Owners to fight year 2000 plan AN attempt to force shipowners to include a year 2000 compliance declaration in the mandatory vessel reporting system in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore has been condemned by owners.
Pacific Princess moves to new berth PRINCESS Cruises' Pacific Princess, the unfortunate liner which has suffered a lengthy detainment in the Greek port of Piraeus, finally shifted at the weekend, writes Nigel Lowry, Athens Correspondent.
Italy backs EU cabotage move Italian shipowners have failed to obtain a delay in the liberalisation of Mediterranean cabotage. They had been hoping Tiziano Treu, Italian minister of transport, would pressure the European Union to delay the introduction. However, he has made it clear the government will not take any such action towards the EU Commission.
Bidvest buys major stake in Sebenza Bidvest, the South African-listed industrial company, has purchased a substantial minority stake in a black empowerment shipping and forwarding company.
More energy links in the pipeline Earlier this year, most market watchers were predicting mergers and acquisitions among the smaller independent oil companies so they were stunned, as was the rest of the industry, by the $110bn BP Amoco deal in August.
Toisa set to add another arrival to its fleet Bermudan-registered support vessel operator Toisa has christened the latest vessel in its '100m-plus fleet expansion programme at Appledore Shipbuilders in Devon, its fifth such ceremony in less than 12 months.
Mitsui pulls out of Coega port project SOUTH Africa's Coega deepwater port development project has been dealt a major blow as Mitsui announced it was pulling out of the deal.
To salve or not to salve ' that is the question Professional salvors have suffered a great deal of late, not least because fewer ships have been in trouble, but also because expectations of their skills have remained higher than ever before.
Mass limits lift moves closer Higher mass limits for Australia's trucks appear to have moved a step closer on Friday, with the federal government revealing at the Australian Transport Council meeting in Melbourne it was prepared to bring forward part of the $20 million allocated for funding bridge upgrades.
FMC reefer case exposes need to check Reefer NVOCCs providing refrigerated container services from Australia and New Zealand are finding that the US Federal Maritime Commission is still a force to be reckoned with. The FMC last week ordered a public hearing into alleged non-tariffed discounted slot rates in respect of cargoes to the US from Australia and New Zealand shipped by Sydney-based Refrigerated Container Carriers between 14 February, 1994, and 11 September, 1996.
MUA set for long AGMs The implications of further waterfront reform on the membership of the Maritime Union of Australia will be discussed at the union's annual general meeting tomorrow. The meeting, which will consider major issues raised by November's national council meeting, will be held simultaneously at most capital ports. Separate meetings will be organised later in the week at regional ports. It is understood that because of the seriousness of issues under discussion, the meetings will take longer than the usual four hours and stevedores have agreed to allow additional time.
BPA calls tenders for port services The Bunbury Port Authority is inviting tenders this week for the privatisation of stevedoring and other port services. Business adviser Arthur Anderson has advertised nationally for companies interested in providing a broad range of wharfside services such as stevedoring, mooring, unmooring and operation of pilot boats. The successful tenderer will be required to meet the now commonplace requirement for private companies operating in WA ports to deliver a continuity of service agreement. Tenderers will need to demonstrate an ability to provide price reductions for port users and achieve productivity and efficiency improvements.
More strife for Aurora Australis The CSIRO Antarctic Division's supply/research vessel, Aurora Australis, has again been stranded off the coast of Antarctica following what the organisation's director, Dr Tony Press, described on Friday as a "fault in its propulsion system". The ship was immobilised in the same area in July by an engine room fire. Dr Press said engineers employed by the ice-breaker's owner, P&O Australia, had been in contact with crew members about the cause of the problem since the breakdown was reported to the Division's headquarters in Hobart last Monday evening.
How safe is trucking? Who knows? It's a big numbers game, according to both industry officials and highway safety advocates. While the number of heavy trucks involved in fatal accidents rose to 4,871 last year from 4,755 in 1996, the industry can accurately say that the fatal crash involvement rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled actually fell to 2.5 in 1997 from 2.6 in 1996. How the truck safety numbers are spun for divergent interests is explained.
