PSA wins Tuticorin contract SINGAPORE container terminal operator PSA Corporation has won a major contract to operate the fast-expanding Tuticorin Cont-ainer Terminal in south India. It is the first such project in India for PSA, which has been seeking port investment opportunities in the sub-continent for a couple of years.
Asia crisis threat to Hutchison port project HONG Kong's Hutchison Whampoa has frozen its Indonesian port development project in the wake of the Far East financial crisis.
Newbuilding price peak forecast NEWBUILDING prices will peak in five years and then slip back to existing levels by the end of the next decade, according to UK-based Ocean Shipping Consultants.
DSR-Senator to keep its identity SENIOR managers from Hanjin Shipping are at the heart of efforts to preserve a separate identity for DSR-Senator Lines in the global marketplace.
Indian government lifts cabotage restrictions DESPITE stiff domestic competition, the Indian government has extended derogations to its cabotage laws by two years, giving foreign vessels the right to offload or lift cargo at any domestic port.
Court threat to pipeline plan AN environmental group is to challenge in court plans by Reliance Petroleum to lay an oil pipeline through what is being described as an important marine sanctuary, writes Shirish Nadkarni.
Asian shipbreakers face US crackdown IN a move that could potentially prove distressing to Asian ship-scuttlers, the US Maritime Administration has suspended all exports of its National Defence Reserve Fleet vessels while the Pentagon reviews the human and environmental risks of shipbreaking.
TPT withdraws debt suspension plea TROUBLED Trans-Pacific Towage, which early last month asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to protect it from creditors, has withdrawn its petition.
Turkish vessel refloated in Greek waters A TURKISH flag general cargo ship that ran aground off the Greek island of Kos was refloated with the assistance of Greek salvage tugs on January 31.
Ferry service is suspended THE ferry service between Eemshaven in the Netherlands and Kristiansand, Norway, has been suspended pending a study of its viability.
Bangkok raises Thai owners' holding in TMN THAILAND'S deputy transport minister Phadermchai Sasomsup has agreed to raise the share held by the Thai Shipowners Association in Thai Maritime Navigation.
Desgagnes acquires double hull tanker GROUPE Desgagnes of Quebec City and its partly-owned subsidary Petro-Nav have acquired the double hulled tanker Ek-sky.
AP Moller appoints new liner head KNUD Stubkjaer will be appointed head of AP Moller's liner division in Copenhagen, following the sudden death last week of Knud Erik Moller Nielsen.
Piraeus to get VTMIS GREECE has invited tenders for a Vessel Traffic Management and Information System which will cover the greater Piraeus area.
North of England warns on El Niño claims SHIP owner members of the North of England P&I Club have been warned of the increased risk of apparent liability claims resulting from the current El Niño weather phenomenon.
Cosco takes over Port Island berths COSCO is to start using two redeveloped berths - PC-16 and PC-7 - at Kobe's Port Island Container Terminal from February 16.
RCCL to order four ships plus three on option ROYAL Caribbean Cruises Limited has signed a letter of intent to order four cruiseships plus an option for three more.
US-based Norwegian plans lpg fleet A US-based Norwegian businessman is reported to be planning to set up a new, publicly-listed lpg carrier company.
ICB takes up vlcc option ICB Shipping is to take up an option to buy the 254,000 dwt vlcc Flores.
New equipment installed at non-union dock ANGRY waterfront workers have failed to stop Australia's newest stevedoring company from installing equipment at its Melbourne dock.
NZ ports feels Asian chill ONE of New Zealand's busiest ports has been forced to put 130 staff on leave because of a sharp downturn in trade with Asia.
AP Møller signs Volkswerft Stralsund agreement THE contract for the sale of eastern German shipyard Volkswerft Stralsund to AP Moller was signed on January 31.
US-Australasia carriers make rationalisation bid COLUMBUS Line, Blue Star Line and Australia-New Zealand Direct Line (ANZDL) have applied to the US FMC to rationalise services.
Court upholds MarAd 'old tanker' clause AN appeals court has confirmed MarAd's authority to allow 1970-era tankers built with federal subsidies to enter the US coastal trades after serving 20 years on international routes.
Buy-out yard delivers fourth ship CANTIERI Navali Fratelli Orlando, the Italian yard bought by its employees, has just launched its fourth specialised ship in a year, the double hull chemical tanker Mimmo Ievoli.
Dunkerque: les tarifs de la manutention ont baissé de 30% en 6 ans "Si 92 fut l'année de la réforme du travail portuaire, 97 et 98 sont celles de la restructuration du tissu des entreprises de manutention. La restructuration se fait surtout dans le secteur des diverses. Dans le domaine du conventionnel/breakbulk les firmes Dewulf et Feron se sont séparées, mettant un terme au règne de la Cogema et chacune à la maîtrise de ses activités tant opérationnelles que commerciales". Ces propos émanant de la direction du PA de Dunkerque démontrent qu'elle a toutes les raisons d'être satisfaite. En effet, le secteur privé a repris confiance car il sait qu'il peut désormais compter sur une main-d'oeuvre fiable et responsable.
Trois handicaps freinent le combiné rail/route en France Au-delà des performances quantitatives réalisées par certains opérateurs, trois handicaps freinent l'essor du rail/route en France: les grèves de la SNCF; le niveau tarifaire de la concurrence routière; la saturation de certains sites assurant les transbordements.
TRW se veut confiant pour 1998 Luc Mikolajczak, CEO de TRW, nous a contacté pour nuancer très fortement notre information sur le conseil d'administration de vendredi dernier (LL 31/01/97). "Il n'a pas été orageux du tout, au contraire il s'est déroulé de manière très sereine". Plus fondamentalement, le patron de l'entreprise belge de transport combiné a tenu à relativiser notre information selon laquelle TRW aurait subi une perte de 100 mio. de BEF en 1997. Il a confirmé que les trois partenaires de l'axe Belgique/Italie via la France (TRW, Novatrans et Cemat) ont dû engager des sommes très importantes pour faire face à la non-qualité ferroviaire en 1997.
