AIR CHINA's latest operating results show that the carrier handled 93,300 tonnes of air freight in April, down 11.7 per cent year on year and 4.1 per cent month to month.
The carrier's passenger volume dropped 4.6 per cent year on year but grew 0.8 per cent month on month to 3.97 million persons, Xinhua reports.
In the same month, Air China's cargo capacity dropped 6.2 per cent. Cargo turnover fell 8.9 per cent. Cargo load factor fell 1.7 percentage points to 58.2 per cent.
Passenger capacity grew 0.1 per cent. Passenger turnover decreased 1.2 per cent. Domestic passenger capacity dropped 6.6 per cent, turnover fell 7.8 per cent. International passenger capacity grew 10.1 per cent, turnover climbed 9.5 per cent. Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan capacity rose 10.6 per cent, turnover grew nine per cent. Passenger load factor dropped one percentage point to 81.9 per cent.
From January to April, Air China handled 341,000 tonnes of cargo, down 9.8 per cent year on year. Its passenger throughput went 0.5 per cent up to 15.69 million people.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
DHL EXPRESS has opened a international service centre in Tsing Yi that coincides with its new offer of time-definite delivery from Hong Kong to the United States called "DHL Express 10:30".
The company has invested a total of HK$34.7 million (US$4.46 million) in its new 4,500-square-metre Tsing Yi service centre. Complementing its two existing international centres in Cheung Sha Wan and Tsuen Wan, the new facility consolidates shipments from across Hong Kong and sends them via a Central Asia hub for distribution to more than 220 countries and territories worldwide.
DHL Express Hong Kong managing director Ken Lee said the location of the new service centre in Tsing Yi makes for an ideal location owing to its transportation network, proximity to the city's airport, and convenient reach to customer sites. "This significant investment not only shows our continued confidence in Hong Kong's potential for growth, but also underlines our commitment to helping customers connect to the world."
The Tsing Yi service centre will help the company raise handling capacity and boost operational efficiency by streamlining processes and resources. Equipped with advanced installations that enable more efficient unloading processes, the centre is expected to have a 110-ton outbound capacity and a 50-ton inbound capacity per day, said a company statement.
Earlier this year, the company commenced a new round-the-world flight from Hong Kong to Los Angeles to offer customers one-day express delivery service in major Asia Pacific cities.
With this new service the company promises to deliver customers' shipments by 10.30am on the next possible business day to all major business centres in the US. The latest possible pickup cut-off time has been extended to 10pm in Hong Kong.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
2012-05-23
Sourcing MSC certified seafood wins procurement silver medal
(SEATTLE--May 22, 2012) The National Association of Colleges and University Food Services (NACUFS) has named The University of California, Berkeley as silver medalists of their 2012 Sustainability Awards in the category of procurement for sourcing seafood from MSC certified fisheries. The university’s food service division, Cal Dining, became MSC Chain of Custody certified in June of 2011.
The NACUFS Sustainability Awards annually recognize and honor member institutions that have demonstrated outstanding leadership in the promotion and implementation of environmental sustainability, specifically as it relates to campus dining operations. The NACUFS Sustainability Awards support the globally accepted triple bottom line philosophy, a method of evaluating operational performance by measuring financial success as well as environmental sustainability and social responsibility—also known as “people, planet, profit.” NACUFS recognized other universities in the categories of: waste management, outreach and education, energy and water conservation, and materials and resources. View more details about the 2012 NACUFS Sustainability Awards on Food Management’s website here.
What UC Berkeley says
“This recognition reinforces our belief from the beginning,” said Chuck Davies, Associate Director of Cal Dining, “that responsible, sustainable sourcing benefits our students as well as our business model.”
Cal Dining is part of UC Berkeley’s Residential and Student Services Program—a self-supporting business auxiliary of the campus. Cal Dining serves more than 29,000 customers each day and operates 15 locations.
About Chain of Custody
MSC Chain of Custody (CoC) certification is a comprehensive traceability program that tracks seafood from the point of sale back to an MSC certified fishery. It ensures that MSC-labeled products are sourced from a fishery that is MSC certified, and it protects buyers and fisheries from fraudulent labeling and risks from illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing.
