Yangtze Flood Closes Wuhan Box Terminal Container terminal at Hanyang District in Wuhan Port, Hubei Province has been inundated and thus closed, as heavy rains along the Yangtze River have continued for four weeks. Navigation on the Yangtze to the west of Nanjing has been also suspended. Distribution of cargoes to the inland cities along the river totally depends on rail or truck from Shanghai. Freight forwarders said they would be unable to afford door-to-door services for the time being.
TSK Assigning New Ship in Japan/Asia Route Tokyo Senpaku Kaisha, Ltd. (TSK Line) is putting into service its newly-built ACX Clover which has a capacity of 1,300 TEUs. The new containership will replace the 1,475-TEU ACX Magnolia now assigned in TSK's Southern Cross Service which connects Japanese ports of Tokyo, Yokohama, Kawasaki, Nagoya and Kobe to Keelung, Hong Kong, Singapore and Jakarta. The ACX Clover will be delivered on August 24 and set sail from Tokyo on August 25.
Nam Sung to Start calling Hachinohe Starting from end August, South Korea's Nam Sung Shipping will add Hachinohe in the northern prefecture of Aomori as regular port of call to its Busan/Tomakomai service. For the Port of Hachinohe, Nam Sung will be the third international container line after Singapore's Advanced Container Line and Minsheng Kambara Marine Shipping that makes regular calls at the port. Hachinohe was designated as Foreign Access Zone (FAZ) in March this year and has developed facilities for container vessels and international cargoes such as Hachinohe Port Trade Center and Hachinohe Port International Freight Terminal.
Cargo Volume at Penang Dips 16% Cargo throughput at the Port of Penang, Malaysia, dropped 15.6% for the first six months of this year. While exports gained a 5.7% increase to 3.32 million tons, imports declined 26.3% to 4.59 million tons. Container volume fell 7.0% to 4.04 million tons.
Bibby tank unit calls in receiver BIBBY Tank Containers Limited, established only last year after the Bibby Line Group acquired a maj-ority stake in the spec-ialist tank container operator Nigel Parkes Shipping, has gone into receivership.
Brussels looks at Lurssen-Vulkan link A EUROPEAN Commission investigation is under way into whether financial measures connected with the takeover of Bremer Vulkan Marineschiffbau by Bremen shipbuilder Lurssen were in accordance with European Union shipbuilding guidelines.
MarAd plans revamp for redundant forms SWEEPING changes have been proposed by the US Maritime Administration to its often criticised application and documentation forms, and requirements for government's Title XI shipbuilding and shipyard modernisation loan-guarantee programme.
SeaCon reveals second quarter net increase BERMUDA-based container lessor and operator of passenger transport and hotels, Sea Containers, yesterday announced net second quarter earnings of $17.9m, 25% year-on-year growth, writes Ian Collard. Disclosing the company's financial results, Sea Containers reported diluted earnings per common share up 27% in the three month period to 95', on a revenue of $327m, a jump of 16%.
Dudula breaks the mould IN ONE of the first effective moves by a black South African maritime group into the close-knit local shipping industry, Durban-based Dudula Shipping Company has acquired a controlling interest in a shipping line that operates internationally.
ITF to list ships using non-union dock labour A "TARGET list" of individual ships that have been handled by non-union dock labour is to be compiled by International Transport Workers' Federation.
Volatile trade flows to hit Australian ports SENIOR executives at two major Australian ports haved warned of greater volatility in trade flow in the next 12 months as the Asian crisis starts to make an impact.
Revenues rise at Sydney NEW South Wales ports minister Kim Yeadon says Sydney Ports Corporation (SPC) delivered an increase in revenue to A$85m (US$53m) from A$80m last year despite the 5% reduction in port charges during the year.
US railmen to meet frustrated shippers AS shippers continue to experience rail delays on the US West Coast, a major railroad group has scheduled a series of meetings with customers later this month.
Tauranga puts hopes in boxes AN INCREASE in container volumes at Tauranga will go some way towards offsetting a downturn in bulk cargo caused by the Asian crisis.
Reefers pull Swedish Orient lower SWEDISH Orient Lines, the Swedish reefer and roro operator, saw its first half pre-tax proft slump as a result of the weakening reefer market.
ANL sale hits snag A POTENTIAL obstacle to the sale of Australia's state-owned ANL has emerged only weeks after CGM was selected as the majority buyer.
Samsung in massive casino ship deal AN UNNAMED US consortium is reported to have signed a letter of intent with South Korean shipbuilder Samsung in a $40bn-$50bn deal for 20 offshore casino ships.
Oil price hits ten year low CRUDE oil prices may have fallen to a ten year low yesterday but worse is predicted as analysts say that the average crude oil price could fall to $9 a barrel by January 1999.
FMC to discuss China allegations US FMC officials meet today to review allegations from US shipping lines and politicians that China's maritime policies are hurting US flag carriers.
BP shares continue to rise after Amoco deal SHARES in British Petroleum continued to rise this morning following yesterday's announce-ment of a takeover of Amoco.
NZ ports fear box bug delays NEW Zealand ports, ship operators and importers fear that delays and cost increases will result from new biosecurity border controls that include a strict, new container inspection.
Gordon faces finance probe RICHARD Gordon, ousted chairman of SBMA, is facing a new investigation into the alleged illegal fund disbursement he made during the last five years of his term.
