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03 July 2025 - Year XXIX
Independent journal on economy and transport policy
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FORUM of Shipping
and Logistics


The Shipbuilding market in 2003 (2)


Analysis by country

Asia 

- Korea

2003 was a new record year for Korea, which asserts its world leadership in the shipbuilding industry. The Korean shipbuilders' orderbook went from 25 to 48 million tons between end 2002 and end 2003. Sale targets of shipyards set at the beginning of 2003 were already met by the third quarter and then surpassed
 


 

Korea's progress is extraordinary when compared with the figures of the world orderbook, which ten years earlier stood at 36 million gt, or again with their orderbook at that time which was 10.9 million gt. It shows the impressive vitality of the Korean shipbuilding and its response to the evolution in demand.

Unlike China, there have been no new docks recently installed, but an optimisation in their production capacities has contributed to this dramatic growth. Docks designated for offshore units have been partly used to build cargo vessels. Bottlenecks in the building chain are constantly examined with special attention and appropriate measures are taken to remedy the situation. Recourse to outsourcing and especially of hull blocks is growing.

Builders are also opting for other methods, used especially in the offshore and in certain Chinese shipyards, by constructing ships on open land.

The big Korean shipyards (Hyundai Heavy Industries, Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, Samsung Heavy Industries, Hanjin Heavy Industries) hesitated throughout the year to commit their docks over and above a period of three years but the pressure was too strong. They gave priority to the very big ships, essentially containerships, tankers and LNG carriers, and abandoned the bulk carriers, even Capesize, apart from some exceptions.

The three shipyards specialising in building product tankers of 37,000 dwt, 47,000 dwt, and Panamax (Hyundai Mipo, STX, Shina) accumulated a record number of orders.

The small Korean shipyards also attracted a number of Western owners who at other times would have ordered in Europe. In this respect there was the order of two stainless-steel chemical carriers by the Danish owner Wonsild with INP.

Korea's market share in the three types of ship is respectively 3% for the bulk carriers, 50% for tankers, and 64% for containerships.
 


 
- Japan

2003 was also a new record year for Japan confirming its second place in the world ranking.

Japanese shipbuilders' orderbook went from 24 to nearly 38 million tons between end-2002 and end-2003. New orders represented more than 26.7 million tons this year as against 15.1 in 2002.
 


 

In 2002 Japanese builders kept pace with Korean builders in terms of new orders due to their dominant position in the bulk carrier market.

2003 figures underline the dynamism of Japanese shipbuilders but also of Japanese owners who are their main and often exclusive clients, which drive this island nation's ambition not only to maintain but also to develop their shipbuilding industry in a highly industrialised country. They show that it is still possible to build standard ships at market prices with a work force even more expensive than those of their competitors (Korea and China).

Japanese shipyards are looking to adjust to demand and to free themselves from constraints that were imposed in the past to limit overcapacity. Some shipyards have been given authorisation to build ships of bigger tonnage and to expand their docks. Japan has at hand a number of sites which were mothballed during the crisis of the 1970s and 1980s that can now be reactivated.

It is very likely that this practice could be extended in the case of sustained demand.
 


 
- China

2003 was also a record year for China which confirms its third place in the world ranking. The orderbook of Chinese shipbuilders went from 9.1 at the end of 2002, to more than 15 million tons one year later. .


 

Chinese shipbuilders surpassed their objective of 10 million gt before the date that they had fixed (2005), despite the SARS epidemic, which hit the country in the second quarter of the year and slowed down numerous projects.

Expansion in Chinese shipbuilding is continuing. New large shipyards are under construction (e.g. Nantong Rongshen), while existing yards are expanding or modernising their production facilities. Some yards located in urban areas are being displaced where facilities are modernised and capacity increased (e.g. Shanghai Shipyard to Chong Ming island, Jiangnan Shipbuilding to Chang Xing island, Qingdao Beihai to Haixiwan, etc.).

Finance for this capacity expansion is coming from various sources. Funds provided or loans guaranteed by central, provincial or city governments seem to account for a significant amount of the investment in shipbuilding, however direct foreign investment and private domestic funds are now becoming more and more active, especially in the privatising of former government controlled shipyards.

China is thus becoming equipped with gigantic shipbuilding facilities, capable of competing in the future with the largest Japanese and Korean shipyards. China's ambition is to become number one in world shipbuilding before 2015, which is tomorrow.
 


 

China has even surpassed its own expectations and surprised its previous critics. Chinese yards today build almost every type of ship, even if they are, from time to time, delivered with some delay. The latest ships produced in China, which can be sometimes extremely complex, are trading well worldwide and are witness to the progress achieved over the last few years.

Chinese shipbuilding has however seen some failures, the best known being the case of the Jiang Yang shipyard but even in this case the new wave of private investment has illustrated the trend of the private sector taking over where previous government management failed. The year 2003 saw a new identity, 'Yangzhou Dayang Shipbuilding' rising from the ashes of the defunct Jiang Yang shipyard.

