BALLAST water treatment system provider, Norway-based Optimarin, has signed a major fleet-wide ballast water treatment contract worth more than NOK100 million (US$16.7 million) with Saga Shipholding (SSH) of Norway, the open-hatch carrier subsidiary of Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK).
The retrofit contract covers complete ballast water treatment (BWT) systems including engineering and service agreements for 24 open-hatch bulk carriers.
With an agreement already in place for seven Saga and one NYK newbuilding, Optimarin's combined Saga work programme now amounts to NOK140 million. Optimarin's aggregate order book stands at NOK250 million, representing over 110 vessels.
The Saga contracts call for large scale Optimarin Ballast Systems (OBS) capable of handling all seawater salinities and fresh water in accordance to the International Maritime Organisation's ballast water management convention. The OBS system features a fully back-flushing filter with 40 micron screens. It is fully automatic and self-cleaning and capable of removing large sediment particles, zooplantkton and phytoplankton under heavy sediment load conditions.
"There is going to be a bottleneck when some 50,000 ships scramble to meet global BWT regulations in a few years' time. Now with the US Coast Guard pushing ballast water ratification, global shipowners must ramp up their BWT decision-making choices. We are one of them," said Lars Traaseth, managing director of SSH.
If all shipowners plan a BWT retrofit during a vessel's five-year survey, about 11,000 retrofits must be completed between 2013 and 2016. Market observers estimate a peak in 2017 with 16,500 vessels needing to be retrofitted that year, an average of 45 systems per day.
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
ON the recently held China Civil Aviation Development Forum, Director of Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) Li Jiaxiang said there are concerns about losses of small and medium airports in China and questions whether China has built more of these airports than necessary. And he said that this is misunderstanding about the strategic status and function of the aviation industry in China, Xinhua reports.
Mr Li pointed out that it is a common puzzle across the world for small and medium airports to keep making profit, even in developed countries. As of end 2011, China has 180 airports with a total profit of CNY5.3 billion (US$835.4 million). Of these 135 recorded loss, which totalled to CNY2 billion and 119 of them were small and medium ones, taking up 87 per cent of the total.
Mr Li said that small and medium airports' services covers over 70 per cent of the countries in China, making trillions of renminbi's contribution to the local economy, and this is where these airports' function should be judged from, not simply from the losses they are making.
When asked about the CAAC's strategic orientation of each airport in China under the circumstances that airports in mega cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou are short in capacity while smaller ones get not enough passenger or cargo feed, Li said there are many structural problems in China' aviation industry, where a mechanism of collaborations between international and regional hubs, major airports and feeder ones have not yet developed.
Mr Li said that government of smaller cities has been appealing for launch of more flights to airports in large cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou during recent years. But capacity shortage of these airports is making these demands hard to meet.
At the meantime, not enough passenger and cargo flow in smaller airports have resulted in less routes launched, making these airports far from able to cater the need of development of the local economy. While the disappointing operating results of these airport is also diminishing the local governments' desire to invest in them.
Mr Li said China is planning to build up a network where passenger and cargo are fed from hub airports to smaller ones to support the development of smaller airports.
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
THE Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) has expanded the scope of the programmes to assist local companies to enhance their competitiveness, productivity and increase access to new markets and business opportunities.
Under its Aviation Development Fund (ADF), with the enhancement of the Aviation Innovation Programme (AIP) and the addition of the Aviation Promotion Programme (AProP), CAAS will enable the sustained, long-term growth of the local aviation industry, said a statement from the authority.
The programmes were announced by Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew at the Aviation Community Reception (ACR), held at the Red Dot Design Museum.
Said CAAS director general Yap Ong Heng: "The global aviation landscape is increasingly marked by challenges, demands and pressures, requiring aviation companies to stay ahead in the highly competitive environment. The two initiatives launched today under the Aviation Development Fund will provide platforms for aviation companies in Singapore to grow their businesses and keep Singapore at the forefront of aviation."
AProP is the fourth initiative under the ADF1 with a budget of S$5 million (US$3.9 million) from April 2012 until April 2015.
"Open to Singapore-registered companies, organisations and industry trade associations, AProP aims to strengthen the Singapore aviation brand and help Singapore companies to expand their reach in international markets and their access to business opportunities. The AProp will assist Singapore companies to showcase their products and services at major international trade shows. Singapore companies will be encouraged to exhibit under a Singapore Pavilion, contributing to enhancing our position as a comprehensive aviation hub. AProP will also encourage the adoption of international best practices at the cluster level by supporting business missions, study trips and consultancy studies by Singapore companies, organisations and industry trade associations," said the CAAS statement.
