The global shipping industry is in chaos, and more additional container ships are deployed on the Asia-Northern Europe route

The level of chaos in the global shipping industry continues unabated.
The aftermath of the huge cargo ship stranding accident that caused the Suez Canal to be suspended for nearly a week in March has not subsided. Ports in Europe, America and Asia are experiencing cargo holdups. Freight rates for container ships have risen by 10% since the end of March, a record high.
The real-time contract price released by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange of China shows that the freight rate for 40-foot standard containers on the West U.S. route reached US$4,189, and the US East route was as high as US$5,452, both up by more than 10% from the end of March. The highest value.
European routes also increased prices by more than 10% to US$4,187 per 20-foot standard container. At present, there are about 100 freighters waiting to enter the port in Rotterdam, the largest port in Europe. Charlotte Cook, an analyst at the British Ship Price Evaluation Company, said: "The suspension of the Suez Canal caused a large number of ships to arrive at the port at the same time. The serious chaos may continue until May."
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Just when the shortage of labor in American ports resulted in insufficient cargo handling capacity, the Suez Canal was interrupted. The trapped more than 400 cargo ships sailed to ports all over the world at the same time, adding to the chaos.
In order to avoid the chaos caused by the stranding accident, Maersk, the world's largest container shipping group, suspended a large number of spot bookings and short-term contract shipments on March 31. There are still some routes that cannot be reserved.
The surge in cargo has also led to high freight rates, and shipping companies have begun to invest money in purchasing new ships. However, it will take two to three years for new ship orders to be delivered, which does not alleviate the current tight demand.
▍More ships are arranged to enter the Asia-Northern Europe route
Asian exporters will face delays of several weeks no matter what the price is, but some shipping companies are increasing capacity and adding additional container ships to meet demand.
Since August last year, only HMM, a member of THE alliance, has deployed more than 20 ships for "extra-loading" services, including 12 for the Asia-US West Coast route, 3 for the Asia-US East Coast route, and 3 for South Korea. -Russian route, one to Asia-Northern Europe route, and one to South Korea-Vietnam route.
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In addition, HMM’s newly launched Asia-Europe additional ship loading service, the 4600teu “HMM Goodwill” ship will depart from Busan on April 26 and deliver cargo to Rotterdam and Hamburg. It is expected to be on May 27 and 5 respectively. Arrived on the 30th. The ship will be filled with chemical products, steel, machinery, auto parts and household appliances, and is scheduled to pass through the Suez Canal in mid-May.
At the same time, the 16,000TEU HMM Nuri and HMM Gaon allocated to the Asia-Northern Europe route in March exceeded their nominal capacity of 13,300TEU, carrying 13,438TEU and 13,502TEU respectively.
In addition, the 12 newbuildings of 24,000TEU received by HMM last year have been deployed to the Asia-Northern Europe route and have been fully loaded for 32 consecutive voyages.
▍New participants are also coming in
However, some shipping companies are keen to "limit" additional capacity for loading ships, and are more inclined to adopt a more cautious approach to supply and demand issues, rather than focusing on restoring network capacity after the Suez Canal is interrupted.
The freight for a large amount of cargo on the spot market is at least five times higher than a year ago, which guarantees the sailing profits of independent services. Even for Panamax and smaller Panamax vessels, this was impossible to achieve a year ago.
In the lucrative Asian-Nordic market, shipping companies provide shippers with very limited cargo space, but the price per 40-foot container can reach up to 14,000 US dollars. Chinese shipping company China United Shipping CU Lines is the latest to participate in this market. By.
Last week, the company received round-trip services from two small ships from China to Northern Europe and appeared to be supported by the international purchasing association XSTAFF, headquartered in Düsseldorf.
In February of this year, CU Lines conducted its first Nordic voyage. It is understood that CU Lines is actively promoting further voyages from China to Northern Europe in May and June, and has received basic cargo support from XSTAFF and other carriers.
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At the same time, freight companies such as DSV and Geodis have confirmed a one-time charter from Asia to Northern Europe to reduce the impact of capacity constraints on routes, and at the same time issue warnings to major carriers to ensure they comply with the contract.
However, there are now almost no open ships in Asia, so the DIY option of large freight companies has actually been suspended.
In contrast, CU Lines can enter China's domestic fleet leasing market, which has rarely appeared in the vision of traditional container ship brokers so far.
In addition to CU Lines, a large amount of freight and high freight rates will definitely attract new players into the liner market, as long as they can find open ships and containers.