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New Australian ro/ro player sees gap in market

by Dale Crisp 12:30PM, 23 Apr 2009

Train collision disrupts coal haulage to Gladstone

by Sineva Toevai 12:29PM, 23 Apr 2009

Gunns ship exclusion zone at Bell Bay

by Rob McKay 12:29PM, 23 Apr 2009

BHP selling more than a quarter of iron ore on spot market

by Lloyd's List in London 12:29PM, 23 Apr 2009

Australia's wheat harvest to dip next year

by Sineva Toevai 12:29PM, 23 Apr 2009

Don't pay ransoms: Somali PM tells shipping industry

by Lloyd's List in London 12:29PM, 23 Apr 2009

Boxship scrapping set to double predictions as trade slump bites

by Lloyd's List in London 12:29PM, 23 Apr 2009

Newcastle exporter goes cold

COAL & Allied's total coal production at its New South Wales Hunter Valley operations fell 4.3% in the first quarter.

OOCL takes a hammering on Australasian trades

THE GLOBAL slump in liner trades has taken its toll on Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) after the Hong Kong-based carrier saw revenue crash 31.2% to US$954.2m in the first quarter of this year, down from almost US$1.4bn.

Probe after fire on floating oil rig

PRODUCTION from Woodside Petroleum's Vincent field off northern Western Australia remained at a standstill this week after last week's fire, a Woodside spokeswoman has confirmed.

Queensland launches transport body

FRESH from the creation of the Queensland Multimodal Freight Council (QMFC), the state has now launched the new Queensland Transport and Logistics Council (QTLC).

Rain dampens Rio ore plan

HEAVY rains dented Rio Tinto's iron ore production figures in the first quarter.

Spill after NT fishing boat, bulker collide

NORTHERN Territory Police have anchored a fishing boat at Alyangula after she collided with a bulk carrier off Groote Eylandt on April 16.

Spill ship sails for repair, wash up in wake

AS THE Pacific Adventurer sailed to China for repairs last week Swire would have hoped that Australian legal proceedings would stop at charging the master with a pollution offence for the Cyclone Hamish spill.

Swire to bulk up with NZ acquisition, new services

CHINA Navigation, the privately-held shipping division of London's John Swire & Sons, has acquired the remaining stake in Tasman Orient Line from Swiss-based owner Christian Ahrenkiel.

Asciano shares optimism

SMALLER retail investors drove this week's surge in Asciano's share price, according to high-profile share analyst Andrew Chambers.

Big LNG fleet to retard rates

RATES to charter liquefied natural gas carriers are expected to remain low over the next year as the global fleet expands beyond demand levels.

Hobart's working port role is `paramount'

REPORTS of Hobart's demise as a working port were exaggerated, a Meyrick and Associates study has found.

Mariana Express adds Darwin to itinerary

MARIANA Express Shipping may expand its Townsville express service to include Darwin as an extra port of call, director Jenny Chen said.

Maritime NZ wins first mate appeal

MARITIME New Zealand has won its appeal in a case that argued whether a deck officer could be deemed to be in command of a vessel while the master was asleep.

Tankers facing worse slump than thought

THE tanker market is set to face a “much more prolonged downturn” than previously thought, according to New York investment bank Dahlman Rose.

Vale buys coal group

BRAZILIAN mining giant Vale has paid US$305.8m to acquire the former coal export business of Colombian group, Cementos Argos.

Bulk carrier period rates to fall slightly

RATES to charter a capesize bulk carrier for a period of 12 months are forecast to drop as much as 20% during the second quarter of 2009, according to Maersk Broker.

China Merchants falls short of target

TANKER and bulker operator China Merchants Energy Shipping saw net profit rise 45.5% to Yuan1.28bn (US$188.2m) last year.

Iron ore sales to fall 5%

SEABORNE exports of iron ore will decline 5% this year on the 890m tonnes recorded in 2008.

