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Shipping News

Global shipping downturn seen to be at an end
Early signs suggest that the global shipping downturn has hit bottom as freight rates recover to near-breakeven levels, but it could be years before the industry returns to pre-recession levels.
Marco Polo Marine secures US$15m deal
Marco Polo Marine has secured a US$15 million sale and maintenance deal for a 5,380-bhp anchor handling towing and supply (AHTS) vessel from a joint venture company.
Shell may order at least 3 floating LNG plants
Royal Dutch Shell plc may order at least three floating liquefied natural-gas plants for about US$5 billion each as Europe's biggest energy producer seeks to be first in the race to tap so-called stranded deposits using untested technology.

Strait Talk

Time to call in the marines
ONCE again, a few bandits - fearless, no doubt, courtesy of khat (the local narcotic of choice) - have managed to evade one of the biggest armadas of warships put together in recent times and hijack a large merchant ship.

web site

Shipping News

Global shipping downturn seen to be at an end
Early signs suggest that the global shipping downturn has hit bottom as freight rates recover to near-breakeven levels, but it could be years before the industry returns to pre-recession levels.
Marco Polo Marine secures US$15m deal
Marco Polo Marine has secured a US$15 million sale and maintenance deal for a 5,380-bhp anchor handling towing and supply (AHTS) vessel from a joint venture company.
Shell may order at least 3 floating LNG plants
Royal Dutch Shell plc may order at least three floating liquefied natural-gas plants for about US$5 billion each as Europe's biggest energy producer seeks to be first in the race to tap so-called stranded deposits using untested technology.

Strait Talk

Time to call in the marines
ONCE again, a few bandits - fearless, no doubt, courtesy of khat (the local narcotic of choice) - have managed to evade one of the biggest armadas of warships put together in recent times and hijack a large merchant ship.

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OOIL's third quarter container shipping revenue falls 42pc Maersk suspends Youship.com as demand slackens HMM hikes rate US$100/TEU in November on China-India run CMA CGM loses US$515 million in first half Zim imposes general rate increase from November LA-Long Beach September box volume worst in nine years Evergreen's Chang to order 100 containerships next year Maersk buys up 150pc more breakbulk, outsized cargo equipment Cosco's Greek CT strike ends, but docker dispute festers CMA CGM first to call at Saigon Premier terminal Dubai World wraps up organisational restructuring Antwerp upgrades its APICS port information system CSX profit down 22pc as third quarter volume falls 15pc Is there guilt in global garbage market - or just eco fear? Air Cargo Germany to launch Shanghai and Hong Kong services DHL Aviation appoints EFIS Morocco, Paris-Leipzig route China lays greater emphasis on air cargo future Much unsettled, but Hawaiian go! Mokulele airline merger functioning

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Curtains to rise on two-day India Shipping Summit 2009 today Bharati's bid for control of Great Offshore management sends Sebi into tizzy Middle East Workboats conference & show attracts overwhelming response WWL to meet Nissan's auto plant logistics needs in Chennai UASC, APL & Hanjin add maximum fleet capacity in year of meltdown Oman's FzS, Port of Sohar combine offers immense advantages to trade & industry 6 shortlisted for coal handling facility & upgradation of cargo berths at Vizag Port ChPT & TPT going in for power-saving wind farms 10 show interest in building multi-purpose berth at Paradip Port Tuticorin Port bags Greentech Environment Excellence Award 2009 'Conflict of interest clause' proving to be major roadblock to highway projects, says Nath Industry emerging from air pocket-Iata DHL to open 3 life science centres in Mumbai & Hyderabad Strengthening Re bigger blow for small exporters, asserts Fieo chief ECGC aiming to open 4 offices abroad

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OCTOBER 19, 2009
FedEx Paris inaugurates new extension in Paris Whilst airfreight capacities are being reduced in many places, the US service provider FedEx marked the tenth anniversary of its European hub at Charles de Gaulle ... Charles Gee Group launches new structure The Charles Gee Group, one of the best known and longest serving freight forwarding logistics specialists in the UK, has launched a brand new organisation named Charles Gee Group L... Hilti and Kuehne + Nagel enter into strategic partnership Hilti, one of the world's market leaders in providing technology to the global construction industry, has entered into strategic partnership with Kuehne + Nagel for the planning, i... House of Fraser signs new commercial agreement with DHL Supply Chain DHL Supply Chain has announced a new GBP 33.7 million (about EUR 36 million) multi-channel contract with UK retailer House of Fraser until 2012. The new commercial agreement is an ... UK's rail report 2009 is now available The UK Rail Market Report 2009 is an up-to-date overview and summary of current project status and forthcoming spending plans for the UK's rail network. As well as covering the mai... APM Terminals to reduce CO2 emissions worldwide by 15% per teu by 2012 APM Terminals Rotterdam officially opened its new EUR 12.5 million power distribution network at its Rotterdam container terminal sourced by electricity generated through wind... Hartmut Mehdorn joins Fiege's advisory board The advisory board of the Fiege Group, Greven, has been strengthened by a new member. It is Hartmut Mehdorn, former head of Deutsche Bahn, who was called to the advisory board... Austrian company Lagermax AED honoured by Renault It was reported in the ITJ Daily on 15 October that the forwarder and logistics service provider Lagermax AED GmbH & Co KG, which received a Supplier Quality Award from Renault, is...

