JUPITER SEA & AIR SERVICES PVT. LTD, EGMORE – CHENNAI, INDIA.
E-MAIL : Robert.sands@jupiterseaair.co.in Mobile : +91 98407 85202
Corporate News
Letter for Thursday - August
28, 2025
Today’s
Exchange Rates
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CURRENCY▲ |
PRICE |
CHANGE |
%CHANGE |
OPEN |
PREV.CLOSE |
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87.68 |
0.090004 |
0.102756 |
87.73 |
87.59 |
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|
1.1649 |
0.0031 |
0.26682 |
1.1618 |
1.1618 |
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|
118.1992 |
0.006203 |
0.005248 |
118.0189 |
118.193 |
|
|
102.0926 |
0.327301 |
0.319568 |
102.0105 |
102.4199 |
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|
147.559 |
0.240997 |
0.163056 |
147.79 |
147.80 |
|
|
1.3476 |
0.0021 |
0.156075 |
1.3455 |
1.3455 |
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|
98.255 |
0.175003 |
0.177794 |
98.477 |
98.43 |
|
|
0.594 |
0.0004 |
0.067296 |
0.5927 |
0.5944 |
/// Sea Cargo News ///
X-Press Feeders, the former operator of
the ill-fated container ship X-Press Pearl, has expressed deep concern
over the recent decision of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka directing an initial
payment of USD 1 billion within a year in connection with the vessel’s
casualty.
In a strongly worded statement, the
company said its foremost concern lies with the “human cost” of the judgment,
which it claims has effectively pronounced the vessel’s Master and local Agents
guilty of criminal charges even before their trials are completed.
X-Press Feeders argued that the court’s
directive to further investigate and prosecute the local Agents was unjust,
given their lack of decision-making authority in the ship’s
operations. The vessel’s Master has already been stranded in Sri Lanka for
over four years due to a travel ban, separated from his family and unable to
resume his career.
According to the company, he has been denied the opportunity to defend himself in the court, and is being held as “human collateral” to ensure compliance by the ship’s owners and operators.
ONE Intelligence makes maiden call at Felixstowe, departs for Rotterdam
Ocean Network Express’ (ONE) ONE
Intelligence made her striking first-ever call at the Port of Felixstowe,
the UK’s busiest container gateway, over the weekend.
The vessel’s maiden arrival at Felixstowe
highlights ONE’s growing commitment to enhancing connectivity on major trade
lanes across Europe. After completing cargo operations at Felixstowe, ONE
Intelligence set sail for her next port of call — Rotterdam.
Felixstowe, handling nearly half of the
UK’s containerized trade, continues to play a pivotal role in strengthening
global supply chains, with shipping lines such as ONE deploying larger, more
efficient vessels to serve the region.
Major
fire erupts on board Maersk’s ultra-large containership Marie Maersk
A major fire broke out on board AP Moller-Maersk’s ultra-large containership Marie Maersk while sailing off the coast of Liberia on the morning of 13 August 2025. The 2013-built vessel, part of Maersk’s pioneering Triple-E class with a capacity of 19,076 TEU, was en route from Rotterdam, Netherlands, to Tanjung Pelepas, Malaysia, when smoke was detected in containers on deck.
Maersk confirmed that all crew members
are safe and that the ship remains in a stable condition. “The crew immediately
activated safety procedures and began fighting the fire on board,” the company
said, adding that machinery, steering, and navigational equipment remain fully
operational.
The vessel, measuring 399 meters in
length and 59 meters in width, diverted toward the West African coast to
receive assistance. By the evening of 13 August, two tugboats equipped with
firefighting gear had reached the containership to support the crew.
AIS date showed the Marie Masersk sailing
northwest off the Liberian coast at about 1.6 knots under “restricted
manoevrability” status. Maritime historian Sal Mercogliano reported that the
vessel was “hove to” off Liberia, with the Maersk Savannah standing by, as tugs
Captain Cat and Med Rigel assisted in firefighting operations. Dutch salvage
firm SMIT Salvage has also dispatched two specialised firefighting tugs to the
scene.
The full extent of damage to the vessel
and its cargo has yet to be confirmed. The Marie Maersk, built in South Korea
at a reported cost of $185 Million, was the fourth Triple E class vessel
delivered to the Maersk in 2013. The ship sails under the Danish flag and is
covered by Britannia P&I Insurance.
The vessel has a strong safety record,
with no port state control detentions to date. Its most recent deficiency was
logged in Hamburg in January 2025, when an inspection flagged a minor lighting
issue in working spaces.
