Vessels are back in Baltimore! The Port of Baltimore is open for business for nearly all vessel sizes. There is a 45 foot channel open now with 42 feet of draft. All but the largest containerships transiting the Panama Canal can call the port.

Last week the Atlantic Sun (Atlantic Container Line) discharged and loaded RO/RO and mafi cargo in Baltimore. MSC had a vessel in Baltimore as well. Ocean carriers in most trade lanes are accepting bookings to/from Baltimore. RO/RO carriers like Wallenius Wilhelmsen and Hoegh Lines are accepting bookings. Bahri has also confirmed their ship will arrive in Baltimore later this month.

The main exception are for the carriers from Asia requiring the full opening of the 50 foot federal channel. It’s expected to be open at the end of May. For now Zim Lines and MSC are taking bookings from Asia to Baltimore. Very soon Evergreen and Maersk will begin accepting bookings to Baltimore from Asia. We think as soon as the 50 foot channel is officially open they will start taking bookings.

Longshoreman that have been idled for nearly 7 weeks are slowly seeing work return to the terminals. They have had a tough time while the port was closed.

The Dali will be refloated early Monday morning and then brought over to Seagirt Terminal for further examination and assessment of the damage to the ship. The hope is that repairs can be made to enable the Dali to set sail to a place where final repairs can be made on the ship. There is going to be a lot of litigation that will last for years.

The Port of Norfolk is still overwhelmed with diverted containers and breakbulk/mafi cargo. Appointments to pick up breakbulk/mafi cargo are sometimes taking 14-21 days to confirm a pick up date. Appointments cannot be made until the shipment is fully released and available at the terminal. With the opening of The Port of Baltimore the hope is that less cargo will divert to Norfolk and they can process the cargo that is delayed down there. The situation there is very difficult.

New York is still doing well for containers diverted there. Breakbulk/mafi cargo arriving at Faps Terminal are still seeing pick up delays with long waiting time for drivers to get loaded.

The Port of Baltimore has a resilient community that worked so hard to get the port back open so quickly. The federal, state and local governments were on the same page in the effort to get the Port of Baltimore open. The Unified Command Team has done amazing work. A big thanks to all members of that team.

We are grateful to all the people involved with the efforts to full open The Port of Baltimore to all vessels. We are close to being fully operational. It’s going to happen very soon. Baltimore is ready to accept all shipments!

Let us know if you have any questions or concerns.

Jim Shapiro and the entire Thunderbolt Team.

There has been substantial progress in the efforts to reopen the port and allow ships to enter and exit the marine terminals.
A 38-foot channel (Fort McHenry Limited Access Channel) is now open and will be deep enough to allow most of the vessels that have been stuck in Baltimore to leave. The channel will be open from April 25 – April 29th and then it will close until May 10th to allow for further salvage operations to be able to refloat and move the Dali out of the way. Weather could impact the opening but we are hoping it will not. There are strict conditions for vessels to pass through the channel.

There were 11 vessels that were not able to leave the port. It’s hopeful that all but 2 vessels will be able to depart. The port is expecting some vessels to arrive during this 4-day period to discharge breakbulk cargo.

Atlantic Container Line (ACL) has announced that they are accepting bookings to/from Baltimore with the hope that the Atlantic Sun sailing from Hamburg on April 24th, Antwerp on April 26th and Liverpool on April 30th will arrive in Baltimore on May 11th to discharge cargo and to load export cargo. If the channel is not available at that time, then they would divert to another port. The hope is that this 38-foot channel will enable ACL to call Baltimore every week. We are hopeful that other shipping lines will be able to bring their ships to Baltimore.

Larger container carriers are still not accepting any bookings to or from Baltimore. The container carriers that require 50-foot depth are not confirming when they will come back to Baltimore. The goal is to have the 50-foot channel available by the end of May. Hopefully these carriers will accept bookings to Baltimore during May based on the transit time and the arrival being in early June. Hard to say yet what they will do.

The Port of Norfolk is overwhelmed with containers and breakbulk/mafi cargo. Appointments to pick up breakbulk/mafi cargo are taking 7-10 days to confirm a pick-up date. Appointments cannot be made until the shipment is fully released and available at the terminal. It’s a very difficult and costly situation.

Container truck capacity is very limited right now with no end in sight. This is for containers that were diverted from Baltimore to Norfolk. The truck infrastructure isn’t there. If special equipment is shipped to Norfolk, it is not likely they can be picked up inside the free time which is only 2 days for most ocean carriers.

New York appears to be doing well for containers diverted there. Breakbulk/mafi cargo arriving at Faps Terminal are seeing pick up delays with long waiting time for drivers to get loaded. It is better than Norfolk however local crane and loading charges are higher in New York.

The clearing of the channel has begun. The containers are unloaded from the Dalia using a floating crane. Huge crane ships are standing by in Baltimore to direct the work.

It was announced this week that a 35-foot channel will be available by the end of April. This would allow ships of a certain size to call at the terminals in the Port of Baltimore. However, the largest container ships require a draft of 50 feet and the goal is to achieve this by the end of May.

RO/RO ships may be able to transit as long as they are not too heavily loaded.

Shipping companies are still not accepting bookings to or from Baltimore until the port is officially open. Trucking capacity in Norfolk is becoming very tight for containers that need to be trucked to Baltimore. Breakbulk/Mafi freight is suffering from delays in loading in Norfolk as appointments at the terminal are not readily available.

The port of New York is apparently coping with the additional container volume with minimal delay.  This could change if more ships are diverted there. Both New York and Norfolk could start experiencing congestion surcharges in the near future.

The warehouses in Norfolk, where containers are unloaded, have reached their capacity limits. We are in close contact with our partners there.  There does not seem to be the same capacity problem in New York. But that can change at any time.

