US threatens countries that want green shipping

The American president is applying pressure on the rest of the world in his well-known manner not to agree to the sustainability plans for shipping from the maritime UN organization IMO. The strike by the stevedores in the Rotterdam port will not be resumed, and the port is 'now going to work hard in its Rotterdam way to clear the backlog as quickly as possible.' Container prices are rising again for the first time in four months. Today (Friday, October 17) is the last day of a four-day meeting of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in London about the IMO Net-Zero Framework. Agreements are being made regarding a global fuel standard and pricing mechanism for greenhouse gas emissions. The US threatens with measures against countries that (in the words of the US State Department) 'sponsor this Europe-led neocolonial export of global climate regulation.' American counter-actions include imposing port fees and refusing ships flying the flag of those countries in American ports. Trump also unequivocally expressed himself about the IMO's plans on his social media channel Truth Social. The stevedores in the Rotterdam port have resumed work and will not strike anymore because union FNV Havens has reached an agreement with the stevedoring companies on a new collective labor agreement. Starting Wednesday, October 8, the stevedores, who load and unload containers, had been on strike for five days. The court suspended the strike until this morning, but it was not necessary to proceed further. Last Friday, the activist group Geef Tegengas also blocked freight traffic to the largest terminals of the port. 'The port came to a grinding halt last week, and now we are going to work hard in our Rotterdam way to clear the backlog as quickly as possible and restore calm in the port and the logistics chain,' states Port of Rotterdam in a statement. If the strike had resumed, this would have 'had a disproportionate impact on the logistics system and society,' according to the port authority. This work week, container ships in Rotterdam could be handled again, but the backlog has not yet been resolved. A week ago, the waiting time in the port of Rotterdam was three days according to data from GoComet. Currently, the waiting time is seven days. Antwerp gets 10 days reprieve In Antwerp, the waiting time has decreased from six to four days in the past week. Flemish pilots have been conducting punctuality actions since Sunday, October 5. From Wednesday, those actions have been suspended for ten days by the activists. 'Although congestion is gradually decreasing, the planning of arrivals and departures is still being hindered. The services of Port of Antwerp-Bruges are doing everything possible to minimize the impact, but the disruption is expected to continue until after the weekend,' states a statement. Many ships are still waiting off the coast of the Netherlands and Belgium. The yellow dots are cargo ships, and the orange dots are tankers at anchor. Source: Vessel Finder Container prices rise for the first time in 4 months After seventeen weeks of consecutive decline, container prices are rising this week by 2% to $1,687 per 40-foot container. The biggest increase is from Shanghai to Rotterdam with 6%. Drewry expects spot rates to rise further next week due to general rate increases (GRIs) that shipping companies implemented on Wednesday, October 15. The data platform expects this uptick to be short-lived, and rates will soon decrease again.