Traffic info about Sea Freight

Important information about transport worldwide

Here you will find important traffic information on worldwide Sea Freight. You are, of course, always more than welcome to reach out to your local Blue Water contact for further information.

4 October 2024

Strike on the US East and Gulf Coasts is over

The strike on the US East and Gulf Coasts has been called off as of Thursday local time.

We have previously informed you that such a strike would have a severe impact on supply chains. At least 45 container ships were prevented from calling on the US East Coast and Southern Gulf Coast during the three-day strike.

Effective immediately, all current work stoppages end, and all work covered by the master contract will resume. The two parties – the USMX and the ILA – say in a joint statement about the new agreement, that it would run for the next 3,5 months to give the parties time to "return to the negotiating table and resolve all other outstanding issues".

At this stage it is not possible to determine the impact of the strike call. However, port congestion is expected and may result in delays and capacity constraints. Please do not hesitate to contact your Blue Water representative for further information or assistance with your shipments.

1 October 2024

Strike on the US East and Gulf coasts is in effect

The announced strike among port workers on the US East and Gulf coasts became a reality on Tuesday morning (CET). The employer organisation USMX, which represents APM Terminals and MSC, among others, offered almost 50 percent more pay late Monday night and proposed an extension of negotiations to avoid a strike.

The negotiations are primarily related to the port workers' wages and concerns about job losses due to technology automation. Port workers accuse shipping companies of profiting from the strike as they have announced surcharges due to the strike, increasing the cost for shippers and importers.

Alternatives are limited

Complicating the strike in US East and Gulf Coast ports as from today, the port workers at the Termont terminal in Montreal have declared a strike as of yesterday. According to an official statement, the strike will last until 6:59am on 3 October. This will only affect the Termont terminal (for the time being) and not the Cast terminal where for instance OOCL and Hapag Lloyd operate.

Uncertainty about how the port workers will react puts even more pressure on the supply chain, as the alternative of shipping through Canada to reach the US becomes more unlikely.

As the situation develops hour by hour, we will try to keep you updated. However, we hope you will understand that the situation is developing as we speak.

Background for the strike

The current collective agreement for the port workers in the US expired on 30th September, and as it has not been replaced by a new agreement, approx. 85,000 port workers and members of the International Longshoremen’s Association is without a collective agreement and on strike from 1 October. The US government has so far refused to use its legal powers to reopen negotiations.

The severe port congestion expected by this strike will cause delays and capacity shortages, and even a short disruption is expected to take weeks to fully resolve. For example, a one-day strike is estimated to cause a backlog of up to a week.

At Blue Water, we understand the challenges that such disruptions can cause, and we will monitor the situation closely and provide you with updates as needed. Please do not hesitate to contact your Blue Water representative for further information or assistance with your shipments.

24 September 2024

The risk of a US East and Gulf Coast strike increases – potentially impacting global shipping

If the potential strike at the US East and Gulf Coast ports becomes effective, it can disrupt global supply chains and your ability to send and receive cargo. Recent political developments make the strike look increasingly likely to take place.

The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) suspended negotiations on a new collective agreement for the port workers earlier this month. The negotiations are primarily related to the port workers' wages and concerns about job losses due to technology automation. The current agreement expires on 30th September, and if it is not replaced by a new agreement, approx. 70,000 port workers on the US East Coast will be without a collective agreement from 1st October.

The US government has officially rejected to use its legal powers to reestablish the negotiations between ILA and terminal employers’ association, USMX. The reaction was prompted by a letter from 177 trade associations, urging the US government to act if negotiations between the two parties do not resume as the strike will have severe impact on the economy and global supply chains.

The severe port congestion is expected to lead to delays and capacity shortages, and even a short disruption is expected to take weeks to fully resolve. For example, a one-day strike is estimated to cause a backlog of 4-5 days.

10 September 2024

Potential US East and Gulf Coast strike could impact global shipping

A potential strike at US East and Gulf Coast ports can, if it becomes effective, disrupt global supply chains and your ability to send and receive cargo.

The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) has announced that it has suspended negotiations on a new collective agreement for the port workers. The negotiations relate to port workers' wages and concerns about job losses due to automation. The current agreement expires on 30 September.

Severe port congestion will lead to delays and capacity shortages, and even a short disruption is expected to take weeks to fully resolve. For example, a one-day strike is estimated to cause a backlog of 4-5 days.

July 2024

Continued longer transit times and potential rate increases Far East-Europe

The sea freight situation on the routes from the Far East to Europe remains challenging due to longer transit times around Cape of Good Hope as Houthi attacks continue in the Red Sea.

A significant part of the global fleet is currently trapped due to congestion in ports around the world where ships are waiting to enter. This in turn is causing delays in vessel turnarounds and bottlenecks, also known as port congestion.

