• P&O Nedlloyd decides to quit TWRA conference
  Company head says the group is inflexible on individual service contracts
• Sri Lanka calls for fresh bids for US$800m port
• China embassy told of sunken ship
• Zhangzhou offers BOT port investment

• Missing tail parts from SilkAir plane could lead to FAA probe
  Crash investigators find fasteners missing; FAA likely to check other 737-300s
• US Airways may object to KLM-Northwest link
• Camry was '97 best seller in the US
• Bleak new year for Philippine car firms
• BMW planning sporty four-wheel drive: report
• Aeroflot leases 2 new 777s

• Headed for interesting times
  Promise and peril ahead for carriers as Asia's financial crisis takes shine off a long-awaited rebound in freight rates

• UK court to proceed with arbitration of case begun in Holland

• OOCL claims no financial talks with COSCO
• More railways to be constructed in China this year
• Euroatlantic to start US/South America trade
• Antwerp cargo volume up
• British rail link to be upgraded
• KPC looks set to offload Kemaman Port
• Eritrea cuts ports' tariff
• FAA grounds Amerijet
• Airbus portrays the other record year
• Swissair opts for A340 and A330

• P&O Nedlloyd leaves conference
• Maersk/Sea-Land switch UK port
• Belgian railroads' record profit
• EU investigation into Air France US accords
• Pakhoed takes over chemical distributor
• Rise in KLM's freight load factor

• Cascade facility in Astoria marks first year of operation
• Airbus sees several records fall during 1997
• Hvide Marine plans to acquire U.S. product tanker operation
• Europe-U.S. companies form transport alliance
• OEDD cash will help Astoria firm stay home
• Box group delivers inspector test results

• P&O Nedlloyd set to pull out of TWRA
• Tiding over rough seas is carriers' specialty: Kawamura
• Seino starting jv operations in Hong Kong, Taiwan
• MOT grants NVOCC license to 6 firms in Dec.
• Demand for air exports remains firm in Nov.

• Frontline orders boost Hyundai
  JOHN Fredriksen's Frontline has signalled a vote of confidence in South Korean shipbuilding by ordering two suezmax tankers worth more than $100m from Hyundai Heavy Industries.
• Bunker prices hit four-year low in Singapore
  SINGAPORE's bunker fuel oil market has fallen to a four-year low due to a global surplus and reduced demand for commercial oil as a result of mild weather.
• Low rates hit reefer owners
  First fixtures of 1998 have been disappointing for reefership owners, though January is always a problematic month. On top of that, turbulent weather blamed on the El Nino phenomenon could reduce cargo availability just as the shipping season approaches its expected height. JAMES BREWER reports
• Viking sees traffic rise
  VIKING Line saw a substantial year-on-year rise in traffic over the Christmas period, with a 33% increase in passengers in December compared with the same month in 1996, writes David Osler.
• Bullish Hvide banking on success
  Hvide Marine this week engineered its second major deal in the harbour towing business in recent months. Washington Correspondent JOEL GLASS looks at the rapidly expanding Florida company.
• Hong Kong talks focus on Pacific rate levels
  MEMBERS of the the Trans-Pacific Stabilisation Agreement will meet in Hong Kong next week in an effort to promote an increase in eastbound trade rates and prevent declines on the westbound legs.
• PSA throughput shows 9.1% rise
  SINGAPORE container terminal operator PSA Corp achieved throughput of 14.12m teu in 1997 despite the economic crisis in the region in the second part of the year.
• Pakhoed's purchase of Transrol opens up German market
  DUTCH tank-storage and shipping group Pakhoed looks set to break into the German chemical distribution market and to significantly reinforce its ambitions to become a pan-European chemicals distributor with the purchase of Dutch group Transol for an undisclosed sum.

