Changes come to the Med as role changes from pitstop to hub
of western world

FROM Roman times when it was centre of trade, to its recent role as a pit stop on the way somewhere else, the Mediterranean now stands on the brink of becoming the hub of the western world.
That's because the Med's role has expanded, and is now a major generator of the Asia-east coast North and South American trade through "wayporting" en route to northern Europe, as well as feedering to and from West Africa, where expotential trade growth is not only possible, but increasingly likely.
Back up evidence is found in this year's capacity allocation of the big shipping alliances. Most of the overall capacity increases come from the Far East-Mediterranean trade, where the combined capacity of Maersk and the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) in their 2M network and that of Ocean Three carriers, CMA CGM, China Shipping and UASC, has increased 19 per cent from what it was.  >More
 

Legal liabilities, moral hazards mount crossing the Med
today, not to mention staying within the law

SPEAKING at a high-level Dialogue on Protection at Sea, held by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva, the leader of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) called on governments to address the growing refugee and migrant crisis in the Mediterranean.
"The shipping industry fully accepts its humanitarian obligation to assist anyone at sea whose vessel is in distress. But the situation in the Mediterranean has been spiralling out of control, and may well get worse after the end of winter weather as thousands more people may attempt to get to Europe from North Africa by sea," said ICS Secretary General Peter Hinchliffe.
ICS, the global trade association for shipowners, says the crisis has already required over 600 merchant ships to rescue tens of thousands of migrants during the past 12 months, as people attempt to get to Europe in dilapidated craft that are unfit for purpose, not seaworthy, and often grossly overloaded.  >More
 

Royal HaskoningDHV master plan delivers for Port of Venice
extension presented

THE final layout of the new Port of Venice onshore-offshore container terminal was presented at a recent London briefing, showing how Italy's city of canals can accommodate mega ships from a distance without marring its beauty.
Dutch engineers from the Royal HaskoningDHV consultancy have completed the final plan of the new Port of Venice onshore offshore container terminal, the company announced.
This video shows how it will work with semi-submersible vessels connecting the Venice offshore port to the onshore terminal >More
 

Southern exposure: Understanding the breadth and depth of
intra-Mediterranean trades

DUTCH shipping consultancy Dynamar forecasts the 2015 intra-Mediterranean container volumes will increase 4.6 per cent year on year to 15.6 million TEU, and then rise 9.6 per cent to 17.1 million TEU by 2017.
Intra-Mediterranean (2014) Container Trades involve 170 services operated by 40 different shipping companies deploying 275 ships in the 400 to 3,000-TEU range.
Through nearly 100 ports in 24 countries, ships and the ports serve 700 million people in frequencies of between twice and many times per month, carrying an average of 275,000 laden TEU. >More