Can capesize owners be macro-prudent? People's Bank of China credit squeeze could cut demand for raw materials
American Club's post-renewal tonnage and premium up 5% The way ahead is full of promise, says Hughes
Technical underwriting continues to challenge clubs Clubs must exercise discipline, says Schnorr
Q&A: Watson, Farley & Williams partner Maren Brandes Banks unwilling to stand still over investment KGs prefer the warehousing solution
Poor kidnap and ransom take-up in West Africa surprises underwriters Real cost of piracy-related insurance is just 5% of widely reported estimates
Human cost of West Africa piracy is less than $437m, say critics Oceans Beyond Piracy estimates are misleading, says Lloyd's Market Association
Data casts new doubt on Oceans Beyond Piracy's human cost estimates Lloyd's List Intelligence questions $423m war-risk claim
The longer view Cycles come and cycles go, but recovery will come - eventually
Two-tier market emerges for lending, says ING EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Loans cheaper for top 100 but unavailable for rest, Fewster argues
To have and have not Promising firms will collapse unless lenders look beyond the shipping élite
NYK Orion replaces MOL Comfort G6 carriers announce 9,000 teu substitute for split 8,110 teu boxship
Varvitsiotis named shipping minister in Greek cabinet reshuffle Mousouroulis moved from revived ministry after only a year
MOL, MHI and ClassNK to inspect MOL Comfort's sisterships Indian Ocean casualty raises questions about vessels' structures
ACM brushes off criticism of brokerages going public Stock market should rise as freight market recovers in coming years
Gulftainer takes over three Saudi box terminals Sharjah-based port manager buys a controlling stake in Gulf Contracting
Wärtsilä confirms orders for 61 scrubbers Color Line installs four smaller scrubbers on ferry SuperSpeed2
Guangzhou Shipyard acquires sister Longxue Deal worth up to $163m is China's largest recent shipbuilding consolidation
Wallenius Lines orders giant car carrier pair WWL partners could order up to eight specialist newbuildings
Developing countries offer strongest prospects for contract logistics Emerging markets will outpace growth in Europe and North America, says report
ACM's profits fall despite rise in fixtures Brokerage expands LPG team to develop a niche that offers growth
Adding insult to injury Oceans Beyond Piracy highlights how some employers neglect seafarers' compensation
Landmark year for recognising seafarers' demanding role Day of the Seafarer being celebated against a background of the Maritime Labour Convention coming into force
MOL Comfort sisters checked MITSUI OSK Lines told Fairplay today it has conducted safety inspections on MOL Comfort's sister vessels, along with compatriot builder Mitsubishi HI
CCL weighs Carnival Corp CARNIVAL Corp today posted higher results than predicted, but conceded that its CCL brand faces ongoing pressure
Shipping minister named after Greek shuffle GREECE has named Miltiadis Varvitsiotis as its new shipping minister
Europe's cruise ship builders finally rally EUROPE'S yards have registered their first uptick in yearly business since the economic downturn took hold in 2008-9
Learn from Flex failures FLEX LNG'S failed FLNG projects highlight the challenges facing the concept, a conference on the sector was told today
Orders pick up for German marine suppliers GERMANY's marine systems and parts suppliers remain on the path of recovery this year after a gentle rise in turnover last year, their industry association VDMA said today
Liners outside of alliance seen surviving BOX SHIPPING groups stuck outside the World Big Three alliance will probably manage to keep competing in the sector, a shipping analyst predicted today
GSI to acquire sibling GSI, THE yard concern listed in Shanghai and Hong Kong, plans to acquire sibling Guangzhou Longxue Shipbuilding for up to 1Bn yuan ($163M), while raising up to 2.5Bn yuan in a private placement
Investment surge seen for FLNGs INVESTMENTS in floating LNG vessels could top $47Bn by 2019 as onshore liquefaction costs continue to escalate
Creditor lawsuit embroiling Changhang Phoenix SHENZHEN-listed Changhang Phoenix has failed to bring the trial of a lawsuit filed by China Everbright Bank against the Chinese bulker operator to a local maritime court
Oman battles bitumen spill OMAN'S government is battling a spill that has continued since a vessel carrying bitumen sank off the Gulf country
Courage to diversify TAIWANESE bulker owner Courage Marine said today it intends to acquire stakes in property development, as the drybulk market remains under "intense pressure"
What's Driving Asia-Europe Intermodal Surge? Intermodal transit traffic on overland routes in Asia and Europe almost tripled last year, according to figures from intermodal operator Transcontainer. Asia-Europe volumes moving on the Transcontainer fleet climbed from 34,000 20-foot-equivalent units in 2011 to 90,000 TEUs last year, as the overall market for transits via Russia's network reached 228,000...
