Heilongjiang Lighthouse International Logistics Co., Ltd.

China's tightening of controls on exports of related rare earth elements reflects the country's firm determination to safeguard national security as well as world peace and security. This was stated by the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association on Sunday.

The statement was made after China's Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs announced on April 4 the imposition of export control measures on seven medium and heavy rare earth elements.

As the association noted, these rare earth metals can be used for both military and civilian purposes, and the Chinese government's export control measures are fully based on international practices.

The industry association emphasized that if enterprises are not engaged in activities that undermine China's national sovereignty, security and development interests, export controls will not affect their normal business and trade activities, much less the stability and security of international supply chains.

China's rare earth element enterprises will, in view of the requirements announced on April 4, firmly adhere to high-level openness to the outside world and continue to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation with friendly countries, the association added.

中国加强对相关稀土元素出口的管制，体现了中国维护国家安全和世界和平与安全的坚定决心。这是中国有色金属工业协会周日发表的声明。

该声明是在中国商务部和海关总署 4 月 4 日宣布对七种中重稀土元素实施出口管制措施后发表的。

该协会指出，这些稀土金属既可用于军事目的，也可用于民用目的，中国政府的出口管制措施完全符合国际惯例。

该行业协会强调，如果企业不从事损害中国国家主权、安全和发展利益的活动，出口管制不会影响企业的正常经营和贸易活动，更不会影响国际供应链的稳定和安全。

协会还表示，中国稀土元素企业将按照4月4日公布的要求，坚定不移地坚持高水平对外开放，继续加强与友好国家的互利合作。

As of March 23, a total of more than 90,000 freight trains have passed through the Khorgos and Alashankou railway checkpoints in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region /Northwest China/ on China-Europe international rail freight routes since the opening of such services, according to data from the Urumqi branch of China Railways Corporation.

According to the data, on average, more than 20 freight trains on China-Europe routes cross these two border crossings, which are located on the border of China and Kazakhstan, every day. Transshipment work for return trains takes only about two hours.

Chinese fishermen in Zhejiang have paid for the construction of an oceangoing scientific research vessel capable of "global unlimited navigation," according to Chinese state media.

Fishermen at the port of Wenling, Zhejiang "spontaneously raised" $18 million to build the 270-foot vessel for deep-sea scientific research, according to state-owned China News Service. The vessel is primarily designed for activity unrelated to fishing, like geological and geophysical surveys, seabed mapping, ROV deployment and deep sea exploration. It has DP2 diesel-electric propulsion to maintain position to within one meter of accuracy.

The 3,500-tonne vessel will be built at Wenling's Tenglong Shipbuilding. With a speed of 14 knots, a range of 5,000 nm and endurance of up to 60 days at sea, the vessel has the capability to conduct long research voyages. It is also envisioned as a support vessel for wind farm maintenance, seabed engineering and offshore oil field operations.

"It has great potential in deep-sea scientific research and operations. The deep-water equipment, power system and DP system equipped on board are all at the international advanced level," said Wang Haozhao, chief ship designer of Fujian Fuchuan Marine Engineering Technology Research Institute, which provided the design.

Though fishermen-funded, it will be operated by Quanzhou-based Fujian Baozhou Shipping Co., Ltd. The vessel will be the first privately-run oceangoing research vessel in China. It will also be the first research vessel built at Tenglong Shipbuilding, better known for small specialty vessels like dredgers, distant-water fishing vessels and asphalt carriers.

Like Hainan's fishing community, Zhejiang and Fujian fishermen are known for involvement in maritime militia organizations, state-backed paramilitary groups that leverage private vessels for presence operations in foreign waters. China denies the militia's existence in foreign-facing statements, but celebrates its achievements in Chinese-language media.

South Korea’s SM Line issued a customer alter on March 5 reporting that one of its vessels has experienced damaged and lost containers in a Pacific storm. The SM Portland (51,314 dwt) has resumed its voyage bound for Vancouver where it will be inspected by Canadian authorities.

“Due to heavy rolling by the inclement weather, unfortunately, it caused cargo damage, including container loss, collapse, and damage of 115 containers,” SM advised. Customers are being instructed to check their documents to determine if they might have had boxes onboard the vessel which had called in China and South Korea before departing for Vancouver where it was due to arrive on March 10.

The ship, the SM Portland, has a capacity of 4,228 TEU and is 856 feet (261 meters) in length. It was built in 2009 and acquired by SM Line in 2021. The company reports it encountered severe winter weather with strong winds near the Bering Sea. AIS signals show the vessel changing course early on March 4 and resuming its crossing on March 5. SM Line reports the vessel had slowed and adjusted course for safety.

When the vessel arrives off Vancouver, the line reports there will be an investigation by Transport Canada and the Canadian Coast Guard before it is permitted to berth. SM Line warns customers that it expects schedule delays.

SM Line was started in 2017 as a niche carrier and the following year, 2017, it launched service to North America. The company continues its Pacific routes in cooperation with the larger Korean carrier HMM.

This incident comes more than four years after one of the worst container loss events happened in the North Pacific in November 2020 on the ONE Apsus. The vessel also encountered heavy weather resulting in the loss of over 1,800 containers and damage to many more boxes that remained on deck. Maersk experienced a similar issue with its containerships Maersk Essen and Maersk Eindhoven, both of which also suffered container losses at sea on the Pacific that same winter season.

The heavy losses in 2020-2021 prompted new initiatives in the industry to address dangerous rolling. The shipping companies were advised to enhance training for their crews and new technologies were developed to help monitor and alert crew to potentially dangerous conditions.

The World Shipping Council in its 2024 annual report highlighted the industry’s success in reducing losses with its data showing just 221 containers were lost at sea in 2023 out of 250 million transported. The IMO also moved in 2024 to tighten the rules requiring reporting of container losses.