Shipyards have been able to enjoy a great degree of liberty over the last years, but some have at the same time encountered some losses, hence a closer scrutiny from the highest levels in the commercial policy of these yards is being implemented.

Perhaps, more than elsewhere, due to a lack of some 'old clients', Chinese shipyards have been more opportunistic, which has sometimes irritated some owners.

The fixed exchange rate between the yuan and the dollar has clearly been a considerable advantage this year for Chinese builders, offering them a distinct competitive edge over their Japanese and Korean rivals. Nonetheless, this fixed parity does not completely protect them when the yen, euro, and won appreciate against the dollar as they need to buy numerous supplies and base products outside China. This is why Chinese builders are pressing the authorities to develop domestic production of ships' design and equipment, as Japan and Korea did in the past. The very strong growth in the Chinese economy and the enormous demand for steel products have produced a cascade of price hikes for steel-plates and steel sections, increasing builders' costs and reducing their margins.

Confronted with the trade imbalance between the US and China, Washington is pressing Beijing to re-value its money. The depreciation of the dollar compared to other main currencies might lead the Chinese authorities to consider raising the exchange rate of the yuan against the dollar or to let their currency float, even partially, which of course would have an impact on Chinese shipbuilding.
 

- Taiwan

Like other shipyards in the Far East, Taiwan's state shipbuilding group, CSBC, following a deep and painful restructuring programme, has filled up its orderbook in 2003 particularly with containerships and some Panamax or Capesize bulk carriers. The CSBC orderbook (split between two sites located in Kaohsiung and Keelung) has almost doubled to achieve roughly 2 million tons (1.2 million tons end 2002) allowing Taiwan to hold sixth place in the world.

The privately controlled Ching Fu Shipbuilding is also holding a full orderbook and has establishing itself as one of the emerging leaders in fishing vessels and other specialised types below 15,000 dwt.

 

- Other countries in the Indo-Asian zone

We should mention the renewed interest this year for shipbuilding, in countries that should be able to benefit from the huge demand and higher prices. History shows that in such periods owners generally go out to encourage new suppliers in order to obtain reduced prices or simply earlier deliveries.

To illustrate this point we can cite emerging capacity and further development of shipbuilding in Vietnam, India and Iran, the latter founded for domestic requirements is now attracting international buyers.

In the Philippines, where the Japanese shipyard Tsuneishi established the subsidiary base at Cebu in 1994 to concentrate on the construction of Handymax bulk carriers, production rose from 7 deliveries per year in 2001 to 10 deliveries achieved in 2003 of the Cebu standard design 'Tess 52'. With this full orderbook, an investment programme is already being implemented to reach an annual production of 14 newbuildings in the next few years.
 

Europe

New orders are in sharp decline. The total orderbook for Western Europe is still shrinking, dropping from 6.7 million gt in December 2002 to 6 million gt by the end of 2003. The fall in market share of West-European shipyards from 8 % to about 5 % is even more spectacular, but it is also proportionally due to the considerable increase of the Asian shipyards' orderbooks.

West European shipbuilding at the beginning of this decade underwent a downscale compared to the 1990's, when the orderbook was hovering between 8 and 9 million gt.

By simply drawing a straight line, we could forecast that European shipbuilding would disappear in the coming years, but nothing is as uncertain as extrapolation.

If we try to analyse this evolution we can see that from the beginning of the 1990's most European shipyards have implemented cost-reduction schemes:

  • production outsourcing (carpentry, electricity, air systems, pipes, outfitting, assembly),

  • reducing their management staff and often buying their designs,

  • rationalising procurement,

  • sub-contracting steel blocs, or consigning entire hulls to East European countries, such as Poland, Romania, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, complicating at the same time the management of this sub-contracting,

  • sub-contracting to the same yards the outfitting of ships, which are now almost completely built abroad.

They have done away with the superfluous but sometimes also with the essential skill, and particularly human resources that make up the intellectual capital of shipyards.

Today European yards are organised to build ships of small and medium sizes (less than 40,000 dwt), which have been progressively abandoned by the large Korean and Japanese shipyards, and are being battered by the strength of Chinese yards now interested in building all types and sizes of ships.

To a large extent, European shipyards have also lost their subsidies. At the end of 2000, they had filled up their orderbooks for three years in order to benefit from the maximum authorised in the EU, up to 9 %. The end of this mechanism increased the price differential with Asian shipyards and, whereas some clients were still prepared to pay a little more to stay in Europe, they progressively left the area due to an ever-growing disparity. For some shipowners building in Europe became an unaffordable luxury item.

European shipyards have also more recently been handicapped by the level of the euro, in a market where ships' values are most of the time expressed in dollars.

