Weekly Edition 3rd December 2009

Piracy attacks pushing up cost of ransom insurance

SHIPOWNERS face some tough bargaining with insurers as the cost of buying ransom cover soars and some underwriters start to exclude this risk from standard policies.

Report slams enclosed space safety shortcomings

COMPLACENCY about safety led to the hospitalisation of a chief officer and rating who inhaled cargo vapours on the main deck of a chemtanker alongside at Teesside earlier this year, according to a report from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB).

Full City officers may be able to return to China

A NORWEGIAN court has ordered the return of the passports of two Chinese officers held in connection with the Full City grounding on payment of bail of US$178,000.

Casualty Briefs - 3rd December 2009

 

Tassie triumph

TASMANIAN Ports Corporation (Tasports) won the Port or Terminal of the Year Award at the 14th annual Lloyd’s List DCN Australian Shipping and Transport Awards in Sydney last Thursday.

Further delays on the third player for Botany Bay berth

THE BODY which represents the New South Wales trucking industry has expressed concern over the impact on drivers of yet another delay in introducing the third stevedore for the $1bn container terminal at Port Botany.

Renewed offshore strike causes more consternation

CONTINUATION of the Maritime Union of Australia’s (MUA) formerly-shelved industrial action in pursuit of a new offshore support sector enterprise bargaining agreement was greeted with predictable outrage by employers last week.

IMO best placed to reduce ship emissions, says ASA

THE AUSTRALIAN Shipowners Association (ASA) has backed an international push to put shipping’s emissions reduction effort under the control of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

World watches Dubai debt dilemma for ports goliath

AFTER a flurry of speculation last week on DP World’s future, sparked by parent Dubai World’s call for a debt payment delay, port analysts have poured cold water on expectations that the international container terminals firm could be sold.

Consultant to assist AFIF-CBFCA merger

MORRISON Low Consultants has been appointed to facilitate the creation of a single industry body for Australia’s customs broking and freight forwarding sectors.

Second miner eyes Port Lincoln for ore exports

A SECOND miner has expressed interest in sending direct shipping iron ore (DSO) through Port Lincoln. Lincoln Minerals, which has a tenement nearby at Barns, has made clear its desire to follow Centrex Metals, which successfully applied to the South Australian Government to export from its Wilgerup mine, through the south-western Spencer Gulf port.

MUA fears reforms may miss shipping

MARITIME Union of Australia national secretary Paddy Crumlin raised concerns on Monday that the Federal Government’s tax review would fail to address the local shipping industry’s unique needs.

Transport guru enters Hall of Fame

A CLEARLY surprised and delighted outgoing Asciano chief operating officer, Don Telford, was inducted into the Australian Trade and Transport Hall of Fame last week at a glittering Lloyd’s List DCN Shipping and Transport Awards ceremony in Sydney.

Watchdog’s bark is good-natured warning

MANY were unsure how to respond to Graeme Samuel appearing on stage at last week’s Lloyd’s List DCN Australian Shipping and Transport Awards in Sydney. After all, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman appeared to have spent the past 12 months scrutinising just about everyone in transport and logistics in this country.

In celebration of excellence

IT WAS, as always, as a night to celebrate excellence – a record 350 people coming together to recognise the brightest and sharpest from an industry that has battled hard in tough conditions.

The great escape - how Australian exporters survived and even thrived in the global crisis

First there was fear and loathing – but then came the realisation that Australia’s exporters were not in the same boat as those in the old economies, writes Tim Harcourt

Human factors main cause of vessel incidents – report

HUMAN factors are the leading cause of commercial vessel accidents, the National Marine Safety Committee’s (NMSC) first Commercial Vessel Incident Analysis Report has found.

NZ Supreme Court backs liability limit in port

NEW ZEALAND’S Supreme Court has upheld the strict liability and package limitation regime for domestic carriage, law firm DLA Philips Fox has noted in a report on the case.

John Caldon to head ARTC

JOHN Caldon has been appointed to a three-year term as chairman and director of the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC), the Federal Government announced last week.

MSC introduces US$100 food-box surcharge

MEDITERRANEAN Shipping Company Australia last week announced the immediate implementation of a US$100 per teu food quality surcharge.

CAUTION: changed conditions

The car carrier sector is still reeling from one of the fastest and steepest downturns in its history, yet new vessels keep being delivered. MICHELLE WIESE BOCKMANN watches the road ahead for such a highly-concentrated industry.