Romanian crew in the dark THE crew of a Romanian vessel under arrest in Chennai has told the agent that the generator has broken and there is total black-out on board.
OMI Corp doubles first half income OMI Corp, the US bulk shipping company, reported a net income of $39.5m for the first six months of 1998, more than double the $16.3m reported in the first half of 1997.
Major US terminal operator taken over KINDER Morgan Energy Partners is to buy Hall-Buck Marine, one of the largest independent operators of dry bulk terminals in the US, for $100m.
German yard wins Mississippi river boat order GERMAN inland waterways yard Deutsche Binnenwerften has won a contract to build a 600 passenger casino vessel in the design of a side-wheel Mississippi river boat.
Philippines plan to end Panama lawsuits POLITICIANS and shipowners in the Philippines are planning to bring all lawsuits filed by Filipino seafarers in Panama under the jurisdiction of Philippine courts.
Le transbordement de marchandises à Matadi tourne au ralenti La situation dans le bas-Congo est très confuse et les informations contradictoires. La navigation sur le fleuve Congo, qui est vital, est paralysée depuis vendredi dernier. Cela signifie que six navires sont bloqués dans le port de Matadi. Il s'agit entre autres du "Wadai" et "Woermann Expert" et quatres unités chargées d'aliments frais. Le "Woermann Expert" attend de pouvoir lever l'ancre depuis vendredi dernier. La manutention du "Wadai" devait être terminée jeudi soir, mais on ne sait pas quand le navire pourra quitter le port de Matadi, tout comme les autres navires bloqués dans le port.
L'Entreprise portuaire anversoise candidate à la gestion de l'aéroport de Deurne L'idée d'une gestion, ou au moins d'une participation à la gestion de l'aéroport d'Anvers par l'Entreprise portuaire communale, fait son chemin. L'échevin du port d'Anvers Leo Delwaide vient de lancer à ce propos un signal très intéressant. Le dossier n'est toutefois pas près d'être bouclé, loin s'en faut.
Colirail (express sur mesure) veut doubler son CA en trois ans Colirail, société française spécialisée dans le transport express sur mesure, veut doubler son chiffre d'affaires en trois ans. Elle veut pour ce faire accentuer le développement européen et les produits à valeur ajoutée. Par ailleurs, la société a annoncé la signature d'un contrat avec Air France, pour qui Colirail va assurer des tâches de logistique terrestre.
Une "check-list" exhaustive doit préparer Zeebrugge à l'an 2000 Au port de Zeebrugge, comme ailleurs, la division informatique prépare sérieusement le passage à l'an 2000 et l'introduction de l'euro. Des réunions et consultations qui ont eu lieu dans ce contexte on a distillé une check-list dans laquelle rien n'a été laissé au hasard.
QR boasts freight milestones QUEENSLAND Rail has again set an Australian record for rail freight haulage, carrying more than 110 million tonnes of freight in 1997-98. In another record-breaking year, it was announced yesterday (August 12) that QR hauled 110.4 million tonnes of freight in 1997-98 compared with 105 million tonnes the previous year. However, the growth in tonnage was much lower than forecast. QR predicted last year that it expected to haul almost 113 million tonnes in 1997-98, rising to 148 million tonnes in 2001-02.
Inquiry warns: Spend now or rail doomed AUSTRALIA’S interstate rail track infrastructure is in "dire circumstances" and unless the Commonwealth invests an additional $750 million in the track over the next three years -- plus another $2 billion to 2010 -- the system will decline to an irretrievable level, according the Parliamentary Role of Rail inquiry. The chairman of the Standing Committee on Communications, Transport and Microeconomic Reform, Paul Neville, said that after hearing 147 witnesses and receiving 175 submissions, the committee believed it had made 16 hard-hitting but realistic recommendations designed to ensure that the national track would support a level of service between Brisbane and Perth equal to world best practice standards.
Rail task force announced CANBERRA: The membership of the Rail Projects Task Force -- the group which will examine ways governments can assist private sector development of Australia’s rail network - was announced yesterday in Sydney by Federal Transport Minister Mark Vaile. Headed by former Australian National chairman and current chairman of the Committee for Melbourne, Jack Smorgon, the Task Force is charged with identifying ways of advancing the development of very high speed rail services and the federal government’s role in facilitating construction of commercially-viable rail freight lines through regional areas to major ports.
ACCC, MUA: Still no deal LITIGATION holding up the implementation of the agreement between Patrick and Maritime Union of Australia has still not been resolved, an assistant secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), Greg Combet, told DCN yesterday. Mr Combet said while discussions were continuing in an effort to resolve the situation, there was no sign of an immediate resolution to the two actions, one taken by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission and the other by the Melbourne Port Corporation. He said, in fact, there were signs that the ACCC, in particular, was prepared to back off its position.
Geraldton hearing postponed THE MARITIME Union of Australia will meet Western Australia’s new Transport Minister Murray Criddle to seek his support in opposing moves to introduce workplace agreements for Geraldton Port Authority (GPA) workers. MUA WA branch secretary Terry Buck said the union would fight to ensure that GPA moves to privatise stevedoring arrangements at the port did not result in the dismantling of the integrated port labor force (IPLF) agreements which cover the port’s 41 workers. Mr Buck said Tuesday’s postponement of a directions hearing in the Federal Court over the Geraldton issue would give the union an opportunity to talk to the new minister about the benefits of the IPLF arrangement at Geraldton.
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