The AIP has also been expanded to boost productivity of the Singapore aviation industry. Launched in 2010 with a budget of S$25 million over five years, the AIP seeks to encourage organisations to embark on innovative projects, initially to develop new or enhanced capabilities.
With its enhanced scope, the AIP will now also support companies embarking on projects geared towards achieving transformative productivity goals, ie, significant and sustainable productivity gains of at least 20 per cent.
"These can include process re-engineering, the adoption of new technologies and the development of new tools to increase operational efficiency. The programme continues to be open to all Singapore-registered companies and organisations and those with a presence in Singapore; including institutes of higher learning and research centres," said the statement.
In 2011, along with CAAS efforts to bolster the aviation industry's productivity, the authority launched the Process Innovation Challenge to encourage aviation companies to implement "quick win" projects to improve their productivity. The top eight projects received funding of up to S$50,000 each. These companies will now share their projects via various industry platforms, including a productivity in aviation seminar in July to facilitate intra-industry learning and accelerate the adoption of productivity improvement initiatives across the aviation sector in Singapore, said the statement.
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
DUE to a lack of air freight space hindering the export of perishable goods in the Indian state of Gujarat, the government has decided to build a air cargo complex at the Ahmedabad airport to be undertaken by Gujarat Agro Industries Ltd (GAIL) at a cost of INR50 million (US$0.89 million).
Over the last few years, key products from the state could not be exported at high season because there was no air cargo facility, relying heavily on exporting from south Gujarat and on to Mumbai airport. Mumbai airport accounts for 40 per cent of its vegetables shipped abroad and 25 per cent of its fruit.
The UK and Dubai are its biggest importers of products which include capsicum, tomato, ladies finger, exotic flowers and fruit like mango.
The project has suffered a two-year delay due to land-related issues, said GAIL managing director NK Singh cited a report from New Delhi's Indian Express. "Finally, the Airport Authority of India, Ahmedabad, provided us land on lease. We are waiting for the final nod from the customs," he added.
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
Automotive market of Kazakhstan has established a record of sales growth, consulting company Qncepto published the review of the Kazakh market of new cars produced on the territory of Kazakhstan and other CIS countries.
According to the information, sales dealers of Kazakhstan noticed the increase of 32% in April against the previous month. This is a sharp breakthrough of Kazakh market, which demonstrated the efficiency after the crisis.
So, the last month was the most "fruitful" in the history of domestic auto business. In the showrooms of the country were sold 7,868 new cars and light commercial vehicles. Buying activity is characterized not only by the highest growth rates, but also by their persistence against the backdrop of the last year. During February-April, the growth rate kept within 132-138%. Thus, the increase in April 2012 was 135.9%.
Kazakhstan sold 22,822 cars, or 137.3% in Q1 of this year to last year's volume. These rates are significantly higher than the rate of growth.
According to BNews.kz, sources of growth of the market remain the same: 70.6% were in the dynamics of vehicles produced in Russia and Kazakhstan, 29.4% growth was achieved by imports from Uzbekistan, Ukraine and other countries.
Central Asian News Service, en.ca-news.org
MEMBER carriers of Asia Australia Discussion Agreement (AADA) plan to adjust the bunker surcharges to US$675 per TEU and $1,350 per FEU for dry and refrigerated containers from June 16 due to recent decrease in the price of oil in Hong Kong and South Korea.
AADA is a voluntary discussion forum of ocean carriers serving the trade from north and east Asia to destinations in Australia, whose members include ANL, CSCL, Cosco, Hamburg Sud, Hanjin, Hapag-Lloyd, Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM), "K" Line, MSC, MOL, NYK and OOCL.
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
ORIENT Overseas Container Line (OOCL) announced that it will put a general rate increase (GRI) into effect on cargo moving in both directions on the trans-Atlantic trade starting from July 1.
This is the second time OOCL has posted a trans-Atlantic GRI this year. It raised rates on April 1 on all westbound cargo moving between Europe, Canada, and the US via Canadian ports.
"Ocean freight rates continue to be below the required level to cover basic operating costs or transportation costs on our trans-Atlantic trade," the shipping carrier said in a statement.