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OCTOBER 20, 2009
MOL keeps Baosteel close K+N sees box volume recovery... ... while OOIL sees numbers drop Marseilles box throughput rises

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OCTOBER 20, 2009
Bollinger appoints I.T. director Wind park towers shipped upright Hamworthy acquires Krystallon

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OCTOBER 20, 2009
Nautilus launches scathing attack on UK shipping policy Seafarer's employment prospects forgotten in wake of Maersk move to taks ships out of registry ThyssenKrupp says Hellenic Yards situation is critical Denies it has plans to close the yard after submarine contracts cancelled Class societies urged to recognise equipment certificates European Commission says class must implement mutual recognition to reduce costs K+N signals inmprovement in sea freight volumes Third quarter sees "the first signs of recovery". Massive boost needed for Vietnam's ports sector Needs $20bn-$25bn in investment over the next decade

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OCTOBER 20, 2009
Trans-Atlantic box capacity cut NEW WORLD Alliance ' APL, Hyundai Merchant Marine and MOL ' and Maersk announced today that they will cut their trans-Atlantic capacity by roughly one-third Pirates sailing ship to Somalia PIRATES are taking the hijacked bulker De Xin Hai today toward Somalia, an EU naval spokesman told Fairplay Ship fumes threaten HK health SULPHUR dioxide emissions from ships threaten the health of more than 3M people in Hong Kong, a scientific study has warned Vale VLOC spending unveiled MINING giant Vale reportedly plans to spend $2.65Bn next year to build a fleet of its own VLOCs, improve Ponta da Madeira's port and advance other logistical projects Tanker warnings escalate THE NEXT two quarters will be "littered with losses" for tanker stocks, warned JP Morgan analyst Jonathan Chappell today Tax fears spur TBS flight US TAX change proposals have produced a decision today by TBS International to shift its corporate domicile from Bermuda to Ireland Evergreen said to mull 100 orders EVERGREEN Marine, Taiwan's premier liner company, reportedly intends to order 100 box ships when the recession is reversed

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OCTOBER 20, 2009
Evergreen Says No Schedule for 100 Ship Orders Maersk Alabama Crew to Get AOTOS Award CN Profit Falls 16.5 Percent to $439 Million C.H. Robinson Profit Grows 2 Percent Long Beach, ATA Settlement Stirs Controversy Charleston Updates Strategy Tacoma Director Farrell to Leave Hyundai, Zim Hike Rates ATA Applauds FMCSA Driver Screening Plan J.B. Hunt Profit Dives 34 Percent Kuehne & Nagel Profit Declines 10 Percent FRA Plan Backs Federal Help for Rails Trucker Werner Profit Slips 15 Percent Profit, Revenue Drop at Heartland Express Diesel Jumps 10.5 Cents to $2.705 per Gallon Four Carriers to Cut Trans-Atlantic Capacity Israel Corp. Gets Backing for Zim Rescue Japan Ship Orders Sank 75.5 Percent in September UTC Overseas Opens Australian Office OOCL Revenue Drops 42.3 percent Port of Long Beach, ATA Settle Harbor Truck Suit

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OCTOBER 20, 2009
Zim Line optimistic about the future MBG Shipping to enter South Africa/Europe fruit trade OOCL's Q3 results still on downwards spiral COSCO bulker hijacked 700 miles off Somalia 'The Box' coming home

