Maritime news . Week 39
Box rates rates sink to lowest levels since Red Sea crisis
Container freight rates are sliding further, with Drewry’s World Container Index (WCI) dropping 8% this week to $1,761 per feu — the fifteenth consecutive weekly decline. The fall is being felt across key trade lanes, with carriers struggling to hold the line despite capacity cuts.
Spot rates from Shanghai to Los Angeles fell 10% to $2,311 per feu, while Shanghai–New York rates slid 8% to $3,278. On Asia–Europe routes, Shanghai–Rotterdam rates dropped 9% to $1,735 and Shanghai–Genoa slipped 7% to $1,990. Carriers have been pulling capacity in the run-up to China’s Golden Week factory shutdown, but according to Drewry, with demand soft, further rate erosion is expected.
The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) also posted its steepest weekly drop in nearly a decade, down to 1,198.21 points on Thursday and sliding further to 1,114.52 on Friday. For context, the SCFI averaged 1,645 in the second quarter — 37% lower year-on-year. Meanwhile, the China Containerized Freight Index (CCFI) has plunged 19% year-on-year, with transpacific lanes hardest hit: West Coast rates are down 31% and East Coast 23%, according to NH Investment & Securities.
68% of women in maritime say they’ve faced bias
A new report from the Global Maritime Forum and All Aboard Alliance lays bare the invisible barriers that keep shipping’s leadership ranks homogeneous — and warns that industry growth may be stunted if it can’t tap its full diversity.
The Diversifying Maritime Leadership survey — built on 108 in-depth interviews across sea and shore roles — reveals that 68% of women leaders say they’ve encountered bias tied to gender, race or identity in their careers, compared with just 33% of men.
Even more stark: 41% of respondents say they feel fully safe expressing their authentic selves at work; 15% reported experiences in the workplace scoring 3 or below on that scale.
World’s First China-Europe Arctic Express Launched, Cutting Transit Time To 18 Days
China has launched the world’s first China-Europe Arctic Express, a major step for the “Polar Silk Road” that aims to transform trade between Asia and Europe.
On Monday, the container ship Istanbul Bridge departed from the Beiyi Container Terminal at Ningbo-Zhoushan Port in Zhejiang province, embarking on its maiden voyage to Felixstowe, the United Kingdom’s largest container port. The vessel is carrying over 1,000 containers and will sail via the Northern Sea Route (NSR), which is expected to greatly shorten transit time.
The 4,890-TEU vessel, built in 2000, is operated by Hong Kong-based Safetrans Line under the Chinese-invested company Sea Legend. Its exhaust gas scrubber status is currently “pending.”
New Report Warns 90% Of World’s Major Ports Exposed To Climate Hazards
A recent joint study by TT Club and engineering consultancy Royal HaskoningDHV reveals that nearly 90% of the world’s 3,700 major ports are exposed to climate hazards, placing billions of dollars of infrastructure and global trade at risk.
The report, titled Climate-Ready Supply Chain: Urgent Guidance for Ports, Waterways and Logistics Operations, provides a comprehensive framework for assessing climate risks and adopting resilience strategies across the maritime sector.
The study warns that rising sea levels, extreme weather, and changing regulations are increasingly threatening ports, terminals, and logistics operations, vital parts of the global supply chain.