Ports of Unrest - Navigating Full Spectrum Dominance and the Great Reset

mxwlll0

Jedi Master
FOTCM Member
This thread is for monitoring ongoing shenanigans at various ports around the world in the Great Reset era. There are cross-over threads, but this one is meant to just track the events taking place at ports and supply chains affected by unrest in any form.

After the Beruit bombing last year and the constraints placed on shipping ports from COVID, plus the aggression coming to light being inflicted on Iran by Israel — while ports throughout history have been the targets of attack and control, I have a feeling this tactic is going to be amplified around the world. Ports are going to be increasingly targeted by the “Empire” as a means to implement FSD and 4IR technology — not just through physical violence or sanctions but the logistical efforts that go into manufacturing congestion, container scarcity, cyber-warfare (the race to digitize supply chains is in full speed) and other means yet to be seen (or unseen).

Here’s something I found that describes the port situation as the Myanmar unrest was ramping up back on 3/11:

Supply chains unravel as Myanmar military escalates retaliation to protests - The Loadstar

Already curious, since I’ve read this article a few times as I was planning to share, but a key piece seems to have now been omitted which described (and paraphrasing) how the military owns some trucking lines and is able to transport supplies under darkness to avoid detection of the protesters and continue delivering goods.

It’s peculiar why this would be edited out, although — could it have highlighted another tactic that Myanmar ‘nationalists’ are using to circumvent a growing color revolution and by having fresh supplies (energy) this enabled them to get the point where they could seize the accounts and financials of Soros’ Open Society Foundation? There’s no room for sovereignty in the Great Reset...

Anyway, there’s a lot more to unravel and I’ll continue to post as I piece things together in this space. But a dedicated place to track new tactics for starvation sanctions, 21st century hybrid warfare and its affect on populations seems useful as the “show” unfolds in order for us all to navigate left and right effectively.

Feel free to post anything related.

Full article from above:
As the post-coup crisis in Myanmar escalates, more shipping lines have suspended cargo bookings and closed local offices.
“The situation is critical,” Maersk Myanmar told customers, “the ongoing unrest is becoming a disaster,”

“Physical safety and mental health is compromised, not only for our people, but also for the people we are responsible for through our business.”

The Yangon-based office has suspended all activities until 14 March, noting staff would not be working from home.

CMA CGM has also suspended inbound shipments, but added: “Our export options remain open, as we facilitate your shipment processes by staff working remotely.”

Nationwide turmoil erupted after Myanmar’s military junta took control on 1 February, some six years after first ceding power for democratic elections.

A mass civil disobedience movement prang up within days, sparking delays at the main container terminals in Yangon, as drivers and customs staff joined the protests. Daily anti-regime demonstrations, protester and journalist arrests, internet blackouts, curfews, factory closures and disruption to banking systems have all combined to upend supply chains further.

This week the military’s crackdown escalated, with forwarders telling The Loadstar of “shooting in the streets”, and according to local reports, the military has killed at least 50 protesters.
Rickard Ingvarsson, CEO Asia at Scan Global Logistics, said: “We, like many other firms, are working from home or with skeleton staff to keep employees safe.”

David Ramalingam, Scan’s country manager in Myanmar, added: “Most shipping lines are rejecting bookings and have not been able to provide space or equipment, suspending activities until Sunday, subject to the situation.

“MIP, the main port in the city, is congested and full, with import and export cargo on hold, since feeder vessel calls to Port Thilawa (MITT) are facing issues with customs, and trucking cargo to the port, which is away from the main city limits.

“And transport inside city limits is challenging for trucks picking up cargo from factories and moving it to warehouses and ports, due to road blocks.”

Yangon airport is operating with minimum staff and only ad hoc flights, added Mr Ramalingam, noting trucking to Bangkok remains an option for air and sea connections, despite space constraints there, too.

“Furthermore, Myanmar’s factories are operating with limited staff, resulting in production delays,” he noted.

As pressure mounts on multinational firms operating in the country to condemn the coup, Swedish fashion retailer H&M announced yesterday it would pause new orders in Myanmar.

It said: “This is due to practical difficulties and an unpredictable situation limiting our ability to operate in the country, including challenges related to manufacturing and infrastructure, raw material imports and transport of finished goods.”
 
Going to just drop this here as something developing. Massive container ship is stuck in the the Suez canal and causing a major traffic jam on seas:


Could be seen an opportunity to exploit and lead to some form of unrest. Wait and see for now... 🤔
 

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Sharing some relevant articles in the logistics and supply-chain space that speak to the fallout since the Suez Canal was unblocked:

Evergreen orders ships and boxes as spree continues - Container News

Basically while the Ever Given was stuck Evergreen has put in a number of orders for container vessels (20) and containers - 40K!

In 2020, container freight rates exceeded 10-year highs, enabling Evergreen to achieve a net profit of TW$28.77 billion (US$1.02 billion), reversing its net loss of TW$223.01 million (US$7.4 million) in 2019.

