Weekly Edition 22nd April 2010

Supply chain security must reach boardroom

SUPPLY chain security risks need to be assessed at boardroom level, rather than left to middle-management shippers with “limited resources and little or no authority to enact necessary change”.

Suspects face trial in US and Germany

FIVE Somali piracy suspects could face criminal proceedings in the US and a further 10 are set to stand trial in Germany, as western countries face up to Kenya’s U-turn on its earlier willingness to prosecute alleged pirates.

Guayaquil boxship crane crash caught on camera

FOOTAGE of an incident involving the Liberia-flagged containership CCNI Antártico on April 5 has been released, showing the dramatic moment the vessel demolished a gantry crane at International Container Terminal Services Inc’s Contecon terminal at the port of Guayaquil in Ecuador.

EU Navfor to beef up piracy response after Dutch action

TAKING ACTION: Dutch Navy commandos made a helicopter landing on the Taipan and regained control of the cargoship.

Casualty Briefs - 22nd April 2010

 

Box parks levy for relief

EASTERN seaboard empty container parks (ECPs) this month have begun levying an “infrastructure surcharge” on all boxes - but the impost has no direct relationship to the parks’ reported financial plight.

Darwin dust up over copper

THE NORTHERN Territory Government has ramped up pressure on the Port of Darwin Corporation ahead of an investigation into how copper concentrate came to enter East Arm Wharf waters and the port area.

Seafarers fined in latest reef park violation case

THE MASTER and two officers of the bulker Mimosa have been fined $70,000 each for illegal transit of Great Barrier Reef waters.

Human fatigue seen as major concern in grounding probe

THE AUSTRALIAN Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) will investigate whether fatigue played an integral part in the grounding of Shen Neng 1 at Douglas Shoal on April 3.

Compulsory reporting finds favour as reef reform

COMPULSORY reporting in Queensland’s reef waters could be in force by next year, if International Maritime Organisation (IMO) countries agree.

Asciano signals unhappiness with QR plans

RAIL and ports operator Asciano has dubbed the latest rail access undertaking submitted by Queensland Rail (QR) to the Queensland Competition Authority (QCA) as little more than a “fiddle around the edges” approach to critical regulatory issues.

Union protests lack of notice after seafarer succumbs with leprosy

THE LACK of reporting to port of state authorities of a case of leprosy on board a foreign-flagged ship has alarmed and angered the Maritime Union of Australia.

Coal & Allied’s Hunter coal output sees decline in first quarter

COAL & Allied’s Hunter Valley coal production fell 4.5% in the first quarter, figures from the Rio Tinto subsidiary show.

Alcohol factor in fatal seafarer fall

ALCOHOL and therapeutic drugs may have played a part in the death of a seafarer aboard the Maltese registered containership Spirit of Esperance in November 2008.

DSV denies Toll takeover speculation

DANISH logistics operator DSV has firmly rejected reports suggesting it is a takeover target for Toll Holdings.

Fuel mishap leaves bad odour for Port Botany

THE CUSTOMS Brokers & Forwarders Council of Australia (CBFCA) has expressed its concern about the odorous fumes which forced the closure of Port Botany’s container terminals last week.

Yang Ming on the way

TAIWAN’S Yang Ming Line (YML) has formally confirmed its return to the North & East Asia-Australia trade after a 10-year absence.

Airline in pricing fix

THE AUSTRALIAN Competition and Consumer Commission has begun proceedings in the Federal Court against Malaysian Airlines Cargo and its parent company over alleged price fixing activities between 2001 and 2006.

Panamax surge forecast to send rates crashing to 2002 levels

PANAMAX freight rates are forecast to be “similar” to 2002 average rates of US$13,000 per day when the near-record numbers of new ships being delivered in 2010 and 2011 outstrip dry bulk demand for this ship type.

China Shipping in note issue

CHINA’S second largest shipping company, China Shipping Group, was set to issue Yuan2.5bn (US$366m) worth of three-year corporate notes on Tuesday.

Coal and iron ore surge fuels China port traffic

SURGING demand for coal and iron ore imports coupled with a recovery in international trade led China’s major ports to post average growth in cargo volumes of more than 20% in the first quarter, according to the country’s Ministry of Communications.

