HUMEN port's west Shatian port area in Dongguan just south of Guangzhou, has experienced a sharp increase in container throughput, having handled 76,700 TEU in only two months and 12 days in this year - surpassing last year's total volume.
According to Dongguan government's website, Humen port Datan phase 1 terminal posted a throughput of 38,880 TEU in January, surging 1,587 per cent year on year, and 41,300 TEU in February, surging 3,342 per cent year on year.
As of March 20, the terminal's throughput this year has reached 87,700 TEU. Its monthly throughput in March will top 50,000 TEU.
The skyrocketing increase is brought by the increasing shipping services launched at the port, says Xinhua.
China Shipping has added one more 2,200-TEU ship to its domestic trade lane calling at Humen, bringing the total of its capacity to Humen to over 10,000 TEU.
Cosco added four ships with a total capacity of 5,932 TEU to the existing 6,622 TEU, raising the total to more than 12,000 TEU.
Other smaller carriers have also launched new lines and increased their frequency to the port.
This year, Humen's throughput is expected to hit 800,000 TEU.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
HONG KONG's Kerry Logistics, a unit of Kerry Properties, has posted an 11 per cent year-on-year 2011 net profit increase to HK$740 million (US$95 million) drawn on 47 per cent more revenue of HK$16.03 billion.
The result excludes the HK$130 million fair value adjustment on investment properties, a company statement said.
During the year, Kerry Logistics' integrated logistics (IL) services growth in Hong Kong and southeast Asia drove segment revenue up 43 per cent to HK$6.89 billion.
"The IL segment has increasingly focused on the potential to serve new demand emerging from China's shift from an export-led economy to a domestic consumption-led growth model, as well as from the flow of manufacturing activities into ASEAN countries. The segment's performance was also helped by the further expansion of Taiwan operations," the company said.
International freight forwarding revenue increased 51 per cent to HK$9.14 billion with net profit from operations surging 200 per cent to HK$90 million.
The strong performance was attributed to the IFF segment leveraging rising economies of scale and a growing capability in intra-Asia and Asia-Europe trade lanes, while it said it gained solid ground in serving the growing import requirements in the markets where the company operates.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
EU naval forces will soon widen their operational scope to pursue Somali pirates ashore until 2015, according to the EU NAVFOR commander, the Royal Navy's Rear Admiral Duncan Potts.
"Piracy has caused so much misery to the Somali people and to the crews of ships transiting the area and it is right that we continue to move forward in our efforts," said Admiral Potts, reported London's Containerisation International.
The extension of the mandate underplayed by the EU naval taskforce has been accepted by the Somali Transitional Federal Government.
The latest number of vessels captured by pirates number eight with an estimated 213 hostages, with some held onshore despite ransoms paid.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
THE Guangxi provincial government will launch a road transport service from Bose to Kopin in Vietnam this year, which is to be the first international service of its kind in the autonomous region, reports Xinhua.
Currently, cargo and passengers moving between the two need to be transferred at the checkpoints. The new service will change this way to a direct transport style.
China's transport ministry has approved the cargo service running from Bose, across Jingxi and Longban checkpoint within the China border, to Tralinh checkpoint and Kopin in Vietnam.
The new service will become the 28th international service carrying passenger and cargo for Guangxi to build in the future. Guangxi has 10 services of this kind operating at present.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
MILEAGE of the "green roads" in northwestern China's Shaanxi province, which exempts trucks carrying perishable agricultural products from tolls, has totalled to 7,038 kilometres, Xinhua reports.
The roads were free of CNY1 billion (US$158.5 million) in road tolls in 2011, and CNY2.12 billion since the toll exemption scheme started.
This year, the Shaanxi provincial government will also not collect on 62 second-grade highways to reduce logistics costs and steady prices of agricultural produce.
Meanwhile, the province will subsidise supply chain of agricultural produce to prevent disruptive price increases.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
CARRIERS diverted ships away as farmers and political protestors blocked roads to Mumbai's Jawaharlal Nehru (Nhava Sheva) port in a battle over late land compensation settlements, successfully closing India's biggest container gateway.
The protest is scheduled to continue through Friday if authorities fail to reach a settlement.
"Protestors have set up blockades on access roads to the port to prevent trucks loading or unloading containers at cargo terminals," local shipping sources said.
The west coast port has three terminals: port-run Jawaharlal Nehru Container Terminal; Nhava Sheva International Container Terminal operated by DP World; and Gateway Terminals operated by APM Terminals, with a combined capacity of more than four million TEU.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
THE Port of Seattle is to lose the Grand Alliance consortium of three shipping lines to rival port Tacoma taking away 20 per cent of its container traffic.
