shippingposition
  • Home
  • News
  • Editorial
    • Vox Pop
  • Maritime safety
  • Oil and Gas
  • Personality
  • Health
No Result
View All Result
shippingposition

Home » What Is Blank Sailing And Why Does It Happen?

What Is Blank Sailing And Why Does It Happen?

by Joshua
October 18, 2021
in Shiptalk

Ocean cargo vessels usually have a fixed route and ports of call that are known as Schedules.

The schedule includes the vessel’s ETA (Expected Time of Arrival at the port) and ETD (Expected Time of Departure from the port).

BLANK SAILING

An ocean vessel has a fixed number of days to complete the schedule and get back to its base. The ship takes cargo from these ports and discharges them as per their bookings at the respective ports of discharge.

The ship’s voyage might also include stops for routine bunkering and other maintenance of the vessel.

When an ocean vessel does not call at one or more of its scheduled intermediate stops, it is called a blank sailing or void sailing from these ports.

It could be from one or two specific ports or the entire voyage could be cancelled.

When the entire voyage is cancelled it is called ‘blanking the string’. Customers who have been waiting to load or offload cargo will find that they have to wait for the next sailing to pick up or drop-off their cargo.

The list of ports that are served by the carrier is called a ‘string’.

Let us say, a carrier sails between port A and port D. In this case, the carrier sets sail from port A, reaches port B, then C, and finally its destination port of D.

At port D, it offloads goods as well as takes in goods meant for port A. It then sails for port A.

These ports from A to D is called the string.

As it can be seen here, the vessel completes a circle and reaches back at the port from where it started.

The voyage taken by the vessel is usually in a fixed ‘circle’, in the same direction, with a timetable of fixed arrivals and departures at these ports.

Blank or void sailing may be understood better with the following example.

Why Do Blank Sailings Happen?

The total number of days in a vessel’s schedule would include its sailing days, days taken for loading and unloading, and any other known factors.

When the ship is unable to meet any of these deadlines, it is sometimes forced to skip certain ports of call.

Generally, blank sailings are planned at short notice by shipping lines to meet certain uncertainties. It might be the only way to counter internal or external issues.

An internal uncertainty is when there is a low demand for container space onboard a certain vessel, covering a specific string. In such an event, the shipping line might cancel calling at one, two, or more ports from where there is no booking of cargo at all or when bookings are marginal.

It is common to have blank sailings following major holidays as cargo bookings will be low immediately after such holidays.

Carriers might also decide to change the complete string. This usually happens when shipping lines merge or when carriers enter into agreements and form alliances.

A new alliance or agreement might decide to change a string to optimize cargo capacity and bring down costs.

During the second and third quarters of the year 2020, several trans-pacific and Asian lines had cancelled strings and blank sailings due to the very low demand for cargo space as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

The container market is currently picking up, but at a very slow pace. Shipping alliances have so far cancelled hundreds of services on account of low cargo volumes.

The services between Asia and North America are the worst hit. This is an unexpected situation as everyone had expected the pandemic to be brought under control within a short time.

Carriers also resort to blank sailings so that the few services that sail will go with full cargo loads. Besides helping them optimize their services they also use this as a factor to push up their rates. However, such rearrangements require careful logistics and planning.

Blanking sailings can happen in the event of a vessel running into mechanical problems that call for repairs that can only be done from certain ports.

Recently, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) implemented a regulation that capped the sulfur content in marine fuels to 0.5%. Before this, it was capped at 3.5%. This new regulation came into effect on 1 January 2020 to control marine pollution and in line with other global pollution control initiatives.

As soon as the announcement was made by the IMO sometime in early 2019, vessel operators went into overdrive getting their large container vessels retrofitted with the Exhaust Gas Cleaning System (EGCS), commonly known as Scrubbers, that would help these vessels meet the IMO’s requirement.

Due to the large demand for having these scrubbers fitted to vessels and a lack of trained staff to carry out this work, there was soon a backlog of vessels lined up at shipyards that were equipped to carry out this work. This in turn led to blank sailings on a global scale around this period, leading to space constraints on several sectors.

What are the external uncertainties? These could be port strikes, labour unrest, weather warnings, etc. that could affect the vessel’s timely berthing and resailing from a port.

Port strikes and labour unrests usually drag on for a long time. Berthing of vessels and ship husbandry services can be severely affected during such periods of unrest at ports. Weighing in all other factors, a vessel may decide to skip such a port and continue with its voyage.

Weather forecasts and warnings are usually provided by the meteorological department of a country. Violent tropical storm warnings at certain locations may require that vessels passing through ports in such areas cancel their trip.

Read Also:  WEEKLY GLOBAL MARINE INCIDENTS

In other instances, though rare, ships may decide to ‘wait-out’ on such natural phenomena at a safe distance as prescribed in the safety manual of their company, until berthing or sailing is once again considered safe.

