Tag / CMA CGM

by Mike Poverello

Competition Commission raids shipping companies suspected of collusion

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News 24 reports that the Competition Commission on Wednesday conducted a search and seizure operation at the premises of six cargo shipping companies operating in the Western Cape and KwaZulu Natal (KZN) on suspicion of collusion and rate fixing, the body said in a statement.

“The Commission has reasonable grounds to suspect that Hamburg Sud South Africa, Maersk South Africa, Safmarine, Mediterranean Shipping Company, Pacific International Line South Africa and CMA CGM Shipping Agencies South Africa have engaged in collusive practices,” the Commission said.

The companies’ practices aimed to among other things fix the incremental rates for the shipment of cargo from Asia to South Africa, which was in contravention of the Competition Act.

According to the Commission, the search and seizure operation is conducted as part of an ongoing investigation which was initiated by the Commission based on information from a member of the public.

The companies under investigation transport cargo for import and export purposes across the globe, including South Africa. They use large metal containers as packaging crates and in-transit warehouses to store and transport general cargo such as frozen foods, garments and footwear.

The customers of these companies are mainly clearing and freight forward agents.

“South Africa is a strategic hub for the trade of goods in and out of the Southern African region. Any cartel by shipping liners in this region results in inflated prices for cargo transportation,” said Tembinkosi Bonakele, commissioner of the Competition Commission.

“Cartels of this nature increase the costs of trading in the region and render the region uncompetitive in the world markets. Such cartels have the effect of significantly derailing the economic growth of the region.”

Reuters reported that Maersk and MSC confirmed the raids and said they were cooperating with authorities. The other companies did not respond to Reuters’ requests for immediate comment.

“The fact that the SACC carries out such inspections does not mean that a company has engaged in anti-competitive behaviour,” Maersk said.

EU antitrust regulators in July accepted an offer from Maersk and 13 competitors to change their pricing practices in order to stave off possible fines. Source: News24

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by Mike Poverello

Smart Containers – making headway

loginno3Technology once again demonstrates that it not only ‘enables’ but can also provide companies a ‘differentiator’ to get ahead of the competition – at least for a while. This is the second such innovation in recent weeks which addresses the needs of international shippers and logistics operators in meeting stringent security requirements while at the same time offering a compelling solution for supply chain auditability and the management of their assets. Furthermore, with more and more countries offering authorised economic operator (AEO) programs these same shippers and logistics operators will in the longer term enjoy a certain comfort from such technology investments through swifter customs clearance or green-lane treatment.

Two leading intra-Asia box lines are switching their entire container fleet to smart containers as they attempt to differentiate themselves from competitors. Hong Kong-based SITC Shipping Group and SIPG container shipping arm Hai Hua have both announced they will upgrade their entire container fleet to smart containers using products from Loginno. SITC, which has a fleet of 66 vessels with a total capacity approaching 2m teu, said it had decided to use smart containers to try to offer customers a different service to other carriers.

SITC Shipping Group Xue MingYuan said: “In a market with more and more homogeneous services, we have to think about why our customers would choose us over others.

“Being among the first to offer, as a standard service on all of our containers, full insight into their cargo movements and security, for a very low additional cost, we differentiate ourselves instantly, and hopefully save our customers a lot of logistic costs in their supply chain.”

This view was echoed by Hai Hua general manager JP Wang: “We have been looking for an affordable means to convert our fleet to smart containers. Shippers and Cargo owners have been long waiting for this service.”

Smart container technology has been around for a few years, but the cost of the technology and fears of damage and theft of the equipment has been enough to discourage its widespread take up. There have also been concerns from shipping lines about how to monetize the technology.

But the industry is gradually increasing its use of the technology. CMA CGM just recently announced a major initiative to introduce smart container technology to its fleet. Loginno chief technology officer Amit Aflalo said its device, which is slightly larger than a mobile phone, was inexpensive and easy to install. The device offers GPS, temperature monitoring, intrusion detection and a movement detector and can provide updates to mobile phones. Source: Lloyds Loading / Loginno

by Mike Poverello

CMA CGM – to introduce ‘smart’ containers to its box fleet

TraxensFrench shipping giant CMA CGM will start phasing in ‘smart’ containers this year, allowing the line and its customers to keep track of each box equipped with new sensors at all times. In an industry first, technology being developed with a start-up company, Traxens, would enable data on the location and condition of the container to be monitored at all times throughout a delivery.

