News
- Ocean News
- 7/12/2010
TSA Carriers Implement and Increase Peak Season Surcharges
The carrier members of the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement (TSA) serving the East Asia/USA trade lane have recently implemented Peak Season Surcharges. Strong demand for service in the trade is prompting Carriers to implement these surcharges earlier than planned and to amend their tariffs to increase the surcharge amounts later this month or on August 1, 2010. In their 2010 Revenue Recovery Plan the TSA Carriers noted a Peak Season Surcharge (PSS) of US$ 400 per FEU to be effective August 1, 2010. This surcharge was planned to address higher cargo handling and equipment positioning costs during the peak season.
Due to strong demand, many of the TSA Carriers implemented a PSS in this trade lane as of June 15. In recent weeks, Carriers have amended their tariffs to increased PSS amounts effective in late July or on August 1. The increased PSS amounts vary; ranging from US$ 600 to $1200 per 40ft ctr. The PSS is generally at the lower range on shipments to US Pacific Coast Ports and higher to US Inland Points and to US Atlantic Coast Ports. Some carriers have included an expiration date of November 30 for this PSS, but many have not included an expiration date for the PSS. This PSS, combined with the current bunker adjustment factors (BAF), and recently implemented General Rate Increases (GRI), produces total ocean freight charges that are at the highest levels seen on in the East Asia/USA trade lane in several years
• Carriers Implement Montreal Low Water Surcharges
This year the water levels of the St. Lawrence River have dropped below historic lows due to less snow over the winter, followed by an unseasonably warm and dry spring. Latest official forecasts do not show any improvement and the situation will most likely continue or even deteriorate in the next months. Effective July 19, 2010 Hapag-Lloyd will implement a Low Water Additional for all cargo moving via the port of Montreal to and from Europe and Africa on the SLCS 1, 2 and NAA services: USD$100 per 20' Container and USD$150 per 40' Container.
MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company has also advised they will implement a Low Water Surcharge on all cargo from North Europe / Baltic / UK areas to Canada and the Midwest via Montreal, effective as of August 01, 2010 as follows: USD$100 per 20' and USD$150 per 40'
This surcharge will be applied on top of any current rate agreement & tariff en force.
• French Dock Strike Begins to Bite
The French transport and logistics federation, the TLF, has urged the government to intervene to resolve a long-running dispute at the port of Le Havre reports “IFW”. The dispute centres on the transfer of public sector port workers to private operators, provision for which was made under reform legislation passed in July 2008. In a statement, the TLF claimed service levels “continue to deteriorate” at France’s biggest box port in the light of “chronic” industrial action by the CGT-led Ports and Docks Federation. It argues that, due to the global economic crisis and the downturn in container traffic, its members no longer have guarantees, set out in the reform legislation. The TLF also warned of “catastrophic consequences” for operators at Le Havre’s Port 2000 terminals if the industrial action is not brought to an end.
Earlier this week, crane drivers began the latest in a series of 24-hour stoppages at the Normandy port and will trim their daily shifts by one hour from Tuesday for an unspecified period. The TLF said a one-day stoppage at the end of June saw disruption in the schedules of 22 ships and the non-handling of 700 containers. It added that outside designated days for industrial action by crane drivers, dockers are showing their solidarity by deliberately slowing the handling of containers in the Port 2000 zone. It claims that the knock-on effect from the industrial action at Le Havre means trucks drivers have to wait six to seven hours before loading takes place. This means haulage firms and forwarders are incurring higher operating costs while delivery deadlines are not being met. Meanwhile, work at two other major French ports, Marseille and Nantes-St Nazaire, was brought to a standstill Monday by a 24-hour national strike by the CGT Ports and Docks Federation. The federation is threatening one-hour stoppages on a daily basis if its demands are not met
• First Vessel Hijacked by Pirates in the Red Sea
Following a recent spate of attempted attacks in the region, Somali pirates successfully hijacked a vessel in the southern part of the Red Sea on Sunday. According to a report received by the International Maritime Bureau’s (IMB) Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC), a chemical tanker was hijacked on 4 July 2010 whilst transiting the Bab el Mandeb straits. This successful hijacking follows on from an increase in activity in the Bab el Mandeb region since early June 2010. In that period, five vessels reported attempted attacks with a further four reporting having been fired upon.
Due to the ongoing monsoon season, the Somali pirate gangs appear to have shifted their operations into areas where the weather is more conducive to operating the small skiffs on which they approach larger vessels. This move also serves to take them out of the Internationally Recognised Transit Corridor and, thus, further away from the scrutiny of naval vessels engaged in anti-piracy activity. There have been 101 Somali pirate attacks this year of which 27 vessels have been hijacked.