Work on stalled Hong Kong box terminal set to start next year THE long-awaited construction of Hong Kong's HK$10bn (US$1.29bn) Container Terminal 9 is set to begin by the middle ofnext year following yesterday's signing of the land grant for the project between the government and developers.
Stena to cut 800 jobs as duty-free changes bite Loss-making Stena Line is to cut 36% of its workforce in Scandinavia because of the abolition of duty-frees next summer.
Ugland Nordic snaps up Jahre OSLO-listed Ugland Nordic Shipping has acquired cash-rich Jahre Tankers through the purchase of about 3.84m shares from the two largest shareholders, Bulls Tankrederi and Thor Dahl Shipping. The agreement is subject to due diligence.
Junk bond buy-back plan by MC Shipping MC Shipping has said it will begin buying back the company's high-yield bonds "when the price is deemed attractive", citing "the present volatile state of both the stock market and the high-yield bond market".
Review urged over Cargill acquisition US secretary of agriculture Dan Glickman has requested the Justice Department initiate a review of US agribusiness Cargill's proposed acquisition of arch-competitor Continental Grain Company's grain trading unit.
Japan urges tougher controls SEVEN out of 10 smaller foreign flag ships calling in Japanese ports fail to match international standards, according to the Japan Captains' Association.
BP and Caltex in Australia talks BP Australia and Caltex have announced they are holding detailed discussions over possible shared refining and shipping facilities in Australia.
Disney sets wonderdate Disney's second cruiseship, Disney Wonder will make her first commercial cruise on August 15 next year, some months later than planned and well into the summer holiday season, writes David Mott.
Two more ground handlers for Sydney Sydney Airport is poised to sign agreements with independent companies Jardine Airport Services Australia and Ogden Aviation for new ground handling licences at the airport, paving the way for additional capacity and choice for international carriers at the capacity-strained airport. The two independent companies will join incumbent ground handling service providers -- Ansett and Qantas. A formal announcement is expected within two weeks, with construction and start-up of new services likely to begin next year.
ATN revealed as finalist for V/Line Freight Ed Burkhardt, chairman of Tasrail's parent company Australian Transport Network, revealed yesterday that ATN has been short-listed as a preferred bidder for Victoria's rail freight operation V-Line Freight Corporation. Mr Burkhardt, who is also the chairman of New Zealand rail concern Tranz Rail Holdings Ltd, made the announcement at Tranz Rail's annual general meeting in New Zealand yesterday.
Award ruling soon The Australian Industrial Relations Commission yesterday completed its deliberations on simplification of the Maritime Industry Modern Ships Award 1989. A decision, possibly of an interim nature due to the fact that the award will be among those to be moved to a minimum safety net award, is expected shortly from Commissioner Wilks. The move to minimum safety net awards followed the commission's landmark test case earlier this year where the Full Bench ruled that paid rates awards must be converted into minimum safety net awards. This decision was seen as a boost to the federal government's award simplification reforms.
Road industry reserves LTC judgement The road transport industry was yesterday more circumspect than the rail industry in its reaction to the Australian Transport Council's decision to look into the establishment of a national 'Land Transport Commission'. At the end of their meeting in Mebourne on Friday, the federal, state and territory transport ministers said they had agreed on the need for an integrated approach to road and rail freight issues.
WA sets up rail advisory group An advisory group consisting of major rail industry stake holders has been formed to provide input to the Western Australian government on issues facing the rail sector. The WA Rail Advisory Council will be chaired by Transport director-general Dr Chris Whitaker and its members include private rail operators, brokers and freight forwarders, rail users from the mining, forestry and grains industries, government transport agencies, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Chamber of Minerals and Energy.
Increased live cattle export through northern ports expected Queensland expects to see some growth in livestock exports through several northern ports, according to Primary Industries Minister Henry Palaszczuk. Mr Palaszczuk told the official dinner of the Northern Livestock Export Working Group in Townsville that there may be some increased use of the gulf port of Karumba -- mainly to service the Philippines trade. "This is all the more so following recent successful trade promotions in the Philippines", he said.
Norden To Write Down Fleet's Value D/S Norden will reportedly write down the value of its fleet by $23.5 million and was thus expecting a loss of nearly $22 million in 1998. The company cited a continued global slowdown and a depreciating dollar.
USDA Suspends Pakistan From Export Credit Program The U.S. Agriculture Department has suspended Pakistan from the GSM-102 export credit program after receiving several notices of missed payments. The suspension comes just days after Pakistan received an initial allocation of $60 million in GSM-102 credits to finance U.S. wheat in fiscal 1999, which began Oct 1.
Stena Lines To Cut 800 Stena Line AB has reportedly started negotiations with unions to cut staff in Scandinavia by 800.
Greek Ferry Line Okd For Public Run Greece's capital market commission granted a conditional approval to the initial public offering of ferry operator ANEK Lines for listing on the Athens bourse's main market.
Viking Line To Sail Around Duty Free Restriction Finnish passenger ferry operator Viking Line will reportedly continue duty-free sales on its routes between Finland and Sweden --despite European Union plans to abolish the sales next July -- circumventing the ban by stopping at Finland's autonomous Aland Islands in the Baltic Sea, which enjoy special status in the EU.
FastShip Project Gain Support The FastShip Project, which is determined to build vessels capable of crossing the Atlantic Ocean in ultra-fast fashion, has received support from Air Express International (AEI), which has agreed to take space on the first of a new generation of fast Atlantic container ships The agreement is conditional on FastShips building at least three of the vessels and dedicating them to the transatlantic service.
Yangming Secures $200M For Vessel Purchases Taiwan's Yangming Marine Corp. is set to enter a finance pact with a group of international lenders for a US$200 million syndicated loan under "U.K. lease" terms to purchase vessels. Citibank, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Halifax Plc, Britain's Lloyds TSB Group Plc and other banks are all reported to be together for the loan. In July, Yangming signed a deal to buy five 5,500 TEU ships from South Korea's Hyundai Group for about US$300 million, for delivery by early 2001.
Berge Hugin Departs For British North Sea The production ship Berge Hugin has left the Aker McNulty yard in Newcastle-upon-Tyne for the Pierce oilfield in the British sector of the North Sea. The vessel has undergone conversion from a multi-purpose shuttle tanker to a production ship with a capacity of 45,000 bpd and is due to begin operations at the field before year end.
- Via Raffaele Paolucci 17r/19r - 16129 Genoa - ITALY
phone: +39.010.2462122, fax: +39.010.2516768, e-mail
VAT number: 03532950106
Press Reg.: nr 33/96 Genoa Court
Editor in chief: Bruno Bellio No part may be reproduced without the express permission of the publisher
- Via Raffaele Paolucci 17r/19r - 16129 Genoa - ITALY
