101 Ports Worldwide Report Blockages! Liner Congestion Spreads as 304 Ships Line up for Berths!

Since the outbreak of the epidemic, the shipping industry is experiencing waves of shocks. Soaring freight rates and record congestion are taking turns.

Liner congestion has spread all over the world, with 101 ports reporting congestion and 304 ships waiting in line for berths

As of last Friday, 304 ships were waiting for berths in ports around the world, with 101 ports reporting disruptions such as congestion, according to container shipping platform Seaexplorer.

 (Red dots represent clusters of ships, orange dots represent ports with congestion or operational disruptions)

Congestion at ports in southern China, which has been affected by the Covid-19 epidemic in recent weeks in key export areas, is spreading to other key hubs, with the number of container ships waiting for berths in Singapore, for example, increasing by 37.5 percent in the past week.

"Constant congestion is becoming a global problem, and the trend is worrying. Due to the epidemic and the substantial increase in freight volume since the end of last year, the terminal is becoming the bottleneck of global transportation. The shortage of berths, the congestion of yards or the rejection of goods continue to exist in the entire logistics chain. " Maersk said.

The empty flights of Shenzhen's main ports (including Yantian) spiked at the end of May when Yantian port was partially closed for operations due to the epidemic.

During the period from June 1 to June 15, 298 container ships with total capacity exceeding 3 million teu crossed Shenzhen, and the number of empty flights increased by 300% in one month, which caused a serious backlog of export containers.

Container freight rates in Asia and Europe have increased by more than 12 times, reaching a record high!

Maersk warned that the peak season of the US line may start early this year because retailers are preparing for a strong back-to-school season, which may overlap with the peak season of summer vacation.

Freight rates may remain high for the rest of this year. At present, shipping companies have announced that they will levy the peak season surcharge from July.

Meanwhile, shipping companies are imposing Port Congestion Surcharge (PCS) on cargoes passing through Yantian Port due to the increasing number of queuing vessels, port hopping and stranded containers in South China ports.

In addition, due to the continuous bottleneck of Yantian Port, the export hub of the whole Asian region was delayed, and the container freight rate from Asia to Europe reached a record high on June 15. According to S&P Platts Container Rate 1, the container freight rate from Asia to Northern Europe rose by 5,000 US dollars /FEU last week, soaring to a record high of 17,000 US dollars /FEU; up from $1,375/FEU a year ago, an increase of more than 12 times.

Maersk CEO: Levy $450/ton fuel tax!

Maersk CEO Søren Skou recently said that in order to accelerate the globalization of zero-carbon fuel, the shipping industry should levy a fuel tax of at least $450/ton, which is equivalent to a carbon tax of about $150 per ton of carbon dioxide emitted.

Based on the current fuel price in the market, the fuel cost after tax increase will double.

In terms of concrete implementation, Maersk said that the price increase will be carried out in a gradual transition way. Taking carbon tax as an example, it can start from about US$ 50/ton and increase to at least US$ 150/ton in the following years.

It is reported that the proposal will be discussed at the meeting of IMO Marine Environmental Protection Committee.