Top Ten of International Shipping = Circle in=20 2009
First Time Deficit of Shipping = Giant=20 Maersk
Under the irreversible industry = downturn,=20 the biggest liner operator Maersk suffers annual deficit for the first = time in=20 its history of 105 years and the seemingly invulnerable =A1=B0Danish = Fairy Tale=A1=B1 gets=20 finally vanished in this coldest winter. Likewise, various shipping = enterprises=20 mostly suffered business loss in the past year.
Quite a few shipping companies = are=20 struggling in the financial desert due to overcapacity and low freight = rates,=20 who are extremely thirsty for =A1=B0oasis=A1=B1 of investment. For an = extra banking credit=20 of USD500 million in January 2010, CMA-CGM Board Director Jacques = Saad=A8=A6 has to=20 quit from his position, which is followed by change of top management.=20 Similarly, Hanjin Shipping, Zim Israel, Hapag-Lloyd, etc. also took the = same=20 path. Confronted with deteriorating finance situation, restructuring may = be the=20 only way out.
Copenhagen Conference =
Launches Low-carbon=20
Voyage
The Copenhagen climate = conference (December=20 7th to 19th) is a war without bullets that attracted unprecedented = attention=20 from all over the world. Although the final agreement has no effect of = legal=20 binding, the long march of energy saving and emission reduction will = never end.=20 The shipping emission plan of EU has not been substantially executed, = but =A1=B0Green=20 Shipping=A1=B1 will definitely and irreversibly be the trend in the=20 future.
Merchant ships sailing across = the Somalia=20 Sea again get hijacked frequently. To ensure the security of voyage, the = United=20 Nations dispatched naval force from different nations to perform escort = mission=20 where Chinese Naval Army deployed overseas escort for the first = time.
In the first three quarters of = 2009, the=20 main container ports in North America, Europe and Asia all suffered = double-digit=20 decrease of container throughput where the ports all over the world are = shrouded=20 in gloomy days of =A1=B0minus growth=A1=B1. It is estimated the = container throughput of=20 main ports in 2009 will drop down by more than 10%.
There was no deal of = shipbuilding order in=20 May, the worst performance in the past seven years. In August, Maersk = Group=20 declared that Odense Steel Shipyard would accept no more orders and be = closed=20 after completion of =A1=B0Last Supper=A1=B1 (the last shipbuilding = contract) in February=20 2012. According to some industry experts, the shipbuilding market will = have an=20 even harder time in the future where shipyards are challenged by = pressure of=20 restructuring.
Purely from the angle of fuel = consumption,=20 the service speed of 14 to 15 knots is the most economical. Under the = rampant=20 financial crisis, more container lines turn to the most economical speed = around=20 14 knots, which not only cuts down the fuel cost but also alleviates the = overcapacity. Though 14 knots is only half of the previous service = speed, it=20 might serve as the new criteria at least in the foreseeable = future.
China and Korea respectively = announced to=20 forbid entry of single-hull oil tankers in 2010 and 2011, which sends = out a=20 strong signal that Asia is no longer the paradise of this outdated type = of ship=20 and more followers will say No to the single-hull vessels. Despite of = interest=20 and time test, it is an inevitable trend that single-hull tankers will = finally=20 be phased out.
The bubble of international = finance center=20 in Dubai broke due to a mammoth debt of USD80 billion, which almost = causes=20 severe collapse of the fragile finance market order. People are also = concerned=20 about the future of the DP World. As a chain effect of financial crisis, = the=20 global port competition layout may be greatly changed.
Upcoming New Rotterdam=20
Rules
On September 23rd, the UN = Convention on=20 Contract for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea = drafted=20 by UNCITRAL was signed by 16 member states in Rotterdam. The so-called = Rotterdam=20 Rules implies a crucial step toward the final execution of this = exclusive=20 convention.