The Loadstar

Photo: © Shutterbas | Dreamstime.com The insurance implications of IATA’s controversial Direct Air Waybill (DAWB) changes are emerging as one of the biggest concerns for freight forwarders, with industry experts warning that existing liability policies may no longer match the risks firms face.

News in Brief Podcast | Week 27 2026 | Air forwarder liability and Maersk optimism This week on the News in Brief podcast, we unpack one of the biggest changes to ...

Maersk said today it was pleased to announce “a structural change to one of the Gemini ...

Photo: ID 93255487 © Suphanat Khumsap | Dreamstime.com The container charter market has gathered fresh momentum, despite entering what is traditionally a quieter summer period,. Robust freight rates and improving liner profitability continue to underpin demand for tonnage. According to Braemar’s latest market analysis, chartering activity has remained “healthy”, with operators returning to the market for both contract extensions and forward fixtures.

Last week we said goodbye to Mr Nixon, leaving ONE, and Mr Glickman, leaving ZIM. I do have a feeling we will hear again from the latter executive, who unsuccessfully tried to take over the Israeli carrier. As for Jeremy Nixon, he did not have an easy start with Japan’s ONE – certainly he got a bit of help from the Covid boom, but luck is always part of the game. In the end, he successfully united the container divisions of ...

Something of an all-round Middle East update here: with delays of 4-6 hours continuing to impact Jeddah, shippers may see a reprieve in the news that the Gemini carriers have pushed the AE15 service back through the Suez Canal, suggesting a broader opening may be nearing.

Operations at Nhava Sheva Freeport Terminal  in India’s JNPA harbour halted this morning following an accident that left one docker dead and two others seriously injured. The terminal is likely to stay closed until tomorrow morning, according to updates from port sources. The 3am incident happened as dockers were working alongside ONE-operated Dalian.

South Korea’s Panstar Group, active in ro-ro ferry operations and as a shipping agency, has boosted its ambitions in container shipping. This month, Panstar joined the Korea Near-Sea Freight Conference, a league of feeder operators active in the South Korea-Japan route. Panstar, which has no containerships of its own, will work with Heung-A Line, Dongjin Shipping, and Dong Young Shipping to operate South Korea-Japan routes and to expand into China and South-east Asia.

In a nutshell: In six months the Commission has levied over $68 million in combined awards against MSC, OOCL, and Maersk, with an Evergreen court win reinforcing its hand. The question now: is OOCL’s constitutional challenge capable of stopping the train? For decades, disputing a detention or demurrage invoice from an ocean carrier was roughly as productive as shouting into a fog horn at slack tide. The carrier billed, the trucker or forwarder paid, and the Federal Maritime Commission ...

Photo: © Vadym Medvediev | The pricing gap between Asia-North Europe and Asia-Mediterranean container services has widened to near-record levels, as disruption linked to the Strait of Hormuz continues to distort freight markets. According to analysis by Sea-Intelligence of Drewry’s World Container Index (WCI) spot rate data since 2012, the arbitrage spread was “rapidly approaching a situation we have not seen before”.