China details anti-Zika prep for US exporters, but questions remain

Chinese authorities have provided some guidance on how U.S. exporters need to show that they have made their shipments mosquito-free, or risk having their cargo turned away because of concerns over the the Zika virus, but questions remain. Container shipments to China shall hold a valid mosquito eradication certificate, which...

U.S. West Coast Longshoremen To Begin Contract Extension Talks With Employers

Delegates from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) who met in San Francisco last week for a caucus, voted Thursday to have the union enter into discussions with representatives of the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) to discuss a contract extension. A majority of the more than 100 ILWU delegates...

Chinese anti-Zika prevention efforts

Efforts by Chinese authorities seeking to prevent the spread of Zika by placing demands on the way containerized goods enter China have sparked concerns among U.S. exporters about added costs and delays, a trade group said Wednesday. Shipping companies have alerted members of the Agriculture Transportation Coalition, which represents agriculture...

Santos Shipper Woes Mount As Fog Again Closes Harbor

Record fog is delaying shipments at South America’s busiest port of Santos, Brazil, adding to other woes shippers are coping with, including from customs slowdowns and a recurring labor dispute between terminal operators and dockworkers. The port began its second working week in a row closed as fog made navigation...

Sea Piracy Drops To 21-Year Low, IMB Reports

Piracy and armed robbery at sea has fallen to its lowest levels since 1995, despite a surge in kidnappings off West Africa, according to a new report from the International Chamber of Commerce’s International Maritime Bureau (IMB). IMB’s global piracy report shows 98 incidents in the first half of 2016,...

Santos Port Labor Talks Continue, But Further Protests Possible

Shippers using the port of Santos, Brazil, have enjoyed a week of peace after intermittent strikes and labor slowdowns during the first week of July, but the calm may not last much longer. This week, a government minister who heads the Superior Labor Court in Brasilia, met with the president...

Santos Labor Dispute Delays Ships, Rolls Cargo

After four days of stop-start industrial action from angry stevedores that caused delays and rolled cargo, shippers using the Brazilian port of Santos can finally breathe a sigh of relief as an uneasy peace seems to have taken hold. Stevedores from the Sindicato dos Estivadores do Santos union, known as...

Port of NY & NJ Confirms Capability to Handle Larger Vessels

On June 7, officials at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey confirmed that the Port of New York and New Jersey will be able to handle 14,000 TEU vessels toward the end of 2017. The planned completion of the 50-foot Harbor Deepening Project later this summer and...

Second Airline Suspends Flights To Venezuela

The largest airline in Latin America, Latam, says it is suspending its flights to Venezuela because of the worsening economic situation. The suspension came a day after Germany’s Lufthansa said it would suspend its services to the country. The German company said Venezuela owed it millions in ticket revenues. Oil-rich...