La crisi dei trasporti, soprattutto dei carichi secchi, ha vanificato gli investimenti per il rinnovamento delle flotte Armatori in allarme, crollano i noli La situazione ' migliore per le compagnie di unit' cisterna e di superpetroliere
Nella logistica servizi integrati di Coeclerici
Anche nel settore marittimo tramonta il sistema dei prestiti obbligazionari Affonda la moda dei «junk bond»
Korea Line sells off quartet to Ocean IN a ground-breaking sale of Korean-government financed tonnage, Korea Line has finally sold a quartet of capesize ships to clients of Ocean Trade.
Nissos master can work CONSTANTINOS Spiro-pulos, the master of the Greek flag Nissos Amorgos 'which ran aground in the Maracaibo channal last year has been given permission to work again by the Venezuelan authorities.
Reefers hit by Russian hoarders SPOT chartering of refrigerated tonnage worldwide has been near-paralysed by the financial and political crisis in Russia.
Rail chosen to move Italian fruit A MAJOR Italian group of companies has chosen rail for shipment of banana consignments from the Mediterranean port of Vado Ligure to Koper, Slovenia.
Keppel reduces share price in Hitachi merger Keppel Shipyard of Singapore has revised downwards the share price for its agreed merger with Hitachi Zosen yard.
Rankin role in debate on Taca Christopher Rankin, the former president and chief executive officer of P&O Nedlloyd North America, has been invited to act as convenor in the debate about a possible successor to the Trans-Atlantic Conference Agreement.
Divers to unlock secrets of Titanic sistership A team of British technical divers is due to arrive in Greece this weekend for what they hope will be a ground-breaking exploration of the wreck of the Titanic's sistership Britannic, which has been lying 122 m down on the bed of the Aegean since the First World War.
Intertanko to set up interactive shuttle tanker database Independent tanker owners' association Intertanko is setting up a interactive database in response to concerns by the UK Health and Safety Executive regarding shuttle tanker operations.
Norasia returns to Marsaxlokk NORASIA is to return to Malta Freeport at Marsaxlokk barely a year after it left for Piraeus.
Greenpeace occupies Greek waste terminal GREENPEACE activists have occupied a Greek toxic waste loading terminal.
Color volumes ease ahead COLOR Line, the Norwegian cruise ferry group, has recorded a two per cent rise in both its passenger and cargo volume.
ITF rejects allegations of 'corruption' DAVID Cockroft, ITF general secretary, has "totally rejected" allegations that there remains corruption within the union organisation.
Roro berth for Funchal WORK is expected to start this month on a roro berth in Madeira's main port of Funchal.
Malta has ministerial shake up MALTESE maritime authorities will have a change of ministerial control, following the Nationalist Party's landslide victory in the general elections of September 5.
ITF admits its foc campaign has failed THE ITF has signalled a major change of tack in its campaign against flags of convenience after admitting its campaign has been unsuccessful.
PNOC considers tanker subsidiary sale STATE-owned Philippine National Oil Co may finally relinquish its 40 per cent stake in its tanker subsidiary PNOC Shipping and Transport Corp.
Madeira seeks EU finance for new port MADEIRA is applying for EU finance for a project that will move general cargo traffic from Funchal to a new port located in the Atlantic island's Industrial Free Trade Zone.
Seoul approves North Korea cruises THE South Korean government this week approved a joint venture between the Hyundai Group and a North Korean state-run corporation that will provide cruise ship tours.
Sloman Neptun orders ethylene carrier ONE 5,600 m' capacity gas tanker for ethylene transport has been ordered from German yard Mutzelfeldtwerft by Bremen-based Sloman Neptun.
Philippine cargo liftings slide CARGO traffic at Philippine ports has fallen substantially during the first half of the year because of the financial crisis in the region coupled with the El Ni'o weather phenomenon.
Qatar bags Petronet order QATAR'S Ras Jaffan Liquefied Natural Gas Co (Rasgas) has won a global tender to supply India's Petronet with 7.5m tonnes of lng per year.
Ratings boost for Newport News VIRGINIA-based shipbuilder Newport News received a boost yesterday when rating agency Standard & Poor's removed the company from 'CreditWatch' where it was placed in March.