Certainly there are areas of excellence in Europe, such as the building of cruise-ships, ferries or other passenger ships, but will there be a sufficient number of orders in these sectors to allow full employment of these facilities?
 


 

European shipyards have unfortunately today structural handicaps compared to their Korean, Japanese, and Chinese counterparts. For political, social or economical reasons, they have not been able to restructure their facilities. Newbuilding sites remain widespread all over Europe and can not compete with the Korean giants. Fincantieri and Izar, which have several domestic sites, have not even merged or closed any facilities. For lack of means, they have not been able to invest in their yards as the Koreans and Chinese builders have done on a massive scale. On top of that, the tax burden, social costs and administrative constraints add some weight to the bill.

In industrialised countries like Japan and Korea, net salaries are on a par or even higher than those of European workers, however, differences in social expenses and the number of working hours make man-hour cost much more expensive. Therefore, on the basis of identical costs for procurement and equal man-hours to build a ship, there still would be a gap between Korean or Japanese and European builders to the detriment of the latter.

An alternative policy could have been to favour the closure of some sites in Europe and the merger of some of the remaining capacities.

Will there be a turnaround? One must hope so and also that it comes quickly as European shipyards are continuously laying off workers and even some closing down. A further new reduction of West European production capacity is again to be envisaged for this year.

Notwithstanding the above, West European shipbuilders have today good cards up their sleeves, as they could offer earlier delivery dates and should obtain a premium above current market prices on that basis.
 

- France 

The orderbook of the major French shipbuilders has dropped from 553,000 tons end 2002 to 380,000 tons end 2003.

After having signed a contract for the construction of a LNG carrier of 74,000 cbm with Chantiers de l'Atlantique in 2002, Gaz de France decided this year to order another LNG carrier of 153,000 cbm, which will as well be a membrane type, equipped with an advanced propulsion based on a combined diesel-gas-electric engine. This propulsion offers two advantages to the owner: important energy savings due to a lower consumption and an additional cargo capacity for similar dimensions.

Chantiers de l'Atlantique have also received an order for a ferry of 1,900 passengers, 700 cars and 2,000 lane-meters for the account of Sea France.

Demand for cruiseships remained weak over the last three years and prospects remain modest in the short term. Chantiers de l'Atlantique are currently taking measures to adjust to this new environment, not having been able to obtain any new cruiseship orders since 2000. They have delivered four cruiseships in 2003, including the 'Queen Mary 2', the biggest liner ever built, demonstrating the excellent performance of the yard.

Chantiers de l'Atlantique hope to be able to build military ships like other shipyards elsewhere in Europe. Without a special agreement, this is a rare event in France since military shipbuilding is restricted to naval yards. However a joining of forces could benefit all the parties: Chantiers de l'Atlantique possess a highly efficient organisation and can propose economically viable solutions which should in co-operation with naval yards, reduce the cost of their ships. The French Navy could thus satisfy its needs more easily and the French government would reduce its expenses.

With the progressive downsizing of the deep-sea fishing fleet, planned by Brussels, we should note that since the delivery of the 'Ulysse', Piriou Shipyards in Concarneau, have managed to diversify and propose a large range of products from AHTS, PSV, tugs and some others innovative service ships, either for some French interests or foreign clients.

Piriou Shipyards still propose their traditional trawler, seiner and other fishing boat designs. In this highly competitive context, the yard has been able to develop its client base and sign a number of new contracts. They also developed a new building facility on Mauritius which reinforces their presence in the region.

The situation at Constructions Mecaniques de Normandie in Cherbourg is rather different as they still have a strong workforce of about 400 employees and an order backlog which suffers from a lack of private clients. The latest order for a series of 6 corvettes from the Emirates Navy at the end of the year, of which only the first one will be built at Cherbourg, has brought some fresh life to the shipyard until 2007. The French Coast Guard has a 52 metres long patrol boat on order at the yard. Some yachts and sailing ships have to be added to this orderbook which is still not completely full.
 

- Germany

German shipyards have benefited from the tremendous demand for containerships. Whilst Korean shipyards were concentrating on very large container carriers, German yards received orders for 54 new ships mainly in the 2 500 / 3 500 teu size range as well as feeders of smaller size. For reference, in 2001, German yards signed up orders for 46 containerships of over 1 000 teu. In 2002, this figure was divided by three.

They have benefited from the lack of interest for these smaller sizes from Korean yards, but also from the proximity with their buyers (all Germans), and finally from an overflow of orders from Asia onto Europe, which, despite higher prices, has been able to offer earlier delivery dates in the second half of 2003.

Meyer Werft received two orders for cruiseships of 93,000 tons for the account of their traditional clients Star Cruises / NCL as well as a new passenger-ferry for Indonesia.

