Blank Sailings Announced for 2017 Chinese New Year
Due to the upcoming 2017 Chinese New Year Holiday, many carriers will be implementing blank sailings. The below chart is an example; it is not a complete listing. Please contact your local BOC Representative for more details.
Example of Blank Sailings:

Severe Fog Impacts North China Ports
Seamaster Global, December 19, 2016
Due to the heavy fog, many operations in Beijing, Dalian and Tianjin have been affected.

• In Beijing, all highways around the capital have been closed as a safety precaution.
• Local authorities in Dalian have issued a red alert announcing the closure of all airports, sea ports and highways till 1800hrs today (19 December 2016).
• The situation in Tianjin is most severe as highways are closed and the Port of Tianjin has suspended bulk cargo operation until 21 December 2016.
• It is reported that some factories in Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Shaanxi and Shanxi provinces have closed as well.
• Qingdao, at present, is seeing normal operation for both airport and seaport.

Please expect delays in cargo deliveries within Beijing, Dalian and Tianjin areas.
 
We will monitor the situation and update the network. In the meantime, we seek your patience as we await the lifting of the fog to resume normal operation.
Heavy smog disrupts traffic in north China
Excerpted from ShanghaiDaily.com; Source: Xinhua | December 19, 2016, Monday
AIR pollution worsened on Monday in many parts of northern China, with poor visibility disrupting air and ground traffic.
Tianjin airport said that from 8:30 p.m. Sunday to 10 am Monday they suspended service, leaving 131 flights canceled and 75 delayed.
Meanwhile, all expressways in the northern municipality of Tianjin were closed.

Maersk Line snaps up Hamburg Sud
Maersk Line said Thursday it will buy German operator Hamburg Süd from the Oetker Group and plans to close the deal by the end of 2017.

Maersk Line and the Oetker Group have reached an agreement for Maersk Line to acquire Hamburg Süd, the German container shipping line.
Copenhagen, 1 December 2016
Maersk Line and the Oetker Group have reached an agreement for Maersk Line to acquire Hamburg Süd, the German container shipping line. The acquisition is subject to final agreement and regulatory approvals.
Hamburg Süd is the world’s seventh largest container shipping line and a leader in the North – South trades. The company operates 130 container vessels with a container capacity of 625,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent). It has 5,960 employees in more than 250 offices across the world and market its services through the Hamburg Süd, CCNI (based in Chile) and Aliança (based in Brazil) brands. In 2015, Hamburg Süd had a turnover of USD 6,726 million of which USD 6,261 million stems from its container line activities.
“Today is a new milestone in Maersk Line’s history. I am very pleased that we have reached an agreement with the Oetker Group to acquire Hamburg Süd. Hamburg Süd is a very well-run and highly respected company with strong brands, dedicated employees and loyal customers. Hamburg Süd complements Maersk Line and together we can offer our customers the best of two worlds, first of all in the North – South trades,” says Søren Skou, CEO of Maersk Line and the Maersk Group.
“We are proud to join the global market leader Maersk Line. While gaining access to a superior network and systems we will continue the Hamburg Süd brand and business model offering personalized solutions to our shippers and consignees. By joining forces both Maersk and Hamburg Süd will strengthen their product portfolio and cost position to the benefit of their customers,” says Dr. Ottmar Gast, Chairman of the Executive Board of the Hamburg Süd Group.
“Giving up our engagement in shipping after an 80 year-long ownership in Hamburg Süd was not an easy decision for my family. We are very confident, though, to have chosen the best of all possible partners. Maersk will preserve and grow Hamburg Süd and what the brand and the whole organization and a highly dedicated workforce stand for: reliable and high quality logistical services to our customers,” says Dr. August Oetker, Chairman of the Advisory Board of Dr. August Oetker KG, the management holding company of the Oetker Group.
On 22 September 2016, Maersk Line announced that it would grow market share organically and through acquisitions.
“The acquisition of Hamburg Süd is in line with our growth strategy and will increase the volumes of both Maersk Line and APM Terminals,” says Søren Skou.
Hamburg Süd and Aliança will continue as separate brands and continue to serve customers through their local offices.
“Hamburg Süd and Aliança have competitive and attractive customer value propositions, which we want to preserve and protect. We wish to maintain the personal touch and engagement they offer their customers. In ,” says Søren Skou.
In the combined network, Hamburg Süd and Maersk Line’s customers will have access to the dedicated end-to-end services provided by Hamburg Süd in the North – South trades as well as the flexibility and reach provided in Maersk Line’s global network. Furthermore, the combined network will enable Maersk Line to develop new products with more direct port calls and shorter transit times.
“Our combined network will provide exciting opportunities to develop new products and exploit operational synergies. Hamburg Süd and Maersk Line customers will benefit from more choice and better products,” concludes Søren Skou.] The acquisition is subject to a satisfactory due diligence, final agreement and subject to regulatory approval in amongst others China, Korea, Australia, Brazil, the United States and the EU. Maersk Line will work closely with the authorities. Maersk Line expects the regulatory process to last until the end of 2017. Until then, Hamburg Süd and Maersk Line will continue business as usual.

