2M: The Chinese conundrum Industry viewpoint: Reflections on the Chinese rejection of the P3 alliance and its aftermath
Patrick Walters to join Peel Ports Former P&O and ABP executive appointed group commercial director
Roxana Shipping sells two chemical and oil tanker newbuildings Owner sells newbuildings amid concerns that too many new vessels are being ordered
Three crew hurt in Port Hedland bulker blaze Vessel had been reported before for fire-related deficiencies
China Shipping and Alibaba in pact to develop container shipping platform State conglomerate seeks to expand client base and enhance services on China's largest e-commerce web portal
China Shipping Haisheng forecasts narrower first-half loss Weak rates still plague Shanghai-listed bulker unit of China Shipping Group
Maersk to quit eight service agreements with CMA CGM New vessel-sharing agreement with MSC precludes other alliances in east-west trades
New tanker that also carries cars and boxes set to hit the water Russian owner to take delivery of 10 unique tankers that haul oil products, boxes and vehicles
China Cosco orders eight bulkers for $263m Shipping giant flags plans to buy another six bulkers and five boxships as part of fleet renewal
VLGC earnings stay above $100,000 per day for four weeks August forecast to bring even higher earnings for very large gas carrier owners
We need your ballast opinions Industry thoughts and comments sought on critical ballast water issues
K+N sees 8% uptick in box volumes Growth is twice as fast as overall market, freight forwarder says
US west coast negotiators return to the table Talks with ILWU to renew expired contract resume once more
Indian tax cut spurs rush of demolition activity Rates rise after Modi moves to reduce customs duty on ships bound for the breakers
Seaman Guard Ohio charges reportedly dropped Ken Peters, public affairs chief of the Mission to Seafarers in the UK, said arms charges in India have been dropped against six British former servicemen. The six were among a 35-member crew of the anti-piracy supply vessel MV Seaman Guard Ohio. The crewmen were accused of illegally possessing
Italdraghe supplies dredger to Sicily Italian dredger builder Italdraghe has just delivered a new mini dredger to a small fishing harbour near Ragusa, Sicily. Commissioned onsite by Italdraghe technicians and complete with dredging pipeline and floats, the cutter dredger is a turnkey package contract awarded to Italdraghe in 2013. It is
Jiangsu Dajin secures liftboat order Chinese shipbuilder Jiangsu Dajin Heavy Industry, an affiliate of Shanghai Bestway Marine Engineering Design has secured an order for a new liftboat from Centaur Marine. The self-elevating liftboat is scheduled for delivery in 1H 2016 but no specifications have been disclosed about the new vessel.
Dredging under way for Liverpool2 The Liverpool2 container terminal has taken an important step closer to realisation with the arrival of Dutch dredging contractor Van Oord's 9,535m³ trailing suction hopper dredger HAM 316, that has started dredging the River Mersey estuary. Van Oord's scope of work, funded by a £35M grant from the
Fayard to finish Scandlines ro-paxes Privately owned Danish ship repair company Fayard will complete the two ro-pax newbuildings for Baltic Sea ferry operator Scandlines. The two 24,000gt vessels were first ordered in March 2010 from German shipbuilder P+S Werft but cancelled in 2012 when the yard folded. The order was revived this
Qingdao Beihai wins Foremost cape quartet Chinese shipyard Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry has won an order for four capesize bulkers from US based Foremost Group. Delivery of the four 180,000dwt vessels is scheduled for November 2015, May, June, and December 2016. They will have an overall length of 295m, beam 46m, depth 24.8m,
Chengxi & Shanhaiguan secure Cosco bulkers Chengxi Shipyard and Shanhaiguan Shipbuilding have secured orders for 10 bulkers from China's Cosco Holdings with four handysize and four ultramaxes for Chengxi, and two handies for Shanhaiguan at a total cost of $263.1M. There are four 38,800dwt vessels at a total cost of $99.2M and four 63,800dwt
Shanghai's box volume up by 11% in June The port of Shanghai has posted a record 3.06M teu throughput in June, up 10.8% year-on-year, and 1.4% higher than May 2014. The world's largest port also handled a total of 17.26M teu in the first quarter of 2014, up by 5.7% y/y, Shanghai International Port (Group) said. Shanghai posted net profit
K+ N ramps up volumes The world's biggest ocean freight forwarder Kuehne + Nagel has bolstered its leading position with a strong increase in business volumes in the first six months of 2014. The Swiss-based group today announced an 8% increase in the number of container shipments it booked and managed, twice as high as
Gate LNG Terminal Rotterdam to expand A joint venture between Gasunie and Royal Vopak, the Gate LNG Terminal in the Port of Rotterdam is to expand to offer LNG break-bulk services, act as a gateway for LNG in north-western Europe and help meet the demand for LNG as a fuel. Rotterdam Port Authority is involved in the project with the
Prosecutors to renew the arrest warrant for Sewol owner South Korean prosecutors will renew the arrest warrant for the fugitive owner of the Sewol ferry when it expires on 22 July. Yesterday, the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office met with police to discuss the search for Yoo Byung Eun, the owner of Chonghaejin Marine and Sewol. The ferry capsized
