Shipping article(s)
Suez Canal introduces rebates to regain containership traffic
Suez Canal introduces rebates to regain containership traffic
U.S. slashes ‘de minimis’ tariff on small China parcels to 30%
LA, Long Beach ports warn of continued tariff uncertainty
China-US deescalation may spur early peak season
Yang Ming: US-China trade deal may spur demand, but uncertainty persists
US-China tariff pause offers temporary relief, could fuel another frontloading rush
Transpacific shipping faces capacity cuts as trade war escalates
Houthi ceasefire raises prospect of container traffic returning to Red Sea
Kale Logistics to develop Oman's national port community system
PSA BDP takes majority stake in Mexico’s ED Forwarding
Xeneta: ‘Ships for America Act’ adds more uncertainty to container shipping market
JAFZA marks 40 years with record US$190B in trade
Seafrigo expands multi-modal services to support global expansion
US port fees to have minimal impact on Transpacific niche carriers
Port fo NY/NJ is busiest US port in March
S&P: Liner shipping contributes US$1.1T to U.S. GDP
deugro Thailand delivers critical reactors for sustainable fuel production
Emirates Shipping Line joins World Shipping Council
Japanese shipyards may benefit from US port fees on Chinese vessels
MOL opens office in Washington, D.C.
Red Sea disruptions push shipping carbon emissions to record high in 2024
Port of LA expects a double-digit volume decline in the second half amid tariffs
DP World sources 65% of its electricity from renewables in 2024
Hapag-Lloyd: 30% of China’s US-bound shipments canceled
Port of Antwerp-Bruges says impact of US tariffs minimal for now
COSCO says planned US port fees threaten shipping, global supply chains
Yang Ming extends lease at Kaohsiung Port, acquires new containers
Transpacific sees surge in blank sailings amid escalating tariffs
UNCTAD: Global economic growth may slow to 2.3% amid mounting pressures
Port of Long Beach becomes the busiest U.S. port in Q1
IMO approves net-zero regulations for global shipping
India ends transshipment facility for Bangladesh exports
US softens stance on proposed port fees for Chinese vessels
Adani’s Colombo Terminal commences operations
Gemini shuttles hit 98% schedule reliability in February
Airfreight demand from China, Hong Kong to the US declines as rates rise
ZIM signs long-term charter deals for 10 LNG-powered 11,500-TEU vessels
Georgia Ports’ container trade grew 22.5% in March
CMA CGM inks AI deal with Mistral AI
Port of New York and New Jersey reports second-busiest February
Maersk's APM Terminals acquires Panama Canal Railway Company
ICS: Proposed US port fees on Chinese vessels to severely disrupt supply chains
PSA looks ahead to strategic developments in 2025 after record-breaking 2024
Hapag-Lloyd makes Philippine inaugural at ICTSI Manila
Yang Ming acquires three methanol dual-fuel ready vessels
Maersk shares updates on upcoming US reciprocal tariff plan
ONE highlights need for adaptability in volatile markets
WorldACD: Global air cargo rates rise as post-NY market rebounds
Chinese shipbuilder unveils LNG dual-fuel vehicle carrier
SATS partners with Guangtai to innovate ground support technology
SC Port's Inland Port Greer expands capacity by 50%
Hong Kong exporters remain positive despite growing trade tensions
Singapore opens applications for methanol bunkering licence
Tariff turmoil persists, though ocean freight rates continue to decline
UN agencies express grave concern over increased satellite interference
Baltic Hub welcomes multiple new services
Port of Savannah achieves busiest February on record
UK freight association seeks solutions to uninsured cargo
Rotterdam, Singapore boost green, digital shipping partnership
MSC announces standalone East/West network
Singapore, India ink deal to boost maritime digitalisation, decarbonisation
World Shipping Council calls on the U.S. to drop its planned port fees
Port of NY/NJ secures landmark lease extension with APM Terminals
Container rates slip amid signs of overcapacity
SC Ports expands weekly services with new ocean carrier deployments
Port of LA reports continued growth in shipments for February
Sea-Intel: Major ocean carriers profitability around US$60B in 2024
Adhira Shipping and Logistics sees continued demand for Cape Size carriers
Matadi Gateway Terminal expands hybrid equipment fleet
MPA, CMA CGM sign MoU to boost sustainable shipping, digital innovation
China, Hong Kong raise concerns over Hutchison Ports deal
Houthis ban U.S. vessels from the Red Sea; Trump vows end to the aggression
Hapag-Lloyd's port arm buys stake in terminal operator in Le Havre
MOL makes major stride in developing ammonia-powered carrier
WorldACD: Flat markets slightly above last year's levels
Frontloading continued to drive volume growth at the Port of Long Beach
Yang Ming plans regional route expansion amid evolving trade tensions
Malaysia's Sin-Kung Logistics eyes air cargo with Prima Air acqusition
Tianjin Port eyes increased container throughput to 35M TEUs by 2035
ILA-USMX officially sign six-year port contract through 2030
U.S. tariffs to accelerate relocation of factories to South, Southeast Asia
Singapore launches new standard on methanol bunkering
MOL strengthens chemical logistics business with new acquisition
MOL launches 1st onshore supply of green hydrogen produced at sea
DP World and Mawani inaugurate US$800M terminal in Jeddah
CMA CGM to invest US$1B for new Chicago air cargo hub
Trump halts Canada, Mexico tariffs again for another month
Trump unveils plans for new office of shipbuilding
CK Hutchison sells int'l ports business to BlackRock, MSC for US$22.8B
CMA CGM's first dual-fuel methanol vessel makes maiden call at Singapore
Alibaba, Maersk partner on container shipping services
MOL joins e-methane alliance e-NG Coalition
Freight pricing, contracts become more fluid
Port of New York and New Jersey records third busiest January ever
Viasea Shipping relaunches London Thamesport service
Sea-Intel notes volume shift from East to West Coast in H2 2024
Port of Savannah receives largest capacity vessel in its history
ILA ratifies new labour contract at US East, Gulf Coast ports
Sea-Intel: 2024 global schedule reliability trend continuing in 2025
Savannah tagged as fastest growing port on the U.S. East Coast
ICTSI's MCT increases renewable energy utilization
DCSA releases final versions of Booking 2.0, Bill of Lading 3.0 standards
Port Klang launches Kale's Malaysia Maritime Single Window
Port of Hamburg reports growth in container throughput, rail transport
Port of Salalah invests US$300M to meet new Gemini Cooperation needs
ONE adopts DCSA eBL standards using GSBN blockchain
Asia-Europe demand to drop once supply chains return to normal
Rating
CAMPAIGN UNDERWAY FOR THAILAND’S KRA CANAL
November 2, 2017

