Container volume at U.S. ports is expected to grow next year, but at a slower rate of three to four percent, down from five percent in 2015, says ratings company Moody's.
China's cabinet has approved the merger of its two biggest shipping conglomerates, China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO) and China Shipping Group Company (parent of CSCL), in the government's latest effort to make the industry more competitive globally.
The U.S. is expected to change from a net importer of natural gas to a net exporter, with those exports destined for different regions of the world, especially Asia. It's a development that could see the nation building 100 new ships, a prospect that the Government Accountability Office says could take 30 years.
In future conflicts, America's merchant fleet could find itself outnumbered and outmaneuvered on the high seas, say the authors of a new paper on U.S. maritime security.
Vessel operating costs are expected to rise in both 2015 and 2016, according to the latest survey by international accountant and shipping consultant Moore Stephens. Crew wages, repairs and maintenance, and drydocking are the cost categories likely to increase most significantly over that period.
A fleet commander in the Indonesian Navy has said that about 90 percent of piracy cases in the Malacca Strait area turn out to be bogus claims related to insurance fraud or business competition.
Severe shipyard overcapacity in China has prompted the National Development and Report Commission's Jiangsu province to cancel work on 23 projects. The projects included construction of new docks, offshore vessels, facility conversion projects and additional expansions.
The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has set a new historical tonnage record, welcoming 340.8 million Panama Canal tons (PC/UMS) through the canal in the 2015 fiscal year.
