Biffex in crisis as trade halves BIFFEX, the 13-year-old freight futures market traded on the London International Financial Futures Exchange (Liffe) has reached crisis point.
Baltic Freight Index at 11-year low SLUMPING dry bulk ship-ping rates have depressed the Baltic Freight Index to its lowest level for 11 years.
Premier Cruises seeks $20m equity but delays listing plan PREMIER Cruises, which recently suffered the indignity of having the credit rating on its junk bonds downgraded, is seeking to raise $20m in fresh equity.
Teesside ports lift Powell Duffryn A STRONG performance from Powell Duffryn's Teesside operation has helped the British port and engineering group to pre-tax profits of '38.1m ($62.1m), up 27.8%.
Defaulters to be detained indefinitely SHIPS will be detained indefinitely under the Tokyo memorandum of understanding on port state control until ISM Code deficiencies are rectified, while a three-month com-pliance blitz is promised from July 1.
World cruise venture targets British ex-servicemen A NEW British-based shipping company is planning to run cut-price world cruises for ex-servicemen using a British flag ship.
New court bid over 'Estonia' FAMILIES of victims of the Estonia ferry tragedy have mounted a new tactic in an attempt to pursue claims through the French legal system.
Samsung venture in Egyptian assets sale A CONSORTIUM of troubled South Korean conglomerates has sold five Egyptian oil and gas concessions for $40m to Australian oil producer Novus Petroleum.
Royal Olympic funding plans released DETAILS have been released of funding for two cruiseship orders placed by Royal Olympic Cruises at Blohm + Voss shipyard.
Firefighters called to engine room fire FIREFIGHTERS were called to the containership Canmar Endeavour late yesterday after the master reported a fire in the engine room.
Tokyo MoU agrees on ISM campaign MEMBER states of the MoU on Port State Control in Asia-Pacific (Tokyo MoU) are to launch a concentrated inspection campaign for three months from July 1.
Malaysia seeks extradition of hijackers KUALA Lumpur has asked Beijing to extradite 12 Indonesians suspected of hijacking the tanker Petro Ranger following China's decision to release the vessel.
Equipment market worth $278bn over six years THE marine equipment market over the period from 1997 to 2002 has been estimated at $278bn, according to a study just completed for the British Marine Equipment Council.
GAC expands into South Africa GULF Agency Company (GAC) opened an office in Cape Town last month.
Speculation mounts over fate of Igloo vessels SPECULATION is mounting about what the Norwegian shipping group Bergesen will do with its seven small lpg carriers after the $200m sale of the fleet to Cambridge Partners fell through.
South America-Med rates take a nose-dive FREIGHT rates for the east coast South America-Med route have fallen by 50 per cent in the last 12 months, according to shipowners.
US to build Chittagong container terminal BANGLADESH approved a proposal by SSA Bangladesh,an affiliate of Stevedoring Services of America,to build, own and operate a $500m international container terminal at Chittagong. port.
US fruit exports plummet FRUIT exports from the US Pacific north-west plummeted last year, according to the Wenatchee Valley Traffic Association, which keeps tabs on the trade.
Lawsuits anger Filipino owners and crewing agents FILIPINO shipowners and crewing agents are angered by the growing number of lawsuits filed in Panama on behalf of Filipino crew.
Rail fees are prohibitive, says operator PROHIBITIVE fees for the use of European rail freeways are reducing their use by rail operators, according to S'ren Rasmussen, the md of Intercontainer-Interfrigo.
India approves seamen's safety bill INDIA'S parliament has approved a bill seeking to stipulate safety standards and hours of work for seamen employed on board merchant ships.
Surveys take a slide in Asia LOCAL surveyors have seen a "major downturn" in work in south-east Asia as a result of the region's economic slow down.
Sea-Land adopts new positioning strategy US CARRIER Sea-Land is attempting to compensate for unfavourable market conditions and equipment shortages in Asia by minimising the repositioning of empty containers.
