Floods cripple export-import in Bangladesh as main highway swamps
26.08.2024
Movement of export-import cargo-laden trucks and other vehicles through the Dhaka-Chittagong highway was disrupted severely as a devastating flood in Bangladesh has inundated roads, highways, homes, and farmlands since late last week.
Until now 11 districts in Bangladesh are now underwater where 1.23 million families have been affected totalling 5.7 million people while at least 23 have been killed. The flood situation further worsened on Monday amid huge rainfall.
As the country’s prime trade lifeline, Dhaka-Chittagong highways swamped and stayed underwater in many places, the trucks and other vehicles carrying in and outbound cargoes can move slowly and thus stay idle in traffic jams hours after hours. In some places, traffic congestions of 30 to 40 kilometres have been created.
Port sector officials say delivery of boxes from Chittagong port and inland container depots has fallen drastically while the depots are getting a significantly lesser number of export goods laden trucks during the last couple of days.
Ruhul Amin Sikder (Biplob), secretary general, of Bangladesh Inland Container Depot Association said on Monday the 19 depots received only 1,124 export goods laden trucks from Dhaka and elsewhere against receiving some 3,500 trucks in a normal day.
Also on the day only 393 TEUs of import goods laden containers have been delivered from the depots as the importers show reluctance to take delivery of goods amid floods. The depots now house 8,290 TEUs of export goods laden boxes, 8,643 TEUs of import goods laden trucks and 49,924 TEUs of empty containers.
“We are not getting adequate export cargo carrying trucks,” said Biplob and added that presently they are sending cargoes to the port from the previous stock.
On Sunday, only 1,647 import containers were delivered from the Chittagong port, almost one-third then the usual. On the day some 38,000 TEUs of containers had been lying at the port yards while 16 vessels were waiting at the outer anchorage and 11 were loading and unloading boxes at port jetties.
The box delivery situation further fell as the rail authority suspended the movement of trains on Thursday last since the rail lines in many places went down the flood water. The port authority thus allowed the importers to carry train and road-designated boxes from Chittagong port to Pangaon Inland Container Terminal in Dhaka by waterways.
An official of the Bangladesh Freight Forwarders Association (BFFA) said there is no obstacle in transporting cargoes to and from the port and depots.
“But as the highways swamped, the export cargoes cannot reach to the depots where they are usually stuffed to the boxes for shipment,” he said.
Chowdhury Zafar Ahmed, general secretary of, Truck and Covered Van Owners’ Association said some 3,500 trucks and covered vans remained stuck on the way to Dhaka and Chittagong.
Al Nadeem general secretary, of the Chittagong Prime Movers Owners’ Association, also confirmed over 2,000 prime movers remained stranded in different parts of the Dhaka-Chittagong highway carrying boxes.
China’s maritime body urges greater oversight after several boxship fires
19.08.2024
In light of recent explosions and fires on the container ships Northern Juvenile, Maersk Frankfurt, and YM Mobility, China’s Maritime Safety Administration (MSA) has called on liner operators to exercise more supervision on carrying dangerous goods.
MSA said, “Shipping lines must deeply learn the lessons of the accidents, draw inferences from the cases and resolve to prevent such accidents from happening again.”
On 26 May, a fire broke out in the cargo hold of the 2009-built, 8,814 TEU Northern Juvenile that was operated by CMA CGM on its Asia-West Africa service. The ship was 600 nautical miles from Malaysia’s Port Klang at the time and is now undergoing repairs. General average was declared by ship’s owner, Norddeutsche Reederei.
Similarly, Tokei Kaiun, the Japanese owner of the newly built 5,500 TEU Maersk Frankfurt, which was chartered to Maersk Line, declared GA after an explosion on the ship on its maiden voyage off Goa, India, on 19 July. One seafarer was killed in the incident.
MSA’s advisory was issued shortly after an explosion on Yang Ming's 2011-built, 6,589 TEU YM Mobility on 9 August in China’s Ningbo port, which is the world’s third-busiest container port.
The administration stressed that ship operators must remember that lives are at stake and safety must always come first.
Just days after the YM Mobility incident, an explosion occurred in the lower deck of MSC Capetown III, a 2006-built 2,824 TEU ship owned by MSC, in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Except for the death on Maersk Frankfurt, there were no fatalities or injuries in the other incidents.