Flensburger has been specialising more and more in ro-ros and Lindenau continued its success in the tanker sector securing orders for 5 product tankers of 32,000 to 34,000 dwt.

As to the other shipyards which diversified in other types of ships, times are becoming more difficult. Flender Werft and SSW have closed down. Elsewhere, reduction of personnel and other plans (early retirements and layoffs) are going on.

Germany occupies the second place in Europe behind Poland and ranks number 5 in the world.
 

- Italy 

Italian builders were penalised by the prevailing weak demand for cruiseships and passenger liners.

Nevertheless, Fincantieri was awarded one of the 4 orders for cruiseships placed in 2003 and carry in their orderbook 8 cruiseships to be built in three different construction sites. They have also received orders for ro-ros and ferries for their Ancona, Napoli and Palermo facilities from Italian owners. Italy occupies 4th rank in Europe and 8th in the world.
 

- Spain 

In 2003, Izar, the Spanish state shipbuilding group, successfully delivered their first three 138,000 cbm LNG carriers and should deliver this year the two remaining ones, out of an order for five ships signed in 2000. Izar clearly hopes to continue in this niche against very fierce competition from Asia. 

Unfortunately with the exception of Barreras, Spanish shipyards succeeded in taking very few new orders in 2003. In addition, European authorities have requested Spanish authorities to put an end to certain arrangements favouring shipping investment, which were considered to be contrary to the Community regulations.
 

- Finland 

Finnish shipbuilders also suffered from the poor demand for cruise and passengers ships.

Kvaerner-Masa Yards have however gained the order for the biggest cruiseship ever to be built (160,000 gt) for the account of Royal Caribbean. They have also landed the order for very sophisticated ice-breaker ships for Russian account.

Finnish shipyards have an indisputable expertise in building ships capable of navigating in ice conditions and their geographical position is an advantage. They should benefit from the Russian growth and renew their links with an economic partner who had rewarded them before the fall of the Soviet Union with numerous orders.

They could also take advantage from the economic development of the Baltic states which are about to join the European Union.
 

- Denmark 

Odense Lindo, the last major Danish shipyard, continues to build a series of large containerships, of which the last version should approach the 10 000 teu size. These containerships will then be operated by the shipping branch of the A.P. Moller group, which was the first owner to invest in large containerships. Together with MSC, they are the sole owners in the world who have their own private terminal capable of discharging ships with beams up to 21 / 22 rows of containers
 

- Netherlands

2003 was a particularly difficult year for Dutch shipyards. After the closure of Tille at the beginning of 2003, van der Giessen-de Noord, specialised in the building of ferries, decided to cease their activities in shipbuilding, just after the delivery of the French ro-pax 'Pascal Paoli'. One of the building sites of another yard, Bijlsma, also had to close down.

Dutch shipyards, still very active in the sector of small ships, owe their survival to their capacity for innovation. Hulls are largely subcontracted out to Romania or Ukraine, before being repatriated for outfitting. Dutch yards are still strong in the building of offshore support ships, dredgers, small cargo vessels and small petroleum product and chemical carriers.

Dutch shipbuilders have suffered badly from the aggressive competition of Chinese shipyards for similar types of ships. With only slighlty more than 300,000 tons on order at the end of 2003, the Dutch shipyards are now close to the bottom of the world ranking.
 

- Norway 

The merger in 2002 of two old rival yards Aker and Kvaerner gave birth to a group with twelve yards in Norway, Finland, Germany, Romania, Brazil and the USA, employing 13 500 people and having a turnover of around 20 billion Norwegian crowns.

2003 was a very difficult year and the orderbook of Norwegian shipyards dropped significantly. The shipyards suffered from the appreciation of their currency. Now specialised in the offshore sector, the overall tonnage on order at Norwegian shipyards does not weigh much in the world shipbuilders' ranking despite that the value of each ship is often very high.
 

- Poland

Polish yards which had encountered important financial difficulties in 2002 necessitating restructuring and recapitalisation, were on the rebound in 2003. Their production is largely orientated on containerships, open-hatch bulk carriers, car-carriers and ro-ros.

Poland occupies the first rank in Europe and fourth rank in the world with about 2.5 million gt at the end of 2003. Poland's entry into the European Union could be a new stimulus to growth but the shipyards will probably have to face a progressive increase in their salary costs.
 

- Croatia

Croatian shipyards have largely taken advantage from the demand for product tankers and car-carriers. The five main shipyards Split, Trogir, Kraljevica, 3 Maj and Uljanik are full up until 2007. They place themselves often with ships slightly more innovative than those built in Asia. Trogir is finishing a series of 6 product tankers of 47,000 dwt fitted with a two-engine propulsion and one crankshaft. Split has been awarded the order from Stena for a series of 6 P-Max type tankers.

At the end of 2003, Croatian shipyards occupy 7th place in the world with about 1.5 million gt on order.
 