Campaigning is underway for Thailand’s historic Kra, or Thai, Canal project, even though the commerciality of the project is yet to be proven.

 

A canal linking Thailand’s westerly Andaman Sea coast with the eastern Gulf of Thailand has long been considered. The traditional argument was such a canal would ease congestion in the Straits of Malacca and make East-West trade faster.

 

A more modern argument is that China’s money and support via the Belt and Road Initiative makes construction possible, and supplies a market. A canal would also unite Thailand and solve the problem in the country’s south, where there is a regional Muslim insurgency, claims Pakdee Tanapura a long-time supporter of the project and board member of the Thai-Chinese Cultural and Economic Association – one of the canal’s key backers.

 

Self Photos / Files - boat-in-thailand-1487646

 

Tanapura argues that the canal is not a threat to Singapore and Malaysia but rather a tool for them to develop, although Singapore, long the region’s premier shipping hub, is wary of the idea. Tanapura projects the project to cost US$55 billion, fairly evenly split between the cost to build the canal and some good, but not yet defined, facilities.

 

There is little doubt that the Strait is crowded; it’s narrow, and the space for sailing is limited. Draft is also a problem. “There are six to eight spots in the Malacca Strait with depths of no more than 25 metres,” said Harald Wagner, a consulting engineer who also pointed to recent accidents in the Strait.

 

A canal across Thailand would ease crowding and cut as much as three days off a long-haul East-West route.

Not so, according to some who offer a detailed critique of a facility not yet built, but one the Thai government is so far artfully silent on.

 

Time spent picking up a pilot and then offloading the same pilot at the other side of the canal as well as waiting for a slot to cross must be considered said Rear Admiral Chatuporn Sookchaloem, who also points out the speed in the canal is at eight nautical miles per hour. “You can save about 15 hours only,” he said.

 

Estimates for how many ships would use such a canal range from 600 to a much lower 40.

 

Nor might the trade actually be there. There is an east-west trade but, as Sookchaloem points out, the increase is not so much along that route as it is north and south. “I have to ask the shipowner: what about the cargo from Singapore and Indonesia] going to Japan and China?” he said.

 

Nor is that the only alternative, as Chalermphol Chaivorapongsa, president of Wong Samut Navigation, noted: “We have other transportation, like trains to London,” he said, in a succinct way of describing the infrastructure web China is building with itself at the centre.

 

A lot of that web is land-based as befits China as a land rather a maritime power. It also shows how China has changed things and, while it could do so again in Thailand, the need might not be so acute.

 

Land might also be a problem in Thailand. Expropriating the necessary land will be costly and, as Chaivorapongsa said, it could take “maybe another 10 years to finish.” Where exactly the canal will go is another disruptor, with several different routes being posited.

 

None of the routes, it should be noted, are anywhere near Thailand’s existing industrial hubs, which cluster in the middle of the country and along its eastern seaboard, an area the government plans to build up. Proposed routes also fall in the middle of Thailand’s tourism belt, an industry not without influence.

 

Two lobbies are pushing hard here: one is the military, the other the Thai-Chinese business community, which has allies not just within the Thai government but in China’s private sector. Thailand’s military has long been a law onto itself and regularly intervenes in Thai politics. The current prime minister is a general, who came to power in a coup, and next year’s election under a new constitution will see military power enshrined in the legislature.

 

To date, the government, which is taking a cautious approach on working with China on the high-speed rail links, has been even more so about the Kra Canal.

 

 

By Michael Mackey

Southeast Bangkok Correspondent | Bangkok

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