Shipping

I can visualise a few raised eyebrows to the question "Will the container industry ever forget FOB"..

Especially since FOB has been and still seems to be an integral part of container shipping industry on many fronts..

It has been an industry standard, part of the furniture, sort of a boilerplate, an established term in the industry..

So what changed and why this question..??

In April 2018, more than 100 Member States met at the United Nations International Maritime Organization (IMO) in London and adopted an initial strategy on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from ships by at least 50% by 2050 compared to 2008 levels..

It was reported previously, that as from 1st of January 2020 the new global limit on the sulphur content will be 0.50% m/m..

More and more shipowners seem to be going the route of using vegetable oil as fuel..

NVOCC and Freight Forwarder are entities that many customers use for the movement of their cargo around the world.. Is there a difference between a NVOCC and freight forwarder..?? Let us explore in this article..

Planning your shipments is very important in shipping..!!!!!!!! Uh, Duh..!!!

As obvious as it sounds, there are several cases where this may not happen due to a variety of factors ranging from lack of planning to incorrect processes followed to tight deadlines to simply circumstances..

People do not realise the number of type of issues that could happen in a shipment and that there are several possible causes for delays however insignificant the reason maybe..

Here is a great live example which happened last week..

Major shipping lines from within the container shipping industry namely, Maersk Line, MSC, CMA-CGM, Hapag Lloyd and ONE are locked in discussions to create an association looking to pave the way for further digitalization, standardization and interoperability within the industry..

Port Elizabeth is one of the main ports in South Africa and is a main port of call for many carriers on the East/West Trade between Far East/South East Asia and the Americas and the North/South Trade between Africa and Europe..

Since the morning of 30th October, access to this main port has been restricted as one of the 5 STS (Ship to Shore gantry cranes) was blown off its rails due to the extreme winds that Port Elizabeth (PE) has been facing..

In what is seen as a landmark moment in the history of shipping in India in recent times, PepsiCo will move 16 containers filled with food and snacks on a vessel, the MV RN Tagore (for Rabindranath Tagore) from Kolkata to Varanasi on river Ganga using the National Waterway-1..

This will mark India’s first container cargo movement through inland waterways..

Smart containers are dubbed as one of the innovations that is set to change the way in which we carry out traditional container shipping services..

This innovative technology is said to transform a standard ISO container into a smart, connected object which collects and communicates real-time data on its position and movements throughout its journey..

MSC’s is partnering with TRAXENS to convert 50,000 of its dry cargo containers to smart containers..

Currently the bunker fuels used in all modern commercial ships have a high content of sulphur which is quite harmful to the environment..

The current global limit for sulphur content of ships fuel oil is 3.50% m/m (mass by mass)..

The IMO has been working to reduce harmful impacts of shipping on the environment since the 1960's and as from 1st of Jan 2020, has implemented regulations that sets the new global limit on the sulphur content at 0.50% m/m..

IMO has advised several methods through which ships can meet lower sulphur emission standards, which obviously comes at a cost.. Read and share your comments on how these new costs may affect you..

In the course of business you might have heard of the term "Consol Box".. In this article we look at what a consol box is, how it works and the pros and cons of a consol box..

A Consol box is considered by many as a simple way to get shipments to their destinations cheaply and efficiently..

As a customer, you need to understand the way consolidation works and the options that are available for the proper planning, execution and delivery of goods to the destination..

As with any activity there are Pros and Cons of using a consol box which is discussed below..

Logistics companies can deploy the best technology and still fail if their personnel lack training and experience. Anyone whose been around the industry a while remembers Deutsche Post-DHL’s €345 million New Forwarding Environment (NFE) IT program disaster. And while DPDHL seems to have pulled through, mistakes like that can sink smaller firms. On the other hand, we’re well into an era where it’s impossible not to adapt and adopt new technology, which makes expert advice all the more important.

Will blockchain revolutionize the shipping and logistics industry, allowing it to move past inefficient legacy technologies by handing companies the keys to high-tech solutions, at an affordable cost? That’s ShipChain CEO John Monarch’s vision, and over the past year, his company’s platform has emerged as one of the foremost contenders in this burgeoning market.