Plenty of profit made during the 1st year of COVID with more on the way it seems.
————

Here’s some corporate virtue signaling around how container line MSC will not consider shipping routes through the Arctic (even though they’re potentially shorter and therefore produce less emissions) because of climate change. Not to mention how Arctic routes would benefit Russia as mentioned in this article posted by Keit - Перевозчики грузов по Суэцкому каналу запросили транзит через Россию

MSC to keep avoiding Arctic routes - Container News

More doubling down on climate change, zero emissions, and alternative fuels - the great green reset:

MSC believes that an expansion of Arctic shipping could increase the emissions of so-called black carbon – physical particles of unburned carbon which can settle on land or ice, as well as compromising air quality and accelerating the shrinkage of Arctic sea ice.

🙄 Someone tell them it’s growing. Another quote:

In addition, the company noted the risks such as navigation incidents, fuel spills, air quality and altering the ecological balance / biodiversity of the marine habitat beneath the surface of the sea also outweigh any commercial opportunities to make a short cut between North America or Europe and eastern Russia or Asia.

No mention that this risk is apparent for any carrier on any route. There’s more gems, but the mental gymnastics throughout are painful...
————

Ripples from Ever Given chaos will flow into every major tradelane - The Loadstar

Article discusses the affect the blockage should have on ports around the world especially China and South East Asia:

Amid the Ever Given fallout, Asian shippers should expect a chronic container shortage, extended booking delays and more cargo rollovers at key transhipment hubs.

“The ripple effects will flow into intra-Asia trades...especially for the mainline carriers that will struggle to reposition equipment. But even regional and niche carriers could be affected by the container shortages – all the trades are connected.”
————

'Suez 2'? Blockage of canal revives UN plan for waterway along Egypt-Israel border -- Sott.net

Nice article posted on SOTT regarding Suez 2 - disaster capitalists dusting off plans when opportunity strikes and then feeling out perception...

Overall seeing constant pressure being applied (directly or indirectly) and no matter how small overtime something eventually is gonna give.
 
Sharing some relevant articles in the logistics and supply-chain space that speak to the fallout since the Suez Canal was unblocked:

Evergreen orders ships and boxes as spree continues - Container News

Basically while the Ever Given was stuck Evergreen has put in a number of orders for container vessels (20) and containers - 40K!



Plenty of profit made during the 1st year of COVID with more on the way it seems.
————

Here’s some corporate virtue signaling around how container line MSC will not consider shipping routes through the Arctic (even though they’re potentially shorter and therefore produce less emissions) because of climate change. Not to mention how Arctic routes would benefit Russia as mentioned in this article posted by Keit - Перевозчики грузов по Суэцкому каналу запросили транзит через Россию

MSC to keep avoiding Arctic routes - Container News

More doubling down on climate change, zero emissions, and alternative fuels - the great green reset:



🙄 Someone tell them it’s growing. Another quote:



No mention that this risk is apparent for any carrier on any route. There’s more gems, but the mental gymnastics throughout are painful...
————

Ripples from Ever Given chaos will flow into every major tradelane - The Loadstar

Article discusses the affect the blockage should have on ports around the world especially China and South East Asia:


————

'Suez 2'? Blockage of canal revives UN plan for waterway along Egypt-Israel border -- Sott.net

Nice article posted on SOTT regarding Suez 2 - disaster capitalists dusting off plans when opportunity strikes and then feeling out perception...

Overall seeing constant pressure being applied (directly or indirectly) and no matter how small overtime something eventually is gonna give.

This reminded me of a documentary that came out a few years ago about container ships and how much they pollute and how much our present civilization depends on them. It's titled, "Freightened: The Real Price of Shipping" (Freightened Film - The Real Price of Shipping)

Synopsis -
90% of the goods we consume in the West are manufactured in far-off lands and brought to us by ship. The cargo shipping industry is a key player in world economy and forms the basis of our very model of modern civilisation; without it, it would be impossible to fulfil the ever-increasing demands of our societies. Yet the functioning and regulations of this business remain largely obscure to many, and its hidden costs affect us all. Due to their size, freight ships no longer fit in traditional city harbours; they have moved out of the public’s eye, behind barriers and check points. The film answers questions such as: Who pulls the strings in this multi-billion dollar business? To what extent does the industry control our policy makers? How does it affect the environment above and below the water-line? And what’s life like for modern seafarers? Taking us on a journey over seas and oceans, FREIGHTENED reveals in an audacious investigation the many faces of world-wide freight shipping and sheds light on the consequences of an all-but-visible industry.
 
