• Trained seafarers a strategic need for S'pore
  Minister urges S'pore Poly to be at forefront of maritime training
• 95% of Bimco members will meet ISM Code deadline
• Shahi Shipping to set up subsidiary in Singapore

• Region's aerospace sector will expand: Mahathir
  S-E Asia will become more attractive with fall in currency values, he saysat opening of Lima '97
• Airline industry aims to halve number of accidents
• Honda making sports utility vehicles in Thailand, Philippines

• Challenging times at hand
  Congress hears how customers, competition and costs are set to alter the way companies operate in the coming years

• Hyundai, Halla merger likely as crisis rocks Korean yards

• New alliance storms into market
• FEFC business plan for 1998
• Japanese regional ports raise container handling
• Taiwan carriers enjoy the benefits of US open skies
• BAX Global's Pfastship-2000 system gets certification
• Boeing vows to restore output
• EU asked to drop restrictions on Alitalia
• Brand new logistics centre for south Malaysia

• EC considers hard aviation policy
• US rejects European carrier subsidizing
• EBS and staff abandon obdurate attitude
• Harry Vos scores bull's eye
• Ocean gets full control Intexo

• AOTOS award winner sees U.S. fleet growth
• Bulk of alliance services head west
• Airlines will share Osaka to Taipei run
• Exec warns paperwork may stunt E-commerce
• Union Pacific tells feds that system is now Ok
• Agency adopts bulk carrier safety rules

• Teekay buys Australian fleet
  AFRAMAX tanker specialist Teekay Shipping has bought the four vessel Australian Tankships op-eration from Australian Petroleum for an undis-closed sum.
• Hutchison bid to halt Subic Bay tendering
  HUTCHISON Ports has petitioned the Philippines Supreme Court to stop the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority from proceeding with re-tendering for the management of the Subic Bay Container Terminal, just five days before the authority was due to announce the winner in a new round of bids for the contract.
• Anger over Kandla terminal bids
  INDIA'S Kandla Port Trust (KPT) has been criticised by prospective bidders after floating a global tender for the construction of a two-berth container terminal on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis.
• PanOceanic issue earns 'B' rating
  PANOCEANIC Bulk Carriers' $100m junk bond issue has been given a single 'B' credit rating by Standard & Poor's.
• Daedong dispels industry fears
  SOUTH Korea's Daedong Shipbuilding believes it will be able to continue operating normally despite the financial problems of its parent Soosan Heavy Industries.
• Rogliano shake-up to extend LNG activities
  PARIS-based shipbroking group Barry Rogliano Salles & Compagnie is reorganising its newbuilding and offshore division following the announcement of the retirement of Francois Olivier, the group's liquefied natural gas consultant.
• UK shipyard workers hit at critics
  SHIPYARD workers on the northeast coast of England have defended their track record over multi-million pound contracts after stern rebukes from major contractors.
• New head for Portnet
  SOUTH African port authority, Portnet, has finally appointed a new chief executive officer, writes Dee Rissik, Africa Editor.

• Lauritzen shrugs off Danyards failure
  J LAURITZEN does not expect failure to reach agreement with a Malaysian businessman over his purchase of a further stake in Danyards will affect the future direction of the company.
• Asean growth 'depends on intermodalism'
  THE pace of Asean trade growth depends on how quickly intermodalism develops in the region, according to a Malaysian maritime consultant.
• Nordenham port changes hands
  THE port operating company of Nordenham on Germany's Weser river, Midgard, is to be sold.
• India's PTA proposes minimum port tariffs
  INDIA'S Port Tariff Authority (PTA) has proposed to set up a tariff band to create a level playing field following allegations of rate collusion.
• Two compete for MTW yard
  TWO companies are currently bidding to take over German shipbuilder MTW.
• Port chief says only six hub ports needed
  FUTURE mega carriers, whether operators of 10,000 or 15,000 teu ships, will limit their calls to five or six ports worldwide, according to a P&O Ports executive.
• Indian call for no-strike law
  THE chairman of India's Engineering Export Promotion Council has called on the government to frame laws to avert the strikes and infrastructure breakdowns.
• Cochin earmarked for $2.6bn lng terminal
  PUBLIC sector Gas Authority of India (GAIL) has identified 150 acres of land at Cochin for setting up a Rs100bn ($2.6bn) lng terminal project.
• Brazil expects ISF piracy penalty
  THE Brazilian representative in the ISF has revealed that a penalty against Brazil is expected to be applied at the next meeting.
• Hobart plans major cruise complex
  Hobart has initiated a A$150m ($102m) plan to redevelop the port's historic Sullivan's Cove section as part of a tourism complex.
• Members agree clubs merger
  MEMBERS of the North of England P&I Association and the Newcastle P&I Association have finally agreed their respective directors' recommendations to merge.

