Jim Wilson

Global shipments of air conditioners are increasing because of rising temperatures, government energy policies, and economic growth, according to new analysis from global shipping line, ONE. This surge is reshaping trade routes from manufacturing hubs in Asia to North America, the Middle East, and Europe. North America: Shipments to North America have grown at an...

Our friends across the Tasman at Shipping New Zealand have provided an update of commercial maritime / regulatory matters in New Zealand. A big thank you to Shipping New Zealand! You can visit their website here. Sinking Cruise Industry: NZ Cruise Industry seeks government intervention to turn around the failing sector (find out more). Shipping...

Patrick Terminals has announced new voluntary measures aimed at improving rail landside efficiency at its Sydney AutoRail terminal. The company will start publishing additional data, including rail window schedules, as well as cancellation and arrival metrics. It will also establish a Rail Landside Efficiency Group in Sydney from late 2025 to develop performance solutions and...

Sea-Flux, a New Zealand-based maritime technology company, has raised nearly NZD $3 million (about AUD$2.7 million)  in a seed funding round led by Punakaiki Fund, which now holds a 13% stake in the business. The company develops a cloud-based vessel management software that combines compliance, safety, maintenance, and crew management, with offline capabilities accessible across...

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has partnered with Yamaguchi Sangyo to recruit foreign workers for Japanese companies, starting with skilled professionals from Kenya. On 18 August, two Kenyans arrived in Japan under the program, working as a systems engineer and a generalist in recruitment and management planning. Yamaguchi Sangyo is a general trading company with a...

Svitzer’s Managing Director for Europe, Lise Demant, has resigned and will leave the company by the end of 2025. She has worked at Svitzer for nearly 13 years and with the A.P. Moller Group for 26 years. “After nearly 13 years at Svitzer and 26 years within the A.P. Moller Group, Lise has decided it...

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), TradeWaltz and Suzuki Motor Corporation have announced Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to cooperate on the automobile trade between India and Africa. The announcement was made at the TICAD 9 conference in Yokohama. The companies will work on improving trade operations, including reducing reliance on manual document processing and exploring digital solutions,...

CMA CGM Group will invest €200 million to expand and modernize the container terminal at Latakia Port in Syria. The upgrade aims to increase the port’s capacity to over 1 million TEUs annually and improve infrastructure to handle larger vessels with up to 16 metres’ draught. The investment includes digitalization of port operations, upgraded cargo-handling...

Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT), the Australian cargo handling operation of International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI), has signed a new enterprise agreement with local unions covering the entirety of its operations until March 2029. The agreement, which was secured without any disruption to operations, reflects the strong relationship between VICT and its workforce and provides...

A 51-year-old Queensland man was sentenced to 22 years in prison for trying to import 560kg of cocaine off WA’s coast. A 34-year-old accomplice was also hit with a 22 year sentence, with a 14-year non-parole period, for his role in the same plot. Police arrested both criminals after they tried to unload cocaine from...