Huanji International, founded in 1989 with headquarter in Ningbo, is a comprehensive international company, integrating freight of sea, air and land (railway& road). It is a private shareholding company with registered capital of $4,000,000 and turnover of $150 million with 6 subsidiary companies as well as 13 branch offices total up to more than 300 professional and experienced personnel in the main ports of China. As one of the strongest and most influential forwarding&logistics companies in Ningbo, over decades’efforts, Huanji has actively grasped the market dynamics and stays abreast of service and quality relying on the geographical advantages, thereby it has gained the stable and long-term development. Huanji Int’l has built strategic partnership with many internationally known shipping companies and airlines to provide internationalized, specialized and standardized one-stop international business logistics service to clients home and abroad.

　　

Based on the people-oriented and scientifically managing concept, the company has been putting emphasis on the development of healthy and positive culture as to enhance the company influence.
We are all round the clock to supply customers with sincere, efficient,
convenient and safe services.

AIR FREIGHT

MongRonggang

MongRonggang

ADD:11F，Fortune Building，No.828 Fuming Road，Jiangdong District，Ningbo，China.
E-MAIL：hjhy@nb-hj.com
FAX：86-0574-87643092（IMPORT DEPT.）　86-0574- 87643093（OVERSEAS DEPT.）
86-0574-87643094（SALES DEPT.）　86-0574- 87643095（SEA FREIGHT DETP.）　
86-0574-87643096（SEA FREIGHT DETP.）86-0574-87643097（SEA FREIGHT DETP.）
86-0574-87643098（BUSINESS DEPT.）　86-0574-87643062（MARKET DEPT.）

ADD：Room 605,Pacific International Mansion,No.178 South Binjiang Road,Yuyao. Ningbo City,Zhejiang Province.China.
E-MAIL ：hwj@nb-hj.com
TEL：86-0574-62732178 Fax: 62732219

Department

Name

Posts

Office Tel

GM Office

Xu Hongbo

Manager

021-65086776

Finance Office

Xiao Mei

Should pay back commission

021-65086272

Lu Yan

Write-off single, the team reconciliation, billing

021-65086287

Yan Fang

Receivables, import, administrative

021-65087100

Overseas Department

Xu Jun

Overseas Maintenance

021-65086979

Zhou Xiaomian

European Development

021-65086529

Zheng Yunyun

File and part of Agent Development

021-65086397

Overseas Department

Wang Yu

Air Manager

021-65086885

Cao Hui

Air Operation

021-65086896

Wei Chunyan

Sales

021-65086809

Huang Defu

Sales

021-65086153

Zhu Guoliang

Sales

021-65086827

Maritime Operation

Sun Weiqin

Director of operations

021-65086353/6225

Liu Jia

Maritime Operation

021-65086813

Yan Wen

Maritime Operation

021-65086389/6225

Sales

Liu Peiwen

Sales

021-65087110

Xu Zhiqiang

Sales

021-65086782

Wang Yu

Sales

021-65086782

Run Single

Feng Weiqiang

021-65086782 　

Department

Name

Posts

Office Tel

　GM Office

Wang Xiangsheng

General Manager

86-0574-89070755

Ye Shanshan

Assistant Manager

86-0574-89070720

Executive Dept.

Yang Jingbo

Front desk/administrative

86-0574-89070703

Commerce Dept.　

Xu Lingyan

Commerce Department

86-0574-89070728

Shi Qiongying

Commerce Department

86-0574-89070747

Finance Dept.

Zhou Biqiong

Accounting

86-0574-89070744

Mao Chaoqun

Cashier

86-0574-89070750

Sales Dept.

YU Shengda

Sales Manager

86-0574-89070768

Zhu Kedeng

Sales

86-0574-89070705

Shen Haibo

Sales

86-0574-89070715

　Market Dept.

Wu Bifang

Marketing Director

86-0574-89070701

Ren Hui

Marketing

86-0574-89070708

Xu Jing

Dispatch/Service Director

86-0574-89070745

　 Overseas Dept.

Li Ming

Overseas Director

86-0574-89070731

Liu Jijun

Overseas Operation

86-0574-89070742

Operate Dept.

Wang Xiaoyu

FCL action/file

86-0574-89070752

Fei Hailong

FCL action/file

86-0574-89070730

Xiao Yu

FCL action/file

86-0574-89070740

Wang Wei

FCL action/file

86-0574-89070719

Zhang Xinjie

FCL file

86-0574-89070717

He Dandong

FCL file

86-0574-89070756

Chen Weiwei

LCL Operation

86-0574-89070725

Shao Xiuxiu

LCL Operation

86-0574-89070736

Zhou Jianye

LCL file

86-0574-89070726

Xia Wei

Inspection

86-0574-89070710

Master Shi

Run Single

86-0574-66194386

Master liu

Run Single

Department

Name

Posts

Office Tel

Han Yang Import and Export

Fang Yafeng

Manager

86-0574-22683097

Zhang Zhuying

Accounting

86-0574-22683096

Liu qin

Accounting Assistant

86-0574-22677322

Zhang Ming

Cashier

86-0574-22677312

Zhao Chongfen

Documents

86-0574-22677322

Lin Xiaoyi

Documents

86-0574-22683098

Ying Yunna

Documents

v22677311

No.409,Room Pacific International Mansion,178 South Binjiang Road,Yuyao City
Fax：86-0574-0574-22683099

Name

Posts

Office Tel

VPN

Sun Songren

branch secretary of the Party

27687976

0663

Yu Jian

Manager

27687976

9809

Yiao Yinji

Scheduling

27687976

2135

Li Chen

Scheduling Assistant

27687976

8192

Xuan Shanmu

Driver

27687976

2393

Guo Maoyan

Driver

27687976

2590

Zhen Qilin

Driver

27687976

2813

Zhang Xuebing

Driver

27687976

2217

Yuan Haijin

Driver

27687976

6005

Address:Block B2,Railway West Goods Yard,Yuyao City
E-MAIL:hxw@china.nb-hj.com
Fax：0574-62800503

Department

Name

Posts

Contact

Internal
Department

Xu Junhua

Manager

13685866077

Yuan Gaosheng

Client Representative

0574-63152579

Ye Kaijun

Client Representative

0574-66293772

Yu Guofeng

Client Representative

0574-66229166

Liu Anqun

Client Representative

0574-66250510

Song Jiansong

Client Representative

0574-66229166

Zhu Huanglai

Client Representative

0574-66229166

Lu Jishi

Client Representative

0574-66229166

Zhu Guodong

Client Representative

0574-66229166

He Jiantao

Client Representative

0574-66229166

Zhu Weiping

Client Representative

0574-66229166

Huang Guoquan

Client Representative

0574-66229166

Wang Hui

Client Representative

0574-66229166

Zhu Baiyuan

Client Representative

0574-66229166

Ying Xingfa

Client Representative

0574-66229166

Wu Baijun

Client Representative

0574-66229166

He Fengxian

Manager

0574-62638822

Ye Kefen

Operator

0574-62635015

Ye Wenjun

Operator

0574-62635015

Xu Mingfu

Operator

0574-62635015

Zhu Baili

salesman

0574-62638844

Qi Yinyin

salesman

0574-62638822

Li Xiaochuan

salesman

0574-62635016

Ye Debang

Driver

0574-62635015

Li Chunjian

Driver

0574-62635015

International
Department

He Zhuteng

Manager

0 574-62640199

Wang Hongjin

Finance

0574-62640199

Zheng Wenjun

sales

0574-62640199

Zhu Heqiu

sales

0574-62640199

Wu Jian

sales

0574-62640199

Han Hongya

customer service

0574-22715999

Shi Leijun

customer service

0574-22715999

Address:No. 602-604 Room,Pacific International Mansion,178 South Binjiang Road,Yuyao City
FAX:0574-62732217 　　　　62732219

ADD：Room 605,Pacific International Mansion,No.178 South Binjiang Road,Yuyao. Ningbo City,Zhejiang Province.China.
E-MAIL ：hwj@nb-hj.com
TEL：86-0574-62732178 Fax: 62732219

Source: http://online.wsj.com

There was also an announcement of a $6 per container International Security Port Surcharge (ISPS) for Far East to Middle Eastern trades.

There is also a currency adjustment factor (CAF), which will stand at 14.75 per cent of ocean freight and apply to cargo moving between the Mediterranean, that is Lebanon, Syria, Black Sea ports and north Africa - but not Israel.

A bunker adjustment factor (BAF) will also be applied to cargo in the Europe and Mediterranean trades from December as well as another BAF for both east and west bound shipments in Far East and the Indian subcontinent to Europe and the Mediterranean from January 1.

The BAF will be as follows: On shipments between Far East and north west Europe / Mediterranean, which includes Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Black Sea ports as well as north Africa and west Africa, the increases will be US$510 per TEU and $1,020 per FEU.

Shipments between the Indian subcontinent and north west Europe / Mediterranean, which includes Israel, Lebanon, Syria, the Black Sea ports, west Africa and north Africa will be subject to a BAF of $306 per TEU and $612 per FEU.

There was also news of a fuel adjustment factor (FAF) for the Far East-Mideast trades to apply to cargo in the Far East to the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf and the India subcontinent to take effect from January 1 until January 31.

The revised FAF is, from the Far East (except Japan) to the Persian Gulf and Indian subcontinent, will be $276 per TEU and $552 per FEU. From Japan to the Persian Gulf and the Indian subcontinent it will be $238 per TEU and $476 per FEU. From the Far East (except Japan) to the Red Sea the FAF will be $369 per TEU and $738 per FEU. And from Japan to the Red Seas it will be $429 per TEU and $858 per FEU,

The Far East includes mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macao, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Korea, Brunei, Cambodia and Burma.