Stora ne lève toujours pas l'option Zeebrugge En ce qui concerne le projet de concentration de ses principaux trafics sur un port continental européen (dans le cadre d'une restructuration de ses systèmes de transport), Stora souflle le chaud et le froid. Le conseil d'administration du groupe forrestier suédois s'est réuni vendredi dernier et a approuvé le principe d'un tel centre de distribution, mais n'a pas pris de décision définitive quant à son emplacement. Le groupe poursuit les négociations avec Zeebrugge, où on croit toujours dur comme fer dans les chances d'obtenir ce trafic de 2,5 à 3 mio. de tonnes et aux 250 emplois qu'il génèrerait. Chez Stora, on avance désormais le mois de mars en tant qu'éventuelle date finale.
PCS geared up for start Patrick yesterday successfully delivered two truckloads of heavy equipment to the new stevedoring company set up by the National Farmers’ federation at Melbourne’s Webb Dock. A Patrick director at the scene, Bill Clayton, said the waterfront workers assembled at the site, while noisy, offered no resistance.
ITF ridicules "macho threat" The International Transport Workers’ federation (ITF) has ridiculed what it described as "a macho threat" from Australian farmers to ‘fix’ the global union" and alerted key maritime unions to the dispute at Webb Dock. The ITF has asked unions to be on standby to respond to what it described as the third anti-union attack in five months on its affiliate, the Maritime Union of Australia.
Taxmen target truckies Trucking operators will come under increasing scrutiny from the Australian Tax Office under a new benchmark system which aims to crack down on tax cheats. The Australian Tax Office which has recognised an escalating problem of collecting tax from the "cash economy" recently released a series of financial ratios compiled in consultation with the Cash Economy Task Force, tax agents and professional bodies.
Exporter sticks his neck out West Australian exporter Ken Kuehlman has a date with a difference on Valentine’s Day. On that day, he will arrive in Egypt to be reunited with 100 especially leggy birds, all products of Mr Kuehlman’s company, the Western Australian Ostrich Co. Mr Kuehlman is flying to Egypt to ensure the smooth hand over of his birds to client, Egyptian resort owner Ashrab Enab.
The outsourcing deal signed in September 1995 between Ryder Integrated Logistics and OfficeMax Inc., the office superstore, has gone sour. In what has become a bitter legal fight, the two companies are suing each other for alleged contract violations. OfficeMax terminated Ryder last June and followed up last fall with a suit asking for $19 million to compensate for what the company calls a breach of contract. Ryder returned fire on Jan. 23 with a countersuit, seeking $75 million in compensation for OfficeMax's allegedly dismissing the third-party provider without legal justification.
Highway advocates braced themselves for Feb. 2's scheduled release of President Clinton's proposed 1999 budget. The start of the annual budget battle also marks the resumption of the debate over reauthorizing the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act. It was unclear how much money the administration would propose for surface transportation spending in its budget. Highway advocates are pressing for as much money as they can get to minimize fights between states over funding levels.
The first full-year financial reports from publicly held motor carriers confirm that 1997 was an excellent year for trucking. CNF Transportation, led by the Con-Way regional carriers, posted the best operating income in its 69-year history. Roadway Express net income zoomed 69 percent to $36.9 million. And, in one of the most remarkable turnarounds in recent years, Overnite posted its first profit in two years - going from a $23.4 million loss last year to a $23.8 million profit in 1997.
Union Pacific Railroad's service problems last year resulted in a $152 million, or 62 cent per share, fourth-quarter loss for parent Union Pacific Corp. UP said congestion problems on the railroad reduced pretax income by a whopping $567 million and net income by $353 million, or $1.42 per share. UP's losses were widened by an after-tax loss of $40 million, or 16 cents per share, on the planned sale of the company's logistics subsidiary, Skyway Freight Systems, and by $13 million, or 5 cents per share, in after-tax expenses associated with implementation of the UP-Southern Pacific merger.
Continental and Northwest airlines are going to make cargo a prominent part of the new alliance the two agreed upon. The two carriers say they already have a plan to share belly space along with increased cooperation in cargo handling, terminal space and roadfeeder service. The joined route network has very little overlap, broadening each airline's reach all around the globe. Forwarders could find very few negatives about the deal.
Delaware River Stevedores has won permission from the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority to operate the Tioga Street Marine Terminal. The company won its uphill battle to operate the terminal though a combination of hard work and an aggressive public relations campaign. But competitor Thomas Holt is not taking the loss of the contract lightly. He is suing the port, saying it is trying to drive him out of business in the way it is combining its public piers with those of South Jersey.
China is avidly looking for foreign investors to help build the country's infrastructure and technology base. A joint venture offers advantages to foreign and domestic partner alike. Foreign companies can take advantage of China's burgeoning consumer market and cheap labor force while benefiting from the advantages of having a Chinese management team, customer service and distribution operation in place.
As barriers to internal traffic and trade continue to fall in the European Union, many observers think the community's freight forwarders are in for a tough time. Observers predict a shakeout among European forwarders. But British freight forwarder Davies Turner & Co. Ltd. believes information technology can give a company the edge it needs to compete, even against bigger multinationals.
Freight rates for western Canadian grain must keep the railways viable while not leaving the farmers empty-handed, says former Canadian Supreme Court Justice Willard Estey, who is heading a review of the transportation system. If the rates get beyond what farmers can afford to pay based on world grain prices, they will be forced to stop shipping grain, Estey warned.
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