Economic slowdown casts a long shadow

Maersk Line Limited will revise its safety reporting policies and compensate a seaman terminated for reporting safety concerns to USCG without prior notice to the company.

The Port of Salalah has taken delivery of the first four cranes in a series of 10 super-post panamax STS cranes being manufactured by ZPMC. The remaining cranes will arrive at Oman’s largest container port in Q2 2024 with all units fully commissioned in the third quarter of the year.

Kalmar, which is part of Finland’s Cargotec group is to supply Hutchison Ports ECT Rotterdam with two fully electric and eight hybrid straddle carriers. The machines will be used in the company’s ECT Delta terminal and be delivered by the end of this year.

The Biden administration has announced four key actions designed to strengthen maritime cybersecurity and support domestic crane production. These will make it harder for ZPMC to build and deliver cranes to the US market, pushing up crane prices in the process.

As part of an Executive Order aimed at strengthening maritime cyber-security, the Biden Administration plans to invest over US$20B over the next five years in port infrastructure including funds for recreating the domestic port crane industry

The attack on the UK-registered and Belize-flagged general cargo ship RUBYMAR on 18 February reveals that the crisis in the Red Sea is far from being resolved and that the role of the naval protection force appears limited.