This reminded me of a documentary that came out a few years ago about container ships and how much they pollute and how much our present civilization depends on them. It's titled, "Freightened: The Real Price of Shipping" (Freightened Film - The Real Price of Shipping)

Thanks for sharing! I’ll have a watch when I can. I’ve been reading The Box which goes into the details and history on the containerization of moving freight and it’s affects on local and global economy. Longshoreman weren’t happy about becoming obsolete — talk about ports of unrest at the time!

Here’s a review from someone on Good Reads that sums it up pretty well: The Box

Containerisation is globalisation. Nine ways in which shipping has changed the world.

1. All ships, trains, trailers and cranes for freight are built to the exact same standards. On a ship the tolerance on the rails that lock the containers in place is 1/4". It doesn't matter if it is a refrigerated container, a double-doors one or any of the 16 types of container, all are built to the same external and weight bearing parameters. It doesn't matter if it is in Egypt, Sydney or Cape Town, all the ports are built the same way. All cargo is tracked in the same way on computers.

2. The heavily-protective and Marxist trade unions that fought so hard for their workers in places such as New York and London and Liverpool in the UK lost out to ports built specifically for containers that had no prior agreements with dockers (longshoremen). Rotterdam in Holland and Tilbury in England got the business.

3. The merchant navy employed many men on cargo ships. 1,000 yard container ships carry a crew of between 6 and 20 from cheap, non-unionised countries such as the Philippines.

4. Smuggling of illegal items and people became much easier. Searching the boxes and barrels of a cargo ship is one thing. Searching through thousands of containers locked at point of loading and not unlocked until they reach their final destination is quite another.

5. What was once a week long sojourn in port as cargo was unloaded, trucked away and new trucks and trains arrived with more cargo for loading is accomplished in 24 hours. As soon as one set of cranes has cleared an area, another crane is placing on new containers. No more people seeing the world working on cargo boats.

6. Because of economies of scale, the reduction in labour costs and the greater efficiency of shipping, freight costs have gone down enormously, so people previously unable to afford certain first-world luxuries now consider them as everyday items. Even in the remotest villages of the poorest countries where there is no national grid, just one generator inevitably there will be mobile phones.

7. What is designed in one country may be made with fabric from a second, manufactured in a third and distributed in a fourth. The owner of the business might live in a fifth. Goods are manufactured where labour is cheapest. One pair of my Old Navy jeans was made in Vietnam, another identical pair in Haiti.

8. It costs 70% extra to ship an empty container back to its home port. But only 10% to dump it. This has resulted in parks of rusting containers inelegant in their uselessness. There are small industries reusing these containers as homes, bars, even swimming pools and small industrial etc units. But nothing like enough to rid the world of these piled-up, ugly big boxes.

9. And for this we have to thank Malcom McLean, a trucker turned genius entrepreneur with a vision for globalisation.
 
A lot happens in the high seas of logistics and supply. Here are few articles that stood out to me over the last week or so.

Port congestion due to Suez canal blockage is reach into India and Asia now. From 15/04/2021:


The country has been struggling with a shortage of empty containers since September and, with the Suez Canal blockage expected to worsen this right across Asia, India could bear the brunt as carriers prioritise container distribution to China and South-east Asia before the subcontinent.
Mr Pandit said shipping lines were also giving preference to some sectors over others by “quoting too-high rates” and pricing ‘unwanted’ cargo out of the market.

Pretty good bet they’re prioritizing vaccines or pandemic related items...

However, while SMEs may be suffering, India’s total exports saw a massive 58% year-on-year increase in March, to $34bn, according to the Federation of Indian Exports Organisations (FIEO), with the engineering, gems and jewellery and pharmaceutical sectors leading the growth.

Oh there's pretty good indication🙄 Also some union strikes in the works one in LA and the other in Montreal:


With the mounting prolonged waterfront labour conflict reaching the point where dockers plan to cease working overtime indefinitely as of today and on weekends this Saturday, the Montreal Port Authority’s newly-installed President and CEO, Martin Imbleau [me: aka sock-puppet], issued a sharply-worded statement striking out at the potential impact on the Canadian economy and the competitiveness of Canada’s second biggest port of a vital public service being “offered on a part-time basis.”
At a press conference yesterday, CUPE 375 union leader Michael Murray said “we are not shutting down the port” and affirmed that deliveries of COVID-related cargo would be assured.
“Created to cost-effectively meet the needs of importers and exporters, the Port of Montreal is a strategic infrastructure serving millions of Quebecers and other Canadians,” Imbleau said.

“Every year, $100 billion worth of goods pass through our facilities. That’s close to $275 million a day! That cargo includes goods that go to families in the Greater Montreal area who are renovating their homes, to manufacturers in Central Quebec, to pharmacies in Quebec City, and to automobile plants in Ontario. The Port of Montreal is not the port of a single city or company or industry: it’s every resident in Eastern Canada’s port.”
No doubt the COVID show will go on whether the dock workers are on strike or not..
At his press conference, Murray confirmed that working schedules were a central outstanding issue for dockers whose average annual income is about $125,000 under a system where a docker must be available 19 days out of 21 but usually this does not exceed 16 days. “What the new generation wants is a better balance between work and personal/family life.”