To obtain CoC certification, wholesalers and distributors must pass an independent, third party audit that is conducted by an accredited certification body, and it must undergo annual surveillance audits to demonstrate it continues to meet the standard. The CoC standard focuses on having an internal traceability system and reliable operational systems in place to ensure that MSC certified seafood is kept separate from noncertified seafood. Worldwide, more than 2,000 companies have obtained Chain of Custody certification.
About the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is an international non-profit organization set up to help transform the seafood market to a sustainable basis. The MSC runs the only certification and ecolabeling program for wild-capture fisheries consistent with the ISEAL Code of Good Practice for Setting Social and Environmental Standards and the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization Guidelines for the Eco-labeling of Fish and Fishery Products from Marine Capture Fisheries. These guidelines are based upon the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fishing and require that credible fishery certification and ecolabeling schemes include:
· Objective, third-party fishery assessment utilizing scientific evidence;
· Transparent processes with built-in stakeholder consultation and objection procedures;
· Standards based on the sustainability of target species, ecosystems and management practices.
The MSC has offices in London, Seattle, Tokyo, Sydney, The Hague, Glasgow, Berlin, Cape Town, Paris, Madrid and Stockholm.
In total, over 270 fisheries are engaged in the MSC program with 161 certified and 117 under full assessment. Another 40 to 50 fisheries are in confidential pre-assessment. Together, fisheries already certified or in full assessment record annual catches of close to 10 million metric tonnes of seafood. This represents over 11 percent of the annual global harvest of wild capture fisheries. Certified fisheries currently land over seven million metric tonnes of seafood annually – close to eight percent of the total harvest from wild capture fisheries. Worldwide, more than 15,000 seafood products, which can be traced back to the certified sustainable fisheries, bear the blue MSC ecolabel.
Source MSC
Member States at the forthcoming EU summit have the opportunity to reinstate TIR to enhance competitiveness among SMEs and thus stimulate growth, generate employment and increase revenues for EU Member States.
Brussels – Member States should seize the opportunity at this week’s informal summit, and the EU summit on 28-29 June, to stimulate growth, employment and EU revenues by reinstating use of the TIR transit system for goods transport under customs control within the EU.
Reinstating the TIR System would provide 600,000 road transport operators - mainly small or medium sized businesses (SMEs) servicing SMEs which account for 85% of employment – with an attractive alternative to the current and mandatory T System, which is controlled by a handful of freight forwarding companies, which cater mainly for multinationals. Such a reintroduction of the TIR System on EU territory would be very timely, as the EU customs code is currently being revised.
Commenting on TIR System benefits, the President of the IRU Goods Transport Liaison Committee to the EU, Alexander Sakkers, stressed, “The TIR System facilitates and secures the transport of goods by road and offers guarantee to customs that customs duties will be paid. Shippers and road transport operators need the freedom to choose which guarantee option best suits their business needs and should not be constrained to the mandatory T System which is run by a small freight forwarder community. Forcing operators to use one system with no access to viable alternatives is detrimental to the EU economy”.
A disadvantage of the T System is that it only covers individual packages, unlike TIR which can guarantee entire containers or trucks at once, thereby simplifying customs procedures, reducing time and costs. As entire consignments are covered, freight can be secured and sealed under customs control thereby providing greater security from organised crime – an essential security not provided through the T System.
Alexander Sakkers concluded, “The present arrangement forced on road transport operators raises transport costs and the risk of cargo crime. Lower costs and secure goods transport are vital if we are to see an increase in trade and growth. Increased costs and heightened insecurity suffocates the activity necessary for economic recovery within the EU. Yet, to reintroduce TIR in the EU requires the simple inclusion of one line, at no cost, to the EU customs code. This is the most cost effective way to ensure growth in the EU.”
Source IRU Communications
This edition features plenty of background information and news on the logistics in the Port of Rotterdam, particularly in connection to the Olympic Games this year in London: How does athletic shoe manufacture ASICS organise the logistic process of getting 36 million shoes to Europe via the Port of Rotterdam every year? And what is needed to get the German dressage team safely in London on time?