The Persian Gulf includes Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia (Persian Gulf Coastal), Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Oman.

The Indian subcontinent includes India and Pakistan.

The Red Sea includes Saudi Arabia (Red Sea coast), Yemen, Jordan, Egypt and Sudan.

(Source:www.schednet.com)

Source: www.apparelnews.net

Based on the list price for the CRJ700 aircraft, the contract would be valued at approximately $779 million US. Actual terms of the deal are confidential.

“This would be a major order for us at any time, but achieving it during the prevailing tough economic times makes it all the more significant,” said Gary R. Scott, President, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft. “The order also reflects the confidence expressed by AMR Corp. and American Eagle Airlines in our CRJ700 aircraft and we are grateful for their continuing support.”

Including the transaction announced today, Bombardier has recorded orders for 1,695 CRJ Series aircraft, and as of October 31, 2009, 1,569 of these had been delivered. More than 60 operators in 38 countries operate CRJ Series aircraft.

Source: Transportweekly

DHL Express has started offering a direct flight from Hong Kong to Surabaya, Indonesia, in a bid to facilitate the increasing volume of import cargo from Hong Kong to East Java.

The flight operates four times a week on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, and will not only carry freight from Hong Kong, but also from North Asia and the US, a DHL statement said.

It said the new direct flight from Hong Kong International Airport to Djuanda Airport in Surabaya provides customers with a faster transit time of up to 24 hours, compared to the previous non-direct flight, by alleviating the need for clearance in Jakarta and domestic transportation from Jakarta to Surabaya.

The development comes after shipment volumes on DHL's Hong Kong to Surabaya routes rose by 18 per cent year on year between July and November 2009. Major shipments were from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Taiwan.

"Hong Kong-Surabaya is an important trade lane for DHL because China is the largest supplier of non-oil and gas products to East Java, with the value amounting to US$202.62 million in October 2009," said David Ng, senior technical advisor at DHL Express/PT Birotika Semesta.

"With this new flight, we expect to be able to significantly enhance connectivity, service reliability and on-time performance for our customers in the East Java, Hong Kong, North Asia and US."

Source: SchedNet

THE Trade Commission of Ecuador in Los Angeles has announced that Ecuadoran roses will fly to the world's most expensive rose market in Japan through Mercury's LAX airport's perishable centre with Apollo Freight handling shipments.

Hitherto the roses went through Amsterdam and Frankfurt or Miami. In the two months that the programme has been underway, nearly 45 tons of roses were moved from Ecuador to Japan via LAX.

"It has long been a goal to find a way for Ecuadorian flowers, especially roses, to reach world markets faster and at lower costs. We are very pleased that Mercury Air Cargo and Apollo Freight have developed a programme to answer this need at LAX," said trade commissioner Eduardo Borrero.

Members of the Ecuadorian Trade Commission met with Mercury Air Cargo and Apollo Freight executives following Mercury's opening of the largest on-airport refrigeration unit on the West Coast in April.

The Trade Commission wanted to bring the flowers through Mercury's LAX airport's perishable centre. Apollo Freight, a leader in perishable logistics, worked with two Asian carriers servicing Japan to obtain cargo space then worked with Operflor Cargo, an Ecuadorian freight forwarder, to secure flower shipments from Ecuador to the importers in Japan.

Said Operflor Cargo manager Roy Cisternas: "Our Japanese clients are extremely pleased with the level of service being provided by Apollo Freight at LAX as well as with the cost savings compared to transiting roses through Europe."

Apollo Freight utilises Mercury's perishable centre, located in an over 18,580 square metre airport warehouse, which allows flowers coming into LAX by air and connecting on a flight to Japan to never have to leave the airport. The flowers remain in the same warehouse for breakdown, cooling and build-up services.

Mercury Air Group CEO and chairman Joseph Czyzyk said, "Transiting Ecuadorian roses is just a small part of the perishable logistics Mercury and Apollo offer."

Source: SchedNet

Latvia is considering opening the country’s ports and communication routes for Armenia for the transportation of cargoes to the West. "I see great potential for development of the Armenian-Latvian economic cooperation. I hope that the two governments will create all necessary conditions for mutually beneficial cooperation. Creating the necessary contractual and legal framework will be a major stimulus for the development of this cooperation ", Latvia’s President Valdis Zatlers is quoted as saying at the Armenian-Latvian business forum in Yerevan, Armenian aysor.am website reports.

According Mr. Zatlers, Latvian businessmen can help their Armenian colleagues to sign profitable agreements with Western businessmen.

"It remains only to find the common ground for mutually beneficial cooperation. Latvia is ready to help Armenia to integrate into the European market, as well as to share its experience of European integration ", - Mr. Zatlers said.

Source: Port News

Source: www.eyefortransport.com

Horizon Logistics, LLC, the third-party logistics management subsidiary of Horizon Lines, Inc., has introduced a less-than-truckload (LTL) shipment rating engine for domestic U.S. shippers, adding to an existing suite of web-based logistics tools available at www.horizon-logistics.com.

The new LTL rating engine is designed to ensure price consistency, effective carrier benchmarking and competitive pricing by eliminating the cost adjustments most carriers make to compensate for lane imbalances. The company's LTL rating structure is uniquely configured to offer customers not only cost-effective pricing, but also multiple service options. The ultimate objective is a lower total cost of transportation for Horizon Logistics' customers.

Once rates are provided, shippers can use the system to automate carrier selection, bill of lading generation, load tendering and shipment tracking. The secure system is highly configurable, simple to use and accessible via the web at anytime from anywhere in the world. Horizon Logistics customers also can generate shipment reports instantly in a variety of formats including Microsoft Excel.

"Most shippers don't have the time or the resources to figure out the complexities inherent in LTL pricing within the United States," said Brian Taylor, President of Horizon Logistics. "They need a tool that provides a reliable, always competitive rate with visibility and control throughout the shipping process."

Introduction of the LTL rating engine marks another phase in the development of Horizon Logistics' transportation management system for customers. The company implemented an international ocean shipping and purchase order management portal earlier this year. Further development is planned for 2010.

Source: Transportweekly

Eddie Stobart Ltd has upgraded its refrigerated trailer fleet with the acquisition of 30 new Schmitz Cargobull refrigerated trailers.

Eddie Stobart already operates an extensive fleet of Schmitz Cargobull trailers and this latest order follows the acquisition in 2008 of 150 dual - and 100 single-temperature vehicles from the Schmitz Cargobull range.

The new vehicles will be used to deliver foodstuffs for Eddie Stobart’s grocery retail clients on routes throughout the UK and Europe.

Liveried the iconic colours and branding of Stobart Group, the new trailers have been built at Schmitz Cargobull’s UK manufacturing plant at Harelaw, County Durham. Schmitz Cargobull has invested significantly in the Harelaw facility during 2009 and the site now features what is believed to be the most advanced multi product trailer production line in the world.

The box units for the new Stobart Group trailers are made from Schmitz Cargobull’s patented Ferroplast insulated panels. A pure hardened foam, Ferroplast has the lowest thermal conduction of all known insulating materials. The Ferroplast walls of a Schmitz Cargobull refrigerated box are bonded together, to offer the highest standards of hygiene and to reduce maintenance over the whole of the working life of the semi-trailer. In fact, such is the company’s faith in Ferroplast, that the boxes are offered with a full five-year structural warranty.

Stuart Smith, Eddie Stobart Ltd’s Fleet Engineer, commented: “Schmitz Cargobull have an enthusiastic, dedicated team, which shows in the products that they manufacturer, it is a pleasure working with them.”

Source: Transportweekly

Greek Aegean Airlines has become the latest addition to the list of carriers doing business at Vienna International Airport (VIA), Austrian Times informed.

VIA bosses said yesterday (Mon) the company has launched direct connections between Vienna and Athens five times a week.

The first flight on the route was last Thursday.

VIA chiefs recently said passenger numbers at the airport fell in November by 1.8 per cent year on year to 1.38 million.

Aegean Airlines was founded in 1987 and offers flights between 50 Greek and international destinations. Around six million people used the carrier’s service last year.

The firm joined the Star Alliance partnership – consisting of 26 airlines including Austrian Airlines (AUA) and its new owner Lufthansa – last May.

Source: Transportweekly

The state-run “Delta-Pilot” company of Ukraine has successfully passed a three-month financial audit by BDO outside auditor, the Ministry of Transport and Communications of Ukraine. In accordance with the final report of the outside auditor, "financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the company and that the results consistent with International Financial Reporting Standards.
State Enterprise "Delta-pilot" has existed since February 1998 piloting ships into the sea and river port of Nykolaey and Kherson regions, and also provides transit passage of ships in the river port on the Dnieper. On behalf of the Ministry of Transport and Communications of Ukraine, State Enterprise "Delta-pilot" acts as the client of design and construction of a deepwater navigable channel "Danube-Black Sea" in the mouth of Bystroye. This project will provide an opportunity to revive large-tonnage shipping in the Ukrainian part of the Danube along the route of the 7th international transport corridor.

Source: Port News

CHONGQING's Cuntan port's phase two project, West China's biggest terminal, costing CNY1.1 billion (US$161 million), will be ready for opening at the end of the year, reports Xinhua.

The 59-hectare terminal will build four 3,000-tonne berths with an annual capacity of 420,000 TEU as well as 800,000 tonnes of breakbulk and 150,000 ro-ro units. The port plans to build four more berths in its phase three project with additional capacity of 560,000 TEU. By then, Cuntan port's container throughput will reach 1.89 million TEU, becoming the biggest container terminal in Yangtze River's upper reaches.

