Carriers are swapping ships out from the US as the USTR 301 port service fees for vessels built in China are set to take effect from 14 October. MSC, CMA CGM, ONE and Zim are amongst the carriers making last minute changes to their fleet deployments, with the vast majority of the non-Chinese operators able to avoid the USTR fees, barring a few exceptions with only 4 non-exempt ships scheduled to arrive in the US in the October window (3 operated by Zim and 1 operated by Hapag-Lloyd). The 2 Chine
Register Free Trial Freight rates from the Far East remains under pressure with slower market activity due to the Golden Week holidays in China. Although carriers are pushing for 15 October rate hikes aimed at reversing the recent rate slump, the reinstatement of most of the regular services following the Golden Week blanked sailings provides little support for the rate push. The current high charter rates and forward fixtures stretching into next year, as well as the total absence of vessel sc
X-Press Feeders will launch a new Spain Portugal X-Press 2 (SPX 2) service connecting Valencia, Lisbon, Casablanca, Valencia from 22 October 2025. ONE will take slots on the service that it brands as Spain Portugal Morocco (SPM). The SPX 2 / SPM service will turn in 14 days and will operate initially with a single ship on a fortnightly frequency using the 646 teu PERSEUS.
CMA CGM will add a new direct call at Cai Mep on the Asia-Med MEX1 service, which is operated within the Ocean Alliance MED2 service that is branded as the AEM2 by COSCO, WM2 by OOCL and MEX1 by Evergreen. The new rotation will call at Qingdao, Busan, Shanghai, Ningbo, Xiamen, Nansha, Shekou, Singapore, Valencia, Barcelona, Fos, Marsaxlokk, Port Klang, Qingdao with the first call at Cai Mep scheduled on 27 October 2025 on the 16,022 teu CMA CGM JULES VERNE. The service will retain a 14 week turn
Zim will add new calls at Valencia, Barcelona, Genoa and Port Said on its Zim Mediterranean Premium (ZMP) service after Israeli-linked ships were barred from Turkish ports since 22 August 2025. The first call at Port Said was made on 2 September 2025 while the first call at Valencia will be made on 17 October 2025. Ad-hoc calls at Malaga were already added on the service since 23 August to replace the former calls at the Turkish ports of Mersin, Aliaga, Derince and Ambarli. The revised ZMP serv
Hede Shipping will retain its HDS2 transpacific service connecting Huanghua, Shanghai, Los Angeles, Huanghua with a single ship despite the looming USTR 301 port service fees that will be imposed on Chinese operators from 14 October 2025. The HDS2 was temporarily suspended from 26 September with 4 weeks of blanked sailings until 23 October. The 1,809 teu ANDROKLIS will resume its HDS2 rotation on 23 October and is scheduled to arrive at Los Angeles on 9 October. Based on its net tonnage of 7,78
French company Neoline will launch its new transatlantic service connecting Montoir, St Pierre & Miquelon, Baltimore, Halifax, Montoir from 12 October 2025 using the newly built sail cargo ship NEOLINER ORIGIN. The ship was delivered by RMK Marine at Tuzla, Turkey on 26 September 2025 after a delay of 3 months. It is fitted with 2 SolidSail masts that can folded down and tilted to allow access to low air-draft ports. The ship will operate at a sailing speed of 11 knots and has a loading capacit
Register Free Trial Extreme weather conditions in South China and North Vietnam have severely disrupted vessel schedules with elevated port congestion in the Far East persisting through the week. The disruptions failed to support freight rates which remain in freefall even as attention shifts to carriers’ mid-October rate restoration efforts to stop the bleeding. However, prospects are bleak given the weak cargo volumes and lack of capacity curbs. New US tariffs targeting kitchen cabinets and f
MSC will add new calls at Abu Dhabi and Itapoa on its Far East-East Coast South America Carioca service from October 2025. The revised Carioca rotation will call at Qingdao, Busan, Ningbo, Shanghai, Shekou, Singapore, Vizhinjam, Rio de Janeiro, Santos, Paranagua, Itapoa, Itajai, Buenos Aires, Rio Grande, Itajai, Navegantes, Santos, Rio de Janeiro, Walvis Bay, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Qingdao. The service will turn in 16 weeks using up to 16 ships of 8,500 to 11,500 teu.
Hede Shipping has withdrawn its HDS2 transpacific service connecting Huanghua, Shanghai, Los Angeles, Huanghua with the last sailing by the 1,809 teu ANDROKLIS at Huanghua on 18 September 2025. The ship is scheduled to arrive at Los Angeles on 5 October 2025, as Hede streamlines its transpacific services ahead of the USTR 301 port service fees that will be imposed on Chinese operators calling at US ports from 14 October 2025. The service has been operating on an irregular frequency since July u