Mizzi reappointed to Sea Malta post MARLENE Mizzi has been reappointed chairman of the Maltese national shipping line Sea Malta by the Nationalist government.
South Africans warned of arms smuggling SRI LANKA has told South Africa that Tamil Tiger rebels may be using South African ports to smuggle arms.
Hindustan's repair turnover to double HINDUSTAN Shipyard at Visakhapatnam is set to double its turnover from ship repair in 1998-99.
Damen heads bidding for Belgian yard DAMEN Shipyards of Gorinchem in Holland is the highest bidder for the bankrupt Belgian yard Polyship.
Germany 'needs new coastguard system' GERMANY needs a centrally-organised coastguard, according to the head of ports in the Bremen city government
Verolme Heusden wins creditor protection VEROLME Heusden, the Dutch shipbuilder, has obtained protection against its creditors following continuing losses from the building of three large dredgers.
Brazilian dockers strike again BRAZILIAN port workers are on strike today and tomorrow over place and time of work.
Bidders line up for Catamaran Ferries SEVERAL companies are known to be interested in acquiring British Columbian fast ferry builder Catamaran Ferries, which recently launched its first PacifiCat.
Greek tug crew feared lost FOUR crew members from a tug were missing feared dead this morning in the port area of Thessaloniki when their vessel caught fire and sank.
US company to invest in Chinese yard CHINESE shipbuilder Jiangyang Group has signed an agreement with US-based Carter Development Co to set up an independent shipyard.
Melbourne examines draught requirements STUDIES are beginning to determine whether Port Melbourne's draught is sufficient to meet future increases in the size of commercial ships.
Shippers urge sugar theft crackdown FOREIGN shippers of Thai sugar have appealed to the Thai Sugar Cane Co to help crack down on the theft of raw sugar during its transport from the depot to the ship.
Council takes over Ramsgate OWNERSHIP of the UK ferry port of Ramsgate in south-east England has been transferred from Neptun Maritime's UK-based subsidiary Sally Holdings to the local council authority.
Asian slowdown hits Stolt-Nielsen STOLT-Nielsen, the tanker, terminal and fish farm operator, saw a slide in third quarter pre-tax profit from $48.8m in the period to August 31, 1997 to $36.1m this year.
Bremerhaven plans for fourth terminal THE Bremen parliament has decided to start planning for container terminal no. 4 at Bremerhaven, despite protests from local inhabitants.
Mitsui and Navix to merge fleets MITSUI OSK and Navix are to merge their non-container fleets next April in a move that will create one of the largest dry bulk, tanker and specialised carrier companies
Pallas fire out after four weeks A CREW of 20 Dutch salvage specialists has put out the fire on board the general cargo ship Pallas, which has been burning in the North Sea for four weeks.
Sea-Land charters new tonnage SEA-LAND Service has chartered five post-panamax containerships from Costamare Shipping of Greece.
Eurotunnel Fret augmente capacité et fréquences En janvier et en avril 1999, Eurotunnel Fret mettra en service deux nouvelles navettes qui pourront transporter plus de camions. L'opérateur ferroviaire pourra donc assurer quatre départs par heure, pendant une période plus longue qu'actuellement., disent le directeur Fabrice Vennarucci et le marketing director Mark Gilliland d'Eurotunnel Fret. Outre la hausse des tarifs à partir du 1er janvier, Eurotunnel est en train de revoir son système informatique afin d'offrir à ses clients par le biais d'Internet une source d'informations interactive et mise à jour.
Nouvelle grève des dockers dans les ports français En France, la Fédération nationale des ports & docks (FNPD), émanation du syndicat CGT proche de l'actuel ministre chargé notamment des Transports, vient d'appeler une nouvelle fois à la grève. Lancée "pour la défense de l'emploi", cette action à laquelle les intéressés souhaitent donner une "ampleur nationale" devait perturber le fonctionnement de l'ensemble des ports français à compter de ce lundi 23 novembre 1998. Mais la date pour y mettre un terme n'est pas précisée.
Le mal ferroviaire français affecte en particulier le fret En France, la grogne quasi générale des cheminots européens est amplifiée par des revendications nationales qui portent sur les effectifs ainsi que la mise en place des 35 heures par semaine. Après la grande grève de l'hiver 1995 puis "l'été meurtrier" vécu en 1998, les clients fret de la SNCF (Société nationale des chemins de fer français) menacent de revenir à la route. Pour éviter cela, certains proposent deux mesures: d'une part des couloirs à "priorité fret"; d'autre part un fonds d'indemnisation pour les adeptes du combiné rail/route victimes du manque de fiabilité des services Fret SNCF.
