P&O says more competitive pricing trends could cut into cruise revenues Releasing first quarter results for its cruise division, P&O today said that operating profit increased by 4% to $60.4 million despite fuel prices being $9 million higher However, P&O--which is planning to spin-off the cruise division--warned that "net revenue yields are likely to be lower for the year as a whole compared to 1999."
Oil firms challenge to IACS authority OIL companies are about to deal a severe blow to the credibility of the International Association of Classification Societies, as the Erika catastrophe continues to have dramatic repercussions in the maritime industry.
Council throws out Polish Register THE Polish Register of Shipping, which was temporarily suspended from the International Association of Classification Societies in 1997, has been finally thrown out of the association after an IACS review of its conduct following the sinking of the bulk carrier Leader L, which sank with heavy loss of life in March.
Fred Olsen buys $44m rig at US bankruptcy auction FRED Olsen Energy of Norway has acquired a semi-submersible drilling rig for $43.56m in a US bankruptcy auction.
Eurotunnel battles BAA on contract CHANNEL tunnel operator Eurotunnel has vowed to fight legal action from Britain's BAA aimed at ending a contract between the firms.
German tug owners file Netherlands complaint GERMAN towage operators have filed an official complaint against the Netherlands with the European Commission, as they claim subsidies it is giving Dutch companies active in German ports go against European Union directives.
Shipping leaders reject consolidation solution THE shipping industry, outgunned by big charterers and powerful regulators, appears unready and unable to embrace consolidation as a solution to its chronic weakness and fragmentation A parliamentary-style debate on the merits of consolidation for bulk shipping ended with an estimated 400 or so delegates to the at the Posidonia Congress in Athens, voting two to one against the idea.
Brussels bid on oil spill liability BRUSSELS will seek to increase and broaden the liabilities for oil tanker spills as the centrepiece of a further package of measures once it has finalised its current plans for port state control, classification societies and double hulls.
Australia in new global safety approach AUSTRALIAN safety czar Clive Davidson has pledged his country's "strong commitment" to the International Maritime Organisation as the most appropriate legislative body for shipping.
New revolution: a beltway for ships A revolution in container shipping could dramatically increase vessel size and improve transport efficiency, but would depend on an expansion of the Panama Canal, above, and take years to play out, a port specialist predicts.
Boeing launches 747-300 modification program Boeing Airplane Services introduced its 747-300 modification program with a launch order from Atlas Air for the conversion of three 747-300 Combi airplanes into full freighters.
Three Midwest electricity producers are contemplating construction of a third railroad into Wyoming's coal-rich Powder River Basin. The so-called build-in northwest from Nebraska would compete with Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad's proposed extension southwest into the PRB from South Dakota. Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Union Pacific currently provide the only origin competition for more than 330 million tons of low sulfur coal moving out of the PRB annually - almost a third of the nation's coal output - and collect $3.5 billion for doing so. Utility executives speculate a challenger to that duopoly could shave millions of dollars from coal transport costs.
A railroad attempt to impose tariff surcharges on outbound shipments even though the railroad had a transportation contract with the receiver of the freight is an unreasonable practice, the Surface Transportation Board ruled. Shipper attorney Andrew Goldstein of the Washington, D.C., law firm McCarthy, Sweeney & Harkaway, said the decision makes clear that once a railroad chooses to be a contract carrier - whether for chemicals, coal, grain or other commodities - it "must live up to its bargain" even if it turns out not to be a very good bargain.
Online procurement is being put through its paces in the health care industry, where a variety of models are being used to meet the needs of highly complex distribution patterns. It is too early to tell who the winners will be, said Ray Falci, senior managing director of Bear, Sterns & Co., but many will fail because they do not balance the needs of their stakeholders. The benefits of web-based procurement are sorely needed, he said, in an industry where procurement inefficiencies are endemic and "little inventory management is done properly."
Trucking industry leaders attacked the government's hours-of-service proposal as expensive, unworkable and actually a threat to safety. Donald J. Schneider, president of the nation's largest truckload carrier, says shippers have a large stake in the proceedings as the Department of Transportation tries to modernize its 63-year-old hours of service. Under the proposal, drivers would be limited to 12 hours of driving in any 24-hour daily period. But the industry objects to enforced breaks for two-day weekend periods and other aspects of the proposal, which a commercial vehicle safety group has called unenforceable. Two days of hearings in Washington begin a nationwide set of public forums on the proposal.
Cargo divisions at Europe's largest airlines slammed the books on another fiscal year with wildly mixed results. While the cargo divisions all showed revenue improvements over last year thanks in part to the rebounding Asian economy, the passenger divisions' results were troubling. British Airways recorded its first operating loss since the airline broke from government ownership in 1987. KLM's operating income was sliced in half. Air France, while acknowledging high fuel prices that have plagued airlines worldwide, thumbed its nose at its competitors, stating, "We have, unlike our competitors, been able to generate a substantial increase in net profit over the previous year, now standing at $328 million."
The service delays and backups that plagued Union Pacific Railroad two years ago are behind it but recent complaints from shippers of hazardous materials suggest that it's not out of the woods yet. This time, however, the culprit isn't the railroad. Envirocare of Utah Inc., a radioactive waste disposal company, is the focus of complaints by several shippers that have had to halt or slow down waste removal projects in the Midwest because gondola cars were tied up at Envirocare's UP-served disposal facilities in Clive, Utah. The specific reason for the tie-up of railcars waiting to be dumped - estimated to have reached as many as 500 in the last month - is unclear, but a malfunctioning rotary railcar dumper is cited most often by shippers.
Shipper and liner conference representativesShipper and liner conference representatives clashed at a debate on the future of price-fixing immunity for ocean shipping lines, which ended with little progress toward compromise on either side. "We didn't expect a consensus, quite frankly," said Wolfgang Hubner, head of the transport division of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which sponsored the debate in Paris. "The positions are so entrenched, with shippers on the one hand and ship owners on the other and governments sitting on the fence watching closely."
The Internet may be replacing the office water cooler as the place to talk and meet. And companies like it that way. According to KLM Executive Vice President Max Rens, connectivity and standardization are becoming more important for all airlines. KLM decided to invest in an Internet infrastructure because "we have more than 300 offices outside The Netherlands. If you cannot communicate, you are nowhere," he said. KLM rolled out a companywide intranet connecting its worldwide offices through a virtual private network managed by airline telecommunications company SITA.
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