Centralized ICAO negotiation event produces 130 new air services agreements The International Civil Aviation Organization's 2012 Air Services Negotiation Conference (ICAN 2012) concluded last week with participating states signing a total of 130 new air se...
Turkish Airlines to serve two new cities in Iran Today (19 December), Turkish Airlines is launching a twice-weekly Istanbul - Isfahan (Iran) service. A sixth Iranian destination, after Teheran, Masha, Shiraz, Tabriz and Isf...
Brazilian mining group starts construction of Corredor Logístico Integrado de Nacala The Brazilian mining group Vale has started construction work on its Corredor Logístico Integrado de Nacala. The 136 km long heavy haul freight corridor runs from the Moatize mines...
IRU strengthens cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Commission Representatives of the International Road Transport Union (IRU) and the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) have signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen the cooperation b...
Wista awards LSCT managing director Marco Simonetti The president of Wista Italy, Daniela Fara, director of the Merchant Navy Academy, presented the "Wista Personality of the Year Italy 2012" award to Marco Simonetti,who w...
Fiege and Apollo Logi Solutions establish joint venture in India The German logistics service provider Fiege recently extended its market focus to India by signing a joint venture contract with Apollo Logi Solutions Ltd, a member of the Indian A...
Elite association formed to represent freight forwarders The Elite Association of Logistic Networks (Elite) has been officially launched following the qualification of nine major global logistics networks as founding members. The nine gl...
Seaco leadership changes Seaco Srl, a shipping container lessor, has selected Jeremy Matthew to be its group CEO and Paul Merritt as group COO. This move follows the announcement of Dave Amble's retirement...
Iveco to supply 115 Daily Natural Power vehicles to TNT Express Italy Iveco and TNT Express Italy have signed a contract for the delivery of 115 Daily Natural Power vehicles by 2013. The methane gas-powered vehicles will be used by TNT for its expres...
Croatia to privatise state-owned freight railway The Croatian government wants to sell 75% of the country's freight railway HZ Cargo. Local press reports indicate that talks are to be held with potential partners in Austria, Czec...
Merger talks between Hapag-Lloyd and Hamburg Süd The executive boards of the German shipping companies Hapag-Lloyd AG and Hamburg Südamerikanische Dampfschifffahrts-Gesellschaft KG (Hamburg S'd), in agreement with their sharehold...
Cruise safety push 'by no means done' The cruise industry confirmed today that it will retain the services of the independent panel that vetted its post-Costa Concordia Operational Safety Review
Pirates kidnap 5 mariners PIRATES have kidnapped five tanker crew members after ransacking the ship off Nigeria, operator Medallion Marine of India said today
US fears 'container cliff' NEGOTIATIONS broke off today between management and unions representing US East and Gulf Coast dockers, heightening the chance of a crippling strike on 30 December
Pilot: Prestige leaks ignored for days PRESTIGE, the tanker at the root of the huge oil spill off Spain a decade ago, had been taking in water for four days before it sent a distress call, a Spanish court has been told
TSA seeks new rate rise of $600/feu TRANS-PACIFIC box carriers are seeking a rate increase of $600 per feu to the US West Coast
JR signs restructuring DUTCH feeder box ship owner JR Shipping said today it has signed a long-developing restructuring deal with Germany's HSH Nordbank
China drives forest products rebound GLOBAL production and trade of forest products continues to shift towards Asia, the UN's Food & Agriculture Organisation has indicated
CSSC buys CIS's steel CSSC HAS signed a deal worth 10Bn yuan ($1.6Bn) to buy 1M tonnes of steel from Chongqing Iron & Steel
EU boosts passenger rights A NEW EU regulation on maritime passenger rights has come into force
Damen acquires another French repair yard DAMEN Shipyards of the Netherlands said today it has acquired leading northern French ship repair yard ARNO Dunkerque
Where Suezmaxes go, will VLCCs follow? A SHARP rise in the spot freight rates for Suezmax tankers from West Africa is likely to bring VLCCs to the region to chase cargoes, a shipping analyst noted today
Odfjell, Lindsay Goldberg extending their JV ODFJELL, Norway's listed parcel tanker and tank terminals group, and the US private equity group Lindsay Goldberg are extending a tank terminals JV worldwide
China raising bunker tax CHINA'S domestic bunker taxes will increase by 15% in 2013, the government's tax bureau has said
Hapag, Hamburg Süd discussing merger PRESSURE on box shipping margins and structural overcapacity might spark another mega-merger, as Hapag-Lloyd and Hamburg S'd of Germany confirmed such talks today
New Year to Be 'Difficult' for Shippers Nashville, Ind.-based transportation forecaster FTR Associates' Shippers Conditions Index for October was -5.0, improving nearly two points from September. FTR predicts that the current improvement will yield to a gradual deterioration in shipping conditions as 2012 ends and throughout 2013. FTR also has been forecasting that new trucking regulations and slowly rising...