The proposed latest changes by the MEA would give dockers five additional weekend days off, more possibilities of exchanging shifts, more fixed working hours and the establishment of a joint committee to “reform” working schedules.
Seems workers just want a few extra days off and fair wage.

Meanwhile in LA (from 4/15/21):

A confrontation between truck drivers and Universal Logistics, one of the largest trucking firms in southern California, has spilled into the port of Los Angeles.
Yesterday, the clash between the company and organised labour spread to the port of Los Angeles, where members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union sided with the drivers and declined to service trucks owned by Universal Logistics at one of the port’s terminals.

According to the port authority, that terminal experienced “minimal to moderate traffic disruption” as a result.

Faced with congestion stemming from a host of factors – delayed vessels, clogged-up docks and shortages of containers, chassis and rail cars – the last thing the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach need now is a serious clash between employers and labour unions adding to the headaches of importers moving goods through the port complex.
Indeed, congestion is just getting going based on the articles below...


Continued Suez Fallout

Ports around the globe brace for massive post-Suez cargo logjams - The Loadstar (from 4/13/21)

According to new data from supply chain visibility platform Project44, the recent canal blockage has led to a cumulative delay to shipping fleets of 1,072 days.
The picture is similar at Rotterdam, where 15 ships, representing 196,600 teu, will arrive over the next week, creating a lengthy queue behind the 85 vessels already at port or waiting to enter.

New York is facing a backlog of 76,500 teu, either having arrived or still inbound from the Suez Canal, Malaysia’s Port Klang has a build-up of 103,900 teu and Dubai is facing 75,879 teu.
And with this potentially unprecedented build-up of cargo at box terminals around the world, insurers have warned it is likely to affect the entire container supply chain and increase the risk of freight crime – particularly theft.

Director of loss prevention at the TT Club Mike Yarwood explained: “Beyond the delay to cargo on board those ships affected, there will inevitably be a knock-on impact for those involved in discharging the containers at destination ports when they finally arrive, as well as the final-mile delivery carriers. When the cargo does start to turn up, the further potential risks emerge.

“The risk of theft at ports and freight depots in this scenario is heightened and a greater focus on security is required. Whether it simply be at an overspill holding or storage area, or temporary warehousing, wherever and whenever cargo is not moving, it is more likely to be stolen.

“Those active in the supply chain should be mindful of these security risks. Due diligence, undertaken to ensure that any third-party provider of storage is adequately resourced to meet these demands, is a prudent step to take in these circumstances,” he added.
Anything 'incident' will most likely result in justifying further surveillance measures at ports around the world - all that high-tech track and trace has to be used for something... 🤔

Anger as SCA arrests Ever Given and submits $916m compensation claim - The Loadstar (from 4/14/21)

An Egyptian judge granted permission for the SCA [me: Suez Canal Authority] to seize the vessel after it lodged a $916m compensation claim against its Japanese vessel owner, Shoe Kisen.

The SCA says it intends to maintain the vessel’s arrest until the claim is paid, a position that has caused fury among the ship’s insurers and ship managers, and led charterer Evergreen to investigate whether it could use a court order to treat vessel and cargo separately.

The SCA claim includes $300m for salvage and $300m for “loss of reputation”, which appears set to be rejected by the vessel’s insurer, the UK P&I Club, which revealed it had already made a compensation offer to the SCA this week.
Evergreen said it had begun to look at other ways to free cargo trapped on board, adding: “In order to lift the arrest order as soon as possible, Evergreen is urging all concerned parties to facilitate a settlement agreement to be reached.
BMS said the Ever Given’s classification society, the American Bureau of Shipping, had completed its inspection following the incident and it had “been declared suitable for onward passage to Port Said, to be assessed again before departing for Rotterdam”.
So cargo on the Ever Given is still stuck until insurance claims are settled between disputed parties then to Port Said and off to Rotterdam.

Related congestion is being reported for rail lines as well due to port congestion build up:


US shippers and importers that rely on rail are bracing themselves for a long slog through a period of congestion and delays.
The Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex has become synonymous with congestion for months, and problems are expected to continue at least into June, with imports projected to remain at elevated levels.

However, other parts of the country are also struggling with delays.

Containers headed for the Midwest have been stuck at the New York/New Jersey port complex because of congestion on the rail network in the Chicago area, where several intermodal rail yards have been clogged up as a result of a combination of factors.

The problems began in February, when the terminals in New York and New Jersey were closed for five days because of weather conditions. According to some reports, Norfolk Southern is still working through the backlogs.
So affects from Suez starting show up at Ports like New York and New Jersey and LA and Long Beach plus bad weather are affecting already congested rail lines moving the containers of goods towards inland areas. Not to mention the Union strike in LA.

