• Tokyo customs authority relaxes regulations
• US railroads comes up with high intermodal record
• Profits in Xiamen Port continue to escalate
• Chennai berth license up for tender again
• Executives promoted at CSX Transportation
• Manila terminals stand firm
• Three shippers improve Indian Ocean service
• Chek Lap Kok aviation security company set up
• Push for liberalisation of air service to continue
• Airplanes Group proposes bond issue
• Boeing introduces new longer-leg 747-400

• KLM and Malaysia together
• Rotterdam wants freight airport
• Northwest Airlines growth
• EDI expansion in inland shipping
• Shipbuilder encounters financial problems
• New ECT manager
• P&O Nedlloyd and Cosco accuse each other

• Boskalis First Dredging Firm To Gain ISM
• CMB Offer For French Shipping Firm Cleared

• Marine tops Lloyd's year says Chatset
  MARINE underwriters at Lloyd's are enjoying bumper results with 1995 proving to be one of the best years for Lloyd's marine account, a leading insurance market analyst said yesterday.
• 'Jupiter' set to take to the seas
  FINCANTIERI's Riva Trigoso shipyard is this morning set to launch the MDV3000 Jupiter, the largest monohull fast ferry built. She is due for delivery to state-owned ferry operator Tirrenia in May.
• Harwich handling boost
  VOLUMES of Finnish forest products being handled at Harwich Navyard Wharf are expected to rise significantly with the introduction early next year of a new ro-ro ferry to the weekly ArgoMann service.
• Ipswich given go-ahead for '1.5m distribution centre
  PLANS for a '1.5m ($2.54m) primary distribution centre for a major supermarket chain are being pushed forward by Associated British Ports at the Port of Ipswich, writes Felicity Landon.
• Asia crisis to hit freight rates
  THE continuing turmoil in Asia's stock and currency markets will lead to a downturn in world trade sparking a slide in drybulk freight rates and a glut of vessels for sale, the seminar heard.
• 'Distressed sale' ships warning
  ASIA'S economic crisis could mean a flood of "distressed sale" vessels coming onto the sale and purchase markets this year, delegates heard.
• India ports get a commercial lift
  EVEN as time runs out for the Indian cabinet to take any major decisions before the forthcoming elections to the Lok Sabha, India's Lower House of Parliament, caretaker prime minister Inder Kumar Gujral has expressed his keenness to take up the issue of the corporatisation of the 11 major Indian ports.
• Handy Index proving value to shipowners
  INDIAN shipping companies are discovering that a new indicator, in the form of the one year-old Baltic Handy Index, is proving more useful for their fleet composition and market rates than the conventional Baltic Freight Index, our India Correspondent.

• Sri Lanka assures masters over oil leaks
  SRI Lanka's Shipping and Ports Development Ministry has assured ship masters that there is no danger of any further oil leaks at Colombo Port.
• Ulltveit-Moe criticises MTW privatisation
  JENS Ulltveit-Moe, md of the Norwegian group Umoe, has strongly criticised the privatisation process for MTW shipyard.
• Malta crane maker seeks rescuer
  MALTA Gantry Cranes, the state owned crane builder that holds a majority stake in Venice-based Officine Meccaniche Galileo, is in financial trouble.
• Spain calls for South Korean cutback
  SPAIN wants the European Union to put pressure on the IMF to tie financial aid destined for South Korea to a commitment by the Asian country to cut shipbuilding capacity.
• Italy opens door to second register
  ITALY has issued a decree law opening the way for the introduction of a second register for vessels deployed in international trade.
• Maltese unions threaten action over foreigners
  MALTESE unions have threatened to call a strike rather than accept 170 hired foreign workers to complete the delayed newbuildings at Malta Shipbuilding.
• Viking numbers boosted by Åland trippers
  VIKING Line has reported a sharp increase in traffic between Finnish and Swedish mainlands and the Åland islands.
• Gorthon sells oldest vessels
  GORTHON Lines, the Swedish forest product carrier specialist demerged from the Bylock & Nordsjöfrakt group last year, has sold two of its oldest vessels.
• Waterfront 'extortion' is rife in Australia
  AUSTRALIA'S anti-trust watchdog is investigating complaints of waterfront "extortion" which are said to be costing shippers A$25,000 a day.
• Cochin chairman calls for performance boost
  COCHIN Shipyard chairman Rear Admiral RK Whig has called for a significant improvement in the yard's performance.
• Green Opal salvage recovers first steel billets
  ABOUT 850 tonne of steel billets have been recovered from the bed of the Hooghly river in the first two weeks of the Green Opal salvaging operation.
• Bonaire benefits from Maracaibo problems
  OIL throughput at Bonaire Petroleum Corp storage facility increased dramatically in 1997, partly because of the Maracaibo channel problems.
• Yen turbulence leads to Japanese dividend offers
  THE sharp depreciation of the yen has been a "mixed blessing" for Japanese shipowners, according to the md of the Japanese Shipowners Association London branch.
• Deadline nears for ISM rule comments
  MONDAY is the deadline for comments to reach the US Coast Guard about its imminent implementation of a requirement that vessels must notify their ISM Code certification status.
• Costa appoints agent for Italy
  CARNIVAL Corp member Costa Crociere has appointed Genoa-based Cambiaso & Risso as its agent in all Italian ports.
• Nearly 80 per cent of Japanese fleet boasts ISM
  NEARLY 80 per cent of the Japanese-flag fleet has complied with ISM Code regulations ahead of the July 1 deadline.

• Carriers to study rates for consolidators
• NYK Line to pay fine for mislabeling
• Steps in place or planned to prevent recurrence fo New Orleans waterfront accident
• Keeping up with the times, SAS Cargo upgrades facilities
• Correction
• After four decades, Zim suspends service to Baltimore
• EU shipbuilders warn: IMF aid shouldn't boost South Korea's shipyard capacity
• Amtrak offer lets first-time shippers go along with their cargo's ride -- free
• New name, old problems: FAA probe finds safety violations at former ValuJet
• Study: Trucks' value outweighs costs to society
• Sri Lanka cancels port contract
• Local Emirates units seek federal spill aid
• Q: Where did all the workers go in '97? A: Transport sector
• Financier charged with bribery at Miami port
• Trade groups explain problems with rail deal
• State program may be behind Port Kelang cargo growth