• Frontline throws in the towel on ICB
  FRONTLINE Ltd has pulled out of its hostile takeover bid for ICB Shipping, the Stockholm-based tanker group.
• Salvtug to launch container shuttle service
  MALAYAN Towage and Salvage Corp, the Philippines salvor and tug operator, is embarking on a container-shuttle service between the ports of Mariveles and Manila.
• Airtours 'planning 55,000 gt cruiseship'
  AIRTOURS, the UK-based package holiday group, is rumoured to be planning to order a 55,000 gt cruiseship.
• HK officials to inspect cargo from sunken barge
  ENVIRONMENT officials are to inspect potentially hazardous cargo from a barge that sank in Hong Kong waters to determine whether to prosecute the shipper and the vessel owner.
• Taiwan links boost Xiamen's throughput
  XIAMEN port in China handled nearly 18m tonnes of cargo last year, a rise of 13 per cent on 1996, following the start of links with Taiwan.
• Novorossiysk trade hit by frozen sea
  A FROZEN sea has been hindering movement of cargo in and out of the Russian port of Novorossiysk for the past three weeks.
• Gotlandslinjen broke record in final year
  GOTLANDSLINJEN, the Baltic ferry company, carried a record number of passengers in its final year.
• Philippines to auction second US base
  THE Philippines government is planning to construct a new port and ship repair facility at a former US military installation.
• Japanese 'hopeful' of agreement with FMC
  JAPANESE shipowners are "hopeful but not optimistic" that a mutual agreement will be reached over US FMC sanctions during discussions scheduled to take place this month.
• Maltese builder in foreign labour furore
  A MEETING to discuss the hiring of foreign labour at Malta Shipbuilding broke up this morning with no decision revealed.
• Deal brokered on Canadian coastguard battle
  LOUIS-Marie Beaulieu, chairman of Groupe Desgagnes, has brokered a coalition between shipowners and shippers on paying for the Canadian Coast Guard.
• Paris to complete shipyard subsidy payments
  THE French government has finally decided to complete the payment of outstanding subsidies of Ffr1.8bn ($300m) to Chantiers de l'Atlantique.
• Indonesia bans palm oil exports in first quarter
  INDONESIA'S customs office is planning to tighten supervision of vessels transporting crude palm oil following the government's ban on exports.
• Tankers bring ballast bugs to Prince William Sound
  A STUDY has found that tankers moving into Alaska's Prince William Sound to load oil have introduced alien forms of plankton to the area.
• MUA wins unexpected ruling on waterfront refom
  AUSTRALIA'S efforts at improving waterfront productivity have taken another twist with an unexpected court ruling in favour of the Maritime Union of Australia.
• Colombo is fastest growing hub port
  COLOMBO, Sri Lanka's main port, handled a record 1.68m teu last year, up from 1.35m teu in 1996, making it the fastest-growing hub port in the world.

• Frontline deep-sixes bid to take over ICB Shipping
• Celadon offers flatbed service to Mexico
• George Nichols, driving force behind Georgia Ports Authority, dies at 67
• Top 10 trend list for 1998: From resignations to regulations
• Continental, EVA plan US-Asia routes
• Blue Star Line is just fine; Blue Star Shipping isn't
• Islanders mutiny over Internet bounty
• Michigan pilot school lands $6 million deal from BA
• BNSF can't gain greater access to New Orleans area
• Winds send barge aground off Emirates; oil spill closes water desalination plant
• Producer price index declined in December
• Singapore gets more oil spill insurance
• Expanding cargo

• Linfox set to fly solo with Avalon
  Trucking group Linfox Transport revealed yesterday it had assumed 100 pt control of Avalon Airport near Geelong, following a buy-out of the British-based Serco group’s 50 per cent share in the airfield.
• Esperance’s giant logistics challenge
  The south west port of Esperance is making strides in a quest to attract a greater share of resource cargo for the State’s gold and nickel mining industries.
• WRA order lifted but Patrick seeks further change
  The Maritime Union of Australia has been successful in its bid to set aside orders obtained by Patrick under section 127 of the Workplace Relations Act and applying to the company’s Melbourne facilities.
• Employers spell out award changes
  The grounds for the application to vary the Stevedoring industry Award of 1991 have been spelt out by employers in their submission to the Australian Industrial Relations Commission.
• WS readies Dampier takeover
  Western Stevedores expects to take over management of Dampier’s public wharf in February after months of haggling with the Dampier Port Authority over lease arrangements.

• VLCC owners fear Korean cutbacks
  The large tanker market made a nervous start to the new year, with fears over cuts in oil imports from Korea a hot topic of conversation.
• Chandris teams up with Frapaco
  Greek shipowner Chandris is in the process of acquiring a 50 per cent stake in Oslo-based Panamax bulk operator Frapaco.
• India struggles to keep its grip on SCI
  Shipping Corp of India is a profit-making cash cow that the Indian government likes to keep under tight reins. However, with multinational joint ventures the order of the day, and the shipping business constantly getting more complex, the government may soon find that SCI is too complicated an animal to hold by the horns.
• Low-profile Lemos' legacy lives on
  Costas Lemos built up a fortune reputedly worth USD 3bn, yet was such a private person that he was able to walk down a street without being recognized. His son Michael, 43, seems to be equally at home with the same approach.