hour.

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/ By tjchinafreight ivy / Shipping

Seaspan plans to expand investment in container ships.

 

In the past two years, the container shipping market has been hot. Although Seaspan, as the world's largest independent container ship owner, could have sat down and reveled in the high income, sufficient customers and long-term leases, due to the rapid development of the shipping industry, the The company still plans to expand its investment in container ships.

The Vancouver-based, Hong Kong-registered, Atlas Corporation-owned company has been growing at a record pace over the past year and a half. Its latest financial statements for 2021 confirmed that the company's cash flow was very solid, with a profit of $400 million in 2021, double the previous year. The leasing business added 70 newbuildings, or about 0.9 million TEU, and new contracts generated total cash flow of up to $12.9 billion.

Like the big liner companies, Seaspan is building a very strong capital pool. There is no doubt that investing in new projects is very easy for Seaspan. If a bank needs it to guarantee a loan, Seaspan can easily find a recent lease with a major liner company, which can last up to 18 years.

That said, Seaspan will still have an exceptionally strong funding position until 2040, even if the hot container market cools one day.

Seaspan and its shareholders want uninterrupted returns through continuous investment like a shipping company. Many large liner companies use their profits to invest in logistics assets. For example, Maersk bought LF, MSC bought Bolloré's African business, and CMA CGM bought Ceva.

But considering that the customers of these profiteers are now helpless to pay sky-high freight costs and endure long delays, in this case, shipping companies rely on their special tax incentives and use their high profits to acquire Another industry has exacerbated the negative sentiment in some parts of the supply chain market to a certain extent. Seaspan needs to study how to play a long-term "ship owner and operator" in the container shipping industry. business to best serve customers.

The issue has been discussed within the company for some time, but according to COO Torsten Pedersen, there is no final conclusion yet. But in general, the company aims to further strengthen its position in global value chains, including beyond 2025.

Ensuring a role in decarbonisation may be an option, but it may also be other activities, and opportunities abound in the chaotic container market.

“The industry is currently undergoing major changes, and the competitive environment is very different from a few years ago. Some links may be squeezed in the new structure, and there will be many strategic moves and counter-attacks in the industry. Huge market changes can provide many creative opportunities, we Think it's an exciting challenge."

"It's a good thing that Seaspan has a strong financial position" amid the boom in the container market, Pedersen said. Seaspan is currently achieving its stated goals. The company has struck deals with operators to build around 70 new ships over the next two or three years.

Concluding comments on the shipping industry, he said: "We have strong partners and long-term contracts, and our partner yards have a long history of shipbuilding. This is an industry that will be heavily funded in the next few years and the landscape is changing."

/ By tjchinafreight ivy / Shipping

Subtle changes in supply and demand, freight rates drop one after another

Supply and demand conditions improved, and freight rates continued to fall. There are many uncertain factors, and the future trend is still unclear.
Recently, the freight rates of major routes in the container shipping market have changed the pace of rising and have continued to decline in the past month. Even so, since the high freight rate in the fourth quarter of last year continued to the first quarter of this year, the current freight rate is still much higher than the same period last year.

Multi-route freight rates drop

According to Drewry data, as of March 17, the World Containerized Freight Index (WCI) was US$8,832.23/FEU, down 3.8% month-on-month and still up 79% compared with the same period in 2021.

In terms of routes, the Shanghai-Rotterdam spot freight rate was US$12,221/FEU, down 4% month-on-month; the Shanghai-Genoa spot freight rate was US$12,619/FEU, up 1% month-on-month; the Shanghai-Los Angeles spot freight rate was US$10,154 /FEU, down 7% month-on-month; Shanghai-New York spot freight rate was US$12,276/FEU, down 5% month-on-month.

On March 18, the China Export Container Freight Index (CCFI) released by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange was 3301.10 points, down 1.9% from the previous month. Among them, the freight index of European routes decreased by 1.9% month-on-month, the freight index of Mediterranean routes decreased by 0.5% month-on-month, the freight index of US-West routes decreased by 3.8% month-on-month, and the freight index of US-East routes increased by 2.1% month-on-month.

According to the Ningbo Export Container Freight Index (NCFI) released by the Ningbo Shipping Exchange, as of March 18, the composite index closed at 3,613.9 points, a month-on-month decline for 11 consecutive weeks, down 15.3% from the high level at the end of December 2021, and from the end of February. It fell 8.4%.