- Turkey

Turkish shipbuilding with its numerous shipyards benefited from the demand for small oil product carriers and chemical carriers from domestic and European owners. Domestic owners are also very dynamic. Turkish yards are also used to take subcontracting works from West European shipyards. With nearly 300,000 dwt on order, Turkish shipyards are now at a level comparable to the Netherlands shipbuilding industry.
 

- Romania

Romanian shipyards have benefited from significant direct foreign investment and management from experienced international shipbuilders (Aker, Daewoo, Damen, etc.) and have been able to take advantage of the overflow from Asian yards. They managed to attract orders which could have gone to Korea in other circumstances. Thus, Constanza signed contracts for two product tankers of 37,000 dwt and Daewoo Mangalia for two Panamax tankers. In the meantime 2003 saw a significant increase in both volume and value of the subcontracting of hulls of a diverse range of vessel types including offshore and container vessels for a number of West European shipbuilders.
 

- Russia

Russian shipbuilding should also logically draw benefits from the world demand and the congestion of Asian yards, with sites being able to offer earlier delivery dates. They could also take on domestic orders in view of the predictable increase in oil exports from this zone, and the pressing need for ships of suitable ice class. Its industrial infrastructure however needs to be enhanced.
 

United States

The American shipbuilding industry has consolidated its position this year and has maintained its 9th place in the world with around 0.7 million tons at the end of 2003. However, American yards protected by the Jones Act, are not really able to be in the market at competitive prices.  

In 2003 the Aker-Kvaerner group saw its first newbuilding delivery from their Philadelphia shipyard of a 2,600 teu containership for the US flag owner MatsonNavigation Company. This is the first of a two-ship order and each vessel was reportedly priced at $ 110 million (owner's costs included). There was originally a lot of hope that by taking on the Philadelphia shipyard that the Aker-Kvaerner group could bring it back into the international shipbuilding market, but today it is unable to ensure a sufficient workload, due to the pricing distortions of the Jones Act environment (US built - US flag - US crew). 

Nassco of San Diego is still working on 4 Suezmax tankers of 185,000 dwt for the account of BP, bound to trade between Alaska and the US West Coast, also under the Jones Act regulation. However it should be noted that this activity is secondary to Nassco's many contracts for the US Navy.
 

Prospects

The very strong demand for new tonnage in 2003 and the reversal of what has traditionally been a 'buyers' market to a 'sellers' one was hardly anticipated. Will this trend continue?

We can reasonably think it will, at least for 2004 and this is for several reasons:

  • Inflation often breeds on itself: the enormous demand is causing at the moment substantial increases in procurement costs and especially in steel plate prices. Despite increases in the price of ships, it is not certain that yards will improve their margins. In these conditions, it is likely that shipbuilders will maintain a policy of price increases, which in turn could motivate owners to invest today rather than tomorrow.

  • These owners may also consider that prices from the yards, for a large variety of ships, are still below the historical highs reached at the beginning of the 1990s, and thanks to low interest rates it is reasonable to invest.

  • Prices have broken through new limits, rendering the reference benchmark prices of the past five years obsolete. The former equilibrium has been broken and we have entered a new cycle. Given the current situation with shipyards, suppliers, raw materials and energy, it is fairly certain that newbuilding prices will remain at high levels for several years.

There will be however a correction to this trend as these price increases pose several problems as to the real value of the assets and their financing. Owners can ask themselves if it is reasonable to order ships for delivery in four years time. The ratios of ships on order versus active fleet may also be a cause for concern: how will the market absorb this overflow of tonnage?

The enormous shipbuilding capacity that China is putting on the market and its ambition to become the leading shipbuilder in the world within 2015, will certainly meet some strong resistance from Japan and Korea.

All of this is part of the 'common' history of the shipping industry, euphoric periods being often followed by more or less deep depressions. We can see some similarities between the current dry bulk freight market evolution and the stock exchanges excesses in the 1999 to 2000 period, before the bubble burst!

Adjustments are already taking place, since the cost of shipping becomes a significant element in the price of some goods, especially of raw materials. Industries always have the possibility to seek out alternative solutions, which will minimise their costs, they will switch to other types of energy, for example, or will purchase their raw materials from closer sources.

However, it is true also that, despite these price increases (assets, freight rates), transportation by sea remains extraordinary cheap and has contributed to a remarkable development in international trade.
 



