Customer Advisories
Discover our latest customer advisories
As a consequence of the Dali’s crash into the Baltimore bridge on March 26 which caused the collapse of the 1.6-mile structure, the ship and cargo were in position of peril.
Salvage services were required to free the vessel from the collapsed bridge and bring her to a safe place, where salvage operations have been engaged.
The Shipowners have declared General Average and have appointed Richards Hogg Lindley / Charles Taylor (Japan) Ltd. as General Average adjusters. General Average shall be adjusted in accordance with York-Antwerp Rules 1994.
Before any cargo can be released to owners, a General Average surety (bond) will need to be provided.
—If you have any specific questions, please reach out to your GEODIS Representative—
Iran has seized a commercial ship with links to Israel as it passed through the Strait of Hormuz early on Saturday 13 April, 2024. The MSC Aries was boarded by Iranian special forces about 50 miles (80km) off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. The 14,000 TEU container ship, owned by Zodiac Maritime, operated by MSC, which leases the vessel from Gortal Shipping Inc, was en route to the port of Nhava Sheva, India.
Consequently, shipping is once again being drawn into the Middle East conflict, and the expected recovery in the international exchange of goods is jeopardized by the geopolitical risks.
GEODIS is closely monitoring the situation and doing our utmost to mitigate potential risks for our clients. Should you have any concern and/or queries, please feel free to contact your GEODIS Local Representative
At 19:30 local time yesterday, Taiwan has been hit by a magnitude 7.4 earthquake, its most powerful in 25 years.
The earthquake hit Taiwan's east coast, severely affecting infrastructure in the mountainous region Hualien and capital city Taipei.
The quake and aftershocks caused 24 landslides and damage to 35 roads, bridges and tunnels. Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen vowed "we will work together" as rescue efforts are ongoing. Our thoughts are with those impacted by this tragedy.
Chip disruptions are expected as the island plays an outsized role in the global chip supply chain. GEODIS is closely monitoring the situation and doing our utmost to mitigate potential risks for our clients. At this point, with the information we have, air and ocean systems and infrastructures are operating normally.
We will post updates as the situation evolves. Should you have any concern and/or queries, please feel free to contact your GEODIS Local Representative
Francis Scott Key bridge, a major bridge in Baltimore, Maryland collapsed after being struck by a cargo ship early Tuesday 26 March, 2024.The incident occurred when the 9,962 TEU containership Dali directly hit one of the pillars of the bridge, bringing down the complete structure.
The container vessel Dali, owned by Grace Ocean Investment, and managed by Synergy Marine Group, is chartered by Maersk. The Singapore-flagged vessel departed at 1AM local time from Baltimore and was en route to Colombo, Sri Lanka when reports of accident came at 1:30 AM local time. Traffic was diverted from the closed lanes of the Key Bridge. As authorities worked to assess the extent of the damage and search for potential victims, our thoughts are with those impacted by this tragedy and hope for their safe return.
Your supply chain is of our utmost concern. GEODIS is closely monitoring the situation and doing our utmost to mitigate potential risks for our clients. We will post updates as the situation evolves. Should you have any concern and/or queries, please feel free to contact your GEODIS Local Representative
Source: marinetraffic.com
Ongoing disruptions in the Red Sea continue to affect the development of the freight market. Vessels are still being predominantly routed via the Cape of Good Hope, and carriers are working to maintain supply-demand balance in the mid-term with regard to capacity. While Lunar New Year related demand is soft, this is temporary and equipment availability has improved, partly due to slow LNY recovery. Carriers are evaluating options to resume service via the Suez Canal, we will keep you updated with any firm communications.
Following the Lunar New Year, demand remains unchanged, prompting carriers to adjust rates to accommodate new cargo in the first half of March. Carriers continue to levy PSS/Contingency Surcharges due to rerouting, though questions about additional costs persist, with adjustments expected in Q2/2024.
To mitigate the disruption of operational challenges (sailing schedule adjustments, vessel downsizes, equipment shortages, rollover, etc.), shippers can consider premium services offered which come with higher costs. This approach will help guarantee space and equipment and shorten delays.
