P&O to axe British containership crews ALL 300 British and 30 New Zealand ratings serving on the 19 P&O-owned containerships operating with the P&O Nedlloyd fleet are to be sacked and replaced by low-cost Filipino seafarers.
Hong Kong agrees CT9 building date HONG Kong financial secretary Donald Tsang said yesterday that a consortium of terminal operators have agreed on details of the territory's planned Container Terminal 9 (CT9) and construction would begin soon, Reuters reports.
Shell Deepwater to pull out early from rig deals SHELL Deepwater Dev-elopment in the US is to withdraw early from commitments to two high-end Transocean semi-submersibles and a third Diamond Offshore rig, all in the Gulf of Mexico.
Tensions begin to grow in Hyundai standoff Standoff: striking South Korean unionists, wearing headbands reading 'Save Our Jobs' and riding motorcycles were prevented from disrupting a pro-Hyundai Motors company rally by some 5,000 riot police in Ulsan yesterday. Tensions are rising in the seven-week long standoff between sacked unionists and Hyundai management, with fears of an imminent police raid on the factory to arrest and disperse some 4,000-6,000 trade unionists and their families who have been occupying the Hyundai factory grounds for more than four weeks.
End of the line for UK ratings SOON there will be not a single British rating on the entire British-registered boxship fleet. P&O - the company which operates all 19 vessels in this category as part of the P&O Nedlloyd joint venture - yesterday gave the RMT transport union the devastating news that 300 Britons and 30 New Zealanders are to be replaced with cheaper Filipino crew.
Standard club curtails growth The Standard protection and indemnity club has rejected most applications to join over the past year in order to protect the interests of existing members.
Cory opts for Caterpillar technology US-developed Caterpillar machinery has been selected for a new class of tractor tug ordered by UK-based Cory Towage to serve a management contract in the Middle East.
'Toisa Perseus' sails to Norway Bermuda-based Toisa Ltd's newbuilding, the '50m ($83.3m) Toisa Perseus, has left Rotterdam's Van der Giessen shipyard for trials in Norway. The subsea construction vessel will be chartered to Rockwater to lay pipelines in the North Sea.
Torm slashes ship values TORM, the Danish liner and bulk shipping group, has substantially written down the value of its ships.
Pertamina to honour Suharto contracts OSPREY Maritime has welcomed the news that Pertamina is to honour all shipping contracts made by the Suharto administration.
Keppel Marine's turnover soars SINGAPORE'S Keppel Marine Industries recorded a leap in turnover of almost 50 per cent for the first six months of the year.
CMA and Norasia share vessels on Asia route CMA and Norasia Line have agreed a vessel sharing agreement to co-operate a two-string service between Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East and Asia.
Terminal operators in accord on CT9 THREE terminal operating companies in Hong Kong have reached agreement on the detailed development arrangements for Container Terminal 9.
Venezuela petrochemical output nears 7m tonne PEQUIVEN, the petrochemical company of Venezuela's state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela, says its three coastal complexes are currently producing 6.8m tonne annually.
Tamil Tigers 'ready to release' bombed ship's crew TAMIL Tiger rebels say they are ready to release the crew members of the merchant ship bombed by Sri Lankan air force jets on August 14.
Indians fail to agree oil import freight rates INDIAN Oil Corp and Shipping Corp of India have failed to agree on a market-related freight rate for crude oil imports despite four months of talks.
OOIL reports first loss since 1993 FALLING cargo prices and volumes have been blamed for the first loss suffered by Orient Overseas (International) in five years.
Seattle's handling package wins Korean contract THE Port of Seattle has managed to retain a significant steel-handling contract by virtue of a new handling package put together by Stevedoring Services of America (SSA).
Dutch report questions benefit of inland shipping A DUTCH research institute has issued a report that questions the benefits of transferring cargo from road to rail and inland waterway.
CGM smarts over lost Italia purchase CGM's failure to take over Italia di Navigazione from Finmare is seen as a setback for the French group.
Awilco presents stronger first half figures AWILCO, the Norwegian tanker company which sold its floating production systems earlier this year, has converted last year's half year loss to a pre-tax profit of Nkr40m in 1998.
Finland dashes tax reform hopes FINLAND'S ministry of finance has dashed hopes of tax reform for the country's shipping companies.
