News

The European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) have introduced new Russian trade sanctions, banning the import of certain iron and steel products that incorporate materials originating in Russia. Primary responsibilities for compliance include maintaining the relevant records and making them available to the government for review.

UK sanctions took effect on 30 September 2023!

• UK guidance

EU sanctions will be rolled out in three phases, starting 30 September 2023, 1 April 2024, and 1 October 2024, depending on the specific classification code of the imported iron and steel products.

• EU guidance

Learn more

Ocean carriers are imposing new surcharges for Panama Canal transit amidst ongoing drought conditions. According to the Panama Canal Authority (PCA), October 2023 was “the driest since the earliest registers, 73 years ago.” So far most carriers have aligned on fees of roughly $150/$300 (20’/40′) respectively, with the fees expected to take effect on  1 January 2024.

• Hapag LLoyd customer notice
• MSC press release

There are now 120+ ships waiting to pass through the canal, considerably higher than the 90-ship average of the past seven years. Additionally, there’s a real chance that no large tankers will transit the Panama Canal starting in 2024. Very Large Gas Carriers (VLGCs) are also likely to be excluded from the interoceanic waterway. 

More information

New regulations for the Import Control System 2 (ICS2) will come into effect on 1 December 2023. European businesses must conduct self-conformance testing to ensure their systems are ready to send and receive technical messages

More information

The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) announced $553M in funding for the Colombo West International Terminal (CWIT) in Sri Lanka. It is the U.S. government agency’s largest infrastructure investment in Asia ever. CWIT is a two-phase development, costing about $1B in total, with phase 1 expected to go live by Q4 ‘24 or Q1 ‘25.  

Learn more

Following recommendations by a recent taskforce, Australia’s government committed to creating a ‘national strategic fleet’ of 12 ships (various types) that can be relied on in times of crisis.  

Full story

OIA Global produces a comprehensive market report each month! These informative documents highlight important supply chain news and events using information from some of the industry’s leading journalistic sources. We encourage you to share the report with others!

Previous editions can be found here.

Download PDF

Africa’s biggest rail network, Transnet, has seen its cargo volume collapse by 1/3 over the last five years. The collapse of freight rail in South Africa has hit commodities exporters particularly hard.

Transnet’s board recently presented a recovery plan to drive traffic recovery and enhance rail operations, under which Transnet Freight Rail will be divided into two separate divisions: Transnet Freight Rail Operating Company (TFROC) and Transnet Rail Infrastructure Manager (TRIM). Transnet is also seeking government support for a short-term turnaround plan.  

More information