Jaxport Names Schleicher Interim CEO Roy Schleicher, Jaxport's interim CEO. The Jacksonville Port Authority's board of directors today unanimously named Roy Schleicher as interim CEO, filling the vacancy created by the departure of A. Paul Anderson. The board also began the process for hiring an executive search firm to identify candidates to fill the role permanently. Schleicher...
Survey: Shippers Less Optimistic About Future Volumes The Stifel Nicolaus Logistics Confidence Index, a monthly survey of international shippers and forwarders measuring Europe-based trade lanes, conducted by Stifel Nicolaus Transportation & Logistics Research Group and Transport Intelligence, rose 0.6 points to 48.0 in December, the second consecutive month of improvement. The increase was favorable, but the reading remains...
St. Lawrence Seaway's Cargo Traffic Rises 11 Percent The Saint Lawrence Seaway handled 5.1 million metric tons (about 5.6 million tons) of cargo shipments in November, increasing 11 percent year-over-year. Continuing demand for iron ore, coal and general cargo from the industrial and manufacturing sectors lifted the tonnage numbers, according to Marine Delivers. For the period from March 22 to...
Damen Shipyards Acquires Arno Dunkerque Dutch shipbuilding company Damen Shipyards Group today acquired ship repair yard Arno Dunkerque, located in the Port of Dunkirk in France. The yard will continue its ship repair and conversion services, and its personnel and management will remain in place. The acquisition "fits perfectly" in Damen Shipyards' long-term strategy to expand its...
Containerization & Intermodal Institute Makes $5,000 Donation to Seamen's Church Institute of NY/NJ NEWARK, N.J. -The Containerization & Intermodal Institute presented the Seamen's Church Institute at Port Newark a $5,000 donation to assist in the repairs of the center following damages sustained by Hurricane Sandy. The presentation was made at the Connie Awards on Monday, December 10th in Newark, NJ. The Seamen's Church Institute...
Union Pacific Railroad Contributes the Equivalent of Eight Boxcars of Food to UP's Northern Region Food Banks OMAHA, Neb. - Union Pacific Railroad is helping keep eight food banks in its northern region states stocked during these tough economic times by contributing $80,000 - $10,000 to each - that will be used to purchase 1.6 million pounds of food, enough to fill eight boxcars. "It's during tough times...
In Honor of Senator Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, the Second-Longest-Serving Senator in US Senate History, Who Died December 17 in Bethesda, Md. CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The U.S. maritime industry and our nation have lost a true patriot and hero. Senator Daniel Inouye will be missed. Ever since he first arrived in Washington, D.C., in 1959 as a congressman from Hawaii, three years later becoming a senator, Dan Inouye was a tireless supporter...
Logwin Expands in China Login's new office in Shantou, China. Air and ocean freight provider Logwin today opened a new office in Shantou, China, a growing port city located near Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Xiamen. It is the fourth office Logwin has opened in China in 2012. The company now has 29 offices across the country. Shantou...
Transporeon Opens New Headquarters in Singapore Mario Sander, Transporeon's new managing director of Asia-Pacific services. Transporeon and Ticontract, two Transporeon Group companies specializing in e-logistics solutions, has opened a new joint headquarters in Singapore. The company also opened in office in Philadelphia in October 2011. These expansions signal the next phase of extending the Transporeon's network outside of...
Greenbrier Rejects Icahn's Acquisition Proposal Railcar maker The Greenbrier Companies' advisors have engaged in discussions with Carl Icahn and his associates regarding an acquisition of Greenbrier by American Railcar Industries, which is controlled by Icahn, or an acquisition of American Railcar by Greenbrier. Greenbrier's board of directors concluded that Icahn's proposal to buy Greenbrier for $20...
APM Terminals Apapa Named "Best Terminal Operator of the Year" at Nigerian Maritime Excellence Awards APAPA, Nigeria - APM Terminals Apapa was named the winner of the 2012 Terminal Operator Award by the Maritime Reporters' Association of Nigeria at their annual Maritime Excellence Awards ceremony. APM Terminals Apapa, which assumed operational control of the facility in 2006, is now the busiest container terminal in West...
