The UK Government are to introduce a Common User Charge that will apply for all commercial movements of animal products, plants and plant products entering or transiting through Great Britian through Port of Dover and Eurotunnel with effect from 30th April.
You will need to pay the common use charge if you are a UK business importing a consignment which is eligible for sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) checks at a government-run border control post (BCP).
Although Maersk Line announced they would recommence journeys through the Red Sea / Suez Canal under the protection of US war ships, one of their vessels the Maersk Hangzhou came under attack again. Therefore, Maersk have decided again to re-route all vessels round South Africa for the time being. All carriers are now avoiding this key route, instead deciding to detour round the Cape to avoid this area.
It is that time of year again, when most Ports review their list of local charges.
Due to recent attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea, Maersk, MSC and CMA have decided to suspend all movements through this area which means vessels will not pass the Suez Canal. Instead, they will detour round the Cape of Good Hope, this will add 3,500 nautical miles to its typical voyage and will take an additional 10 days to complete the journey.
The AEO standard achieved by Global Containers back in 2012 was at the highest level (Customs Simplifications/Security & Safety), this is a tough accreditation to achieve and HMRC go through all of our systems processes and procedures to ensure that we operate at the highest level, and therefore become a trusted trader with HMRC.
DP World Southampton have launched a programme to encourage cargo owners to move their import containers from port to door using rail instead of road. They call it the Modal Shift Programme (MSP), and it works by offering an incentive of £70 per container where the container movement to railhead meets the strict requirements of the programme. To pay for this, they will charge £10 per import container on every container, and rebate £70 if the container gets delivered via a railhead within 140 miles of the port. The programme is designed to reduce the amount of carbon emissions caused by the supply chain by using a modal shift from road freight to a more environmentally sustainable alternative.
The UK is set to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
The CPTPP is a trade agreement between 11 nations: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
Dates have been confirmed for strikes at the Port of Liverpool which will last two weeks.
Strike action will commence on Monday 19th September at 19.00 hrs and continue until Monday 3rd October at 06.00 hrs.
As has been reported recently in the media, the Port of Felixstowe has confirmed an 8-day strike action starting from 21st August.
This important notice will apply to all importers and exporters who are involved in international trade and who participate in Customs declarations in the UK.
The UK Government have announced that the remaining import controls due to come into effect from 1st July when importing goods from the EU will not be introduced from this date, instead the end of 2023 is now targeted as the revised introduction date.
New Covid outbreaks in Shenzhen, requires factories and offices within the City to temporarily close.
The world’s largest container ship, the OOCL Hong Kong made its maiden call at the Port of Felixstowe on 21st June 2017.
Hanjin Shipping has filed for court receivership after failing to agree with their creditors a restructuring process. Hanjin’s financial woes have been known for some time, however it is now unclear to what extent Hanjin will be operational under the receivership.
The new Union Customs Code (UCC) will come into force on 1st May 2016 and it will replace existing EU Customs rules. The new rules are essentially designed to simplify and modernise procedures, where all communication is electronic. Any importer who has current Customs guarantees in place for processes such as Inward Processing Relief (IPR) for example, are recommended to check with their authorising Customs department as these companies will need to re-apply for authorisation.
New regulations will come into force from 1st July 2016 (SOLAS VI Regulation 2), which will expand on how the gross mass of cargo and container tare weights must be verified. The changes in the rules are as a result of incidents, reports and concerns from the carriers that the actual weight of cargo is often different to the declared weight, thus putting lives and equipment in danger whilst at sea and in port. From 1st July, the Shipper will be responsible to provide the carrier/forwarder with a Verified Gross Mass (VGM), and therefore can no longer estimate to give an approximate weight.
Global Containers takes delivery of a new truck, which will be utilised for container deliveries from Felixstowe on Monday 5th October.
Air pollutant emissions from maritime transport where cargo is transported over long distances, contribute to the air quality problems in the EU. The findings from ‘The Thematic Strategy 2005’ concluded that sulphur emissions from shipping were forecast to exceed those from all land-based sources by 2020.
The UK is currently suffering from major shortages in the availability of container haulage, with some carriers and hauliers fully booked for up to two weeks.
Early notifications were received in March that all carriers would increase rates by USD 500 per TEU from 1st April. Although not to this level, increases have now been implemented and all customers have been informed separately.
Global Container Services are very proud to have their own independent worldwide network of overseas agents’ offices, which includes 102 sites in 49 countries. Details of the locations of these agents can be found on our network pages.
Early notifications were received in March that all carriers would increase rates by USD 500 per TEU from 1st April. Although not to this level, increases have now been implemented and all customers have been informed separately.
New rules have been issued by the Ministry of Finance and State Administration of Tax in their Cai Shui no.37 (Circular 37) regarding implementation of a 6% tax on local and freight charges from 1st August 2013. The majority of carriers including OOCL, Hamburg Sud, MSC, MOL, NYK, CSAV & CSCL have confirmed that they will apply the additional tax of 6% to all ocean freight charges which are prepaid in China.
As previously reported, the MOL Comfort ruptured on 17th June whilst en route from Singapore to Jeddah with over 4,000 containers on board. Shortly afterwards, the vessel split in two and the stern section sank after drifting for 10 days.
China Shipping Container Lines (CSCL) is looking to place an order for five 18,000 teu vessels (known as triple- E) to add to its current fleet.
The freight rate increases imposed by all carriers on this trade lane from 1st July appears to have succeeded. There are good reasons for this;
At the start of 2013, the freight rate level was already below the long term average with the carriers looking at ways to push rates upwards.
450 port workers employed by Hongkong International Terminals (HIT) have compromised and accepted a pay increase worth 9.8%.
Rates from India & Pakistan have also been increasing month on month so far in 2012, although the increases are not as severe as the Far East/China market. From February to May, these have increased by USD 600 per TEU, and are likely to increase further from 1st June.
The carrier's plans to increase freight rates from 1st March and 1st April were successful; the rates in place now are more than double what they were back in February. Although further increases are possible in June/July in the run up to the Peak Season, it remains to be seen whether the market can accept further increases, as this would potentially push rates up to the highest level on record.
We are now just two months away from the start of the London Olympics' 2012, and this very exciting time for the UK.