Concordia finally afloat Costa Concordia is now afloat, Costa Cruises has confirmed. "The Concordia's stern and bow are now detached from the false sea bed by about 1m," the company said. The wreck is now afloat due to the sponsons. "Before being towed 30 meters East, the Concordia will need to be refloated of another
South Korea lawmakers draw up Sewol bill Work is underway to pass a special bill to prevent a repeat of the Sewol ferry disaster. Today, two lawmakers who are part of a joint task force team related to the disaster met to agree on the contents of the bill. The Sewol, carrying 476 passengers and crew, capsized during an Incheon-Jeju trip on
Singapore holds emergency drill for passenger ships The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore has carried out an emergency drill for passenger ships in the wake of the Sewol disaster. During the exercise on 11 July, codenamed Exercise Blue Dolphin 2014, some 700 passengers and crew members were evacuated from a passenger vessel. MPA said the
ReCAAP ISC releases details on Moresby 9 A product tanker has had its cargo siphoned off in the South China Sea, the ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ReCAAP ISC) reported. Moresby 9 was underway at position 03° 45.93 N, 105° 10.24 E , 48.6nm northwest of Pulau Anambas on the 4 July 2014 when a small fishing vessel approximately seven
Nanjing Tanker upset as creditor applied for its restructuring Delisted Chinese company Nanjing Tanker is likely to face the prospect of restructuring after a creditor filed a claim over unpaid fuel costs. Tianjin Huifeng Energy Development, a Tianjin-based bunker supplier, applied for the restructuring of Nanjing Tanker at the Nanjing Intermediate People's
Trucking employment edges up, but capacity concerns shippers A stronger U.S. industrial economy and surging imports are helping trucking companies hire more workers, despite continued reports of a driver shortage. But that labor shortage and other capacity constraints could boost costs for shippers in the peak freight season this fall. The JOC For-Hire Trucking Index rose for the fourth...
At its helm, Slangerup ready to build value at Long Beach After building FedEx Canada from a small regional parcel carrier into the country's largest international express company, CEO Jon Slangerup left the FedEx subsidiary in 2000 and dove into the world of start-up companies, mostly in the technology and alternative fuel sectors. He enjoyed building the companies at a breakneck speed,...
North American intermodal volume growth more than triples The pace of North American intermodal volume growth in the second quarter more than tripled from the prior quarter, reflecting the movement of backlogged cargo from a severe winter, U.S. manufacturing growth and a surge of imports ahead of the expiration of the U.S. West Coast longshore contract. International intermodal volume...
Bunker prices continue steep fall Spot prices for high- and low-sulfur bunker fuel have declined steeply for the past several weeks on the heels of political unrest in the Middle East. The price per metric ton for high-sulfur bunker fuel fell 4.2 percent this week, while low-sulfur spot prices per metric ton increased 1.3 percent. Full-size chart The...
2014 growth in 3PL business, revenue projected Growth in the United States 3PL market will outpace last year's 3.2 percent expansion, according to consulting firm Armstrong & Associates' new predictions. With an expanding economy, Armstrong & Associates predicts a 5.2 percent rise in 3PL business for 2014, with net revenues projected to increase 4.3 percent to $67.4 billion...
JOC Group Port Productivity The JOC has aggregated, standardized and validated port productivity data for 483 ports and 771 terminals worldwide, with data provided by 17 prominent worldwide carriers. This unique data set can help you benchmark your productivity by port, terminal, ship size range, and call size range, identify issues with berth turn-around times, analyze performance and trends over time...
UASC, CSCL seen most obvious partners for CMA CGM United Arab Shipping Co. and China Shipping Container Line are the "most obvious" partners for CMA CGM after the French ocean carrier was excluded from the recently proposed 2M alliance between Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Co., according to Drewry Maritime Research. CMA CGM has been sharing vessels with MSC between...
Teamsters pick Davidson to join YRC Worldwide board William R. Davidson, a veteran Teamsters labor relations official with decades of hands-on less-than-truckload experience, will join the YRC Worldwide board of directors. Davidson, who began his career as a dockworker at ABF Freight System, will replace Harry Wilson, the Teamsters-nominated director who left the YRC Worldwide board in March after...
Analyst: Horizon Lines faces debt crisis Horizon Lines will have difficulty refinancing its heavy debt during the next two years and may be forced to shed assets, a move that would shake up the Jones Act domestic trade, analysts from BB&T Capital Markets said. "If Horizon Lines cannot refinance its debt obligations, which come due in 2016,...
K+N's container traffic growth is twice that of global market Kuehne + Nagel posted a market-beating increase in container traffic, but the strong Swiss franc restrained growth in the global forwarding and logistics group's second-quarter earnings. Earnings before interest and taxes rose 4.6 percent to 206 million francs ($230.7 million) from 197 million francs ($220 million) in the first three months...
