• 2017 April 5 15:10

    Port of Long Beach prepared for 'Big Bang' of alliances

    For nearly a decade, ocean carriers have been forming alliances as a cost-saving way to offer more sailings with fewer ships by sharing cargo space on mega vessels.

    But last year’s unprecedented number of ocean carrier mergers, along with the collapse of seventh-largest container carrier Hanjin Shipping, has created something never seen before in the industry: the reshuffling of ocean carriers from four to three new alliances, all starting on April 1.

    “I’ve called it ‘The Big Bang of 2017,'” said David J. Arsenault, president of Logistics Transformation Solutions, and former president of Hyundai Merchant Marine America.

    Arsenault was part of a “Learning from Hanjin” panel that took place Feb. 28 at the Journal of Commerce’s TPM 2017 Conference at the Long Beach Convention Center.

    “We’ve had alliances form and come and go but that’s been staggered in the past,” he told the international audience of supply chain stakeholders who came to the annual event. “This is a shotgun start and it’s the first time we’ve ever seen three mega alliances kick off all at the same time, and it has tremendous upstream and downstream consequences.”

    In anticipation of the change, the Port of Long Beach has been closely monitoring the situation, and has been engaging with leadership and operations staff of shipping lines, terminal operators, labor, truckers and railroads.

    “Our goal is to make sure our Port partners are communicating with each other and coordinating operations. We’ve been facilitating meetings to enable dialogue among our stakeholders,” said Port of Long Beach Interim Chief Executive Duane Kenagy.

    New alliances
    The three new alliances, which were cemented in 2016, are:
     2M Alliance, which involves the world’s two largest ocean carriers, Maersk Line (which is poised to acquire carrier Hamburg Süd), and Mediterranean Shipping Company, with a Vessel Sharing Agreement with Hyundai Merchant Marine;
     Ocean Alliance, which consists of third-largest ocean carrier CMA CGM, (with APL, which CMA CGM acquired in its deal with Neptune Orient Lines); China COSCO Shipping (the newly merged COSCO and China Shipping), Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL), and Evergreen; and
     THE Alliance, made up of Hapag Lloyd (which is merging with United Arab Shipping Company (UASC)); Yang Ming Ltd.; and three Japanese carriers that are expected to merge into a single company this year: Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) Ltd., Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) Lines, and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (K Line).

    Shipping and maritime news portal Container News reports that the three new alliances will account for about 77.2 percent of global container capacity and 96 percent of all container capacity in the East-West trades.

    These new ocean alliances will mean new customers with new destinations, with some ships likely moving off routes between Asia and Europe to trans-Pacific routes.

    The changes could also mean potential delays, as the shifting of cargo moving on different ships will move to new terminals with different ways to load and unload and different customer priorities to meet. This, paired with ongoing equipment and terminal velocity issues, could compound supply chain challenges.

    It has put a massive supply chain – which includes shippers, ocean carriers, terminal operators, truckers and everyone else in between – on high alert. One major port chief has already warned beneficial cargo owners and truckers to anticipate “another wave of confusion” while the three new alliances go through the learning curve of working together to get products to where they need to be in a timely manner.




2024 March 29

17:14 “K” Line and Nippon Gas Line establish a marketing company to provide liquefied CO2 transportation services for carbon capture and storage projects
16:47 VTTI and IKAV enter agreement to purchase majority ownership of Adriatic LNG, Italy
16:25 Mitsubishi Shipbuilding receives order from the University of Tokyo for "MiPoLin" power prediction and lines selection system
15:41 Wan Hai Lines holds naming ceremony for 13,100TEU newbuilding “WAN HAI A15”
15:10 MOL announces restructuring measures
14:45 Drewry predicts impact on container calls at US East Coast ports after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge
14:25 Chevron’s first hybrid electric fueling barge arrives in Singapore
13:40 HD KSOE and Infineon sign MoU to develop ship electrification technology
13:29 NYK and JMU formulate method for evaluating ship performance in actual seas
12:59 HD Hyundai wins US$463 mln warship order in Peru
12:09 COSCO SHIPPING Ports throughput up by 4.4% YoY to 135,808,554 TEU in 2023
11:46 The "Ane Maersk" calls at the Eurogate container terminal in Hamburg for the first time on its maiden voyage from Asia to Europe
11:20 Sallaum Lines and Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding commence construction of Ocean Class vessels
10:43 Oasis Marine develops solutions for offshore hydrogen bunkering
10:03 Petrofac secures contract extension with ONEgas West in the UK market