With the acquisition, Maersk Line will have container capacity of around 3.8 million TEU (3.1 million TEU) and an 18.6% (15.7%) global capacity share. The combined fleet will consist of 741 container vessels with an average age of 8.7 years (9.2 years).
The agreement with Hamburg Süd has no financial impact in 2016.

PSA Singapore gives shippers 28 November deadline to claim laden Hanjin containers
Marcus Hand, Editor, Seatrade Maritime News| 09 November 2016
Singapore container terminal operator PSA is warning shippers they have till 28 November to claim laden containers from bankrupt Hanjin Shipping.
In a notice to cargo owners, consignees, shippers and/or freight forwarders PSA said there laden container owned or operated lying in its facilities.
“To ensure that we maintain an optimal port capacity to serve all our customers and partners, cargo owners, consignees, shippers and/or freight forwarders are urged to contact PSA and claim the containers and/or the cargo therein by 28 November 2016,” PSA said.
The terminal operator said that if containers remained unclaimed by 28 November it would either dispose of or sell the cargo and the containers as it deemed fit.
PSA is levying a SGD5,000 refundable deposit from cargo owners claiming Hanjin containers from its terminals. The deposit will be refunded when the empty container is returned to the terminal operator.
A total of 17 Hanjin vessels called at PSA’s Singapore terminals between 21 September and 31 October to discharge containers, and it is understood not further vessels from Korean line are due to call.
According to analyst Alphaliner in its weekly newsletter Hanjin only had 14 vessels left under its control as of 8 November, five of which were under arrest.
Read all the background to the Hanjin Shipping bankruptcy on our timeline

Congestion and Delays Related to Hanjin Bankruptcy and Robust Peak
Since Hanjin’s August 31 bankruptcy, many containers have been stranded and unable to be delivered to their final destination in time for the US peak retail season. To replace these cargos, shippers have been sending urgent replacement shipments. The addition of these urgent replacement orders, coupled with Hanjin’s immediate withdrawal of 7% of the Transpacific Eastbound capacity, have created the perfect storm.
We are seeing an extended and robust peak season with vessels being booked out 2 to 3 weeks in advance of sailing, with extreme congestion at origin, destination and transshipment points. This congestion is causing delays throughout the entire Transpacific marketplace. Contrary to the customary November time period, we are not slumping into slow season yet; in fact, it is still a hot TP eastbound market. Utilization for PSW, PNW, and A/W loops are above 97%.
This congestion should endure throughout November, with some temporary relief forecasted in early December. We do expect another surge of volume in January with this year’s early Chinese New Year. We also want to advise  you to prepare for delays at destination ports in the USA. The larger vessels that have cascaded into the TP trade lane are now arriving fully loaded and terminals are experiencing land side operational delays making the containers available.
We are recommending to our customers to calculate the potential delays into your supply chain planning. Please book cargos out at least 14-21 days prior to AMS cutoff period and send a detailed weekly volume forecast up until CNY. Please allow for potential delays while in transit, especially if cargo is being transshipped on a mother vessel.
Please feel free to contact our BOC staff to work on a detailed plan for the next couple of months as we get over the surge. With more supply coming on board to replace Hanjin’s vessels, we expect to move in to a calmer, more traditional, February/March/April slack season.
Thank you for your support.

Nippon Yusen KK, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd., Japan’s three largest shipping companies, agreed to merge their container operations into one company. Their shares surged.

