COSCO and CSCL are considering relocating from Hamburg to JadeWeserPort near Wilhelmshaven because of capacity constraints. JadeWeserPort has struggled to win business since opening in December 2012. In contrast, seaborne cargo throughput at the port of Hamburg exceeded 110 million tonnes in the first nine months of 2014, setting a new record. Container handling, which dominates in Hamburg, also achieved a record mark of 7.4 million TEU, an increase of 6.4%.

CMA CGM opened a seasonal Citrus Express service between the eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea in the second half of November. The Citrus Express is spread over two rotations serving the ports of Turkey, Syria and the Black Sea countries November-January with Egypt added for the months January-April. The United Arab Shipping Co. is to join the EPIC Service between the Indian subcontinent and North Europe until now operated independently by CMA CGM. The co-operation agreement, which will go into effect in January 2015, follows the exit of OOCL from the EPIC as a vessel provider in April 2013. The weekly EPIC has a 56-day round-trip rotation and this partnership is in addition to the Ocean Three (UASC/CMA CGM/China Shipping Container Lines) focussed on the Asia-Europe, trans-Pacific and trans-Atlantic trade lanes. The Ocean Three is a response to the 2M, a far reaching vessel-sharing agreement that Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Co. plan to launch in January 2014. CMA CGM has also upgraded its Asia-East Africa coverage by splitting its existing Asia-East Africa (ASEA) service into two services covering Kenya and Tanzania. At the time of writing the Ocean Three alliance was expected to commence in week three of January 2014. Ocean Three will have a larger share of the Asia-Europe trades, with its slice put at 20%. That is still well within the European Commission’s threshold for a consortium’s block exemption from competition rules. The alliance covers three main trades and includes 17 fixed-day weekly loops, 159 ships of combined 1.5m TEU carrying capacity and 91 ports of call. In the Asia- North Europe trades, Ocean Three will operate six fixed-day loops serviced by 65 vessels with 31 ports of call. Arrangements for transatlantic services have not yet been finalised.

Diana Containerships Inc., a global shipping company specialising in the ownership of containerships, announced on 28th November that it had taken delivery of the 54,809gt Santa Pamina, a 2005-built Panamax container vessel of approximately 5,000 TEU capacity. The ship is chartered to The Shipping Corporation of India Ltd. at a gross charter rate of US$9,500 per day minus a 5% commission paid to third parties.

G6 members agreed to temporarily suspend the eastbound Los Angeles call on its Pacific Atlantic 1 service in December amid worsening congestion on the US West Coast ports. The first vessel not calling at Los Angeles will be the 54,401gt/2000 built Singapore Express on 1st January 2015. The suspension is agreed for 4 consecutive weeks, ending with the 55,534gt/2007 built NYK Daedalus.

Hamburg-Sud’s new 94,930gt/10,500 TEU San Clemente was christened on 13th November at the Marina Bay Cruise Centre in Singapore when she paused there whilst engaged in a liner service. Hapag-Lloyd’s merger with CSAV was completed on 2nd December to form the fourth largest container liner shipping company in the world.

The merger of Hapag-Lloyd AG with the container business activities of the Chilean shipping company Chilean Compañía Sud Americana de Vapores (CSAV) founded in Valparaíso, in 1872, is expected to result in many synergies. Annual savings of at least $300 million are anticipated simply as a result of network optimisations, improvements to productivity and reductions in costs. The merged company has around 200 vessels with a total capacity of approximately 1 million TEU, transporting some 7.5 million TEU every year and will set up its fourth regional headquarter in Valparaiso, Chile. With revenue of around $12 billion, the combined entity joins the elite group of international shipping companies. The main processes of integrating CSAV’s container business into Hapag- Lloyd are expected to be completed by the end of the second quarter of 2015.