Compromise sought for waterfront impasse AUSTRALIA'S Council of Trades Unions (ACTU) has suggested a compromise to break a deadlock threatening a waterfront peace accord.
Tor Line développe fortement la capacité de son service EuroBridge Tor Line va sensiblement augmenter la capacité de son service EuroBridge entre Gand et Göteborg à partir de l'automne afin de pouvoir faire face à la demande croissante. C'est ce qu'a annoncé la direction de l'armement hier à Gand. L'opérateur suédois introduira progressivement quatre navires plus grands et plus rapides sur cette route à partir de fin octobre en remplacement de la flotte existante. Tor Line pourra de la sorte transporter 30% de semi-remorques en plus et 50% de voitures en plus . L'armement disposera en outre de davantage de temps pour le traitement des cargaisons dans les deux ports. La fréquence du service (six départs par semaine) demeure inchangée. La capacité sera également augmentée sur les deux autres routes, à savoir la route AngloBridge entre la Suède et la Grande-Bretagne et la route Shortbridge entre Rotterdam et le RU.
Les législations environnementales différentes ne perturbent pas la concurrence entre Rotterdam et Anvers La réglementation environnementale et son application ne devraient pas être des facteurs de concurrence entre ports, ni une arme aux mains des utilisateurs des ports. C'est ce que concluent la Commission Portuaire Flamande et le Conseil Portuaire Néerlandais dans leur étude commune sur la "réglementation environnementale en matière de containers et de diverses dans les ports d'Anvers et de Rotterdam".
P&OP to pursue section 127 claims A HEARING in the Australian Industrial Relations Commission on Friday is expected to set a date for a Full Bench hearing of P&O's wide-ranging claim against the Maritime Union of Australia. The action, under section 127 of the Workplace Relations Act, seeks to prevent the MUA from taking industrial action across all of the company's stevedoring interests in Australia, including P&O Ports. It is understood the case will be based on incidents dating to May last year, but will also include more recent disruptions to work which took place at the height of the dispute between Patrick and the MUA.
Another veteran of the container revolution retires A SHIP which helped pioneer the container revolution in Australia's international trades is en route to the scrappers after over 27 years' service. The 21,278 GRT Columbus New Zealand completed her final discharge in Melbourne late last week and is now understood to be on her way to breakers at Pakistan's Gadani Beach, after almost three decades of carrying Australian and New Zealand refrigerated exports to North America. Introduced in mid 1971 the German-registered Columbus New Zealand was the first pure containership in the trade, followed in quick succession by sisters Columbus Australia and Columbus America. All three were built in Hamburg by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft and powered by steam turbines, but in 1986 the trio were re-engined with more fuel-efficient B&W diesels.
Minister hails setting up of freight body EXPORT levels and trade opportunities in Queensland are poised to increase significantly through the establishment of the Air Freight Council of Queensland, state Transport Minister Steve Bredhauer said last week. As previously announced, the commonwealth has committed to the provision of $100,000 a year for two years to the establishment of air freight councils in each state in a bid to improve the air freight cargo chain. Most other states have already received cheques for half the amount. Mr Bredhauer said the Queensland council would act as a forum for industry to improve the flexibility, accessibility and efficiency of transport and logistics involved in the movement of international air freight in the state.
Air freight levels steady INTERNATIONAL air freight traffic in and out of Australia continued to remain relatively steady in March, despite falling exports and passenger numbers, latest aviation figures show. According to figures from the commonwealth Department of Transport, total air freight traffic dropped by less than two per cent in March 1998 compared to the same period last year. Passenger numbers in and out of Australia plunged 7.7 per cent. Outbound air freight fell 4.9 per cent in March, with inbound freight rising slightly.
HCE cancels Hobart calls BASS Strait operator Holyman Coastal Express has withdrawn its weekly voyage to the port of Hobart in favor of six days-a-week sailing between Melbourne and Devonport. The move has been expected for some months but has been delayed by protracted negotiations with Australian Transport Network's Tasrail over acceptable land feeder arrangements for southern Tasmanian shippers. HCE lost cargo volumes underpinning its weekly Hobart visit when zinc manufacturer Pasminco moved substantial tonnage to the new Project Asia Service, which makes direct Hobart calls. Previously HCE feedered zinc to Melbourne to meet mainline container services.
