Weekly Edition 3rd of September 2009

Pirates back in business with attack on cargoship

Helicopter to the rescue as shots are fired at Italian vessel

Kenya piracy trials at risk of breaching human rights laws

A BARRISTER specialising in controversial cases has stepped forward to provide pro bono services to over 40 suspected Somali pirates on trial in Kenya, arguing that their human rights could be breached on account of inadequacies in the Kenyan justice system.

Initial search fails to clarify the mystery of Arctic Sea

NOTHING suspicious has initially been found on board Arctic Sea, the general cargoship that hit world headlines after apparently disappearing at the end of last month before being hunted down by the Russian navy, according to the Russian authorities.

Dundalk gives abandoned crew food and fuel

THE PORT of Dundalk, Ireland has intervened to provide food and fuel for the crew of a 42-year-old general cargoship said to have been abandoned by its Latvian owners, and has contested union claims that the crew were expected to work the cargo.

Casualty Briefs - 3rd September 2009

 

Pakistan and Iran boost anti-piracy patrols

PAKISTAN and Iran have reaffirmed their commitment to anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden and the east coast of Africa after both nations deployed new warships to relieve existing vessels in the area.

Shipping alert asGeorgia ‘piracy’ feud boils over

CLAIM and counter claim between Georgia and one of its separatist regions, with each accusing the other of piracy, has spilt on to shipping in the region, writes Julian Macqueen .

Ports parry media mugging

AUSTRALIA’S peak ports representative has rejected claims the nation’s container terminals are well behind global performance benchmarks.

Race is on to plug leak

ONE OF Australia’s biggest-ever offshore energy clean-up operations continued this week as PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) sought to cap its Montara field oil and gas leak.

Shipping guns silent in media shootout

THE SHIPPING industry again found itself stuck on the back foot last week when a media storm developed around the alleged role of an ANL boxship in arms trading. The mainstream media seized on news of ANL Australia’s alleged involvement in carrying a container of North Korean arms to the Middle East.

Brisbane port charges into new era of making it pay

ENDING months of speculation that fees at the port of Brisbane would rise for the first time in more than 20 years, the port corporation last week announced that wharfage and harbour charges were to rise by 6% across the board.

Toxic spill makes for a worrying weekend at Fisherman Islands

EMERGENCY services worked 24 hours last weekend to clean up a toxic chemical spill from an unloaded ship berthed at the port of Brisbane.

Watchdog mauls box storage merger plan

THE AUSTRALIAN Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has moved to preserve existing levels of competition in Sydney’s empty container storage market with last week’s decision to oppose the merging of two operators.

Toll shares good news with grateful investors

THE MARKET loved Toll Group’s return to net profitability in the year to June, sending its shares above $8 for the first time this year for a moment before weaker general sentiment saw it slip just under again early this week. Toll had bounced back into the black this financial year with a $275.2m net profit.

Volumes tumble at DP World

DUBAI’s DP World saw consolidated first-half volumes at its 49 global box terminals drop 10% to 12.3m teu, while revenues fell 13% to US$1.4bn for the six months to June.

No comment on Brambles media scramble

DESPITE the transport and logistics sector – not to mention the wider market – being hungry for details of how Toll Group would take over a company twice its size, it has been disappointed so far.

Botany expansion okay

PORT Botany’s $1bn container terminal expansion, now in its second year, has passed its first annual environmental audit, New South Wales ports minister Joe Tripodi said.

Aircargo exports up in June

AIRFREIGHT exports from Australia climbed 4.3% in June as import volumes continued their rapid descent.

Asia-Pacific airfreight falls 9.5%

INTERNATIONAL airfreight in July plummeted from the same period last year led by a massive deterioration in volumes recorded by African carriers.

Asciano is at a loss as pain of change takes heavy toll

A “VERY challenging” financial year to June saw rail and ports operator Asciano sink into the red again, despite a strong showing by its bulk rail operations.

Box record shows Melbourne know how on heavy lifting

AS DEBATE rages elsewhere on Australian port productivity, what is possible by way of container moves – up to 50 an hour – was hailed by Asciano’s Patrick stevedoring arm last week.

Sydney Ports trade in 5.6% downturn

SYDNEY Ports Corporation (SPC) has reported a total trade decrease for the year to July 31 of 5.6% to 2.3m tonnes, mainly driven by the closure of its motor vehicle operations at Glebe Island last November.

Grounded Forum Samoa II had pilot onboard

SALVORS will be contracted to refloat the general cargoship, Forum Samoa II, which remains grounded off the port of Apia in Western Samoa.

Keast to head PN intermodal

STEEL industry veteran Chris Keast has been named by Asciano as its new Pacific National Intermodal divisional general manager.

Federal green light on for Gorgon gas

FEDERAL environment minister Peter Garrett approved the multi billion-dollar Gorgon liquefied natural gas (LNG) project off the north-west coast of Western Australia last week.