Also Piracy and Fires:

GAC - Gulf of Guinea still piracy hotspot: IMB latest figures (from 4/14/21)

The Gulf of Guinea accounted for nearly half (43%) of all reported piracy incidents in the first three months of 2021, according to the latest figures from the ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB).

IMB’s latest global piracy report records 38 incidents since the start of 2021 – compared with 47 incidents during the same period last year. In the first three months of 2021, the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC) reported 33 vessels boarded, two attempted attacks, two vessels fired upon, and one vessel hijacked.

Hazardous goods suspected cause of Interasia Catalyst blaze - Container News (from 4/15/21)

Interasia said, “We do not accept hazardous cargoes. Shippers should transport such cargoes on chemical tankers. We believe that the cargoes were not properly declared, resulting in the fire.”

Hazardous cargoes have been blamed for a number of high-profile fires involving container ships, such as Maersk Honam, COSCO Pacific and KMTC Hongkong.

The 2009-built 4,200TEU Interasia Catalyst, was also loaded with containers from Wan Hai Lines and Ocean Network Express (ONE) and was en route to Cochin, India, when the fire was reported. The ship turned back to Port Klang, where firefighting efforts began. The blaze was brought under control on 12 April, with nine containers sustaining damage.

More bad weather being predicted:


“We anticipate an above-average probability for major hurricanes making landfall along the continental United States coastline and in the Caribbean.”

That's enough for now. Much longer post than I anticipated, but there seems to be a lot on the horizon. 🕵️‍♂️
 
This is an interesting detail that might be related to the premise of slowing down the movement of goods, or undermining confidence in the shipping industry...to slow down movement of goods. Nearly 3,000 shipping containers have fallen into the ocean since November

I think this puts things in perspective.

What's causing the uptick? It's likely a combination of bad weather and heavily loaded ships, some of which are packed to the brim due to increased U.S. imports since the beginning of the pandemic. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that January brought the largest monthly increase in U.S. imports since 2012.

To be sure, the World Shipping Council notes that containership accidents have been on a downtrend over the past decade, writing "containers lost overboard represent less than one thousandth of 1% of the roughly 226 million containers currently shipped each year."

Still, it would be problematic if the sea weather gets really worse. After all, international containerships move more than 80 percent of global trade.
 
This is an interesting detail that might be related to the premise of slowing down the movement of goods, or undermining confidence in the shipping industry...to slow down movement of goods. Nearly 3,000 shipping containers have fallen into the ocean since November

Still, it would be problematic if the sea weather gets really worse. After all, international containerships move more than 80 percent of global trade.

Yes, this has been talked about quite a bit lately in the supply chain space. Mostly how there's container shortage which is driving rates sky high. The 3 Part series below is pretty nuts and bolts as to why containers are being lost and which can be summed up mostly due to pressure on ships (and captains) to overload and load quickly to meet demand — thus stacked sloppily as weight limits and balance regulations easily become overlooked. Then throw in bad weather tossing these containers around en-route and you’re bound to lose some cargo. Also it's been noted that a 'worst than average' US hurricane season is upcoming.


Container stack collapses have seen a spike in recent months with vessels losing a combined total of around 5,762 containers from five major incidents between November last year and February this year. The industry is looking to unravel the puzzle as to why large container ships have started to shed boxes at such an alarming rate.

Those losses amount to more than the 1,382-annual average from World Shipping Council (WSC) surveys, and they have alarmed the shipping lines, shippers and regulators alike with a number of investigations under way, but none of these probes are, apparently, working together.

In a series of three stories, Container News analyses the possible causes of container losses, including a look at the commercial pressures applied to shipowners and vessel masters, the apparent failure of regulatory enforcement, the technical issues involved in stack collapses and the difficulties that the industry must overcome to remedy the situation.

As losses pile up the International Union of Marine Insurers (IUMI) has also seen its members’ concerns rise. IUMI secretary general Lars Lange said that there are a number of investigations occurring, each studying “different aspects of the problem,” while there was “no co-ordinated investigation,” that he was aware of.

Lange believes there is no single cause for this developing problem, container weights, stuffing of containers, lashing technology, stowage plans and the growth in the size of ships have all played a part in the increased losses.

That is a view that the WSC subscribes to, but the carrier representative has also, “indicated to the MARIN research institute our interest in the joint industry research project that is being developed entitled “TopTier”. We anticipate that this joint research project may, based on scientific analyses and studies and desktop as well as real-life measurements, result in the development of specific, actionable and realistic recommendations to improve container safety.”

Until TopTier reports, however, there will be speculation as to why so many containers have been lost in a comparatively short space of time.

One of the major explanations, that may not make comfortable reading for the maritime sector is not a lack of proper regulation, but rather a possible failure by regulatory authorities to enforce existing regulations. This includes the verified gross mass (VGM) regulations that were enacted less than five years ago and allegedly the rules governing the lashing of containers in port and the requirement for all containers to be lashed before setting sail. (See Box losses don’t stack up. Part Two, 20 April).

