Container Shipping Quarterly

Special Report phase-out of vessel plans,” a factor that was being exacerbated by late vessel arrivals from delays in previous ports.

Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd are phasing in Gemini Cooperation services, with the new network expected to be fully deployed by the end of the second quarter. Likewise, Mediterranean Shipping Co.( MSC) is transitioning to a standalone network after the breakup of its 2M Alliance with Maersk, while the Premier Alliance is adjusting its services following Hapag-Lloyd’ s departure.

Carrier executives have warned customers that operational disruptions to port schedules will be experienced, with some old and new services running in parallel. The new networks will require two full cycles from Asia to Europe and back to Asia before they will be fully rolled out.

Maersk also reported delays in Bremerhaven, where several services were arriving late due to bad weather en route to the German port. In Rotterdam, the carrier said the Hutchinson Ports Delta II terminal was back to full productivity after a month of slowdowns following a tentative agreement between the company and dockworkers, but a backlog of inland cargo was still being cleared.

South Korean carrier HMM warned customers it was taking an average of three days to secure a berth at Hamburg that was experiencing a strike by boat pilots, while berth waiting times at Le Havre were up to 5.7 days because of recurring strikes in the French hub.

French unions held four-hour stoppages in Le Havre on eight separate days in March, in addition to a three-day strike March 18 – 20. Significant disruption is already being experienced from the rolling industrial action, and the full-day strikes brought container operations in France to a standstill mid-March.

Spillover effects of the Le Havre strike affect Rotterdam, according to HMM, which said the average berth waiting time at Europe’ s largest container port was 5.6 days.

Kuehne + Nagel’ s SeaExplorer visibility platform reported significant bottlenecks at Rotterdam, Hamburg, Antwerp and Le Havre, with container yards full and most berths fully occupied.

Although SeaExplorer put the average waiting time at Hamburg at 1.25 days, it said the port was experiencing“ heavily disrupted operations.” The bottlenecks saw

Shipper‘ bill of rights’ takes aim at ocean carrier accountability, transparency

OSBOR contains 14 shipper“ rights” pertaining to carrier practices from pricing to contract compliance. Shutterstock. com

By Laura Robb

The National Industrial Transportation League( NITL) has unveiled a proposed“ bill of rights” for US shippers that aims to increase ocean carrier transparency and accountability.

The so-called Ocean Shipper Bill of Rights( OSBOR) was distributed by the NITL at a March 5 meeting of the National Shipper Advisory Committee( NSAC) held at the conclusion of the Journal of Commerce’ s TPM25 conference in Long Beach. NSAC is the importer-exporter group established by Congress to advise the US Federal Maritime Commission( FMC).

OSBOR, which aims to benefit small and medium-sized shippers, consists of 14 key“ rights” for shippers built around elements such as pricing, equipment availability, documentation accuracy, claims resolution and overall contract compliance by ocean carriers.

The NITL said the document is intended to eliminate ambiguity around pricing structures, delivery times and other shipment details. It would ensure shippers and carriers“ benefit from clearer, more equitable practices, fostering better collaboration and efficiency within the industry,” the NITL said in a statement.

The group said OSBOR would help small and medium-sized shippers achieve better bargaining power,“ enabling them to compete on more equal footing with larger freight carriers.” Still, container lines argue that shippers don’ t keep up their end of the deal by not delivering the cargo as scheduled and providing fuzzy forecasts.

It’ s unclear whether the NITL will push for legislation in Washington that would mandate OSBOR be included in ocean freight contracts or whether it will simply recommend that shippers try to insert some or all the points in their individual contracts with carriers.

“ It’ s not too much to ask, but changing the boiler plate in service contracts [ with carriers ] is darn near

26 Journal of Commerce | April 7, 2025 www. joc. com