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.

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.

An NYK-owned containership operating for Ocean Network Express (ONE) stuck a Maersk ship as it was maneuvering into Hong Kong on Friday evening, February 28. The allision dislodged three containers from the docked Maersk vessel causing them to fall into Hong Kong harbor but the authorities report there were no injuries.

ONE Columba (138,611 dwt) was arriving at Hong Kong’s Kwai Chung Container Terminal from China’s Shenzhen port. In the video of the incident, the bow anchor is down with the chain visible and tugs assisting the Japan-registered vessel. Built in 2018, the ship is (364 meters) in length with a capacity of 14,000 TEU. The vessel appears to overshot and its bow hits amidship the Maersk containership which is docked at a 90-degree angle to the arriving ONE vessel.

As the ONE vessel reverses, container stacks on the deck of the Maersk vessel can be seen to teeter and three boxes fall from the deck into Hong Kong harbor. It is unclear if they were empties. The Hong Kong Marine Department reported on Saturday the boxes had been retrieved from the harbor.

Clifford Maersk (110,387 dwt) was on dock for container operations after having arrived from South America earlier in the week. Built in 1999, the vessel is registered in Denmark with a capacity of 9,640 TEU. It is 1,138 feet (347 meters) in length.

Officials from the Marine Department inspected both vessels and reported minor damage terming it a “minor collision.” There was no pollution and no injuries. One media report is saying the ONE vessel sustained a 2-meter by 2-meter (6.5-foot by 6.5-foot) gash above the waterline on its bow.

AIS data shows ONE Columba departed Hong Kong Saturday evening bound for Ningbo, China. The Maersk vessel departed on Sunday bound for Shanghai.