MSA said, “Operators must fully recognise the severe and complex situation relating to dangerous goods transported on board ships, especially during the summer. Eliminate the mentality of luck, and strengthen the monitoring and rectification of hidden dangers in the transportation of dangerous goods. The safety awareness and sense of responsibility of crew members must be enhanced.”
Yang Ming vessel explosion reportedly linked to HMM-booked container
13.08.2024
The container that exploded on Yang Ming's ship YM Mobility on 9 August was reportedly booked by the Taiwanese operator’s fellow THE Alliance member HMM.
The incident, which occurred around 1.40 pm local time that day, originated from a reefer that was used to carry dry goods, according to Yang Ming.
The container has been speculated to have been carrying lithium-ion batteries or organic peroxides, which are flammable.
An HMM spokesperson told Container News: “We’re waiting for an official announcement from the authorities in Ningbo port, who are investigating the cause and extent of the damage.”
Ship repair specialists estimate that YM Mobility will need to undergo at least three months of repairs, and the costs could exceed its current market value, which is around US$55 million.
Yang Ming said today (12 August) that the damages are estimated at between US$1.5 million and US$9.5 million. The company noted that currently, there are no visible flames on board, and cooling efforts with water sprays are ongoing. All crew members and on-site personnel are safe and sound.
“The exact cause of the incident remains to be clarified under professional assessment. Meanwhile, to ensure the safety of the vessel and expedite further response, six tugboats have been dispatched for safeguarding. Representatives from P&I Clubs, Classification Societies, and surveyors have been arriving on-site to coordinate with the authorities. Yang Ming’s technical personnel are providing 24/7 on-site support to assess the impact of the fire and the seaworthiness of YM Mobility," stated Yang Ming.
YM Mobility has protection and indemnity coverage from Britannia P&I Club and the vessel is classed by American Bureau of Shipping.
Container explodes on Yang Ming ship in Ningbo
09.08.2024
One of Yang Ming Marine Transport’s ships suffered an explosion today (9 August) around 1.40 pm local time, while berthed in Ningbo, China.
Video footage taken by office workers in a nearby office building shows smoke billowing from the ship.
The Ningbo Maritime Search and Rescue Centre said the 6,589 TEU YM Mobility was berthed in Ningbo’s Beilun terminal and was carrying hazardous goods.
None of the crew on the 2011-built YM Mobility and the port workers were injured, although office buildings near the port were hit by shockwaves from the blast.
According to EconDB, YM Mobility is deployed to the China-Gulf Express (CGX) service that calls at Shanghai, Ningbo, Xiamen, Umm Qasr, Hamad and Jebel Ali. The service is run by Yang Ming, Ocean Network Express (ONE) and HMM.
Yang Ming issued a statement today saying that preliminary findings suggest that an explosion occurred in a container loaded with dangerous goods on board.
The Taiwanese liner operator said, “According to the shipper’s declaration, the container was a reefer used as a substitute for a dry container, without requiring power connection.
“Immediate fire control measures were taken, and the situation is now under control. All crew members have safely evacuated. Huan Ming (Shanghai) International Shipping Agency Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Yang Ming Group, is actively coordinating with the authorities to manage the situation.”
Panama Canal introduces new long-term slot allocation method
05.08.2024
The Panama Canal announced the introduction of a Long-Term Slot Allocation (LoTSA) Method for Neopanamax vessels, as part of the Transit Booking System.
With this new measure, Panama Canal aims to increase transit certainty and flexibility for its clients.
Currently, the slot offering in the Transit Booking System is done daily with an anticipation period before the required transit date.
Through this method, explains Panama Canal, several transit booking slot packages corresponding to January of the following year will be offered to different market segments; meaning a single client will be able to obtain multiple bookings in one transaction.
Each package will include a specific number of slots with weekly or monthly frequency per year, for both northbound and southbound transits.
These packages, and their characteristics, will be announced through the Booking Slot Projected Availability published on the website pancanal.com and will be awarded to the highest bidder through an auction.
The auction amount of the sealed bid will refer to the maximum amount the customer is willing to pay for each slot included in the package with a starting base of US$200,000.