Name chosen for insurance merger THE new trade association formed from the merger of the ILU and LIRMA will be called the International Underwriting Association of London.
Sugar stevedores strike in Santos STRIKING sugar stevedores in Santos show that little headway has been made in improving port operations in Brazil.
Paraguayan ships sinking at anchor AUTHORITIES at Porto Alegre in Brazil have made an official complaint to the government of Paraguay regarding two small general cargoships abandoned and sinking in the harbour.
BFI slumps to 11 year low THE Baltic Freight Index, which acts as a barometer for dry bulk freight rates, dropped to 918 points yesterday to hit an 11-year low.
Australian maritime reformer quits politics ONE of the chief architects of Australian maritime reform has announced he is quitting politics.
Sharp's fire goes out Announcing his retirement from federal politics yesterday the former Minister for Transport John Sharp, said his decision had not bee prompted by any aspect of the current legal wrangling over the government's alleged involvement in Patrick Stevedores action to sack its MUA workforce. Mr Sharp said an influential factor in his decision had been the many private sector job opportunities which had been offered to him recently by major companies, including an offer of a senior position at Linfox by trucking magnate Lindsay Fox.
Columbus catches the Brisbane double-docker Columbus Line has declared itself to being more than happy to have drydocked two of its vessels in Australian recently. The company once considered Australian docks to be too expensive, however the success of a 1995 drydocking at Brisbane's Keppel Cairncross yard has led the line to continue using the facility a further four times.
End for Barbican Line? An official announcement of the closure of the barbican line southern hemisphere service is imminent, after an apparent determination by German parent Deutsche Afrika-Linien that results from the operation do not justify necessary re-investment. According to industry sources Barbican has been badly hit by escalating competition on most legs of its service.
Survey finds dispute 'handled badly' Patrick Stevedore's dismissal of its entire union workforce and the federal government's support for the company were overwhelmingly supported by small business as was the National Farmers Federation's involvement in the dispute, according to a new survey of 1200 small businesses across Australia. The Yellow Pages Small Business Index found that 58 per cent of respondents said they believed the federal government had handled the dispute badly, 30 per cent thought it had handled it well, and 11 per cent had no opinion.
MUA-Patrick talks 'at operational level' Discussions between Patrick and the Maritime Union of Australia continued in Sydney yesterday afternoon. Despite talks, legal action is continuing at a furious pace on several fronts. In the latest legal twists, the judge hearing the conspiracy case brought against Patrick and the federal government by the MUA is also to hear legal action instigated by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission against the MUA.
THE LAST CALL POLEMBROS, Mediterranean Shipping, Enterprises Shipping & Trading, United Arab Shipping, Athenian Sea Carriers and other Liverpool & London P&I Club members face digging into their pockets to find $50m in an effort to put years of problems behind them. New boss Stephen Peary hopes the move will end the club's "bankrupt underwriting policy".
A fleet that got away JOHN FREDRIKSEN may have big ambitions to become king of the ULCCs but he will not be getting his hands on one fleet of large tankers.
The Greeks know how POSIDONIA, scene of a thousand shipping parties, is here again. Reports and pictures from the mother-of-all maritime get-togethers.
Tigers go cruising WHAT ARE tigers, leopards and cougars doing on a cruiseship? Read about the latest gimmick to attract customers.
Australian wheat man THE CHARTERING manager known as "Dr Wheat" is making an impact Down Under with his own style of working.
Dark deals in the East IS THERE something sinister about the Asian Shipowners' Forum? The US government seems to think there is.
The Syros that was SYROS may now be quiet but, once upon a time, this small island in the Aegean was thriving as a maritime centre.
