Last month both the European Union and US once again stepped up sanctions against Russia in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Rotterdam Shortsea Terminals (RST), which provides feeder ship and inland waterway services from the Port of Rotterdam to European ports and terminals, says it is also looking to source new cranes from Europe, according to Cees van Pelt, Senior Project Manager and former Manager Technical Department at RST.

There could be between a 2% to 5% shift of cargoes from East and Gulf Coast ports to the West Coast, according to Eugene Seroka, Executive Director, Port of Los Angeles.

U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro has been meeting with shipbuilders in Japan and Korea to encourage them to establish new shipbuilding operations in the United States.

Lars Jensen, principal at Vespucci Maritime based in Copenhagen, Denmark, says there is a shift of some East and Gulf Coast cargoes going back to the U.S. West Coast.

Bryan Brandes, Maritime Director, Port of Oakland says the Port is working on a number of projects to improve rail service and upgrade refrigeration capabilities.

When disruption in the Red Sea co-occurred with ongoing water level challenges in the Panama Canal, shippers were eager to understand immediate supply chain impacts.

Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said disruptions to the Red Sea by Houthi forces could go on indefinitely curtailing use of the Suez Canal and forcing ocean carriers to plan for long term redirection of shipping around the coast of Africa.

In his annual ‘State of the Port 2024’ address on February 29th, Port of Oakland Executive Director Danny Wan said, “In 2023, we reached 2,000,024 containers.

President Biden’s executive order calling for a $20 billion cyber security investment in U.S. ports is “a wakeup call for all of us in the port and supply chain industry,” according to Eugene Seroka, Executive Director, Port of Los Angeles.