Source: www.schednet.com

The UAE has crept into the top 15 countries in the world by the size of a country's current liner fleet and is only nation from the Middle East, according to a report by IHS Global Insight, a global research, analysis and consulting firm.
China is currently the leading operator of liner vessels globally, operating 804 vessels, with 11 per cent of the global liner fleet, and 15 per cent of its capacity. It is followed closely by Japan, with 788 liner vessels. Denmark, which ranks fifth by the fleet count, operates the second largest fleet by capacity.
The UAE ranks 15th in the world with the total number of the liner fleet at 106 vessels. Germany is the largest European Union operator of liner vessels and the country with the most vessels on order worldwide.
By the current order book, Germany will operate only two fewer vessels than China by the time the orders are completed, it said.

Source: www.seatradeasia-online.com

The head of the Australian firm Solar Sailor, pioneers of wings covered in solar panels for installation on ships, revealed in an interview with CNN that the world’s largest shipping conglomerate, COSCO is in discussions to add solar wings to many of its tankers.
Solar Sailor has created a new type of sail -- rigid wings covered in solar panels that can bend and fold depending on the direction of the sun and wind. Four of these solar ferries will be roaming the waters of Hong Kong in January and Solar Sailor is in talks to introduce them in Shanghai and San Francisco.
"When we started in 1999, oil was at $10 a barrel, no one had heard of a hybrid car and people weren't educated about global warming," Solar Sailor ceo Robert Dane told CNN. With oil now around $73 a barrel, Dane says green technologies make more financial sense than ever.
CNN reported that COSCO “is in advanced talks with Solar Sailor for the fitting of solar wings on some of its large tankers”. Another shipping company, NYK Line, launched Auriga Leader in December 2008, the world's first solar-assisted car carrier.
As a member of the UN Global Compact COSCO is keen to advance its green credentials and has looked at many options, including nuclear propulsion, something the company’s ceo and president Capt Wei Jiafu expanded upon two weeks ago at Marintec China. “As they are already onboard submarines, why not cargo ships?” he mused. Later he spoke to Seatrade Asia Online and revealed COSCO is in talks with the national nuclear authorities to develop nuclear powered ships.

Source: www.seatradeasia-online.com

According to the general director of Bulgarian Railways (BDZ), Pencho Popov, passengers of delayed trains will soon be able to receive compensation, according to Railway Market - CEE Review.

The new EU regulation, which obliges railway companies to pay compensation to passengers if the train is late at the fault of the carrier, will be implemented already next year, Popov said.

The BDZ’s readiness to pay compensation for delays might be surprising, as many eastern European countries like Romania, Poland or the Czech Republic recently asked for a suspension from the new EU directive. They argued, that they still need some time to prepare themselves for such a regulation.

Currently, Bulgarian Railways has approx. BGN 160m debt and a BGN 100m credit, that has to be paid in 2010.

Source: Transportweekly

On December 13, a new timetable came into force in Germany. At the same time Deutsche Bahn (DB) increased the ticket prices for about 1.8%, Railway Market - CEE Reviewnforms. The rise has been explained by the increasing personnel costs.
DB expects to get EUR 50m more next year through this move.

Fares for regional trains went up by 2.2%. Price of BahnCard50 went up EUR 5 (to EUR 230). BahnCard100 and reserved-seat-tickets also increased (EUR 2.50 or EUR 4.50).

The price of Schones-Wochenenede-Ticket, BahnCard25 and most of daily Bundesland tickets remained unchanged.

Source: Transportweekly

The first of 45 Variobahn trams has been ceremoniously delivered to Graz AG.
“We thank Graz AG for the trust it has placed in us”, explains Michael Daum, CEO of Stadler Pankow GmbH. “We worked together very successfully and can now deliver the first vehicle on time. Understandably, every operator has his own ideas on how his future trams should look.” Michael Daum further states, “Amongst other things, our competence lies in the ability to implement these visual and functional needs.”
The interests of people with limited mobility were particularly considered for the Graz tram. Thus the Variobahn is fitted with optical and acoustical information support devices. Its handrails and doors have high-contrast colouring, and the second door’s entryway has a folding ramp.

“Close co-operation with disabled persons organisations have greatly assisted us in implementing their interests,” says Annegret Schulz, Project Manager, Stadler Pankow GmbH.

The Variobahn for Graz is entirely low-floored and provides a bright and friendly interior that offers seating for 145 passengers. Furthermore, the unidirectional vehicles are designed with two multi-purpose areas in which wheelchairs and pushchairs can be conveniently moved.

Stadler Rail Group, system supplier of customer-specific solutions for rail vehicle construction, has locations in Switzerland (Altenrhein, Bussnang and Winterthur), in Germany (Berlin-Pankow and Velten), in Poland (Siedlce), in Hungary (Budapest, Pusztaszabolcs and Szolnok) and in Algeria (Algiers). The Group has a workforce of over 2,400 people around the world. The best-known vehicle series from the Stadler Rail Group are the articulated multiple-unit trains GTW (495 trains sold), the Regio Shuttle RS1 (402 trains sold), the FLIRT (547 trains sold), the double-decker DOSTO (57 trains sold) in the railway segment, and the Variobahn (264 trains sold) and the newly-developed Tango (90 trains sold) in the tram segment. Furthermore Stadler Rail manufactures passenger carriages and two-axle locomotives and is the world’s leading manufacturer of rack-and-pinion rail vehicles.

Source: Transportweekly

The Board of Directors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has approved the allocation of $ 100 million credit for the FESCO transport group. The credit, the FESCO press-service said, is part of the program for financial management and debt restructuring of the company. The credit is valid for 5 years and will have a floating interest rate tied to a number of financial covenants, with a base LIBOR + 4%, the FESCO said.
The involvement of the loan will not increase the debt burden, as the funds will be used to refinance a short-term debt, which will significantly improve the structure of balance and repayment schedule.
"The successful involvement of the EBRD loan, Sergey Generalov, President of FESCO is quoted as saying, offers our group a number of new opportunities for work in capital markets, both debt and equity."
The EBRD loan is part of the overall program of the Group, targeted at reducing the debt burden and optimization of the repayment schedule. Implementation of the program in 2009 has already helped to reduce debt by $ 300 million, with $ 1 billion 155 million in January to $ 850 million to date. Further steps according to the program, will allow reducing the debt in 2010 for another $ 300 million, Mr.Generalov said.
Transport Group FESCO is Russia's integrated transport and logistics company that provides clients a full range of services for cargo delivery "from door to door", using the capacities of their own companies. Since August 2008 the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has become one of the shareholders of FESCO with 3,74% of shares.

Source: Port News

The Siwertell ship unloader offered by Cargotec has demonstrated its world-leading capabilities by winning this year’s International Bulk Journal’s (IBJ) best ship loading/unloading system award. There were four other systems short listed as finalists by IBJ, but the organisation judged the Siwertell dry bulk cargo flow system to be the most efficient, safe and innovative.

“We are delighted that our Siwertell system has been recognised in this way,” says Jonas Fack, sales director, Bulk Terminals at Cargotec.

The Siwertell ship unloader programme exploits technologies and philosophies developed over decades by a world-leading company. In defining and developing the most operationally-efficient and safest dry bulk handling terminals, Cargotec emphasises environmental performance and versatility features in both its products and services.

Jonas Fack notes that: “In developing material-handling equipment, our goal is to ensure that operators using systems supplied by Cargotec contribute to preserving the environment.”

Siwertell ship unloader systems are carefully-designed with a specific focus on sustaining environmentally-friendly operation. They offer totally-enclosed bulk handling solutions and dust-free loading/unloading systems, for various materials, with some of the highest capacities on the market.
A Siwertell ship unloader is totally enclosed from the pick-up point in the hold, which is below the cargo surface, to the transfer point at the jetty conveyor. A cleaner and safer environment is thus achieved through elimination of spillage and dust.

The Siwertell unloader programme is divided into four groups depending on the size of ship being unloaded/loaded, the rated unloading capacity, and the commodity being handled. The main difference between these categories is the supporting steel structure carrying the conveyors on the arm system. The various steel structures can accommodate different ranges of conveyor sizes and can be made to different lengths to fit different ship sizes.

Siwertell unloading/loading systems have been delivered for decades and close to 300 units have been selected by terminal and bulk operators throughout the world.

(Source: www.transportweekly.com)

The Government of India set up a high-profile committee on maritime security to enhance surveillance of the country’s vast coastline. The move follows a series of measures initiated by the government to tighten security at gateway ports, particularly in the wake of the Nov. 26, 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai.
Similar to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the panel is headed by a cabinet secretary and includes senior officials of various maritime security agencies, including the navy, coast guard and intelligence bureau.
“The committee will help in monitoring timely implementation of proposals relating to maritime and coastal security. It will also help in ensuring effective coordination among various central ministries and agencies and the coastal state governments/union territories,” the government said in a statement.
The Shipping Ministry earlier asked all major port authorities to acquire speed boats to beef up waterfront patrolling, and deploy marine commando units for better emergency preparedness and response.
Safeguarding the nation's security and preventing terrorists as well as weapons of mass destruction from entering the country, especially through the sea route, have been New Delhi’s top priorities since the Mumbai attacks that killed nearly 180 people one year ago.
India has 12 major ports, six each on the west and east coasts, and nearly 200 minor ports located along its 4,600 miles of coastline.
According to the latest data released by the Indian Ports Association, major ports handled 362.8 million tons of cargo during the April-November period, up 4.7 percent from 346.5 million tons in the year-ago period.

Source: www.joc.com

After a two-year downswing, the air-cargo industry appears to be in the midst of recovery – and the Asian market is the driving force behind this trend. The 4th Air Cargo China, the largest international trade fair for the air-cargo industry in Asia, will be a barometer of this upward trend. It is being held in conjunction with transport logistic China in Shanghai from June 8 – 10, 2010.

