• Hamburg port set to handle record 75m tonnes
  Asia's economic crisis pulled down German port's trade with Far East in first 9 months
• Global Alliance switches to Vancouver's Deltaport
• Consortium aims to turn Kuantan into top chemical port
• ISM Code will not affect US commerce: Coast Guard
• China-registered cargo ship sinks in Port Klang, crew safe

• Asian airlines welcome delivery delays: Boeing
  No airline has cancelled aircraft orders despite economic crisis
• Sats, Air India discuss ground handling services
• Korean Airlines may raise cargo rates
• Thai Airways to lease not buy 14 planes
• MAS not planning to raise fares
• Frontier Airlines bids for ex-merger partner WestPac
• Log Book

• Tianjin looks to hinterland
  The Port of Tianjin has fallen two spots to No 4 in China in terms of containerised trade, but officials are not perturbed

• Traffic at Penang Port increases
• Bintulu expansion underway
• CSX names new commercial board chairman
• Naha boosts container trade
• Sea-Land promises no interference with US-Puerto Rico trade
• Rivals come together to service Europe
• Wilson UTC names president and CEO
• New cargo service between South Korea and Poland
• Iran Air to start cargo service
• FedEx makes a move to anchor services in Taiwan

• Summary procedure against strikers
• Better road haulage perspective
• Schiphol bids for new Berlin airport
• No EasyJet complaint about KLM
• Van Ommeren controls United Tankers
• Innovation at Cargoweb

• FMC boss sees hope for maritime reform
• McLean Kennedy wins P&O Nedlloyd account
• Delta Air Lines seeks to expand service from New York to Brazil
• Samsung closes deals for shipbuilding process
• Order of River Rats hears state-of-river report

• Swedish tanker merger
  TWO leading Swedish tanker operators, Nordstrom & Thulin and Argonaut, are merging to form a company with a fleet of more than 4m dwt. The new company, N&T Argonaut, will have a market capitalisation of around SKr3.7bn ($491m).
• Fredriksen's Frontline in VLCC options deal
  JOHN Fredriksen's quoted tanker company, Frontline, yesterday disclosed it is set to acquire options on two more VLCC newbuildings, writes Tony Gray.
• Mare in switch to Athens
  GREECE's Mare Maritime Company SA has switched a large part of the activities formerly undertaken by its London agency to the company's new headquarters in Athens, citing an expected rise in demand for shipmanagement services in the Greek market.
• LA's Crystal Cruises moves into profit
  LOS ANGELES-based cruiseship operator Crystal Cruises, owned by Japan's Nippon Yusen Kaisha, expects to make a profit this year for the first time since it was founded in 1990, writes Kazuo Takita, Tokyo.
• Intertanko in plea to IMO on pilotage
  INDEPENDENT tanker owners' association Intertanko is urging the International Maritime Organisation to include pilotage in the Standards of Training Certi- fication and Watchkeeping (STCW) convention.
• Midgard Dsag
  MIDGARD DSAG, the Nordenham port-operating company on the Weser, is to be sold to family-owned Rethmann AG.
• Filipino freeport closer
  A CONSORTIUM of local and foreign consultants has been engaged by the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority to undertake the master development and business plan for the Philippines' second international freeport.
• Calaca bulk cargo port planned for July 1999
  A NEW Peso850m ($26m) international bulk cargo port is to be established in Calaca, Batangas, Alec Almazan reports from Manila.

