OSG begins layoffs BANKRUPT OSG confirmed today that it has begun staff reductions and that another longtime senior executive, Myles Itkin, has departed
China steel demand weakens even more CHINESE iron ore imports are set to come under further pressure with news that steel stockpiles are now up 21% year on year
CSAV passes the torch CHILEAN liner CSAV has made board changes after its chairman's death and revealed new pricing details on its newbuildings
Passengers evacuated from Turkish ferry blaze MORE THAN 100 passengers have been evacuated from a Turkish ferry that caught fire in the Sea of Marmara
Floatel weighs $150M private placement deal FLOATEL International, the Swedish owner of two accommodation rigs, said today it is weighing a private placement of about $150M
Worker missing after new Triumph trauma CARNIVAL Triumph broke free from its moorings while under repair in Alabama today and a search is underway for a missing yard employee
Arbitrage seen causing fuel oil surge in Singapore MANY FUEL oil cargoes are expected to arrive in Singapore from the Atlantic basin in May because of arbitrage opportunities
Tankers drag down profits at Stolt-Nielsen STOLT-Nielsen today reported a sharp fall in net profits for 1QFY13, largely on losses in its key tanker business
Product tankers lose gains GAINS MADE by product tankers in the east-of-Suez market were reversed with the Easter holidays last week and China's Tomb Sweeping holidays this week
TSA sees rate rise backing STRONGER box demand is supporting the latest round of rate increases in the US trans-Pacific trades, liner operators claim
Seadrill repurchases more of its own shares NORWAY'S Seadrill said today it has repurchased 150,000 of its own common stocks at an average price of 212.919 kroner ($36.70) per share
Guillotine for tankers warned OWNERS are warning that the French-flag tanker fleet is in danger of extinction
Yard spree sparked TMT woe OVERINVESTMENT in newbuildings during the global shipping boom in the 2000s resulted in the financial woes of Taiwan's TMT, brokers told Fairplay
NYK switches ships for deal NYK LINE said today it will swap a post-Panamax bulker with a bigger ship to service a long-term charter agreement with Kansai Electric Power
China to Build 42 Transport Hubs by 2015 China's government has vowed to build 42 transportation hubs by the end of 2015, with at least one in every province, autonomous region and municipality. Cities will be turned into traffic centers that make transferring between airlines, railways, buses and ships more convenient, according to a guideline issued by the National...
Hours of Service, Years of Debate: 1935-2013 The bitter and seemingly endless debate over truck driver hours of service has taken several turns over the past decade, but its origins stretch back to the 1930s. Federal hours-of-service rules barely changed for 65 years, but trucking deregulation in 1980, the rapid expansion of truckload carriage and growing concern...
USDA Certification Program to Promote Egg Exports The U.S. Department of Agriculture, in collaboration with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, has developed a program to certify processed eggs and egg products for export, providing new opportunities for U.S. food exporters. The USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service will certify a wide range of products containing eggs, including omelets, frozen...
Best Practices for Building a Resilient Supply Chain In the wake of recent environmental disasters, many companies feel the need to have a "resilient supply chain". A resilient supply chain can mitigate risks and reduce the effect of catastrophes. AberdeenGroup's newest report, CSCO View of Resilient Supply Chains, examines the concept of a resilient supply chain and identifies...
Emirates SkyCargo to Boost Capacity to Tokyo Emirates SkyCargo, the freight division of the Emirates airline, is set to increase its cargo capacity to Tokyo when Emirates launches a non-stop daily flight between Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and Haneda Airport in Japan. With the new daily flight to Haneda, Emirates SkyCargo will be able to provide...
Ex-Im Bank to Join US Business Solutions Initiative The Export-Import Bank of the United States will participate in U.S. Global Business Solutions, a new interagency initiative to expand the reach of federal export assistance and add 50,000 small businesses to the nation's exporter base by 2017. The pilot program will also aim at expanding the base of financial institutions...
North American Intermodal Traffic Drops North American intermodal volume fell by 5.3 percent year-over-year this week, the first decline since the beginning of January, according to the Association of American Railroads. North American rail volumes through March 30, 2013 Full-size image In the week ending March 30, combined North American carload volume, including all three North American Free...
Imports Shore Up Container Volume on West Coast Cargo volumes at West Coast ports surged in February, creating a feeling of optimism that 2013 could turn out to be better than originally anticipated. Containerized imports increased 25 percent compared to February 2012, according to numbers published on the Web site of the Pacific Maritime Association. Exports increased only 2...