Port Canaveral hosts first LNG bunkering of world’s largest cruise ship, Star of the Seas
Port Canaveral marked a major milestone
this week by completing the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering of Star
of the Seas, Royal Caribbean International’s newest and the world’s
largest cruise ship.
The fueling operation took place on
August 14, just ahead of the vessel’s maiden voyage on August 16. The LNG
transfer was carried out by Seaside LNG using its Jones Act-compliant bunker
barge Clean Everglades, with additional support from JAX LNG and Pivotal
LNG.
The ship received enough fuel to operate
for several weeks, with the entire seven-hour operation closely monitored to
ensure safety. Canaveral Fire Rescue deployed its specially equipped
Fireboat 2, while the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit and the U.S.
Coast Guard supervised the bunkering.
LNG is considered one of the maritime
sector’s cleanest fuels, offering significant environmental benefits, including
the complete elimination of Sulphur Oxide (SOx) emissions, up to 85% lower
Nitrogen Oxide (Nox), a 95% reduction in particulate matter and around 20% less
Carbon DiOxide
(CO2) compared to conventional marine
fuels.
Built at Finland’s Meyer Turku Shipyard, Star
of the Seas is part of Royal Caribbean’s Icon class and is fully
powered by LNG. The vessel also incorporates advanced energy efficiency
technologies, aligning with the Company’s “Destination Net Zero” strategy.
Port Canaveral’s continued investment in
LNG bunkering infrastructure, safety procedures and emergency response
capabilities has positioned it as a leading hub for the growing fleet of LNG
powered cruise ships.
Following its maiden voyage on August 16,
Star of the Seas will begin offering seven-night cruises
to The Bahamas and the Caribbean from August 31, 2025.
First Chinese boxship of 2025 arrives in Arkhangelsk via the Arctic Route
As the Northern Sea Route (NSR) becomes
busy for this year’s summer navigation, the first Chinese boxship has arrived
in the Russian Arctic port of Arkhangelsk. The vessel Newnew Polar
Bear operated by the Chinese carrier Newnew Shipping was received at
the port on Friday.
The container ship delivered 497
containers at the port, marking the start of a busy season under the expanded
Arctic Express N1 service. The service connects China’s Shanghai and Ningbo
ports to Arkhangelsk, providing a shorter shipping option
compared to the longer Suez Canal route.
Newnew Polar Bear left Shanghai in July 16 and took less than a month to
arrive at Arkhangelsk. Following 13 successful voyages last year, which
transported more than 20,000 TEU, NewNew Shipping Line announced it would
expand its Arctic service.
This also includes deploying larger
container ship on the route, following in the path of EZ Safetrans Logistics,
which became the first Chinese carrier to deploy a Panamax boxship in the NSR
last year.
During this year, Arkhangelsk expects 20
vessel calls from China through NSR, which is almost double the number received
last year. Over a dozen vessels have received permits for the Russian Arctic
route this year, with voyages happening between the months of July and
November. In the case of Newnew Shipping, five of its container ships have
permits to transit NSR this season.
Commenting on the arrival of Newnew Polar
Bear, Arkhangelsk region Governor Alexander Tsybulsky noted that the vessel
delivered auto parts, PVC film and steel for Russian enterprises.
“We will load export cargo onto the
vessel – products from our timber industry that are in high demand in China. In
approximately just over three weeks, products from Arkhangelsk enterprises will
be delivered in China,” added Tsybulsky.
Last month, Newnew Shipping agreed to
invest around $2.5 Billion for the expansion of Arkhngelsk port. The project is
seen as part of the wider Chinese-Russian partnership to ramp up Arctic
shipping. To conduct year round navigation in the NSR, Newnew Shipping has also
announced it will order several Arc7 Ice Class container ships in partnership
with the Russian nuclear agency, Rosatom.
Newnew Polar Bear is believed to have
caused a gas line rupture via anchor-dragging in the Gulf of Finland in October
2023. The vessel’s former master has been arrested in connection with than
incident.
Riyadh Air join hands with SATS on a
5-year deal to grow cargo network
Riyadh
Air, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s new national carrier, has signed a five-year
strategic partnership with SATS Saudi Arabia Company (SATS SA), a subsidiary of
SATS Ltd (SATS), to provide comprehensive cargo handling services at key
airports across the Kingdom.
The
agreement includes major cargo operations at the Riyadh Air hub at King Khalid
International Airport (RUH) with further support at King Fahd International
Airport (DMM) in Dammam and King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED) in
Jeddah.
As part of the agreement, SATS Saudi Arabia will also develop world-class hub management capabilities for Riyadh Air, establishing Riyadh as a premier regional cargo hub and directly supporting Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 objective to handle 4.5 million tons of air cargo annually.