Ocean Alliance continuously announced voided plans for March. With 2M’s Winter Program ending, carriers are actively investigating the demand & supply.
If soft demand continues from Week 12 onwards, we expect potential more blank sailings.
The Red Sea crisis persists, impacting the Asia-North Europe freight market. CMA CGM has once again halted Red Sea transits indefinitely due to security concerns.
As vessels face delays returning to Asia, equipment availability tightens ahead of Lunar New Year departures. Many carriers are arranging container repositioning to ensure shipments proceed as scheduled. Our best advice to our clients is to remain as flexible and accept container substitutions, when possible, to avoid additional delays as well as to arrange early empty pick-up. Carriers are often extending origin free time to minimize Lunar New Year disruptions.
Demand is anticipated to remain flat for the latter half of February. Through this ‘lull’ there is downward pressure on the spot market which we expect to remain through February. This despite significant blank sailings already announced (with WK08/09 seeing a 30% average reduction), Ocean Alliance has introduced seven additional void sailings, three of which are scheduled for February and the remainder for March. We anticipate similar void plans will be forthcoming from other alliances.
To mitigate operational challenges such as sailing schedule adjustments, vessel downsizing, equipment shortages, and rollovers, shippers may consider transit time extensions or book premium services offered by certain carriers at a higher cost, but with guaranteeing space and equipment which mitigate delays.
- In the Asia-Mediterranean trade lane, floating rates have remained elevated following the trend in North Europe. From Week 06 onward, rates have seen a slight decrease as carriers strive to attract more cargo to fill vessels before Lunar New Year and prepare roll pools for the latter half of February, considering weak demand and Asian holidays.
The global maritime trade supply chain continues to face disruptions caused by the prolonged crisis along the world’s largest trade route through the Red Sea and Suez Canal. Over the last weeks, the Houthi insurgents attacked several container vessels within the Bab al-Mandeb Strait which is leading to suspension or reroute operations from almost all carriers. 262 container vessels in this area have been affected so far, which in turn reduced the Suez passage utilization by 61%.
As the crisis continues, we expect schedule integrity to degrade, impacting equipment availability which brings additional challenges to the overall booking and planning process. It is increasingly important to work to secure capacity earlier than normal, at least through the month of February. It is also important to note that this is not an “Asia origin centric” situation, these same conditions are becoming more prevalent in Europe impacting exports not only to Asia but also transatlantic and “north-south” flows.
Europe Westbound (US/MX/LATAM)
- Carriers have announced rate increases on all strings serving this trade lane.
- The global transport supply chain and connections are impacted by the situation in the Red Sea. While none of the vessels serving the transatlantic trade is having a detour via Suez or Red Sea and Arabic Gulf, some carriers are having to redirect ships from serving the transatlantic trade into Asia-Europe strings in an effort to re-secure weekly frequency on the longer service via Good Hope.
As a result, transatlantic services are left with reduced capacity, poorer service integrity and lower levels of available equipment.
Europe Eastbound (mainly Asia, MEA/IPBC and OCE)
- 10 days longer transit time due to routing via Cape of Good Hope leading to 14 days longer transit because of change of operational berthing windows at the terminal.
Asia Westbound (Asia to Europe)
- 10-15 days longer transit. More blank sailing and port omissions are expected.
- Consequently, 35-40% less weekly capacity in the 2nd half of Jan and until Chinese New Year (CNY).
- Additional demurrage and detention might incur in January affecting cargo deliveries.
- Additionally, we expect the crisis to drive a higher peak prior to CNY.
- Large roll pools are being build up, to secure volume on the vessels during CNY.
- Equipment shortages are being experienced SHA, NGB and TAO and are expected to increase later this month.
- Short term rate levels have increased considerably, and PSS and emergency surcharges are being applied.
- US, British and French military vessels have been deployed to the Red Sea to safeguard commercial vessel convoys and are actively engaged in defending against Houthi attacks. These last days have seen US & British led attacks on Houthi positions in Yemen intended to diminish the ability of Houthi forces to continue to impact international trade.