Southern California’s ports are continuing to build back their volumes from the low point of early 2023 while reporting that they expect the increases to continue into the end of the year based on the strength of the American consumer. Both Los Angeles and Long Beach are beginning to string together a series of months of gains year-over-year with improvements coming in both imports and exports.

Despite holidays in Asia and the carriers’ continued use of blank sailings to manage capacity both ports called September a good month, while Long Beach was also able to achieve its busiest September on record. At the end of nine months, both ports’ volume year-to-date however remains down in the range of 20 percent versus 2022.

At Long Beach with over 829,000 TEU moving through the port, it was the third consecutive month of gains as well as the highest monthly total since June 2022. Citing the strength of consumer spending and the new labor contract, they reported a nearly 12 percent year-over-year increase as well as the port’s first monthly year-over-year cargo increase in 14 months. Long Beach’s strength was driven by a better than 19 percent increase in import volumes while exports were down by more than 10 percent.

The neighboring Port of Los Angeles however showed the unusual separation of the two neighboring ports as it experienced an expected nearly 10 percent decline in month-over-month volumes. Los Angeles however was still able to post a five percent gain over 2022 and its second consecutive month of year-over-year gains.

Imports came back strongly for Los Angeles versus 2022 up 14 percent, which the port highlights as the biggest year-over-year gain increase in over two years. Exports were also up for the fourth consecutive month and the fifth month over 100,000 TEUs. Driven by strong increases in exports of recyclables, animal feed, and vehicle parts, the Port of Los Angeles handled 55 percent more exports than a year earlier.  They also pointed out that declines in empty volumes were making it easier for American exporters to ship their goods out of the port.

While saying that they expected the muted peak season to continue, both ports are projecting improvements through the last quarter of 2023. “We look forward to a moderate rebound in cargo volume through the end of the year,” said Port of Long Beach CEO Mario Cordero.

The Port of Los Angeles expects flat volumes for October but increases in both November and December. While they are down 19 percent through nine months, Gene Seroka, Executive Director for the Port of Los Angeles, forecasts they will end the year down 13 percent versus 2022. He notes that they are currently 12 percent below their five-year running average for the port while projecting Los Angeles will handle a total of 8.6 million TEU in 2023 down from the peak of nearly 10.7 million in 2021. He notes that the port has the capacity and the ability to scale up to meet demand.

Both ports look to continue to rebuild market share after a year of uncertainty while the longshore workers were without a contract. Analysts point out the Southern California ports could also benefit from the current problems and delays at the Panama Canal, which could encourage shippers to use the California ports instead of sending cargo to East Coast and Gulf Coast ports.

On Monday, the government of Russia shut down border crossing access for Ukrainian citizens, tightening security after a series of covert attacks on Russian soil. The closure is expected, but it may have effects on shipping because of the large number of Ukrainian seafarers employed in international trade, according to the American Club.

The P&I club reports that Ukrainian seafarers will not be able to enter Russia through Russian seaports, putting an end to crew changes for these individuals until after the ship leaves Russia.

Even if a foreign vessel has no plans to carry out a crew change in Russia, but merely has Ukrainian crew aboard when it calls at a Russian port, there could be “significant difficulties” for the operator under the new rules, the club warned.

The Russian government’s formal notice restricts Ukrainian citizens to entering at two points only: the Moscow airport, or a road crossing at the Latvian border. Though this appears comprehensive, it is unclear whether it will be evenly applied across all Russian seaports. The insurer has only received advice related to the restriction for Russian ports in the Black Sea region – like Novorossiysk, Taman, Tuapse and Kavkaz. These ports will be prohibiting shore leave and crew changes for Ukrainian crewmembers.

“Members with Ukrainian citizens aboard their vessels that have plans to call at any Russian Federation ports are recommended to check and confirm the security policy at that port of call,” American Club advised.

The Ukrainian military and intelligence services have had considerable success in targeting Russian Navy assets in the Black Sea, and port access is tightly controlled. At Sevastopol and Novorossiysk, the harbors are protected not just by boat patrols and surveillance, but by multiple layers of movable net barriers enclosing the harbor entrance.

The European Commission today mapped out an aggressive roadmap of actions designed to step up the fight across member states against drug trafficking, including a strong focus on stopping illegal activities at ports across Europe. In laying out its plan and call for full support from the European Parliament and the Council, the Commission highlights the drug trade as “one of the most significant threats faced by the EU today.”

Today’s action follows a series of previous reports that have highlighted the scope of the drug trade and organized crime ranging from the major shipping carriers to ports across Europe. Europol in May 2023 released a detailed report working with the ports of Antwerp, Hamburg/Bremerhaven, and Rotterdam, looking at the efforts of organized crime. They cited the broad inflation of the ports by organized crime which was using efforts such as stolen identification numbers to gain access to containers that were being used to ferry the narcotics from South America. They found that criminal networks were placing people as employees in ports to gain access to their shipments. Separately, port officials have warned that the drug cartels are expanding efforts into smaller and secondary ports to avoid detection.

Executives from both MSC and Maersk have talked of their extensive efforts aimed at combatting drug smuggling. Last year, several of the major shipping companies and ports announced new partnerships to coordinate their efforts. The Financial Times, however, today in reporting the new EU roadmap quotes a Maersk executive saying the whole supply chain has been infiltrated by drug gangs.