L'ESC fustige la grève européenne du rail La grève d'avertissement des cheminots de plusieurs pays de l'Union européenne hier lundi a bloqué des millions de voyageurs et de tonnes de marchandises. Une fois de plus, les syndicats ont choisi la plus mauvaise arme pour détourner voyageurs et chargeurs du mode de transport qui est justement un des chéris de la Commission européenne.
MOL, Navix form 'world's biggest' Mitsui OSK Lines and Navix Line are to join forces in April, forming what is claimed to be the largest non-government shipping company in the world. The deal, officially described as a merger but widely seen as a takeover, brings together Japan's number two (MOL) and number four (Navix) in a move the companies say leapfrogs the new entity over the current number one, Nippon Yusen Kaisha. Navix shareholders will put up 3.5 Navix shares for each MOL share.
Award conversions resume The Australian Industrial Relations Commission yesterday resumed hearings on several maritime awards and their progress to minimum safety net awards. This followed the commission's landmark test case earlier this year where the Full Bench ruled that paid rates awards must be converted into minimum safety net awards. This decision was seen as a significant boost to the federal government's award simplification reforms. In addition, the commission's decision said that this should occur as part of the process of award simplification, and not be further delayed.
Separate rail regulator sought The Western Australian opposition wants the state government to set up a separate office of rail regulation to act as an independent arbiter for companies seeking access to the state's rail network, instead of the current plan to put the director general of transport in this role. Opposition Transport spokeswoman Alannah MacTiernan said the Rail Access Legislation passed in the WA parliament recently would not be approved by the National Competition Council in its current form. Ms MacTiernan said she believed it would be rejected because of its failure to provide for someone who could be a genuine impartial regulator of the track network.
Results justify FreightCorp expansion Freightcorp's annual report for the year ended 30 June 1998 was released on Friday, with managing director Lucio Di Bartolomeo claiming the figures show the corporation well placed to begin inter-state operations before the end of 1998. "The main drivers of this result were the record levels of freight carried, the continuation of the focus on driving down costs and achieving greater efficiencies in operations," he said. Total freight carried was 82.1 million tonnes, a 13 per cent increase on last year's 72.6 million tonnes.
VLCC Rates Sag, Other Sectors Unchanged VLCC rates continued to sag Monday, while other tanker sectors were little changed. Mideast/UKC VLCC rates were pegged at W47.5 ($8.5/ton), Mideast/Japan at W45 ($5.2) and Mideast/Singapore at W45 ($3.2). Inter-U.K./Cont Aframaxes (80,000 tonrs) edged down to W97.5 ($3.6/ton). "The end of the month rush is over and for early December more vessels have come into the picture," a Scandinavian broker said. Cross-Med rates were flat, with Aframaxes at W100 ($3.5/ton) and Suezmaxes (130,000 tonrs) at W82.5 ($2.9).
Six Year Shuttle Tanker Contract Signed Danish shipping company D/S Progress signed a six year shuttle tanker contract with Brazilian oil company Petrobras. The contract, which takes effect from December, will involve it transporting oil from offshore South Atlantic oil rigs to refineries in Brazil.
VLCC Sold For $71 Million The 1994-built 284,912 dwt VLCC Provence was sold last week for about $71 million to German investors with 10 years bareback charter at a reported rate of $24,000 per day.
Group Ups Stake In Seacor Smit A group that included Texas billionaire Robert Bass reportedly raised its stake in marine vessel fleet operator Seacor Smit Inc to 16.6 percent, or 2,108,400 common shares, from 14.6 percent, or 1,923,500 shares. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the group said it bought 123,900 shares of the Houston-based company from October 1-November 20 at prices ranging from $31.31-$49.60 per share. Others in the group included Alpine Capital LP, the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Foundation and Keystone Inc.
Cambiaso & Risso Signs Deal Italy's Cambiaso & Risso Ship Agency and Engineering CT Ceretti Tanfani reportedly signed an agreement to provide equipment and machinery for the shipbuilding industry. The agreement will involve the companies combining technical inspection activities and the supply of new equipment to shipyards and the upgrading of existing facilities, they said in a joint statement. The venture will cover European and Mediterranean countries where Cambiaso is already active, including the UK, Spain, Portugal, Croatia and Slovenia.
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