The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Navy said that four oil tankers caught fire and exploded while sailing in the "unauthorized route" in the Strait of Hormuz. One of the tankers carrying more than 2 million barrels of oil hit a mine and exploded violently and continued to burn. The UK Maritime Trade Operations Office (UKMTO) separately reported that a crude oil tanker was hit by an unknown projectile on its way out of the port and caught fire. The crew was safe and there was no environmental impact for the time being.
Maersk finally selected Hudong-Zhonghua among the two candidate shipyards, Hudong-Zhonghua and Hengli Heavy Industry, and planned to order 12+12 24,000TEU dual-fuel LNG-powered container ships. The unit price is about 240 million US dollars, which will be approximately RMB 38.4 billion when fully effective. It will become the largest ship in Maersk's history and will be delivered from the end of 2029. Including February this year, With 34 18,600TEU ships ordered in September, Maersk’s orders for dual-fuel container ships will reach 58 this year.
Trans-Pacific routes led the decline: Shanghai-Los Angeles fell 6% to US$7,514, Shanghai-New York fell 5% to US$9,631; Asia-Europe line rose slightly, Shanghai-Rotterdam rose 1% to US$3,686. Drewry expects freight rates to continue to weaken next week, as US seaborne imports are expected to drop 11% month-on-month. The Suez Canal passed 62 ships last week, setting a new weekly high for the year.
Shipbroker Banchero Costa's research pointed out that the shipbuilding market has shifted from "order tide" to "delivery tide", but oil tanker ordering is still the most active sector at present; orders are still active under high ship prices, and the price strength is expected to continue until 2027.
The Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and ILWU Chapter 26 signed an extension agreement to postpone the strike scheduled for November 1 to 17:00 on November 4 (Pacific time). The federal mediation agency intervened. The dispute involves about 250 terminal safety personnel, but the terminal where they are located is responsible for about 85% of the cargo volume of the Port of Long Beach and about 33% of the Port of Los Angeles. Once the strike occurs, other union members may refuse to cross the picket line.
Splash247 reported that Hengli Heavy Industry rose from fifth to first in the global shipbuilding rankings, reflecting its rapid expansion of ultra-large container ship production capacity with the help of large orders such as MSC; however, the factory so far lacks a record of delivering 24,000TEU class real ships.
Veritas Tankers ordered six 13,000-dwt stainless steel chemical tankers from Nantong Runbang Marine Engineering Equipment. Its listed parent company Jiangsu Runbang Heavy Industry confirmed the contract in an exchange announcement (unnamed European shipowner).