Shipping and Shipbuilding Markets in 2003

I N D E X

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Trump's new tariffs also hit container traffic at the Port of Long Beach
Long Beach
In the first five months of 2025, an increase of +17.2% was recorded
Transfer of the port of Carrara from the Ligurian to the Tuscan AdSP not without a discussion with the operators
Milan
Dario Perioli, FHP, Grendi and Tarros ask for it
Up to $768 billion in investments needed to adapt world ports to rising sea levels
New York
Port of Los Angeles Feels Impact of New Tariffs on Container Traffic
Los Angeles
A decrease of -4.8% was recorded in May
Assagenti proposes a task force to solve port, logistics and industrial problems
Genoa
A "problem solver" consultative body composed, in addition to the categories of the maritime cluster, of the manufacturing industries of the North-West quadrant
Cargo traffic at the port of Singapore fell by -4.6% in May
Singapore
New crane overturned for delivery in new Tuas port area
In the first quarter of 2025, freight traffic on the Swiss rail network fell by -6.4%
Neuchatel
Service performance at 2.35 billion tonne-km, down -8.2%
ANGOPI fears that new measures to ensure maritime continuity will penalise mooring services
ANGOPI fears that new measures to ensure maritime continuity will penalise mooring services
Ischia
Power: it is necessary to remove them from a perverse mechanism
Dutch HES International to operate bulk terminal in Marseille-Fos port
Marseille
The concession contract will have a minimum duration of 30 years
Ibiza government opposes Trasmed's overnight stay on board ferry program
Ibiza/Valencia
It is considered a "clandestine hotel", while the company defines it as a cruise service
Bruno Pisano appointed extraordinary commissioner of the AdSP of the Eastern Ligurian Sea
Rome
He will take up his post next Monday
Federlogistica proposes a comparison between operators on the congestion fee while waiting for a solution from the government
Genoa
In the first five months of 2025, container traffic in the port of Gioia Tauro grew by +10.3%
Joy Taurus
1,813,071 TEUs were handled
Trasportounito, truck waiting times in ports must be paid
Genoa
Tagnochetti: The Port Fee aims to redistribute the costs of all disruptions more equitably
Commissioners of the AdSPs of the Northern Tyrrhenian, Ionian and Western Liguria appointed
Rome/Genoa
Trade unions concerned about the future of Genoa Port Terminal workers
Political instability and green transition are the main problems that shipping faces
London
This is highlighted in the "ICS Maritime Barometer Report 2024-2025"
The new container terminal of the port of Termini Imerese presented
Palermo
Transfer of traffic handled by Portitalia to the port of Palermo
Stable freight traffic in the ports of Genoa and Savona-Vado Ligure in May
Genoa
A decrease of -2.4% was recorded in the Ligurian capital's airport; a rise of +7.2% was recorded in the Savona airport
Consilium Safety Group Expands Presence in Türkiye and Maritime Market
Gothenburg
Ares Marine acquired
The first InnoWay freight railcars have left the Bagnoli della Rosandra plant
Fincantieri has opened a new Innovation Antenna in South Korea
Seoul
It is located in the heart of Seoul's technology district.
The commissioners of various AdSPs also assume the powers attributed to the Management Committees
Rome
Provisions for the port authorities of the Ionian Sea, the Central-Northern Adriatic Sea, the Eastern Ligurian Sea and the Northern Tyrrhenian Sea
Ferrara-based INCICO acquires Italiana Sistemi and focuses on transport engineering
Ferrara/Naples
It specializes in infrastructure and plant engineering in the railway and road sectors
Hupac announces expansion of Duisburg-Singen shuttle with connections to Italy
Noise
Daily departures will be made
The transfer of 80% of Louis-Dreyfus Armateurs' capital to InfraVia has been implemented
Suresnes/Paris
The Louis-Dreyfus family retains the remaining 20%
Port of Genoa, green light for extension of concession to Spinelli until September 30
Genoa
Ok also to the extension to the Campostano group
The National Maritime Fund has started the recognition of scholarships
Genoa
They are granted for basic training and security familiarization courses.
RFI and MIT sign the update to the program contract for approximately 2.1 billion
Rome
Around 500 million euros expected for the management of the railway network
San Giorgio del Porto delivers a vessel for the bunkering of liquefied natural gas
Genoa
It was built for Genova Trasporti Marittimi
Pisano (AdSP Liguria Orientale): the ports of La Spezia and Carrara have integrated almost perfectly
La Spezia/Bari
Extraordinary Commissioner of the Southern Adriatic Sea Port Authority appointed
Raffaele Latrofa appointed president of the AdSP of the Central-Northern Tyrrhenian Sea
Rome
He is the deputy mayor of Pisa
India's Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Acquires Control of Sri Lanka's Colombo Dockyard
Mumbai
Investment of approximately 53 million dollars
The Commissioner of the Western Ligurian Sea Port Authority has been granted the powers and prerogatives of the Management Committee
