• Indian ports slash pre-berthing time for ships
  Successful 3-month long govt drive to decongest ports to be extended
• Philippine seafarer union buys training ship as part of plan to set up uni
• Hapag-Lloyd sees rise in 1997 operating profit
• 41 PSA entries for national QC convention
• MTL takes stakes in Qingdao, Ningbo ports

• Boeing makes progress in restoring production
  But company has long way to go before it can be declared healthy, say analysts
• Chinese carriers a bright spot in Asian aviation
• Aeroflot to work on poor image
• Russian airlines invite int'l bids for 50-plane delivery
• Dragonair forecasts below budget revenue
• Lufthansa expected to report record profit

• Stepping up pace of reform
  Minister ups the ante by introducing concrete standards for measuring progress on the waterfront

• Owners should order VLCCs only if long-term employment is assured

• Hanjin and UASC agree on formal alliance
• Xtra appoint new manager
• Japanese dockworkers strike
• Taiwan container trade boxed in by high costs
• Philippine ports suffer from currency crisis
• APL boss hits out at reforms
• Swisscargo to sell space on Cargolux flights
• Final assembly begins on third MD-95 twinjet
• EVA to expand Boeing MD-11 Freighter fleet

• Far East-Europe rates rise
• 'China Air ogles Star Alliance'
• Satisfaction with TNT Express performance
• Judge backs ECT
• Amsterdam participates in regional airport

• Daedong yard's parent sucked into Korea crisis
  SOUTH Korea's economic crisis yesterday tightened its grip on the nation's shipbuilding industry when Soosan Heavy Industries filed for protection from creditors.
• Weather slows Tsavliris effort to salve 'Carla'
  A DRAMATIC salvage operation to retrieve the drifting bow section of the stricken containership MSC Carla was going on in the Atlantic last night.
• Private US yards press for navy repair work
  THE Shipbuilders Council of America has demanded that the Clinton administration shifts more US Navy shiprepair work to private yards as their rates were substantially less than at the navy's own allegedly "archaic, high-cost, inefficient" facilities.
• Halim Mazmin in logistics stake buy
  EXPANDING Malaysian shipowner Halim Mazmin is moving into the country's logistics industry with the acquisition of a private warehousing and transport unit.
• New contract brings an end to Los Angeles pilot strike
  AFTER 137 days on strike, Los Angeles port pilots could be back on the job by the end of the week.
• Lasco signs up to deal on flags of convenience
  UNITED States bulk carrier operator Lasco has signed an approved agreement covering nine flag of convenience vessels with the International Transport Workers' Federation.
• German port rivals hold secret talks
  GERMANY'S fiercest port rivals, Hamburg and Bremen, have held secret talks over possible far-reaching co-operation.
• Rescuers perish
  Four people died and one is missing after a Russian MI-8 helicopter crashed in the Black.

• Zim losses increase
  FIERCE competition in all its trading areas has resulted in Zim Israel Navigation recording higher losses.
• Evergreen shows interest in new port
  EVERGREEN and Formosa Plastics Group are understood to have shown interest in the project to build an industrial and commercial port in northern Taiwan.
• Hyundai Pipe to build port
  HYUNDAI Pipe is to build an exclusive three-berth port at the Yulchon industrial complex on South Korea's southern coast.
• NCLH raises $76m
  NCL Holding (NCLH), the Norwegian cruise ship owner, raised Nkr540m ($76m) through a rights issue.
• Navion in $900m revolving credit facility deal
  NAVION, the shuttle tanker company formed last summer through the merger of Statoil's and Rasmussen's interests in the business, is about to secure a $900m revolving credit facility.
• Freight ferry turns back after fire on board
  A FREIGHT only ferry operated by P&O European Ferries (Irish Sea) was forced to turn back to Rosslare this morning after a freight unit on board caught fire.
• Ugland Nordic orders 110,000 dwt shuttle tanker
  UGLAND Nordic Shipping, the Sandefjord-based tanker company, has ordered a 110,000 dwt shuttle tanker from the Tshuneishi shipyard in Japan.
• Pusan tipped to handle over 5m teu
  THE South Korean port of Pusan is expected to handle more than 5.1m teu this year.
• Canadians propose Seaway partnership
  THE Canadian Shipowners Association and the Chamber of Maritime Commerce have put forward a plan for industry and government to manage the Great Lakes-St Lawrence seaway.
• P&O Nedlloyd optimistic despite downturn
  P&O Nedlloyd remains optimistic despite lower third quarter results.
• Hub Lines starts Chennai-Singapore link
  SINGAPORE-based Hub Lines is starting operations from Chennai to Singapore through a slot charter arrangement with Pacific International Line.
• Indian ports to switch to dollar tariffs
  THE volatility of the rupee has prompted the Indian government to initiate moves to link cargo-related tariffs at the country's ports to the US dollar.
• Newport News to acquire west coast yard
  CONTINENTAL Maritime Industries of San Diego, southern California's third largest shiprepairer, is to be acquired by Newport News Shipbuilding of Virginia.
• Loading resumes at Columbia river grain elevator
  LOADING operations at the United Grain Corp elevator at Vancouver, on the Columbia River have resumed following last week's collision by a bulk carrier with the elevator dock.
• ANL sales plan sparks MUA warning
  RENEWED plans to sell state-owned Australian National Line (ANL) have brought a warning from the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) of industrial action.