The world’s third-largest container line and Ocean Three member said it had contributed to the capital increase of French firm Traxens that will enable CMA CGM to have access to an unprecedented amount of information on each container and offer clients what it describes as unique tracking solutions and real-time data collecting from all over the world.

Elie Zeenny, CMA CGM senior vice-president, Group IT Systems, said the technology would bring the shipping industry into a new era. This year, Traxens plans to equip the first CMA CGM containers with the patented technology so it will be possible to know in real-time not only a container’s position, but also its temperature, the vibrations it will be subjected to, any attempted burglary, the presence of traces of specific substances in the air or even the regulatory status of the cargo.

With its “4Trax” solution, Traxens offers the tracking of containers from cargo loading to their final destination, and the forwarding of data in real time to all actors in the multimodal transport chain. Traxens has also worked closely with French Customs in the development of its solution. In this regard the solution aims to record the legal status of the container (customs clearance) with the view to eradicate false declarations and counterfeits and to facilitate controls. Sources: Lloyds loading, CMA CGM and Traxens

by Mike Poverello

19,000 TEU boxships – thats the capacity for now say Ship Owners

According to observers, some of the ships that appear in the table above (Alphaliner) with a flow rate of 19 official thousand TEUs could in fact could also load a thousand more. [http://www.lagazzettamarittima.it/]

According to observers, some of the ships that appear in the table above (Alphaliner) with a flow rate of 19 official thousand TEUs could in fact could also load a thousand more. [http://www.lagazzettamarittima.it/]

Containership capacity growth appears to have reached a plateau for now, with no owners or operators looking to go beyond 19,000 teu. Nevertheless, technical experts expect larger containerships to eventually enter service, once infrastructure constraints have been overcome.

At the moment, though, the biggest ships in the pipeline are for China Shipping, with CSCL Globe due for delivery in November reported to have a nominal capacity of 19,000 teu. United Arab Shipping Co has 18,800 teu vessels on order; Mediterranean Shipping Co will soon be receiving 18,400 teu ships, while Maersk’s Triple-Es have a nominal intake of 18,270 teu. CMA CGM has recently upgraded ships on order, which will now be around 17,800 teu. What they all have in common is their length, just under 400 m, which is regarded as the practical maximum for now, according to Marcus Ihms, containership expert at classification society DNV GL.

Beam is another potential limiting factor, with cranes needed to handle broader ships, and the greater rolling forces of a very wide vessel making it inadvisable to load cargo on deck. Where designers can obtain additional capacity within those limitations is through the siting of the engine room or accommodation block. Moving the engine room, for example, can create as much as 250 teu of extra cargo space.

What is clear, he told the Containerisation International-Lloyd’s List Global Liner Shipping conference in Hamburg, are the economies of scale of the larger ships that are now being delivered. The slot costs of, say, a 21,000 teu ship, are as much as 10% lower than for a 14,000 teu vessel.

An 18,000 teu ship would still have cheaper slot costs than a 14,000 teu vessel even at 90% rather than 100% utilisation. Although ship designers have been talking about vessels of up to 24,000 teu, Mr Ihms told delegates that no carriers were thought to be looking beyond 19,000 teu right now.

However, ships of more than 400 m have been built in the past, most notably the 564,650 dwt ultra large crude carrier Jahre Viking, which was 458 m long. ER Schiffahrt chief executive Hermann Klein told Containerisation International that he expected ship sizes to continue growing, albeit not as rapidly as in recent years Dr Klein, the former head of Germanischer Lloyd and one of the first in the world to predict the arrival of 18,000 teu ships, anticipates that containerships will eventually exceed 400 m in length and so go beyond 19,000 teu. “There is no technical limitation,” he said.

But first, the ports need to be ready to handle the next generation of containerships. That will require larger cranes, dredging, higher bridges in some cases, and other infrastructure investments. Source: Lloydsloadinglist.com

by Mike Poverello

CINS reveals cargo mis-declaration and packing issues

CINS Cargo Incident Visual GraphicPoor or incorrect packing accounts for 37 per cent of cargo incidents in the supply chain, according to data released by the Cargo Incident Notification System (CINS).

And 24 per cent of incidents cases are due to mis-declaration of the cargo, it found. The organisation is managed by the Container Owners Association (COA), and was set up by members from five of the COA’s top 20 liner operators; CMA CGM, Evergreen Line, Hapag-Lloyd, Maersk Line and the Mediterranean Shipping Company.