Intermodal shippers face rocky peak season Six months after the most disruptive winter for North American supply chain interests in recent memory, the upcoming summer-fall period is shaping up as the intermodal peak season of shipper discontent. The makings are there for a perfect storm of rail delays in the summer-fall peak season, although analysts doubt shippers...
China Shipping joins Alibaba in e-commerce logistics platform China e-commerce giant Alibaba will partner with state-owned China Shipping Group to set up an integrated and cross-border logistics platform to support the rapid growth of Internet shopping on the mainland. "The Future of International E-Commerce" infographic from Asendia. Full-size image China Shipping Network Technology (CSNT), a provider of transport information products and subsidiary...
Surge in demand boosts Hong Kong air cargo Robust demand out of Hong Kong and China in June saw cargo and mail carried on Cathay Pacific and Dragonair growing by 15 percent year-over-year. The two airlines carried 140,444 tons of cargo and mail last month, and despite a 10 percent increase in capacity, the revenue earned per flown kilometre...
India's 2014 budget proposes awarding of 16 port contracts The Indian government has announced plans to award 16 new public-private partnership port development contracts at major ports during the current fiscal year (2014-15), which ends on March 31, 2015. The announcement was made by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his budget plan for 2014-15, presented to the parliament on July...
Japanese duo to buy stake in Chinese logistics property developer A consortium of Japan's Mitsui & Co. and Mitsubishi Estate Co. has agreed to acquire a significant stake in a logistics facility developing subsidiary of Beijing Properties (Holdings) Ltd. Mitsui and Mitsubishi Estate said they will take a 35 percent stake in China Logistics Infrastructures (Holdings) Ltd. by acquiring new shares...
And then there were two Maersk Tankers has parted ways with nearly all of its crude carriers under a broader bid to exit the segment but still boasts a pair of VLCCs on bareboat charter.
Four charged over sinking Owner and captain among those facing manslaughter trial following Vanuatu ferry tragedy.
Shake-up for ULTR South America's Ultrapetrol could sell off its ocean-going fleet after a shake-up of top management.
Cosco purges continues China Cosco Holdings Co has revealed it has scrapped eight more elderly vessels.
Concordia refloated The wreck of the Costa Concordia has been refloated as salvors prepare to tow it to Genoa for scrapping.
Suezmax in clash One man has been injured after a Frontline suezmax was in collision with a fishing vessel off France.
Boustead buying yards Malaysia's Boustead Heavy Industries is planning to buy two more shipyards.
Otto backlog builds Singapore's Otto Marine has secured charter contracts worth $404m in the first half of 2014.
Solbakken stocks up Lars Solbakken has topped up his holding in Aker-backed shipowner Ocean Yield.
Widget revolution Maersk Tankers is lowering the cost of ordering spare parts by printing them in 3D mid-ocean.
MISC's mothership A Malaysian "mothership" is to be stationed off the east coast of Sabah to battle pirates.
Champion Tweeter Micky Arison on the ball as the World Cup Final comes to an end.
Star deal done Star Bulk has rubber-stamped a merger with Oceanbulk to create the largest dry cargo owner listed in the US.
Scandlines picks Fayard Scandlines will complete two ro-pax newbuildings at Denmark's Fayard.
Bestway wins liftboat China's Bestway Marine Engineering Design has won an order for a new liftboat.
Three hurt in fire Three seafarers have been injured in a fire on a KLC bulker at Port Hedland in Australia.
Aurora LPG under siege Aurora LPG says it has been subjected to a hostile takeover offer, but the attempt looks to have had little success.
Moresby 9 cargo stolen The cargo of a small product tanker hijacked in the South China Sea last week has been stolen, authorities have confirmed.
OOCL looks to appeal OOCL looks set to contest the recent verdict in France over the death of company director Courtenay Allan.
Volume spike forecast US imports are expected to reach five year highs in July as suppliers look to avoid disruptions caused by potential industrial action.
House, Senate try similar steps to replenish Highway Trust Fund Action is necessary because the account for highway user fees is expected to reach a zero balance by the middle of August as the shortfall between gas taxes and projected highway spending increases.
2M Alliance will be filed with China's Ministry of Transport "This is a pure VSA, and VSAs of this type are only filed with the MOT; that is what we are seeing. That's where they get filed, not with MOFCOM ," said Michael Christian Storgaard, a spokesman for Maersk.
Chiquita signs deal to remain in Delaware Port
Amazon petitions regulators for drone testing clearance When Amazon's drone-delivery plan was announced last year, many industry efforts derided the move as a stunt or said that Amazon couldn't possibly get approval in time for its expected 2015 launch of the program.
Cathay Pacific sees strong June
UP adds Milwaukee to ongoing investment projects
TQL opens office outside Mobile
Draymen put brakes on LA/Long Beach protest; ILWU talks continue Port truck drivers in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach said Saturday afternoon that they have agreed to a "cooling off" period requested by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.
China Shipping and Alibaba team up Analysts have characterized the deal as China Shipping Group's attempt to move into the last-mile delivery market, a fragmented and loss-making industry in China.
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