OOCL's newest trans-Atlantic rate increases are: US$450 per TEU and $600 per FEU and 45-foot-container for both westbound and eastbound and applicable to dry and reefer cargo on all the routes and services between Europe, Canada and the US via Canadian ports; $400 per TEU and $500 per FEU and 45-foot container for both westbound and eastbound and applicable to dry and reefer cargo on all the routes and service between Europe and the US; and $200 per TEU and $300 per FEU and 45-foot container for both westbound and eastbound and applicable to dry and reefer cargo on all the routes and services between Europe and Mexico.
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
THE World Bank has cut its forecast for China's 2012 growth to 8.2 per cent from 8.4 per cent, but said the government still has plenty of firepower to avoid a "hard landing," reports the Financial Times.
The bank advised that more stimulus spending should not be credit-driven or focus on infrastructure investment. "The burden of any countercyclical response should fall on fiscal policy," it said in the organisation's regional bi-annual report.
"Fiscal measures to support consumption, such as targeted tax cuts, social welfare spending and other social expenditures, should be viewed as the first priority," the report said.
Separately, China's State Council said the government would "proactively take policies and measures to expand demand and to create a favourable policy environment for stable and relatively fast growth", including speeding up planned rail, environment and rural infrastructure projects.
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
BARLOWORLD Logistics has for the third time in a row landed the contract for Hong Kong's largest bi-annual wine exhibition, Vinexpo Asia Pacific that will be held at the city's Convention and Exhibition Centre from May 29 - 31.
Barloworld was awarded the contract for the event by W&S Logistics, the official French logistics partner of organizer Vinexpo Asia Pacific.
Barloworld will appoint a team of wine logistics experts to manage stock replenishment and the on-site supply of alcohol products to exhibitors. Wines will be stored in optimal temperature controlled conditions and extra care will be taken to handle the fragile packaging of the products. A major challenge will be to deal with a large number of enquiries from exhibitors in a short period of time.
In Hong Kong the wine logistics team will work closely with customs to ensure legal compliance for the import and export of wine and spirits in a city that has become the world's leading wine trading hub.
Compared to the previous exhibition in 2010, this year floor space has been expanded by 25 per cent, with 1,000 exhibitors and 15,000 wine professionals expected to visit the event.
"We have configured a high quality logistics solution for Vinexpo to ensure we can efficiently handle the large volumes of liquor and wine during the three days," said William Tang, managing director of Barloworld Logistics' Far East business, in a company statement.
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
SINGAPORE-based group Sembcorp Marine's subsidiary, Sembawang Shipyard, has secured three contracts worth SGD130 million (US$101.5 million) to repair and upgrade floating storage and offloading (FSO) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels.
The first contract was awarded by Angola-based oil company, Sonangol Pesquisa e Producao SA, to manage major repair and upgrading work of its 20-year old FSO Palanca which is expected at the shipyard by August. The work will include the renewal of the ship's cargo piping system and pumps, tank blasting and coating, and cables renewal for the electrical system, according to ProcurementAsia.
Sembawang Shipyard has also been awarded the Favoured Customer Contract for two LNG carriers' life extension projects by Australia-based shipping service provider North West Shelf Shipping Service Company. The two vessels are expected to enter the shipyard in June and September this year.
"These sophisticated projects demand strong engineering and project management skills to be executed in a safe environment and we are confident that through close collaboration with our partners, we will deliver the projects on time and to owners' high QHSE standards," Ong Poh Kwee, managing director of Sembawang Shipyard said.
Earlier this month, Sembcorp subsidiaries Sembcorp Marine, Sembcorp Development and Sembcorp Utilities expanded their businesses outside of Singapore to Malaysia and China.
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
DAMCO, the global logistics business unit of the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group, has announced that first quarter 2012 profit was US$7 million, the same amount recorded in the corresponding prior year period.
EBIT fell by 19 per cent year on year to US$13 million. The EBIT margin decreased to 1.8 per cent, down from 2.3 per cent in 2011.
The company said in a statement that trading was in line with last year, but results were negatively affected by the costs associated with the recent restructuring of Damco's European activities into mature and developing markets.
"We will absorb additional cost in the first two quarters because of the restructuring of our European region into East and West. This is the right thing to do to position us for the years to come. When the changes are all implemented at the end of Q2, Damco will be in a stronger position to address the very different needs of these diverse markets," said Damco CEO, Rolf Habben-Jansen.
First quarter gross profit rose by 8 per cent to US$190 million compared to the same period a year earlier, on a net revenue increase of 8 per cent to US$738 million.