Market leader Kühne + Nagel is already preparing for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. This Swiss company is to coordinate the logistics, but how will they manage to get a grip on this momentous event? In addition, Feng Jun, Director of large Chinese companies, tells why he invests in Europe. In order to speed up customs clearance, Rapiscan has designed the very latest train scanning technology. Dutch Customs are the first in Europe to use it in Rotterdam. Read in the magazine how this important innovation operates.
Source Port of Rotterdam Authority
President Nazarbaev offered foreign investors the project called "New Silk Road", Tengrinews.kz reported.
"Today, I want to invite you all to start the project "New Silk Road". Kazakhstan has to revive its historic role and become the largest business hub transit of Central Asian region, a bridge between Europe and Asia. As a result of this mega-project in 2020, the volume of transit traffic through Kazakhstan should increase by half with further increasing its at least 50 million tons. My vision is the creation of the key transport corridors of Kazakhstan a single set of hubs of international level, trade and logistics, financial, business, innovation and technology and tourism," Nazarbaev said finishing 25th plenary meeting of the Foreign Investors Council under the President of Kazakhstan.
The competitive advantage of the proposed project "New Silk Road" will be based on implementing the principle of the four "S", which are: speed, service, safety and stability, according to the President of Kazakhstan.
Central Asian News Service, en.ca-news.org
Seawork International, 22nd – 24th May 2012, SSA Stand SR1
The SSA Stand SR1 at this year’s Seawork International features the SafeSea® V100 GMDSS hand-held radio. Following Marine Equipment Directive (MED) certification from the British Approvals Board for Telecommunications (BABT), Ocean Signal has announced full availability of the V100 which has enabled shipment of the product to commence worldwide.
“Having received full certification of our V100 hand-held radio, we have now commenced shipment of the products to our global distribution and customer base. The V100 completes our existing SafeSea portfolio which offers a range of highly reliable and easy-to-use safety products, each with unique industry leading features,” comments Alan Wrigley, Managing Director, Ocean Signal.
The new Ocean Signal, SafeSea V100 is a rugged, fully featured hand-portable GMDSS radiotelephone which exceeds GMDSS environmental requirements. With ergonomic design, durable laser etched keypad, high contrast backlit LCD and backlit keys the radio is supplied with all the 21 international simplex channels required.
As with all Ocean Signal products, improving battery life has been a primary consideration in the development of the SafeSea V100. A unique feature of the emergency Lithium primary battery is the battery protection tab which avoids inadvertent use. Only when the tab is broken off will the battery operate the radio, ensuring the pack is at full capacity when needed. The tab is not replaceable and the battery is clearly marked ‘Used’ underneath the tab. The battery is classified as non-hazardous for shipment and can be user replaced.
In addition, a highly efficient transmitter helps to maximise the battery life giving significant improvement over other products on the market, providing typically 16 hours operation even at -20C. In addition, a Lithium Polymer rechargeable battery pack is available with rapid charger that can be desk or wall mounted, for day to day on-board use. An accessory socket option is also available for users requiring helmets or headsets.
Ocean Signal’s full range of SafeSea products includes the E100 and E100G EPIRBS, S100 SART and the V100 GMDSS hand-held radio. For further information, please visit the Ocean Signal team at stand SR1 or visit www.oceansignal.com.
Source SALTWATERPR
Riga. The Latvian national airline airBaltic has been selected amongst the world’s Top 10 most innovative airlines by Airlinetrends.com - an independent industry and consumer trends research agency.
