BRIEFS

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Shipping News

One more honour for a KepFels concept
Keppel Fels recently reaped the rewards of long years of research and on-site industry development by winning several awards for its ground-breaking semi-submersible drilling tender (SSDT) concept - the latest being the Asean Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award 2009.
Jurong Port working on boosting client ties, productivity
JURONG Port is moving steadily to gear up for the future, while boosting alliances with existing customers.
Hanging on to sail through this year's storm
'When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on,' said Franklin D Roosevelt.

Strait Talk

Striving to make a difference
THOSE who lay the blame (and there are many) for most of the global shipping industry's ills on the rise of open registers - or 'flags of convenience', as they would say - do not necessarily list Clay Maitland among their heroes.

web site

Shipping News

One more honour for a KepFels concept
Keppel Fels recently reaped the rewards of long years of research and on-site industry development by winning several awards for its ground-breaking semi-submersible drilling tender (SSDT) concept - the latest being the Asean Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award 2009.
Jurong Port working on boosting client ties, productivity
JURONG Port is moving steadily to gear up for the future, while boosting alliances with existing customers.
Hanging on to sail through this year's storm
'When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on,' said Franklin D Roosevelt.

Strait Talk

Striving to make a difference
THOSE who lay the blame (and there are many) for most of the global shipping industry's ills on the rise of open registers - or 'flags of convenience', as they would say - do not necessarily list Clay Maitland among their heroes.

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China Merchants signs 35-year deal to run Colombo terminal APL reports robust four-week volume recovery, but yields sag MOL considers greater focus on LNG than boxes during slump Maersk raises US$704 million from debt market to repay banks Zim to hike Asia-Europe rates US$250/TEU from January 1 CMA CGM starts intra-Black Sea, intra-Baltic Sea weekly services China Merchants' Western Shenzhen terminals provide wi-fi for docked ships Free trade pact prompts Swire to increase calls to Port Klang St Peterburg's First Container Terminal breaks Russian box record in November HK airport's AAT year's tonnage down, but November up 18pc Korean Air to buy five hard-to-sell passenger Boeing 747-8s FedEx Ground to implement 4.9pc rate hike in January 2010

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Everlloyd Container Lines appoints Kaushik Jha as Commercial Head Unitex Logistics India awarded ISO 9001:2008 certificate Raw cotton exports ban ruled out KoPT's transloading plan in Bay attracts 4 consortia Talks on Port workers' demands on Mon. Handling capacity at Major Ports to be doubled by 2012-Kallam Vizag Port handles more cargo despite workers' stir Swiss WorldCargo launches One Hour Option Forex reserves up by $1,379 million to $2,86,723 million Posco seeks more time to set up SEZ in Orissa 15,911 km stretch of highways ahead-Nath RBI admits paradigm shift in policy focus Reps of 400 Italian firms coming on business next week R. Mukundan elected Vice-President of Council of EU Chambers in India

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DECEMBER 7, 2009
Langh Ship carries large steel coils stowed on the weather deck of a container vessel The Norwegian shipping company Langh Ship has completed the first successful transport of 26 t steel coils for containers on a ship with ITS new 40 ft Hard Open Top Cradl... International Register of Shipping signs agreement with Ships Classification Malaysia The International Register of Shipping has signed another international bilateral agreement of collaboration ' reinforcing its commitment to promote the highest standards in the ma... Green light for tariffs freeze in Marseille Fos The Marseilles Fos port supervisory board in France has approved a freeze on 2010 port tariffs to support customers "in a strained economic context" and to enhance the po... Volex entrusts Panalpina with global freight management The Volex Group - a leading global producer of high-speed, fibre optic and complex cable assemblies, as well as electrical power cords - has awarded its global freight managem... Katrineholms Logistikcentrum to close major deal with Van Dieren The Dutch logistics company Van Dieren Maritime BV has decided to establish a presence in Katrineholm (Sweden). The company will build a hub for its mid/north Swedish operations at... Kuehne + Nagel service provider for KEC International in India KEC International Limited, a global leader in the power transmission project management business and an RPG Group company, has selected Kuehne + Nagel India as its partner for the ... Kurt Signer resigns from the secretariat general of SBB Kurt Signer has stepped down as head of the secretariat general of the Swiss railway SBB in order to take up new challenges. Bernhard Meier, head of corporate servic... South Korean railway workers break off strike The leadership of a railway workers union that had been striking against the South Korean railway Korail told the 15,000 staff to go back to work on Thursday. The eight-d... Intermodal Innovation delivers offshore paint store containers Intermodal Innovation LLP, based in Lancaster (UK), recently delivered offshore paint store containers. The 10 ft units were manufactured for ConocoPhillips (UK) Ltd at interm... A 110 year partnership between 'BB and Voestalpine The Austrian railway 'sterreichische Bundesbahnen ('BB) and the Austrian steel specialist Voestalpine can look back on a partnership that is probably unique in the history of Austr... Trucks without EU licences confiscated in Italy When transporting goods to Italy it is wise to check the validity of a truck's EU licence. These documents have to be renewed every five years. In recent weeks Italian authorities ... EU figures show transport sector is biggest climate offender At the start of the UN conference on climate change in Copenhagen (Denmark), the German Pro-Rail Alliance has called on the federal government to finally come up with clear targets...