Europe to trail Asia in slow recovery for box volumes

Global market not expected to regain 2008 throughput levels until at least 2012, reports ROGER HAILEY

Faster growth from emerging markets

APM Terminals vice-president and chief financial officer Christian Moller Laursen has emphasised the “new reality” of the global container transportation industry.

Asia banks on Chinese imports

ASIAN dry bulk shipowners and operators are confident about the market in 2010, although concerns about a glut of newbuilding deliveries remain.

Panama Canal boss says growth will continue

THE INTERNATIONAL economic downturn will not alter long-term growth in trade and shipping traffic projections, according to Panama Canal Authority chief executive Alberto Alemán Zubieta.

Four-year recovery is predicted for north Europe’s box ports

NORTH European container ports can expect a “gradual rather than surging” recovery in box volumes, according to a new market study by Ocean Shipping Consultants.

New China ports could be at full capacity by 2020

CONTAINER ports in China could be capacity constrained towards the end of the next decade, assuming all the additional expansion projects planned are completed in 2013.

FedEx eyes bigger slice of Asian freight

FEDERAL Express, the US courier and cargo transportation giant, is strengthening its rivalry with traditional logistics players such as Kuehne+Nagel, Schenker and Agility after expanding its FedEx Trade Networks freight forwarding operation.

Online container data system ready to go live in the new year

TRADEGATE will implement a port-user information system in major container ports next year, the online services firm has said.

Big lifters raise more questions than answers

THERE are five bright red metallic monoliths that dominate the industrialised landscape of Botany Bay. Patrick once dubbed them the “monsters that will change Port Botany’s skyline”, billing them an integral part of the future of Patrick’s container terminal operations in Sydney.

Looking back: planning derailed?

Patrick took delivery of the first two RMGs in mid-2006. All of the machines were due to be operational by the end of that year, but technical problems delayed this until well into 2007.

China shows its powers of recovery

Asia powerhouse still dominant despite feeling effects of global crisis writes Keith Wallis

ACL chief urges US to ditch old box practices

CASH-strapped container lines could save millions of dollars a year by modernising industry practices peculiar to the US trades.

Box terminals seek state aid

EUROPE’s struggling container terminal industry is in discussions with Brussels about state aid.

Marshall Islands fails in IMO bid

THE COOK Islands, Iran, the Marshall Islands and Pakistan have failed to secure the votes needed to become members of the International Maritime Organization council.

Tonne miles rise on surprising upturn in Chinese coal appetite

CHINA’s insatiable appetite for imported coal has led to a 300% increase in tonne miles for the commodity this year, according to dry bulk owner Golden Ocean.

Projects will spur LNG carrier needs

GAS ship owner Teekay LNG Partners has said 63 new liquefied natural gas carriers would be needed for 11 gas export projects “within the next few years”.

Indian demand may lead to global sugar shortage

THE GLOBAL sugar trade will tighten over the next 12 months on the back of strong Indian import demand, a sugar conference in London heard last week.

Chinese port throughput back to pre-crisis levels

ANALYSTS say cargo throughput growth of Chinese ports has returned to the level it was at before the global financial crisis, after the country’s ports saw a 7% increase in total cargo volume in the first 10 months of this year.

Idle tonnage is on rise as slack season nears

IDLE containership tonnage has started to increase again after remaining broadly stable for a few weeks, as lines prepare for the traditionally slack winter season.

Asian feeder lines lag behind

THE INTRA-Asia container trades have seen a certain amount of pick-up in recent months. However, the same cannot be said for the region’s feeder trades.

CMA CGM increases its Gulf of Aden surcharge

CONTAINER line operator CMA CGM is to increase its surcharge on containers it transports through the piracy-prone waters of the Gulf of Aden.

Rumours swirl as banks assess CMA CGM deal

NEGOTIATIONS on the restructuring of the US$5.6bn debt of container line CMA CGM looked to be moving towards the home strait last week at what promised to be a decisive meeting at the French finance ministry in Paris. There was confusion, however, over reports that investors had joined bankers at the meeting.

Salvors seek separate award for averting environmental disaste

The International Salvage Union says a salvor should be fully compensated for providing a service and a benefit, while P&I clubs say the system works fine as it is, writes TOM LEANDER

In line for rail’s big event

AusRAIL PLUS 2009 Photos

Port of Melbourne celebration in depth

A NEW sculpture now overlooks the port of Melbourne following the official completion of the channel deepening project – a gift from dredging firm Royal Boskalis Westminster.