The UK added 31 entries to the new round of sanctions list on October 1, including 8 LNG carriers and Novatek's Singapore chartering subsidiary; 3 new Arc7 ice-class ships were listed before their maiden voyage, showing that sanctions have shifted from the company level to "ship-by-ship precision strikes". Japan subsequently implemented an asset freeze on Sovcomflot series oil tankers and 33 entities. Arctic LNG 2 has exported approximately 950,000 tons this year, almost all of which were shipped to China.
The Dutch government has proposed a legal amendment to more effectively combat Russia's shadow fleet and tighten controls on its ships in Dutch ports and waters.
WCI fell 2% to US$4,351/FEU in the week of October 8: Shanghai-Los Angeles fell 3% to US$7,624, Shanghai-New York fell 2% to US$10,220, and Shanghai-Rotterdam fell 2% to US$3,337. Asia-Europe freight rates have fallen for 13 consecutive weeks. Drewry pointed out that "liner companies' faster return to the Suez route" is the biggest threat to the freight rate's decline; freight rates are expected to remain stable next week.
Three companies are planning to build 21 PCTCs with 11,000 parking spaces, with a total cost of about 2.5 billion US dollars (about 16.7 billion yuan): COSCO Shipping Special Shipping has up to 11 ships (3 ships have been signed by Xiamen Shipbuilding Industry, and the rest are planned to be undertaken by Guangzhou Shipbuilding International), BYD has 8 ships (Guangzhou Shipyard International, China Merchants Weihai, China Merchants Haimen subcontracted), SAIC Anji has launched international bidding for two LNG dual-fuel ships on September 23, and the first ship is required to be delivered no later than September 2029. Some orders are still in the intention/tendering stage.
According to data from Clarkson on October 7, global new ship orders in September were 202 ships/6.2 millionCGT; China undertook 165 ships/4.74 millionCGT, a share of 76%; South Korea took 24 ships/1.27 millionCGT, a share of 20.5% (a 127% month-on-month increase). From January to September, the global total was 70.71 millionCGT, a year-on-year increase of 57%, and China’s total was 53.91 millionCGT, a year-on-year increase of 92%; China accounted for 68% of the orders held. The new ship price index rose to 186.59 points, and VLCC continued to hit a record high at US$131 million.
The BDI fell for five consecutive trading days, falling another 2.2% to 3,002 points on Friday (the lowest since August 25); the Capesize index fell 4% to 4,638 points, and the Panamax edged up to 2,366 points.
In September, 1,042,652 TEU were handled, which was about 23,000TEU higher than the July 2025 record, the highest in a single month for a single port in the Western Hemisphere; 540,000TEU of imported heavy containers hit a record. Executive Director Seroka said the main reason was that retailers rushed to load in advance before the tariffs; at the same time, diesel prices increased by 62% compared with the end of February, which impacted trucking. El Niño is expected to cause more US line cargo to bypass the Panama Canal and divert to the West Coast.