• Broströms strengthens hold on United Tankers
  BROSTRÖMS has acquired additional shares in United Tankers and now holds 98.7 per cent of the capital and 99.4 per cent of the voting rights.
• Bolloré takes full control of SAGA
  BOLLORÉ Technologies, the French shipping and industrial conglomerate, has taken full control of forwarding to port operations company SAGA.
• Wah Kwong profits plunge
  ATTRIBUTABLE profit at Wah Kwong Shipping Holdings of Hong Kong more than halved in the six months to September 30.
• Pilot strike paralyses Venezuelan shipping
  CABOTAGE shipping on Venezuela's Orinoco River has been paralysed by a strike by pilots demanding back pay from the government.
• Hamburg tribunal adjourned after eight minutes
  THE first sitting of the new International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg was adjourned after only eight minutes.
• Argonaut buys World-Wide tanker
  ARGONAUT has purchased the 286,000 dwt vlcc Suva from a company in the World-Wide Shipping group.
• Australian port reform 'is not working'
  AUSTRALIA'S below-average waterfront productivity performance has been underlined by a new survey showing increasing dissatisfaction with the Port of Melbourne.
• Six Australian ports sold to farmers
  SIX state-owned bulk handling port operations in South Australia have been sold to a farmer-owned co-operative that will subcontract P&O Ports to operate the facilities.
• Maersk No 1 in teu
  MÆRSK Line has the largest container ship fleet in the world in terms of teu capacity, according to a Danish publication.
• Sale near for Malta's Soviet newbuildings
  TALKS are at an advanced stage over the sale of six ships that Malta Shipbuilding built for the Soviet Union but which were never delivered.
• HDW 'signs contract with Knut Kloster'
  HDW is reported to have signed a letter of intent with Knut Kloster regarding his dreamship, a move which may boost Kvaerner Masa's chances of landing the Hapag-Lloyd order.
• Worms sells CNN stake to CMB
  WORMS, the French shipping and financial group, has announced the sale of its 54 per cent stake in Compagnie Nationale de Navigation.
• Malta Drydocks implements survival strategy
  MALTA Drydocks has begun to implement the survival strategy in response to recommenda-tions by UK consultant Appledore International.
• Cruiseship sinks under tow to scrap yard
  CONSTITUTION, the 46-year old passenger liner owned by American Classic Voyages, has sunk about 700 miles north of Honolulu while under tow to the Far East for scrap.
• N&T and Argonaut unveil merger plan
  TWO Swedish shipping companies, Nordstrom & Thulin and Argonaut, have unveiled a merger plan which aims to create "one of the world's leading tanker companies".

• SIA dumps two air partners as Lufthansa comes courting
• Need to ship human remains? Several U.S. carriers have specialized departments to accommodate your needs. Their job is to deal with . . .
• Sea-Land row seen threat to subsidies
• "People overreact to the development of these large ships."
• Georgia won't pay for more truck inspectors
• Amtrak gets permission to speed up its service
• Millon Air may be sold shortly
• Rail group to tackle service problems
• NS hopes plan puts sanitation spat behind it
• Agency to review filings on CSX-NS
• JofC transport stocks post mixed week
• Canal accident raises concerns
• Outmoded Panama Canal locks spur debate for renovating facility

• Tempus fugit, ASA’s Payne warns
  The Australian Shipowners Association believes events are in danger of overtaking the shipping policy with which the government went into the 1996 election. With the 1998 Budget due to be brought down in April, time is running out if appropriate fiscal measures are to be included, ASA chief executive Lachlan Payne.
• P&O Ports in rejig
  P&O Ports will establish a third division - logistics - in Australia as part of a major restructuring of the company. After substantial growth over the past two years, managing director Richard Setchell expects a further doubling in size in the next two, necessitating a new and expanded management structure.
• Don’t cry for me, Argentina Star
  Fresh from drydock in Singapore, Blue Star Line’s 1232 TEU Argentina Star arrived in Melbourne yesterday to take up service on the company’s Australia/New Zealand-US West Coast route. The introduction of the 23,023 DWT ship is part of a major tonnage reshuffle by Blue Star.
• Russian ro-ro arrested
  A vessel believed beneficially owned by the troubled Black Sea Shipping Co has been placed under arrest in Melbourne by the Federal Court Sheriff, following action by lawyers on behalf of Thai interests. The Balakleya arrived on Saturday on a voyage charter to NYK with cars, but has now been off-hired.
• ITF action: 100 ships inspected
  Over 100 ships were inspected on the second day of the International Transport Workers Federation week of action against flag-of-convenience shipping in the Asia-Pacific region.