Governor Backs Decision to Restructure Virginia Port Virginia's Gov. Bob McDonnell has reviewed and accepted the Virginia Port Authority board of commissioner's decision to terminate the evaluation of the Public-Private Transportation Act proposals submitted by APM Terminals and Virginia Port Partners. More than a year ago, the port received PPTA proposals from APM and Virginia Port Partners to...
SCFI: Trans-Pacific Rates Cast Doubt on April 1 GRI Results The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index released April 3 showed that trans-Pacific lanes achieved very little of the proposed April 1 general rate increase. The Transpacific Stabilization Agreement and some of its member carriers, including OOCL, MSC and CMA CGM, had announced hikes of $400 per 40-foot container to the West Coast and...
Thailand Revises Investment Strategy In response to the changing local and global economy and to overcome the "middle income trap," the Thailand Board of Investment is revising its Investment Promotion Privileges and Strategies to promote development of competitiveness and creation of value for the nation's industrial sector and to stimulate green industry initiatives. In the...
SCFI: Asia-Europe Rates Off More Than 20 Percent Since GRI The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index continued to drop in European lanes three weeks after a general rate increase was implemented by Asia-Europe carriers. On March 15, around 60 percent of a proposed $700-per-TEU increase was achieved, but much of the gain was given back over the past three weeks. Shanghai Containerized...
Los Angeles Port Completes Harbor Deepening Project The Port of Los Angeles's 10-year Main Channel Deepening Project has been completed. The $370 million project was conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on behalf of the port. It deepened the port's 45-foot-deep main navigational channel and turning basins to a 53-foot depth, allowing the port to accommodate...
Cargo Diverted From Lirquen, Chile, Because of Strike Dockworkers at the Port of Lirquen, Chile, are continuing to strike, according to Hapag-Lloyd. The carrier said the port has been unable to operate since March 27, 2013, because of ongoing labor action. As a result, Hapag-Lloyd and its partner lines have redirected cargo intended for discharge in Lirquen to Chile's Port...
Two Mexican Trucking Firms Denied Cross-Border Rights Mexican motor carriers Transportes Mor SA de CV and Adriana De Leon Amaro did not successfully complete the U.S. Pre-Authorization Safety Audit, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The trucking companies had applied to participate in the agency's long-haul pilot program to test and demonstrate the ability of Mexico-based...
CSAV to Book $50 Million Gain in Debt Prepayment CSAV said it will prepay a $245 million loan at a 46 percent discount in another move signaling the financial turnaround of the Chilean ocean carrier. The prepayment of the debt to the American Family Life Assurance Co. will generate a positive result of around $50 million, after netting the loss...
UPS to Forfeit $40 Million From Illegal Online Pharmacies UPS and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California have entered into a non-prosecution agreement, allowing UPS to forfeit $40 million in payments that it received from illegal online pharmacies and to implement a compliance program designed to ensure that illegal online pharmacies will not be able...
UASC to Launch Three Trans-Pacific Services UASC to launch three services from Asia to the U.S.United Arab Shipping Company will launch three trans-Pacific services from Asia to the U.S. Pacific Southwest and Pacific Northwest in cooperation with China Shipping Container Lines. UASC will be a vessel provider in CSCL's existing Asia to Pacific Northwest service, ANW1, as...
Port of Toronto's Cargo Rose 5 Percent in 2012 In 2012, the Port of Toronto handled 1.86 million metric tons of cargo, a 5 percent increase compared to 2011, according to the Toronto Port Authority. Overseas bulk cargo rose 23 percent year-over-year, while warehousing and project staging services "enjoyed strong, continued growth," the port authority said in a written statement...
Reports Detail Notable Barrier Removals for US Exports Demetrios Marantis, acting U.S. trade representative, has sent three reports to President Obama and Congress detailing noteworthy accomplishments that the current administration has achieved in reducing or removing foreign government barriers to U.S. exports. In addition to describing the progress made over the past year, the three reports describe current barriers...
HL hires containership Hapag-Lloyd has chartered a containership to replace a vessel that suffered a deadly boiler room fire late last month.
Newbuilds for NAT? Researcher sees orders etched in Nordic American's tea leaves following fundraiser.
STNG's tanker trifecta Scorpio Tankers has added six newbuildings to its fleet of product tankers, a move that underscores its ongoing appetite for tonnage.
CFO axed at OSG Overseas Shipholding Group's long serving chief financial officer, Myles Itkin, has been axed as the US tanker company works through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring.
TEN trio hooked up Tsakos Energy Navigation has signed its second string of period tanker contracts in under a month.
Sekkesaeter quits Teekay Norwegian executive Geir Sekkesaeter has quit Teekay after half a decade with the shipping giant.
More cash burn to come Cash burn is likely to continue for owners of modern VLCCs for "a few more years", ICAP believes.
