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VCFI of Valenciaport for October falls by 7.1%

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VCFI of Valenciaport for October falls by 7.1%. Image: Port Authority of Valencia
VCFI of Valenciaport for October falls by 7.1%. Image: Port Authority of Valencia
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The Valencia Containerised Freight Index for October fell by 7.1% to 4,424.11 points. This decline is shared by all the areas analysed by this index, among which the decrease of 22.1% in freight rates with the Far East stands out, accumulating with this area the sixth consecutive month of decline. The VCFI is calculated based on the export prices recorded by the Port of Valencia, a benchmark, due to its volume, in the Mediterranean Sea container world. Since the beginning of the historical series in January 2018, it accumulates a growth of 342%.

Undoubtedly, the current macroeconomic scenario is playing a key role in the downward evolution of freight price levels. In this sense, global economic activity is experiencing a generalised slowdown, more accentuated than expected, with the highest inflation in several decades. Undoubtedly, the cost-of-living crisis, the tightening of financial conditions in most regions, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic have a major impact on this outlook.

In the energy and commodities market, the average price of Brent crude oil rose by 3.98% in October to $93.33 per barrel, compared to $89.76 in September, thus accumulating an annual increase of 15.15%. For this purpose, the price of bunkering of the 20 main ports in the world has been considered, according to data provided by Ship&Bunker. Thus, the price of VLSFO has risen from $725 in September to $739.5 in October, representing an increase of 2%.

In terms of capacity on offer, Alphaliner’s data show that the idle fleet has increased compared to the previous month. At the end of October, there were 100 idle vessels accounting for a total of 457,681 TEU, representing 1.8% of the total active fleet, which is a notable increase compared to the last month.

It should also be noted that, although pre-pandemic figures have not yet been reached, congestion levels are showing a downward trend. To this effect, global port congestion has been reduced to 10.3% in the last week of October, compared to 8.9% in the previous week. According to the latest data obtained by Linerlytica, port congestion in North Asia, North America and Northern Europe was 32%, 30% and 8% of the total, respectively.

These variations are mainly due to the decrease in congestion in Chinese ports, and beyond the COVID-19 restrictions in the last two weeks, the fall in these congestion levels has, in turn, been driven by the reinsertion of ships at anchorage after the traditional Golden Week. As for the US ports, congestion has been declining, albeit more slowly. Similarly, the European ports are experiencing a slow decline as the North European seaports such as Rotterdam, Hamburg, Bremerhaven and Southampton continue to experience significant berthing delays.

VCFI Western Mediterranean

As for the Western Mediterranean sub-index, a decrease of -1.14% is observed with respect to the previous month, standing at 2,178.26 points, and accumulating a growth of 117.83% since the beginning of the series in 2018. Exports from Valenciaport with some of the main markets such as Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia are not going through their best moment. In this way, the specific case of Algeria stands out, where, as has been a constant fact for months now, the trade agreement that the North African government has signed with Spain is still under suspension.

VCFI Far East

About the Far East area, a fall of -22.11% is observed, standing at 2,800.57 points, which represents an accumulated growth of 180.06% with respect to the start of the series in January 2018.

In view of this situation, the decrease in Valenciaport’s export flows with China continues to stand out, coinciding with the festive period known as Golden Week, which took place from 1 to 7 October, also converging with the high season for maritime transport. This fact is in addition to the fall that already occurred in the previous month, and is that, although traditionally shippers anticipated their orders in view of the holiday, this year the situation has already been reversed since the weeks prior to this festive period, resulting in a more accentuated fall during these holidays, which has led to an increase in the number of orders.

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Maritime

The Port of Valencia begins electrification of its docks

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The Port of Valencia begins electrification of its docks. Image: Port Authority of Valencia
The Port of Valencia begins electrification of its docks. Image: Port Authority of Valencia
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A new step in the decarbonisation of the Port of Valencia and its firm commitment to be an emission neutral site by 2030. The Port Authority of Valencia (APV) has put out to tender the drafting and execution of the works for the electrical connection to ships for the Transversal Costa-MSC quay. This is the first electrification or Onshore Power Supply (OPS) project to be carried out by Valenciaport in the Valencian precinct.

The APV is thus initiating the procedure for the award of the contract for the drafting and execution of the project for the installation of electrical connections for ships and the maintenance of the same at the Transversal de Costa quay. To this end, Valenciaport has jointly launched the drafting of the construction project, the execution of its works and the maintenance of the installations in the same procedure for an amount of 12,468,626.8 euros (VAT included).

Onshore Power Supply (OPS) electrification infrastructures have been consolidated as a very useful tool for the decarbonisation of ports, as this system avoids the use of auxiliary engines of ships when they are docked in the enclosures. This reduces greenhouse gas emissions – due to the use of electricity that eliminates the consumption of fossil fuels used in these auxiliary engines – and stops the emission of particles and polluting gases.

This OPS initiative in the Port of Valencia will be carried out in parallel with the works on the new electrical substation – a second substation is also planned – which was put out to tender last month with a base budget of around 11 million euros and a completion period of 24 months. This infrastructure will be responsible for supplying green energy to the first OPS electrification project of the Transversal de Costa-MSC quay.

In this regard, Joan Calabuig, president of Valenciaport, stressed that “these are just two examples of real projects in the execution phase that confirm the firm commitment that Valenciaport is making to achieve the goal of being a zero-emissions port by 2030, twenty years ahead of the European Green Pact. It is a commitment to sustainability and to the society of our environment that is supported by initiatives such as the electrification of the docks, the use of hydrogen in port operations, the installation of photovoltaic plants or the commitment to intermodality with the railway. We are committed to sustainable growth that reinforces our position as a port of reference in the Mediterranean”.

