By Paul Richardson, AJOT Oil prices are once more on the increase, just months after a global fall that saw shipping lines reduce their Bunker Adjustment Factors (BAF’s) to address price decrease on most container trades. According to the PR News Service Rates & Surcharges database, all the October Bunker Adjustment Factors (BAFs) announced for the major trade lanes show an increase of almost 10% for October compared to September. Asia/North Europe and Asia/Mediterranean trades are showing an average of US$700/teu in September, a jump to just under US$800/teu, and as the regular oil price volatility shows up once again, this time linked with the seasonal market downturns, then slow steaming and the need for fuel cost saving creeps in once again. On the Asia/US West Coast trade, which in the past has mostly escaped the slow steaming phenomenon, Evergreen has added a seventh vessel to the Transpacific Southwest Service known as the TPS In doing so, Evergreen will now offer a 49-day service rotation with seven 7,000 teu vessels to cover China/Taiwan and Los Angeles/Oakland/Tacoma, instead of the previous 42-day round voyage duration. But the biggest slow steaming moves are happening on the Asia/Europe trades, where not only rising fuel prices, but the continuing European market downturn, have become governing factors in the decision making process. Interestingly however, what is about to happen in the final quarter on this trade is a slowing down of eastbound transit times by up to a week, while the westbound transit times are remaining unchanged. CKYH Alliance lines, COSCO, K Line, Yangming and Hanjin are slowing down at least two services on the Asia/Europe trades through the winter season. On the North Europe trade, the NE2 service will go up from a 63-day round voyage to 70 days as a tenth vessel is added, and eastbound, transit times between North Europe and Singapore go up three days, and into Xiamen and Kaohsiung, by seven days. The CKYH lines recently became the first alliance to announce the suspension of one of their Asia/North Europe service, thereby dropping the NE4 service from October onwards to cater for the seasonal downturn. That service has made direct calls at Shanghai, and the new look slow steaming NE2 will add Shanghai to the port rotation to cope with the NE4 loss. On the Asia/Mediterranean trade, the CKYH lines’ MED2 service will go up from a 63-day round voyage schedule to 70-days as a tenth vessel is deployed. Between August and October, the MD2 service will have operated with nine vessels in the 8,000/9,000 teu capacity frame, with one sailing having been missed out. However, the service is operating on a 63-day round voyage rotation with transit times related to that time frame and capacity deployment of nine vessels. Another interesting factor creeps in here as well, as the additional vessels on both CKYH services comprise newbuildings, brand new from the shipbuilders’ yards, a move that strongly hints at another piece in the complex capacity deployment jigsaw. Rising oil prices, slow steaming, market downturn, but a bottom line deployment for capacity that otherwise would have been laid up and mothballed. The Europe continued market downturn has been well documented, but surprisingly other regions are also experiencing a fall in demand. Maersk/Safmarine and Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) are to merge two services covering the East coast of South America trades from November to address the downturn, and interestingly, the Maersk service includes the Middle East and Indian sub-continent. The Maersk/Safmarine Rumba/Prime 4 service covering the Indian sub continent/Middle East/Med/ECSA trade, will be merged with the MSC Spain service Loop 2 covering the Med/ECSA trade that will result in a combined service operating with 6 x 6,000 teu vessels. The new service port rotation will be: Gioia Tauro, Valencia, Algeciras, Pecem, Salvador, Paranagua, Itapoa, Imbituba, Santos, Las Palmas, Tangier, Algeciras, Gioia Tauro.