Judging from the situation of different routes since the end of February, the freight index of the South America east route decreased by 19.3%, the freight index of the South American west route decreased by 16.7%, the freight index of the Middle East route decreased by 17.6%, the India-Pakistan route decreased by 13.7%, and the freight index of the European route decreased by 13.7%. The price index fell 11.7%, the most significant decline. The average market price of the 40-foot TEU after the price increase in the Europe, South America East, South America West and America West routes fell by more than US$1,500/FEU, and the freight rate fell the most. It can be seen that, in the past month, although the freight rates of some routes remained flat or increased slightly month-on-month, in general, they showed a downward trend.

As far as the single-day freight rate is concerned, in early March, the freight rate trend showed a clear inflection point.

According to Xeneta data, recently, freight rates from China to Europe suffered the largest one-day drop since February 2020. On March 1, the average spot rate on the route fell by nearly $500/FEU to $13,340/FEU. This is the first time since September 2021 that freight rates on this route are below $13,500/FEU.

However, the agency also pointed out that the current freight rates on the Asia-Europe route are still at a very high level compared to before the COVID-19 outbreak. In 2018-2020, the average spot freight rate on this route was only US$1,500/FEU.

Based on this, Zheng Jingwen, a senior analyst at the International Shipping Research Institute of the Shanghai International Shipping Research Center, said in an interview with a reporter from China Shipping Weekly that according to the trend of previous years, the freight rate will indeed drop slightly and briefly in the first quarter.

Qian Hanglu, an industry analyst at Ningbo Shipping Exchange, also said: "This is mainly due to the traditional off-season, which makes the overall freight rate of the container shipping market continue to decline from mid-January to late March. For example, in 2019 In 2021 and 2021, the NCFI composite index has experienced a 10-week decline, with a cumulative decline of 25.7% and 19.4%, respectively."

/ By tjchinafreight ivy / Shipping

Huiyang Shipping’s first-quarter profit tripled year-on-year

The crisis in Russia and Ukraine pushed up the freight rate of bulk carriers, and the performance of Huiyang Shipping in March and the first quarter both hit record highs.

On April 6, Huiyang Shipping announced its financial report. The revenue in March was NT$2.203 billion (approximately RMB 486 million), and the self-settled operating profit was NT$1.139 billion (approximately RMB 251 million). The monthly pre-tax profit was NT$1.175 billion (approximately RMB 259 million).

The financial report shows that in the first quarter, Huiyang Shipping’s revenue was NT$5.754 billion (approximately RMB 1.269 billion), and its pre-tax profit was NT$2.777 billion (approximately RMB 612 million), three times that of the same period last year. , a record high for the same period of the previous year, with an average operating profit rate of 48%.

Huiyang Shipping said that the global dry bulk shipping market is still affected by the crisis in Russia and Ukraine. At present, due to the surge in oil prices and the transfer of raw material importing countries to other countries for procurement, the voyage has increased. These factors may increase the freight rate. However, whether the demand for raw materials is It can be fully supplemented by other regions, and the impact of subsequent economic sanctions by various countries still needs to be continuously observed.

On the other hand, the epidemic in mainland China heated up again in late March, and the first-tier cities along the coast were shut down due to epidemic prevention, resulting in a slight decline in the market volume. However, Huiyang Shipping believes that this is a short-term impact, and there is a possibility of demand recovery sex.

In terms of fleet planning, Huiyang Shipping received the 37,800-dwt handy-sized high-specification energy-saving and environmentally friendly bulk carrier "Bunun Treasure" delivered by Imabari Shipbuilding in Japan at the end of March, and has signed a stable charter. Up to now, the company's fleet operates 139 ships, with an average age of 7 years. The fleet size and the proportion of energy-saving ships are in a leading position in the industry.

Looking forward to 2022, Huiyang Shipping still maintains an optimistic attitude. Due to the rising freight market and raw material prices in recent years, the construction cost of bulk carriers has increased by about 30%-40% on average compared with the same period last year. The number of orders on hand for cargo ships is still low, and after the new environmental protection regulations hit the road in 2023, it is expected that the elimination of old ships will make the supply of capacity even tighter, and Huiyang Shipping maintains a consistent and stable ship purchase policy, which will give it a more competitive advantage.