Containerships ’Full to the Gunnels’ on Asia-North Europe Route as Rates Hit 20-Month High – gCaptain
▻https://gcaptain.com/containerships-full-gunnels-asia-north-europe-route-rates-hit-20-month-hig
Containerships sailing from Asia to North Europe are running “full to the gunnels” ahead of the Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday this month, causing a spike in spot rates and a rollover of lower-rated contract cargo.
UK NVOCC Westbound Shipping Services said today that, in the present climate, the lowest-rate contracts “are worthless” as a guarantee of shipment on board.
Headquartered at DP World London Gateway, Westbound claims container lines will either admit the rates are too low and refuse the booking, or accept and “accidently” leave the boxes behind until the next vessel has space – which at this rate is likely to be after CNY.