2024 March 28

18:05 Jan De Nul, ENGIE and Equans launch a pilot project centred around the use of Vanadium Redox Flow batteries
17:35 Latvian port equipment manufacturer Bleste introduces new bulk handling ‘bucket’
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16:25 DEME reports 22% increase in the orderbook and a record-high turnover of 3.3 billion euros in 2023
16:14 MABUX: Bunker Outlook, Week 13, 2024
15:41 AD Ports Group announced the opening of Saadiyat Marina & Ferry Terminal and Rabdan Marina
15:11 Sydney invests $11.5 million in two new operational vessels designed by Incat Crowther
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14:13 APM Terminals Moín handled six million TEU
13:48 ClassNK grants Innovation Endorsements for Products & Solutions to two innovative initiatives by MOL
13:37 Konecranes launches its flagship Konecranes X-series industrial crane
12:53 United European Car Carriers UECC spearheads collaboration with industry leaders to advance CNSL as a sustainable marine fuel
12:26 Ocean Network Express announces Transpacific service
11:48 Yang Ming announces 2025 Trans-Pacific service network
11:24 Fincantieri signs contract for the supply of two PPAs to Indonesia
10:42 Maersk transported more than 660,000 TEU using clean fuel in 2023
10:23 Documentation delays push industry costs to $3bn
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2024 March 27

18:22 Bureau Veritas awards world’s first prototype certification for SolarDuck’s floating offshore solar solution
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17:38 The Port of Rotterdam calls on the European Commission and Parliament to focus on actively promoting green energy
15:23 SEFE to become sole shareholder of WIGA
14:53 Ocean Installer secures yet another SLM contract with Equinor
14:23 Cadeler signs offshore wind turbine installation contract for the vessel Wind Scylla
13:42 Carnival Cruise Line orders 5th Excel-class cruise ship
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12:52 The Port Authority of Valencia launches the ZAL project in the Port of Valencia
12:11 Clarkson Port Services and Peak Group collaborate to deliver Port Agency services across the North Sea
11:42 Wan Hai Lines holds ship naming ceremony for new vessels
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10:49 Seaspan Shipyards receives long-term contracts for the pre-construction work of the the Canadian Coast Guard's first six multi-mission vessels
10:14 Woodside completes sale of 10% scarborough interest

2024 March 26

18:02 COSCO Shipping Lines introduces new Americas service
17:30 Davie awarded first contract for design of icebreaker fleet under Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy
17:04 Sanctions complicate Arctic LNG ship sales, Hanwha Ocean says - Bloomberg
16:57 Terntank places an order for 1+1 additional wind/ methanol-ready hybrid tanker
16:28 BW LNG completes acquisition of two TFDE vessels from Stena Bulk
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14:52 Wärtsilä Lifecycle Agreement to guarantee operational reliability of new wind farm installation vessel
14:23 Hudong-Zhonghua launches two LNG carriers
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13:12 Final sanctioned tanker with Russian Sokol oil to reach China port - Reuters
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12:21 IHI and Yara Clean Ammonia agree to jointly assess clean ammonia business collaboration
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11:16 Wartsila and Royal Caribbean Group celebrate 15 years of collaboration on digital transformation
10:46 A global carbon tax on shipping is coming, says ABS Chairman and CEO
10:21 Eni, Fincantieri and RINA establish partnership for maritime transport decarbonization

2024 March 25

18:07 The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore continues to investigate reports of oil spills off the port of Tuas
17:31 “K” Line, NIPPON HAKUYO and OPT Gate sign an agreement for a new fire detection system for car carriers
17:07 Greek merchant fleet recorded slight decline in January 2024
16:47 Hanwha Ocean Plans to develop green technology and naval ships
16:25 U-Ming Singapore and ITOCHU sign milestone MoU for the joint development of ammonia dual-fuel and de-carbonized vessels
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