Ship finance all at sea

NEVER before has such a deep downturn in the shipping industry coincided with a crisis of today's magnitude in the primary banking market.

US can build Indian Ocean seabridges

PIRACY is the maritime ripple effect of land-based anarchy, and for as long as Somalia is in chaos, pirates and warlords will infest Africa's eastern coast.

Climate for a change

As the debate for reduced ship emissions hots up, Julian Macqueen looks at some of the options facing the maritime industry

More moves to cleaner shipping

Some shipping firms and ports are leading the way with green initiatives as stricter regulatory laws are coming into force, writes Keith Wallis

Panama gets turntable boost

THE Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has updated its track and turntable system located in the Gatun Locks. The system continuously transports locomotives through the locks to assist transiting vessels. Previously, vessels stopped midway through the locks to exchange locomotives, increasing Canal Waters Time or the average time it takes a vessel to navigate the canal. The new system enables two additional panamax vessels to transit the waterway every day.

Questions compromise new index

DERIVATIVES brokers have questioned the timing and purpose of a soon-to-be launched index developed by the Baltic Exchange for paper trading.

Rotterdam reels in cargo slump

THE PORT of Rotterdam has forecast a decline in throughput of 6%-10% for 2009, after posting a 10% drop in cargo volumes for the first three months of the year.

Satellites to track ship signals by 2013

Orbcomm moves to ease security concerns over tracking system, reports Craig Eason

Tankers pile up in Singapore

EIGHTY product tankers were lying idle in Singapore, brokers said, as charter rates were at near-record lows and remain below operating costs, with little signs of improvement.

Breakers win court reprieve

DEMOLITION rates remained soft against a plentiful supply of tonnage and short capacity in key centres such as Bangladesh, where a question mark still hangs over the future of the industry.

Brussels drops emissions threat

THE European Commission has climbed down from its threat to impose regional greenhouse gas legislation on the maritime industry. There will be no proposal from Brussels this year, commission sources have confirmed.

Danes go for guns in the gulf

ARMED guards are to be deployed on vessels owned by Denmark's Shipcraft when they transit the Gulf of Aden.

Experts say carriers must cull to survive

FAILURE to take the bold steps required to eliminate unwanted containerships will drive some lines out of business.

Insurer eyes Asia as it sets up office in Singapore

SPECIALIST vessel protection mutual the Shipowners' P&I club is opening a branch in Singapore as it looks to build on its presence in the Asian market.

Japan in the air

JAPAN has responded to calls from commercial shipping for more maritime patrol aircraft to beef up the fight against piracy off Somalia.

Maersk to review piracy plans

DANISH shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk is reviewing both routes and vessels deployed off the coast of Somalia following the attack on one of its containerships earlier this month.

Manila attempts to ban seafarers in pirate zone

THE Philippines government has moved to ban its seafarers from vessels that transit the pirate-infested waters off Somalia, although they are still allowed through the Gulf of Aden.

Motherships become focus of hijack battle

OUT in the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean and riding low in the water, a pirate skiff can be hard to spot.

Boxship rescues tug crew

THE 10 crew of a Singapore-registered tug set adrift in a life raft by pirates after their vessel was hijacked have been rescued by a passing containership.

Ice knowledge blamed

A LIBERIAN report into the sinking of the cruiseship Explorer in the Antarctic in 2007 has concluded that the primary cause of the accident was a misunderstanding by the master over the nature of the ice in the area.

Shipping sees US piracy plan `lacking detail'

A WASHINGTON war of words against piracy has stung shipping and insurance leaders, who want more aircraft and a coastguard for Somali waters.

Plummeting container trade drags port figures down as recession bites

THE WIND beneath Australian ports' container throughput wings has blown out, with recent figures reflecting an increasingly steep descent.

LET'S NOT GO THERE

IT IS very clear that the shipping industry is in for a particularly grim recession, with ships in surplus and everything about ship operations being tightened up.