Q&A: ILA-USMX Standoff Who'll blink? That's the biggest question in the ILA-USMX negotiations, but there are others. Let's take them one by one. Why couldn't the International Longshoremen's Association and United States Maritime Alliance agree on a contract extension? Federal mediator George Cohen reportedly was ready Tuesday with a press release announcing an extension of...
Economy Service Boosts FedEx Freight Profit, Volume FedEx Freight increased its profit 90 percent from a year ago as less-than-truckload revenue and freight demand climbed in the three months that ended Nov. 30. The largest stand-alone LTL carrier in the U.S., FedEx Freight reported a $76 million operating profit on $1.38 billion in revenue for its second quarter...
Lufthansa Cargo Fights Dutch Ban on Flower Flights Lufthansa Cargo is taking legal action to overturn the Dutch government's ban on the German carrier's transporting flowers from Colombia to Amsterdam Schiphol airport. The Dutch government ruled in early 2012 that a bilateral treaty between Colombia and the Netherlands restricted traffic rights to carriers registered in the two nations. The ruling,...
Swiss Regulators Fine Logistics Companies for Price-Fixing Swiss competition regulators fined four international logistics companies - locally-based Kuehne+Nagel and Panalpina, Germany's Deutsche Bahn/Schenker and Agility of Kuwait - for their role in a global cartel that fixed air cargo prices between 2003 and 2007. The combined fines of 6.2 million francs ($6.8 million) levied by the Swiss competition...
Drewry Container Rate Benchmark Edges Up The Drewry weekly Hong Kong-to-Los Angeles spot rate benchmark inched up this week, indicating that carriers' plans to implement a $400 general rate increase on Dec. 15 were not successful, even as the lines renew their push for increases as of mid-January. The mid-December increase had been postponed from Dec....
Qatar Airways to Recover $117.5 Million Paid for Cargolux Stake Qatar Airways will get back the $117.5 million it paid for a 35 percent stake in Cargolux it acquired from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg a year ago as part of a plan to become a top air cargo operator by 2015. The Luxembourg government is buying back the shareholding and...
FedEx Profit Fell 12 Percent in Second Quarter FedEx today reported its net profit in the second quarter, which ended Nov. 30, was $438 million, down 12 percent from $497 million in the same quarter last year. Quarterly earnings were $1.39 per diluted share, compared with $1.57 per share during the same period last year. Hurricane Sandy lowered the...
Hapag-Lloyd and Hamburg Sud in merger talks Germany's two premier ocean carriers are in merger talks to create the fourth largest container line in the world.The executive boards of ...
CGM gets ready for IPO
Maersk pays retrofit costs for chartered-in boxships Maersk Line is to pay owners of tonnage it charters in to install fuel-saving technology on vessels that it operates commercially but does not own.The Danish owner ...
TSA announces 'make or break' rate hikes for January Transpacific liner operators are suggesting rate hikes from mid-January to defy downward pressure from weak seasonal demand and to prevent discounting spilling ...
ATA warns on fiscal cliff The American Trucking Association's [ATA] For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index jumped by a month-on-month 3.7% in November in its first gain since July but it warned that ...
ILA strike looms after talks with USMX collapse over container royalties A strike by dockers at US ports stretching from Maine to Texas has become likelier from December 29 after talks between the International Longshoremen's Association ...
Pangea moves quickly in US Pangea LNG has moved quickly into the next step to secure authorisation for a floating LNG export project off the Texas coast.
Bank backs foreclosure Bank of America (BofA) has asked a federal judge in Florida for permission to foreclose on containerships controlled by a cash-strapped Caribbean carrier and its founder, Jordan Monocandilos.
DNB mulls BLT fire sale DNB Capital Markets has laid the groundwork for the sale of up to 30 Berlian Laju Tanker (BLT) chemical carriers.
Scandlines eyes 2015 Baltic owner Scandlines is looking at 2015 before it can get its hands on new ro-ro ferries.
Erria sells final ship Erria has exited the shipowning arena following the sale of its final vessel.
Arctia orders at Uki Arctia Karhu, a joint venture between Arctia Shipping and the Port of Kemi in Finland, has ordered a new icebreaker.
Guards hijack Dae San A North Korean cargoship and 33 crew have been hijacked by Somali guards after the vessel was detained for dumping cement.
Bank questions eco Owners planning to jump on the eco newbuilding bandwagon may wish to think again, according to a hard-hitting report from Credit-Suisse.
Second ship stuck The devastating cyclone Evan has grounded another ship off Fiji.
