OMG! BLANK SAILINGS ! Blank sailings explained and what you need to do?

As we head into a traditional off-peak season, carriers are announcing blank sailings that will impact services for shippers,

According to the loadstar, a number of blank sailings are being introduced by carriers over the next few weeks, as early indications suggest that post Chinese New Year volumes will be lower than originally expected.

The 2M Alliance have announced that the Feb/Mar loops of the MSC Eloane and Estelle Maersk will be withdrawn, while other carriers are expected to follow suit.

Blank sailings are scheduled journeys that are cancelled for one loop, or that skip one or more ports, due to low volume or to enable a vessel that is running late to catch up. Blank sailings are not uncommon around Chinese New Year as export production comes to a standstill during the period.

While volumes are expected to be slow in the next couple of weeks, there is more capacity being introduced between Asia and Europe shortly.  The Ocean Alliance, The Alliance and HMM are collectively adding around 28,000 TEU through upsizing to new vessels during April.

What is a blank sailing?

A blank sailing is when a carrier cancels a particular sailing for a vessel. Vessels call a specific set of ports in a “string” on a regular basis. For example, a string may have 6 vessels that rotate through calling Shanghai every Monday and then heading on to Ningbo and Los Angeles before returning back to Shanghai. These vessels run regularly in this loop to ensure consistency in transit time and supply on trade lanes.

When carriers announce blank sailings, this means that a vessel on that string will be pulled out of the loop for a week, resulting in a skipped week of service. Carriers can either plan to roll all cargo to the next vessel for that string or load containers onto other strings servicing the same ports during the week of the blank sailing. Either way, in the short-term, global supply has been reduced on that route.

Impact of Blank sailing

• Blank sailings may impact shipments in the following ways:
• Blank sailings will lead to tighter space on vessels. There will be higher demand for the remaining operating services, which could result in overbooking of active vessels. Overbookings can lead to rolled containers.
• As carriers adjust sailing schedules and cargo loading plans around blank sailings, shippers can expect there to be congestion at the ports.
• As carriers revise schedules and filter-in/out vessels, space release may be slower than usual as projecting the amount of space available on an upcoming vessel could be delayed (as a 12,000 TEU vessel could be coming online in lieu of a 15,000 TEU vessel).
• Blank sailings could lead to more uncertainty and volatility in the market

To mitigate issues and help with planning, shippers should:

• Book in advance & try to avoid last minute bookings:  Book three weeks before cargo ready date (CRD) to avoid space congestion with last minute bookings.
• Be flexible on routing. There might be blank sailings impacting your usual routing through LA to Columbus, consider routing via Canada or the USEC for a few weeks.
• Work proactively with your supplier to make sure they’re also prepared for fewer sailings–shifting CRDs could result in more delays than normal as there could be fewer overall options