Martin Gauss, Chief Executive Officer of airBaltic: “We are very delighted to achieve the high ranking in the Top 10 of innovators out of hundreds of airlines around the world. With the passionate and energetic team we have, airBaltic will continue to set the trends for future innovation for the benefit of our passengers, travelling to and from our 60 destinations in Europe, Middle East, Russia and the CIS.”
airBaltic was ranked by Airlinetrends among the Top 10 airlines globally for a wide array of innovations, including world’s first inflight car dealership for custom-designed Mini Cooper, roses on board, iPad as inflight entertainment, world’s first bicycle rental scheme by an airline BalticBike, BalticTaxi cab service, organic meals for business class, and many more. Airlinetrends ranked airBaltic as No 8, ahead of AirAsia (No 9), and All Nippon Airways (No 10). The remaining airlines in the Top 10 of innovators will be released one by one until early June.
airBaltic serves 60 destinations with direct flights from its home base in Riga, Latvia. From every one of these, airBaltic offers convenient connections via North Hub Riga to its network spanning Europe, Scandinavia, Russia, CIS and the Middle East.
Source A/S Air Baltic Corporation
Companies have signed MoU transferring 12 Finnair Embraer aircraft to Flybe
Finnair and the largest European regional airline Flybe of UK today announced that the companies plan to extend their cooperation to offer cost efficient European connections for Finnair’s passengers.
Last year Finnair and Flybe formed Flybe Nordic AB, of which Flybe owns 60 % and Finnair 40 %. The companies have now signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) according to which Finnair will transfer twelve 100 seat Embraer aircraft, to Flybe. Starting October 2012 Flybe will operate these aircraft on Finnair routes for Finnair. The move is a part of Finnair’s efforts to improve the profitability of its European network, and it offers a platform for growth for Flybe Nordic.
“This move is a part of our strategy to restore Finnair’s profitability”, says Mika Vehviläinen, Finnair CEO. “The MoU covers approximately one third of our European flights. Flybe offers a cost efficient platform for operating this traffic, and enables us to continue to offer a wide network and multiple frequencies to both our Finnish customers and our customers flying between Europe and Finnair’s Asian destinations.”
“Today’s announcement marks another step in our journey of growth, as we extend further our contract flying operations for Finnair. The extension of the contract flying business is a key part of Flybe Finland’s strategy, providing the business with a good balance of risk”, Mike Rutter, Managing Director of Flybe Europe,
From the customer point view, the change will be virtually unnoticed. Finnair continues to be responsible for sales, marketing and customer support, but the flights are operated by Flybe.
Once the agreement is completed, 12 Embraer aircraft and the traffic operated with them transfers from Finnair to Flybe. In connection with this business transfer, cabin attendants and pilots for this traffic will transfer with the business, unless otherwise agreed in negotiations with personnel. Negotiations on cost savings between Finnair and the Finnish Airline Pilots' Association have proceeded in a constructive manner during the spring. If the savings agreement under preparation is completed, pilots transferring to operate Flybe flights would return to Finnair in stages to be trained as Airbus pilots for Finnair’s growing Asian traffic.
Finnair is proceeding on track with its transformation program that targets 140 million euro annual savings to restore profitability and improve competitiveness. Finnair continues to seek to improve the profitability of the rest of its European traffic. Alternatives include, as has been previously communicated, decreasing the costs together with own personnel or forming additional partnerships.
Finnair announced on August 5, 2011 that it targeted decreases in its annual costs of 140 million euros by 2014. Finnair has already announced that it:
• has chosen Swissport as its partner for baggage and apron services
• is optimizing the size of its fleet in European air traffic, has discontinued the leases of four Airbus 320 series aircraft, and subleased five Embraer 170 aircraft
• has signed an Memorandum of Understanding on the sales of its catering business to LSG Services
• has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with SR Technics on engine and component services
• seeks solutions to improve the profitability of its European traffic
• has improved its route planning and aircraft utilisation
• is streamlining its support functions as well as marketing and distribution activities
• has initiated numerous other savings measures throughout the company.
Source Finnair Plc
Spirit Pub Company has awarded global logistics provider, Kuehne + Nagel, a long-term contract to handle the food service supply chain for its estate of more than 800 managed pubs across the United Kingdom.
Spirit owns and operates some of the United Kingdom’s fastest growing pub brands, such as Chef & Brewer, Fayre & Square, Taylor Walker and Flaming Grill. Since the company’s launch eight months ago, together with its commitment to providing exceptional guest experiences, Spirit required a logistics partner with proven experience in the sector and a deep understanding of the specific needs of pub operators.