New technology has opened users up to cybercrime, thanks to security loopholes, lack of training, or sometimes both. We chatted with PhishTrain Co-Founder Jake Sylvestre about how managers should think about security, and what steps they can take to protect their clients, their reputations, and ultimately, their bottom line.

We are getting close to full visibility and accountability in the shipping and freight business, thanks to blockchain.

Here’s how. Blockchain-based solutions align accountability with responsibility and create a neutral layer that incentivizes greater sharing of data.

We talked with OriginTrail CEO Tomaž Levak about how that works. “By performing consensus checks in each step of the supply chain we are effectively creating a single version of truth and supply chains with integrity,” Tomaž explained.

“Such end-to-end visibility can, in turn, be used to overcome not only data fragmentation but can support various other use cases.”

As you may have read, I recently wrote about "Containers lost at sea, why it happens, what to do when it happens and also about What is a ship register or ship registry..

Recent news reports of 83 containers falling off a ship off the coast of Australia in heavy seas seems to have triggered a question in the minds of some people Is the ship register or ship registry liable for containers falling off a ship..??

When reading the news articles about this incident, I noticed something very interesting in the way in which the general public and the shipping fraternity identify a ship, its markings and the areas of concern.. 🙂

Profitability in sea freight shipment is not a myth or a unicorn.. It is very possible.. Read how..

It is not a secret that ocean transportation and logistics is currently confronting immense change in terms of new technology, new markets, rising customer expectations, and new business models..

There have been a few articles on this blog about these advances like Blockchain based Bill of Lading, and other technologies that are shaking up the freight industry .. There are many ways the industry could develop to meet existing and new challenges, some of which are evolutionary and others are more revolutionary..

While cargo transportation is generally a complex business, in some cases it could be straightforward as well depending on how you manage it.. It is also a fact that in this high paced business environment it is not easy to follow every market trend and find answers on how to tackle the prevailing challenges easily..

Each customer and each shipment has its own issues, peculiarities, problems and characteristics.. But the main question that several shippers and services providers ask is “How to ensure profitability in sea freight shipment"..

More often than not, exporters, importers, carriers and logistics service providers experience loss due to poor planning, decision making and implementation..

A lot of people get into the industry sometimes without knowing even the basics relating to the business, the specifics relating to the business, the requirements and some of the vital information that can make or break the business.. I have even written a Beginner's Guide to Importing for those who wanted to get into the importing business but didn't know how..

Here are 11 steps you can follow to ensure profitability in sea freight shipment..

With so many new companies launching blockchain-based shipping products, it’s clear that maritime trade will look very different in a few years.. What’s less clear is what that change will look like..

In this article we examine what barriers still exist to widespread blockchain implementation, and what companies are doing to overcome them..

We talk to startups like CargoX and established players like Agility, Maersk, IBM, Evergreen etc. to understand how shipping is changing, and where it’s going..

Port operations were halted at Karachi port due to the collision of two Hapag Lloyd ships (the Tolten and Hamburg Bay) at the South Asia Port Terminal..

Freight brokers are a traditionally integral part of the freight marketplace but often find it difficult to clearly see where they fit in amongst the waves of change now and in the years ahead. In this article we see where brokers fit into the future of freight..

As you know, the 25th of June every year is celebrated as the DAY OF THE SEAFARER under the auspices of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO)..

Day of the Seafarer (DotS as it has come to be known), is celebrated to recognize the unique contribution made by seafarers from all over the world to international seaborne trade, the world economy and civil society as a whole and to let the world know how and why #SeafarersMatter and are indispensable to everyone..

In my previous post promoting this Day of the Seafarer, I shared with you the story of Nick Chubb MNI, a former Merchant Seafarer and how he spends "A Day in the Life of a Seafarer"..

This article comes right from the top, yes from a Captain himself.. Capt.Abhishek Nair recounts the life of a Captain on board a ship..