The joint company will be set up by July 1, according to a joint statement distributed in Tokyo Monday. Combining the container line business of the three Japanese companies will create an entity that will have a market share of 7 percent, making it the world’s sixth largest, according to the firms.
The global container industry has been going through turmoil since the 2008 financial crisis brought trading to its knees. South Korea’s biggest container-shipping line Hanjin Shipping Co. filed for bankruptcy protection in August while other container lines have tried to cut costs and merge with rivals to tide over the crisis.
Nippon Yusen surged as much as 9.9 percent to 222 yen in Tokyo, the biggest intraday jump since May 2013. Kawasaki Kisen jumped as much as 8.5 percent, the most since March. Mitsui OSK jumped as much as 12 percent, the most since 2008.
Helped by cheap loans, container lines worldwide have hung on even as freight rates to move goods have remained depressed. While A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S, the world’s biggest container-shipping company, has embarked on a restructuring program, companies like Hapag-Lloyd AG and France’s CMA CGM SA have bought out smaller rivals to consolidate the industry.
SOURCE: https://gcaptain.com/japanese-shipping-companies-merge-container-operations/

Notice of Agreement to the Integration of Container Shipping Businesses
Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd., Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd., and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha have agreed, after the resolution by the board of directors of each company held today, and subject to regulatory approval from the authorities, to establish a new joint-venture company to integrate the container shipping businesses (including worldwide terminal operating businesses excluding Japan) of all three companies and to sign a business integration contract and a shareholders agreement.

1. Background

Although growing modestly, the container shipping industry has struggled in recent years due to a decline in the container growth rate and the rapid influx of newly built vessels. These two factors have contributed to an imbalance of supply and demand which has destabilized the industry and has created an environment that is adverse to container line profitability. In order to combat these factors, industry participants have sought to gain scale merit through mergers and acquisitions and consequently the structure of the industry is changing through consolidation. Under these circumstances, three companies have now decided to integrate their respective container shipping on an equal footing to ensure future stable, efficient and competitive business operations.

The new joint-venture company is expected to create a synergy effect by utilizing the best practices of the three companies. And by taking advantage of scale merit of its vessel fleet totaling 1.4 million TEUs, realize integration effect of approximately 110 billion Japanese Yen annually and seek swiftly financial performance stabilization.

By strengthening the global organization and enhancing the liner network, the new joint-venture company aims to provide higher quality and more competitive services in order to exceed our clients’ expectations.

2. Overview of the new joint-venture company

*TEU: Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit

3. Schedule

Agreement date: October 31st, 2016

Establishment of the new joint-venture company: July 1st, 2017 (planned) Business commencement: April 1st, 2018 (planned)

4. Other

The expected impact of the integration to business performance will be informed by each individual company once details have been confirmed.

Taiphoon Haima
Excerpted from www.scmp.com (South China Morning Post), Thursday, 10/20/16, 10:00AM
Hong Kong awoke to yet another typhoon standby signal No 1 on Thursday morning as Tropical Cyclone Haima edged within 800km of the city, with the possibility of the more serious strong wind signal No 3 expected to be issued tonight.
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Observatory has issued a rare notice to the public not to believe “fictitious” weather information and forecasts spreading on internet forums or social media.
The official standby signal was issued at 8.20am on Thursday, after two days of torrential downpours and flash floods brought on by Typhoon Sarika, which is now moving away from the region. The rains on Wednesday, brought by the northeast monsoon at the tail end of Sarika, caused serious road flooding and traffic congestion across Hong Kong.
An MTR spokeswoman said 13 intercity through trains between Hong Kong and the mainland scheduled for Friday had been suspended. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong airport live flight information board showed at least 54 departure and 52 arrival flights scheduled for Friday were also cancelled. Cancelled flight destinations included Taipei, Shanghai and Jakarta, New York, Vancouver and Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, several container ports announced a suspension of some of their operations. Hongkong International Terminals said its terminals 4, 6, 7 and 9 as well as its two of its depots would be suspended from 2pm Thursday. Modern Terminals announced it would suspend laden return and release from noon Thursday and empty return and release at 2pm.
The weather in Hong Kong is expected to “deteriorate significantly”, with frequent squalls, heavy rain and seas rough with swells as the rainbands associated with Haima hover over the territory.
“Members of the public should remain vigilant and take all precautions as early as possible,” Kong said.
Typhoon Haima slams Philippines
Excerpted from www.wbaltv.com, 10/20/16 1:15AM
Typhoon expected to hit as many as 2.7 million people
Winds of 220 kilometers per hour (137 mph) prior to arrival put it on par with a Category 4 hurricane, the center said. It’s expected to affect as many as 2.7 million people in seven provinces before veering northwest toward the Chinese coast by Friday.
Haima is now heading towards China, where work teams have already been deployed to Guangdong province in anticipation of its arrival, according to Xinhua.
At its peak, Haima packed winds of up to 315 kilometers per hour (195 mph), the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.

HANJIN VESSEL STATUS