Investigations into stack collapses that have occurred on a number of ships, from November 2020 onwards are expected to focus largely on the technical issues parametric rolling along with extra forces placed on automatic twistlocks as well as the weight of containers, all coming into play as a ship travels through heavy weather. But some believe that there should be a greater focus on the role of commercial pressures in stack collapses too.

Two crew members have separately told Container News that masters on board large box carriers are under such tremendous pressure to meet vessel schedules that ships have left ports with containers still unlashed, with crew expected to complete the stowing job as the vessel manoeuvres at sea. According to two vessel masters, one under the condition of anonymity, commercial pressures can be intense, and owners may compel masters, who often fear for their job, to set sail with the vessel in a condition that would not be considered safe.

What is more, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) rules that prohibit such a practice, are in place, but often these rules remain unenforced by port state controls, even though the regulations have been in place for nearly 30 years, since November 1991.

Box losses from large container ships are largely considered to be either a technical or design problem, or a container weight and cargo stowage error. While stack collapses are considered to be so rare, that the industry itself does not count these losses per se, but includes these figures in aggregation. For example, the sinking of the 8,200TEU MOL Comfort, with all cargo lost, 4,332 containers, in 2013 resulted in a spike in the figures and is included in WSC’s 12-year average.

Container losses in the period between November 2020 and February 2021 were staggering with such high-profile companies as Ocean Network Express (ONE), MSC with the MSC Aries, Maersk Line's Maersk Essen and Evergreen Marine's Ever Liberal more than doubling the annual loss rate within a period of less than four months. Though none of these lines were mentioned by the crew who spoke with Container News.

In another North Pacific storm, ONE Apus lost 1,860 containers into the ocean, in late November, as rows of containers collapsed,
As a result, Vanuatu will propose at the upcoming International Maritime Organization (IMO) Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) 103 meeting that containers are fitted with tracking devices so that the exact size of the problem can be determined as a first step in finding a solution to container losses at sea. While carriers are conducting their own studies of the issues, behind closed doors.

Mounting concern at the levels of cargo loss and container stack collapses within the maritime industry has seen shipping lines shielding the evidence of losses with legal teams banning the use of video footage of damaged vessels and reportedly banning staff and contractors from discussing the issues under scrutiny within investigations.

Focusing on the weight of containers the lashing systems and technology, loading systems and stowage planners will all be crucial to the investigations, but it may also be necessary to look at the enforcement methodology for a global industry which is globally regulated, yet where those regulations are unevenly applied by regional port state control (PSC) bodies.

IMO regulations VI/5 and VII/6 of the 1974 SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea] Convention “Require cargo units and cargo transport units to be loaded, stowed and secured throughout the voyage in accordance with a Cargo Securing Manual (CSM) approved by the Flag State Administration and drawn up to a standard at least equivalent to the guidelines developed by the IMO,” according to the regulations.

Commercial pressures placed on masters to meet vessel schedules, with the unspoken or at least a loosely implied, threat to their job if they fail to comply, even if this means leaving port with unsecured cargo.

An anonymous master, we will call him Ben Jones, alleged that ships are leaving port without lashing operations having been completed. He said that on occasions, “The duty officer has been under pressure to sail the vessel on time, and this has resulted, on rare occasions, the vessel leaving port before all lashing has been completed.”

Gaurav Sharma, a master who has worked with many of the world’s largest container lines and who, for the last eight years, said that he has heard other masters allege that in the rush to leave port operators “are not putting the proper lashings on containers and in some ports ships are not completely lashed, they generally blame it [losses] on a vessel's lashing gear, which might not always be the case.”

Sharma, who says he now works for a reputable and safe company, said “If a ship is in coastal waters and there are just a few boxes to be lashed there may be some lashing completed while the vessel is sailing. However, some terminals try to force the crew to complete the lashing at sea. But the ship staff must stand their ground as lashing of containers does not come under the job responsibilities of the crew.”

Interestingly, Sharma argues that European and US ports lack lashing gangs and so the likelihood of vessels leaving port without cargo properly secured are far greater in these regions than in Asian or African countries.

Moreover, the failure to lash is not due to a lack of regulation, but rather an enforcement issue. “We don’t need more regulations we need better enforcement of the existing regulations and better training for junior officers and mates and proper training for [cargo] planners,” Sharma explains.

In response to questions regarding the operational aspects of cargo lashing, WSC, which represents the liner shipping companies, pointed out that, “Investigations normally cover both operational and technical matters. When it comes to lashings, each ship has a Class approved Cargo Securing Manual (CSM) dealing with lashing procedures, inspection and re-tightening during the voyage. Carriers have a great focus on safety, and there is no reason to believe that the CSM was not complied with.”