As a consequence, the market has experienced rate increases and seen the SCFI increase significantly since the end of March until now (week 28, 2024). We have advised customers of rate increases as of 1 July, and carriers have announced further increases of around USD 500/TEU as of 15 July.

We are monitoring the situation, both the rate level and the importance of space and equipment, to ensure that we can get the space we need on the vessels.

Türkiye-North Europe

Carriers are implementing ERC (Equipment Recovery Charge) or EEIS (Empty Equipment Imbalance Surcharge) as they are experiencing shortage of equipment from most ports in Türkyie. The charge varies depending on port, so please reach out to your local Blue Water contact if you need to know the costs from the various Türkish ports.

Overall, we are working closely with our trusted carriers in the various alliances to always have the best options for securing space and equipment, and we encourage you to stay in close contact with your regular Blue Water contact in the coming period so that we can find the right solutions matching your supply chain needs.

Spring 2024

Update on the Red Sea situation

The situation in the Red Sea remains largely unchanged, and unfortunately, given the complexity and intensity of the situation, there is no definitive solution in the foreseeable future.

This continues to mean that for the safety of the crew, ship and cargo, about 90% of the ships that usually use the Suez Canal are currently travelling via Cape the Good Hope. The significantly longer transit time on a round trip disrupts the entire supply chain set-up, as ships and containers now spend more time on the water and will therefore be missing from the usual flow.

Unfortunately, the situation does not seem to be resolved anytime soon and even if shipping companies deploy more ships, it will not change the transit time as long as the safety of the ships forces them around South Africa.

For urgent orders, we encourage you to book well in advance, preferably several weeks ahead. For orders that need a faster transit time, we encourage you to contact us to discuss other alternatives so we can help with faster transport solutions. Blue Water offers both air freight, combined sea-air solutions and rail, all of which have significantly shorter transit times.

If you are considering near sourcing to avoid the current uncertainty of transport via the Red Sea, Blue Water has extensive experience with short sea solutions. Short sea solutions via our many European offices are both competitive, have a short transit time and, from an environmental perspective, lower carbon emissions than transport from China.

If you have any questions or need of alternative solutions, both in terms of faster modes of transport and near sourcing, please get in touch with your usual contact person, who will do everything possible to help.

We hope you understand that the situation is constantly changing and that we and our colleagues in our offices around the world are working to find solutions.

18 January 2024

Update on the Red Sea situation

The situation in the Red Sea has further escalated over the past week, with attacks on the Houthis overnight on Friday and Saturday last week, and again yesterday.

The attacks have not had the desired effect, on the contrary, the leader of the Houthi militia has emphasised that the attacks against merchant ships will continue until Israel stops their attacks in Gaza. The attack has further fuelled tensions in the region and unfortunately signals that for now there are no solutions for a safe passage for the ships.

This continues to mean that for the safety of the crew, ship and cargo, about 90% of the ships that usually use the Suez Canal are currently travelling via Cape the Good Hope. As previously described, the significantly longer transit time on a round trip disrupts the entire supply chain set-up, as ships and containers now spend more time on the water and will therefore be missing from the usual flow.

If you are considering near sourcing to avoid the current uncertainty of transport via the Red Sea, Blue Water has extensive experience with short sea solutions. Short sea solutions via our many European offices are both competitive, have a short transit time and, from an environmental perspective, lower carbon emissions than transport from China.

We hope you understand that the situation is constantly changing and that we and our colleagues in our offices around the world are working to find solutions.

5 January 2024

Update on the Red Sea situation

While most people have celebrated the New Year, the situation in the Red Sea has unfortunately not improved. Despite Operation Prosperity Guardian, the alliance tasked to defend the ships, attacks from the Houthi movement are continuing. Fortunately, with limited success so far, however, the consequence is that many ships continue to transit via South Africa while others await departure and evaluate safety.

The increased transit time on a roundtrip will be approx. 25-30 days and this will result in less capacity, both in terms of space on ships and equipment, which we are already beginning to see now.

The timing of the attacks could not be worse from a shipping perspective, as it is close to the traditional peak season due to the Chinese New Year celebrations in February, where there are already challenges with space and equipment. The market is reacting quickly, and all carriers have already introduced surcharges to cover the longer route, and the limited capacity will cause available capacity to be significantly more expensive.

As an example of this, we can refer to the SCFI (Shanghai Containerized Freight Index), which clearly shows the increase in spot rates.

The situation is untenable in the long run, as the impact on global trade is spreading like a ripple effect, and Covid-19-style capacity issues will impact many tradelanes and potentially affect supply chains around the world.