The European Commission cites data from 2021 saying 303 tonnes of cocaine was seized while ports continue to make increasingly large captures. Both Rotterdam and Algeciras recently set records with the Dutch authorities announcing a single seizure of eight tones of cocaine while the Spanish seized 9.5 tonnes.

“Europe has now replaced the U.S. as the single largest cocaine market in the world and is fast becoming a world hub for drug trafficking – a disturbing claim to fame and one we have to redouble efforts to reverse,” said Margaritis Schinas, Vice-President for Promoting our European Way of Life. “Today we are announcing a new series of measures to enhance the resilience of logistical hubs and dismantle criminal networks. This will be complemented by strong engagement with partners worldwide to crack down on the main supply routes.”

The new roadmap from the European Commission calls for the launch of a new European Ports Alliance. It would specifically seek to reinforce customs authorities and law enforcement as well as the public and private ports to stop the infiltration by criminals. The plan has a total of 17 actions in four priority areas that also include more financial and digital investigations to catch criminal networks, better cooperation between member states, and working with international partners. The Commission commits to implementing its actions in 2023 and 2024.

The Financial Times in reviewing the roadmap says that it calls for allocating €200 million for scanning equipment at the ports. They cite Antwerp as an example saying overall that just two percent of goods are scanned and five percent of the containers identified as “high risk.” Antwerp’s current plans call for scanning all high-risk containers arriving at its terminals by 2028.

Another part of the effort would increase the screening and vetting of port employees. The Commission also plans to commit €20 million to support the Internal Security Fund and efforts to seek proposals to combat organized crime.

The master of the cocaine-laden ship that Irish authorities seized last week will be held without bail pending trial, a district court in Wexford, Ireland ruled on Monday.

Iranian national Soheil Jelveh, 50, was the master of the bulker Matthew during a transatlantic voyage to Ireland, which ended in a high-profile adverse boarding by Irish Army forces on September 26.

At the time of the military boarding, Jelveh was not on the ship. The Matthew’s crew had requested a medevac for him on Monday evening, and an Irish SAR helicopter flew him to a hospital in Wexford. The authorities boarded the Matthew the next morning and found $170 million worth of cocaine on board – the largest drug seizure in Irish history.

Jelveh was arrested at the hospital shortly after. According to the gardai, he was in possession of phones, documents and $53,000 in cash, and they suggested that he may have been attempting to evade arrest using the medevac flight. The captain asserted that the money he was carrying represented his own wages, which had been paid the month before.

“He was caught red-handed and we believe he was attempting to make an escape when he was airlifted from the ship,” a gardai detective told the court.

For his alleged role in transporting two tonnes of cocaine into Irish waters, Jelveh has been charged with possessing drugs worth more than £Ir 10,000 ($13,000) under Ireland’s Misuse of Drugs Act. Under Irish sentencing reform laws, the crime carries a minimum penalty of 10 years in prison. Prosecutors asked Wexford District Court Judge John Cheatle to deny bail, given that Jelveh has no significant ties in Ireland, maintains a family in Dubai and could be a flight risk. The judge agreed, overruling the objections of Jelveh’s counsel.

In total, seven men have been arrested in connection with the drug seizure, including two who had to be rescued from a small trawler which grounded while allegedly attempting to rendezvous with the Matthew.

The interdiction was unusually dramatic. On the morning of September 26, the Irish Navy patrol ship William Butler Yeats chased down the Matthew and fired warning shots when the vessel failed to comply with directions. In rough weather, and with the bulker maneuvering hard, Irish Army commandos fast-roped to the deck from a helicopter and took control of the ship.

China has reportedly quietly begun checking all ships arriving from Japan looking for signs of radioactivity in their ballast, while the state news agency reported today the country is beginning a one-year pilot program to stop invasive species. According to reports from Japan, this is the latest step in China’s concern about the release of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Japanese officials reported that they planned to release into the Pacific Ocean small amounts of the treated radioactive water that had been stored at the Fukushima nuclear power plant which was destroyed in the 2011 earthquake. Despite widespread protests, Japan proceeded with the release of the first batch of water in late August.

Japan’s Kyodo News reported last week that China has begun testing the ballast water aboard cargo ships arriving from Japan at some key ports. The news outlet speculated that it was likely for radiation level inspections, noting that China has called the waters being released in Japan “nuclear-contaminated” demanding the stop of the release. According to the news report, local Chinese authorities have notified operators of the vessels that they will ban them from releasing ballast water at Chinese ports if the radiation levels in their samples exceed a certain limit.

The Japanese report says the testing is taking place at ports in Tianjin, as well as Shandong Province in eastern China. The newspaper believes the testing began in July, which was after Japan announced its intention but before it confirmed the first release of the water from Fukushima.

The Chinese state news agency Xinhua issued the first statement acknowledging efforts to stop “invasive species” from entering China.

“China decided to begin a one-year action plan to prevent invasive alien species from entering border ports across the country as part of efforts to safeguard the country’s biodiversity and ecological environment,” the report said while citing a large increase in the number of live animals and invasive plants stopped at border crossings.

Last month, China in addition to protesting Japan’s plan to release the water announced an immediate ban on the importation of seafood and fish from Japan. The announcement said the ban was effective immediately noting that China would “dynamically adjust relevant regulatory measures as appropriate to prevent the risks of nuclear-contaminated water discharge to the health and food safety of our country.”

China was reported to be importing more than $1.1 billion of seafood from Japan every year. Japan protested the ban and proposed setting up international monitoring insisting that the release of water from Fukushima would not impact the food supply.