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OCTOBER 20, 2009
Red for Euronav A near $180m fall in its bottom line drags Belgian tanker owner into the red in the third quarter. Loan re-jigged Vaffias-led StealthGas strikes deal with Deutsche Bank to alter debt terms on products tanker Navig8 Faith. APL expands NOL liner subsidiary boosts Intra-Asia network with service linking Japan, Thailand and Vietnam. The new frontier Authorities tell Shell it can drill, baby, drill north of Alaska, just not during the whaling season. TK LNG files shelf Teekay Corp spin-off files papers to potentially sell as many as $400m in company stock. Bonus fiction? Former Sovcomflot finance chief, Igor Borisenko, accused of making up story about extra payments arranged by ex-boss Dmitry Skarga. Onego halted Numerous problems put the German-managed Onego Spirit on list of 17 ships detained in US ports. Double trouble Euronav FSO pair could lose charters with AP Moller-Maersk due to late arrival in Qatar. Casualty file In weekly WebTV roundup, pirates nab two ships and tanker collision shuts down FPSO. Trio downgraded JP Morgan cuts ratings for OSG, Tsakos Energy and Capital Product, but lifts John Fredriksen's Knightsbridge. No choice Corruption trial hears that Sovcomflot had to sell two suezmaxes being built at HHI to Yuri Nikitin because they could not be upgraded to ice-class 1A. Vale logistics hike Brazilian miner in fleet expansion drive lifts 2010 logistics budget by 20.6% to $2.65bn. 'Crew will die' Somalis on hijacked Cosco bulker 'will execute the whole crew' if China launches rescue bid. OOCL deteriorates Latest figures from Hong Kong operator point to the depth of the recession in the liner sector. Public promise Appetite for IPOs returning with tanker and bulker owners best placed to cash in, Clarksons Investment boss says. Out of joint Somali pirate suspect could escape long arm of Spanish law as bone tests put his age in doubt. Bunkers seized Rotterdam court orders seizure of fuel onboard TMT-chartered VLCC as early redelivery row rumbles on. Bunker tug of war Gulf Sheba bunkers could be sold off as Metrostar and Lemos companies fight competition for arrest. Marco Polo sells Singapore shipowner and shipbuilder sells anchor handler to Malaysian joint venture company. Price is right South Korean shipbuilder STX says it is holding its ground in capesize price war. 'Three or more' France's Technip claims Shell's FLNG orders at Samsung could swell to over three units. Nanjing books loss Shanghai-listed tanker owner sent crashing in the third quarter but no revenue figures given. TAS books profit Malaysian offshore vessel builder reports its debut set of results since listing on the local exchange. Barge bash Coal-carrying craft collides with Turkish cargoship in the Seine, France. Long Beach hiccup US west coast port handles less containers in September, while year-on-year gap increases.

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OCTOBER 20, 2009
95% of Zim debt holders agree to restructure plan CMA CGM losses hit $515 million in first half Ballast rulemaking poses high hurdle for barge, tug operators DHL extends freight security program to Cathay U.S., Maldives enter trade and investment agreement U.S. assesses EU-Korea FTA K+N's operating profits down 10% through 3Q Port of Tacoma, Farrell part ways Long Beach, truckers reach settlement NY/NJ terminals want to hire freely

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OCTOBER 20, 2009
Shipyard sale attracts shipowners The prices offered by Chinese and South Korean shipyards have fallen by about 40 per cent. A handysize now costs around USD 25 million, compared to USD 40 million 18

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OCTOBER 20, 2009
Container line sees revenue tumble OOCL says volumes fell almost 17% in Q3. Prices continue to firm in Europe Meanwhile, crude oil falls from one-year high on the NYMEX. Bunker prices show little movement in Fujairah Avails tight for prompt supplies in Middle East hub. Russian fuel oil output up But Russian refineries have cut their runs year-on-year. AWT launches 'fuel optimisation' feature Upgrade of voyage optimisation system includes option to reduce fuel costs and CO2 emissions. Bunkers seized in charter dispute Courts in the Netherlands and United States order fuel to be held. Bunker prices in Tokyo Bay and Busan soften Prices in other key Asian ports generally firming. Aramco offers another fuel oil cargo Offers for the parcel are expected by late Tuesday. Middle East premiums fall as supplies increase Healthy Western arbitrage arrivals into Asia in November expected to ease competition with the Middle East for fuel oil. Zim gets creditors backing Meeting to approve recovery plan postponed to ensure deal is ready for approval. China could be buying StatoilHydro's US oil assets State-owned CNOOC said to be keen on assets StatoilHydro is reportedly putting up for sale. PetroChina ups storage by 9.5 million barrels Works has begun on 24 other storage projects. Chimbusco bonded bunker sales up 10% year-to-date First nine months sales closing in on full year sales in 2008. Itochu 'adding' bonded storage capacity Some 20,000 kl of storage capacity to be used to store bonded fuel oil.