Part Two of this mini-series of stories will concentrate on the regulatory landscape and how the rules and the way they are applied affect the shipping industry.


I can post content of the other 2 if anyone is interested. Just trying to keep this post not as long as it has become. 🙄

More updates from around the ports from the past week:

As the above article discuss there's currently a lot of noise around container shortages and rate increases that arise when supply is low and demand for goods is high. This is partly due to overall congestion continuing from various factors one still being fallout from the Suez blockage. It also could be said that it is somewhat advantageous to a shipping container’s bottom line that containers are lost causing a shortage - keeps rates high since demand is high. They have increased leverage now and it's making up for lost profits from 2020 downturn. Here are more articles that discuss container shortage and rate increases:


UNCTAD urges policymakers to consider three recommendations: to support ambitious trade and transport facilitation reforms; promote track and trace; and – perhaps most crucially for the industry, warns that the now-chronically high rates must come under scrutiny, over anti-competitive concerns.

These factors meant that container dwell times increased and empty containers could not return to the system in which they were most needed

Given current trends, several months will likely pass before this disruption can be absorbed across the maritime supply chain and before the system resumes smoother operations.
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For example, the Freightos Baltic Index (FBX) North European component jumped by 6% this week, to $7,791 per 40 ft – a huge 450% increase on the rate a year ago, but still unlikely to turn the heads of carriers that can easily fill ships with containers paying double that rate.
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Unsurprisingly - given the levels of congestion in all major trade lanes - shippers are sucking up heavy rate increases across the board in a bid to secure leverage in the frenzied scramble for capacity.
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“The shortage of containers at any given time is 100,000,” he claimed. “Even when you can get a container and a booking, shipping lines are overselling space. One customer’s cargo was rolled recently and the order was cancelled because they couldn’t afford airfreight. So they had to de-stuff and return the container at a huge cost.
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Also, ports in India and Indonesia were placed on notice and issuing 14 day quarantines due to increased cases of COVID reported.


Due to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in India in recent days and in anticipation of the threat of the new mutation of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the Head of Port Health Indonesia will carry out strict monitoring and health checks on every arrival of foreign nationals and Indonesian citizens from India entering through airports, ports, and border posts.
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About 65% of all air freight out of Bangladesh is carried on on passenger aircraft, according to Kabir Ahmed, president of the Bangladesh Freight Forwarders’ Association, and he says there are no daily freighter flights out of Dhaka – although there are some five-times-a week services.
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More piracy being reported around West Africa:


“This incident follows reports of two sightings of vessels suspected of involvement in piracy on the 21st April. One vessel was tracked into Nigerian TTW 9nm East of the SEA EAGLE Terminal. No further reports were received on the second vessel sighted 26nm SE of this latest attack,” said Dryad Global.
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This next one might take the cake in regards to 'full spectrum dominance' and lots to speculate over how this will pave the way for 'more complex drone use'. Leave it to Pete Buttigieg to be involved. One wonders how many tech handouts he's accepted 🤔 :


Final rules take effect today for remotely identifying drones and allowing operators of small drones to fly over people and at night under certain conditions. [me: such as?]

“Today’s rules are an important first step in safely and securely managing the growing use of drones in our airspace, though more work remains on the journey to full integration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS),” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. “The Department looks forward to working with stakeholders [such as... Amazon maybe?] to ensure that our UAS policies keep pace with innovation, ensure the safety and security of our communities, and foster the economic competitiveness of our country.”

“Drones can provide virtually limitless benefits, and these new rules will ensure these important operations can grow safely and securely,” said FAA Administrator Steve Dickson. “The FAA will continue to work closely with other Department of Transportation offices and stakeholders from across the drone community to take meaningful steps to integrate emerging technologies that safely support increased opportunities for more complex drone use.”

The Remote Identification (Remote ID) ruleprovides for identifying drones in flight and the location of their control stations, reducing the risk of them interfering with other aircraft or posing a risk to people and property on the ground. The rule provides crucial information to our national security and law enforcement partners and other agencies charged with ensuring public safety. It applies to all drones that require FAA registration.
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Lastly, a missing Indonesian submarine was later found in 3 parts - all on board perished. A terrifying way to go... 😢


DENPASAR, April 25 (Reuters) – A missing Indonesian submarine has been found, broken into at least three parts, at the bottom of the Bali Sea, army and navy officials said on Sunday, as the president sent condolences to relatives of the 53 crew.

All for now...:boat:
 
Very interesting links, thank you! Logistics and supply chain is a great proxy for civilizational health, so I've been noting a couple articles on the topic appearing on ZH in the last few weeks. This one is from today, and right on topic:
 
I mentioned that article after only a quick glance-over, now I took the time to go over all of it. Indeed very interesting, the topic is independent of the container loss issues Maxwell was discussing - and it helps to compound the issues' exponentially.