Asian Airline Profits Grow Despite Weak Cargo Asia's airlines recorded a combined net profit of $5.2 billion last year as strong passenger growth offset weak cargo markets and high fuel prices. Net profit and operating revenue for the region's carriers in 2012 grew 6.7 and 7.6 percent, respectively, compared to a year earlier, while passenger revenue rose 8.5...
Dominican Republic Begins Work on Caucedo Logistics Center Officials from the Dominican Republic, Caucedo Development Corp. and DP World kicked off construction on Caucedo Logistics Center.Construction has started on the Dominican Republic's first logistics center, Caucedo Logistics Center, which is a joint venture between DP World and the Caucedo Development Corp. Danilo Medina, president of the Dominican Republic, along...
Yang Ming Picks Yu as President, Chief Operations Officer Yang Ming Marine Transport's board has unanimously elected Hermann Yu as president and chief operations officer, succeeding Robert Ho. Yu joined the Taiwan-based shipping company in 1984 as a junior employee and was promoted to executive vice president in September 2010. He received a master's degree in maritime law at the...
Report: Global Trade Could Hit $45 Trillion by 2021 Unprecedented trends in technology, demographics and infrastructure are transforming global supply chains across retail, industrial and logistics real estate sectors, according to a white paper called "The Changing World of Trade" released by Cushman & Wakefield. The report anticipated that as the global recovery gains momentum, the "significant pent-up demand" will...
J.A. Billipp to Develop Ellington Air Commerce Center in Texas An aerial rendering of Ellington Air Commerce Center.J.A. Billipp Co., a property and building developer, has teamed up with land owner Webber Properties to develop air cargo and other aviation-related facilities on 36.8 acres located near the north end of Ellington Airport in Texas. Ellington Air Commerce Center will accommodate build-to-suit...
US Intermodal Index Jumps Ahead of Peak Season U.S. east-west spot rates, week of June 24, 2013 Full-size image Westbound U.S. intermodal rates jumped more than 2 percent this week, rebounding from last week's 1 percent decline, according to data on all-inclusive 53-foot door-to-door spot pricing quoted by railroads and provided by the 3PL IDS. The overall index was brought up 1...
NY Legislature OKs Employee-Driver Bill The New York State Legislature gave final approval to a bill creating the presumption that commercial drivers are company employees unless they meet certain standards showing they are independent contractors. Kendra Hems, executive director of the New York State Motor Truck Association, said the association supported the final version of the...
Truckload Carriers Fight Back Against Rising Costs Truckload carriers squeezed by rising operating costs increasingly are diversifying their services to capture higher profits, and they're in a hurry to do so, according to a survey by TMW Systems. The majority of those truckload carriers are working on an accelerated schedule to develop and add new services, typically within...
Report: Global Coffee Consumption to Rise as Production Drops World coffee production for 2013/2014 season was forecasted at 146 million bags, down 4.4 million bags from the previous year, according to the "Coffee: World Markets and Trade" report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service. The report also said that global bean exports are predicted to fall "just...
Penske Truck Leasing Orders 100 Natural Gas Tractors Penske Truck Leasing has ordered 100 compressed natural gas tractors. The Freightliner Cascadia tractors, which are equipped with Cummins Westport 12-liter (3.2-gallon) engines, will be used by the Reading, Pa.-based equipment and maintenance provider's full-service truck leasing and commercial truck rental customers at various locations across the U.S. Penske estimates that before the...