The company said the results show its commercial strategy of increased focus on large and medium sized customers in selected industry verticals and enhanced local field sales is delivering the performance expected.
In the first three months of the year, total ocean freight volumes increased by 6 per cent to 187,000 TEU slightly ahead of the market, while air freight tonnage grew by 135 per cent to 40,000 tonnes. This reflects the acquisition of Chinese air freight forwarder NTS in August 2011, as well as a number of large customer wins. Excluding NTS, the company registered a volume growth of 37 per cent, in spite of an overall declining airfreight market.
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
THE freight management subsidiary of SNCF Geodis, Geodis Wilson, says it is expanding its trucking operations to include China, an extension of its existing routes through Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Indochina region.
The full cross-border route between Singapore and China covers a total distance of 5,950 km and has a lead-time of 6-7 days. Customers can choose between full container load (FCL) services, or less than container load (LCL) services. FCL containers are sealed from door-to-door and opened only if required by border customs, while LCL containers are consolidated at the company's facilities along the route, and fed into the main road network by regional trucks.
"One distinctive element of our cross border trucking product is the range of security measures. They enable us to monitor and protect cargoes and help to ensure that our clients' goods can be delivered on time. This includes solid contingency mechanisms, for instance in case of severe weather, complex customs clearing or for accident prevention," said Chris Lee, regional director cross border trucking, in a report by Transport Intelligence.
Geodis Wilson began cross-border trucking services in Southeast Asia in 1995 with services between Malaysia and Thailand and this was extended to Singapore in 1996. The company has been operating daily scheduled LCL services since 1999, providing full customs clearance support to shipments.
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
NUREMBERG, Germany-headquartered Continental Temic, a supplier of electronic chassis components for the automotive industry, and DB Schenker have signed a three-year contract for the warehousing of raw materials for storage and delivery to the production line for its Taguig plant, Philippines of electronic brake systems and security systems.
The contract is the first with Continental Temic in contract logistics for DB Schenker which holds responsibility for its customs clearance and the management of an external overflow warehouse.
"This contract could be the kick-off for further warehouse activities for Continental in Asia," said Marcus Balzereit, Schenker Philippines logistics director in a statement. "The agreement is an important step towards the development of our business relationships."
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
2012-05-29
SWISSPORT International has been awarded a contract to handle all of Air Berlin's flights at Zurich Airport, along with those of subisidiary airline NIKI, amounting to more than 8,000 flights per year to and from Zurich.
In a long-term contract, Swissport will begin ground-handling operations for Austrian airline NIKI from September 2012 and will handle Air Berlin flights from January 2013. Services for Air Berlin and NIKI will include check-in, loading and unloading of aircrafts.
"Air Berlin has established itself with a business model that combines high-quality products and services with reasonable prices, said Swissport International executive VP Philipp Joeinig.
"This combination places considerable demands on suppliers, but also reflects the values of Swissport, and the decision to choose Swissport to handle Air Berlin and NIKI flights in Zurich is a tribute to the quality and efficiency of Swissport Zurich and Swissport stations around the world," he added in a statement.
Swissport International Ltd provides ground services for around 108 million passengers and 3.2 million tonnes of cargo a year (the latter using 98 warehouses with a total floor area of over 350,000 square metres) on behalf of some 650 client-companies in the aviation sector.
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
WORLDWIDE Flight Services (WFS) has announced that it is opening a new independent air cargo handling operation at Stockholm Arlanda Airport on June 1, to increase its presence in Scandinavia.
This follows the signing of a long-term agreement between the air cargo handling organisation and airport operator Swedavia.
The operation is located in a 3,000-square metre airside warehouse "fully equipped with all the features required to deliver a modern, fast and professional handling product," a company statement said.
The company's newest station will be connected to, and fully integrated with, its road feeder network that links all of its European stations, using dedicated truck services.
Martijn de Regt, who has over 20 years experience of working with the freight organisations Panalpina and ASP Logistics, will head up the new Stockholm operation. He will work closely with general manager for Scandinavia, Thomas Petersen.
"Copenhagen has been a great success story for WFS," said Marc Claesen, vice president for Northern Europe. "Opening a WFS operation at Stockholm Arlanda is a logical next step in our northern Europe development plans."
The company entered the Nordic air cargo market in 2006 with the opening of a newly-built cargo centre in Copenhagen. Since then, it has expanded its handling facility with 5,000 square metres of additional warehouse and office space and now handles 70,000 tons of flown, and trucked, cargo a year in Denmark for over 50 airlines.
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
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