• Atlantique: remous en perspective?
  Tandis que la conférence TACA espère faire accepter une prochaine augmentation des tarifs de 95 dollars pour un 20' et de 120 dollars pour un 40' et que ses membres s'apprêtent à renégocier les contrats de service qui couvrent plus de 70% du trafic que contrôle ladite conférence, d'aucuns, même parmi ses membres, s'interrogent sur l'évolution qui va se manifester au cours des prochains mois. Car si l'accord TACA était censé stabiliser le trafic sur l'Atlantique-Nord, ce qu'il a fait avec succès, il s'avère qu'au cours des derniers mois, certains taux ont eu tendance à baisser. Certes, la structure tarifaire a été revue, ce qui a impliqué la réduction du nombre des classes et devrait se traduire au bénéfice des chargeurs, mais dans l'ensemble, une certaine inquiétude subsiste.
• Trailer 97 a dépassé toutes les prévisions
  Le salon professionnel du transport routier Trailer 97 a fermé ses portes mardi soir à Courtrai. Liliane De Wilde, directrice du salon, nous a déclaré que toutes les prévisions ont été dépassées. Ainsi, pas moins de 18.791 visiteurs ont été notés, alors que l'objectif fixé était de 17.000 visiteurs. Lors de l'édition précédente, en 1995, le chiffre avait été de 14.418 personnes. Les exposants étaient quant à eux unanimes pour saluer la qualité des visiteurs.
• Une nouvelle ère pour la navigation vers Bruxelles
  L'inauguration officielle de la nouvelle écluse maritime de Wintam et du bras du canal vers l'Escaut a marqué mercredi matin le début d'une nouvelle ère pour la navigation de et vers Bruxelles. Désormais, les bateaux ne devront plus emprunter le Rupel. L'inauguration a été rehaussée par la présence du roi Albert II. La meilleure accessibilité au canal maritime de Bruxelles, qui est désormais ouvert aux navires de 10.000 tonnes, devrait donner un nouveau souffle au trafic maritime et aux convois poussés. Bruxelles pourra de la sorte se profiler en tant que port shortsea et fluvial, ce dont devraient également profiter les industries implantées le long du canal. Dans la partie du canal située entre la nouvelle écluse et les premiers ponts, même les caboteurs d'une capacité jusqu'à 15.000 tonnes pourront naviguer. Après le remplacement d'un certain nombre de ponts, ces unités pourront naviguer jusqu'à Willebroek. Le nouveau sas a une longueur de 250 mètres, une largeur de 25 mètres et une profondeur de 9,5 mètres. Plus de 8 mio. de tonnes transitent par le canal maritime tous les ans. Il s'agit d'une des voies d'eau les plus utilisées de Belgique.

• LA port pilots return to work as strike ends
• Houston extending bid deadline for terminal operator
• Malaysian port is setting its sights on chemical sector
• Containerport developers haggle over costs
• Quarterly profit good for P&O Nedlloyd
• Cargo return from split ship will take month
• DSR Senator sees a big loss for '97 but a break-even '98
• Balboa set for expansion of port role
• Better than TV: All eyes are glued to the 'Carey and Hoffa' show
• Tourist development of Panama Canal zone fraught with safety concerns
• Agency transfers funds to Long Beach

• Strang in $12 m car trade challenge
  The Strang family has been given the go-ahead by the Melbourne Port Corporation to develop a $12 million two-berth car terminal at Webb Dock West, in a move SSA chairman Robert Strang says will give car shippers an alternative to Patrick’s present dominance.
• Adsteam’s major tug order
  Adsteam Marine has begun the increasingly necessary renewal of Australia’s harbour tug fleet with the announcement of a $42 million contract for six new tugs. The business has been won against local and international competition by WA’s Oceanfast, who expect to have the first vessel completed by mid-1998.
• Bumper year for Brisbane as containers boom
  Total trade and container traffic for the port of Brisbane reached 20,189,340 tonnes in 1996/97, representing a 7.5 per cent increase on the previous year’s figures of 18,788,620 million tonnes. For containers, the 272,632 teus handled represented a growth of 9.3 per cent, mainly due to the opening of large distribution centres and centralised warehouses in the region.
• Hard line on ‘the nick’
  The Maritime Union of Australia has warned members of a hard line stance on the practice of "nicking off " or unauthorised absences from work. The union’s position has been explained to its members in a memo sent out buy the union’s national secretary to members employed at Patrick. Over the past few weeks, Patrick has suspended and dismissed several members of the union for alleged "nicking off."
• NCL joins Cruise Australia Project
  Norwegian Cruise Line has advised the Oslo Stock Exchange that it is at an advanced stage of negotiation with an Australian group to form a new cruise operation in Australia and the south west Pacific region. The Australian group has been identified as the Australian Cruise Project, led by managing director Sarina Bratton, formerly with Cunard.
• ‘Dozens more’ sign with ITF
  Dozens of ships have been brought under ITF contracts over the past week as part of the organisation’s campaign in the Asia - Pacific rim against FOC shipping.
  Pressure from ITF inspectorates in Korea and the west coast of Canada and the United States has produced a nine ship agreement for a fleet of Liberian and Vanuatuan registered bulk carriers.