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Freightos appoints Eldad as chief financial officer

Global freight pricing, booking and procurement platform, Freightos has appointed Yaron Eldad as chief financial officer. Eldad, whose appointment is effective 1 September, brings more than 25 years of chief financial officer and senior financial leadership experience across technology and life sciences, with particular experience in financial and operational management, business transformation, international growth and public-company finance. Most recently, Eldad served as chief financial officer of computational chemistry company, Evogene, where he led the finance organisation across the group and its subsidiaries and oversaw multiple rounds of financing, merger and acquisition (M&A) activity and significant organisational restructuring. Earlier, as chief financial officer of technology company e-SIM, he helped scale the business internationally, led its IPO and its finance function throughout its years as a Nasdaq-listed company. He also co-founded Yamba Group, gaining first-hand experience building and scaling an international business. "We're pleased to welcome Yaron to Freightos as our Chief Financial Officer," said Pablo Pinillos, chief executive of Freightos. "Yaron brings extensive public-company financial leadership experience, together with strong operational discipline and strategic business judgement. His appointment strengthens our leadership as we continue to focus on execution, profitability, and scalable growth. I look forward to working closely with him as we execute on Freightos' strategy." "Freightos has built a unique position at the intersection of technology, data, and global freight, in an industry with significant opportunity for continued digitalization," added Eldad. "I am excited to join Pablo and the Freightos team and look forward to helping translate that opportunity into sustainable financial performance, while supporting the investments and operational excellence needed to scale the business over time."

Asia-USWC rates surge as shippers look to beat Panama Canal restrictions

Asia-US west coast rates are surging at an even faster pace this week, as carriers look to cash in ahead of concerns around the impact of vessel reductions through the Panama Canal. However, it seems the speed of decline of Asia-North Europe rates has been arrested. According to Drewry's World Container Index (WCI), Shanghai-Los Angeles and Shanghai-New York spots climbed 9% week on week, to $6,802 and $9,507 per 40ft comparing favourably with the 6% growth rate recorded by LA last week and only a percentage point down on New York's. Drewry noted: "Transpacific trade remains resilient, while carriers continue to manage supply through blanked sailings and capacity reductions. According to Drewry's Container Capacity Insight, seven blanked sailings have been announced for the next week. "Additionally, capacity in August declined 9% month of month on Asia-US east coast and fell 0.4% month on month on Asia-US west coast, further tightening space availability." It added: "Drewry expects freight rates to remain stable next week, due to tightened capacity." Freightos' Baltic Index confirmed a similar growth rate for the Asia-USWC trades, with a 9% week-on-week uptick to $7,422 per 40ft, but contended that the pace of growth on Asia-USEC trades had slowed to just 3%, at $9,422 per 40ft. According to Linerlytica, the picture was somewhat different, as it predicted the decision of the Panama Canal authority (ACP) to impose further restrictions on vessel transits could take Asia-USEC spots close to $11,000 per 40ft. ACP said that, from 3 September, the number of daily slots at its Neopanamax locks would be adjusted to nine, and at the Panamax locks slots, reduced to 25, with a further reduction, to 23, on 15 September. This is from a normal daily average of 34. It said: "Despite the arrival of the rainy season in Panama and the water-saving measures implemented by the Panama Canal to mitigate the adverse effects of the El Niño event, current watershed conditions require additional action to support the long-term sustainability of transit operations." ACP is also rejigging its daily auction system by splitting vessels into four commodity groups, to "promote a more equitable allocation process that better reflects market composition". They are: LNG and LPG vessels; dry bulk and general cargo vessels; containerships, vehicle carriers, ro-ro and refrigerated vessels; and chemical, crude and product tankers. This week, The Loadstar reported that the situation at the mouth of the canal had got to such a point that one carrier had paid $4.6m to land an auction slot, way up on the daily post-Iran war average of $385,000 and out of sight of the pre-war $140,000 average. One source told The Loadstar congestion was building to the point where delays of "up to 10 days" could be expected on eastbound transits, with "at least" 112 vessels waiting to enter the canal, and the situation for transits to the US west coast transits set to worsen in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, on European trades, the rate situation is notably less rosy, the WCI recording a 1% week-on-week drop for its Shanghai-Rotterdam leg, now at $4,401 per 40ft, and a downturn of 2% for Shanghai-Genoa, which is now trading at $4,955 per 40ft. Linerlytica noted this was the sixth consecutive weekly fall for European trades, with Vespucci Maritime CEO Lars Jensen pointing out: "Asia-North Europe has dropped $522 per 40ft since the peak six weeks ago, and Asia-Mediterranean is also down, $1,508".

Move to greener shipping gathers pace, with LNG the favourite new fuel

The shipping industry's shift towards alternative fuels is accelerating, but debate over how it should be regulated is intensifying as the International Maritime Organization (IMO) considers its Net-Zero Framework. Laura DiBella, chair of the US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), warned yesterday that the IMO framework in its current form risked restricting the fuel choices available. "This initiative raises more questions than it answers and must be rethought before international acceptance and implementation," she said. "Specifically, any viable proposal must allow for the maximum range of alternate fuel sources, including LNG and bio-LNG." She argued that framework's fundamental weakness was its attempt to move shipping from the global petroleum system by regulation rather than market forces, and that the existing system was resilient because of its broad network of suppliers, refineries, and distribution channels. Ms DiBella warned that "artificially limiting alternative fuels" could undermine the framework's effectiveness, while fuel diversity did not necessarily guarantee availability, stability, or reliability. "In my view, efforts toward emissions reductions must be linked explicitly to demonstrated viability and realistic availability of alternative fuels, not a pre-determined, rigid implementation date or limited fuel options," she explained. Ms DiBella also backed LNG and bio-LNG, arguing that these fuels could "realistically supply over 60% of global maritime fuel by 2050". She said bio-LNG could benefit from the existing LNG infrastructure and growing fleet of LNG-fuelled vessels while providing a route to lower emissions without requiring an entirely new fuel ecosystem. But despite the IMO's concerns, alternative-fuel vessels are increasingly becoming a significant part of the container fleet. Jonathan Roach, container market analyst at Braemar, said in a recent analysis: "The container shipping industry's journey towards alternative fuels is no longer a distant ambition; it is becoming a measurable reality." Braemar data showed LNG as the dominant transition fuel, while the growing number of methanol-powered ships showed carriers were increasingly prepared to pursue multiple fuel pathways. Braemar estimated that, by 2030, alternative-fuel ships would account for more than 30% of global container fleet capacity, despite representing less than 14% of vessels by number, indicating that the transition was particularly pronounced among larger vessels. Around 65% of the current huge containership orderbook, in terms of teu capacity, will be fitted with alternative-fuel main engines. And of the alternative-fuel ships on order, about 90% of capacity is concentrated in vessels of 10,000 teu and above. Mr Roach said this could increasingly become a commercial differentiator, as major shippers demand lower-emission transport options from their carrier partners. He also noted that supporting infrastructure was also expanding and, as of this month, Braemar estimated 46 LNG-bunker barges and vessels were in service, with 43 on order. More than half the operating fleet is deployed in Europe, almost a third in Asia, and 17% in the Americas and Caribbean. "Ultimately, the alternative fuel transition is becoming less a question of environmental policy and more a question of competitive positioning," Mr Roach said. "The question is no longer whether alternative fuels will gain market share, but how quickly adoption will occur and whether supporting infrastructure can keep pace with an ambitious fleet renewal cycle."