LOGISTICS SOLUTIONS FOR DELIVERING AFRICA’S FUTURE

The lockdown in Shanghai, extreme congestion and sanctions in Russia have contributed to a disastrous start to the second quarter in ocean shipping. A massive capacity shift to the US East Coast has caused major congestion in this area, which is only getting worse, with carriers continuing to add vessels and services. With Covid-19, US congestion, and geopolitical instability continuing to produce more market disruptions and reshaping popular routes – shippers will need to be flexible with their allocation and networks.

Source: FTW & Xeneta

The Airports Council International (ACI) Europe and the International Air Transport Association (Iata) have called for all remaining Covid restrictions on travel in Europe and the Schengen area – incorporating 26 passport-free countries – to be lifted. This includes all testing requirements, the need to present proof of vaccination, or completion of a Passenger Locator Form (PLF). The statement adds: “Covid-19, and specifically the Omicron variant, is now pervasive throughout all of Europe, and population immunity is at such levels that the risk of hospitalisation or death has dramatically reduced, especially for vaccinated people. States are adopting surveillance strategies to ensure public health, in the same way as they do for other coronaviruses and infectious diseases ». Iata and ACI Europe also presented further evidence in support of aligning air transport rules with domestic regulations. The negligible health benefits are outweighed by the significant social and economic damage caused by the negative impact on air travel.

Source: FTW

Developments in zero-carbon energy for the shipping industry through ammonia fuel (AF) continue to spin out across the freight sector, with the latest news being that Japanese line, Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), has re-entered the AF trade. Earlier this week it was announced that MSC was in the process of expanding its fleet with six dual-fuel newbuilds powered by liquid natural gas (LNG) and ammonia. MOL has now also announced that it’s exploring the manufacture of a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU). FSRUs are generally regarded as a more affordable and time-efficient way to store and regas LNG offshore as on-land storage of LNG is not only costly, but manufacturing the necessary facilities has a long manufacturing lead time.

Source: FTW

The World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) yesterday launched a Covid-19 Vaccine Trade Tracker, a new database aimed at providing greater transparency on the cross-border flow of Covid-19 vaccines.

The portal provides an array of data on total vaccine supply to date, exports by producing economy and by supply arrangement type, imports by income group and by continent, supply by manufacturing economy and vaccine type, supply to continents and vaccination status.

Source: FTW