The latest figures released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) could be a sign of hope for the global air-cargo industry: Last month, international freight demand was only 0.5 percent lower than a year earlier, which is a significant improvement compared to the 5.4 percent decline registered in September 2009.

Above all, the driving force behind this development is the Asian market, which is beginning to grow again earlier and, above all, more quickly as a result of the diminishing global economic crisis. According to the latest statistics released by the IATA, air-cargo volume in Asia in October was 1.9 percent higher than the same period last year. So it comes as no surprise that three of the five largest freight airports in the world, i.e. Hong Kong, Seoul and Shanghai, are located in Asia. In a study for the Asian air-cargo industry, aircraft manufacturer Airbus forecast that the upward trend will continue to remain strong. In China, domestic freight volume (tonne kilometers) is expected to increase by more than ten percent by 2026, and commercial freight traffic with Europe and the United States is expected to increase by nearly ten percent. Given these forecasts, experts are already saying that Asia will establish itself as the world's largest air-cargo market within the next ten years, which means a great deal of potential for investors, some of which is still unused.

This positive market environment is also creating extra momentum for Air Cargo China, which has developed into the largest international trade show for air cargo in Asia since its premiere in 2004. A number of well-known airfreight forwarders have already registered to exhibit at the fair: They include Avicon, Airbridge Cargo, Cargo Italia, Eurex Airlines, Etihad, Jade Cargo, Thai Airways, ULS Airlines as well as key logistics hubs such as the Atlanta, Munich and Vienna airports and leading aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing and EADS. The application deadline for exhibitors is 23 April 2010.

Besides the exhibition, the Air Cargo China Conference that accompanies the fair on 9 June 2010, the title of which is "Tomorrow’s World", will give participants an in-depth look at the trends in international air cargo with a special focus on the Asian market. Other highlights include the awards ceremony for the World Air Cargo Awards, which A-Z Group presents in a total of ten categories. They include awards for Airfreight Forwarder of the Year and Airport of the Year.

Source: Transportweekly

With ORion-PI® Network Scale Savings Axxom Software AG has developed a new approach for even more realistic and efficient supply chain optimization. The concept allows users to consider complexity costs and economy of scale effects when analysing and improving their logistics and production networks. From 2nd to 4th of March 2010 Axxom presents the approach for the first time at trade fair LogiMAT in Stuttgart (hall 5, booth 240).

Today, transport, warehousing and production costs generally are the decisive cost factors when planning and optimizing supply chain networks. However, focussing on these factors often comes up short – especially if a company owns a huge variety of product programs and value added processes. For realistic modelling and optimization of a network, economy of scale and complexity costs play an important role as they sum up to 70 percent of the added value.

Up until now, companies optimizing logistics and production networks have been holding the wolf by the ears: To put it simply, they could save costs by processing as large amounts as possible at one location.

Thereby, significant economy of scale can be achieved by consolidation of handling and production. Afterwards, however, they have to put up with long transport distances and high distribution costs. To optimize the latter, a dispersed location strategy is necessary. “With our new approach ORion-PI® Network Scale Savings we help companies to solve this conflict and to find an optimal balance by considering effects like economy of scale and complexity costs in their optimization calculations.”

Other than the new concept, Axxom will present further novelties of its product family ORion-PI® at LogiMAT, which allow integrated planning and optimization of processes along the whole logistics chain. For example, the technology company will show new functions of its software ORion-PI® Logistics Optimization for warehouse and space management. Using realistic simulations of different scenarios, the solution allows, for example, the efficient analysis and optimization of warehouse assignments, pick strategies or different warehouse and material handling technologies. The functions for warehouse and space management are also the optimal basis for an integrated logistics and staff planning. In a geometrical model of the warehouse layout built with ORion-PI® Logistics Optimization companies can plan their staff demand and deployment for different warehouse areas in detail with Axxom`s software ORion-PI® Staff Planning & Scheduling.

Caption:
Complexity Costs and Economy of Scale do not only have impact on building sand castles, but first of all on design and optimization of supply chain networks. With a new approach of Axxom companies are now able to consider these decisive factors.

Source: Transportweekly

Rhenus Svoris was awarded the prize for being the best freight forwarding company in Lithuania by a national commission of experts at the end of November. Arunas Bertasius, Managing Director of Rhenus Svoris, accepted the prize from Vytautas Levickas, the President of “Lineka”, the Lithuanian Freight Forwarders Association, at a special ceremony.

The award is presented every year at a conference, which is organized by the “Lineka” Lithuanian Freight Forwarders Association (Lietuvos nacionalinė ekspeditorių asociacija), the “Linava” Association of Transportation Companies (Lietuvos nacionalinė vežėjų automobiliais asociacija), Association of logistics and the “Transportas” trade journal. Rhenus Svoris was able to beat off a challenge from three rival companies this year. The jury based its decision on the fact that the company had continued to develop despite the difficult economic conditions in the market place. Another important criterion in reaching their decision was the company’s success in joining the System Alliance Europe cargo network at the beginning of 2009.

“The award means significant recognition by experts in our sector,” Arunas Bertasius said after the prize-giving ceremony. “It reinforces our image as a strong, growing, innovative company, which is therefore attractive to our customers.”

Rhenus Svoris was already awarded a prize for its “logistics services in 2008” by the Lithuanian Logistics Association or LLA (Lietuvos Logistikos Asociacija) at the 10th Baltic Logistics Conference in 2008. At that time, the prize related to a project, which involved Rhenus Svoris in disposing of 2,000 tons of hazardous waste from former storage depots in Lithuania.

Source: Transportweekly

THE Aqaba Container Terminal (ACT) in Jordan has unveiled plans to expand the facility that will involve extending the quay 460 metres and increasing the annual container capacity to two million TEU.

The expansion project is part of the port's 2009-2013 action plan that will require capital expenditure of US$235 million. This will bring total investment in Jordan's sole container terminal located on the Red Sea since 2006 to $335 million, a company statement said.

The project will be completed in stages with the final phase set for 2013, in a bid to enhance the role of Aqaba as a "strategic gateway" to the Levant region and the wider Middle East.

The plan calls for the 500,000-square-metre (124 acre) facility to double its wharf length to 1,000 metres. Two super post-Panamax cranes, each capable of 18-container reach, are scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2010, with additional units to be added as container volumes increase.

Despite the severe decline in container traffic worldwide due to the global financial crisis, ACT saw container traffic grow by 25 per cent during the first three quarters of 2009. Last year, container volume at the port surged by 42 per cent year on year to 600,000 TEU.

"APM Terminals is committed to developing and upgrading several terminals in the region and ACT is one of the major projects we are focusing on to develop as a hub," said APM Terminals India, Mideast and Africa chief Charles Menkhorst.

"Our strategy is to ensure port infrastructure keeps pace with market growth and we are taking the necessary steps today to ensure Jordan's future is served by a world-class port," he said.

During this past year, investments in ACT have included STS cranes, six rubber-tyre gantry cranes (RTGs), 100 additional refrigerated plugs, and the upgrading of the existing port facilities.

ACT is a joint venture between Aqaba Development Corporation (ADC), the Jordanian government's central development vehicle for the Aqaba Special Economic Zone (ASEZ), and APM Terminals, which took over the management and operation of the terminal in 2004 until 2031 as part of a Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative.

Source: www.schednet.com

China Classification Society (CCS) has opened a branch in Panama that will also serve Central America. CCS' president Li Kejun said that the opening of an office in Panama shows the interest of the class society to contribute to the development of the maritime industry in the region and in particular in Panama. Some 13,000 vessels transit the Panama Canal every year.

Source: www.seatrade-online.com

GOVERNMENT of south western city of Chengdu has signed an agreement with Shenzhen's Jade Cargo International to build the city into an international air cargo hub.

On the same day, a Boeing 747 freighter of Jade Cargo carrying 117 tonnes of garments and hi-tech electronics took off from Chengdu airport for Vienna.

Being Chengdu's first European service, the route starts from Hong Kong, connecting Chengdu to Vienna, Amsterdam, Dubai, before returning to Chengdu, offering three flights a week.

CEO of Jade Cargo International Kay Kratky said the company decided to expand business in central and western China two years ago. After detailed investigation, Chengdu stood out from other candidates.

Mr Kratky also announced a three-step plan to develop Chengdu into central and western China's cargo hub over three to five years.

The first step is to bring the city into Jade Cargo's air route network. The carrier plans to add one extra flight every season in the future to the newly launched Chengdu cargo service.

The second step is to integrate the professional experience of Jade's freight handling arms in Tianjin, Shanghai and Shenzhen to set up a cargo handling centre in Chengdu.

The third step is to take Chengdu as Jade's hub in central and western China, to connect it with other major airfreight markets in the world and offer global transport solutions there.

Jade will send a group to Chengdu to discuss plans with the city every season with a view to adding more international cargo services.

The Chengdu Logistics Administration Office said the city is an ideal transit hub in western China for cargo from Asia to Europe, and is working on attracting cargo to Europe from neighbouring regions in Yangtze River valley, Bohai Rim and South East Asia to come to the city first for further distribution.

The government aims to achieve this in three years. Jade Cargo International is a joint venture of Lufthansa, Shenzhen Airlines and German investment company DEG.

Source: SchedNet

CHINA Southern Airlines has announced the start of a new cargo service from Shanghai to Frankfurt and the re-start of the old Shanghai-Chicago cargo flights after an uptick in Sino-European/US volumes, reports Logistics Week.

The Shanghai-Urumqi-Frankfurt route, offering two flights per week, has already made its maiden flight and the Shanghai-Chicago service will shortly be offering four flights a week.

China Southern considered Frankfurt as an important gateway to western Europe with high market value for its convenient road, rail, water and air transportation facilities and network that covers the European continent.