The state of logistics is, in a word, "disturbing." That is the conclusion of Cass Information Systems' highly regarded ninth annual report on the state of logistics. It appears logistics' productivity has stalled in the quest to get total logistics costs below 10 percent of Gross Domestic Product. Last year business logistics costs were equal to 10.7 percent of GDP. Five years ago, our nation's logistics costs were equal to 10.2 percent of GDP. That half-percentage-point increase in logistics costs relative to GDP translates into lost productivity of $40 billion. Cass Vice President Robert V. Delaney charged policy-makers with a 10-point program to improve productivity and shave more than $50 billion off the nation's annual logistics tab.
TEA 21 - the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century - authorized $700 million to improve congestion at cross-border highway choke points but that appears to a drop in the bucket compared to the gigantic needs of some crossing points. Traffic on Interstate 35 in Texas north of the Mexico border at Laredo is clogged with trucks nearly any time of the day or night. With new interstate highways costing $100 million per mile, the $700 million isn't going to go too far - not even considering that the money is to be shared among 29 "high-priority" cross-border corridors.
How much can Union Pacific Corp. realistically expect to reap from the initial public offering of its Overnite Trucking unit? UP is hoping to fetch up to $550 million from the IPO to be issued in the third quarter. But an analysis of similar trucking companies shows that the railroad holding company might be lucky to get close to $400 million. While $1-billion-a-year Overnite ranks as the largest nonunion LTL carrier, it is facing the prospect of going public at a time when the LTL market is softening, analysts said. Overnite's debt load as a stand-alone entity largely depends on its IPO value, they added.
Northwest Airlines and its pilots are still far from inking a new contract that would bring some labor peace to the Minneapolis-based carrier. Talks were recessed on May 30 and both sides went on the offense, criticizing the behavior of one another during the negotiations. Meanwhile, customers of Northwest Cargo are growing weary of the situation and are trying to find alternative lift until the labor unrest is over.
The "Conrail jitters" have gotten even worse in the wake of Union Pacific's service breakdowns. So CSX and Norfolk Southern have turned up the PR effort in assuring shippers that their pending carve-up of Conrail will have no UP-like meltdowns.
California-based Riss Cos. is starting what it says is the first alliance between a U.S. intermodal marketing company and a European rail concern. Riss' partnership with France-based CNC Transports, part of the SCETA group of companies, is designed to provide door-to-pier, pier-to-door inland transportation between the two continents.
Baltimore's loss is Oakland's gain. Tay Yoshitani, Port of Baltimore executive director the past two years, is returning to the West Coast to take over the deputy executive director's job at the Port of Oakland. While Baltimore is a vital port, it offers a mixed bag of hopes and headaches while facing some of the same issues of older, struggling ports like Philadelphia and Boston. But Baltimore is bouncing back after attracting a healthy diet of autos, tractors and ro-ro cargo.
Devine Intermodal is celebrating its 75th anniversary by changing just about everything about the company. Founded as Devine and Son Trucking Co. in 1923, it has morphed from a family-owned drayage company handling mostly agricultural exports to one of Northern California's largest intermodal firms largely servicing the region's technology industry. With revenue of $1 million a month, the 100-person company has a customer roster including such giants as Apple Computer, Packard-Bell, Hewlett-Packard, Radio Shack and Intel.
Surfing the Internet is child's play compared with the potential of global information systems, or GIS. Already giants such as Federal Express use GIS to help their sales force route and price shipments. Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Procter & Gamble are other GIS believers. How GIS works and why it isn't a panacea for shippers is debated in the logistics section.
Canadian ports are booming. Thanks to a strong demand for crude oil in this country and a strong Asian economy, at least at the start of last year, Statistics Canada reports that ports handled record international tonnage in 1997. Vancouver was once again the busiest port in the Great White, handling a record 71.8 million tons of cargo - nearly one-third of all tonnage handled by Canadian ports. Montreal was next at 8.2 million tons of container cargo, with Halifax logging 4.7 million tons. The fastest-growing Canadian port was probably Nova Scotia's Port Hawkesbury, which specializes in transshipments of crude oil from Norway and the United Kingdom to this country.
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