THERE'S only a week to go until Easter and school holidays here in Perth. After the week we’ve just had, it feels a long way off.
Up north, the WA coastline is bracing for Tropical Cyclone Narelle. Pilbara Ports, Ashburton, Cape Preston West, Dampier and Varanus Island, are now closed, while Port Hedland remains open for now (all at time of writing).
Further south, the Port of Geraldton is being cleared, and Fremantle Ports have moved into preparation mode ahead of the weather system's arrival.
Globally, things are just as unsettled.
The partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz is continuing to rattle markets.
Bunker fuel prices have already surged to around double late February levels, and with roughly 20% of the world’s crude moving through that corridor, supply, and not just price, is becoming a real concern.
There’s also talk out of Iran of introducing transit fees for vessels using the Strait, while renewed threats from Houthi forces raise the risk of further disruption across key shipping lanes.
Unsurprisingly, this is now feeding directly into container markets. Freight rates have pushed higher for a fourth consecutive week, with Drewry’s World Container Index up another 5%.
So, what else is happening out there?
💠 APM Terminals takes 49% stake in Hai Phong terminal
💠MSC acquires 50% stake in Sinokor Maritime
💠Dolly Parton launches US truck stop venture
💠Amazon overtakes USPS as largest parcel carrier
💠APM Terminals invests in Phase III expansion at Lázaro Cárdenas
💠Hellmann expands Americas forwarding network
💠MEDLOG & CMLOG grow cold chain footprint in China
💠Maersk opens $150m logistics hub in Singapore
💠US calls to scrap IMO Net Zero Framework
💠ONE takes stake in Korean automated terminal
💠ICTSI exits Yantai port JV
💠COSCO resumes Gulf bookings
💠Hapag-Lloyd releases 2025 annual report
(I think that the Dolly Parton headline is my favourite!)
I've disappointed myself this week, I've been too caught up that I haven’t even managed the 600m walk down the road to take some photos. There's even two "new to Fremantle" vessels alongside. I’ll make up for it next week, promise!
Instead, today I'll throwback to the Kota Lambai and her visit back in October. This vessel is 260m LOA and 32m wide, she’s a regular on PIL’s AA2 service, running between Singapore, Malaysia and (most) major Australian ports.
Have a great weekend everyone!