"ScanCir": nouveau train complet entre la Belgique et la Scandinavie Depuis le 1er septembre dernier, Intercontainer-Interfrigo (ICF) assure une liaison quotidienne entre les ports d'Anvers et de Zeebrugge, ainsi que le Dry Port Muizen et 14 terminaux situés en Scandinavie.
Danzas Eurocargo Benelux devient DFDS Transport Suite à l'intégration des divisions finlandaise, belge, néerlandaise et britannique de Danzas Eurocargo dans DFDS Transport, les produits Eurapid et Euroconnect de Danzas seront vendus au Benelux par DFDS, sous leur nom original. Les bureaux de Danzas à Schiphol, Vianen, Tilburg et Rotterdam seront maintenus, tout comme ceux de Zaventem, Anvers, Grimbergen, Boom, Rekkem et de Herentals en Belgique. Seul le nom des bureaux à Tilburg et Rekkem sera changé en DFDS Transport. Ce transfert n'entraînera aucune perte d'emplois.
Yangming lance un service séparé sur Israël Le premier départ depuis Anvers d'un nouveau service que lance Yangming entre l'Europe du Nord et Israël, aura lieu le 6 octobre prochain. La desserte d'Israël est actuellement assurée uniquement sur la liaison southbound à partir de l'Europe, dans le cadre du service hebdomadaire sur l'Extrême-Orient. Le nouveau service direct vers Israël, qui desservira tant le port d'Haïfa que celui d'Ashdod, opérera également northbound. Il n'est pas exclu que Yangming s'en serve comme point de départ pour une desserte plus large du bassin oriental de la Méditerranée.
MUA gets undertaking on bulker The Maritime Union of Australia has received undertakings on the future employment of the former coastal bulk carrier, the Sandra Marie. The union’s deputy national secretary, Paddy Crumlin, told DCN yesterday that he has contacted the vessel’s operators, Intercontinental Ship Management and been advised that it was not the intention of the company to employ her in a dedicated trans-Tasman service. The former Australian-registered vessel has been re-registered in Tonga and now carries a crew of Australian officers and Tongan ratings. The Australian officers are to be replaced shortly with New Zealand and Tongan personnel.
Austrac starts scheduled interstate trains Junee-based privately-owned railway operator Austrac is adopting an expansionist policy as it explores the new rail access regime, targeting a range of projects. Today, Austrac completes its second week of running regularly scheduled Sydney-Melbourne and Melbourne-Sydney freight trains, scheduling six nights a week in both directions. Next week it will firm up arrangements for leasing space at southern Sydney’s Cooks River rail terminal complex, which will also become its national headquarters. Next month other major developments in the pipeline could come to light, ranging from new 250TEU rail/road intermodal hubs at Griffith and Moree, to involvement in the Hunter Valley coal supply chain where the company has a substantial investment in facilities.
UPS in giant freighter order Express freight giant United Parcel Service has announced it is buying a fleet of 60 freighter aircraft from Airbus Industrie in a deal valued up to $US5 billion ($A8.55 billion). The massive deal with Airbus -- believed to be the biggest ever order for freighter aircraft - was announced yesterday at Farnborough International ’98, the air show outside London. Kentucky-based UPS has placed a firm order for 30 A300F4-600R aircraft, with options for an additional 30. It is the first time UPS has selected planes from Airbus. Deliveries will begin in mid-2000. "The decision to commit now to such dramatic growth of our airline reflects our confidence in this company’s future, both in the United States and abroad," UPS said in a statement, adding the aircraft would be used to augment, and not replace, other aircraft in its 200-strong fleet.
NR sale on hold as shareholders bicker The planned privatisation of National Rail appears almost certain to be delayed until next year, with no end in sight to the protracted dispute between the rail operator’s three government shareholders over the transfer of key assets. The formal arbitration process, aimed at resolving the outstanding issues to allow the long-awaited sale to finally proceed, has stalled as the federal government’s attention and efforts has been directed solely at the looming election. It was revealed in July that the commonwealth and NSW governments had instigated a process of formal arbitration in order to resolve the last remaining sticking points encountered in protracted negotiations with Victoria over the sale of NR.