• Hessenatie: bientôt huit portiques sur l'Escaut
  C 'est la Hessenatie qui a inauguré l'introduction de la containérisation sur les bords de l'Escaut, avec la mise en service du terminal de l'Europe, installation d'une capacité annuelle de 600.000 containers, soit 850.000 TEU et qui en l'espace de 5 ans a pratiquement fait le plein. Des investissements supplémentaires sont réalisés afin de développer quelque peu la capacité d'intervention sur quai étant donné qu'il arrive de plus en plus souvent que le manutentionnaire soit confronté à des arrivages de pointe à ce terminal, ce qui implique l'obligation de desservir simultanément 3 grands PC et d'assurer de bons rendements.
• Harry Vos va intégrer NWM et Jonker en une unité
  Sauf accident de parcours, le groupe néerlandais Harry Vos achètera la société de transport citernier NWM. Ainsi que nous l'avons annoncé dans notre édition d'hier, le groupe Cindu a choisi Vos pour acquérir sa filiale de transport. Le directeur de Harry Vos, Wim Vos, a annoncé que cette transaction se fera par l'apport de Jonker Veendam dans une nouvelle entreprise holding, baptisée Vos Intermodal, dans laquelle Jonker et NWM seront intégrés en tant que partenaires équivalents.
• La Région flamande investit 37,5 mio. dans le transport multimodal
  Le ministre flamand des Travaux publics, du Transport et de l'Aménagement du Territoire Eddy Baldewijns a parlé d'un événement historique: jamais auparavant, les pouvoirs publics flamands n'avaient libéré un tel montant pour le développement du transport ferroviaire. L'accord conclu entre une instance fédérale (la SNCB) et le pouvoir régional (la Région flamande) représente également une première. Le gouvernement flamand libérera 37,5 millions de BEF pour développer deux navettes proposées par Interferry, la filiale de la SNCB, entre Anvers d'une part et Strasbourg et Born d'autre part. Eddy Baldewijns estime que ce soutien financier constitue un effort important pour stimuler le transport multimodal. Le lancement des deux projets signifie que 40.000 transnports routiers par an peuvent être transférés de la route au rail.
• Le transport douanier commun doit encore être promu
  Le séminaire de deux jours sur les expériences acquises en un an en matière de transport douanier commun, qui s'est tenu les 27 et 28 novembre derniers à Prague, peut être considéré comme un succès. Selon le président du Clecat Jean Chabrerie, une des principales conséquences de ces activités est une ébauche de collaboration entre la Commission européenne, les services douaniers nationaux et les professionnels. Le système doit toutefois encore être promu, estime Jean-Marc Grave du DGXXI.

• Safety still major issue at transportation board
• Several carriers get 'gift' from US Postal Service
• Cocoa industry veteran Wady Jasmin heads Santo container terminal
• P&O Chinese deal focuses on steel
• Snow in France shuts airport, slows traffic
• Leak from Japanese seafood freighter poses cleanup problem for Alaska port
• Jacksonville port agency has another good year
• Shippers cheer, see end to Canada's postal strike
• Your cargo's doomed; now what to do?
• Cathay Pacific upgrades communications network
• Get blown up, shot or stabbed, all in the comfort of your own home

• Grand decision shifts focus to local mix
  With the announcement that Orient Overseas Container Line and the Malaysia International Shipping Corporation are to shift membership from the Global to the Grand Alliance, local eyes will be on the duration of agreements expected to be revealed this week in the Australia- South East Asia trade.
• Teekay completes Australian Tankships buyout
  Vancouver-based Aframax specialist Teekay Shipping has finally wrapped-up a deal to acquire the business and vessels of Australian Tankships, the marine division of oil companies Ampol/Caltex. Teekay will buy outright two AT ships, take over management of another and on-sell a fourth, which will be replaced by a ship from its own fleet.
• Engineers downbeat over SRG chances
  The Australian Institute of Marine and Power Engineers has warned that an attempt to further undermine coastal trade provisions will result in unprecedented industrial action. In the latest report to members, the Institute states that discussions over shipping reform, prompted by the recommendations of the Shipping Reform Group, are drawing to a close.
• No discount in Toll sale, says TNT’s Wilson
  TNT Australia chief executive James Wilson has move to correct ‘inaccurate conclusions’ that Toll Holdings negotiated a "discount" on the original $145 million deal it made to buy several of TNT Australia’s non core businesses.
• Thirty parties interested in Alice-Darwin link
  More than thirty expressions of interest have been received at the close of the first round in the bidding process for the proposed Alice Springs to Darwin rail link. It has been revealed that COSCo and Hong Kong’s Hutchison Whampoa are members of one consortium, although details of most of the remainder are confidential.