Genoa
The measure pending the restoration of the ordinary top management bodies
The Three-Year Operational Plan 2025-2027 of the Central Adriatic Port Authority has been approved
Ancona
Favorable opinion of the Sea Resource Partnership Body
The public meeting of the International Containers Studies Center will be held in Genoa on July 2nd
Genoa
It will deal with the physical transformations of the container and the digitalization of processes
Andrea Ormesani is the new president of Assosped Venezia
Venice
The board of directors has been renewed. Paolo Salvaro remains general secretary
Witte (ISU): In 2024, the ship salvage sector stabilized from the low of two years ago
London
Finnish Elomatic to Install Tunnel Thrusters on 11 Carnival Cruise Ships
Turku
The works will begin next autumn and will end in 2028
The Assarmatori assembly will be held in Rome on July 1st
Rome
"Mediterranean against the current" the theme of the meeting
Fincantieri has delivered the new cruise ship Viking Vesta to the American Viking
Trieste/Los Angeles
It was built in the Ancona shipyard
The Genoa Coast Guard has placed the container ship PL Germany under administrative detention
Genoa
Italian Navy orders two new Multipurpose Combat Ships from Fincantieri
Trieste
The order to the shipbuilding company is worth 700 million euros
MSC Group to manage cruise services in the ports of Bari and Brindisi
Bari
Ten-year concession with possibility of extension
German Kombiverkehr Returns to Profit in 2024
Frankfurt am Main
The level of revenues remained unchanged at 434.6 million euros.
Deltamarin to design the six new ro-pax vessels ordered by Grimaldi for the Mediterranean routes
Turku
SAILING LIST
Visual Sailing List
Departure ports
Arrival ports by:
- alphabetical order
- country
- geographical areas
The practice of subcontracting in European logistics is creating a parallel labour market where rights are not enforced
Brussels
"Sorry, We Subcontracted You" Report Presented
Tomorrow Grendi will launch the group's fourth ship on routes to and from Sardinia
Milan
"Grendi Star", with a load capacity of 2,800 linear meters, will connect Marina di Carrara and Cagliari
FREMM frigates operational support contract signed between Orizzonte Sistemi Navali and OCCAR
Taranto
The agreement has a total value of approximately 764 million euros
Call to reform the entire driver training system in the transport sector
Rome
Seven proposals presented
In the port of Gioia Tauro, the Guardia di Finanza soldiers seized 228 kilos of cocaine
Reggio Calabria
Two dockers arrested
Port of Livorno, new observatory to find solutions to the problem of port congestion
Leghorn
Marilli: We will seek solutions to reach the possible revocation of the port fee
Lockton PL Ferrari closed the last fiscal year with gross revenues of 34 million dollars
Genoa
Insurance premium volume rose to 350 million
Polish Trans Polonia Group acquires Dutch Nijman/Zeetank Holding
Tczew
It specializes in the transportation and logistics of liquid and gaseous products
d'Amico Tankers Sells Two 2011-Built Tankers for $36.2 Million
Luxembourg
They will be delivered to buyers by the end of July and on December 21st.
The Italian Merchant Marine Academy plans 13 new free courses
Genoa
Over 300 positions available
A delegation of Wista Italy visits the ports of Catania and Augusta
Catania/August
The association is made up of women who hold positions of responsibility in the maritime, logistics and trade sectors.
In the first five months of 2025, the port of Algeciras handled 1.9 million containers (-6.3%)
Algeciras
Empty containers decreased by -5.5% and full ones by -6.4%
Reway Group enters the port railway infrastructure maintenance sector
Licciana Nardi
Two contracts awarded by the AdSP of the Eastern Ligurian Sea
Delcomar and Ensamar take over maritime services with the smaller Sardinian islands
Cagliari
The tender for the six-year concession of the connections has been awarded
Port of Trieste, the newly appointed Gurrieri torpedoes the newly appointed Torbianelli
Trieste
Russo (Pd): it's a squalid power game
Singapore's SeaLead expands its maritime shipping offering to connect Turkey and Italy
Singapore
Route connected to services transiting the Suez Canal
The US Container Security Initiative program has been extended to Morocco
Rabat
Amrani: Let's consolidate Tanger Med's role as a safe and world-class maritime hub
Very positive first quarter for Greek Euroseas
Athens
Pittas: the positive momentum continued in the second quarter
Assonat and SACE present a plan for Italian tourist ports
Rome
Kuehne+Nagel has opened a new branch in Naples
Milan
The aim is to support the operational growth of the group in Southern Italy
RINA has acquired the entire capital of Finnish Foreship
Helsinki
The Helsinki-based company specializes in consulting in the field of marine and mechanical engineering.
Container traffic down at Barcelona and Valencia ports in May
Barcelona/Valencia
Resumption of containers in transit at the Catalan port
Annual cargo traffic in Greek ports stable in 2024
Piraeus
Domestic volumes are growing, while foreign trade is decreasing