Under the new agreement, Kuehne + Nagel has implemented a solution that will provide a platform for sustainable growth, improved communication and further collaboration between suppliers. A key enabler is a new IT system, which will provide visibility of menu sales and stocks to suppliers upstream, allowing for more accurate planning and forecasting.
Kuehne + Nagel will manage two regional distribution centres (RDC’s) at Trafford Park, Manchester and Greenford, Greater London, on behalf of Spirit. Offering a combined total warehousing space of over 18,000m2, these RDC’s will handle 1200 fresh, frozen and ambient product lines, with stocked lines being picked and merged with just-intime lines for onward delivery to the pubs. The operation will run six days per week, typically making three deliveries each week to each pub via a national trunking and radial distribution fleet of 60 vehicles.
Spirit’s Head of Logistics, Vance Fairman-Smith, said: “At the heart of the decision to appoint Kuehne + Nagel was the need to support our pubs with a robust supply chain operation that would ultimately make it easier for pub employees to deliver great service to guests.”
The Food Service sector is a strategic growth area for Kuehne + Nagel. The logistics provider has invested in developing solutions which offer significant advantages over the more traditional wholesale routes to market. These advantages include increased control and visibility of costs, improved service levels, and the inclusion of recycling and reverse logistics. In the United Kingdom, Kuehne + Nagel now runs three multi-temperature distribution centres, and carries out 105 food service deliveries per hour on a 24/7 basis.
John Hartley, Kuehne + Nagel’s Senior Vice-President, Sales & Marketing for North-West Europe said, “With an increasing trend towards eating out, the third-party logistics model has become attractive to multiple restaurant operators. Not only does it support their growth, it also offers greater reliability and product availability, and therefore an improved guest experience. Kuehne + Nagel is now positioned as the market leading third-party logistics provider for food service in the United Kingdom, and we are looking forward to embarking on our new long-term partnership with Spirit Pub Company.”
Kuehne + Nagel
2012-05-22
Ships Electronic Services (SES), a leading supplier of marine electronics equipment, has announced that the company has been awarded a £375,000 contract to supply all the navigation and communications equipment for two new Hybrid Ferries building at Ferguson Shipbuilders, Port Glasgow for Caledonian Marine Assets.
These will be the world’s first hybrid diesel electric Ro Ro vehicle and passenger ferries to enter service and will be operating the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service from spring 2013. The green technology will be incorporated throughout the ships, supplying a minimum of 20% of the energy consumed on board.
SES has a long standing relationship with Fergusons, supplying and installing electronic and communication equipment for a number of the yards projects. Richard Dean, Managing Director of Ferguson Shipbuilders commented, “These are important vessels for the yard and show Scottish ship building at the forefront of green technology, substantially reducing fuel usage and emissions. We are delighted to be working once again with SES who have provided exceptional service to the yard over the years.”
Director of SES, Colin Anderson based at the company’s Grangemouth offices, said “We are proud to be associated with Fergusons and this world first. This is the latest in a line of contracts won by us for major commercial projects. We represent some of the industry’s largest electronic manufacturers, providing us with the ability to specify exactly what our customers require to create a reliable and cost effective electronics and communications solution. We also have service centres around the UK coastline, a 24 hour helpline and engineers capable of travelling globally to provide our customers with the best service wherever they operate.”
SES will be fitting a full specification of electronics on the hybrid ferries including Furuno Radars and Transas ECDIS. A complex double ended heading system from Raytheon Anschuetz will be installed enabling all the headings to the AIS, ECDIS and Autopilot to be changed 180 degrees, along with all the navigation lights, at the touch of a single switch. They will also be supplying the Autopilot system which utilises their extensive interfacing knowledge with the Voith Schneider drive units.
Saltwater Communications
3 x P 220B access platforms supplied to Oslo Liftutleie
Whether hire or municipal use - platforms by PALFINGER PLATFORMS meet the highest demands for profitability and work safety required in the “pick up & go” business. PALFINGER PLATFORMS dominates the 3.5 t class. The most recent example of this is the handover of three P 220B access platforms to the prestigious Norwegian hire company Oslo Liftutleie.
