The Port of New York and New Jersey are asking state and federal governments to help the port weather container volume declines and extra costs to keep workers safe and cargo flowing during the COVID-19 pandemic. The request can through a letter to House and Senate leaders requesting $3 billion in financial aid for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey which also operates area airports, the PATH passenger rail system, and interstate bridges and tunnels.

A panel of judges has ruled against the City of Oakland’s appeal to ban rail transport of coal through the city. The panel determined that the city breached its contract with a developer by attempting to block shipments of coal through a bulk terminal under construction at the former Oakland Army Base. In July 2016 the City Council voted to prohibit the storing and handling of coal within city limits. The unanimous vote was directly aimed at a $250 million bulk terminal, located on the outer harbor near the Bay Bridge Toll Plaza. The terminal filed a federal suit in December 2016, claiming the council ordinance violated his 2013 agreement with the city to develop the land.

The APL England lost 40 containers in heavy seas en route to the Port of Melbourne from China. The vessel spilled the containers after experiencing a loss of propulsion last weekend. Power was restored in minutes but while it was out the ship rocked heavily and multiple container stacks collapsed and fell overboard. An additional 74 containers on board sustained damage. The ship was about 73 kilometres south-east of Sydney when the incident occurred, and other vessels have been advised to look out for "possible navigational hazards" when making their way to or from the Port of Newcastle. Aircraft are flying overhead trying to spot floating containers. The lost containers contained medical supplies, household appliances, building materials, and more. In recent days, packages of surgical masks and other contents of the containers have been washing up on the shores near Brisbane.

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has issued updated health guidance for the global shipping industry to ensure ship operators and crew can safely deal with seafarers struggling with medical conditions during the coronavirus pandemic. Troubling reports have indicated that seafarers, including those suffering from non-COVID related illnesses are being denied medical treatment by port authorities. To remind governments of their obligations to provide medical care for seafarers ICS will address a virtual meeting of healthcare professionals, organized by the World Health Organization, International Maritime Organization and International Labor Organization, where the latest guidance for seafarers will be discussed.

Kuehne + Nagel, the world’s second largest freight forwarder, is making plans to cut their staff by up to 25 per cent. The US is set to suffer the largest cuts as the country has no furlough system in place; cuts will likely affect more than 20,000 employees in that region.

Dutch shipbuilder Da Hoop is conducting the world’s first remotely-operated sea trials with the testing of the Silver Origin, a new expedition cruise ship for Silversea Cruises. A team in Russia put the vessel through its paces off the coast of Goeree-Overflakkee from over 1,100 miles away, carrying out the first remote dynamic positioning acceptance trials. The trials involved the Silver Origin’s ability to remain within 10cm of a fixed point without dropping anchor, allowing the system to be remotely tuned and calibrated.

Danish transport companies - Copenhagen Airports, A.P. Moller – Maersk, DSV Panalpina, DFDS, SAS and Ørsted - have joined forces on an ambitious project to develop an industrial-scale production facility for sustainable fuels for road, maritime and air transport in the Copenhagen area. The group is working towards a hydrogen and e-fuel production facility that could be open as soon as 2023. Once fully scaled-up by 2030, the project could deliver more than 250,000 tonnes of sustainable fuel for busses, trucks, maritime vessels, and airplanes each year. Production would potentially be based on a total capacity of 1.3 gigawatts, which would likely make it one of the world’s largest facilities of its kind and reduce annual carbon emissions by 850,000 tonnes.

The European Commission has published the first annual report on CO2 emissions from maritime transport. The report analyses the CO2 emissions and energy efficiency information of all the ships over 5,000 gross tonnage, which performed maritime transport activities related to the European Economic Area (EEA) in 2018. Emissions reported by 11,600 ships have added up to over 138 million tonnes of CO2 emissions in that year, representing 3.7% of total EU CO2 emissions according to the European Environment Agency’s greenhouse gas emissions data. The report shows that around two-thirds of the reported CO2 emissions are related to voyages to or from a port outside the EEA. Voyages inside the EEA represented 32% of total CO2 emissions, and emissions from ships in EEA ports stood for 6% of total emissions. Read the full report here: https://ec.europa.eu/clima/sites/clima/files/transport/shipping/docs/swd_2020_82_en.pdf

The Mission to Seafarers has announced the appointment of two new Vice-Presidents: Esben Poulsson, Chairman of the International Chamber of Shipping and Chairman of Enesel Pte. Ltd, and Dr Grahaeme Henderson, Vice President, Shell Shipping & Maritime. During this period of considerable change and challenge for seafarers, these appointments come at a significant moment. Drawing upon Esben and Grahaeme’s expertise and experience within the shipping industry will be deeply significant in providing high level support to the Mission.