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DECEMBER 8, 2009
Hellenic extends piracy area Golden Ocean to raise up to $125m AP Moller-Maersk renew IT deal Euro Council backs IMO on Arctic issues

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DECEMBER 8, 2009
Trico books subsea contracts

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DECEMBER 8, 2009
Teekay LNG Partners warns over tax bill Company will face annual tax bill "of less than $500,000" from next year.

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DECEMBER 8, 2009
MarAd boss made permanent US PRESIDENT Barack Obama has announced plans to nominate David T Matsuda, the temporary head of MarAd, as its permanent chief Golden Ocean bags bond GOLDEN Ocean has today abruptly dropped plans for a $125M convertible bond offer ' shortly after announcing the plan China's car imports rise 50% VEHICLES imported into China rose by about 50% year on year in October, according to China Association of Automobile Manufacturers data, IHS Global Insight reported today US finally labels carbon a danger THE US Environmental Protection Agency has declared carbon dioxide a 'dangerous pollutant', allowing for regulation of its emission through the Clean Air Act TEN plans share sale TSAKOS Energy Navigation has announced a distribution agreement through Credit Suisse to sell up to 3M of its common shares Green group targets IMO ENVIRONMENTAL group Seas At Risk has accused the IMO of failing to set a timeline for regulating ship's emissions EU tells shipping: get greener THE EU's maritime policy chief has told Fairplay today that the shipping and ports industries must become more environmentally friendly

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DECEMBER 8, 2009
NASDAQ Clears YRC to Issue New Shares Marseilles Freezes Port Charges Hong Kong Box Traffic Dropped 16 Percent UNCTAD Warns of Shipping Troubles Latin American Air Cargo Jumps 7.2 Percent Container Fleet Growth Hits 10-Year Low Dow Jones to Drop YRC from Index SDV Acquires Australian Freight Forwarder Obama Plans $50 Billion for Transport Grain Farmers Pursue Doha Agreement Bremerhaven Boxes to Drop 20 Percent Trucking Bankruptcies, Pricing Edge Up Investors Buy 5 Percent of TNT Schneider Launches Northeast Regional Service W.W. Grainger Buys 1 Million-Square-Foot DC IBM Inks IT Contract with Moller-Maersk Port Nehru to Build Export Processing Zone Air France KLM Cargo Traffic Shrinks First Ship Lease Pulls $200 Million Note Offering

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DECEMBER 8, 2009
US stuttering recovery continues UNCTAD's RMT 2009 published