The Shanghai-Chicago route represents nearly 30 per cent of the total cargo volume China Southern flies from Shanghai to the US.

China Southern is operating two Boeing 747 freighters, both deployed on Shanghai lines. The carrier has decided to shift its cargo business focus from Guangzhou to Shanghai and will build more to the Shanghai-based network into its cargo hub.

China Southern recently took delivery of two Boeing 777 freighters with a maximum capacity of 105.9 tonnes and a range of 9,630 kilometres. The two aircraft are the world's largest and longest-range twin-engine freighters with a lower operating cost and environmental impact than the four-engine B747 freighters. One 777 will be deployed on the Shanghai-Chicago run while the other will join the Shanghai-Frankfurt service, replacing the B747 next month.

Proportionally, China Southern's European cargo service in Shanghai is small. A China Southern source divulged that the carrier still has another four B777 freighters to receive next year, which will be deployed on European services while US services will use B747s.

China Southern applied in 2008 to launch the Shanghai-Urumqi-Frankfurt cargo service in October, with frequency of three flights a week, using B777 or B747 freighters.

Source: SchedNet

The Petrolesport (PLP) handled 295 refrigerated containers of Petkum reefer, plying on the route port Guyakil (Ecuador) - Moin (Costa Rica) - Big Port of St. Petersburg, the Petrolesport authority said, adding that was the first call of the reefer at the port of St. Petersburg.

The ship is owned by Russia's largest banana trader "JFC Group» (JFC). Previously the Group JFC transported bananas using conventional container ships with a limited capacity. The company with its reefers has planned to significantly increase turnover of goods, improving control over the transportation conditions. The JFC company’s vessels will regularly call at the PLP.

Petrolesport (PLP) LLC of the Big Port of St. Petersburg is a leading stevedoring company in container handling in the Russian North-West region. The PLP provides transshipment of various goods (refrigerators, ro-ro ships, timber, general cargo). Petrolesport belongs to a group of companies Global Ports.

Global Ports Investments Plc (GPI) is a group of companies comprising the leading operators of container terminals in Russia. Included in the Group "N-Trance", which is the largest private operator on the transportation service market in Russia, CIS and Baltic states.

GPI terminals are located in the Baltic and the Far Eastern basins. GPI manages Russia's three container terminals (Petrolesport, Moby Dick in St. Petersburg and the Eastern Stevedoring Company at the port of East) and two container terminals in Finland (Multi-Link Helsinki, Multi-Link Kotka). The GPI is currently implementing the development project of dry terminal Yanino near St. Petersburg. The share of companies within the group in 2008 accounted for over 30% of the total Russian container ports.

The JFC - an integrated holding company for the production, logistics and distribution of fruits. The JFC company operates round the world. The Group companies produces, purchases, transfers and sells over 600 tonnes of fruit annually. The Group owns the “Bonanza” brand.

Source: Port News

Icebreakers of FESCO, "Far East Shipping Company will start providing ice navigation during the 2009-2010 period, the port authority said. "Magadan" icebreaker time-chartered by Rosmorport is expected at the port of Magadan on December 24, to carry out navigation there till May 10, next year. The icebreaker "Magadan" will be piloting vessels in the Magadan area.
Another two ships are heading to De Castries port. "Krasin" and "Admiral Makarov" icebreakers, chartered by «Exxon-NefteGas Ltd. The first to leave this Wednesday Vladivostok port. "Admiral Makarov" will be navigating in the Tatar Strait till April 2010, the icebreaker "Krasin" will be doing its job in the waters of the Tatar Strait and the shelf of Sakhalin Island till May 2010.
Far Eastern Shipping Company has signed a long-term contract with «Exxon-NefteGas Ltd. for piloting of vessels in the Tatar Strait back in 2004. According to the contract, FESCO icebreakers will be piloting tankers in the area until 2016.
"FESC OJSC” is a shipping company transshipping bulk and general cargo. The company’s 67 vessels of deadweight over 900 thousand tons transporting seaborne freight round the world. Net profit of JSC "FESCO" in the I quarter of 2009 increased by 31.8 times - up to 1.3 billion rubles.

Source: Port News

Evergreen Line, Taiwan, is to extend the time it takes for its China Europe service to complete one round trip by seven days. The service will now take ten weeks to complete.

In addition, a tenth ship will be added to the service, the 6,332TEU ‘Ever Elite’. The vessel will join the nine 7,024TEU ships already in the service.

"The ‘Ever Elite’ became a surplus ship further to the seasonal capacity reduction on the Evergreen's China-California TPS service, with the five 6,300TEU units replaced by 4,200TEU units in October," said a report by Alphaliner.

In a related development, Maersk Line and Safmarine have stretched their Far East-South Africa service (Safari Loop 1) from seven to eight weeks and have added an eighth 5,000TEU ship to the service

The service rotation for the Safari Loop 1 remains unchanged, with port of calls at: Shanghai – Ningbo – Yantian – Tanjung Pelepas – Durban – Port Elizabeth – Cape Town – Port Louis – Tanjung Pelepas – Hong Kong – Shanghai.

Source: baird maritim

A Singapore-based executive has pointed to the need to wipe out bribery relating to the bunkering industry.

“There was no professional oversight in the early days and it was easy then as it is now for the ‘crooks’ to stick their fingers in,” a source speaking to Baird Maritime on condition of anonymity said. He has previously attended a bunkering course commissioned by Singapore’s port regulatory body, the Maritime Port Authority (MPA).

Port of Singapore

The corruption issue was brought to the centre of attention when the MPA revoked Faber Marine’s license after one of its directors was convicted by local courts. This was the first conviction of its kind in 2009 but is foreseen to be only the tip of the iceberg as the MPA revealed that other suppliers were to be investigated.

Local authorities have now launched the SS 600 and the Quality Management for Bunker Supply (QMBS) audit to stamp out corruption.

More than just these official channels, the anonymous source said that expert knowledge and professional instinct was really all that was needed to eliminate corruption.

Singapore will be introducing standards to measure the flow rate of bunker fuel, hence ensuring its fair transfer. Dates for the launch of the Mass Meter have not been confirmed, but it believed that it will be introduced to the local circuit by mid-2010.

“We are still running trials on the device,” an MPA spokesperson said.

“At least Singapore is taking serious steps to beat off these kinds of practices,” said another anonymous source when comparing bunker-related bribery practices in ports in other parts of Asia and the Middle East.

Source: baird maritime

Management Information System of maintenance and repair of vessels at Amur Shipping Company (ASC) LLC was put into operation, IA PortNews reports citing SpecTech office. The system ordered by ASC was created by specialists of "SpetsTek". The system was said to be based on the TRIM EAM/MRO-system.

Amur Shipping Company is the largest river shipping company in Russia's Far East. The company business activity influences the regional economy, largely the northern territories of Khabarovsk Krai and Sakhalin Oblast.

Source: Port News

Zim Integrated Shipping Services held a naming ceremony for the Zim Colombo, a newly built 4,255-TEU vessel, at the state-owned Jaya Container Terminal in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The Zim Colombo will be deployed in Zim’s East Mediterranean Express (EMX) Service, taking the carrier’s total vessel deployment on the weekly service to 11.

The expansion is part of the Israeli carrier’s “super-slow-steaming” strategy that is expected to yield substantial fuel savings.

The EMX rotation is Busan; Shanghai; Ningbo; Shenzhen-Da Chan Bay; Port Kelang, Malaysia; Colombo; Suez Canal; Haifa and Ashdod, Israel; Izmit, Turkey; Novorossiysk, Russia; Constanta, Romania; Ambarli, Turkey; Haifa, Suez Canal, Nhava Sheva, India; Colombo; Port Kelang; Shenzhen-Da Chan Bay; Xiamen; and back to Pusan, offering a 68-day round-trip voyage.

Source: http://www.joc.com

A. P. Moller - Maersk has decided to reflagg its 307.000 DWT supertanker Maersk Newton to French flag. Maersk Newton is the ninth unit in a series of nine supertankers delivered from Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Maersk Newton was delivered in February 2009 to A. P. Moller - Maersk shipping company in Singapore, and it is sailing under the flag of Singapore flag.

Source: www.maritimedanmark.dk

Cargo volumes in Indian ports expanded 13% in November at 48.2 million tonnes as against 42.5 million tonnes in the year-ago period, mainly powered by iron and coal cargo traffic.
Cargo traffic also grew 3.4% in November over the previous month.
“December is likely to witness a marginal growth due to Christmas and New Year, for which orders have already been despatched to foreign countries. But the volume growth has not been substantial,” a top official of the Indian Ports Association (IPA) said.
November witnessed the second-highest monthly cargo traffic since April 2008.
Driven by a 41% growth in coal traffic, Paradip Port, Orissa, witnessed the highest growth year-on-year at 43%, followed by Chennai Port at 27%, where increase in container traffic pushed growth.
Overall, 12 ports registered a cargo traffic growth in November with Visakhapatnam posting a 19% and Mumbai an 18% growth.
Solid cargo constituted 50% of the total cargo at major ports followed by liquid cargo (32%) and containers (18%), according to IPA data.
Three ports on the east coast—Chennai, Tuticorin and Kolkata—clocked a growth in container traffic, while JNPT’s container traffic declined by 4.4% in the year-to-date FY 10 period.
JNPT is in close proximity to Mumbai.
The four ports cumulatively account for 57.8 million tonnes (89%) of the total container traffic in the country, the data said.