The discussion is with the vice-president of a mid-size global freight forwarder, Flexport. (Edit: By that I mean, over 1 B$ initial investment in 2013, growing well since) He's had quickly intensifying challenges getting shipments loaded in multiple ports, in his own words:
“For the month of May, everything on the trans-Pacific is basically sold out. We had one client who needed something loaded in May that was extremely urgent and who was ready to pay $15,000 per container. I couldn’t get it loaded — and we are a growing company that ships a lot of TEUs [twenty-foot equivalent units]. Price doesn’t always even matter anymore."

Now, I'm not that used to shipping prices, but that sounds like an absurd premium being offered, at multiple times spot market price. The one metric I know better is the baltic dry index. Anything above 2k shows serious instability - in the 2000's, the incoming crisis was notable by the BDI's increasingly volatile prices, until the real crisis hit and it shot even higher:
BDI Chart All-time-202104.jpg

That screenshot is from Tradingview.com, viewing BDI (Baltic Dry Index) on All-time view. As you can see, it is quickly shooting upwards of 2k, currently at 2.8, and - back to the article I was quoting, it doesn't even matter anymore, because paying a premium of thousands of dollars over spot is now often necessary, if not insufficient - sometimes, the ports just can't load it in time.

The added premiums to get spot cargo loaded “are back and they’re higher than before,” he said. “They are $2,000-$3,000 above FAK [spot price] and that’s the best case.”

Spot cargo that was booked 21 days prior and was forecast within the shipper’s allocation is still getting FAK pricing on spot, he noted. However, “everything last minute is basically a free-for-all auction. You are basically offering as much money as you can and hoping somebody will take it. Many importers are now struggling. We’re seeing so many new customers approaching us asking for help because they can’t get loaded.”

It doesn't seem excessive to say that we are reaching critical levels of dysfunction. My prayers are with all beings.
 
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Ever given container ship.

This kinda shook me a bit. No idea of it's legitimacy therefore l was hesitant to post some time ago. I had to read the subtitles twice for it to kinda sink in. Scary reporting or just more conspiracy although this time from Turkey? Decided to post because the info continues to nag at me.

 
Here we go again. More signs of a dying Empire and it's overlooked infrastructure...


A crack in a bridge over the Mississippi River has stranded more than 700 barges, cutting off the biggest route for U.S. agricultural exports when the critical waterway is at its busiest.

The river is shut near Memphis while the Tennessee Department of Transportation inspects a large crack found in a highway bridge spanning the waterway, the U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday. Corn futures tumbled by the most allowed by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on speculation that exports would be backed up.

The Mississippi River is the main artery for U.S. crop exports, with covered barges full of grain and soy floating to terminals along the Gulf of Mexico. Any sustained outage could disrupt shipments out of the Gulf, although traders can also send some supplies on trains and divert to ports along the U.S. Pacific Northwest.

A lengthy halt could further roil crop markets, where soybeans and corn futures have hit multiyear highs amid adverse weather in Latin America and a buying spree from China. Corn futures fell by the exchange limit to $6.7475 a bushel in Chicago.

“The river is the jugular for the export market in the Midwest for both corn and beans,” said Colin Hulse, a senior risk management consultant at StoneX in Kansas City. “The length of the blockage is important. If they cannot quickly get movement, then it is a big deal. If it slows or restricts movement for a longer period it can be a big deal as well.”

The New Orleans Port Region moved 47% of waterborne agricultural exports in 2017, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The majority of these exports were bulk grains and bulk grain products, such as corn, soybeans, animal feed and rice. The region also supports a significant amount of edible oil exports, such as soybean and corn oils and even attracted 13% of U.S. waterborne frozen poultry exports in 2017.

Some traders speculated that, based on past experience, the river might be partially opened for restricted movements while repairs are being done.

It may be difficult for exporters to shift much volume to rail, as the capacity to unload trains outside of the New Orleans area is limited, according to Curt Strubhar, vice chairman and risk management consultant at Advance Trading Inc.

“Other than NOLA port elevators, there aren’t many rail unloaders South of the issue,” he said. “NOLA port elevators aren’t equipped to handle a sharply higher share of rail unloads either.”

The crack halting vehicle and waterway traffic is in the truss of the I-40 Hernando DeSoto Bridge, which was found during a routine inspection, according to a Tuesday press release from the Tennessee DOT.

”The timeline is still undetermined” for the waterway reopening, Nichole Lawrence of the Tennessee Department of Transportation said Thursday in an email.

”My sense is that it is not a big deal for river traffic as it will be a short-term disruption,” said Stephen Nicholson, a senior analyst for grains and oilseeds at Rabobank. “The good news is most of fertilizer has already come up river and soybean exports are at their low point. However, corn exports continue at a strong pace, so we may see a slight delay in corn barges reaching NOLA.”

If PTB or other entity want to draws this one out they can and will. Wait and see... :knitting:
 
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