Published by The Maritime Executive

Published by The Maritime Executive

Published by The Maritime Executive

Published by The Maritime Executive

Published Apr 5, 2022 4:28 PM by The Maritime Executive

German retailing giant Lidl, part of the Schwarz Group, the fifth-largest retailer in the world, reportedly has a unique solution to the supply chain frustrations that have been plaguing retailers around the world. They plan to start a shipping line and buy containerships to maintain their flow of goods.

The company which operates hypermarkets in Europe and in recent years has begun expanding into the United States filed an application with the European Trademark Office registering the brand name Tailwind Shipping Line. According to the filing, the company intends to use the new operation for the transportation and delivery of goods, including cargo transportation; cargo ship transport; air cargo transport; Import and export cargo handling services.

News that the retailer is in negotiations with shipping companies was first reported in the German trade publication Lebensmittel-Zeitung and later confirmed by the company to a wide range of German media. Lidl, which operates around 11,200 stores and is active in 32 countries, is reportedly seeking greater consistency and flexibility in managing parts of its supply chain. The trade publication reports that Lidl first sought to invest in an existing shipping company before deciding to start its own shipping company and purchase ships.

"We can confirm that Lidl will use some of its own sea freight capacities in the future. This is another building block for securing our supply chains and the availability of goods in our branches," a spokesman for the company told the German publication Manager Magazin.

Reports indicate that the retailer currently has a volume of 400 to 500 TEU per week, presumably for its operations in Germany or across Europe. There was no indication of how many ships they might be planning to buy or what routes they plan to operate.

Lidl is not the first retailer to expand into shipping recently. Starting in 2021, a broad range of companies including Amazon, Ikea, Home Depot, and Dollar Tree as well as suppliers for Walmart, each reported chartering vessels to move containers from Asia. FedEx launched a shipping container service from Asia on chartered bulkers offering shippers the opportunity to move goods to California while the company was also taking delivery of new containers in China that will be used with its onshore freight services in the United States.

Furniture company Loctek which manufacturers its standing desk in Shenzen, however, was the first to order a containership newbuild. In January 2022, the company reported in a stock exchange filing that it contracted with the Huanghai Shipbuilding Co., located in Shandong Province, China to build a container ship at a cost of $32.8 million that will be delivered by March 31, 2023.    

Published Apr 7, 2022 12:33 AM by The Maritime Executive

In an after-accident report released Tuesday, the National Transportation Safety Board warned of the risk of "sleep inertia" - the temporary feeling of grogginess felt after waking up - for mariners on a rotating watch schedule.  According to NTSB, sleep inertia usually lasts for about 30 minutes after waking, and it may last longer if a person is sleep deprived. It is a common condition for shift workers in all industries, according to the Sleep Foundation. NTSB advises that mariners...

Published Apr 6, 2022 10:33 PM by The Maritime Executive

Turkish military forces have located and neutralized another drifting naval mine in the Black Sea, marking the third in Turkish waters and the fourth in the region since the start of the invasion of Ukraine. On Wednesday, an Underwater Defense (SAS) dive team was ordered to the site to neutralize the mine, and it was successfully detonated.  In a statement, Turkey's defense ministry said that a Liberian-flagged merchant ship had spotted the mine off the coast of Kefken, a town...

Published Apr 6, 2022 9:17 PM by The Maritime Executive

The government of Canada is planning to green-light Equinor's Bay du Nord offshore oil project, according to Canada's CBC.  The controversial $12 billion development would unlock about 0.3-1.0 billion barrels of oil from several fields off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. It would create at least $2.8 billion in revenue for Canada's government, according to Equinor, and would lead to the creation of thousands of jobs in politically important regions of Atlantic Canada. Survey data suggests that the overwhelming...

Published Apr 6, 2022 8:32 PM by The Maritime Executive

France’s Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire completed the handover today of the newest cruise ship in the world, Celebrity Beyond to Celebrity Cruises, part of the Royal Caribbean Group. At 140,000 gross tons, she is the largest cruise ship in the Celebrity Cruises fleet expanding on the innovations contained in the Edge class first introduced in 2018. Like the two earlier ships of the class, Celebrity Edge and Celebrity Apex, the new cruise ship features the unique silhouette of...

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