Project included in the Next Generation Funds

The joint contracting of the preparation of the project and the execution of the corresponding works in the same procedure is carried out in response to the fact that there are no references in Europe compatible with the ISO/IEC/IEEE 80005 standard and in Spain there is currently no previous experience of OPS projects in operation with the characteristics of the pilot project defined by the Port Authority of Valencia. The combination of the individual components required for this type of installation (transformers, protection cells, disconnectors, frequency converters, etc.) with infrastructures for supplying electricity to ships requires specific projects, with technically complex solutions that have to be designed specifically for each location. In addition, and given that the execution of the construction project is subsidised by the European Union’s Next Generation funds and the Spanish Government’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, the joint tender is the only way to meet the established deadlines, since if two separate contracts were launched, the one for the execution of the construction project could not be launched until the one for the drafting of the construction project had been awarded, which would mean that the work would be completed beyond the deadline for the execution of the works to meet the target set by Europe.

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Environment

MOL joins GCMD as impact partner to accelerate decarbonisation

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MOL joins GCMD as impact partner to accelerate decarbonisation. Image: Pixabay
MOL joins GCMD as impact partner to accelerate decarbonisation. Image: Pixabay
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The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation GCMD and MOL announced the signing of a five-year Impact Partnership agreement. On the same day, both parties held a signing ceremony at the GCMD office in Singapore.

Decarbonisation in the maritime industry is a challenge that needs to be achieved through accelerating collaboration and increasing investment by shipping companies, their customers, ports, energy suppliers and public sector actors. As an Impact Partner of GCMD, MOL will utilise its expertise developed over their long history and make various contributions and collaborations through its participation in GCMD’s projects, including providing access to vessels, operating data and evaluation reports so that internal learnings can be shared publicly and used for future trials.

MOL is one of the world’s leaders in the maritime industry and has been leading worldwide discussions on achieving decarbonisation. The carbon budget concept imposes a ceiling to the cumulative amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) that can be emitted globally in order to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degree Celsius by 2050. Intermediate targets to reduce emissions, in addition to a net-zero target, are necessary. While plans are in place to adopt low or zero emissions vessels in the future, it is important to deploy measures to reduce emissions now. Such measures include the use of low-carbon and transition fuels that are available today, and deploying energy savings devices onboard vessels. MOL will bring its extensive capabilities and experience to bear as it joins GCMD and existing partners to accelerate international shipping’s decarbonisation.

Professor Lynn Loo, CEO of the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation, said: “We are proud to have MOL, one of the leading shipowners in Japan, come onboard as an Impact Partner. We are excited to tap on MOL’s track record in developing technical energy efficiency measures to broaden our perspective as we scope an initiative to help increase industry adoption of measures that can increase fuel efficiency of ships.”

Toshiaki Tanaka, Representative Director, Executive Vice President Executive Officer, and Chief Operating Officer of MOL, said: “We are very pleased to be a partner of one of the most important global coalitions. We will make our biggest effort to contribute and accelerate progress towards the net zero future in maritime industry, together with GCMD and all its partners.”

About the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation

The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) was set up on 1 August 2021 as a non-profit organisation. Our strategic partners include the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), BHP, BW Group, Eastern Pacific Shipping, Foundation Det Norske Veritas, Ocean Network Express, Seatrium, bp, Hapag-Lloyd and NYK. Beyond the strategic partners, GCMD has brought on board 15 partners that engage at the centre level, in addition to more than 80 partners that engage at the project level.

Strategically located in Singapore, the world’s largest bunkering hub and second largest container port, GCMD aims to help the industry eliminate GHG emissions by shaping standards for future fuels, piloting low-carbon solutions in an end-to-end manner under real-world operations conditions, financing first-of-a-kind projects, and fostering collaboration across sectors.

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Container Shipping Lines

Wan Hai Lines establishes its new office in India

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Wan Hai Lines establishes its new office in India. Image: Unsplash
Wan Hai Lines establishes its new office in India. Image: Unsplash
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Aiming to further enhance service quality and gain a stronger foothold in the Indian sub-continent, Wan Hai Lines has established its India new office in Kolkata in July 2023. Contact details for the new office are as follows: WAN HAI LINES (INDIA) PVT. LTD 3rd Floor, Block C, Apeejay House, 15 Park Street, Kolkata, West Bengal, 700016 TEL: 91-33-4450 4500 According to the 2023 Foreign Trade Policy announced by the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry, India’s export trade volume will reach 2 trillion US dollars in 2030.

Therefore, benefiting from government policy incentives and the shifting trend of the global supply chain, India’s status in global manufacturing and international trade is increasing, which is conducive to maintaining long-term high economic growth. And the proportion of global exports has increased significantly. In addition, the continuous economic stimulus policy will help revitalize the domestic economy, and domestic demand is expected to increase significantly. Therefore, Wan Hai is optimistic about India’s future import and export situation. And also through the establishment of a new office to improve the overall operating efficiency.

Wan Hai India Kolkata office held a grand opening reception in the evening of 27th July. During the banquet, there were many important customers & guests. The Kolkata Port Authority, Kolkata terminal operators, feeder operators and important local customers were invited to send representatives to attend the meeting to express their blessings to Wan Hai’s opening of the Kolkata market. At present, Wan Hai has six owned offices in India, namely Mumbai, Chennai, Mundra, and Vizag, Delhi and the sixth office Kolkata office. In addition to directly providing river port services, it will also simultaneously strengthen service links between India and neighboring countries, such as Nepal and Bhutan. It is expected to pursue customer first through continuous expansion in the future and sustainable business philosophy.

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