The ocean shipping industry is awash with challenges as tepid freight volumes and overcapacity continue to erode revenues. Steamship lines are hyper-sensitive to shifts in demand. Consequently, many are idling vessels, reconfiguring service strings and port calls, and joining alliances to help rationalize capacity and better utilize assets. Port efficiency and throughput is equally important. As the Panama Canal's grand re-opening nears, and larger con-tainerships come online, carriers are further challenged with streamlining and expediting vessel discharge and loading at port. Time is money - especially as con-tainerships approach 20,000 TEUs. Marc Bourdon, North American president of French shipping line CMA CGM, the world's third-largest ocean freight carrier, offers a 24/7 hehind-the-gate view of what happens when a container vessel arrives at port.
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