Oslo Liftutleie manages a vehicle pool of approx. 30 truck-mounted access platforms with working heights between 14 and 62 m. Seventeen of these access platforms come from the PALFINGER PLATFORMS stable. Things will continue in the same vein following handover of the three new P 220B models. PALFINGER Norge will shortly supply this customer with another two PD 140 V and a P 300KS.
PALFINGER AG
Communications and safety at sea specialist, Ocean Signal has further strengthened its worldwide presence by appointing Australia’s leading marine electronics distributor and service company, Taylor Marine as the dedicated Australian distributor. Based in both Henderson, Western Australia and Brisbane, Queensland, Taylor Marine will be responsible for distributing Ocean Signal’s SafeSea range of GMDSS products, which are fully approved for use by Australian registered vessels.
“We are excited to have been appointed by Ocean Signal as its dedicated distributor for the Australian market. The SafeSea portfolio offers easy battery replacement and superior battery performance, so we are confident about being able to grow sales of the product range and look forward to working with the team at Ocean Signal moving forward,” comments David Maitland, Managing Director, Taylor Marine.
Ocean Signal’s SafeSea portfolio offers highly reliable and easy-to-use GMDSS products, which includes the V100 GMDSS hand-held radio, as well as the E100 and E100G EPIRBS and S100 SART.
Saltwater Communications
THE Asian Shipowners' Forum (ASF), supported by the Japanese Shipowners' Association (JSA), are protesting proposed Panama Canal toll increases, saying that they were made without consultation and at a time when the industry can least afford them.
"Under the current economic situation, the newly proposed toll increase would be detrimental to the shipping industry," said the ASF, which was separately issued by the JSA.
"The ASF urges the ACP [Panama Canal Authority] to withdraw its current proposal for toll adjustments in 2012 and 2013 and to maintain a close and interactive dialogue with the shipping industry to ensure that toll adjustments would be reasonable, transparent and gradually implemented," said the statement.
This comes in response to the ACP announcement of its intention to raise tolls in July and again next year 2013 and to modify the toll structure. The ACP has invited comments.
Said the ASF statement: "Given the importance of the Panama Canal as an international public infrastructure vital for efficient operation of the global supply chain, the notice period for the proposed toll increase given by the ACP was too short.
"The proposed toll increase was unilaterally formulated without any form of consultation or dialogue with the shipping industry and the ASF is of the view that this may inhibit business planning which could possibly lead to reduction in the total revenue received by the ACP," the statement said.
The ASF would also request the ACP to review its pricing policy to increase tolls at an annual 3.5 per cent average rate for 20 years, which was referred to in the "Proposals for the Expansion of the Panama Canal" in April 2006.
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
THE Canadian Pacific Railway faces an imminent strike by 4,800 employees over pension reform brought in by the company's new interim CEO whose appointment has resulted from a fierce proxy battle, reports the Toronto Globe and Mail.
The strike is over the appointment of new management following weeks of board-level battling between the old board and a major shareholder Bill Ackman, of New York's Pershing Square Capital Management, who successfully removed the old CEO Fred Green, replacing him with railway industry veteran Stephen Tobias as caretaker CEO.
The Teamsters Canada union ended its five-year contract on December 30, and now worried that Calgary-based CP will place new employees on less generous pensions in an effort to turn around underperforming freight operations.
Said CP chief operations officer Mike Franczak: "The offer on pension aligns with the industry and allows the railway to remain competitive as we invest in strategic infrastructure upgrades along our network."
Mr Franczak said the offer is fair. "We are willing to enter into binding arbitration or negotiation period extensions should an agreement not be reached at this stage," he said.
"This would ensure the continued operations of freight and commuter trains on CP's Canadian network for the benefit of our customers. Any extension to the bargaining process requires consent of the union or action of the federal government," he said.
Mr Ackman, 46, is CP's largest shareholder with a 14.2-per-cent stake. He and six other Pershing Square nominees now serve on CP's new board. Pershing Square is touting its recovery plan to chop CP's annualised operating ratio to 65 per cent within four years of replacing Mr Green.
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
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