Port of Oakland loaded container volume decreased 12.7 percent last month from May 2019 totals, according to data released today. The Port had been expecting cargo decline due to continued COVID-19 impacts on global shipping.

The Port pointed to lower consumer demand in domestic and foreign markets, both driven by coronavirus pandemic uncertainty, as the main reason for declining trade volume.

“Since March, the Port has seen indications of more significant cargo declines, so the May results are not unexpected,” said Port of Oakland Acting Maritime Director Delphine Prevost. “Ocean carriers have been reducing the number of vessels in service in anticipation of expected declines in import demand. It’s created challenges for exporters who are seeing less predictable vessel schedules and facing issues with finding capacity for their exports.”

According to the Port, May 2020 loaded import volume dropped 14.6 percent from May 2019.  Loaded exports declined 10.7 percent. The return of empty containers to Asia decreased 28 percent.  As a result, total cargo volume declined 16.8 percent.

Overall, the January-to-May 2020 cargo statistics show a 7.8 percent decrease compared to the same time period in 2019.

The test will be carried out in collaboration with ESL Shipping and Gasum. This is the first time that biogas will be used as fuel for ships in Finland.

SSAB, ESL Shipping and Gasum are working together to reduce the emissions arising in shipping SSAB’s raw materials. Last year, SSAB and ESL Shipping introduced a new transport chain that, in comparison with its predecessor, nearly halved the carbon dioxide emissions originating in shipping SSAB’s raw materials between Luleå, Oxelösund and Raahe.

The improved transport chain brought into use ESL Shipping’s new ships Viikki and Haaga which are fueled by liquefied natural gas rather than conventional fuels. Now these companies are piloting the use of liquefied biogas as a supplementary fuel to further replace fossil fuels.

In the test that kicked off yesterday, M/S Viikki was fueled with LNG and one tanker load of liquefied biogas which was brought to SSAB Raahe from the Gasum Terminal in Pori.

“With this test, we aim to find out whether biogas could be used in small amounts for maritime transport to reduce emissions. The methane in biogas originates from biogenic material and so does not contain any fossil coal.  This means the amount of biogas used in the test could further reduce the fossil  carbon dioxide emissions originating in this transport chain by between 25% and 28%,” says Harri Leppänen, Head of Environment, Health & Safety at SSAB.

Efforts toward removing fossil CO2 emissions from the transport chain would require replacing all LNG with LBG and replacing  the diesel fuel used to power  the ship’s engine with fossil-free biodiesel.

“Our company’s key environmental goal for 2020 is testing biogas in our ships. We have been engaged in long-term environmental work together with SSAB for years, and now we are taking a new significant step towards fossil-free sea transport, “says Mikki Koskinen, ESL Shipping’s Managing Director.

“The test with ESL and SSAB is in line with our strategy to bring cleaner fuels to our customers. We are all the time increasing our biogas production and sourcing to meet growing demand of our customers. We are already in discussions with ESL about running vessels Viikki and Haaga on 100% LBG,” says Jacob Granqvist, Sales Director maritime, Gasum.

SSAB wants to launch fossil-free steel on the market as the world’s first steel company as early as 2026. The entire company is aiming to be fossil free by 2045. To achieve these targets, SSAB together with LKAB and Vattenfall has launched the HYBRIT initiative to eliminate fossil carbon dioxide emissions across the entire steel manufacturing value chain from mines to finished steel products. “However, for operations to be entirely fossil free, it is also necessary to strive to eliminate fossil fuels from shipping,” Harri Leppänen continues.

More than 90% of carbon dioxide emissions at SSAB Raahe originate in ironmaking, where coal is used as a raw material in the reduction process. The HYBRIT initiative aims to replace coal with hydrogen, which means emissions will be water vapor instead of carbon dioxide.

Iron is made at SSAB Raahe using two blast furnaces, one of which will be decommissioned in about 2029, when half of the production will switch to electric arc furnace technology where hydrogen-reduced iron and recycled steel will be used as raw materials. This transition will cut the plant’s emissions by about 40%. The other blast furnace will also be replaced by an electric arc furnace by 2040, which will reduce the plant’s fossil carbon dioxide emissions to zero if shipping can be operated without fossil fuels.

Dubai-based provider of worldwide smart end-to-end supply chain logistics, DP World, with a global network of 123 business units in 54 countries, has announced the completion of its acquisition of a 51% stake in TIS Container Terminal in the Port of Yuzhny, Ukraine. This follows satisfaction of specific conditions including confirmation of regulatory approval from the relevant government authorities.

This project will be DP World’s second partnership with TIS shareholders, the first being our very successful partnership in the P&O Maritime Ukraine which provides harbour towage services in the principal Black Sea ports in the Ukraine. DP World’s global strategy is to become a trade enabler and solutions provider as the company looks to participate across a wider part of the supply chain.

DP World has invested significantly across its Ports, Logistics & Maritime Services businesses. The aim is to connect directly with customers to offer logistics solutions and remove inefficiencies in the supply chain to accelerate trade. This acquisition will expand DP World’s operations as well as strengthen TIS Container Terminal as one of the key market leading purpose-built terminals in Ukraine by leveraging DP World’s global network of ports, economic zones, warehousing and inland logistics solutions.

Furthermore, this acquisition helps make Ukraine’s trade more resilient during challenging economic times and gives DP World the potential to offer a unique Black Sea product by linking its terminals in Constanta and Yarimca with TIS Container Terminal using its Unifeeder network. This suite of trade enabling solutions, coupled with our technology to remove inefficiencies in the supply chain, offers cargo owners the ability to deploy their cargo strategically across essential trade lanes that serve Eastern European markets and complement DP World’s existing portfolio in Romania and Turkey.

The Ukrainian container market growth of over 20% in 2019 is an attractive market to enter. TIS Container Terminal with excellent maritime and landside connectivity including the market leading rail connectivity is a the ideal facility for DP World in the country. Following DP World’s acquisition of SeaRates.com, a digital platform that enables customers to transport cargo worldwide, along with LandRates.com and AirRates.com.

DP World has also created the Digital Freight Alliance which is an online association that brings freight forwarders globally onto one platform, giving them access to new tools, routes and services, and enabling them to do more business anytime anywhere, which can be harmonised with DP World’s Ukraine footprint.

Under the terms of agreement, DP World has acquired a majority stake and will take control of the terminal operations going forward. DP World will be a key player in the region and will look to expand the catchment of the terminal using its market leading rail connectivity.

Commenting on this important step forward, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World, said, “Today ushers in a new and promising era, as we expand our global portfolio in Ukraine. We are excited about this important milestone and this acquisition supports our long-lasting commitment to enabling global trade. This acquisition establishes DP World in a highly attractive market, we look forwar to contributing our experience, expertise and resources to the continued development and growth of the TIS container terminal. In so doing, we will look to build on and expand the commercial success that TIS Container terminal has achieved”.