RABT rejig goes on Cash-strapped Swedish shipowner Rederi AB TransAtlantic is continuing down the cost cutting path with a move that could see three employees lose their jobs.
Cape crusade to continue John Fredriksen's Frontline 2012 could soon add at least a dozen extra capesize bulkers to its already overflowing orderbook, Fearnley Securities believes.
Tragedy for Triumph? A search is underway for a missing yard employee after a Carnival cruiseship broke free of its moorings in Alabama yesterday in what is the second incident to hit the vessel since the turn of the year.
Havyard in Nigeria first Norwegian shipbuilder Havyard has clinched another order for a subsea vessel but this time with a brand new customer.
Case takes a pay cut Clarksons kingpin Andi Case saw his pay sliced by almost £2m last year but his total package is still comparable with what some ships are commanding in today's market.
Samsung seals NLNG quartet Samsung Heavy Industries has confirmed a four-ship newbuilding contract for the Nigeria LNG (NLNG) project.
Stolt suffers in first Stolt-Nielsen has turned in another disappointing quarterly report as its tanker division slipped back into the red.
Floatel eyes fundraiser Floatel International said Thursday that it was considering a private placement to raise up to $150m from investors.
CSAV ships to cost $81.4m Compania Sud Americana de Vapores (CSAV) says it is paying $81.4m for each of the new giant containerships it has ordered.
Vitol targets grain trade Vitol, the world's largest independent oil trader, has announced that it will start trading in global grain markets from May.
Dry stocks ease off The rally in dry bulk shipping stocks looks to be short lived as share prices follow the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) downwards.
Bulker sinks off Oman A Turkish-owned bulker that suffered an engine room fire off the coast of Oman has finally sunk.
Analysis: Shippers need to do their homework on freight pay The news this week that freight payment and audit services provider Trendset has been beset by internal embezzlement and fraud comes at a particularly interesting point in the evolution of the freight payment and audit industry.
CEVA: Record revenue, earnings take massive hit The Netherlands-based third party logistics firm achieved record revenue of 7.22 million euros ($9.28 million) in 2012, a 4.8-percent, year-over-year, growth rate, but took a 21.8-percent hit in its adjusted earnings.
Gov. McDonnell accepts VPA's 'no' vote on privatization McDonnell made clear the VPA board only had preliminary decision authority, and left open the possibility that if reforms don't pan out the state would consider other public-private partnership offers.
CBP promises continuity in face of budget cuts, personnel changes The White House has not named a political nominee since former Commissioner Alan Bersin departed about 15 months ago. Career agency officials have continued to push through organizational and programmatic reforms.
U.S. program focuses on small business exports
Infrastructure money needed for Europe, shippers say
ITC investigates proposed NAFTA origin changes
Group works toward air equipment standards list
Long Beach wants L.A. to reexamine SCIG rail project
Fujairah market 'soft' on close Mixed price movements in Suez.
Methanol sea trial expected to start this month Successful auxiliary engine test would pave way for conversion of first vessel to run completely on methanol.
Double digit falls across Europe Good demand in Rotterdam and Hamburg.
CSAV selling shares to finance expansion and debt reduction Chilean box ship operator hopes to raise $500 million.
Major South Africa refinery project moves forward Framework agreement singed for plans to build plant in Port Elizabeth that could almost double country's refinery capacity.
Another refinery to close in Australia Shell says Geelong plant can no longer compete against bigger and more efficient refineries overseas.
High viscosity cargoes heading into Asian fuel oil market Material will help correct 'quality imbalance'.
Fuel oil stocks dip as arbritage volumes fall Singapore inventories at 32-week low.
Asia bunker prices take a dive Hong Kong offices closed for holiday.
Port of Antwerp reaffirms LNG bunkering move Provides updates on initiatives to make LNG a marine fuel at the port by 2015.
Bunker spill alert in Arabian Sea Bulk carrier sinks after fire and explosion.
Navios purchases 'Eco' product tankers The firm also has options for two more tankers.
US port exploring LNG export opportunity Louisiana facility could be used to supply LNG bunkers.
Finnlines narrows losses on reduced bunker usage Bunker consumption in 2012 down by 7.5% on year, said the firm.
Singapore LNG terminal reaches operational milestone Receives first cargo of LNG from Qatargas.
Bunker saving capability of Mewis Duct verified Device can cut bunker consumption by 6%, claims Becker Marine Systems.
Middle East benchmark on fuel oil prices needed 'It is notoriously difficult to unseat an incumbent Singapore pricing benchmark.'
The Suez Canal Authority has announced that it will introduce surcharges on transit tariffs through the Egyptian canal for most major cargo vessels, effective July 15.
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