Arctech wins icebreaker Finland's Arctech Helsinki Shipyard has bagged a contract for work on another Russian icebreaker.
Flex takes fight to SHI Flex LNG is to take a different angle on its $500m fight with Samsung Heavy Industries after six months of butting heads in one direction failed to settle the dispute.
CSCL boxes clever again Chinese container line CSCL is banking another big profit from the sale and leaseback of boxes.
Damen buys again Expanding Damen Shipyards Group has made another acquisition in the shiprepair sector.
KDM buys ShipMar KDM Shipping of Ukraine is boosting its dry cargo operations in Russia with the takeover of ShipMar.
Chinese trio delve in Three Chinese companies have joined forces to invest in a Taiwanese terminal controlled by Yang Ming Marine in what will be the first investment by mainland companies in a Taiwanese port.
Plumbe goes shopping Johnny Plumbe has a little less to spend on his Christmas shopping after buying almost £30,000 worth of stock in ACM Shipping.
Five crew snatched Heavily armed pirates have ransacked a tanker off Nigeria kidnapping five crew members.
Maersk in Walmart row Protesters have tried to stop the unloading of a Maersk containership in the US in action against retail giant Walmart.
Knightsbridge sales end John Fredriksen's Knightsbridge looks to have cut its ties with the VLCC sector following the sale of its last tanker.
Reefer linked to spill Aruba authorities say a German-owned reefer has spilled oil during an operation to empty ballast tanks.
Chengxi wins eight bulkers Three owners have signed up for a total of eight new bulkers at CSSC's Chengxi yard in China.
Offshore to remain buoyant The outlook for the offshore support vessel market over the next two years remains bright despite continued uncertainty in the global economy.
Vs to miss Suezmax fun VLCC owners are unlikely to join in the pre-Christmas spike enjoyed in the Suezmax sector.
Odfjell grows PE pact Odfjell is set to bag over $200m from its private equity partner to fuel its terminal growth ambitions.
Six more for COSL Finland's Wartsila has won orders for six new offshore vessels from expanding China Oilfield Services Ltd (COSL).
Seabird seals African deal Cyprus-based SeaBird Exploration has won 100 days of work for its Northern Explorer survey ship in South Africa.
Thome looks to India Thome Ship Management has teamed up with India's Doehle Danautic as it looks to boost its recruitment of ship's officers.
HHI worse by half New ship orders at Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) have fallen nearly 50% this year.
Bunker sales slide Singapore's marine bunker sales fell to a nine month low last month with industry talk of worse to come.
Keep up your guard NATO is urging the merchant shipping community not to lower their guard over Christmas saying pirates operating in the Indian Ocean and surrounding waters "will not be taking a holiday."
TSA lines up increase Container lines in the Asia-US freight market are said to be resisting cyclical winter season pressures on rates.
PACD gets extension Pacific Drilling has been given another month to decide if it wants to go ahead with another drillship newbuilding.
Charter dispute ignites A Greek operator has turned to a New York court for aid in enforcing an arbitration award against PDVSA of Venezuela.
Possible German liner combination seen as positive "I think it would be a great move, a great message for shippers and all the vendors," said Rudy Mack, whose tenure as president of Hapag-Lloyd America from 1999 to 2007 capped 35 years with the company.
Analysis: Germany's Big 2 - how a merged network would look
FMC reviews 8 OTI license applications
TP Pulse: Tangible concern over ILA strike Ninety-four percent of transpacific shippers surveyed by American Shipper last week said they are concerned about a potential strike at U.S. East and Gulf coast ports at the end of 2012.
Extreme Express upgrades IT infrastructure
ILA, USMX talks break down, 'container cliff' in the making "This is truly a 'container cliff' in the making. The retail industry, once again, calls on President Obama to engage directly in the negotiations," said Jonathan Gold of the National Retail Federation.
Grimaldi to launch new Med-U.S. service The Italy-based parent company of Atlantic Container Line has plans to start a new direct service between the Mediterranean and North America, as soon as the second half of next year or 2014.
Air cargo to get marginally better in 2013 However, the freight market might take some time to adjust to the new planes. The introduction of more capacity in the coming years will also have an impact on the global cargo business, making rates unstable.
Chinese consortium invests in Kaohsiung terminal
TSA announces another rate increase "This is a make or break period for transpacific carriers," said TSA executive administrator Brian M. Conrad. The carriers "cannot afford another year in which expiring contracts and seasonally weak demand erode rate levels."
GL develops route-specific loading plans for boxships
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