Tanker Fire, Oil Spill Shut Down Houston Ship Channel

DEER PARK, TEXAS – The U.S. Coast Guard says a mile of the Houston Ship Channel is closed after an early-morning tanker fire and fuel spill. The Coast Guard says the tanker, The Aframax River, may have hit a submerged sewer line. This caused a rupture in the hull, leading to a fire....

Indian Unions Reject Government’s Appeal To Drop Friday Strike

Indian trade unions are mobilizing against industrial reforms that would impact the country’s ports and railways, as well as other industries. Last-minute government concessions Tuesday were not enough to dissuade Indian trade unions from going ahead with a 24-hour nationwide general strike Friday, setting the stage for potential supply chain...

China’s Zika Rules Not So Complicated

The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China (AQSIQ) announced earlier this year new requirements to prevent the spread of the ZIka virus for cargo coming from certain countries. The United States was recently added to the list. If the requirements cannot be...

California Wildfire Cuts Off Highway, Intermodal Rail Route

A wildfire northeast of Los Angeles has closed the main highway connecting Los Angeles and Las Vegas and threatens rail traffic in the region, state officials said Wednesday. That means disruption, detours and delays for shippers moving goods through the region, at the edge of the Inland Empire, a major...

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,...