• Liner shipping industry set to see more mergers
  Current 18 major companies will be reduced to only 11 or 12: Sea-Land
• Hongkong's MTL to lay off 375 staff
• Japan port workers to stage strike
• Chittagong port closed after collision

• SIA may enter pact with Lufthansa: report
  S'pore flag carrier said to be taking first step to joining Star Alliance
• Nations urged to consider open skies accords
• Changi's air cargo volume up 14% in first 9 months
• Volvo takes over as its own Korean importer, distributor
• Rolls-Royce plc favours Germany's BMW as buyer of Roll-Royce Motor Cars
• Airbus aims to sell US$2.7b worth of planes in Brazil
• Alitalia still undecided on European partner after talks with Swissair
• Honda to stop buying Isuzu's Mu jeeps

• Asians strengthen their hold
  Taiwan, Korea, Japan and China invest in long- and short-haul container shipping supported by intermodal services

• When the tanker industry builds ships of two different standards

• Marseille: Seaport Terminals s'implantera-t-il à Fos?
• Transit alpin: l'Italie veut une réunion tripartite
• Les raisons du rapprochement Rethmann-Rhenus
• ESCO développe ses services à partir d'Anvers

• Captrans appoints Seadragon as India service agent
• KPM invests in Cambodia
• Hanjin cuts capacity on Japan-Thailand routes
• Yang Ming stalled by weak dollar
• NVOCC augments Shanghai-Japan services
• Dongnama replaces agents

• Shippers invest in rail or inland-waterway terminals
• KLM slashes automation budget by $ 50 million
• KLM oversight in Boeing order
• TNT sells Canadian transport
• Nedlloyd subsidiary loses outsourcing
• BFI stops in Europe

• Special charge hits Greenbrier
• Precison Castparts wins wing part order
• Libra joins Transroll in U.S./South America run
• New Zealand major rail corporation seeks funds for capital expenditures
• Navy buys LRMS system from Northrop
• Canadian company buys 261 locomotives

• Fredriksen to float $400m drill venture
  NORWEGIAN shipowner John Fredriksen plans to float a new offshore drilling company with assets of $400m.
• Overseas Shipholding to sell 10 vessels
  OVERSEAS Shipholding Group is to sell 10 of its older dry cargo vessels in an effort to reduce outstanding debt.
• Saarikangas relishes new Kvaerner role
  HE who is tired of London is tired of life, said Dr Johnson. Martin Saarikangas is neither.
• Top Japanese carriers plunge deeper in red
  JAPANESE carriers Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Mitsui OSK Lines and Nippon Yusen Kaisha have all reported sharply increased losses from their European and transpacific liner services for the first half of fiscal 1997.
• Tyne port authority to build $80m freight park
  PORT of Tyne has drawn up plans for a '50m ($80m) freight park in northeast England which will create up to 500 jobs.
• Timmerman doubts derivatives
  SCEPTICISM over the use of freight futures and derivatives in managing dry bulk carrier risk has been expressed by one of the shipping industry's leading figures writes Jennie Harris.
• Wear Group third-quarter result boosted
  WEAR Dockyard Group on the northeast coast of England has attributed a successful quarter for its three repair and refit yards to the introduction of new techniques improving efficiency and productivity.
• Japan dock strike is 'unavoidable'
  A PLANNED one-day strike by Japanese dockworkers over moves to reform port operations is seen as unavoidable but is unlikely to spark more trade tension with the United States, Reuters reports.

