Food aid may boost dry bulk Washington and Moscow have agreed the largest US food aid programme for Russia since 1993, in a move that could help alleviate under-utilisation pervading the dry bulk carrier market.
Taca to decide on lawsuits Trans-Atlantic Conference Agreement (Taca) lines will decide this week whether to withdraw all outstanding lawsuits against the European Commission and limit any further court action to an appeal of recently imposed fines.
Statoil profit down as oil price bites Low oil price expectations have forced Norway's Statoil to take a combined NKr800m ($106m) charge on the Lufeng field in the South China Sea and the Varg field in the North Sea. The oil price also led to a 47% fall in nine-month pre-tax profit.
Mitsui OSK and NYK post record revenues Mitsui OSK Lines and Nippon Yusen Kaisha have both reported their highest ever half-year sales figures for the six months to end-September.
CMN still in the market to buy ACH French shipbuilder, Constructions Mecaniques de Normandie (CMN), says it is still interested in taking over ailing fellow French builder, Ateliers et Chantiers du Havre (ACH), despite the French government's rejection of its initial offer.
New laser vessel traffic system at Bahia Blanca A NEW vessel traffic management system is due to be commissioned in the Argentinian port of Bahia Blanca by US military manufacturer Lockheed Martin in December, in what represents the company's first contract win in Latin America.
NCA restructuring to aid privatisation A FAR-reaching restructural plan has been implemented by Italian shipbuilder Nuovi Cantieri Apuania (NCA) in a bid both to sharpen competitiveness in high-value tonnage construction, and to improve prospects of privatisation.
A world where there is still beauty in functionality With global recession looming, the markets in a funicular mood and a week of unceasing rain in a corner of England which is statistically the driest in the country, I am moved to adopt an aesthetic theme. One can ramble about aesthetics without unduly involving economics, and therefore stop thinking about money, since what is aesthetic essentially stands outside the coarse valuations of cynics. At least to look at, or listen to, that is.
Asbestos claim taken to High Court The High Court in Canberra will hear an appeal on Friday which could open the way for multi-million dollar claims by former and current members of the Maritime Union of Australia who have been exposed to asbestos. As the action could open the Stevedoring Industry Finance Committee to substantial damages, particularly if a class action were pursued, it will be carefully monitored by the industry. Friday's appeal will involve the estate of a waterfront worker who sued the committee for failing in its duty of care and exposing him to the deadly substance. The worker died last year after developing an asbestos-related disease. He won the case and was awarded $800,000 in compensation, although this was reduced to $300,000 by the judge, who believed the amount to be excessive. The verdict was, however, overturned on appeal.
BACL studies freight boost Brisbane Airport Corporation Ltd is embarking on a major air freight fact-finding exercise in a bid to ramp-up Brisbane Airport's burgeoning air freight business, the airport's new cargo marketing manager has revealed. Ian Christie, who has been in the newly-created position for about two months, has been charged with overseeing the rapid development of air freight facilities and related infrastructure at the privatised airport. In an interview with DCN, Mr Christie said the corporation last week began a landmark benchmarking study into the airport's air-freight system, with a view to finding out what improvements in each individual point of the whole freight transport chain were needed.
'Coals from Newcastle' queue exceeds 30 The queue of bulk carriers waiting to load coal at the Port of Newcastle has exceeded 30 and is likely to remain at that number for some weeks to come. Late last week there were 32 ships waiting off port with another three loading alongside. The queue began to grow from 15 vessels standing off the port when the Kooragang shiploader was taken out of service for six weeks for its final overhaul stage after 15 years of continuous service. Due to concerns by the terminal operator Port Waratah Coal Services regarding the size of the queue, this overhaul had already been deferred three times.
Size will make a difference: VCA The Victorian Channels Authority is working on a joint venture with the Melbourne Port Corporation to ensure that the port of Melbourne will be able to cater for larger vessels. VCA ceo Ian Edwards said: "The study is looking at future trends in ship drafts, for 10, 15 and 20 years time, and what shipping lines will want. "Everyone will want everything but that everything will have to be justifiable. "No doubt ships will grow in size, it's a matter of how much, how soon." He said the preliminary study had identified "a probable need for some deepening works to Melbourne and this will be investigated further". "The Department of Infrastructure is about to start a study into Victorian ports and the VCA study will have to tie in with this, because if ships get bigger, its not just dredging that will need to be looked at its land-side infrastructure, such as cranes, as well."
Ansett to quit loss-making, door-to-door freight Ansett Australia Ltd's door-to-door retail freight business Ansett Air Freight and the airline's in-flight catering operations are for sale, the company announced last week. The loss-making freight business, which Ansett claims is the third largest of its type in Australia, employs 600 staff and 160 sub-contractors. Ansett said it expected to enter negotiations for the business by March 1999. The proposed sale, still subject to ongoing negotiations with unions and dependent on finding the "right buyer", does not include Ansett's airport-to-airport freight operations. Ansett executive chairman Rod Eddington said the company's decision to sell the businesses would not impact customers and "was another step in our progress toward long-term viability". The sale also formed part of Ansett's plan to strengthen its airport-to-airport freight operations.
The Suez Canal Authority has announced that it will introduce surcharges on transit tariffs through the Egyptian canal for most major cargo vessels, effective July 15.
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