FEFC to Seek Eastbound Rate Stabilization The Far Eastern Freight Conference (FEFC) carriers will meet in Singapore on September 9 to discuss eastbound and westbound rate recovery. Top on the agenda will be stabilization of eastbound rate levels. Eastbound container shipments from Europe to Asia have drastically dropped since the Asian crisis, marking a striking contrast with buoyant westbound cargo traffic. The imbalance is bigger than ever, with as much as 60% use of the capacity eastbound and nearly 100% utilization westbound, carrier sources said. At the Singapore meeting, the conference will work out effective means to recover declining eastbound rates.
Cosco, 'K' Line, Yangming Upgrade Trans-Atlantic Services China Ocean Shipping (Group) Co. (Cosco), Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha ("K" Line) and Yangming Marine Transport are upgrading their four-ship transatlantic service to nine ships, with each carrier providing three. The vessels will be deployed in two loops, four ships covering the North Atlantic and five in the South Atlantic and Gulf. The new service setup will commence as from the first week in October. The North Atlantic port rotation will be Antwerp, Felixstowe, Bremerhaven, Rotterdam, Le Havre, New York (westbound), Baltimore, Norfolk, New York (eastbound), Halifax, Antwerp. The South Atlantic and Gulf rotation will be Antwerp (eastbound), Felixstowe, Rotterdam, Bremerhaven, Antwerp (westbound), Le Havre, Charleston (westbound), Miami, New Orleans, Houston, Charleston (eastbound), Antwerp. Miami will serve as the transshipment point to the Caribbean market and Houston and New Orleans will be used as connecting ports for minibridge services to the U.S. West Coast and service to and from Mexico.
MOL Subsidiaries Achieve ISO 9002 for PCC Operations Mitsui O.S.K. Lines 100% owned subsidiaries in the U.S. and Europe have attained ISO 9002 certification in the area of pure car carrier (PCC) operations. Those certificates have been awarded by Det Norske Veritas Certification, Inc. for New Jersey-based Mitsui O.S.K. Bulk Shipping (USA) Inc. and by National Quality Assurance Limited for London-based Mitsui O.S.K. Bulk Shipping (Europe) Ltd. MOL's Tokyo headquarters had achieved the international quality and management standard for the operation of car carriers on June 29, 1998.
Nam Sung to Begin Regular Call at Onahama Nam Sung Shipping will start a weekly fixed-day service between Onahama, Fukushima Prefecture and South Korean ports. Nam Sung will be the second carrier that makes a regular call at the port. Taiwan's Uniglory had previously decided to service the port for its Japan/Indonesia service from September. The news service will begin early September, deploying two 88-TEU containerships, the Sea Hope and the Sea Unix. The port rotation will be Busan, Onahama, Yokohama and Busan. Cargoes for Chinese ports of Xingang, Shanghai, Dalian and Qingdao will be transshipped at Busan.
Congestion at Chennai Improved Congestion at Chennai (ex-Madras) has been eased and the berthing situation is returning normal. At Chennai, vessels had to wait more than ten days for berthing at the peak time, but berthing delay is now no more than one to two days. In view of the improved berthing conditions, feeder service operators serving the trade between Singapore and Chennai abolished on August 11 the congestion surcharge of $100 per 20-foot container, which was introduced on July 1 in an attempt for the carriers to recover additional costs incurred by the congestion.
Oil giants in $113bn merger OIL majors British Petroleum and Amoco stunned world markets yesterday when they announced they were merging to create a giant $113bn company.
Brent crude plunges to near 10-year low FRONTMONTH North Sea Brent crude oil nosedived to near 10-year lows on the back of poor crude demand and heavy global inventories yesterday.
Allianz to target Asia for major acquisition GERMAN insurance giant Allianz is seeking a major company acquisition in Asia within the next 12 months.
UK-led group on Portnet shortlist A UK-led consortium is among six shortlisted candidates bidding to restructure South Africa's national ports authority and operator Portnet, writes Karen Thomas.
Daewoo wins European suezmax SOUTH Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Heavy Industries has landed a further suezmax tanker order from a European owner, raising its contract intake so far this year to $1.3bn.
Equatorial Guinea escapes charges NO charges will stem from a Cypriot investigation into allegations of fraudulent registration and other certification disputes under the fledgling register of Equatorial Guinea.
Fast track for New York and New Jersey AFTER years in the doldrums, the economy of New York and New Jersey is now moving ahead at a brisk pace that not even the Asian crisis appears capable of derailing.
Danish owners split over pay A SPLIT has emerged in the Danish Shipowners' Association's agreements on pay and conditions with officers' unions.
Brazil reassures Sepetiba investors BRAZIL'S minister of transport, Eliseu Padilha, has moved swiftly to assure investors that the auction of container and vehicle terminals at the port of Sepetiba will be a success.
Colombian port wins 30 year concession BOCAS de Ceniza Port Society has been awarded a 30-year concession by Colombian ports superintendent Juan Carlos Aldana, to build and operate a $55m deep-water port.
Yen decline puts further pressure on yuan THE Japanese yen continued its decline today, falling to 147.55 to the US dollar, putting increased pressure on the yuan.
Indian fleet growth stunted GROWTH of the Indian merchant fleet has been stunted during the first half of the year, according to statistics from the Indian National Shipowners Association.
