Vela ban puts squeeze on ageing tanker fleet DOZENS of elderly tankers face being squeezed out of the market in the coming months following a warning by Saudi Arabian charterer Vela that it will impose a strict 25-year age limit on the vessels it hires.
NOL to sell stacktrain subsidiary Neptune Orient Lines' sale of non-core assets is continuing apace with several more disposals about to be announced.
Oslo stocks begin fightback A NEAR 50% fall in the shipping index during 1998 caused the Oslo Stock Exchange's all-share index to post the worst year in its 16-year history.
Gulf services pooled Two of the big participants in the chemical tanker sector, Jo Tankers and Chemship, have agreed to pool their respective US Gulf-Mediterranean services from this month, writes Alan Dickey, Netherlands Correspondent.
CGM warns Maersk of a banana war France's Compagnie Generale Maritime has hinted at a rates war to keep Maersk out of the westbound trade between European and the French Caribbean following the Danish company's success in breaking into the eastbound banana trade.
EU moves on US marine products MARINE safety equipment has emerged as the trade sector most likely to be accepted by the European Commission for further talks under the recently launched US-European Union Mutual Recognition Agreement to reduce trade barriers.
Panama Canal upgrading at risk A KEY project designed to expand the capacity of the Panama Canal may be threatened unless the US spends millions of dollars to clear the area of old explosives.
Strikers halt Casablanca MOROCCO's leading port, Casablance has been crippled by a three-week strike over salaries and general conditions.
IUM takes Northsouth Management stake INTEROCEAN Ugland Management has made its first strategic acquisition since its formation in 1996 with the purchase of a 50 per cent stake in Northsouth Shipmanagement.
Fairplay launches Computing Guide on the web FAIRPLAY, the UK-based marine information company, has launched its popular Marine Computing Guide on the Internet.
HKSOA ponders action on ship positioning HONG KONG Shipowners' Association director Arthur Bowring said a notice might be issued to members warning them to exercise extreme care over positioning when calling in local waters.
Refinery shut down hits Sri Lanka SRI LANKA will import more refined products this year and less crude oil than in 1998 because of a planned six-week maintenance shut down of the island's refinery.
Vietnam to expand fleet and ports VIETNAM is seeking to invest billions of dollars to develop its merchant fleet and ports.
Vietnamese shipyard off the blocks VIETNAM'S first modern shipbuilding and shiprepair facility is inaugurated this month, located mid-way between Saigon and Da Nang.
RCL warns of bleak year ahead SUMATE Tanthuvanit, md of Bangkok-based Regional Container Lines, has warned that 1999 will see further cut-throat rates on local trades.
Globe Wireless sets up Korean link US telecommunications service provider Globe Wireless has added a Korean link to its global radio network.
DFDS renames passenger service DANISH transport group DFDS has changed the name of its passenger shipping division from Scandinavian Seaways to DFDS Seaways.
House bill would guarantee port dredging funds TWO members of the US House Transportation Committee have introduced legislation that would require Washington to invest in port dredging.
AMSA gets tough AUSTRALIA'S Maritime Safety Authority has warned of a get-tough policy for ship masters, operators and owners following two incidents in which pilots' lives were endangered.
US shippers fight Chinese regulations THE largest US shippers' organisation has written to its counterparts around the world to oppose China's new ocean shipping regulations.
Evergreen and MSC in service talks EVERGREEN Marine Corporation of Taiwan and Geneva-based Mediterranean Shipping have been holding discussions in a bid to agree a vessel sharing arrangement.
Thai government steps in on shipping charges THAILAND'S deputy commerce minister is to form a committee to assess local shipping charges following complaints by Thai shippers over export costs.
Canadian grain agency in financial trouble CANADIAN Grain Commission, the Winnipeg-based agency that ensures the quality of grain exports, is in financial trouble.
Hong Kong tanker seized by Chinese A HONG KONG tanker and its crew have been seized by Chinese officials following a disagreement over the exact position of the vessel in waters off Hong Kong.
Costa denies rumours regarding its name COSTA Crociere has denied a report in yesterday's Fairplay Daily News that Carnival Corp is to drop the Costa Crociere brand name.
The LTL industry market share has dropped from 10 percent of the intercity freight market in 1983 to 6 percent last year. Why has the LTL industry fallen? Consultant Satish Jindel writes the industry has only itself to blame. A Byzantine pricing structure, complex accessorial charges and base rates so out of line with the true cost of services are some of the reasons shippers have shifted to parcel-express carriers such as United Parcel Service and Federal Express. Unless the LTL industry reforms its pricing system, it risks losing even more profitable shipments to other segments of the industry, Jindel writes.
The trucking industry unloaded on a long-awaited, oft-delayed Department of Transportation study on truck size and weights. The first thing about the 12-chapter, 191-page report is that some data is at least six years old. It also came with a reader's warning by DOT: "Not a policy vehicle in any sense." Truckers argued they are not seeking wholesale changes in size and weight restrictions, which the railroad industry claims would be detrimental to the rails' fiscal well-being. But the DOT study could blunt any attempt to thaw a truck-length-weight freeze in effect since the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991. The study says allowing longer and heavier trucks would cause more deadly truck-auto accidents, double bridge building and maintenance costs and cut rail profit margins by 46 percent.
Thomas I. Escott, president of Caliber Logistics, and David J. Krause, vice president of vice finance and administration, will be leaving Caliber for personal and professional reasons. No successors have been named. Speculation is this is FDX Corp. putting its own stamp on Caliber Logistics in the wake of FDX's purchase of Caliber System a year ago.
Overnite Transportation's fastest-growing unit is its special services division, expanding an estimated 20 percent a year. Using separate equipment and run as a separate unit of Overnite, the division is expected to reach $100 million in revenue within five years. Its biggest problem? Convincing shippers it runs truckload services point-to-point instead of using the hub-and-spoke system of its LTL namesake.
Emery Worldwide is beginning a new guaranteed service catering to its second-day and deferred-delivery customers shipping within this country, Canada and Puerto Rico. This complements Emery's existing guaranteed services for next-day and time-specific shipments. Emery officials said the guarantee was designed to highlight the carrier's 99 percent on-time record.
Mergers combining companies with related but distinct markets are starting to pick up steam in the intermodal industry. Logistics company Pacer International, if its long-rumored purchase of APL's stacktrain intermodal service comes true, would be the latest of such deals. Despite consolidation in the intermodal industry of both like and unlike businesses, some believe customers will not get any break on rates and say there is plenty of capacity to sustain long-term growth.
Swedish software vendor Industri-Matematik International has bought the Abalon software operations of Astea International for $9.5 million. The move gives IMI a base in this country and expands its supply-chain portfolio.
The U.S. Coast Guard is threatening to close ports to carriers that don't get their Y2K problems fixed before 2000. Time-related computer systems involving cargo tracking, temperature controls, alarms and fire detection systems are prone to failure if the Y2K bug isn't exterminated. The Coast Guard issued a notice in the Federal Register last month noting that computer technology is imbedded into every aspect of the maritime industry's business operations.
The Canadian government should make it easy to move grain from Western Canada to foreign buyers. That's according to a report by former Canadian Supreme Court Justice Willard Estey, who is urging Ottawa to lift caps on grain freight rates and take away the Canadian Wheat Board's responsibility in grain transportation.
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