Weekly Edition 1st April 2010

Pipeline legal salvo

FEDERAL Court findings in the APL Sydney pipeline rupture case will have implications both at home and internationally as well as raising questions over safety in the port of Melbourne.

Cost of shipping adds to gloom in price outlook for local grain

AWB HAS signalled that shipping costs, driven higher by China’s demand for dry bulk commodities, were a major factor in a cut to its wheat return and profit guidance for 2009/10.

Our survey voucher winner

IAN Hamilton from NYK is the lucky winner of the $300 Myer voucher offered as a prize for one of the many readers participating in Lloyd’s List DCN’s annual readership survey.

Biggest ship brings omen of recovery to Melbourne

THE IMAGE of fully laden 5,688 teu Xin Yan Tai making her way to the DP World terminal in Melbourne was too powerful for Victoria’s premier and his ports minister to resist last week.

Queensland’s growing coal ship

AUSTRALIAN bulk port congestion has peaked above 220 ships with a record 102 bulk carriers waiting to load coal from the port of Hay Point this week in the wake of Cyclone Ului.

Circles of confusion surround White Bay cruise terminal plan

DETAILS of a plan to build a permanent cruise terminal at White Bay have been thrown into question by an apparent disagreement between two bodies controlled by the New South Wales Government.

Gladstone closure

A GLADSTONE Ports Corporation proposal to close the Barney Point Coal Terminal on environmental and operational grounds has been supported by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

Now Fletchers Freighters calls in administrators

TWO YEARS after its 50th anniversary, South Australian regional road haulage firm Fletchers Freighters is under voluntary administration, with McGrathNicol now in control of the family firm.

Port Botany tragedy

A 49-YEAR old Patrick Stevedores worker was crushed to death while unloading shipping containers at Sydney’s Port Botany on Sunday.

Lift off for Asia Pacific air cargo

DEMAND for airfreight services of Asia-Pacific airlines in February spiked 29.8% from a year earlier, a sign that the global economic recovery is in full swing.

Toll ro-ro breakdown hits Bass Strait peak

CARGO flows between Tasmania and Victoria have been seriously disrupted by a technical problem with the ro-ro Victorian Reliance.

Fuel tax relief welcomed by national truck body

THE AUSTRALIAN Trucking Association (ATA) has welcomed a proposed change to the formula used to calculate the amount of fuel tax and registration fees the trucking industry is charged.

Greiner, Ferguson join to criticise QR sale scheme

OPPOSITION to Queensland’s plans to sell QR has made for seemingly unlikely allies in former union leader Martin Ferguson and former New South Wales Liberal premier Nick Greiner.

Road transport standards set for closer inspection

THE ROAD haulage industry needs to be heard on performance-based standards (PBS) according to the National Transport Commission (NTC).

John Dixon in frame to lead Silk Logistics

FORMER Skilled Group executive director and chief operating officer John Dixon may take the reins as managing director of Silk Logistics.

Asciano CFO resigns

ASCIANO chief financial officer Peter McGregor has resigned, the ports and freight group announced last week. Mr McGregor was leaving after two years to “pursue other opportunities outside the business”.

Portland gets wind behind it and boost from renewables

A REGIONAL renewable energy push in south-western Victoria has started being reflected positively in throughput and calls for the nearby port.

Three charged over Tongan ferry disaster

THREE people have been charged with manslaughter following last year’s sinking of the Tongan ferry, Princess Ashika

Box shortage threatens trade jump

An upsurge in demand for container leasing and a chronic shortage of new boxes is potentially threatening the summer peak season, reports GAVIN VAN MARLE

Boxship charter market cooling

ACTIVITY in the containership charter market cooled last month with charter rates remaining mainly flat as lines played a waiting game due to stagnating freight rates and the huge influx of capacity expected to come from new services.

Owners torn two ways by conflict of interest in piracy hijack talks

The interests of kidnapped crews and shipowners are often opposed when pirates hijack a ship. JUSTIN STARES considers industry admissions on the uncomfortable truths behind ransom negotiations

Naval forces stretched by expanding patrol areas

WHILE much has been made of the co-operation among navies from across the world, the fact remains that forces deployed against the piracy scourge are tiny compared with the size of the theatre of operations.

Emissions meeting fails to smoke out resolution

A HUGE RIFT has opened up in the International Maritime Organization (IMO) over the issue of climate change.

Chinese middle class will drive intra-Asia box boom

SURGING demand from China’s rapidly expanding middle class is set to drive significant growth in intra-Asian box volumes so that the region generates 50% of global container traffic by around 2015, according to a top industry participant.

China expands ship finance

SOME of the world’s most senior shipping figures have acknowledged the larger role Chinese banks will play in ship finance, in part to support the country’s shipbuilding industry, but also to shift more international freight on to locally-controlled vessels.

