PierPass, a non-profit company that seeks to create greater port efficiency and sustainability, and the West Coast Marine Terminal Operator Agreement (WCMTOA) have announced an increase to the Traffic Mitigation Fee (TMF) at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The modified TMF will go into effect on August 1, 2017 and will reflect […]

COSCO Shipping has paired with Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG) in a consolidated effort to purchase Orient Overseas International Ltd. (OOIL), the holding company overseeing Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL). The proposed deal would pay OOIL $10.07 per share, which equates to roughly $6.3 billion. If OOIL accepts the offer then COSCO would assume a […]

In its latest press release, Maersk announced that it is nearly recovered from the cyber-attack that left the company’s IT systems in disarray earlier this week. Certain business units and processes are still not fully operational. Here is an outline of the current status: Bookings Placed Before and After Attack – Every booking that was […]

Though numerous Maersk systems remain offline as a result of Tuesday’s cyber-attack, the company is now accepting bookings from customers who utilize the INTTRA system. Bookings made on INTTRA are likely to take longer than normal to process, but the system is operational. Maersk’s e-mail and communication platforms remain offline, so customers needing to contact […]

Maersk and APM Terminal operations remain in a critical state as a result of cyber-attack Petya, the virus that has halted operations at nearly ten multinational corporations. In their latest press release, Maersk outlined the following points: Multiple Maersk IT systems remain powered down in an effort to further secure data. As a result of […]

Maersk and its associated APM Terminals are the latest victims of the Petya Virus, a cyber-attack that commenced at daybreak Tuesday, June 27th in the Ukraine and Russia. The virus has already disrupted the operations of six multinational companies and has led Maersk to powering off its internal systems to ensure data integrity. Maersk’s booking […]

Japan’s three major shipping lines announced plans to merge into a single, consolidated joint venture company; the timing, however, remains in question. “K” Line, MOL, and NYK Lines intended to establish the Ocean Network Express (ONE) by April of 2018. However, U.S. ‘gun jumping’ laws may force a much sooner launch. Earlier this month, the […]

Hapag-Lloyd (Hapag) and United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) have agreed to the terms of a merger that is expected to be completed by the end of the 3rd quarter. The merger will combine the 118 services of Hapag and the 45 services of UASC, equating to 163 services that are capable of moving over 10 […]

Due to blizzard conditions forecast to affect our region, all terminals at the Port of New York and New Jersey will be closed on March 14, 2017.  The port’s Winter Weather Plan will be in effect. The following Port of Philadelphia terminals will be CLOSED today, Tuesday, March 14, 2017: Packer Avenue Marine Terminal Tioga […]

The Journal of Commerce’s 17th Annual Trans-Pacific Maritime (TPM) Conference opening session tensed as Harold Daggett, the International Longshoreman’s Association president, strongly urged its members “not to engage in any work stoppage or any other violations of our current master contract.”  The active master contract contains a no-strike clause to prevent work stoppages that could […]

This afternoon, Shapiro received notice that Amazon fulfillment has begun rejecting new FBA Seller inventory from its fulfillment program.  The message advised Sellers that Amazon will be implementing restrictions “to ensure we have the capacity necessary to receive, store inventory, and ship to customers quickly.” If you require additional information about alternative fulfillment warehousing, please […]

Hanjin Shipping lines is now facing a new challenge as it continues operations of loaded vessels en route to final destination. Although it seemed the issue of stranded Hanjin ships and cargo may be tapering to an end with the release of funds to pay terminal handling and unloading fees, a new problem has arisen […]

Scenario 1: Vessel Diverted to Foreign Port and Discharged: A Hanjin vessel does not arrive in the intended U.S. port and diverts to a foreign port to discharge freight. The manifest and Importer Security Filing (ISF) must be deleted. All bills of lading need to be deleted (not cancelled) Entries and entry summaries need to […]

The world’s seventh-largest container line, Hanjin Shipping, sent shockwaves throughout the industry as it filed for and was placed under court protection on Wednesday, August 31.   After a liquidity plan fell short and was rejected by the Korea Development Bank, Hanjin applied for receivership, which, once granted, will allow the company to ‘wind down’ under […]

Recent news out of South Korea suggests that Hanjin Shipping Company has lost the support of its creditor banks and may be headed for bankruptcy. The news, as reported by the Journal of Commerce, has prompted the Korean Exchange to halt trading in Hanjin shares as it looks for further clarification from the Hanjin Group. […]

On August 5th, the U.S. was added to the Chinese government’s list of Zika infected countries as a result of the localized outbreak in South Florida. The news of the inclusion of the U.S. on this list has been followed by a significant amount of confusion and vagueness concerning what the effects that this news […]

As we approach the July 1st implementation date for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention Amendments, Shapiro wants to remind our valued export customers of the upcoming changes to the export process, particularly in regards to the determination of the Verified Gross Mass, or VGM. On July 1st, the VGM will need to be […]

While U.S. exporters have voiced serious concerns over the feasibility of complying with the SOLAS Verified Gross Mass (VGM) mandate by the implementation deadline, it has now been revealed that the Coast Guard could choose to delay implementation of the mandate for up to a year provided the delay is announced prior to the July […]

A settlement was reached by the International Longshoreman’s Association and the New York Stevedores Association at 7 pm on January 29th. As a result of the quick settlement, the New York and New Jersey Ports will resume normal operations on Monday, February 1st, 2016.

As of 10:53 this morning, longshoremen walked off the job at New York and New Jersey Ports due to an ongoing labor dispute. As a result, port officials are not allowing any new trucks to enter the New York and New Jersey ports. The Port Authority is doing everything in its power to resume port […]