Big John turns his back on the stock market JOHN FREDRIKSEN is thinking of delisting his tanker company Frontline from the Oslo Stock Exchange and going private. The owner is frustrated that his company is suffering from a negative image from analysts even though he claims it has delivered on its promises. The revelation comes as Fredriksen has also launched an attack on operators planning to keep their VLCCs trading beyond 25 years of age.
The stock market took investors and transport companies for a roller coaster ride again last week, as the Dow Jones Industrial Index zoomed up one day only to fall back the next. Transport stocks have been on a slippery slope all year, despite increased demand and low fuel prices. That's beginning to leech profits away from major carriers. And analysts aren't sure if transport stocks - which have underperformed the market - have hit bottom. If slowdown becomes recession, transport stocks could drop another 10 percent, one transportation analyst said. The good news: this is a great time to buy transportation stocks.
The Surface Transportation Board is threatening to revoke the railroads industry's privilege of asserting product and geographic competition as a defense against rate challenges by shippers. This follows extensive discovery demands by Union Pacific as part of a rate reasonableness complaint by shipper FMC Corp. FMC termed UP's discovery request an abuse of legal procedure and STB agreed in sharply limiting UP's access to FMC business documents. UP tries to "drive shippers crazy with overreaching discovery," said FMC attorney Ed Greenberg.
Shippers are applauding a Department of Transportation recommendation that the full liability standard provided by the Carmack Amendment remain in effect. The DOT report recommends the current system of full value recovery with flexibility to vary liability by released rates or contract stay in place until shippers and the motor carrier industry can agree on an alternative liability procedure. Some shippers say they would be satisfied with a maximum dollar value of between $30 and $50 per pound for most shipments, but truckers appear unwilling to set limits that high in their quest to avoid catastrophic damage claims.
A month after UP's last system cutover to link the former Southern Pacific to its system, railroads and shippers in central California are still reeling from the effects. Those effects are familiar to those doing business with UP over the last year: service disruptions due to lost cars, shipper shutdowns and loss of potential business. The good news is that shippers have been seeing some improvement, and that the railroad's recent move to decentralize its operations may make a big difference. The bad news is, as was the case in Houston, getting back to normal may take a while.
Airbus wins. After two years of exhaustive research, study, negotiation and price haggling, UPS decided to go against its grain of an all-Boeing fleet and ordered up to 60 new Airbus A300-600s. The new aircraft, which will start entering the fleet in mid-2000, are expected to be used mostly in the U.S. domestic market. The domestic market over the next several years will see a lot of new capacity from all of the integrated carriers, all of whom are banking on continued growth in the intra-U.S. market to fuel their individual growth plans and capital expenses. How the market will absorb all this new capacity is up for debate.
A few months after many of the world's top port players came in with sizable bids for the Tecon container terminal in Santos, Brazil, the country was able to garner only a single bidder for Sepetiba, its future super port. Steelmaker Companhia Siderurgica Nacional picked up the terminal for $78 million, the minimum concession requirement. Labor disputes and the world financial crisis were cited as the reasons behind the low turnout for the property. And even though Sepetiba has been touted by both private companies and the Brazilian government as having the potential to compete with other Brazilian ports, Santos remains a safer bet for now.
Technology was the password and compliance the buzz-word at AUTO-TECH '98 in Detroit, the annual gathering of automotive industry suppliers. Last December the Big Three U.S. automakers informed suppliers of their intent to make electronic data interchange a requirement for doing business with them. The Automotive Industry Action Group, the trade group for auto industry suppliers, has developed the Automotive Network eXchange (ANX) to address electronic data interchange.
Optum Software will release two new software applications next week, ResponseNet and ResponseCenter, integrating a company's various software systems and its "demand centers." ResponseCenter will give users the ability to view inventory across the supply chain in real time from all distribution centers, whether at the center or on the road. In addition, the applications run with a standard API, giving customers the option of using the software with other companies' warehouse management or transportation software.
A tight container supply is expected to become tighter as the weak Asian economy has industry observers forecasting a long-term impact on the North American intermodal business. An early influx of holiday season imports, possibly caused by importers looking to beat rate increases and better planning to avoid last year's problems, is exacerbating the situation. To deal with an imbalanced transportation flow, steamship lines are looking to short-stop international containers at West Coast ports by unloading cargo into domestic containers and trucks, allowing for a quick return of international boxes to Asia.
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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