BEIJING RETALIATES AS TRUMP’S CHINA TARIFFS KICK IN
Donald Trump’s fast-moving tariff tiffs with key trading partners continue to keep shipping executives on edge around the world. Similar to the threats he made to Colombia a week prior, the American president yesterday put planned tariffs against Mexico and Canada on hold for 30 days, saying that the leaders of the two countries had acquiesced to his demands to bolster security at their borders with the US. Chinese tariffs, however, remain in play, with a blanket 10% levy now underway as of midnight today and Beijing replying in kind. China said today it will impose from next Monday a 15% tariff on LNG and coal imported from the US, as well as a 10% tariff on oil, agricultural machinery and large displacement cars. Trump is scheduled to speak with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, later this week. On Sunday, Trump indicated the European Union would be his next target for tariffs. In the first Trump trade war in the previous decade, the Chinese targeted US farmers and reduced imports of US grain. China is able to substitute this with more imports from Brazil, with minimal net tonne-mile impact. According to data from Clarksons Platou Securities, dry bulk, particularly grain and steel products, was the most impacted from the first Trump trade war with China, followed by LNG and LPG. Overall shipping tonne-mile growth fell 0.5% in 2018, then again by 0.5% in 2019, according to Clarksons data.
MSC LAUNCHES IREEFER
Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the world’s largest liner, has just launched iReefer, a container monitoring system for reefer cargo. This solution allows customers to track and monitor their temperature-controlled shipments in real time, from anywhere in the world. MSC offers three iReefer packages. The basic package, iReefer Essential, is free of charge and available today. It includes an overview of the customer’s current and historic reefer shipments, a container journey log and graphs. iReefer Pro includes all of this, plus unlimited downloads and access to additional data such as container GPS location. For customers shipping high volumes of cargo, iReefer Ultimate connects directly with their system via an application programming interface. These two premium packages will go live at the start of next month. MSC transports more than 1m reefer containers every year. This new global project involved connecting more than 210,000 reefer containers and equipping more than 500 vessels with iReefer technology. The company’s objective is to equip its entire fleet of containers and vessels with the technology in the coming years, mirroring other global liners who have made investments to make their containers connected.
GLOBAL LINER ALLIANCES RETRENCH
Midnight tonight sees liner shipping go through its largest reshuffle in a decade as companies jump ship from existing alliances on the main east-west trades. THE Alliance will become the Premier Alliance, with Ocean Network Express (ONE), HMM and Yang Ming Marine Transportation as partners, and Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) helping plug gaps on Asia-Europe tradelanes. MSC is ditching Maersk in the 2M vessel sharing agreement to largely go it alone, and Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd subsequently exiting THE Alliance to join the Danish carrier in what will be called the Gemini Cooperation. The only grouping remaining intact come February 1, the Ocean Alliance, made up of COSCO, OOCL, CMA CGM and Evergreen, will also be the one with the largest market share and widest market coverage this year, according to analysis from Linerlytica, an Asia-based container shipping consultancy.
WORLD’S FIRST COMMERCIAL SAILING RORO LAUNCHED IN TURKEY
The world’s first commercial sailing roro vessel, Neoliner Origin, has been launched at the RMK Marine shipyard in Türkiye. The vessel, which started construction in November 2023, is being built for the French shipping company Neoline. It is a 136 m long and 24.2 m wide cargo ship with 3,000 sq m of sail and a pair of foldable 76 m high carbon masts. The vessel also boasts a loading capacity of 1,200 linear meters or 265 20-foot containers. The maximum cargo weight of the sailing roro is 5,300 tonnes. RMK Marine said that the vessel would reduce fossil fuel consumption by over 80% and would “harness the power of the wind as its primary driving force”. As far as GHG emissions are concerned, they can be reduced by up to 90%. This unique vessel will be operational in the summer of 2025 with first trials planned for the spring. It will operate on a route between Saint-Nazaire and Baltimore. On its way, it will make stops in Saint Pierre-et-Miquelon and Halifax.