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Western Sydney International's cargo precinct opens for business

The 24-hour cargo precinct at the new Western Sydney International Airport (WSI) is now officially open for business with its inaugural commercial freight flights having taken off today. Stage one of the precinct will be able to cater for eight 747/777 freighters or 16 737/A320 domestic freighters, simultaneously. Qantas Freight, Menzies Aviation, dnata Cargo, dnata Catering & Retail, and Texel Air have signed up to use the precinct, which will eventually have capacity to service up to 1.8m tonnes of air cargo annually. The cargo hub and the capacity and handling abilities it provide marks a major milestone for Australia's producers, manufacturer and supply chains, stressed WSI. Chief executive Simon Hickey said: "Air freight underpins many of NSW's highest-value industries including fresh meat and seafood, pharmaceuticals, agricultural exports, electronics, advanced manufacturing and more. "These industries rely on rapid international connections that can only be serviced by air freight, with our 24-hour Cargo Precinct initially capable of moving about a quarter of a million tonnes of freight per year, which is a massive boost to Sydney's overall air cargo capacity. "This means that a fish caught in Forster can be served fresh at a restaurant in Singapore the next day, or that patients in the Pacific will benefit from access to critical but perishable medicines, while consumers across Sydney will also receive their coveted e-commerce packages more swiftly. "At the same time, our Cargo Precinct and the broader logistics and supply chain industries will create thousands of great new job opportunities for Western Sydney workers, closer to their homes and families." WSI is Australia's first major international greenfield airport in more than 50 years. The airport carried out trial flights earlier in July to test the new precinct ahead of its formal opening. Qantas became one of the first cargo airlines to fly from the hub when one of the airline's freighters departed from the airport on the evening of 27 July. Qantas chief executive of international and freight Cam Wallace said: "It's a historic day for aviation in Australia as our first freight services take off from Western Sydney International Airport. This new terminal will help us meet growing demand for next-day deliveries and move express cargo across Australia and the world. "Western Sydney International is a major piece of infrastructure for this country and we're proud to be opening our new freight terminal, which comes ahead of Jetstar's first passenger services in October and Qantas to follow early next year." In April, cargo handler dnata announced it would invest A$32m in a dedicated cargo facility at the cargo precinct. Burt Sigsworth, managing director, dnata airport operations Australia, said: "Strong air cargo infrastructure is critical to connecting Australian businesses with global markets, and Western Sydney International Airport is set to play an important role in shaping that future. "Our new cargo facility has been designed to provide the capacity, flexibility and operational expertise needed to meet the evolving needs of customers and supply chains. "We are excited to contribute to the development of a world-class cargo hub that will strengthen connectivity, facilitate trade and create new opportunities for businesses across the region and beyond." Texel Air Australasia also recently signed up to operate its air cargo charter services from the hub. Texel Air, founder and chairman John Chisolm said: "For Texel Air, one of the most exciting aspects of Western Sydney International is the freedom that comes with genuine 24-hour operations. "The ability to operate without curfew restrictions creates opportunities that simply do not exist elsewhere in the Sydney market. "In our business, time is often the most valuable commodity. Whether it's express freight, perishable products, live cargo or time-critical charter operations, customers need flexibility and certainty. "A 24-hour cargo airport allows freight to move when it is ready, not when an airport's operating window permits. That means more efficient supply chains, greater reliability and ultimately a better outcome for Australian businesses and consumers." Menzies Aviation's executive vice president of cargo Beau Paine said: "Menzies Aviation provides air cargo and ground services at 15 airports across Australia, and we are proud to be partnering with WSI to help establish the airport as a major gateway. "Our new cargo facility has direct airside access, multiple freighter bays, and the capability to handle pharmaceuticals, perishables, e-commerce shipments, and heavy freight. "Our aim is to strengthen the supply chain and accelerate the movement of goods through MACH, our next-generation cargo management platform, MILE, our e-commerce solution, and a new trucking network connecting our Sydney cargo facilities." The first commercial passenger flight is scheduled to take off from WSI on 25 October.