East Midlands expand services, cargo volumes up
The UK’s
leading express air freight hub has recorded a sharp rise in volumes over the
past three months, defying wider market trends, according to an official
release from East Midlands Airport.
East
Midlands Airport handled more than 103,000 tonnes of cargo between May to July,
up 17.4% on the same period in 2024. Volumes were up 19% year-on-year last
month, 24% in June, and 9.7% in May.
The
increase comes against a backdrop of geopolitical pressures shaping global
trade flows and has been fuelled partly by four new carriers launching routes
between China and the UK.
These
airlines have been drawn to East Midlands’ 24/7 operations and its central
location within the UK. Central Airlines began operating a twice-weekly
service in May on behalf of Chinese logistics firm YunExpress. It is set to
increase this to five times a week in the coming months. It was closely
followed by US-based Atlas Air, Ethiopian Cargo and Saudia Cargo.
British freight carrier One Air also shifted its UK base for China-UK services from Heathrow to East Midland’s a year ago, highlighting the airport’s central location and operational efficiency. COO Chris Hope noted that goods reach the airline’s warehouse near Heathrow faster when offloaded at East Midlands than when flown directly into Heathrow.
SolitAir expands Middle East reach with
cargo flights between Dubai and Kuwait
SolitAir,
the UAE’s dedicated cargo airline operating express daily scheduled
airport-to-airport services across the Global South, has announced the launch
of its new scheduled service from Dubai World Central (DWC) to Kuwait
International Airport (KWI).
The new
route marks a strategic expansion into the Kuwaiti market, further
strengthening SolitAir’s position as a key logistics enabler for freight
forwarders, integrator airlines, and e-commerce platforms across the Middle
East and beyond.
The airline currently transports a wide variety of cargo to and from Kuwait, including perishables, electronics, courier shipments, general cargo and dangerous goods highlighting SolitAir’s capability to handle complex and sensitive shipments with efficiency and care.
Air Canada Cargo volumes at risk due to strikes
Air Canada
Cargo has put a modified freighter schedule in place to protect up to 25% of
volumes in response to ongoing strike action that has seen Air Canada suspend
operations. The cargo division of Air Canada said in an update on its
website that all operations of Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge had been
suspended.
"Air
Canada Cargo is putting in place a modified freighter schedule to mitigate some
of the disruption. This will protect approximately 20-25% of usual volumes, but
not to all geographies usually served by Air Canada's passenger network,"
Air Canada Cargo said.
The
temporary freighter schedule includes capacity to Europe, said Air Canada Cargo
in the update on its website. The business has also added a trucking network
between freighter destinations and its key hubs.
However,
the schedule means that 75% or more of cargo volumes are at risk of disruption
and delays. Last week, Air Canada Cargo confirmed its network was disrupted and
said it had temporarily put new bookings for speciality commodities on hold and
stated any existing bookings may be delayed or cancelled.
According
to data from Planespotters, Air Canada has six 767-300 Passenger to Freighter
(P2F) aircrafts in addition to 200 passenger aircraft.
Air Canada
said on August 23, that following notice of the strike led by the Canadian
Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents 10,000 flights attendants at
Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge, it had begun a phased wind down of most of its
operations to be completed before the strike began on August 16.
The
Airline had resumed flights from Sunday August 17, 2025 as workers were
anticipated to begin work then after the Canadian government instructed the
Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to direct the Canadian Union of
Public Employees (CUPE) to end the industrial action.
However,
Air Canada said CUPE “illegally directed its flight attendant members to defy a
direction from the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to return to
work”.
Approximately
240 flights scheduled to operate beginning the afternoon of August 17 were
cancelled, said Air Canada. Typically, the carriers operate 700 flights per
day.
I hope you have
enjoyed reading the above news letter.
Robert Sands
Joint Managing Director
Jupiter Sea & Air Services Pvt Ltd
Casa Blanca, 3rd Floor
11, Casa Major Road, Egmore
Chennai – 600 008. India.
GST Number : 33AAACJ2686E1ZS.
Tel : + 91 44 2819 0171 / 3734 / 4041
Fax : + 91 44 2819 0735
Mobile : + 91 98407 85202
E-mail : robert.sands@jupiterseaair.co.in
Website : www.jupiterseaair.com 1Branches : Chennai, Bangalore,
Mumbai, Coimbatore, Tirupur and Tuticorin.
Associate Offices : New Delhi, Kolkatta, Cochin &
Hyderabad.
Thanks to : Container News, Indian Seatrade, Cargo Forwarder Global & Air Cargo News.
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