Maersk Line is to return to Southampton after a four year absence as DP World Southampton has been included as part of the re-configuration of 2M rotations, with alliance partner MSC. Having retained a Felixstowe stop, the Asia-Europe AE9 service will call at Southampton and Mediterranean ports along the route. Meanwhile, the CMA CGM deal, which covered Southampton for Maersk, has terminated. Furthermore, the 2M partners are in process of ending vessel sharing agreements with other carriers. In 2015, Maersk will offer six Asia-north Europe services with four calling in to the U.K, all using Felixstowe and one visiting Southampton. The Danish carrier is tendering for ten 3,400 TEU capacity feeder vessel newbuilds (optimised for low sulphur ECA operation and ice class compliant) expected to cost up to $550 million and is expected to commence a fresh wave of orders for ultra large containerships (ULCs). Orders totalling around $1 billion are anticipated with delivery from 2017. The latest Triple E ship to be delivered is the 194,849gt Morten Maersk but the company’s newbuild plans are expected to be rivalled by the G6 Alliance. Almost every container operator is now taking a look at 20,000 TEU vessel designs as the industry prepares to make the next upwards step in ship capacities. Japan’s MOL is thought to be the front-runner in the current round of ordering, followed by G6 partner OOCL. Taiwan’s Evergreen is also considering a jump from 14,000 TEU-class ships to 18,000 TEU or more. Designs for 22,000 TEU and 24,000 TEU ships are doing the rounds and the largest ship in service presently is the brand new 187,541gt CSCL Globe, with a capacity of 19,100 TEU.

MSC joined Hamburg-Sud and CSAV during December in calling at DP World’s London Gateway container port. MSC’s service from South Africa to UK/Northwest Europe will call there in favour of Hutchison Port’s terminal at Felixstowe. The first MSC vessel to call was the 8,089 TEU/ 89,954gt/2005 built MSC Rita on 7th December. Hamburg-Sud has also chosen London Gateway for its North Europe- Mexico operation with the 26,833gt/2003 built Cap Beaufort opening such calls plus CSAV commenced a weekly call as part of its reconfigured Europe-Middle East/India (IMEX) services. This will join the already established EPIC service at DP World London Gateway with the port celebrating its first birthday in November.

Oldenburg-Portugiesische Dampfschiffs-Rhederei (OPDR), the Marseilles based German short sea operator, was officially purchased by CMA CGM on 28th November. OPDR is owned by the Bernhard Schulte Group, an expert in short sea shipping between northern Europe and the Canary Islands, the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco. This new acquisition reinforces CMA CGM’s presence on the growing intra-European short sea transportation market and enhances their regional network. In 2002 CMA CGM also purchased the MacAndrews short sea operation and in November the company added an extra Liverpool service from Bilbao, Spain. MacAndrews will now call four times per week at the Port of Liverpool instead of three, having added a fourth vessel to its Bilbao service. The extra ship is the 7,702gt/2008 built Flintercape and sailed from Bilbao on her first trip on 13th November. Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) announced the cancellation of a winter sailing in November given the lack of demand in Japan over the New Year. Week 1 of Loop 1 will not operate, which was due at Kobe on 3rd January.

United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) named the industry’s first ever LNG-ready ultra large container vessel, the 15,000 TEU/150,800gt Sajir, on 27th November. The ship is the first vessel in UASC’s current newbuilding program, comprising 17 of the world’s most eco-efficient vessels. Preliminary calculations indicate an Energy Efficiency Design Index value that is close to 50% below the 2025 limit established by the IMO. The Sajir will commence operations on the Asia–North Europe route after delivery. Ten further A15 vessels and six 18,800 TEU (A18) container ships will be delivered from Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries to UASC by mid-2016. The A15 class vessels also deliver world-class standards of structural safety. The fatigue strength of the hull structure is based on the assumption of 25 years of operation in the North Atlantic, which is far beyond the normal standard. The A15 vessels will also be equipped with a DNV GL approved hull stress monitoring system that provides guidance to the crew on current stress levels in the ship structure during operation.