HMM sheds 24pc of box shipping capacity due to Maersk, MSC deal
Hyundai Merchant Marine's (HMM) arrangement to collaborate with the 2M vessel sharing agreement (VSA) partners Maersk Line and MSC has come at a high price for the South Korean shipping line, according to figures compiled by Alphaliner.
Last year's main gainer was Maersk, whose capacity increased 26.8 per cent to 1.8 million TEU year on year because of its acquisition of Hamburg Sud.
And the agreement reached with Maersk and MSC has resulted in a sharp fleet reduction for HMM.
While the total container shipping capacity operated by the top 15 carriers worldwide expanded by 12.6 per cent in 2017, the capacity operated by HMM dropped by 23.9 per cent from 456,000 TEU in 2017 to 347,000 TEU at the beginning of 2018.
"The reduction was due mainly the withdrawal of numerous HMM ships from the Asia-Europe and Asia-east coast of North America routes. The ships were chartered out to Maersk and MSC under a strategic cooperation agreement, known as 2M+HMM that took effect last April," reported Singapore's Splash 24/7.
HMM sub-let three 13,092 TEU ships and six 10,081 TEU ships to Maersk and MSC, and a further two 8,566-TEU ships to Zim.
According to comments made by HMM's chief executive CK Yoo at the start of this year, the company is planning to double its vessel capacity by 2022.
Antwerp's 2017 throughput rises 4pc to 10.5 million TEU
The Port of Antwerp's cargo throughput in 2017 rose by 4.4 per cent compared to the previous year, to reach 223.6 million tons. The result marked the port's fifth consecutive year of record cargo volumes.
Volumes rose across the majority of sectors. Container tonnage grew 4.3 per cent year on year to 123 million tonnes, and container volumes were up 4.1 per cent to 10.5 million TEU. In the fourth quarter of 2017, container throughput rose by seven per cent in TEU terms.
Roll-on/roll-off cargo volumes were up 10.5 per cent to 5.1 million tonnes in 2017, while the number of cars handled increased by four per cent over 2016 to 1.2 million units, American Shipper reported.
Liquid bulk volumes, such as oil derivatives, rose by 5.7 per cent from 2016, while conventional breakbulk, such as steel, increased 4.8 per cent to 10.3 million tonnes.
However, dry bulk volumes, such as coal and ores, experienced a decline of 3.7 per cent to 12.2 million tonnes.
Commenting on the results, Antwerp Port Authority CEO Jacques Vandermeiren said: "The favourable economic climate in combination with the big alliances that continue to opt resolutely for Antwerp means that container handling in Antwerp currently has the wind behind it."
He added: "In the coming years too we expect further growth in the container volume, and so in 2018 we will continue to work hard on providing additional container handling capacity in Antwerp."
Hutch goes remote control at Thai terminal with quay cranes and RTGs
Hong Kong's Hutchison Ports Thailand has installed remote control quay cranes and straddle carriers at Laem Chabang Port, 130 kilometres south of Bangkok.
The three cranes, the world biggest with an outreach of 24 rows, are capable of handling the bigger ships afloat.
This will enable the terminal to achieve higher levels of productivity and increase capacity by 3.5 million TEU to six million TEU, said the press release.
The three super postpanamax quay cranes have arrived at Terminal D Laem Chabang Port together with eight electric rubber tyre gantry cranes (RTG).
This makes Hutchison Ports Thailand Terminal D the first Thai terminal operated by remote control technology, said the company press release.
The cranes, from Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industry Co (ZPMC), will play a crucial part of the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) project under Thailand 4.0 scheme.
Hutchison Ports is the world's leading port investor, developer and operator with a network of port operations in 52 ports spanning 26 countries throughout Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, the Americas and Australasia.
(Source:HKSG-GROUP)
Asia Pacific Shipping
Scan the QR code to get the more news
|