The consortium of three shipping lines, Germany's Hapag-Lloyd, Japan's NYK Line and Hong Kong's OOCL of Hong Kong will relocate to Washington United Terminal in Tacoma taking with it an annual throughput estimated at 400,000 TEU. This will boost Tacoma into a top ranking container terminals in the Pacific North West.
It is likely to lead to job losses for Seattle unless the two rival ports agree to cooperate, said the Port of Seattle in a statement.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
CONTAINERISED exports from the United States grew by 2.3 per cent in the month of January at 1.4 million TEU buoyed by solid growth in Asian markets to offset losses to Europe, a 3.1 per cent increase on same month in 2011.
Shipments of soybeans were up 37 per cent or 5,034 TEU; meat, 28 per cent or 3,870 TEU; mixed scrap metal, 16 per cent or 3,679 TEU, and paper and paperboard up four per cent or 6,026 TEU. Export groups of fabrics including raw cotton, dropped 30 per cent (14,522 TEU) and synthetic resins a steeper decline of 48 per cent or 10,867 TEU.
Regionally, exports to northeast Asia led the growth at six per cent increase (24,798 TEU) followed by Caribbean growth of 22 per cent (7,479 TEU) while southeast Asia was up at seven per cent (6,125 TEU).
The petrochemical sector increased demand for oil field equipment in Taiwan at 15,219 TEU, a 30 per cent increase year over year of 65,148 TEU; China at 9,266 TEU, a four per cent increase; India up 25 per cent (6,057 TEU) and Vietnam up 21 per cent (3,385 TEU).
A decline of exports to the Mediterranean was attributed to a fall in demand for fabrics including cotton, paper and paperboard, as well as logs and lumber reflected in a decline of 15 per cent to a total of 47,293 TEU. Shipments to northern Europe slipped four per cent to 109,183 TEU due to dampening of demand.
Exports to Brazil declined 12 per cent and exports to Turkey dropped 13 per cent.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
A UNITED STATES-AFRICA trade bill is intended to boost exports from small and medium-sized enterprises 200 per cent within the next decade, said New Jersey Republican Congressman Chris Smith.
The new legislation would stimulate US job creation by 6,000-7,000 jobs every US$1 billion exported to a continent whose exports account for 20.2 per cent of US imports, he said.
"For the past decade, the US has pursued the expansion of African exports to the US under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, but that legislation was designed to be more mutually beneficial to business people on both sides of the Atlantic than it has been," said Mr Smith, according to London's Containerisation International.
Mr Smith said he believes this bill would increase the volume of goods sold to Africa by supporting small and medium-sized business amounting to 60 per cent of the nation's export volume.
The US Export-Import Bank will provide trade financing up to 25 per cent of value for US-Africa projects, he added.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
THE European Commission has fined 14 air forwarders US$225 million for price fixing with the largest fine - $71.5 million - going to Swiss logistics giant Kuehne + Nagel ($71.5 million) with fellow Swiss operator Panalpina having to pay $61.9 million penalty. Both are contemplating appeals.
UPS was also hit with a $13 million fine, but DHL Global Forwarding and Exel were exempt because they turned on the others and informed the EU's antitrust regulators.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the probe, started with EC office raids in October 2007, concerned price-fixing in four separate cartel infringements, including services from the UK to outside the European Economic Area to the United States, China and from southern mainland China and Hong Kong to European destinations.
"Companies should be aware that crossing the line and colluding on prices comes at a high price, as today's decision illustrates," said EU antitrust commissioner Joaquin Almunia. "These cartels affected individuals and companies shipping goods on important trade lanes."
In November 2011, Kuehne + Nagel made a plea bargain with US Justice Department prosecutors and agreed to pay a $9.8 million fine, reported American Shipper.
"We will carefully consider the decision of the EU Commission and its rationale," said KN chairman Karl Gernandt. "We are of the opinion that the commission has not correctly investigated the facts and the participation of Kuehne + Nagel and has drawn significantly incorrect factual and legal conclusions.
"In addition, Kuehne + Nagel's comprehensive cooperation throughout the investigation was not adequately acknowledged. That is why we take into consideration to appeal against the decision before the European courts," he said.
Panalpina felt the same and is considering an appeal too. "Panalpina will analyse the commission's decision given its right to appeal the decision to the European General Court," the company said. "The group has so far made no provision for the penalty of EUR46.5 million euros (US$61.9 million) as it was not in a position to predict the outcome of this proceeding and to assess its financial exposure. It is Panalpina's position, which is supported by independent economic evidence, that the infringements likely did not affect prices paid by Panalpina's customers."