Source: http://www.livemint.com

The world’s top 22 ocean container carriers lost some $11 billion in the first nine months of the year and face further losses in 2010 as the industry digs out from the worst downturn in its 50-plus history. Sixteen of the carriers that have published third-quarter results reported cumulative operating losses of $9 billion in the first nine months of 2009, according to a survey by AXS-Alphaliner, the Paris-based shipping analyst and consultant. This compares with a combined operating profit of $5.3 billion in the corresponding period of 2008.
The remaining six carriers — Mediterranean Shipping Co., CMA CGM, Orient Overseas International Ltd., Hamburg Sud, United Arab Shipping and Pacific International Line — are estimated to have incurred another $2 billion in operating losses from their liner units.
The total shipping revenue of the 16 carriers publishing results — including Maersk Line, Hapag-Lloyd, China Shipping, “K” Line and NYK Line — plunged 40 percent in the first nine months, to $56 billion from $94 million a year earlier.
The Transpacific Stabilization Agreement, a discussion agreement of carriers that control 90 percent of U.S. containerized imports from Asia, last week predicted losses in that trade would hit $20 billion this year, and recommended an “emergency revenue program” involving a rate hike of $400 per 40-foot container on Jan. 15. The Westbound Transpacific Stabilization Agreement, representing carriers in the U.S.-to-Asia trade, on Monday followed with its own recommendation for similar hikes.
Most ocean carriers surveyed by Alphaliner expect cargo volume and rates to recover in 2010, but most also expect to lose money next year.


Source: www.joc.com

Shipping and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk has agreed to buy Devon Energy Corp's stakes in the Cascade, Jack and St. Malo oilfields in the Gulf of Mexico for $1.3 billion, the firms said on Tuesday.
Maersk will pay $1.3 billion for the deepwater assets, the Danish and the U.S. firms said in separate statements.
Maersk will invest a further $1.3-1.8 billion in the fields ahead of on-stream production. Over time, the investments will probably reach $4 billion, Maersk said. Maersk, which has said it wants to expand its oil operations, said its share of recoverable resources from the fields was probably more than 200 million barrels of oil equivalent.
Christian Nagstrup, analyst at Sydbank said it was a very big investment for Maersk: "200 million barrels of oil equivalents is to be added to the around 135 million that was their share in 2008."
Nagstrup said the move may solve the firm's problems with falling production. "It has long been clear that they would do one thing or another once done with investments in Qatar, and this is a really big step."
The deal involves a 50 percent stake in the Cascade field and a 25 percent stake in each of the Jack and St. Malo fields.
The Petrobras-operated Cascade field is expected to start production in 2010 and the Chevron-operated Jack and St. Malo fields are expected to start production in 2014, Maersk said.
"We have said that we wanted to invest in Maersk Oil and Gas," said Maersk's Chief Executive Officer Nils Smedegaard Andersen told Reuters.
Smedegaard said he hoped for further finds in the area, where Maersk is already active. "Hopefully (we can) also produce other things that we find out there in the same area."
Maersk is currently evaluating finds at its Buckskin deepwater field in the Gulf. "I believe Cascade will be the first field in production in the area," said Smedegaard.
Devon in November announced plans to sell its Gulf of Mexico and international assets for as much as $7.5 billion and instead focus on its onshore fields in the United States and Canada."Data rooms for all of the remaining divestiture assets will be open in the first quarter of 2010," Devon said on Tuesday.
Devon said it would use the post-tax $1.1 billion proceeds from the sale to reduce debt. It said the sale would reduce Devon's previously announced 2010 capital budget for the Gulf of Mexico by around $400 million.
The firms said the deal was subject to a waiver of preferential purchase rights held by other partners in the fields, and regulatory approvals.
"We cannot rule out that those who are already engaged in these fields want to buy more shares," Smedegaard said.
The firms expect to close the deal early in 2010.

Source: http://uk.reuters.com

MEMBER shipping lines of the Westbound Transpacific Stabilisation Agreement (WTSA) have announced a February 15 rate increase for US-Asia of US$100 per FEU and $80 per TEU for dry cargo from Los Angeles and Long Beach, and $150 per FEU and $120 per TEU for dry cargo from other west coast ports, all-water shipments via the US east and Gulf coasts and inland point intermodal moves.

"Cargo demand continues to rise in the US-Asia freight market heading into 2010, but transpacific freight rates remain severely depressed in both directions and container lines find themselves under mounting pressure to improve revenues in order to meet customers' service requirements going forward," said the Oakland based quasi conference.

WTSA lines indicated that the February adjustments are part of a larger 2010 revenue programme, which is to include quarterly increases throughout the year as market conditions dictate.

"Carriers face a very difficult business environment in 2010," said WTSA executive administrator Brian Conrad. "Westbound cargo is going to have to make a greater proportionate contribution to overall sailing costs, if lines are to keep pace with cargo handling, equipment management, documentation and other operational requirements."

WTSA members include APL, Hyundai Merchant Marine, Cosco, "K" Line, Evergreen, NYK, Hanjin, OOCL, Hapag Lloyd and Yangming.

Source: http://uk.reuters.com

Source: http://money.ca.msn.com

Chinese Vice Minister of Railways Hu Yadong led a high-caliber expert delegation from the ministry’s Department of Safety that visited Knorr-Bremse in Munich at the weekend. The visit to the headquarters of the world’s leading manufacturer of braking systems for rail vehicles and commercial vehicles was the conclusion of a
trip to Europe spanning several days. One key focus of the visit was on innovations such as the eddy-current brake for high-speed trains; as they operate with zero wear, these brakes offer substantial customer benefits. At the same time, the Vice Minister was also given a demonstration of the uniform global quality standards
applied by Knorr-Bremse.

The guests from China were shown a test-bench simulation of the emergency braking of a planned Chinese high-speed train on a downhill gradient and from a speed of 380 km/h. This is the cruising speed envisaged for these Chinese trains, which will make them the fastest in the world. In just a few years' time, China will
have the world's largest fleet of high-speed trains, which goes to underline the prime importance of safety and quality. A few weeks ago, Knorr-Bremse obtained the largest order in its corporate history from China: Together with its Chinese partners, the company is to equip a total of 2,720 cars for the Chinese CRH3 high-speed train
with braking and door systems. The value of the supply agreements for this project runs to approximately €500 million.

Following the visit, the Member of the Executive Board of Knorr-Bremse AG responsible for Rail Vehicle Systems Dr. Dieter Wilhelm said: “This intensive encounter has lent even greater depth to the good relations between the Chinese Ministry of Railways and Knorr-Bremse Rail Vehicle Systems.” Vice Minister Hu has long been familiar with Knorr-Bremse, having first met Dr. Wilhelm just a few months after he took up his position at the ministry in 2003.

Knorr-Bremse has maintained contacts with China since the late 1970s. The company's first major project in China came in 1990 and concerned the supply of complete braking systems for 96 cars for the Shanghai metro. Since then, the current Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Heinz Hermann Thiele, has been a key driving force behind the development of the company's business in China. Under his aegis, in the years that followed, Knorr-Bremse gradually expanded its product portfolio beyond its core business with braking systems to include automatic door systems and air conditioning equipment. Thanks to a strong local presence with five
joint ventures and its own production facility in Suzhou, the company is able to meet the high local-content requirements, as well as supplying Knorr-Bremse quality made in China. Today, Knorr-Bremse Rail Vehicle Systems has a workforce of roughly 1,400 employees in China and in recent years has obtained orders relating to numerous high-speed train, locomotive and metro projects.

Source: Transportweekly

Indian Railways will increase the haulage charge on container trains three to eight per cent from January 1, reports The Hindu newspaper's Business Line section.

The haulage charge is the amount paid by container train operators to the Indian Railways for using the railway network and its infrastructure.

It is a key operating expenditure component for the container train operators. For the Container Corporation (Concor), haulage charge (also called rail freight expenses) accounted for 58 per cent of the total sales in the quarter ending September 30, said the report.

When contacted, various container train operators said they are evaluating the situation and may pass on partial or entire costs to customers.

The Association of Container Train Operators (ACTO) has argued against the increase at the Railway Ministry. "We have already requested Indian Railways to reduce the haulage charges. This move will reduce the rail share of containers in the country," ACTO president RC Dubey told Business Line.

An official from a container train operating firm claimed that ever since the Railway Ministry allowed multiple container train operators in 2006, it has increased haulage charges 70 per cent.

During the same period, the rail freight charges for other commodities have gone up by 20-25 per cent at the most. Before 2006, only Concor was allowed to operate container trains.

Sixteen companies, including Concor, have a licence from Indian Railways to operatecontainer trains. In tonnage terms, the export-import container rail transportation segment has witnessed a 1.7 per cent decline in November against the corresponding period last year. The domestic container rail transportation segment has witnessed a 48 per cent growth during the period.

Source: Transportweekly

AFTER more than two and a half years of year-on-year declines, import cargo volume at major American retail container ports is expected to see three straight months of gains in early 2010, according to the monthly Port Tracker report issued by the National Retail Federation and IHS Global Insight.

"We've been seeing hints of a turnaround in our past few reports but this is starting to look like a clear trend," said federation vice president Jonathan Gold. "If retailers are starting to import more merchandise, it's because they expect to be able to sell more, and that's a good sign for the overall economy."

US ports surveyed handled 1.18 million TEU in October, the most recent month for which actual numbers are available. That was up four per cent from September as retailers hit their busiest shipping month of the year as the holiday season approached, but nonetheless down 14 per cent from October 2008 and marked the 28th month in a row to see a year-on-year decline. November was estimated at 1.09 million TEU, down 12 per cent from last year, and December is forecast at 1.05 million TEU, down one per cent from last year. January 2010 is forecast at 1.02 million TEU, down four per cent from January 2009.

The January figure would mark the 31st month of year-over-year declines, but the trend is forecast to be broken in February, when cargo is expected to total 972,391 TEU, below the one million mark because February is the slowest month of the year. But this would be a 16 per cent increase over February 2009. March 2010 is forecast at 1.02 million TEU, a six per cent increase over March 2009, and April 2010 is forecast at 1.08 million TEU, a nine per cent increase over April 2010. Port Tracker forecasts only six months in advance, so later numbers aren't yet known.