Success at its neutral dispatching center in Houston has UP contemplating decentralizing the operations side of its railroad on a larger scale. As its partner at the Spring, Texas, joint dispatching center, BNSF has played a critical role in the improvement that both railroads and shippers have seen in the Houston area since the agreement between the two railroads was put into operation last February. There are those who say decentralized operations are not necessary to effectively run a railroad, but both UP and BNSF are considering Los Angeles as a possible next step.
The American Trucking Associations' Executive Committee approved a controversial plan to reorganize the association by absorbing its affiliates, changing its dues structure and lowering membership fees, and adding thousands of truckers to its declining membership rolls. ATA wants to increase membership over the next four years from 3,125 trucking companies to 12,000 motor carriers, logistics providers and suppliers. The association also is looking to consolidate its affiliates' separate political action committees into a single PAC with more formidable political influence on Capitol Hill.
Toronto-based Vitran Corp. has acquired Winsted, Minn.-based Quast Transfer, making good on its intention of expanding its regional LTL presence in the United States. The deal, expected to close on Sept. 30, could reap large synergies from the combined operations. Both companies will pick up new markets with very few overlapping customers, company officials said. The acquisition comes at an opportune time from an industry standpoint, as regional trucking is growing by double-digit rates with the $19 billion long-haul market growing at 1 percent to 2 percent annually.
Federal Express and its pilots are back at the negotiating table, trying once again to hammer out the company's first union contract. The FedEx Pilots Association has a new negotiating team, a new president and a lot more money coming into its coffers thanks to double dues for the next six months to cover negotiation expenses. Money also will be set aside in case talks take a turn for the worse and the pilots opt for strong-arm tactics. Meanwhile, FedEx management is back at the table with the same team as last year, hoping to put the possibility of labor strife well behind them.
The Liberian Bureau of Maritime Affairs will refrain from any punitive action against Cosco Shipping Co., the operator of the freighter Bright Field that crashed into the Riverwalk shopping mall in New Orleans during the 1996 Christmas holidays. No fatalities resulted from the crash that damaged the mall, a Hilton Hotel, a condominium, injured more than 100 people and tallied losses exceeding $17 million. The Liberian agency will schedule a hearing on negligence charges being considered against the two engineers who served on the freighter at the time of the crash.
Unlike other recent Class 1 mergers, the challenge for Canadian National Railway and Illinois Central Railroad may not be how to quell shipper concerns while still keeping as much control of the franchise as possible, but how to best take advantage of marketing opportunities that will result from the merger. Before the marriage, CN had very little sales representation in the United States. Now the combined company will have a major presence. CN is figuring out a strategy as to take advantage of that fact, as well as how it will manage and develop its new alliance with Kansas City Southern.
Non-Stop Logistics Corp. has a new name and a new focus. The San Francisco-based logistics company is now Non-Stop Solutions and is targeting the pharmaceutical industry to pioneer its brand of inventory optimization. The company made a splash four years ago when it introduced the Non-Stop concept to the grocery market. That didn't work so Non-Stop retooled itself. It has been working with a major drug store chain for more than a year in a pilot program. It's also attracted a major new investor, Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, a venture capital company that is well-known to firms in California's high-tech gulch, Silicon Valley.
In an about-face from two weeks ago, the Federal Aviation Administration has acknowledged before Congress that it still has problems to sort through before it will be year 2000 compliant and before its computer systems are secure. Dennis DeGaetano, deputy associate administrator for Research and Acquisitions at the FAA, tacitly agreed with complaints issued by Joel C. Willemssen of the General Accounting Office, that the FAA still had serious issues. This stance from the FAA and the Department of Transportation reflects a more subdued and less optimistic viewpoint than the agency and department expressed a short while ago, when it told Traffic World that "we are right on track" for Y2K compliance.
Cargo has begun moving again through Salvador, Brazil, and at a considerably lower cost to port operators, thanks to a labor strike victory by management over salaries, work force size and working hours. With the rest of Brazil's shipping community looking toward Salvador for answers to their own labor problems, the country is also grappling with efforts to privatize public ports, airports, roads, rails and telecommunication systems. And government reform is starting to attract other foreign investors, including auto manufacturers and airlines.
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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