Quarterly price negotiations change iron ore sceneQuarterly price negotiations change iron ore scene

THE MOVE from annual to quarterly price negotiations could ring in some changes for the iron ore trade.

Tough times not over for box lines

CONTAINER shipping is not yet out of danger, despite the recent surge in cargo volumes and rebound in freight rates that has lifted the gloom from an industry that accumulated unprecedented financial losses in 2009.

Chinese yard eyes stake in Singapore rigbuilder

SINGAPORE-listed Chinese shipbuilder Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, together with an undisclosed Middle East investor, plans to buy an indirect stake of as much as 50.1% in Singapore-based rigbuilder PPL Shipyard at a cost of US$155m, in an effort to venture into the offshore engineering market.

Jet fuel trade invokes force majeure

TRADERS of jet fuel have called force majeure on deliveries to the UK on long range product tankers because of the cancellation of flights

Private placings restore faith in ship finance

With KG houses in trouble, many experts believe the fate of newbuildings will depend on capital from wealthy private investors, write PATRICK HAGEN and KATRIN BERKENKOPF

Protectionism threatens

US widely expected to accuse China of being a currency manipulator, thus threatening trade relations between the two countries, reports Steve Matthews

CMT in big capesize deal

ONE of Taiwan’s largest bulk carrier and logistics operators, Chinese Maritime Transport, has contracted CSBC, Taiwan’s largest shipbuilder, to build two 203,000 dwt capesize vessels at a cost of US$130m.

Hong Kong’s US$756m ‘shark’ cruise terminal wins lawmakers’ approval

HONG Kong is set to get a shark-like cruise terminal building designed by British architect Lord Foster after local lawmakers tentatively gave the green light to proposals to spend almost HK$5.9bn (US$756.4m) on the structure.

Beijing reports tenfold rise in newbuild orders

CHINESE shipbuilders saw a tenfold surge in newbuilding orders following a rebound in ordering activity in the first quarter and Chinese yards now command almost 50% of the global shipbuilding market, according to China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Larger ships may be added to index

THE HAMBURG shipbrokers’ association is considering opening its ConTex time charter index to larger ship sizes.

Fast track to the next big thing

WHEN Queensland treasurer Andrew Fraser returned from Papua New Guinea last month, he described the nation as being on the cusp of “game-changing, nation-changing, development”.

PNG Ports is prepared to meet the challenges of a new era

PNG PORTS Corporation Limited (PNGPCL) is committed to meeting its challenges as it aims to be the premier maritime service company in Papua New Guinea, chief commercial officer Stanley Alphonse said.

Sights set on bigger slice of cruise market

PAPUA New Guinea’s Tourism Promotion Authority (TPA) has adopted a comprehensive cruise development strategy for the nation, focusing on expanding the range of destinations and experiences.

Improvements come at a cost

EFFORTS by Papua New Guinea’s ports corporation to deal with increasing container congestion at the country’s ports have caused shipping lines to introduce new equipment-handling charges.

Record 190 bulk carriers delivered in first quarter

DELIVERIES of dry bulk newbuildings hit a record high of 190 vessels in the first three months of the year, equivalent to two ships entering service every day.

North Pacific grain trade lifts confidence

OWNERS with panamax tonnage trading in the Pacific region were heading for another bumper week as coal imports into China and continued buoyancy in the South American grain trade keep the market alive.

ndian exports top spotmarket fixtures as ore heads to China

NEARLY a quarter of all handymax spot shipments in the first quarter of the year were loaded in India, as iron ore exports to China increase and dominate the market for these smaller-sized bulk carriers.

WINNING PORT

ENGLISH football fans are renowned for their sense of humour, if not cruel wit, as senior management at the port of Bristol found out.

EARNING STRIPES

THEY say that worse things happen at sea, but that is not always the case if you are talking about erratic Spanish truckers driving a spectacularly dangerous cargo.

SCHOOL RUN

WORRIED about finding suitable accommodation for participants at your conference, trade fair or sporting event?

Master and mate arrested – their fault or ours?

THE AUSTRALIAN Federal Police have arrested the master and the chief mate of the Shen Neng 1, a predictable outcome, given the high public profile the grounding of this vessel has had in Australia.