No box recovery ‘for two years’

CONTAINER shipping faces a “listless” two years as rate recovery is “crushed by overcapacity, industry indiscipline and slowing demand growth”.

DB Schenker holds 2009 container traffic steady

GERMANY’s DB Schenker Logistics, the world’s third-largest freight forwarder of ocean containers, saw box traffic fall by just 2.1% in 2009 to 1.4m teu, compared with a 16% decline in air freight tonnages.

Maersk chief calls for more cuts

MAERSK group chief executive Nils Andersen has called on the carrier’s staff to help bring about a further US$500m in cost savings over the course of this year.

Capesizes mark time as big iron ore players stay away

SOMNOLENCE descended on the capesize market last week with very little activity as all the major iron ore chartering players stayed away.

Boskalis declares offer for Smit unconditional

DREDGING giant Boskalis has declared unconditional its €60-per-share and dividend offer for fellow Dutch maritime services company Smit, with nearly 90% of the shares accepted.

Training for a secure future

IT GOES without saying: 2009 was a tough year for companies, big and small.

K Line boosts Asia capacity as losses loom for full year

NCREASED capacity on the growing intra-Asia routes will not be enough to salvage K Line’s results this year, according to one of the company’s senior executives.

OOCL boss calls on industry to share more information

CARRIERS must work more closely with shippers and the maritime industry needs to share information about slow steaming, the head of one of the world’s largest container lines said.

DP World on track for London listing despite profit dip

DP WORLD remains on course for a London listing later this year as the Dubai-based global ports operator reported a 2009 consolidated throughput drop of 8% to 25.6m teu on revenues down 14% to US$2.8bn.

Zim full-year loss dips as volumes rise

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services, the troubled box line owned by Israel Corp, posted a net profit of US$81m in the fourth quarter of 2009 and net losses of US$332m for the full year.

Rule B revival is rejected

AN ATTEMPT to restore the use of Rule B to attach electronic funds transfers (EFTs) associated with alleged defaulters as they passed through New York has failed to win the favour of the US Supreme Court.

Containership sector fragile, warns Maersk Line director

GLOBAL container shipping is balanced on a knife edge, with no way of knowing which way the industry’s fortunes will go in 2010, according to Maersk Line director Hennie Van Schoor.

Global downturn hits Sinotrans bottom line

THE CONTINUING economic downturn led Chinese freight forwarding and shipping company Sinotrans to post a decline in net profit to Yuan424.6m (US$62.4m) last year, down from Yuan568.6m a year earlier.

Booming iron ore shipping to feed Chinese steel surge

STRONG Chinese export growth will push global seaborne iron ore trade to hit 1.3bn tonnes within five years, according to Goldman Sachs’ latest forecasts.

ndian steel output to heat up iron ore price

GROWING steel production in India threatens to further increase iron ore prices if the country does not ramp up mining output to cover both rising domestic and international demand.

Queensland Gas signs 20-year LNG deal with China

QUEENSLAND Gas Co (QGC) has secured a contract to supply China National Offshore Oil Corporation with 3.6mtpa of liquefied natural gas from its Curtis Island facility for a period of 20 years.

EIS for Australia Pacific gas plant plan released

The Queensland Coordinator General has released the Australia Pacific LNG environmental impact statement for public feedback.

Panamax bulkers tumble

THE Baltic Dry Index continued to slide last week, with panamax bulk carrier rates providing the biggest drop.

Buyers wait in line to snap up bargain ships

DESPITE rising secondhand tanker prices suggesting that vessel values for wet tonnage have bottomed out, brokers are still reporting hesitation in the sale and purchase market as players maintain their cautious wait-and-see game.

Baltic Sea aframax earnings rocket

AFRAMAX owners’ daily earnings in the Baltic Sea have rocketed to their highest levels since July 2008 as oil traders prevent vessels from returning to the spot market by not allowing cargoes to be discharged at North European ports.

TSA lines opt for rate rises in bid to hit breakeven

MEMBER lines in the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement (APL) have confirmed their support for new rate increases to be brought in on the transpacific container trades (TSA), as lines try to push freight prices back up to breakeven point.

Car ferry banned from leaving French port

FRENCH port state inspectors have banned a 40-year-old car ferry from leaving the port of Brest on the grounds that the crew are not competent to take charge of the vessel.

Horizon Theano owner moves to arrest diesel cargo

THE OWNER of the combined chemical and oil tanker Horizon Theano has moved to arrest about 60,000 barrels of Venezuelan ultra-low-sulphur diesel in Florida, in a three-way US$915,000 claim over unpaid demurrage.

Somali pirate shot dead by armed private security guard

ON PATROL: French warship Nivose with Somali pirate skiffs off the Somali coast earlier this month. A pirate was killed after an exchange of fire with a private security guard yesterday on the 2,866 dwt Almezaan.

Casualty Briefs - 1st April 2010