Maersk boosts capacity and market share on busy intra-North Europe trade

The acquisition of Icelandic carrier Samskip's UK-continental Europe container shipping services by ro-ro and multimodal operator CLdN has halved the seller's intra-North Europe market share. According to new analysis from Alphaliner, the June transaction meant Luxembourg-based CLdN, which moved its shipping operations HQ to London in May, "made the biggest jump in the league of North Europe's largest operators" over the past year. "Fuelled by the acquisition of Samskip's Northwest Continent-UK business, CLdN climbed four positions, propelling it from 17th to 13th. "As a consequence, Samskip's own capacity nearly halved, down 40% from 9,600 teu to 5,800 teu, and its rank fell from 7th to 14th - the steepest drop of any operator," Alphaliner writes today. Operated container capacity at CLdN - its con-ro vessels can carry containers on deck - jumped from 2,750 teu in July 2025 to 6,300 teu today, and said the purchase "aligned with CLdN's strategy of providing complementary ro-ro services for mixed cargo and lo-lo services specifically for containers". It added: "These services carry out more than 1,000 port calls every year, transporting cargo for a broad customer base, including blue-chip consumer goods manufacturers... and the transfer of the lease agreements for more than 5,000 multimodal cargo units." Over the past 12 months, total capacity on the intra-North Europe trade grew 20,000 teu, representing a year-on-year increase of 6.8%, with 243 vessels with an average capacity of 1,294 teu deployed, compared with 235 averaging 1,253 teu a year earlier. In terms of the ten biggest carriers, Maersk saw the largest growth rate, its offering to market now 50,800 teu, compared with 39,800 teu this time last year. Its intra-North Europe market share thus increased from 13.5% to 16.2%, while market leader MSC's marginally contracted, from 21.3% to 21.2%, its capacity increasing 4,000 teu during the period - this represented a 6.2% increase, slightly below the market average. "Maersk's disproportionately high growth in capacity and market share again stems from the 'hub and spoke' concept that the carrier implemented last year with its Gemini partner Hapag-Lloyd," Alphaliner writes. "Its newest additions are two Maersk-operated Baltic feeder services connecting Germany with Poland, with a total of four ships of between 2,100 and 4,800 teu accounting for 14,300 teu of extra capacity," it adds. One of these is Maersk's eco-flagship, the 2,100 teu methanol-powered Laura Maersk (pictured above). Third-placed DP World Shipping Services - operating as Unifeeder until earlier this year - saw its market share decline, from 12.2% to 11%, with the reduction of two vessels, while CMA CGM also saw declines in both capacity and market share, the former down 14.4%, to 30,200 teu, while market share "slipped from 12% to 9.6%, leaving it in fourth spot", according to Alphaliner. While it continues to operate six standalone North Europe feeder services, the French carrier appears to have plugged the gap with a series of slot-charter agreements with non-mainline feeder operators - according to Xeneta's eeSea liner database, CMA CGM is a slot charterer on eight BG Freight Line strings between continental Europe and the UK and Ireland, as well as EUCON's Antwerp-Belfast shuttle. According to eeSea, 20% of the slots are estimated to be reserved for the French carrier on the 1,400 teu BG Orange, which last week was hit by the multipurpose Wind Orca while alongside the quay in the UK port of Tyne. The force of the collision prompted a quay crane to collapse onto the deck of the BG Orange, and salvage operations are currently under way. The vessel is deployed on the Peel Ports-owned carrier's Butterfly 1 service (marketed as ECUK56 by CMA CGM), which has a triangular port rotation of Rotterdam-Tyne-London Gateway.

HMM upsizes plan to boost box shipping fleet with extra orders

HMM has decided it needs more ships to support its hub-and-spoke model for liner shipping. On Friday, the South Korean flagship carrier's directors approved a $19.7bn budget to take its fleet to 166 containerships, or 1.55m teu, and the expansion of its bulk carrier fleet to 110, or 13.52m dwt, by 2030. This means HMM's mid-term plan from 2024 for its container shipping fleet to reach 130 vessels, of 1.47m teu, and 12.56m dwt of dry bulk shipping capacity by 2030, has been upsized. Also on Friday, HMM announced that its US subsidiary, Washington United Terminals (WUT), which operates facilities in Tacoma port in Washington state, has ordered four new cranes from HD Hyundai Samho. The Tacoma terminal opened in 1999 and has eight quay cranes and six yard cranes. The new cranes will replace two aging quay cranes and add more two yard cranes, allowing WUT to accommodate larger containerships and raise its annual cargo handling capacity from 590,000 teu to 880,000. HMM had previously told The Loadstar the company wanted to strengthen its ocean-going and shortsea container shipping networks based on a hub-and-spoke system of large vessels serving as hubs on long-haul routes, while small and mid-sized ships support them. The carrier also aims to rebuild its market share in intra-Asia shipping. As of June, HMM owns 96 container vessels of 1.02m teu, and 61 bulk carriers with a capacity of 7.86 million dwt. Last October, the carrier ordered a dozen 13,000 teu LNG dual-fuelled containerships from HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean.