Carriers increase Red Sea transits as Houthis advance

The Global Trade Brief · 17 September 2026

Five minutes to understand what matters in global trade.

---

---

What to Watch

• CMA CGM Petra cargo interests must provide security before containers are released.
• CMA CGM is the likely buyer behind a potential 12-ship order reportedly worth about $3 billion.
• Catalonia plans €127 million for the first phase of four rail freight terminals through 2031.

The full day in global trade

Today’s Headlines

• EIB funds €630m upgrade of Romania’s freight rail corridor
• Maersk overtakes Cosco in intra-Asia deployed capacity
• Asian refiners face higher crude prices and tanker rates
• Polish road hauliers report operating without profit margins
• Dutch territories linked to nearly one-tenth of false flags
• Western France abandons €50m intermodal terminal project
• Boluda digitizes truck access at its Tenerife terminal
• Wooyang orders four Vale-backed newcastlemax bulkers
• SGMF adds methanol to its marine fuel lifecycle assessments
• Germany opens senior shipboard roles to non-EU nationals
• Dynagas linked to $1.05bn LNG carrier order
• Patenga terminal reaches 58 container moves per hour

Today’s Analysis

🚆 Romania funds a major rail upgrade as Western France cancels an intermodal terminal

Why it matters: The decisions expand freight capacity on two European corridors while removing a planned rail alternative in Pays de la Loire.

• The European Investment Bank signed a €630 million loan for Romania’s Brașov–Sighișoara railway upgrade.
• The €2.25 billion project covers 113 km of double-track electrified railway.
• Completion is expected in 2029.
• The upgraded Romanian line is expected to accommodate up to 22 freight trains per day.
• Annual freight volume is forecast at around 6 million tonnes.
• The Angers Loire Metropolitan Council scrapped the proposed Trélazé combined transport terminal.
• Levelling the French site and connecting it to rail were estimated to cost approximately €50 million.
• The terminal was expected to generate 20 trains weekly and 100 to 150 HGV movements per day.

📦 Maersk takes the intra-Asia capacity lead as the market grows 6.2%

Why it matters: Growing deployed capacity increases service options but intensifies competition across one of the largest regional container markets.

• Alphaliner ranked Maersk first in intra-Asia deployed capacity in its mid-August review.
• Maersk deployed 340,000 TEU compared with Cosco’s 315,000 TEU.
• Total intra-Asia capacity grew 6.2% year on year to just below 2.6m TEU.
• More than 80 operators were active in the market.
• Mainline operators controlled more than 63% of deployed capacity.
• Regional and feeder operators held 37% of deployed capacity.
• Mainline vessels averaged 2,699 TEU compared with 1,338 TEU for regional operators.

🔗 Related: Container fleet nears 34m TEU record

🚛 Polish haulage margins disappear as Germany widens its maritime labour pool

Why it matters: Diverging labour conditions could shift transport capacity and employment costs across European road and maritime services.

• Polish road haulage business tripled after Poland joined the EU in 2004.
• Polish operators reached an estimated 20% market share in European road haulage.
• The Alliance of Polish International Road Hauliers said operators are now working without a profit margin.
• Germany amended its Safe Manning Ordinance.
• German-flagged ships may now employ masters and senior officers from outside the EU and European Economic Area.

⚓ False-flag exposure and higher Asian tanker costs raise maritime compliance risk

Why it matters: Refiners face rising voyage costs while weak action on false registration complicates vessel screening and counterparty checks.

• Asian refiners face strengthening crude prices and tanker rates as sourcing options narrow.
• Dutch territories were linked to nearly one-tenth of the global fleet of falsely flagged vessels.
• Port states were reported as failing to act on warnings concerning false vessel flags.

🏗️ Tenerife and Patenga deploy port technology to reduce truck and vessel delays

Why it matters: Digital gate controls and shore-based cranes can shorten landside queues and vessel turnaround times at growing container terminals.

• Boluda Shipping will introduce Tmeic’s Pulse Mobile platform at BMT Tenerife.
• The platform covers data validation, incident management, terminal access and landside operations.
• Boluda said the system could resolve up to 80% of incidents before trucks reach the gate.
• RSGT Bangladesh handled up to 58 container moves, or 82 TEU, per hour at Patenga Container Terminal.
• The operation involved 900 container moves representing 1,350 TEU aboard MV Wanen.
• Historical productivity in Bangladesh was around 30 moves, or 48 TEU, per hour, according to RSGT Bangladesh.
• Patenga’s approximately $170 million investment includes four ship-to-shore cranes.

🚢 Vale-backed bulkers add fuel flexibility as lifecycle analysis expands to methanol

Why it matters: New vessel specifications and lifecycle assessments make fuel production pathways increasingly relevant to shipping costs and emissions claims.

• Wooyang Shipping ordered four 210,000 dwt newcastlemax bulk carriers from New Times Shipbuilding.
• The ships are intended for long-term employment with Vale.
• Delivery is scheduled for 2029 and 2030.
• The vessels will be capable of using ethanol, methanol and conventional fuel oil.
• Industry estimates value the order at around $430 million.
• The Society for Gas as a Marine Fuel completed lifecycle assessments covering LNG, ammonia and methanol.
• SGMF found that the production pathway can matter as much as the fuel molecule.

🛳️ Dynagas-linked LNG order adds four 200,000 cu m carriers by 2029

Why it matters: Four additional large LNG carriers would expand future gas transport capacity as shipowners commit capital to long-term demand.

• Dynagas was linked to a four-ship order at Samsung Heavy Industries.
• Samsung Heavy Industries disclosed a KRW1.41 trillion contract with an unidentified Oceania-based owner.
• The contract was valued at $1.05 billion.
• Each LNG carrier will have capacity of 200,000 cu m.
• Delivery is due by September 2029.

Sources

1. EIB signs off on €630M loan for Romania’s Brașov–Sighișoara rail upgrade
2. Maersk overtakes Cosco to top intra-Asia capacity rankings
3. Asian refiners’ dilemma deepens with bolstering crude prices and tanker rates
4. Polish road haulage success story hits the buffers
5. Port states failing to act on false-flag warnings
6. Local authority pulls plug on modal shift to rail project in Western France
7. Boluda adds a digital platform for truck access at its Tenerife terminal
8. Wooyang lines up $430m Vale-backed newcastlemax quartet
9. SGMF completes three-fuel lifecycle picture
10. Germany opens bridge to non-EU captains
11. Dynagas linked to $1bn Samsung LNG quartet
12. RSGT sets new productivity benchmark at Patenga Container Terminal