• Yang Ming charters Singapore slots from K Line
• TMM boost profits but suffers more rail losses
• Change of course for three lines
• Danzas moves to Latin America
• Emons lifts income
• Singaporean Airlines open more flights to China
• Links forged to lift tradeÿ
• Macau cargo up
• Sabena buys 34 Airbus planes

• Another Schenker-Rhenus takeover
• Frans Maas on takeover path
• Hanjin and UASC agree on formal alliance
• Expansion Vos activities for Tessenderloo
• Alitalia gets aid

• P&O opts for Chinese bulker deal
  P&O is pumping its bulk shipping fleet into a capesize joint venture with China's iron and steel group Shougang after failing to find a buyer for the business, it was disclosed yesterday.
• Boskalis expects 30% profit rise
  DUTCH dredging company Royal Boskalis Westminster says it is on course for a profit increase of 30% for 1997.
• Vessel losses highlight issue of unfinished IMO business
  THE unfinished business on hand was brought home dramatically to delegates from 98 countries attending the past week's conference in London of contracting parties to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (Solas) in order to adopt a package of new measures pertaining to the safety of bulk carriers.
• Wagons
  One of 120 new wagons built for the underground at Guangzhou, China, being loaded in Hamburg onto the 18,206 gt Tai Xing. The vessel is the most recent newbuilding of the Chinese-Polish Joint Stock Shipping Company, writes Sabina Casagrande, Bonn. The cars are destined for the port of Huangpu and were built by ABB Daimler-Benz Transportation (Adtranz), Berlin.
• P&O Ports stake in GIP to reach 50%
  P&O Ports, due to acquire a 20% stake in Italy's Gruppo Investimenti Portuali (GIP) on January 1, expects to have a 50% share in the Genoa-based ports company within 12 months.
• Expansion by Safari consortium
  THE five-member Safari consortium is expanding capacity to operate a weekly sailing on its Japan-Asia-South Africa service from January.
• Colombo box plans near completion
  DETAILS of the planned container port development at Colombo should be finalised by the end of the year, the Sri Lanka Ports Authority has announced.
• Bimco on course for ISM
  MORE than 95% of tonnage controlled by members of Bimco will either comply with the International Safety Management code by next July or is not affected by the round one deadline, according to a survey conducted by the organisation.

• P&O merger 'based on market prospects'
  P&O Bulk claims its merger decision has been prompted by the 'excellent opportunities' to be gained from working with Shougang rather than by the latter's iron and steel interests.
• Madrid assess AESA yard bids
  THE Spanish government has begun to examine the take-over offers put forward for two AESA yards.
• J Lauritzen Holding 'is running out of money'
  J LAURITZEN Holding, parent of the heavily loss-making Danyards, has just Dkr40m ($6m) left in its coffers, a sharp reduction on the position a year ago.
• Jebsen reclasses its bulk carriers
  JEBSEN Shipmanagement, which operates a fleet of 32 vessels out of Norway and 12 out of London, is to switch most of its fleet to French class society Bureau Veritas.
• Details emerge of German port talks
  FURTHER details have emerged of talks which took place in October between senior politicians of Hamburg and Bremen city governments regarding port co-operation.
• Winning bidders for ELMA ships revealed
  DETAILS of the offers made for the last six ships operated by Argentine state owned ELMA were announced on November 25.
• Colombo chairman talks down protests
  RANJITH Wickramasinghe, chairman of Colombo Port Authority, has rejected claims that union action in protest against privatisation would lead to disruption.
• Philippines manning agents warn on shortages
  THE shipping industry should brace itself for an acute shortage of officers, particularly from major sources such as the Philippines, according to manning agents.
• Bacnotan to build port at Batangas
  MANILA-based Bacnotan Consolidated Industries is planning to raise Peso850m ($25m) to build its own port at Batangas.
• Mormugao reclaims land in development plan
  MORMUGAO Port Trust on India's west coast is to reclaim around 700 acres of land in Vasco Bay.
• Stena Line forecasts profit for 1997
  STENA Line, the publicly-listed ferry company in the Swedish Stena sphere, expects to achieve a pre-tax profit of Skr50m ($6.7m).
• Troubled Danyards sheds 204 jobs
  DANYARDS, the troubled builder of chemical tankers and fast ferries, has cut 204 jobs in the latest round of job reductions.
• P&O in Chinese bulker merger
  P&O has signed an agreement in Beijing that will see the company's bulk shipping fleet merge with the Shougang Group.
• ICB gives Angelicoussis more time
  ICB Shipping, the Swedish tanker company which is about to merge with Astro Tankers, has extended the subscription period for Angelicoussis to take a stake in the company.
• No increase from Standard Club
  THE Standard P&I Club is making no general increase in the level of calls paid by members on renewal for the 1998/99 year.
• Asian woes threaten ANL sale plans
  ASIA'S economic turmopil is threatening renewed plans to sell state-owned Australian National Line.
• Brazil studies new shipowner subsidies
  BRAZILIAN transport minister Eliseu Padilha has launched a study into setting up an operational subsidy for shipowners.
• Greek owner in Brazilian tanker talks
  GREEK shipowner Michael Chandris is in talks with Petrobras regarding the construction of a fleet of shuttle tankers.
• Boluda confirms Pinillos acquisition
  SPAIN'S Boluda group has confirmed the acquisition of 87 per cent of financially-troubled Naviera Pinillos for Ptas1.13bn ($7.8m).

