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HMM Platinum general average adds to cargo woes, as search for refuge drags on

HMM has declared general average following the fire aboard the HMM Platinum, generating a slew of new hurdles for cargo owners, with the carrier still seeking a port of refuge for the vessel, which has spent the past month anchored off the South African coast. Korhi Average Adjusters & Surveyors have been appointed to handle the adjustment for the 5,593 teu containership, with Korhi and Richards Hogg Lindley responsible for collecting general average security. Those with cargo aboard will be required to provide salvage security and general average security before shipments can be forwarded or released, while uninsured cargo owners will be required to provide cash deposits, although the amounts have yet to be determined. Given the extent of cargo damage and timetable for discharging containers remains unclear, the requirements add more uncertainty for forwarders and their customers with shipments aboard the vessel. Fire broke out aboard the Liberian-flagged vessel on 6 October, while sailing from Kattupalli to Santos, with reports claiming that the blaze originated in a container while the ship was off Madagascar's southern coast, with some 2,300 boxes aboard. Salvage specialist SMIT was appointed under a Lloyd's Open Form agreement, while the vessel diverted towards South Africa but finding a suitable port of refuge has proved complicated. Ngqura has been identified as a possible destination, with Transnet National Ports Authority reportedly considering a request for the vessel to enter, but AIS data from Wingo Marine on 9 November placed the ship at anchor around 29km north-east of Durban.

US air forwarders push for action on cargo crime

US forwarders are urging the House of Representatives to adopt the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act (CORCA) to help tackle organised crime. The Airforwarders Association (AfA) said CORCA would establish an Organized Retail and Supply Chain Crime Coordination Center within Homeland Security Investigations to strengthen information sharing and coordination between federal, state, and local law enforcement and the private sector. The association urged the House of Representatives to include the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act (CORCA) in the final Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) as Congress returns following the midterm elections. The NDAA is passed annually to set defence and spending priorities and is frequently used to advance other measures with bipartisan support. The AfA pointed out that House passed CORCA by 348 votes to 60 in May and called on lawmakers from both parties to use the NDAA to deliver a coordinated federal response to organised cargo theft and freight fraud. "Congress has already shown overwhelming bipartisan support for tackling organised cargo crime, and the job now is to turn that support into law," said Steve Smith, chief executive of the Airforwarders Association. "Forwarders are dealing with organised criminal networks that operate across state lines and exploit gaps between jurisdictions, so this is an issue where Republicans and Democrats should continue working together to give law enforcement and legitimate businesses the tools to route them out." David King of AB&M Logistics and chair of the AfA's Cargo Theft Committee added: "Forwarders are seeing how sophisticated these crimes have become and how difficult they can be to investigate when activity crosses jurisdictions. "The industry can help by sharing what is happening on the ground, but we also need law enforcement agencies to be able to act on it. "CORCA is an opportunity to improve that coordination and give legitimate businesses a stronger federal partner in tackling organised cargo crime." The AfA said that over the past year, it had taken member concerns directly to Congress, holding meetings with congressional offices, supporting the wider CORCA coalition, and creating opportunities for members to explain firsthand how cargo theft, fraudulent pickups, carrier impersonation, and identity fraud affect their businesses.

'Multi-node supply chains' are the future, in a 'multi-polar pharma world'

China, India, and the Middle East are all playing their role in shifting the geographical centre of production and innovation, the three regions emerging as particularly important to the global pharmaceutical supply chain Frank van Gelder, secretary general of Pharma.Aero, said a fracturing of the supply chain with a more geographically diffuse network of production, healthcare providers, and clinical centres could create new opportunities for airfreight and specialist logistics providers. "China is no longer only a major source of pharmaceutical ingredients and manufacturing capacity; it is becoming an increasingly important centre for biotechnology, clinical development, and innovative medicines," he told The Loadstar. "India remains essential to generics and manufacturing, while expanding its innovative capabilities; Europe and North America remain central, but innovation and production are becoming more geographically distributed. While Europe and North America would remain important pharma centres, he said the emergence of additional innovation and production hubs was creating what he called a "multi-polar pharmaceutical world". For logistics providers, "that means multi-node supply chains - interconnected manufacturing sites, clinical centres, specialised logistics hubs, and healthcare delivery points, rather than dependence on a few dominant origins and gateways", Mr van Gelder explained. "For air cargo this opens opportunities for new regional gateways and specialised corridors, but it also demands much better network orchestration," he added. However, he cautioned that nodes must be "qualified, connected, interoperable, and economically justified". That meant those considering it needed to be able to distinguish between diversification and "expensive duplication", he said, noting:"More nodes do not automatically mean greater resilience, more tonnage, or better profitability." And he warned that the emergence of regional gateways and specialised corridors would place greater demands on the ability of logistics operators to coordinate, given the increased complexity in these international networks. The requirement for temperature-controlled infrastructure, qualified handling facilities, and reliable connections between different supply chain participants was particularly important as pharmaceutical products become more specialised, he added. Mr van Gelder said: "The most profound change comes with advanced therapies. In autologous cell therapy, a patient's cells can be collected, transported for manufacturing, and returned as a personalised treatment. "Chain of identity, chain of custody, time, temperature, and clinical scheduling become inseparable. A disruption can affect a treatment appointment. Radioligand therapies introduce another set of highly time-sensitive, product-specific constraints," he said. However, Mr van Gelder cautioned against assuming the emergence of new pharmaceutical production centres or growth in innovative medicines would automatically translate into greater airfreight volumes.