Perplexity of freight forwarders, customs agents and maritime agents of La Spezia at the transfer of the port of Carrara to the Tuscan AdSP
The Spice
Timidly, they "hope for consideration for the progress made so far"
Francesco Mastro appointed extraordinary commissioner of the Southern Adriatic Sea Port Authority
Rome
He will take up office on June 30th.
John Denholm to be new president of the International Chamber of Shipping
Athens
He will take over from Emanuele Grimaldi in a year
Extraordinary commissioners of the two Ligurian Port System Authorities have been installed
Genoa/La Spezia
Matteo Paroli and Bruno Pisano at the helm of the institutions
Container traffic at Hong Kong port drops sharply in May
Hong Kong
1.05 million TEUs were handled (-12.7%)
Assogasliquidi-Federchimica shows the way to accelerate the decarbonization of road and maritime transport
Rome
Amadei: Our sector is ready and the time has come for courageous industrial choices
Eagle S tanker command blamed for cutting submarine cables in Gulf of Finland
Advantages
The accident was caused by the ship's anchor
Online platform to report critical issues that put transport workers at risk
Genoa
It was prepared by Fit Cisl Liguria
GNV to create a direct summer connection between Civitavecchia and Tunis
Genoa
It will run alongside the historic route via Palermo
The unification of Grimaldi's concessions in the port of Barcelona has been completed
Madrid/Barcelona
The contract expires on September 20, 2035.
In the first five months of 2025, cargo traffic in Russian ports fell by -4.9%
St. Petersburg
A decrease of approximately -12% was recorded in May
Raben Logistics Group Creates Subsidiary in Türkiye
Milan
It will have 20 employees and a 2,000 square meter cross-dock warehouse
Alberto Dellepiane confirmed as president of Assorimorchiatori
Rome
The composition of the entire association leadership remains unchanged
Agreement between Fincantieri and Indonesian PMM to develop solutions to face new unconventional underwater challenges
PORTS
Italian Ports:
Ancona Genoa Ravenna
Augusta Gioia Tauro Salerno
Bari La Spezia Savona
Brindisi Leghorn Taranto
Cagliari Naples Trapani
Carrara Palermo Trieste
Civitavecchia Piombino Venice
Italian Interports: list World Ports: map
DATABASE
ShipownersShipbuilding and Shiprepairing Yards
ForwardersShip Suppliers
Shipping AgentsTruckers
MEETINGS
The Assarmatori assembly will be held in Rome on July 1st
Rome
"Mediterranean against the current" the theme of the meeting
The public meeting of the International Containers Studies Center will be held in Genoa on July 2nd
Genoa
››› Meetings File
PRESS REVIEW
US has its eye on Greek ports
(Kathimerini)
Proposed 30% increase for port tariffs to be in phases, says Loke
(Free Malaysia Today)
››› Press Review File
FORUM of Shipping
and Logistics
Intervento del presidente Tomaso Cognolato
Roma, 19 giugno 2025
››› File
Structural adaptation works on dock 23 of the port of Ancona awarded
Ancona
Intervention worth over 11.8 million euros
Conference on the role of LNG and bioLNG for the decarbonisation of transport and industry
Rome
The Federchimica-Assogasliquidi event will take place on Monday in Rome
Dutch Bolidt increases presence in cruise ship sector with acquisition of American Boteka
Hendrik Ido Ambacht
Contship Italia has acquired the Genoese customs services company STS
Melzo
The Ligurian company was founded in 1985
Francesco Benevolo has been appointed extraordinary commissioner of the AdSP of the Central-Northern Adriatic Sea
Rome
He is the operations director of RAM - Logistics, Infrastructure and Transport
Montaresi resigns as commissioner of the Eastern Ligurian Port Authority
The Spice
In the eight months of administration - he underlines - we have not lost even a second
Gurrieri has been appointed extraordinary commissioner of the AdSP of the Eastern Adriatic Sea
Trieste
Pending the completion of the formal process for the designation of the president
The commissioners of the AdSP of Western Liguria have handed over their mandate to Minister Salvini
Genoa
The decision is part of the process of designation and nomination of the new leaders
Confetra criticizes the provisions of the decree-law Infrastructure for road transport
Rome
The Confederation urges the blocking of the process of appointing the presidents of the port authorities
Taiwanese Evergreen, Yang Ming and WHL saw revenue decline in May
Keelung/Taipei
The decline is accentuated for the two main companies
South Korea's KSOE wins order to build eight 15,900 TEU containerships
Seongnam
The unit value of each vessel is approximately $221 million.
First port terminal for car traffic of Greek Neptune Lines
Piraeus
It will be inaugurated next year in the French port of Port-La Nouvelle
The assembly of the association of Genoese maritime agents and brokers will be held on June 16th
Genoa
Round Table on Genoa, the hub of the North West and the Mediterranean
BN di Navigazione Board of Directors Renewed
Genoa
BluNavy aims to reach one million passengers by 2025
Viking Line designs world's largest all-electric ro-pax vessel
Viking Line designs world's largest all-electric ro-pax vessel
Åland
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