Panalpina settled with the US prosecutors for $12 million.
"Panalpina also completed settlement negotiations with the New Zealand Commerce Commission and the agreed penalty was approved by the competent court," the company said. "Identical antitrust proceedings in Canada and Australia were dropped. Two antitrust proceedings are still ongoing in Switzerland and Brazil."
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
HONG KONG's Cathay Pacific Airways announced this week's launch of a new twice-weekly freighter service to through Hong Kong, Shanghai to Zhengzhou, the capital and commercial centre of Henan province in Central China.
The latest destination in the Cathay Pacific freighter network will boost the airline's presence as a cargo carrier on the mainland following the launch of services to Chengdu and Chongqing in western China in the second half of 2011.
"We see great business potential in Zhengzhou which is one of the fastest-growing centres for electronics manufacturing in the mainland and is well-connected to a wide catchment area in Henan. Cathay Pacific's new freighter service will offer shippers seamless connections to our extensive global network through the Hong Kong hub, helping to connect Zhengzhou to the world." said Cathay Pacific cargo chief Nick Rhodes.
The Zhengzhou service will be operated by a Boeing 747 freighter and will follow a Hong Kong-Shanghai-Zhengzhou-Hong Kong routing.
"We are confident about the long-term success of Cathay Pacific's cargo business and about Hong Kong's future as an international air cargo hub. That's why, in addition to launching new destinations, we are investing heavily in new freighters and also building our own HK$5.7 billion cargo terminal at Hong Kong International Airport which is on schedule to begin operations in early 2013." he said.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
SWISSPORT International, a provider of ground services for the aviation sector, has announced that it will take over the cargo handling of Korean Air Lines at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport from May 1.
Swissport said in a statement that the airline operates three weekly Boeing 747 freighter services to and from Schiphol, in addition to three weekly passenger services that also handle cargo through Schiphol Airport.
John Batten, executive vice president for Global Cargo at Swissport International said: "We are very pleased to begin working with Korean Air Cargo at Schiphol, and this agreement will provide a significant boost to our volumes."
The ground handler said that the airline is the largest in a string of new cargo customers at Amsterdam this year that includes MNG Airlines, FlyBe, South American Airways, Germania, Sky Airlines, Gabon Airlines, Finnair, Stabo Air, Middle East Airlines, Imperial Cargo Airlines and a trucking partnership with Egypt Air Cargo.
It said that another one of its key customers, Jade Cargo International, is also set to return to Amsterdam shortly. The Shenzhen-based B747 freighter operator suspended flights at the end of last year in order to restructure its financial arrangements. According to Swissport, a restructuring agreement has now been reached with fellow Chinese logistics and transport company UniTop Group.
Wouter Brand, managing director of Cargo Services in The Netherlands, added: "It has been a difficult start of the year for Swissport Cargo Services in The Netherlands, and I am therefore very encouraged by the level of new contract wins. It is also very pleasing to see Jade Cargo International returning to Schiphol, and we look forward to resuming our successful handling partnership."
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
2012-03-29
Fleet management software joins extensive portfolio of marine technology solutions
Kongsberg Maritime, a leading marine technology developer has today (29th March 2012) acquired 100% of the shares in fleet management software specialist Jotron Consultas. A new product group consisting of all previous Jotron Consultas employees and based at Kongsberg Maritime’s premises in Horten, Norway, will be formed as a result of the acquisition.
“Jotron Consultas’ C-Loading software and Fleet Management Software in particular, are both a strategic match for Kongsberg Maritime,” says Morten Hasås, Executive Vice President - Merchant Marine. “These established products expand our ability to provide Full Picture deliveries, where Kongsberg Maritime is capable of developing and installing ship-wide integrated networks covering all major technical systems.”
Jotron Consultas has developed a reputation as one of the leading specialist software providers for the sector. Its products are well-established and are used by many of the world’s leading shipping lines and maritime companies, helping and supporting them to provide and improve overall safety, operational efficiency and transparency in ship management systems.
The Jotron Consultas C-Loading software application fits with Kongsberg Maritime’s K-Gauge cargo control and tank management systems. Kongsberg Maritime will integrate C-Loading into its K-Chief Integrated Automation System and the K-Gauge operating platform resulting in a sophisticated cargo control and monitoring system with a fully integrated load calculator.
The Jotron Consultas Fleet Management software application will add important content to the new Kongsberg Maritime ship@web concept. Ship@web is a creative solution that enables a vessel’s administrative network, or the owner/operator’s on-shore network to display data from an automation system over the internet via a highly customisable web browser application.