Ferry operators deny passengers' allegations FERRY operators in the Philippines have denied allegations that they jacked up fares and operated dangerously overloaded ships during the month-long strike by Philippine Airlines.
American aid hits Australian grain markets AUSTRALIAN wheat exports to Indonesia and other nations will suffer because of United States aid donations, according to the Australian Wheat Board (AWB).
Dutch name new transport minister DUTCH transport minister Annemarie Jorritsma has been replaced by education specialist Tineke Netelenbos.
Consilium's projects fall behind schedule CONSILIUM, the Swedish marine equipment group, says some its research and development projects lag up to six months behind schedule.
Mosvold recovers in second quarter MOSVOLD Shipping reported a small second quarter profit despite 55 offhire days involving two of its tankers.
Australia 'will vigorously encourage competition' AUSTRALIA'S anti-trust agency says it will "vigorously apply the law" to encourage competition on the waterfront.
Chennai congestion surcharge is lifted CHENNAI'S congestion surcharge of $100 per teu will be lifted from today.
Dutch win Cochin dredging contract again FOR the third year in succession, the Dutch company Van Oord has won the contract to dredge the south Indian port of Cochin.
Bremen to co-ordinate short sea research A NEW European Union project to investigate the transfer of inter-European freight from truck to short sea shipping is to be co-ordinated by the Bremen city government.
L'AGHA centralise les rétributions pour les heures supplémentaires de la douane La Communauté Portuaire Anversoise (AGHA) introduira un système global de rétribution pour les heures supplémentaires effectuées par les services douaniers sur sept terminaux à containers à partir du premier septembre prochain. Le montant forfaitaire payé par l'AGHA sera dès lors facturé aux agences maritimes désireuses de participer au système global en fonction de leur nombre de mouvements de chargement, de déchargement et aux gates. Selon l'organisation coupole du secteur portuaire privé d'Anvers, cette approche globale générera des économies de 35 à 40% pour les entreprises.
Avec le "Canmar Pride" (2.800 TEU), Canada Maritime aborde une dimension supérieure Mardi matin à 6h, le PC "Canmar Pride" (2.800 TEU) faisait, dans le cadre de son maiden trip, sa première escale au terminal de la Hessenatie sur l'Escaut. C'est le premier d'une série de deux navires d'une nouvelle génération que Canada Maritime introduit dans son service nord N'1 entre Montréal, Thamesport, Anvers, Le Havre et Montréal. Le second, le "Canmar Honour", interviendra vers la fin de cet été. Enfin, OOCL, le partenaire dans le St Lawrence Coordinated Service, ajoutera une unité similaire vers la fin de l'année. Il s'agit d'un type de PC spécialement conçu pour la desserte de Montréal, dont les caractéristiques constituent pour un PC intégral la taille maximale et partant, la capacité ultime accessible à Montréal.
Anvers et sa manutention automobile: nouveau compromis temporaire Jusqu'à nouvel ordre, le manutentionnaire Hessenatie pourra continuer à faire conduire les minibus transportant sur son terminal automobile de la darse de Vrasene les dockers chargés de la manutention des voitures, des zones de stockage vers les navires car-carriers, par des ouvriers non-dockers. C'est ce qui ressort d'un nouveau compromis "temporaire" réalisé mardi dernier lors d'une réunion entre les représentants des 3 syndicats, de la Hessenatie et de la direction de la CEPA, réunion placée sous l'égide d'un médiateur du ministère des Affaires sociales.
Engineers flag ANL sale doubts UNION tensions have surfaced over the sale of ANL Ltd, with the increasingly volatile Australian Institute of Marine and Power Engineers sounding a warning over the planned sale to Compagnie Generale Maritime. The federal secretary of the institute, Henning Christiansen, told DCN yesterday that as far as he could see the current sale arrangements to CGM were no better than those advocated by P&O. Marine engineers approved the sale of the national carrier to P&O, but it fell through after being opposed by the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Maritime Union of Australia.
Pappaconstuntinos resigns, Slater stricken THE MARITIME Union of Australia has suffered a double blow with the resignation of its national deputy secretary, Tony Papaconstuntinos, and the serious illness of its assistant national secretary, Vic Slater. Speaking exclusively to DCN, Mr Papaconstuntinos yesterday confirmed that he resigned from the union at the end of last month. Although there have been tensions in the past, particularly among the seafaring section of the union, the resignation has come as a surprise. It is understood that differences of opinion on several issues have led to this drastic move.
Toll scores new contracts TRANSPORT group Toll Holdings continues its success in winning new business with the announcement this week of new contracts with Coca-Cola Amatil and Amcor totalling around $11 million a year. Toll managing director Paul Little said the three-year contract with the paper and packaging group, Amcor, would strengthen Toll’s position as "the dominant rail freight forwarder in Australia". Under the contract, Toll Rail will provide rail distribution services for Amcor’s brown papers to the packaging industry along the eastern seaboard, mainly between Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Maryvale, in Victoria.
NZ restructures Customs service NEW ZEALAND Customs Service has appointed four national managers in a move to implement its strategic business plan recently approved by the government. Custom’s says the plan will refocus the service’s resources to achieve national consistency in the application of Customs work and to reflect the shifting of Customs’ customer base. To provide greater transparency between the government’s strategic directions and the outputs supplied by the service, the organisation will be restructured into four separate operational business units comprising airport and marine, goods management, investigations and intelligence.
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