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DECEMBER 8, 2009
Still talking Jose Sergio Gabrielli-led Petrobras reportedly still in discussions for 15-year charters for seven newbuilding products tankers. Smit wins Oz gig Dutch tug and salvage company secures exclusive contract to supply towing services to Gladstone. Maua scores order Petrobras official says Maua, Itajai and Enavi shipyards will build chartered-in newbuildings. Loan for Log-In Log-In Logistica wins $27.1m government loan to pay for terminal expansion. Cido shifts pair Panamax bulkers previously destined for DryShips find a new home in China, brokers say. TK banks $94m Teekay LNG Partners pockets $93.9m in net proceeds from finalised equity offering as Teekay Corp's stake falls below 50%. Princess halted Coast Guard revokes certificate of compliance from troubled gambling ship after failures to fix main engine. Swiss swizz Russian businessman Yuri Nikitin made profits of up to $118,000 per day by sub-chartering Sovcomflot tankers to Dukkar of Geneva, court hears. Nice ice Former Sovcomflot boss Dmitry Skarga accused of chartering out suezmax at low rate so Yuri Nikitin could then profit from juicy ice-class premiums at Primorsk. Bonds binned Golden Ocean has canned a potential $125m bond issue as it was not an "attractive option". Grow slow Boxship fleet growth to reach ten-year low with orderbook alterations and scrapping also keeping 2010 expansion in check. Dry driver Rising BDI kept appetite for second hand dry-cargo vessels alive in November with China again the most active buyer. TK LNG sells 1% Teekay spin-off pockets $2.3m from its Vancouver-based parent for tiny share of Kenai LNG carriers. Surcharge looms MSC follows CMA CGM by imposing new surcharge due to 'serious' threat from piracy. Boxed in Idle containership fleet sets new record with worse to come in the winter months, Alphaliner says. Shackles off Dockwise freed from certain covenants restrictions after its recent fund raising. Greek bulker hit Globus Maritime ship hit by grenades but escapes after sustained Somali pirate assault. Distress call Titan offers revised deal to noteholders as it as it battles to rearrange $315m debt. Bergen boost Arbitration success over BP will swell shipbuilder's fourth quarter profit by $3.5m. Switch at Mipo Mystery European owner ups contract value with conversion of product tanker orders into LPG units. Bonds for Billung Herman Billung-led Golden Ocean looks to raise $100m plus to help fund newbuilding programme. Merger on track Boskalis says its "merger" with Smit is progressing well as shareholders green light fund raising. Trico double US offshore player says it has won contracts in the North Sea and South Korea worth $50m. Viets take rig Singapore's PPL Shipyard sells ex-Seadrill jack-up drilling rig to Vietnamese national oil company. Volumes on a roll Neptune Orient Lines sees volumes jump 23% on a year ago, but revenue remain largely unchanged.

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DECEMBER 8, 2009
2.4 million TEUs of capacity deferred Obama names Matsuda as Maritime Administrator CTSA to raise rates Jan. 15 FedEx raises earnings outlook U.S., Mexico firm up border cooperation Ecu-Line expands in Central Europe

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DECEMBER 8, 2009
RG Line continues in the Kvarken straits The Finnish ferry operator RG Line Oy Ab was the only company to tender for the traffic on the Vasa'Umeå route. The State Provincial Office of Western Finland offered Eleven suspected pirates captured On Sunday evening, eleven suspected pirates were captured by EU Navfor and the Seychellois Coast Guard some 250 nautical miles northwest of the Seychelles. The day before, an "EU Navfor Swedish Club satisfied with 2.5 per cent increase A significantly improved claims situation and a stable financial situation has made the P&I mutual The Swedish Club decide to call for only a 2.5 per cent general

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DECEMBER 8, 2009
Bunker prices mainly weakening Good bunker demand in Hamburg. Titan in bid to ease debt burden Could be in 'negative liquidity position' by March 2010 unless it reduces debt through note exchange offer. Bunker prices slip in Fujairah Ample barge and product availability reported. Hong Kong unable to ratify IMO convention IMO says China has not ratified bunkers convention on behalf of its administrative region. Mixed signals from NOL Container volumes up, revenue still affected by lower bunker recovery. Stakeholders 'expecting changes' to ISO 8217 draft 'Strong response' from shipping industry to concerns raised by DNVPS. Demand 'not aggressive' Supplies remain tight in Busan and Hong Kong. Dan-Bunkering adds a bunker trader Aims to strengthen its market position in Russia. Lukoil net profit halved Revenues also slump, but refinery throughput, exports and sales all show growth. BPCL offers two fuel oil cargoes 380 cSt cargoes are expected to be sold at a discount. Nanotechnology for 'substantial' cuts in fuel use and emissions Singapore JV to develop and commercialise nano-emulsion fuel technology. Sri Lankan bunker supplier resumes ops after five years Bunker license 're-activated' following an improvement in the 'local situation'.