Sea-Intelligence warns Asia’s container congestion crisis could take seven to 10 months to unwind, with 8.5 percent of the global fleet currently absorbed by delays. Regional freight rates are hitting record highs as repeated typhoons compound bottlenecks heading into the Lunar New Year cargo rush.
Record-low water levels on the Rhine are forcing European industries to adapt, with freight costs roughly five times higher than early summer. Chemical producers including BASF and Shell have curbed output or shifted cargo to rail and road as the shortage stretches into a third month.
Port Canaveral has signed a new 25-year lease with GT USA, expanding the operator’s footprint by 10 acres at the Port’s North Cargo Berth 6. The deal adds hurricane-resistant warehouses totaling nearly 170,000 square feet to handle breakbulk and general cargo.
“K” Line has taken delivery of Puteri Kelantan, a 174,000-cubic-metre LNG carrier built by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding in China, marking the third such vessel delivered for Petronas LNG in 2026. A fourth sister ship is scheduled to follow in November.
The Port of Oakland and the Army Corps’ San Francisco District signed a design agreement August 27 aboard the USS Potomac, advancing a $642 million project to widen Oakland Harbor’s inner and outer turning basins to accommodate larger vessels, with completion targeted for 2030.
The U.S. Coast Guard has awarded a $315 million contract to Tutor Perini Corp. to build a new fuel pier and cutter mooring at Base Kodiak, Alaska, part of a broader infrastructure buildout positioning Kodiak as a primary Arctic operating base by 2030.
Maersk has confirmed orders for 26 large LNG dual-fuel containerships of 18,600 TEU each, ending days of speculation over a major fleet expansion. Deliveries are scheduled across 2029 and 2030, marking the carrier’s biggest newbuilding push after years of relatively restrained ordering.
Copper shipments worth up to half a billion dollars per vessel are straining the Port of New Orleans, a key metals gateway, as traders rush cargo into the U.S. ahead of a still-pending decision on expanding copper import tariffs, prompting some shippers to reroute metal by barge.
The Northwest Seaport Alliance reports YTD full exports 2.1 percent above the five-year average through August, while total container volumes declined 10.9 percent year-over-year. Terminal 5 also completed a major reefer plug expansion, boosting refrigerated capacity to support Washington’s agricultural and seafood export markets.
The Dali casualty has become the largest single loss in P&I market history, with reserves now exceeding $2.8 billion, according to Gallagher Specialty. The claim has reached a layer of the International Group’s insurance structure never previously tested at this scale.