The soft underbelly of shortline railroad financial vulnerability was exposed when the Federal Railroad Administration shuttered the entire 300-mile Northwestern Pacific Railroad for failure to meet minimum federal safety requirements. It was only the fourth time in the 31-year history of FRA that such extreme action had been taken. FRA Administrator Jolene Molitoris said, "Widespread track safety defects present an emergency situation involving hazard of death or personal injury to the public and to its employees." Although more than $10 million in federal assistance was earmarked two years ago for track rehabilitation, CalTrans blocked the funding transfer pending correction of accounting and management system problems.
They've sailed to the heights and sunk to the depths. They are the women who are at the forefront of the most challenging transportation assignments. Mary Frances Culnane, manager of fuels, lubes and energy conservation for Chevron Shipping Co. L.L., spent 10 years aboard tankers, freighters and passenger ships after graduating from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. Capt. Nancy L. Wagner is first woman to became a marine bar pilot; June Viviano is an assistant chief pilot with Federal Express Corp. and Karen Arnold has served as a pilot aboard icebreaking ships at the North and South Poles.
Mexpress, a new Santa Clarita, Calif.-based LTL carrier specializing in LTL shipments in and out of Mexico, has a familiar face as chairman. Reese H. Taylor Jr., who was chairman of the Interstate Commerce Commission from 1981 through 1985, is hoping to speed shipments south of the border using new logistical and technological developments. He has recruited two trucking veterans, J. Carlos Duron and Mike Gamel as top officers of Mexpress, which they say has been profitable from the first month.
The latest scuffling between the U.S. and Brazil in the ocean shipping arena has Brazilian customs officials requiring U.S. ships to have special waivers to carry certain government-related cargo - virtually ignoring a bilateral maritime shipping agreement between the two countries. One action the FMC can take is to impose fines up to $1 million per ship call for Brazilian ships in the U.S. A similar threat against Japanese lines produced satisfactory results last year, and FMC officials said it would like to see the same result in the situation in Brazil.
Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway is contemplating offering seasonal rates to North Dakota and Montana grain shippers in an effort to smooth out the demand for freight between peak season and the off-season. But in order for it to work, according to BNSF, the rate would have to be raised or lowered by over $200 per car in order to affect grain movements. The new system was being discussed as shippers protested a new $50 rate hike for export grain movements through the Pacific Northwest. Despite the hike, a shipper group wasn't planning on a formal complaint at the STB.
An agreement between KLM Royal Dutch Airlines NV and Alitalia SpA to establish passenger and cargo joint ventures next year paves the way for a new global air alliance involving U.S. carriers Northwest and Continental Airlines. Although not a full merger, KLM and Alitalia will effectively operate as a single unit. The airlines claim that by joining forces they will add an estimated $65 million in value to their cargo operations. Analysts regard the agreement as a good one despite differences in the airlines' recent performances.
Two major operating companies of CNF Transportation, Con-Way Transportation and Emery Worldwide Operating Cos., are in the process of completely upgrading their technology systems from A to Z, said Robert Tabb, vice president and CIO of CNF. Emery is engaged in a $70 million, five-year project to upgrade its cargo operations, electronic commerce functionality, data warehousing, sales and marketing, and technical architecture, while Con-Way plans to spend around $40 or $50 million on new technology, said Jackie Barreta, information services director for Con-Way. The latest step in CNF's technology overhaul is a four-year contract with American Mobile to exclusively provide wireless data transmission and service at CNF.
A charge for ice breaking on the Canadian side of the Great Lakes and in the St. Lawrence River will kill more business and jobs in Canada than it will create in revenue for the Canadian Coast Guard, warn marine carrier executives. A marine shipper and carrier group estimates that the fee will average out at 50 cents a ton, making marine mode uneconomical for many bulk commodities. The fee, which goes into affect Dec. 21, would result in a direct loss of C$20 million in economic activity plus millions more in losses to foreign competition, officials were told.
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