• France attracts new feeder services
  THREE new feeder services are starting operations along the French coast.
• PLA 'softens its stance' on pilotage change date
  THE Port of London Authority, which is proposing to implement changes to the criteria of vessels requiring pilotage on the London River, may be softening its stance.
• Troubled Dane put under probation
  ATHENS stock exchange has placed Dane Sea Lines under a two-month probation because of the financial scandal which has brought the company to the verge of collapse.
• CDC to take stake in Pipavav port
  UK-based Commonwealth Development Corp is proposing to take an initial equity stake of Rs600m ($16.4m) in the north-west Indian port of Pipavav.
• Sea Malta hit by $4m loss
  SEA Malta group, comprising Sea Malta, Med Feeder and Euromalta Express, posted a loss of 'm1.6m ($4.2m) in the year to March 31, 1997.
• Chinese bank backs high-tech ships
  CHINA'S Export and Import Bank (EIBC) has underlined its policy of supporting the export of high technology ships.
• Grupo Libra to launch US/LatAm service
  BRAZILIAN operator Grupo Libra is launching a new joint service with Transroll linking the US east-coast with South America
• Cosco opens its newest repair facility
  ABOUT 300 guests attended the opening ceremony of the Dalian Cosco Ship Repair Co at Cotton Island near Dalian recently.
• Kværner Govan in $63m offshore vessel deal
  KVÆRNER Govan has signed a letter of intent with Brovig Offshore of Norway for the construction of an offshore oil-well test vessel valued at $63m.
• USCG says 'no special ISM boardings'
  THE US Coast Guard will ensure compliance with ISM Code requirements, but there will not be special boardings of vessels,
• ARCO to test new lng technology
  ATLANTIC Richfield Company (ARCO) is to explore technology that could allow production of Alaska's natural gas without building a new pipeline or a fleet of lng ships.
• Five shortlisted for Ennore lng project
  FIVE consortia have been shortlisted for the second stage of the bidding process for the Ennore lng project near Chennai.
• Silja passenger volume down
  A FLEET reduction of one vessel and the drydocking of two ships led to a four per cent fall, to 4.87m, in the passenger volume of Silja Line in the January-October period.
• Stena Ugland Shuttle Tankers in $200m Esso deal
  STENA Ugland Shuttle Tankers has signed an agreement with Esso Exploration and Production Norway to charter a 125,000 dwt newbulding.

• Atlas Air makes its move from Nasdaq to NYSE
• Russia on a track of 'creeping privatization'
• Mexico sees inroads in US dispute
• Air cargo industry fights back currency crisis
• Shuster threatens to pull Amtrak bill
• Academy taps naval architect as alum of year
• Rates for older boxes sink Sea Containers' operating net
• Intermodal marketers see revenue decline
• Longtime merchant marine advocates honored at dinner
• Malaysian yard eyes Egypt privatization
• Japan port strike is not expected to exacerbate US trade tensions
• 'Good old women' is rallying cry for females at work
• It's time to inspect the containers . . . (Don't attempt this one at home, folks)
• Some see Nanny ruling on Net as magic; others, as an embarrassment

• Stevedores decline MUA’s special offer
  An attempt to have yesterday’s Melbourne stoppage "subsidised" by the country’s two major stevedores was resisted by both, Patrick and P&O Ports Ltd.
  According to industry sources the Maritime Union of Australia advised both companies that normal work could proceed in the port of Melbourne during the strike if the companies agreed to pay delegates to attend the demonstration.
  It is estimated that as many as 40 delegates would have been involved.
  The sources said that this "new approach to waterfront reform" was firmly and quickly resisted by both companies.
• FOC: Stand by for new ITF campaign
  Shipping movements in Australian as well as other Asia-Pacific Rim ports could face severe disruption later this month when the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) conducts its week long campaign against flag of convenience (FOC) vessels.
  The action in this part of the world follows a similar successful campaign in north European ports earlier this year.
  The ITF has taken out advertisements in industry newspapers warning owners and operators of the action.
  "Many of the Asia-Pacific ports are amongst the busiest in the world and are central to the success of the ITF’s long-standing fight against the FOC system," the labour organisation said.
• Largest boxship in Australian service
  Another week, another new MSC ship … but at 3,424 teu capacity the 43,612 dwt MSC Monica is, in nominal container intake terms, the largest vessel ever employed in trades into and out of Australia.
  The 1993 built ship and a sister, MSC Sophie, have been taken on long-term charter from German investment company Hansa Truehand, while two other sisters are reported to have been acquired outright from German owners.
  MSC Monica has operated since completion for CMA as Ville d’Aquila.