Newsletter: March 25, 2022

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

Airlines are flying up to 40% longer routes to avoid Russia

businessinsider.com
Airspace closures over Russia and the European Union are forcing airlines to take long detours to avoid restrictions, adding hours of flight time and thousands in extra operating costs.
Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, the EU responded with sweeping sanctions to punish President Vladimir Putin, including closing its airspace to “any plane owned, chartered or otherwise controlled by a Russian legal or natural person.” Read more here. 

Russian Airlines Are Planning International Flights In April

simpleflying.com
As the destruction of Ukraine continues, Russia is restarting international flights to some of the few countries where its aircraft are welcome, like Sri Lanka.
On March 22, Aeroflot Airlines announced that from April 8, flight SU288 will leave Moscow on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday at 2330, returning the next day at 1250. Read more here.   

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

No sign shipping is willing to take up Russia’s safe corridor offering

splash247.com
Russia announced yesterday it was creating a humanitarian corridor for ships to leave Ukrainian waters. The 80 mile long corridor – open from 8am to 7pm today – is located 20 miles southeast of Ilyichevsk port. Early indications this morning from MarineTraffic data show there were no movements by the many foreign ships stranded in Ukrainian waters.
Data from shipping platform Sea/ showed there were just under 100 ships which had been left marooned in Ukrainian waters a month on from the start of Russia’s invasion. Read more here. 

Maersk provides details on latest box spill incident

splash247.com
Maersk has provided further details of a box spill that occurred on a chartered-in boxship in the North Pacific on Monday.
Some 90 containers fell off the 4,506 teu Dyros, on charter from Costamare when it hit stormy conditions to the south of Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula. Nine of the boxes that fell overboard are labelled as dangerous cargo, containing lithium-ion batteries. A further 100 boxes approximately were damaged, while the vessel’s deck will need repairs. No crew were injured during the box spill incident. Read more here. 

Ocean Network Express unveils $20bn investment scheme

splash247.com                                                                                                                                                                                                 Jeremy Nixon, CEO of Japan’s Ocean Network Express (ONE), gave reporters an idea of what it will cost to stay mixing with the big boys of the liner profession, outlining major investment plans over the next eight years at a press briefing yesterday.By 2030, the carrier will invest $20bn, of which more than half will go on new containerships. Other investments include terminal acquisitions, technology, and other segments such as containers. Read more here. 

Viewpoint: Keep an eye on Shanghai

freightwaves.com
The latest disruption indicators show no matter how targeted a “zero-COVID” measure is in China, there are impacts to the flow of trade. The latest disruption indicator from Kuehne + Nagel dismisses the downplaying bluster and the claims that the Yantian port was “operating normally.” Read more here. 

CANADA BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

Empties, imports help Port of Vancouver hit container volume record

The Port of Vancouver handled a record volume of containers in 2021 on increased demand for imports and a surge in exports of empties returning to Asia amid a challenging year for Canada’s largest maritime trade facility.
Container volumes increased by 6% to 3.7 million twenty-foot equivalent units compared to 2021, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority reported in its annual statistics released on Thursday. Growth of overall cargo volumes was more muted, rising by 1% to 146 million metric tons. Read more here.