Efforts are currently underway to re-float the Dalia vessel, which struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing its collapse and closure of the shipping channel. The company “Resolve Marine”, known for its work in major salvage operations, is mobilizing to remove the ship.

Re-opening the Port of Baltimore is a top priority for local, state, and federal authorities due to its critical role in the economy. Plans are under way to remove debris blocking the shipping channel and it is estimated that this will take at least a month.

Despite the closure, import shipments can be picked up, but exports are halted. Ocean carriers are diverting cargo to other ports, with New York receiving the largest share. Trucking capacity is secured to handle diverted containers.

Our team remains committed to managing shipments affected by the closure.

The Francis Scott Key Bridge that spans the Patapsco River collapsed overnight after being struck by a containership operated by Maersk Line. The collapse occurred after the container ship “Dali” lost power early Tuesday and crashed into the bridge, sending people and vehicles into the frigid Patapsco River.

Tragically there were cars and workers on the bridge at the time of the accident. Rescuers are working diligently to find anyone that is in the water.

Right now, State and Federal officials are focused on search and rescue. At this time, The Port of Baltimore is closed to marine traffic. The shipping channel is completely blocked. The marine terminals are currently open on the land side and trucks are being processed in and out of the terminal.

We are monitoring the situation closely. Shipments on the water will be diverted by the steamship lines. We anticipate that New York, Philadelphia, and Norfolk will be the ports where most Baltimore destined container cargo will go. The ocean carriers will make the final decision on where they will discharge Baltimore destined containers.

All export shipments will be rerouted to other ports.

With the recent security incidents in mind, Hapag-Llyod has decided to continue to avoid the Red Sea route in the interest of the safety of our crew and their cargo. They have updated their schedules to reflect the Cape of Good Hope transit at the last port of departure in the region. This will allow Hapag to make the most accurate decisions based on the latest information.

Hapag will introduce a shuttle service connecting Red Sea cargo via Jeddah, SA. This will enable them to connect the Red Sea market with Europe, North Americ and Latin America.

Tanger, MA – Damietta, EG – Jeddah, SA – Tanger, MA

• A feeder service has been arranged whereby Aqaba, JO and Port Sudan, SD are routed via Jeddah, SA.
• They plan to maintain a 10-day frequency for this service.

We understand that this doesn’t cover all Red Sea cargo, so we will continue to provide updates as we come up with more solutions.
We will keep you informed of any developments and changes as they occur.

Starting in 2024, all large vessels berthed on European shores will be subject to the ETS (carbon tax). The estimated carbon tax rates are attached (ETS EUROPE & ETS MEDITERRANEAN).

https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/eu-strikes-deal-make-ships-pay-their-carbon-emissions-2022-11-30/

This year, the Panama Canal faces a more intense dry season than usual.

While the dry season typically lasts from December to May, this time the reduced capacity due to the dry spell will force ships traveling between the Asia-Pacific and the U.S. East Coast to detour via the Suez Canal.

As mentioned earlier, when the Suez Canal is not feasible, the Cape of Good Hope becomes the last lifeline between the Asia-Pacific and the U.S. East Coast.

The journey to the U.S. East Coast is also significantly longer than before. Although the nature of natural disasters suggests a predictable recovery time for capacity, the instability will not be as pronounced as the impact on the Europe route. Still, attention should be paid to the instability of schedules and prices due to the short-term decline in capacity.

Panama dry season report:
https://fortune.com/2023/12/04/panama-canal-dry-backed-up-brutal-drought-shippers-paying-4m-jump-queue/

We believe that since December 14, you have been receiving news about the Houthi movement in Yemen attacking unspecified commercial ships.
Following this, major shipping companies announced the suspension of operations in the Suez Canal.
Currently, shipping companies estimate an increase of 8 to 14 days in the transit time from Asia to Europe and the Mediterranean.

Despite Maersk’s announcement three days ago (25/12/2023) that they would respond to the U.S. Department of Defense’s Prosperity Guardian plan to resume Suez Canal shipping operations, major shipping companies still have no plans to resume operations. According to the information I have, including confirmation from myself, MSK (Maersk) is still primarily using the Cape of Good Hope route. Reservations for the Europe route are fully booked until the end of January 2024, and until operations resume, the situation will likely be characterized by no availability at reservation times.

Short-term impact: Scarcity of available slots on the Europe route.

Long-term impact: Congestion on the Europe route affecting transoceanic routes, leading to container shortages spreading to transoceanic routes and compressing shipping supply in the Asia-Pacific region.

First Houthi attack exposure:

https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/liberian-flagged-cargo-ship-hit-projectile-rebel-controlled-105682537

MSK claims to resume Suez Canal route:

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3246186/israel-gaza-war-maersk-resume-red-sea-shipping-operations-under-us-led-military-protection-against

Shipping costs rise by nearly 50% in a week and could go up further amid Red Sea attacks

https://news.sky.com/story/shipping-costs-rise-by-nearly-50-in-a-week-amid-red-sea-attacks-13034741

In the light of the ongoing critical situation in the Southern Red Sea carriers are avoiding passage through the Red Sea and Suez Canal, instead routing vessels around Cape of Good Hope.

The change in routing leads to additional costs as announced by various carriers (such as Contingency Surcharge, Contingency Adjustment Contribution, Operational Recovery Surcharge, Emergency Peak Season Surcharge etc).

According to chapter7 of the SACO Shipping Line B/L terms and conditions, these surcharges will apply latest for departures from ETS 01.01.2024, for some lanes application date was 20.12.2023 including floating cargo.

Final amounts will be published as soon as possible.
While we are closely monitoring the situation and committed to providing timely updates as new information emerges, we advise shippers to expect potential delays and further disruptions as the situation evolves.