• OOCL et MISC rejoignent la Grand Alliance, qui deviendrait globale
  C'est au début de la semaine prochaine que l'armement OOCL va signer son accord d'engagement avec le groupe "Grand Alliance", qui va prendre un caractère plus global en ce sens que le secteur de l'Atlantique sera également concerné. D'après les informations de bonnes sources dont nous disposons, OOCL se désengagerait de son accord avec APL (NOL) sur le Pacifique, mais resterait membre du VSA sur l'Atlantique-Nord jusqu'à la fin dudit accord. Il se confirme également que l'armement MISC suit OOCL dans le mouvement. Son adhésion à Grand Alliance se limitera toutefois au segment Europe/Far East.
• La SNCB centralise quatre filiales dans deux entités
  Comme nous l'avions annoncé dans notre journal, la SNCB restructure ses filiales les plus importantes pour le transport de marchandises, à savoir ABX, Edmond Depaire, Ferry-Boats et Interferry. ABX Transport, faisant partie de la SNCB, reprend la division du transport routier qui appartenait à la firme Depaire. La division du transport ferroviaire de la même firme passe à une nouvelle entité, créée par la fusion d'Interferry et de Ferry-Boats. Les actifs de Depaire qui ne resortent pas des deux entités, seront maintenus au sein du Holding Depaire qui sera liquidé dans deux ans.
• P&O trouve un partenaire chinois pour sa division vracs
  Le groupe britannique P&O a finalement trouvé un partenaire pour ses activités dans le secteur des vracs secs. Ces activités seront fusionnées avec celles du groupe chinois Shougang et exploitées par une joint-venture, dont chaque groupe détiendra 50% du capital. La nouvelle entité ainsi créée disposera d'une flotte de 26 unités capesize modernes dont le port en lourd cumulé se situe à prés de 4,3 millions de t.dw. Un accord de principe a été conclu entre les présidents des deux groupes, Lord Sterling pour P&O et Bi Qun pour Shougang. Certains détails de l'accord doivent encore être finalisés, mais une signature définitive devrait intervenir au début de l'année prochaine.
• LD/Seals a généré un trafic de 5 mio. de t à Anvers
  La compagnie maritime franco-belge LD/Seals, joint-venture entre Louis Dreyfus Armateurs et l'armement anversois Sealift s.a., est depuis 10 ans un fidèle client du port d'Anvers, où il a généré au cours de cette période un trafic de 5 millions de tonnes de fret conditionné en breakbulk. Ce dixième anniversaire devait être fêté dignement hier vendredi par les directions des deux armements au cours d'une manifestation qui réunissait la clientèle des chargeurs et expéditeurs.