It was created to capture key data, after an increase in incidents that regularly disrupt operations and endanger lives, property or the environment.

CINS’ analysis revealed that 80 per cent of substances involved in cargo incidents are dangerous goods, with half relating to leakage and a further quarter announced mis-declared.

It also showed that incidents relating to mis-declared cargo have increased significantly within the first four months of 2013, compared to the previous 18 months, which the company says has led it to aspire to identify ways to make the supply chain safer.

“We have identified that 24 per cent of all incidents involve mis-declaration and this is probably the first time that this ‘iceberg’ risk has been quantified, said Reinhard Schwede, chairman of CINS.

“Poor or incorrect packaging are persistent causes, accounting for almost 40 per cent of incidents over nearly two years. This is all the more concerning when we recognise that more than a third of the incidents involve corrosive cargoes, which by nature will react with other substances.

“With these findings, the CINS Organisation will engage with enforcement agencies, competent authorities and the IMO to gain support for the relevant changes to legislation or other safe practice recommendations.” Source: Container Owner Association

by Mike Poverello

Maersk Triple-E conducts sea trials

The following ship photos come courtesy via Shipspotting, where one of their faithful users caught Maersk’s first Triple-E and the world’s largest ship, the M/V Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller, during her 7th day of sea trials. The photos offer a first glimpse of the Triple-E underway. Despite the iconic blue color scheme and company logo Maersk does not own her just yet. Until the sea trials are completed and the vessel has been accepted by Maersk, she is the property of the yard and is under the command of the yard’s Captain.

The enormous ship, due for launch on June 28, is the world’s biggest. A behemoth even in a world of behemoths, and the first sibling in a new fleet of 19 sisterships. The vessel will have the ability to carry 18,000 TEU containers and will weigh-in at 165,000 metric tons, the equivalent mass of all the gold ever mined.

Sheer size is her most distinguishing feature. At 400 meters, the M/V Maersk Mc-Kinney Møller, as she’ll be called, is significantly longer than any aircraft carrier or even the Titanic, and only slightly shorter than the Empire State Building is high. Standing on her bridge is like peering over the rim of the Grand Canyon. From her highest deck, shipyard workers resemble overgrown ants and officers needing to walk the bridge’s width, wing-to-wing, will wish they had packed roller skates. Sources: gCaptain.com and Shipspotting.com

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by Mike Poverello

Maiden Voyage for 16,000 TEU French Giant

CMA CGM Marco Polo 16,000 TEU container ship

The world’s largest containership sailed on her maiden voyage with a first load of freight from Ningbo, China. The Marco Polo is at 16,000 TEU currently the biggest box carrier and is the first of a series of three similar dimension vessels that will all be named after great explorers. The delivery of the two next vessels is expected in 2013. This first voyage, w will be used partly to test the ship, the largest in service until Maersk’s 18,000teu Triple-E vessels start to be deployed next year.

Owned by French liner group CMA CGM she will be operated on the company’s French Asia Line service’s FAL 1 rotation where all the group’s largest vessels operate on a fixed-day, weekly connection between Central and South China, the main exporting zones of the country, and Northern Europe. The direct service to Southampton and to Hamburg offers European importers the fastest transit times of the market.

FAL1 is part of a global network of 8 CMA CGM services connecting Asia to Europe Atlantic, which the company claims to be the most thorough offer on the market, and which is based on 29 vessels of 11,400 to 16,000 TEUs. Nicolas Sartini, CMA CGM Group Senior Vice President Asia-Europe Lines, said of the latest offering:

“It is with great pride that the CMA CGM Group launches this new vessel, which is the largest in the world. It shows the expertise of the Group’s teams, who are able to handle not only the very technical piloting of the ship but also its commercial operations. Our entire network of 400 agencies all around the world is active to ensure the successful launching of this ship.

“The CMA CGM Marco Polo is going to join the FAL service, the backbone of the Group’s network of lines. This launching reinforces the Group’s strategy, which began 20 years ago, with the opening of its own offices in China, and continues today with 34 services going from China to Europe, to North and South America, to Australia and Africa, i.e. one departure every 5 hours. To this must also be added the 20 weekly services of our subsidiary Cheng Lie Navigation, the Intra-Asia specialist.”

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