The report now expects 2009 to end with a total volume of 12.6 million TEU, a drop of 17 per cent from last year's 15.2 million TEU and the lowest since the 12.47 million TEU imported in 2003.

"The second half of 2009 has seen an improvement with 'less bad' year-over-year numbers compared with the first half," said IHS Global Insight Economist Paul Bingham. "While improving, import container traffic is projected to be weak through March due to the traditional slow season combined with the weak pace of economic recovery."

All US ports covered by Port Tracker - Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma on the West Coast; New York/New Jersey, Hampton Roads, Charleston and Savannah on the east coast, and Houston on the Gulf Coast - are rated "low" for congestion, the same as last month.

Port Tracker, which is produced by the economic research, forecasting and analysis firm IHS Global Insight for NRF, looks at inbound container volume, the availability of trucks and railroad cars to move cargo out of the ports, labour conditions and other factors that affect cargo movement and congestion.

The National Retail Federation is the world's largest retail trade association, with membership that comprises all retail formats and channels of distribution including department, specialty, discount, catalogue, Internet, independent stores, chain restaurants, drug stores and grocery stores as well as the industry's key trading partners of retail goods and services.

Source: www.schednet.com

Shanghai International Port (Group) Co Ltd has set up a joint venture with Italian MSC Cruises, the largest cruise operator in the Mediterranean, cruise operator in the world.

The JV, named the MSC Cruises Travel Agency (Shanghai) Company, is the first joint venture for cruises approved by the Chinese National Tourism Administration. It will be mainly engaged in the marketing of domestic and outbound travel, cruise ticketing and other tourist products.

Currently, there are 23 cruise routes that base Shanghai as a home port, and the figure is expected to double next year, according to Li Haihu, chairman of Shanghai International Port.

The JV is part of a partnership agreement the two sides signed in April which aims to jointly tap the burgeoning cruise market.

Source: http://www.chinaknowledge.com

OJSC "Far East Shipping Company (FESCO, is the major company of Transport Group FESCO) has entered on December 24th into an agreement with “MICEX Stock Exchange" for inclusion in the listing of ordinary non-documentary registered shares. As the report said the shipping company, the company authorities said.
Far East Shipping Company JSC is a shipping company transporting bulk and general cargoes. Seaborne freight by FESCO fleet, which consists of 67 vessels with a total deadweight of more than 900 thousand tons, covering virtually the entire world ocean. Net profit of JSC "FESCO" under RAS in the first quarter of 2009 increased by 31.8 times - up to 1.3 billion rubles.

Source: Port News

SWISS WorldCargo, the air freight division of Swiss International Air Lines Ltd, will double capacity to six-flight a week from Zurich to San Francisco from June 2 deploying A340-300 aircraft.

"These new services complement our strong North American network and demonstrate our commitment to providing customers with access to strategic global markets with all our range of special products," said Swiss WorldCargo Americas chief Jack Lampinski.

Source: SchedNet

The International Committee on Seafarers Welfare (ICSW) on December 21 that 2010 would see a renewed focus on seafarers welfare and quality employment standards.

ICSW will be undertaking a series of major new projects based on the impetus provided by the IMO-designated “Year of the Seafarer” and the anticipated increase in ratifications of the ILO Maritime Labour Convention.

David Dearsley, recently retired from the International Maritime Employers Committee (IMEC), has agreed to chair the ICSW project team, which will complete its work over the next twelve months.

The ICSW comprises employers, represented through the ISF, seafarers, represented by ITF and government and international voluntary port welfare service providers.

A small project team will be formed to steer through the ICSW initiative.

“We have identified a range of exciting new projects to be developed during 2010 which focus on building on the strengths of the employment practices of the upper quartile of our industry and on promoting this best practice to others,” said Mr Dearsley.

The ICSW project will focus on four key areas:

Measures to explain and promote what needs to be done to comply with the ILO Maritime Labour Convention around seafarers’ welfare and wellbeing
Promotion of knowledge and best practice of seafarers’ welfare through the launch of a new online toolkit
Inauguration of an annual awards scheme to recognise those who achieve most in the promotion of seafarers health, welfare and wellbeing
Building and promoting these initiatives within the impetus created by the designation of 2010 as the IMO “Year of the Seafarer”

Source: Baird Maritime

The National Concessions Board of Costa Rica is to permit technical studies to be carried out for a $700m transhipment terminal close to the existing Port of Moín on its Atlantic coast. Results are expected within a year and a tender will be issued in mid-2011 should these suggest such an installation would be feasible.

Source: Port Strategy

Today St. Petersburg passenger port "Marine Facade" opens its winter navigation. The first passenger ferry is setting off Wednesday evening for the New Year vocational cruise. The route of the ship will be passing through Helsinki, Stockholm and Tallinn, "TV 100" reports. The ferry is due in St. Petersburg port after 5 days. Next ferry cruise is expected on December 31.

Source: Port News

The Ministry of Transport of Azerbaijan has received the first part of technical documentation for the construction of the Baku international sea trade port on Alat settlement in south off the country’s capital, AZ Daily News reported.

Deputy transport minister Musa Panakhov says that the submitted package of documentation relating to building ground and dredging of new port canal is under active consideration.

“If no grave issues appear on documentation, then already in 2010 it will be announced a tender for construction within the first stage of new port project,” Panakhov said.

First phase of the construction is three years. Financing is envisaged from state sources within the framework of the State Investment Program.

Earlier transport minister Ziya Mammadov said that Holland’s Royal Haskoning was completing development of the Master Plan and the working project of the building of the new Baku sea port in Alat settlement.

“The Plan and project of the first stage will be prepared till the end of year, while the plan and the project of the second stage of construction of the port - till the end of March 2010. Tender procedures to choose a contractor of construction works will be finished till the end of 2009,” Mammadov said then.

Construction of the new port to be implemented by three stages will be finished by 2016.

Stage I (2008-10) envisages construction of two ferry and three cargo bridges for acceptance of containers, Ro-Ro and usual dry-cargo vessels; Stage II (2011-13): construction of three more cargo bridges; Stage III (2014-15): construction of two more cargo bridges. The project is evaluated at more than $400 million.

Source: http://www.cargonewsasia.com

This week's renewal of pirate attacks on shipping in the Gulf of Aden/Somalia, coupled with a local AlQaeda threat of a possible terror strike on shipping , has led UK-based security consultant NavalSecurity.Org to raise its Security Level for the area to 'High (4)'.

A freighter, a bulk carrier and a chemical tanker were all seized this week, despite a large foreign warship presence in the Gulf of Aden. Latest catch on Tuesday was the MT “St James Park”, a UK-flagged chemical tanker with a international crew of 26 on board. The vessel was hijacked en route from Spain to Thailand.

On Monday, Somali pirates captured a Greek-flagged 52,000 dwt bulk carrier “Navios Apollon” transporting fertiliser. The ship was taken en route from Tampa, Florida to Rozy, India, with a crew consisting of a Greek captain and 18 Filipinos. The ship was boarded by 10 men on speedboats in the Indian Ocean northeast of the Seychelles archipelago, according to Greek coastguard.

Earlier, pirates seized a Yemeni freighter and 15 crew members. MV “Al-Mahmoudia 2” had left the port of Aden on December 18, the Yemeni authorities said on Monday, without revealing the nature of its cargo or destination.

The Yemeni freighter and the UK-flagged chemical tanker were both intercepted by pirates in the Gulf of Aden. The two attacks in the Gulf of Aden were the first since August and came as international naval missions were trumpeting the results of a year-long effort to secure the area.

On Sunday, pirates said they collected $3.5 million for the release of the Chinese bulk carrier MV “Dexinhai”. The Singapore-flagged MV “Kota Wajar” was also released this week, nearly three months after it was hijacked, following reported payment of a similar ransom.

Meanwhile, the Arabian Peninsula section of AlQaeda issued a communique by internet on December 27 announcing "retaliatory strikes" - as a response to an alleged but unconfirmed US bombing of an AlQaeda stronghold in Yemen last week killing 50 insurgents. It was threatened that strikes would be aimed against western embassies, US military bases in the Gulf region and especially against merchant ships / cruise vessels in the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf.

Source: Sea Trade

Hanjin Shipping on Dec. 23 added a “carbon calculator” to its Web site to let customers know the amount of emissions generated by their cargo for any given transportation segment.
The Clean Cargo Working Group helped the company to develop the supply chain carbon calculator. Its accuracy was verified by Korean Register, a not-for-profit ship classification society.
Customers can calculate the amount of CO2 emission of their cargo by inputting the origin, destination and weight of their shipment. The tool quickly selects one or more possible lanes, calculates the emission on the vessel and adds a further calculation for inland transportation for a total.
For example, a 10 ton cargo from Los Angeles to Hong Kong will travel 11,971 kilometers on the YPS route and generate 987 kilograms of CO2. An alternate route from Long Beach is also listed via the SJX route.
If the cargo must go from Long Beach to Guangzhou, China, the calculator adds the 215 km. direct trip by truck and 178 kg. of carbon emissions.
Hanjin also developed a “Green House Gas Monitoring System,” which calculates and manages the amount of the company’s green house gas emission. With the two tools, Hanjin Shipping said it will contribute to the global efforts to cope with climate changes and save costs by improving energy efficiency and reducing CO2 emission.

Source: http://www.joc.com

EUROPE's third largest logistics service provider, France's FM Logistics, has opened its largest logistics facility in China in Jiangsu province's port city of Taicang, Logistics Week reported.

