It seems polluting gases come from every burned fuel. Now we find that LNG, a fuel that is reputedly cleaner than heavy diesel oil for ships, is likely to create ‘leaked methane’ around the cylinders, allowing it to escape to the open air.
Apparently there are two types of LNG engines: one with ‘tight’ cylinders, and one with ‘loose’ cylinders. The ones with loose cylinders are much cheaper to install, but also leak the methane most. It’s thought that carriers will tend to install the cheaper ones.
The saga of the Ever Given, stuck in the Suez Canal for days, goes on. It is sailing again with cargo, but can’t land everywhere, due to restrictions on its propulsion and speed. It is skipping Hamburg.
All this means that many shippers won’t get their cargo soon, despite having paid the general average fees for the disaster. And quite a few have not yet paid the fees.
Anyone who needs the cargo is out of luck till it is discharged and moved on through its supply chain.
I hope the shippers have found alternate ways to get replacement s to those who really needed it on time. But I doubt it.
Ever Given to miss Hamburg call on safety grounds
16 July 2021
Port Technology International Team Ports and Terminals, Shipping Lines
This article shows the extreme confusion generated by the extra charges and rapidly fluctuating shipping rates with ocean carriers. Everyone is annoyed to say the least. The essence of contracting is being disrupted by these surcharges. Brokers are caught in the middle.
As many ofthecharges are not realized till after the shipment, it is hard to know how they could possibly bill for them in advance or even give notice to shippers. The result is they always look bad to their customers, even if they have given a good effort to get a successful shipment for the cargo owner.
The FMC should not create more confusion and unintended consequences. I’m not a fan of brokers particularly– they are just one player in supply chains– but they have a useful role by securing capacity in advance and making it available to shippers. In fact, they secure a large portion of ocean carrier capacity themselves and resell it., they also play a role by making sure extra services, such as end point delivery, are also made available, when shippers would have more trouble handling the details working directly with carriers. We should not write rules that make it hard to keep the market functioning.
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John Gallagher, Washington Correspondent Follow on TwitterThursday, June 17, 2021
Supply Chain and Logistics 