Armour Transportation Buys Way's Transport Armour Transportation Systems, a less-than-truckload carrier based in Atlantic Canada, acquired Way's Transport, a trucking operator in Corner Brook, Newfoundland. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition gives Armour two additional terminals in western Newfoundland, doubling the number of its facilities in the province. Armour, which has 26 terminals, connects...
Teamsters at UPS Freight Reject Contract Proposal The International Brotherhood of Teamsters' union members at UPS Freight, UPS's less-than-truckload unit, have voted to reject a five-year contract proposal that was already approved by the company and union leadership. The vote, which was 4,244 to 1,897, means both parties must renegotiate. The current contract is set to expire on...
Turkey Loses Its Way The nationwide protests that have convulsed Turkey this month couldn't have come at a worse time for the transportation sector. Just weeks before anti-government protesters clashed with police in Istanbul's Taksim Square, sparking mass demonstrations in other major cities, transportation was commanding Page 1 coverage in newspapers and leading television...
EFTA Signs Free Trade Agreements With European, Central American Partners EFTA minsters meet with Costa Rica and Panama leaders to sign an FTA.Ministers from the member states of the European Free Trade Association - Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland - have signed two separate free trade agreements with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Costa Rica and Panama, in order to strengthen bilateral economic...
US Diesel Price Decline Slows .S. diesel prices through June 24, 2013 Full-size image U.S. diesel prices remained mostly unchanged in the week of June 24, following a four-week decline that saw a total drop of 1.3 percent or 5 cents, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Diesel prices are currently at their lowest since late...
Economy Restrains Optimism for Industrial Real Estate Demand for warehouse and distribution space is increasing, vacancy rates are dropping and rents are on the rise, but the prevailing attitude in the industrial real estate business today is cautious optimism. The reason for this caution, despite improving fundamentals, is that other factors influencing decisions to build and rent distribution...
CCL rebuilding It could take two to three years for Carnival Cruise Lines (CCL) to fully recover from the impact of the incidents that have hit profits this year, a top executive for Carnival Corp said.
Carnival shares advance Carnival Corp has posted the largest single-day share price improvement in more than a year after reporting better-than-expected profits and Micky Arison's departure from the chief executive job.
Arison steps down Micky Arison is stepping down as chief executive officer (CEO) of Carnival Corp after nearly 35 years.
Creditors going Dutch? Dutch lawyer AKD has tipped creditors to pursue ship arrests in the ARA region, as overseas bankruptcy protection does not apply there.
Students design new arctic ship Five maritime engineering students from Delft University have teamed up with Damen Shipyards to design a new arctic supply vessel.
Plumbe spots confidence boost Confidence is starting to return to the shipping industry but placing dates on a full recovery in the main markets is madness, says Johnny Plumbe.
CSC pair to be sold Beleaguered Chinese owner CSC Phoenix is being forced to sell two handymaxes as a creditor seeks to recover some cash.
Hansson still hungry Herbjorn Hansson insists Nordic American Tankers retains an appetite for fresh tonnage despite the mysterious dropping of a purchase from Almi Tankers earlier this month.
Nigeria four freed Pirates have freed the crew of an offshore support vessel hijacked off Nigeria almost two weeks ago.
Two more for Swissco Singapore's Swissco Marine has ordered two more crew vessels after fixing out four.
Greece changes shipping watch Miltiadis Varvitsiotis assumes the role of Minister of Mercantile Marine from Kostis Mousourouli.
Safe as houses? Hong Kong bulker owner Courage Marine is targeting a move into property investments due to continued weakness in freight markets.
Yang Ming in bond move Yang Ming Marine plans to raise up to TWD 5bn ($166.3m) through a bond sale.
Evidence of impact Indications of impact have been found on the hull of a Norwegian Car Carriers vessel suspected of colliding with a Japanese fishing vessel.
Evergreen bets on India Taiwan's Evergreen is launching two new containership runs in the Indian sub-continent and Persian Gulf.
GSI hammered Investors in Guangzhou Shipyard International took flight today after the company announced a new share sale.
MOL inspects sisters Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) is inspecting six sister vessels to the MOL Comfort which split in two in the Indian Ocean last week.
