China Shipping Container Lines’ stricken 187,541gt CSCL Indian Ocean finally arrived at Hamburg Port on the morning of 9th February having grounded in the River Elbe as a result of a navigation system failure near Lühesand on 3rd February (above).

The sea-going-tugs Union Manta of Boskalis and Fairmount Expedition, six tugs of Bugsier and four tugs of Kotug Offshore and Smit Salvage participated in the operation.Less than two weeks after this incident, the 151,963gt/2013 built and 14,000 TEU capacity APL Vanda ran aground at Bramble Bank, off Cowes, whilst heading into Southampton from Le Havre. The vessel grounded on the night of 13th February, intentionally, after she suffered a loss of power. The location is the same one that ultimately saved the car carrier Hoegh Osaka in January 2015. It took eight tugs to free the vessel on the next morning, and she was safely towed to Southampton for inspection and continued her scheduled call.

Diana Containerships has sold the 51,299gt/1993 built and 4,024 TEU capacity Panamax container vessel Hanjin Malta, to a third party for demolition, for delivery by the end of March 2016. Upon completion of the sale, Diana Containerships’ fleet will consist of 13 container vessels.

Hanjin Shipping Co. has faced an ever tougher financial situation resulting in the South Korean shipping company reportedly seeking buyers for some of its assets. The proceeds from sales would be used to refinance a portion of its outstanding $406 million of debt due in the first half of 2016.

CMA CGM has decided to upgrade its service to the French West Indies by increasing its capacity and introducing additional calls on the PCRF line, which offers direct connections between the French West Indies and Northern Europe. Two new weekly calls at the ports of Zeebrugge and Rotterdam will be added during the first quarter of 2016. Additionally, the current 2,200 TEU vessels will be replaced by 2,800 TEU vessels in an effort to support regional growth of the French Indies market and promote intra- Caribbean trade developments. The new rotation will include Dunkirk, Zeebrugge, Rotterdam, Le Havre, Montoir de Bretagne, Pointe à Pitre, Fort de France, Pointe à Pitre, and Dunkerque. Currently, five lines connect the French West Indies to the rest of the world – the PCRF and Mediterranean Caribbean services which offer direct connections to Northern Europe and the Mediterranean Sea, and 3 regional services which offer transhipment to the whole sub region.

CMA CGM announced on 3rd March plans to deploy a loop of 18,000 TEU-class ships on the Pacific after completing successful trials with a vessel of this class, the 178,228gt/2015 built and 17,800 TEU CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin (above) after a two month trial. Six ships of this class, all named after great explorers, will be deployed from the end of May 2016 between Asia and the US west coast in CMA CGM’s Pearl River Express. Joining the CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin will be the CMA CGM Bougainville, CMA CGM Kerguelen, CMA CGM Georg Forster, CMA CGM Vasco de Gama and CMA CGM Zheng He. The decision by CMA CGM to upgrade its transpacific services clashes with the views of some other industry leaders who are not convinced this is a suitable trade for such large ships, given the relatively short ocean voyage compared with the Asia-Europe trades. Economies of scale are maximised while the ships are at sea.

COSCO, the abbreviated name for the brand new China COSCO Shipping Corporation, the world’s largest shipping line, was unveiled on 18th February. Another Chinese shipping merger between China Merchants and Sinotrans & CSC is also underway as Beijing pursues efficiencies among state-run firms.

Hapag-Lloyd has taken delivery of two 3,500 TEU ships with a special wide-beam design from the Dutch shipping company NileDutch. The companies did not disclose the purchase price of the two vessels, which are initially scheduled to be deployed in South America. Furthermore, in order to reinforce its presence in the North Atlantic, Hapag-Lloyd is chartering four more widebeam ships for services between the Mediterranean and Montreal, Canada. The ships, which are two years old and have an operating capacity of some 2,700 TEU, will replace the existing, older tonnage.

Maersk Line’s 24,488gt/2004 built Safmarine Kuramo (operated by Maersk subsidiary Safmarine) had a hijacking attempt thwarted by the Nigerian Navy on 5th February. The ship was attacked by pirates while en-route to Onne in Nigeria. A number of criminals came on board and took control of the vessel but the Nigerian Navy boarded the vessel in a rescue mission later that day with all 25 crew being reported as safe. Hijackings in the Gulf of Guinea region are becoming more frequent as pirates had attacked two vessels over the previous month. In 2015 alone, Nigerian military officials arrested 1,610 pirates, militants and criminals in the West African Niger Delta.

NYK Line has taken delivery of the 144,285gt newbuild NYK Blue Jay, a uniquely- designed 14,000 TEU capacity containership that promises energy savings equivalent to that of much larger ships. The 364m ship was delivered on 22nd February at Japan Marine United Corporation’s shipyard in Kure, Hiroshima in Japan and has entered service between Asia and Europe. The vessel features a hull form that improves cargo-loading efficiency by minimizing engine room space. The ship’s main engine is also equipped with the world’s first (and patent pending) system featuring two completely separate power ranges optimized for higher speeds as well as slow steaming. NYK Line says the new technology results in optimised fuel consumption and energy savings equivalent to larger vessels capable of carrying 20,000 TEUs. The NYK Blue Jay is the first of ten containerships that will be chartered by NYK Line under time charter contracts with the owner. The other nine vessels will be delivered by 2018.

Ocean 3, one of the container operator alliances, is reportedly under threat as CMA CGM is said to be in discussions with the merged COSCO/China Shipping entity to form an alliance that could also include OOCL and Evergreen. The new alliance would leave Middle Eastern line UASC out on its own. CMA CGM may also take newly acquired APL to the new coalition from the G6 so, with OOCL also possibly switching camps, the G6 alliance may also be facing a major shakeup. With CMA CGM likely taking soon-to-be acquired APL to the new union, the G6 alliance, where OOCL is currently, would also be decimated. COSCO and Evergreen departing the CKYHE alliance would also put that container partnership under severe pressure, leading some to speculate that its remnants, K Line, Yang Ming and Hanjin could seek a partnership with the rest of the G6 next year. Whether or not the new alliance, dubbed CCEO, becomes established remains to be seen.

SEAGO Line, part of the Maersk Group, is to launch a new cargo route Algeciras- Liverpool-Dublin, from April 2016. This is the first time that the Maersk Group Company has used Liverpool for UK cargoes in over 10 years and will be Maersk Group’s first ever direct connection to the Irish capital. The announcement on 2nd March follows the news last month that WEC Lines, which is owned by MSC, has introduced a number of new services to the Port of Liverpool. X-press, the world’s largest independent common carrier of containers, has also launched a new service via the city.