Dead turtles continue to wash up ashore in Sri Lanka even as the Captain of the X-Press Pearl appears in court and satellites show potential oil pollution 70 kms off the coast..
The Electronic Cargo Tracking Note (ECTN), also known as Bordereau de Suivi Cargaison (BSC) and other names depending on the country, is an official marine document that contains information relating to the cargo and its movement between ports.
This document is required to be submitted to the shippers’ councils in most countries of Africa. Every cargo exported to these countries, whether it is commercial, personal or charity, must have this ECTN certificate.
The Day of the Seafarer, held on 25 June every year, draws global attention to the contribution that seafarers make to world trade.
As the world slowly moves through the pandemic, it is more important than ever not only to acknowledge the efforts that seafarers have made to keeping the supply chain open despite extremely challenging conditions, but also to ensure that the future being built is one that is fair to them.
This is why IMO’s 2021 Day of the Seafarer campaign has chosen the theme of “A Fair Future for Seafarers”.
It has just been reported that a representative for the owners and insurers of the Ever Given has confirmed that they reached an agreement in principle in terms of a compensation dispute with the Suez Canal Authority.
It is understood that work is under way to finalise a signed settlement agreement as soon as possible and arrangements will be made for the release of the Ever Given once the formalities had been dealt with.
Blank sailing data tracked at major Shenzhen ports by project44 has shot up, spelling further cost increases and inventory shortages for businesses as they struggle to meet the demands of reopening economies. The Port of Yantian (YICT), a critical connection for factories and retailers across the globe, which handles 13 million TEUs per year, is at the epicenter of China’s latest COVID-19 quarantine efforts.
With more inventory delayed than ever before, shippers are scrambling to find solutions. A significant collaboration between Shifl, a digital freight forwarder, and Terminal49, a container and shipment tracking platform enhances data accessibility, providing the same level of visibility to all shippers, whether they ship 5 or 20,000 TEUs a year.
Shippers are struggling to navigate capacity shortages, port congestion, and reliability issues—all of which have become defining features of the current supply chain environment. This new collaboration brings shippers improved data accuracy and end-to-end visibility while keeping them in the loop at all times.
As everyone is aware by now, the the X-Press Pearl, a Singapore flagged feeder vessel operated by X-Press Feeders started burning on the 21st of May off the coast of Sri Lanka.
On the 2nd of June, the vessel started sinking despite valiant efforts to fight the fire and as of 12th June is still hanging in there with the fore (bow) of the ship clinging to its last vestiges above the sea level while the aft of the vessel is submerged and resting on the sea bed at a depth of 21 meters.
Despite valiant efforts by the ship salvors, Sri Lankan Navy, Indian Navy and many other entities involved in the firefighting and salvage operations, as expected, it has been announced that the journey of the X-Press Pearl has come to an end.
X-Press Feeders, operators of the container ship X-Press Pearl issued a notice that despite salvors successfully boarding the vessel and attaching a tow wire, efforts to move the ship to deeper waters failed, and the ship’s aft (rear) portion is now at the bottom of the sea bed at a depth of 21 meters and the bow (front) slowly sinking as well.
The news about X-Press Pearl is fast becoming a sensation (next probably only to the Ever Given – which is still stuck in Egypt by the way) as the interest in its happenings is growing day by day.
As of the 31st May 2021, the news was that the flames on board the ship has been contained although the ship was still emitting smoke.
In the meantime, local news media in Sri Lanka is reporting that based on an order the Colombo Additional Magistrate’s Court, the Captain, Chief Engineer, and the Second Chief Engineer of the ship have been banned from leaving Sri Lanka as investigations are continuing.
If you are in the shipping and freight industry, you would have no doubt heard about a Delivery Order..
This article explains in detail all about a Delivery Order – what is it, who issues it, who should it be issued to and its importance..
A dramatic increase in the prevalence of supply chain pain points has presented an opportunity for innovation and collaboration, whilst underscoring the importance of digital solutions in the timber logistics sector.
Timber companies used the term “pain point” to refer to an inefficient port or a particularly cumbersome customs authority.
These pain points stood out because they were isolated pockets of inefficiency, delaying an otherwise well-functioning network that carried everything from raw materials to finished goods from one corner of the world to the other.
Over the last year, that has all changed. Pain points became endemic.
It is rarely that a 2-3 month old ship faces a possible fiery end of its life.
The world hopes that will not be the case with the X-Press Pearl – a Singapore flagged 36150 DWT container ship which is still burning in Sri Lankan waters, off the port of Colombo since the 21st of May.
This is amid serious concerns of severe environmental impact due to the incident in which several containers have already fallen off the ship and have washed up ashore, especially near Negombo a popular tourist destination in Sri Lanka.
BIMCO has launched an initiative to raise awareness about the crucial role of shipping and its seafarers. Seafarers are keyworkers who make the world work and seafarers deserve our support.
Help raise awareness outside the shipping industry by sharing these videos which reflect the struggle faced by seafarers on a daily basis.
project44 has announced that it has acquired San Francisco-based ClearMetal, a market leader in international supply chain visibility and predictive analytics for enterprises.
This acquisition places project44 on the cutting edge of logistics AI, enabling customers to improve agility, and resiliency across their global and multi-modal supply chains.
As you may have read, the X-Press Pearl, a 1400+ TEU capacity, 2 month old feeder vessel operated by X-Press feeders on their Singapore/Middle East service is currently burning in the Indian Ocean close to the port of Colombo.
The fire which started on the 19th of May 2021 while waiting at anchorage, was subsequently brought under control with the help of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), Sri Lanka Navy and the Sri Lankan Airforce which dropped fire suppressing powder on the vessel, but the fire started again followed by an explosion which is still burning.
Here is the latest update on the situation.