This has led the US and 11 other countries to jointly demand that the Houthi movement cease its attacks on ships in the Red Sea. If this does not happen, it is assessed that the alliance will escalate the consequences further to resolve the situation and ensure safe passage through the Suez Canal.

We are monitoring the situation closely and have an ongoing dialogue with shipping companies and partners to handle orders and cargo in the best possible way. However, it is expected that both transit time and costs will increase significantly as long as the conflict continues.

If you have urgent orders, we suggest you consider alternative transport modes. Blue Water has several alternatives to sea freight, such as rail transport, air transport or combined sea/air transport.

We encourage you to contact your usual contact person and we will do our utmost to help you find the best solution considering the situation.

As the situation changes rapidly, the above information is per our best knowledge at the time being.

20 December 2023

Update on the Red Sea situation

All leading shipping companies have now confirmed that their ships will be rerouted via South Africa due to the situation in the Red Sea. This is to secure ships, crew and cargo on board. Several are also declaring force majeure (an unforeseen event that prevents the shipping company from fulfilling their obligations and therefore releases them from legal liability.).

The consequences of this change are a significantly longer transit time. It is a detour of approximately 4,000 sea miles, which means a minimum of 10 days extra transit time. However, it may turn out to be longer, depending on whether congestion occurs in the ports due to the schedule changes. As ships spend more time on the water, it also means a reduction in the frequency of departures and thus a reduction in capacity and equipment.

Unfortunately, the route change and the consequences that arise from it will significantly increase freight costs for shippers, both due to the increased detour, but also due to the lack of capacity and containers. As a result, the uncertainty will spread to many trade lanes and have a long-term unfavourable effect on the market. This will be reflected in both increases in the freight rate itself and as various surcharges.

We apologise for the challenges caused by this unexpected situation, and we hope you understand that we have no control over this situation and are doing our best to serve our customers under these conditions. As always, please feel free to reach out to your usual contact person if you have any questions.

18 December 2023

Red Sea affects global sea freight shipments

Several ships from different shipping companies have been attacked with drones in the Red Sea. The attacks have been carried out by Houthi forces from Yemen, as a response to the war in the Gaza Strip.

This means that several shipping companies are considering changing the routes of their ships and instead of sailing through the Suez Canal, they plan to sail around South Africa. Such a change of route would cause a 10-day delay of vessels, and this may affect container capacity, etc.

We do not yet have an overview of which ships this will affect, but due to the scale, delays in general are to be expected.

We are monitoring the situation closely and will update with information as and when possible.
Your usual contact person is of course available for further questions.

November 2023

ETS affecting the shipping industry

The EU Emission Trading System (ETS) is an instrument from the EU to help reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As the world’s first major carbon market, it is part of a series of legislative regulations with the main goal of achieving the EU’s climate neutrality by 2050. The parties involved have decided to gradually add shipping emissions to its carbon market from 2024 and onwards:

In 2025, pay for 40% of emissions released in 2024
In 2026, pay for 70% of emissions released in 2025
From 2027, pay for 100% of emissions released in 2026 and onwards.

The new taxation is vital for the shipping industry to finance and proceed with a more sustainable business model. The maritime sector will not receive any free allocations and will be fully integrated into the standard ETS cap-and-trade framework.

Alongside introducing carbon pricing for vessels traveling between EU countries, the law also has extraterritorial application. This means that if a vessel sails between an EU port and a non-EU port, half of the emissions from the voyage will be subject to the ETS. Shipping companies are obligated to purchase allowances for the following emissions:

Intra-EU: For journeys beginning and ending within EU ports 100% of emissions must be covered by ETS.
Extra-EU: For ships commencing or concluding their journeys outside the EU but entering or departing from EU ports, 50% of the emissions must be covered.

In order to be transparent, we have decided to inform you about these new added costs caused by the introduction of ETS. As from 1 January 2024, there will be a surcharge applicable for all shipments whether these are LCL, FCL, split or full charter solutions impacted by the regulation.

Further information from the European Commission can be found here.

January 2021

DAP & DDP to the USA – Important info about Power of Attorney

Blue Water Shipping offers and recommends its customers DAP or DDP solutions within the USA. This means the customer will have control of his/her shipments from A to Z.

When you choose a DDP solution, Blue Water should be pleased to assist with customs clearance. In this connection, a Power of Attorney (POA) should always be filled in.

US Customs Border Protection (CBP) has stringent requirements regarding signatures and documentation in relation to issue of POA. CBP requires a copy of driver’s license or passport to accompany the POA, and also that the two persons signing the POA must hold a C title: CEO, CCO, COO etc. Other titles will not be accepted.

If you have any questions to the above, please feel free to approach your local Blue Water contact.