Neptune is bullish over profit

NEPTUNE Marine Services underlined the strength of the Australian offshore energy sector at last week’s announcement of a near-tripling of its net profit for the year to June.

Vehicle sales weaker in July

JULY’S new vehicle sales in Australia dipped 7% from June according to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Tanker attack rearms protection proponents

Each flag has its own laws on carrying arms writes Francesca Santoro

Practical problems that prevent prosecution of pirate plunderers

Issues over jurisdiction, evidence, witnesses and prisons, combined with a lack of political will, make getting pirates in the dock easier said than done, writes John Knott

Cosco Busan fuels row over double standards applied to seafarers

DOES shipping suffer from a dual standard in US environmental prosecutions, a rigged game that forces companies to pay huge fines and sends hapless foreign seafarers to jail?

Cruise lines look to refits rather than newbuildings

Specialist yards see challenging times ahead as cancellations begin to rise and options are unlikely to be exercised

Committee floating idea of pontoon for Sydney Harbour cruise terminal

A FLOATING pontoon in the middle of Sydney Harbour is among a range of ideas being considered by a committee looking at future options for handling cruiseship visits to the city.

Second vessel quest gets closer for Orion

ORION Expedition Cruises may be as close as any time in the past two years to acquiring that elusive second cruiseship.

MSC weighs the options of reflagging fleet to Italy – and senses la dolce vita

MSC CRUISES has confirmed that it is considering reflagging from Panama to Italy, as the Naples-based cruise company suggested it may have recaptured some ground this summer.

Cosco Busan fuels row over double standards applied to seafarers

DOES shipping suffer from a dual standard in US environmental prosecutions, a rigged game that forces companies to pay huge fines and sends hapless foreign seafarers to jail?

DVB Bank gets tough as six ships arrested

DVB Bank has instigated the largest series of ship arrests in Hong Kong in six years after seizing six Russian-owned general cargo vessels in a dispute over outstanding mortgages totalling about US$20m.

Pirates ransom ship and 22 crew

THE PHILIPPINES government has confirmed that a group of Somali pirates is asking for US$2.8m to secure the release of the Greek-owned bulk carrier Irene EM and its 22 all-Filipino crew, according to local media reports.

Hamburg Süd boss attacks ‘growth at all costs’ trend

THE HEAD of a leading container carrier has called for the industry to act more professionally.

Sinotrans downbeat as profits in slump

THERE is little optimism for a resurgence in China’s international import and export markets in the second half of this year, an offshoot of the country’s largest transportation company has warned.

Clarksons counts high cost of weakening global market

OPERATING profit at shipping services group Clarksons dropped 35% in the first half due to weaker market conditions and reduced global trade.

Zim challenges Israeli regulator over vote

TROUBLED Israeli container line Zim Integrated Shipping Services has kicked back against a decision by the Israel Securities Authority that disallowed a vote by Israel Corp minority shareholder Bank Leumi, which scuppered a US$100m injection of rescue funding.

Hanjin and PSA win Pusan berths

 

Chevron , Shell strike more gas off WA coast

US OIL major Chevron and Dutch group Shell have struck natural gas off Western Australia with two exploration wells, which will allow them to develop liquefied natural gas projects.

Baltic Dry Index sinks to three-month low

THE BALTIC Dry Index fell to its lowest level in more than three months on waning demand to ship iron ore which has eased congestion, as well as fleet expansion.

Big doubts over steel demand

GLOBUS Maritime has joined the growing list of shipowners doubting that China can sustain strong demand for iron ore or current levels of steel production.

Hapag-Lloyd owners add millions to rescue

SHAREHOLDERS of Hapag-Lloyd have agreed to stump up an extra €173m (US$247.7m) to help save the ailing German container line, bringing the rescue package to €923m, the city of Hamburg said last week.

Tanker owners prepare to ride out the recession

AS THE recession hits company profits, shipowners have no option but to sit tight and hope they made enough money during the shipping boom to see them through.

US groups oppose LA stance on independent truckers

A GROUP of 24 US retailers, logistics and transport trade associations, agricultural interests and freight forwarders has opposed the Port of Los Angeles’ push for a federal amendment that would require all truck drivers serving its terminals to become employees.

US government gets embroiled in toxic ship-scrapping furore

Environmentalist claim that US government ships may have been illegally sold for scrap after flagging out, report Brian Reyes and Rajesh Joshi

FedEx makes it a big day out for Sunnyfield

FedEx, staff and friends hosted a fun day of activities for some of Sunnyfield Independence’s clients and staff in August at the cinema and Sydney Wildlife World.

Back in your box

DON’T you get heartily sick of namby-pamby, bleeding-heart liberals and their stick-in-the-mud notion that containers are primarily a means of shifting cargo between world ports, rather than keeping criminals under lock and key?