Leading container shipping companies are continuing to weather the pandemic storm, and its economic shockwaves, with success – pushing long-term contracted rates up for the second successive month. In the latest figures from Xeneta’s XSI® Public Indices report, which crowd sources real-time shipping rates from shippers worldwide, rates were seen to climb by 1.9% over November, building on a gain of 1.3% in October. The index is now 1.9% up year-on-year, with a 0.9% rise since the start of 2020.

New Atlantic action plan and impact of COVID-19 on rural areas also discussed.

The European Committee of the Regions has given its preliminary backing to a set of recommendations aimed at ensuring that the European Union embraces agro-ecological principles and techniques in its efforts to reduce agriculture's contribution to climate change, secure the EU's food supplies, and support rural communities.

Cargo volumes in the third quarter:
Container throughput totals 2.3 million TEU (-4.9 percent).
Total throughput amounts to 32 million tons (-8 percent).

AstaZero is now building the world's longest indoor track for testing self-driving vehicles. AstaZero is the leading test bed for the automated transport systems of the future. With the new indoor track, AstaZero consolidates its position as a world-unique test environment.

Lithuanian Airports have officially joined the Charter initiated by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and undertook the commitment to ensure the highest epidemiological safety standards, as well as to exchange information with other members of the Charter in order to manage the challenges faced by the aviation industry due to the pandemic.

Singapore, 20 November 2020 -- Dominating 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has required businesses to find new solutions to continue their services. When Survival Systems International, Inc. (SSI) experts needed to attend site, this was not possible because of the travel restrictions. RINA provided a solution by supplying SSI with a Kiber helmet, a fully integrated, wearable hardware and software solution for remote assistance.

Paris, 20 November – The International Coordinating Council of the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme of UNESCO has named the recipients of the 2020 Young Scientists Awards, which seeks to promote a new generation of scientists worldwide poised to address ecological and sustainability issues.

Solar flight pioneer Bertrand Piccard’s Solar Impulse Foundation has embarked on a hunt for 1,000 innovative ideas that prove that sustainable solutions can also be economically attractive. The foundation has come up with an illustrious list that has featured a familiar name since November: squAIR-timber. Developed by trilatec GmbH, this system replaces wood pallets and beams used in air freight transportation with comparable solutions made out of cardboard fiber. squAIR-timber products are 80 per cent lighter than wood, dramatically lowering fuel consumption and helping to reduce CO2 emissions from global air freight transportation.

Lietuvių sukurtas startuolis „Omnisend“ tapo 33 greičiausiai Didžiojoje Britanijoje augančia technologijų įmone. Bendrovė įvertinta vienuose iš įtakingiausių šalies apdovanojimų „Deloitte‘s UK Fast 50“, jau 23 metus iš eilės vertinančių ir skelbiančių sparčiausiai pajamas auginančių technologijų įmonių 50-uką.

British International Freight Association Director General, Robert Keen says that freight forwarders and the shippers they work for are reeling from unjust demurrage fees linked to congestion in ports around the world.

ESPO congratulates the Port of Moerdijk (the Netherlands) for successfully renewing the EcoPorts’ environmental management standard (PERS). This is the impressive 7th occasion that the Port has achieved PERS certification. The port received their certificate in a digital handover ceremony.

New report explores lessons from the Nordic countries for reducing shipping emissions / Online presentation of findings on 24 November

Petredec signs contract for three LPG-powered engines for newbuild VLGCs; option for three more

Petredec Holdings (Eastern) PTE Ltd has announced the signing of a contract for the construction of 3+3 × 93,000 cbm LPG carriers at Jiangnan Shipyard in China. Each vessel will be powered by individual MAN B&W 6G60ME-LGIP dual-fuel engines, capable of running on LPG.

„Being a senior in Lithuania can be great. Especially, if you work at Omnisend“ („Būti senjoru Lietuvoje gali būti puiku. Ypač, jei dirbate Omnisend“). Tokiu didelę darbo patirtį turintiems specialistams skirtu žodžių žaismu paremtą reklamos kampaniją pradėjo lietuvių technologijų įmonė, aptarnaujanti jau daugiau nei aštuoniasdešimt tūkstančių klientų visame pasaulyje.

The expansion and increasing demand of maritime communication after the covid-19 pandemic is highly growing, and the role of maritime communication in ending the traditional methods of ship, crew communication, and training onboard takes on an unprecedented step towards a new era of maritime connectivity.