U.S. shippers have been assured by a variety of governmental agencies that cargo vessels of Liberian registry are no more vulnerable to carrying the Ebola virus than vessels sailing under other flags of convenience.
By Patrick Burnson
Published: November, 2014
U.S. shippers have been assured by a variety of governmental agencies that cargo vessels of Liberian registry are no more vulnerable to carrying the Ebola virus than vessels sailing under other flags of convenience.
Beyond dispute, however, is the fact that Liberia is the world’s second largest registry, representing 3,200 ships of more than 100 million gross tons. Liberia is also the epicenter of the deadly Ebola virus, now killing thousands of Africans and threatening tens of thousands more in the coming months. As of this writing, Ebola has also made its way in a more limited fashion to the United States and Europe.
Meanwhile, three global shipping organizations have issued guidance to their members on the risks posed to their ships’ crews calling in countries affected by the Ebola virus. The ICS (International Chamber of Shipping), IMEC (International Maritime Employers’ Council), and the ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation) urgently advise that on all such vessels:
• The master should ensure that the crew are aware of the risks, how the virus can be spread and how to reduce the risk.
• The ISPS requirements on ensuring that unauthorized personnel do not board the vessel should be strictly enforced throughout the duration of the vessel being in port.
• The master should give careful consideration to granting any shore leave while in impacted ports.
• The shipowner/operator should avoid making crew changes in the ports of an affected country.
• After departure, the crew should be aware of the symptoms and report any symptoms immediately to the person in charge of medical care aboard the ship.
The advice is supplemented with information from the World Health Organization on the virus, but fails to address whether too many flags are being flown without sufficient risk management in place.
Luncheon to Focus on State of the Industry
Women in Logistics and the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association (PMSA) are teaming up early this month to present a luncheon program that is certain to yield vital market intelligence on shipping trends and forecasts.
Scott’s at Jack London Square will be the venue for the “State of the Industry” luncheon, featuring Dave Arsenault, president and CEO of Hyundai Merchant and Fred Castonguay, vice president of operations of Ports America. Both men will address issues that loom large for Bay Area shippers like chassis divestment, new carrier consortiums, regulatory hurdles and the ongoing dockside labor talks.
An 11 a.m. reception precedes the noon lunch on Thursday, November 6. More details can found at www.pmsaship.com.
Shipping Industry Emissions Decline
BSR’s Clean Cargo Working Group’s 2014 “Global Maritime Trade Lane Emissions Factors” report—which provides data from more than 2,900 ships, representing around 85 percent of global ocean container capacity—indicates that average carbon-dioxide emissions for global ocean container transport have declined year-on-year, and by nearly eight percent between 2012 and 2013. While changes in carrier representation or global trade conditions may account for part of the emissions reductions described in the report, the continued performance improvement is also attributed to carrier fleet efficiency and improvements in data quality. BSR is based in San Francisco. For more info, see www.bsr.org.
TSA to Explore New Pricing
As the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement (TSA) carrier discussion group prepares for a new round of service contract negotiations, shippers are being told to expect a new approach to pricing. Container shipping lines in the Asia-U.S. trade lane face significant cost and operational challenges in 2015-16 as they manage inland rail and truck capacity shortages as well as sharply higher mandated fuel costs beginning in 2015.
“Carriers feel an urgent need in the current market environment to view pricing differently,” said TSA Executive Administrator Brian Conrad. “Rate minimums are an effort to better reflect actual costs of service, rather than simply recommending a specific increase to whatever baseline rate is in the tariff based on short-term supply-demand conditions.”
U.S. shippers looking for container space for outbound commodities will soon face higher rate structures, too. TSA-Westbound, which comprises carriers bringing American exports to Asia, announced that freight rates fell well below “breakeven” levels in recent months amid weakening demand and rising costs.
“Many base cargo rates in the westbound transpacific market are approaching levels that do not justify carriage, especially when you take into account offsetting destination costs such as equipment cleaning and repair and local delivery,” said Conrad.
Patrick Burnson is the past president and current board member of the Pacific Transportation Association, based in San Francisco. www.pacifictrans.org