The system, which is unique in the market as it requires only minimal hardware and infrastructure to deploy, is designed to enable enhancements in vessel and fuel efficiency, so the integration of Fleet Management software from Jotron Consultas will significantly enhance the value proposition of this sophisticated new remote monitoring system.
“We are pleased that Jotron Consultas has found a new home, which can ensure the correct focus on its excellent products and systems. The Jotron Group will after this divestment be able to concentrate activities on our core business; communication products and systems for sea, land and air,” says Merete Berdal, Chairman of Jotron AS.
Source Kongsberg Maritime
2012-03-29
Skytrax, the international airline survey company, has renewed Finnair’s four-star rating on the grounds of the audit report conducted as part of the World Airline Star Rating programme. The rating is based on an impartial and thorough assessment of all the services the airline offers.
“We are delighted about this rating,” says Anssi Komulainen, Senior Vice President, Customer Service. “This is a recognition of all our joint efforts. We have determinedly renewed our customer service and the whole chain of service works better than before. Thanks for this great achievement belongs to our whole personnel.”
Finnair is the only Nordic airline with a four-star Skytrax rating. In 2010 and 2011, airline passengers also voted Finnair the best airline in Northern Europe in the Skytrax World Airline Awards. World Airline Awards™ are the global benchmark of airline excellence.
Source Finnair Plc
Kiel, March 29, 2012: The Port of Kiel opens its 2012 cruise shipping season on Saturday, March 31st. With a firework display to see her off, this year’s first guest, “AIDAcara” will leave the port’s Ostseekai Terminal around 1700 for the Norwegian fiords. Dr Dirk Claus, Managing Director of the Port of Kiel (SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co. KG), said: “we are well prepared and looking forward to the new season, which will, once again, be longer than last year. It won’t be long before cruise ships are sailing in northern Europe the whole year round.” This year’s season will last until mid December and, during it, 26 different cruise ships are registered to call a total of 137 times. The most frequent guests will be the vessels of shipping companies AIDA, Costa, MSC and TUI Cruises, which, like the ships of many well-known classic German travel companies, regularly call at Kiel to exchange passengers. For the first time three ships in the MSC Crociere fleet – “MSC Magnifica”, “MSC Poesia” and “MSC Lirica” will call at Kiel. During the Kieler Woche between June 16th and 24th eleven cruise ships will visit Kiel fourteen times, along with the “Star Flyer” under full sail. This year no fewer than eight cruise ships will call at Kiel for the first time, among them Cunard’s “Queen Elizabeth” which is expected at the Ostseekai Terminal on July 24th.
Regular maintenance and overhaul work on gangways and operational areas was all completed punctually at the Ostseekai Terminal in time for the start of the new season. One new feature is that the terminal facility is now eco-powered – meaning that its electricity is 100% generated by water. In addition the waste disposal system has been adapted so that ships can now offload paper, plastic and residual waste separately. “This is a step in the right direction”, said Dirk Claus. “We are also working with our partners to provide the ships of the future with shore-based electric power.” As far as service is concerned Kiel has for many years set great store by the best handling quality available for ships and passengers. Efforts like these, made by all the companies involved in ship handling in the Port of Kiel, have just been acknowledged at the world’s biggest trade fair of its kind, Cruise Shipping Miami, with no fewer than three awards from the trade publication “Cruise-Inside”. The magazine voted Kiel the best in the categories “Most efficient Terminal Operation”, “Best customer-oriented Port” and “Most efficient Port Services”. Dirk Claus said “our efforts are winning national as well as international recognition. Kiel’s job now is to expand its capacities by creating a third terminal berth for big cruise ships”.
Berth No. 1 in Kiel’s Ostuferhafen will be extended to do just that, so that next year it will be ready to handle cruise ships of the 300 m category. The terminal facility has 395 m of quayside and has all the amenities required to process cruise ships including a handling building big enough to process passengers and luggage. Still primarily a start and end port for cruises, Kiel is also gaining importance as a port of call for day excursions. “The number of ships calling at Kiel with international passengers on board, will rise steeply this year”, said Dirk Claus. “Our efforts to market tourist destinations in the German federal state of Schleswig-Holstein are beginning to bear fruit. Among the ships calling at Kiel this year as part of ongoing cruises are, for example, Holland-America Line’s “Eurodam” and “Rotterdam” as well as “Saga Ruby”. New to Kiel is the “Thomson Spirit” while Fred Olsen’s “Black Watch”, although a regular visitor to the port, will call this year for the first time during an Advent cruise. This year’s cruise shipping season in Kiel ends later than in previous years – on December 15th to be exact - when the Phoenix Seereisen cruise ship “Amadea” leaves the Norwegenkai Terminal.
Source Port of Kiel
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