MSC retains strong presence in Russian trades

Freight rates to Russia remain highly elevated and new capacity continues to flow into the Russian trade, according to the latest update from Linerlytica.

Newcomers Safetrans, Torgmoll/New New, Reel Shipping and OVP Shipping are adding ships to the trade as congestion at the Russian Far East gateways of Vladivostok and Vostochny have generated demand for new services from Asia to the Black Sea and Baltic gateways of Novorossiysk and St Petersburg, the update added.

"MSC retains a considerable presence in the Russian trades with feeder operations in all three Russian gateways while the other key European carriers have withdrawn completely from the market."

Market brief - Week 9, 2023

Containership charter market activity is picking up with carriers pushing ahead with new capacity plans despite the soft freight market, the update added. "Maersk continues to lose ground with the highest number of ships idled at the moment while MSC is still taking on fresh charters and second hand acquisitions despite also having a number of idled ships. Demand is mismatched across different sizes, with the surplus ships over 5,000 TEUs still rising while smaller ships are in high demand."

Asian freight rates to other parts of the world continue to soften with further falls still to come as capacity pressure continues to build, the update said.