Tomini Shipping has revealed plans for further expansion following an order for nine new bulkers. Chairman Imtiaz Shaikh has said that the Dubai-based company has set itself a target of at least 20 new vessels over the next few years.

Despite concerns over the government shutdown, import volume at the nation's major retail container ports is expected to grow 9.1 percent in October over the same month last year, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates. The numbers reflect merchandise ordered months before the shutdown as retailers planned for the holiday season.

The world's biggest container shipping line by market share is predicting that the world will come out of the funk induced by the financial crisis in the coming two years.

Average carbon-dioxide emissions for global ocean container transport have declined year on year, and by more than 7 percent between 2011 and 2012, according to BSR's Clean Cargo Working Group's 2013 Collaborative Progress report.

For the first time ever, a bulk carrier is using the Northwest Passage as a transit trade lane, when transporting coal from Vancouver in Canada to Finland. The historic transit is shorter than traditional shipping routes and will not only save time, fuel and CO2, but also increase the load of cargo with 25 percent compared to the Panama Canal. Nordic Bulk Carriers A/S, the Danish pioneer, is once again behind the new business adventure.

Worldwide perishable reefer trade increased by 52.1 million tonnes between 2002 and 2012, which represents a combined annual growth rate of 3.6 percent, according to Drewry's latest Reefer Shipping Market Annual Review and Forecast. Seaborne perishable reefer cargo has increased by a CAGR of 3.3 percent (25.6 million tonnes) from 66.8 million tonnes in 2002 to 92.4 million tonnes in 2012.