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Hong Kong bets on green & digital ports - here's why it needs more

Hong Kong's government unveiled its First Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development on Wednesday, September 16, pairing it with the 2026 Policy Address to lay out a coordinated maritime strategy running through 2030. The plan commits the city to a smart and green transformation of the Kwai Tsing Container Terminals, a revamped dual ship registration regime, and a push into marine insurance and ship finance under a "Finance Plus Shipping" banner. For shippers and carriers deciding ...

General Average declared on CMA CGM Petra as Maersk wins $13m fire case

CMA CGM yesterday declared General Average on the 8,000 teu CMA CGM Petra, which suffered a fire in one of its containers on 23 August, while the vessel was en route from Singapore to Colombo. The fire was initially contained by the crew, with no injuries reported, and was later assisted by professional salvors with the firefighting and salvage operations while the vessel was at anchor near Penang. It was subsequently towed to Port Klang, where some 450 containers were unloaded for inspection. The 2024-built vessel is owned and operated by the French carrier, which yesterday declared General Average "as a consequence of the extraordinary costs incurred for the safety of the common maritime adventure". As a result "General Average security will be required from all Cargo Interests prior to the delivery of their cargo," said cargo claims consultancy W K Webster, which is assisting in the security requirements for its clients. "We are liaising with the appointed Average Adjusters regarding the form and wording of the General Average securities required and a further update will follow shortly in this respect. "We are also arranging for a fire expert to attend the vessel to investigate the cause and origin of the fire," WK Webster added. Meanwhile, earlier this month the English Commercial Court settled a decade-old dispute between Maersk and Indian shipper Sree Rayalaseema Hi-Strength Hypo over a fire that broke out on the 8,400 teu Maersk Seoul on 19 July 2015 shortly after the vessel had departed Jebel Ali. This month the court awarded $13m to Maersk after establishing that the fire was caused by a consignment of calcium hypochlorite in a number of containers which although had been properly declared to Maersk, had been improperly packed within the containers themselves. "The applicable IMDG Code provisions required packages within containers to permit adequate air circulation throughout the cargo," said an analysis of the judgment by Clyde & Co lawyers. "Instead, the cartons containing the calcium hypochlorite had effectively been packed together as a block, restricting both air circulation and the dissipation of heat. "The expert evidence was that compliance with the IMDG Code requirement would have greatly reduced the risk of a runaway reaction and, more likely than not, would have prevented the casualty. "By failing to pack the calcium hypochlorite in accordance with the IMDG Code, Sree breached that warranty and became liable to indemnify Maersk for the resulting losses," they added. However, the court's judgment also noted that despite being aware of the containers' contents, Maersk's dangerous goods team had not checked that they were packed correctly before loading, and therefore the containers did not comply with parts of the carrier's acceptance policies - although this was not found to the cause of the casualty. "Maersk ultimately succeeded despite shortcomings in its own dangerous goods acceptance process. "A different evidential picture on causation, or a properly advanced contributory negligence case, could potentially have made those shortcomings considerably more important," the Clyde & Co briefing concludes.

Turkon and Arkas increase India-Mediterranean offering with Concor collaboration

Turkish carriers Turkon Line and Arkas Line, relative newcomers to the Indian trade landscape, are rapidly cementing their operations in the emerging market. A vessel-sharing agreement (VSA) between Turkon and Arkas, launched in early 2025 with regular sailings between West India and the Red Sea region, has now been upgraded with bigger tonnage, as the service appeal brightens. A brand new 4,000-teu LNG-fuelled vessel recently joined the weekly loop, enhancing loading capacity for both carriers out of India. The Kasif Kalkavan (pictured above), was added to Turkon's fleet in July, and is said to be the first domestically built LNG-powered dual-fuel containership. The latest tonnage phase-in follows Turkon adding a fifth 4,000-teu vessel into the joint service last October. Turkon has branded the service as Turkey-Red Sea-India (TRI), with Arkas operating it as India-Med Service (IMS). The VSA partners recently expanded the service coverage with a new call at Safaga port in Egypt. The updated rotation is Ambarli-Izmit-Aliaga-Mersin-Iskenderun-Safaga-Jeddah-Nhava Sheva-Mundra-Ambarli. Turkon is represented in India by third-party agent Abrao Group, while Arkas' local operations are handled by Mumbai-based Parekh Group. The niche regional carriers have already made significant inroads into the India-Mediterranean trade - a market that is traditionally controlled by the larger deepsea carriers - riding on aggressive sales and pricing strategies along with customised intermodal rail service support, especially for Indian reefer export cargo. The rail push included Arkas collaborating with state-owned intermodal operator Container Corporation of India (Concor) to offer specialised, double-stack block train services connecting major inland container depots, including Dadri near Delhi, to Nhava Sheva (JNPA) and Mundra ports. "The launch of the double stack reefer block train will deliver a game-changing advantage for cold chain logistics in India, offering customers enhanced efficiency, reduced transit times and an environmentally sustainable logistics solution," Arkas earlier said. However, industry updates suggest containerised trade out of Turkey is being plagued by growing equipment availability issues, seemingly due to carriers' strained inventory cycles in the wake of persistent service disruptions amid the Middle East geopolitical quagmire. Reflecting that bottleneck, MSC has just announced it will begin charging a $100 per container equipment repositioning surcharge (ERC) for trades across Turkish ports, effective 1 October. Container freight rates on the India-Med trade have been strong because of capacity pressures, as mainliners had suspended or curtailed Red Sea routings over operational safety and security risks. Surcharges continue to pour into Persian Gulf-related trades. The newest announcement comes from Hapag-Lloyd, seeking additional charges for offering an alternative solution for affected Aden-bound cargo currently in Jeddah port. The carrier said stranded containers would be transported from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to Aden, Yemen, via a third-party feeder service at an extra cost to customers. The surcharges range between $1,700 and $5,000 per container, varying in cargo/equipment types. You can contact the writer at [email protected]