TopAlpha Shipping Company has joined the Sea Cargo Charter, a large lobby group led by a senior Cargill official tasked with improving decision-making in line with the International Maritime Organization's carbon reduction targets.

By establishing a common baseline, the Sea Cargo Charter quantifies and discloses whether shipping activities align with climate goals. International Maritime Organization (IMO), an agency of the United Nations, has adopted similar policies and ambitions to those of the Sea Cargo Charter. International shipping is also committed to peaking emissions as soon as possible and reducing annual greenhouse gas emissions from shipping by at least 50 percent of 2008 levels by 2050.

Mark Ross, president of TopAlpha Shipping Company, said the Sea Cargo Charter provides a standard for reporting shipping emissions that promotes the decarbonization of the maritime industry. Our company is excited to join and partner with Sea Cargo Charter to enhance transparency and accuracy of the reporting that promotes responsible environmental performance.

It is a pleasure to welcome TopAlpha into the Sea Cargo Charter. Their contribution to our shared goal is an important one to us, as a large multinational corporation and an oil major. The endorsement of another industry leader by the Ship Charter demonstrates our commitment to decarbonizing shipping, said Jan Dieleman, chair of the Sea Cargo Charter Association and president of Cargill's Ocean Transportation business.

Leading the development of the Sea Cargo Charter are global bulk commodity shippers like Anglo American’s  Cargill Ocean Transportation,  Dow,  Norden,  TotalEnergies,  Trafigura,  Euronav,  Gorrissen Federspiel, and Stena Bulk; with expert support from the Global Maritime Forum,  Smart Freight Centre,  UMAS of University College London,  and Stephenson Harwood. With the IMO's policies and regulations adapting to changing environmental conditions, the Sea Cargo Charter will evolve with time.

Its San Ramon, California, base transports crude oil, natural gas, and refinery products. TopAlpha, which has joined the list of energy companies cutting emissions, set a goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

Reuters (LONDON) - Much like the coronavirus pandemic, and the economic disruption caused by it, a global shipping crisis appears set to continue delaying and fueling inflation well into 2023.

It is rare for economists to include shipping in their inflation and GDP calculations, and companies tend to focus more on raw materials and labour costs than transportation. But that might be changing.


FBX index data from Freightos shows that the cost of shipping a 40-foot container (FEU) unit has eased 15% since September's record highs over $11000. Until the pandemic, the same container cost just $1300.

As 90% of the world's merchandise is shipped by sea, it threatens to exacerbate global inflation, which has already proven more troublesome than anticipated.

The chief analyst at the freight rate benchmarking platform Xeneta doesn't expect container shipping costs to come down before 2023.

Dhl Express Shipments The higher cost of logistics is not a temporary phenomenon, Sand said. That's bad for inflation . The shipping element, however small, is much bigger than ever, and it could raise prices going forward.

In March, after the Suez Canal was blocked for six days, shipping costs initially rose. As a result, the vessel-hiring market was squeezed further, as uncertainty about future fuel and emissions regulations was driving orders for new ships to record lows.

Consumption of goods was soaring during Coronavirus lockdowns, while dockyards were burdened with COVID-related labour shortages.

Early in November, 15% of the world's loaded container volume was being held up in logjams, a reduction from August peaks but well above 7% pre-pandemic, according to Berenberg analysts.