The movement of vessels in and out of a port is planned and monitored by the port authorities. Such movements will have to be coordinated with the Harbour Master or relevant port authorities whose responsibility is usually, to ensure the smooth movement of vessels in and out of their respective ports, the pilotage of such vessels, and their berthing.

Blank sailings are usually informed to customers by the carrier or the carrier agent through its sailing schedules. Major vessel operators such as Maersk, MSC, COSCO, CMA-CGM, etc. have monthly advisories that inform customers regarding blank sailings.

Cargo that is booked on a blank sailing has to be re-booked on the next available vessel. This can be a tricky situation as there might now be a build-up of cargo due to the absence of service.

Stevedoring functions at such ports could also be impacted as they have to deal with this unexpected volume of cargo. The frequency of service from the blanked port is another factor to consider.

The gap between services could compound the problem further; it could be weekly, fortnightly, or monthly. If not planned meticulously and executed correctly, blank sailings can affect cargo movement adversely.

shippingposition

Kindly like us on Facebook


Tags: Blank SailingOcean cargo vessels

Related Posts

SHIPTALK: The Shipping Agent

SHIPTALK: The Shipping Agent

July 7, 2025

SHIPTALK: Equator Crossing Ceremony: The Real Test Of Seafarers

June 30, 2025
SHIPTALK: Some Nautical Slangs in Common Usage   (4)

SHIPTALK: Some Nautical Slangs in Common Usage   (4)

May 19, 2025
Evergreen Declares Force Majeure On Israeli-Bound Shipment

SHIPTALK: The Role of General Average in the Maritime Industry

March 3, 2025

Discussion about this post

Latest News

Aliko Dangote Submits Paperwork To Build Nigeria’s Largest Seaport In Ogun

Nigeria Ramps Up Campaign for IMO Category C Seat, Showcases Maritime, Aviation Potential on Global Stage

July 15, 2025

WCO Chairmanship: Afam Chukwuma Hails Adeniyi’s Appointment as Major Boost for Nigeria’s Customs and Economy

Aliko Dangote Submits Paperwork To Build Nigeria’s Largest Seaport In Ogun

Nigeria Customs Boss Extols Late Buhari’s Legacy Of Discipline

Vessels Expected At Lagos Ports As At 14th July, 2025

Duty-Free, But Not Trouble-Free: Mixed Reactions Trail UK’s Trade Window For Nigerian Exports

At Last, Lekki-Epe Corridor Stakeholders Agree On August 1st Enforcement Date For E-Call-Up 

Nigeria Losing Billions To Boat Importation As Indigenous Operators Urge Local Shipbuilding Drive

Court Ruling Against CRFFN’s Regulatory Powers Tears Customs Brokers Apart   

Oyetola Reaffirms Commitment to Logistics Reform, Commissions Zenith Carex HQ

Let the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria Breathe

MONDAY INTERVIEW: “70% of the crew of Ocean Dragon are Nigerians”— Mrs Bernadine Eloka 

kindly like our Facebook page

Health

The Usefulness Of Watermelon Seeds You May Not Know
Health

The Usefulness Of Watermelon Seeds You May Not Know

July 14, 2025

Watermelon is one fruit that’s hard to resist when it gets too hot. It’s sweet and is high in water...

KNOW YOUR BODY PARTS: THE HEART

KNOW YOUR BODY PARTS: THE HEART

June 30, 2025
Why Your Favourite Seasoning Cubes May Be Hurting Your Kidneys

Why Your Favourite Seasoning Cubes May Be Hurting Your Kidneys

June 30, 2025
Contraceptive Pills Can’t Cause Cervical Cancer – Expert

Contraceptive Pills Can’t Cause Cervical Cancer – Expert

June 30, 2025
ONIONS: The Good Old Healing Vegetable

KNOW YOUR BODY PARTS: The Liver

June 16, 2025
ONIONS: The Good Old Healing Vegetable

ONIONS: The Good Old Healing Vegetable

June 16, 2025
Why Prostate Disorder Cases Are Increasing Among Nigerian Men – Experts

Why Prostate Disorder Cases Are Increasing Among Nigerian Men – Experts

June 1, 2025
20m Nigerians Live With Mental Health Issues, Says WHO

20m Nigerians Live With Mental Health Issues, Says WHO

June 1, 2025
Health Facts You Didn’t Know

How Your Habit Affects Fertility

May 19, 2025
Fruits For Raining Season

Fruits For Raining Season

May 19, 2025

© 2021 Shippingposition

Navigate Site

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • Terms

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Coast To Coast
  • Oil and Gas
  • Maritime Education
  • The Terminals
  • Maritime safety

© 2021 Shippingposition