Lilgert gets four years The crewman navigating the Queen of the North ferry when it sank off Canada has been jailed for four years.
Brodosplit adds another Croatia's Brodosplit Shipyard is to build a river cruiseship for the Russian market.
Loss down, fixtures up London broker ACM has cut its annual loss as fixtures rose amid signs of improvement in shipping markets.
Dutch rescue for Vinashin? Dutch shipbuilding group VeKa is looking to set up a cooperation agreement with struggling Vietnamese shipbuilder Vinsashin.
MISC seeks cash Kuala Lumpur-based MISC has confirmed recent market chatter that it wants to raise $750m to refinance an existing loan.
Hapag-Lloyd cancels more German cruise operator Hapag-Lloyd has been forced to cancel more cruises on board its 8,400-gt cruiseship Hanseatic (built 1991) as efforts to repair fire damage are expected to take longer than originally anticipated.
Transportation Procurement Benchmark Study: Flat Market, Tactical Focus American Shipper, in partnership with the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) and the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), surveyed roughly 230 transportation buyers on procurement practices, processes, technologies and results.
In-memory's role in logistics
Safer sourcing
Mobile giant Everyone in logistics deals with some mixture of tight lead times, proprietary customer information, and expedited movements.
Commentary: Technology key to ocean differentiation?
Commentary: Truckers make case for longer, heavier vehicles
E-freight's gradual ascent
Getting closer Damco, the forwarding and logistics services arm of the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group, has ambitious plans for growth over the next several years and a big agenda as it adapts to a changing market.
Naval rhinoplasty
Thinking small
MOL Comfort investigation underway Japanese liner MOL said it's working with the shipbuilder, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and Japanese classification society Nippon Kaiji Kyokai to arrange inspection of the six sister vessels as quickly as possible.
Waterways Council optimistic over fall lock-and-dam legislation
Fuel wars
Wallenius orders post-Panamax ships Sweden's Wallenius Lines has ordered two large car carriers from Tianjin Xingang Shipyard in China with an option to build two more. The ships, scheduled for delivery in 2015 and 2016, will be operated by WWL.
Troy expands services in South America
Tapping P3's potential
ITC pilot may eliminate unnecessary litigation The U.S. International Trade Commission has initiated a pilot program to test whether early rulings on certain dispositive issues in some section 337 investigations could limit litigation, saving time and cost for all parties involved.
Bill of lading trumps guarantee
Houston area airport to develop cargo facilities With no large cargo facilities on or nearby Ellington Airport offering airfield access, Ellington Air Commerce Center will give aviation-related businesses an alternative to Bush Intercontinental Airport on the south side of the city.
Strategic road to trade compliance We have all worked for companies who don't understand the importance of global trade compliance. They see compliance as an unavoidable cost of doing business, not as a strategic tool in the overall push for competitive advantage...
'Most ships' LNG compliant by 2033, says VP of European Commission 'Natural gas is probably the only globally available fuel that reasonably allows ships and waterborne transport to meet their emissions targets.'
Rotterdam bunker market firms But Mediterranean hubs continue to fall.
Bunker prices lack direction in Middle East and Africa Fujairah market firms. Cape Town prices tumble.
Eco factor overplayed, says banker Capital costs a more effective budgeting tool than 'superior voyage economics'.
Cruise giant reports slide in revenue But Carnival Corp says its bunker costs are down.
Navigating officer sent to jail Deadly collision was caused by a 'catastrophic dereliction of duty'.
Russian fuel exports surge May fuel oil exports up more than 13%.
African refinery awaits fate East African plant expansion plan will be known 'within a quarter'.
IFO prices largely up at major ports Supplies of bunker fuels were mostly fine at key Asian ports on Tuesday.
Price probe net widens US follows EU on price-setting investigation.
West African leaders call for help to combat piracy 'The international community should show the same firmness in the Gulf of Guinea as it has in the Gulf of Aden.'
Russian bunkering firms adopt quality management system The system has been broadly based on the Singapore SS 524.
Brightoil signs purchase and cargo-carrying agreements Agreements will support firm's target of becoming 'a global marine bunkering supplier'.
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