The facility covers a floor area of 100,000 square metres and mainly provides distribution services for food, health care products and supermarkets.

Source: SchedNet

Global Project Logistics Network member Younger Niche Logistics (YNL) has the distinction of being responsible for the movement of the single largest piece of equipment ever moved by road transport in ZhangJiaGang, Jiangsu Province, China. The piece, 14m x 7.4m x 7.9m/ 86,000kgs, was moved by road from the suppliers premises to PuXiang port, ZhangJiaGang. The move, covering 30 kms, took 22 hours to complete and involved the services of local ZhangJiaGang government, the police and officials from the department of electrical power.

In order to reduce height the unit was transported minus cradles. Only once alongside vessel was the unit postioned and secured in cradles.

PuXiang port, a privately owned facility, was chosen as the load port as access from suppliers whilst still difficult was the closest with less overhead obstructions than other roadways to the public port.

YNL were instrumental in obtaining berthing rights for the ocean carrier, a foreign flag vessel, at PuXiang port.

The Global Projects Logistics Network (GPLN) is the premier non-exclusive professional project logistics network of independent companies (including project forwarders and project charterers) who are specializing in the movement and handling of international project cargo by air, sea and land as well as specialized lifts and the special handling of oversized, out-of-gauge and heavy lift cargo.

Source: Transportweekly

INDIA has floated the idea of a container freight train that would operate within the member states of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

According to a concept paper released by India and proposed to SAARC members such a container train service would run from Bangladesh to Pakistan via India and Nepal to encourage intra-regional trade.

The proposed corridor for running the train is from Chittagong Port in Bangladesh to Katihar in India, Birgunj in Nepal and to Lahore in Pakistan, reports India's Economic Times.

"The proposal being considered could unify the entire region and will lead to a seamless, borderless trade," Ram Upendra Das, senior fellow, Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), was quoted as saying in the report.

He said concept would reduce transport costs and time. "All this will get reflected in product competitiveness. Increase volumes and reduce prices for consumers," Mr Das said.

This comes after SAARC member nations - Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, India, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka - recently decided to work on reducing the negative list of items that are not covered under the South Asia Free Trade Area (SAFTA) agreement, which concerns the elimination of tariffs on goods traded within the SAARC region that was signed in January 2004.

During the first half of 2009 intra-SAARC trade amounted to US$377 billion.

Source: SchedNet

AMERICAN railway giant CSX Transportation plans to accelerate work to clear tracks for double-stacked container trains to run between east coast ports and the Midwest, reports The State Journal, of Charleston, West Virginia.

The upgrade will enable double stacked container trains to travel from North Carolina through Virginia and Maryland, across West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle and then into Pennsylvania and Ohio.

"Our goal is to have most of the work done by the end of 2012. We're really looking at 2015 when the expansion of the Panama Canal is to be done," said CSX spokesman Bob Sullivan.

CSX has undertaken what it calls the National Gateway project - an US$842 million public-private upgrade of rail infrastructure to accommodate double-stack container cars.

The plan calls for the double stacking of containers, increasing a train's capacity from 280 to 400 FEU. But the rail line's tunnels and bridges aren't big enough; so 60 tunnels and bridges must be enlarged or eliminated.

"One train can carry the load of more than 280 trucks, clearing space for over 1,100 cars," Mr Sullivan said. "The National Gateway will shift more than 300 million freight truck miles from West Virginia's highways to rail. Any effort to shift freight from highways to railways greatly improves safety, the environment and traffic."

CSX has pledged to contribute nearly half the project's total cost, with the federal government and a half-dozen affected states sharing the balance. Ohio has applied on behalf of the states for $258 million in Transportation Investment Generating Economy Recovery (TIGER) discretionary funds, created as part of the federal stimulus package.

Source: SchedNet

FREIGHT cargo moved by container rail operators based in India is expected to rise 16-fold over the next three years, according to a report compiled by Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC) and SSKI Securities.

Container rail movement accounts for two per cent of the total freight market of three billion tonnes, reports India's Business Standard.

The prediction comes on the back of plans by Container Corporation of India Ltd (Concor) and private operators to raise capacity by 60 per cent by 2011-12, which is expected to increase the volume of container cargo transported by rail from six million to 97 million tonnes.

With this rise, the document predicts that nearly six per cent of cargo transported by road will shift to being transported by rail.

To handle the expected growth, container rail operators plan to add 185 rakes (variable number of railcars linked into designated units) in the next three years, the report said. It noted that market leader Concor, which handled 2.3 million TEU of container cargo in the last financial year, already has a fleet of 218 rakes.

The report added that India's container traffic has increased at a compounded annual growth rate of 15 per cent since 1991, due to rising external trade.

Source: SchedNet

CHINA Postal Airlines has launched a Changsha, Wuhan, Nanjing cargo service, reducing transit times in central Hunan province by one day, reports Xinhua.

The service, deploying Boeing 737 freighters, operates in the airlines' traditional mode of night flights with a frequency of six a week. Flight 8Y9001 or 8Y9002 departs from Changsha at 0140 hrs, stopping at Wuhan at 0245 hrs, leaving at 0335 hrs and arriving in Nanjing at 0435 hrs. The flight returns at 0645 hrs, arriving in Wuhan at 0745 hrs, leaving at 0840 hrs and back to Changsha at 0930 hrs.

The new freight route also marks itself as Hunan province's first departing all-cargo service which provides next-day delivery for mail and other cargo in the surrounding region.

Source: SchedNet

Container throughput at Shanghai port this year may drop 14% from 2008, Wang Hongquan, vice director of Shanghai Transport and Port Authority, said yesterday, reports China Daily. The city's container throughput in 2009 will be about 24m teu, according to a preliminary estimate by the port authority, lower than last year's 28m teu. Shanghai was the world's second-busiest container port in 2008, behind Singapore with 29.9m teu.

Container throughput in the first 11 months this year was 22.6m teu, down 12.28% from the same period last year, according to the statistics by Shanghai International Port Group. The port handled a total of 296m tons of dry bulk goods in the first 11 months, down 14% from a year ago.

Wang also said that Waigaoqiao Port will complete the conversion of its 180 cranes from diesel to electric power by the end of the year to reduce emissions.

Source: Port News

China Shipping Container Lines Co has said it will raise rates Asia-US rates on the containers by $300 per feu on Jan. 1. This is in addition to the $400 per feu hike that it and other Members of the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement agreed on December 22 to introduce as a voluntary ‘emergency revenue charge’ from January 15 until new contracts for the year come into effect in May. Container lines aim to increase fees in 2010 after a global recession led to at least $20 billion in estimated losses in 2009, according to the TSA, China Shipping Container also raised Asia-Europe rates by $150 per feu on Dec. 15.

Source: Port News

US HOMELAND Security Secretary Janet Napolitano admitted defeat in the face of 100 per cent cargo screening of shipping cargo following trials on import freight at five US ports, but blamed it all on lack of technological advances and logistical problems of intermodal containers.

The crippling cost of the programme initiated following 9/11 runs to around US$168 billion for the 10 million plus TEU coming in annually from the 21,000 shipping routes into the US, according to Ms Napolitano.

The complexity and sheer overwhelming scale of stopping every consignment which ultimately impacts overseas governments export traffic is to add an additional cost of $8 million average per entry route, specifically cited by Homelands at an amount per container of $16,800 annually.

In a report from the UK's Handy Shipping Guide, the missing of July 2012 deadline of every freight inspected is, and will continue to be an untenable goal, and only ever seen by the shipping community as a "politician's term".

Source: SchedNet

THE US Federal Aviation Administration is scrutinising the operations of American Airlines after three landing slip-ups last month, reports the Associated Press.

An American spokesman told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that it is cooperating with the FAA and conducting its own investigation.

Jetliners' wingtips touched the ground during landings during two landings on December 13 in Charlotte, North Carolina, and again on December 24 in Austin. And in Jamaica, a plane overshot the runway in a rainstorm on December 22, said the report.

FAA officials said in a statement that they'll also conduct a review of the events to see if there might be a larger issue. The statement says that if needed, the FAA will work with Fort Worth-based American on corrective action.

Source: SchedNet

After the Indian Ports Association (IPA) agreed to the wage-related demands of the Port and Dock Workers Federation, the proposed strike was called off.

The unions wanted the management of the 12 ports to grant 23 per cent fitment amount to port and dock workers with effect from January 1, 2007, whereas IPA, which represented the major ports of the country, was offering fitment with effect from January 1, 2009. As part of the agreement reached between both the parties, IPA agreed to pay House Rent Allowance (HRA) from January 1, 2007. It was agreed that all other allowances would be paid with effect from January 1, 2008.

"This is the best-ever settlement as the port and dock workers for the first time will have the best of both worlds as they will get the combined benefits of public sector undertakings and central pay scales. In fact, they would be drawing more salaries that their counterparts in the central government. Even their arrears for three years, would range between Rs.60,000 and Rs.2.5 lakhs,'' said Mohan Aswani, additional general secretary of Indian national port and dock workers federation (INTUC) and president Kandla Port karamchari sangh to a Mumbai newspaper. He added this could become possible at the last minute intervention of both the shipping ministry and shipping secretary.

(Source: Maritime Gateway)

The containership operated by Hong Kong's Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) flies the Hong Kong flag, reported The Gazette.

It noted that the trophy - created in 1840 to stimulate transatlantic traffic - wasn't always a cane. Indeed, until 1880, a beaver top hat was given to the winning captain. It then became a cane capped with a 14-karat gold head.

Much of the honour is deprived of real meaning as the prize was once won in the spring ice break-up and presented to the ship that ran some risk in making it into harbour first to open the summer navigation season. But with winter-long ice breaking service, it now often means the first ship in after midnight December 31.

(Source: www.schednet.com)