Breaking a run of six consecutive months of improvement, container service reliability across the three main East-West trades declined in July, falling by 4.0 percentage points from June to 73.3 percent, according to Carrier Performance Insight, the online schedule reliability tool provided by Drewry Supply Chain Advisors.

Port Logistics Group, a provider of gateway logistics services, has opened operations in Savannah, Ga.

LNG carrier freight rates have come under severe pressure due to rising fleet supply and stabilising LNG demand, as Japan prepares to restart its nuclear power plants. Despite the general market belief that new LNG supply from Australian projects will provide ample employment to the growing fleet, there are immediate challenges on freight rates. This is due to 49 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of Australian LNG cargo supply expected to hit the market over the next two years, according to the newly launched LNG Forecaster report published by global shipping consultancy Drewry.

A surge in crude tanker vessel capacity over the next two years will lead to a fall in ship-owner earnings from current highs, according to the latest edition of the Tanker Forecaster, published by global shipping consultancy Drewry.

The chemical tanker shipping market has been strongly supported by specialised trades and clean petroleum products (CPP) demand during the second quarter of the year. Although many newbuildings were delivered, the market has been able to absorb the extra tonnage, according to the latest edition of the Chemical Forecaster, published by global shipping consultancy Drewry.

Drone ships may be the next generation of shipping. Rolls Royce recently launched a $7.2m autonomous ship project intended to pave the way for drone vessels.

Just one year after its announcement, Egypt's expanded Suez Canal is open for business. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi led the inauguration ceremony, which was attended by several Middle Eastern and European world leaders. The publicly-funded expansion cost about $8.5bn.

The specialised reefer fleet is shrinking and shows no signs of reversing in the future. However, the reefer containership fleet has increased by 15 percent year-on-year and is set to grow 20 percent by 2018, according to Drewry's latest Reefer Shipping Market Annual Review & Forecast.