FROM January to April this year, port of Chongqing lifted 241,000 TEU, up 23 per cent year on year, Xinhua reports.
The port's throughput tonnage increased 12.4 per cent to 37.58 million tonnes. Foreign trade cargo grew 29.1 per cent to 1.31 million tonnes.
In the same period, Chongqing's waterway container increased 25.9 per cent to 201,000 TEU. Waterway cargo tonnage climbed 7.8 per cent to 35.12 million tonnes. Waterway cargo traffic turnover grew 5.7 per cent to 436 billion tonnes per kilometre.
In April, Chongqing port's box throughput grew 25.3 per cent year on year and 7.5 per cent month on month to 59,000 TEU. Throughput tonnage increased 9.91 per cent year on year but dropped 0.6 per cent over March to 8.53 million tonnes. Foreign trade cargo throughput surged 44 per cent year on year and 17.8 per cent month on month to 340,000 tonnes.
In April, the city's waterborne container grew 19 per cent year on year and 11.5 per cent month on month to 55,000 TEU. Waterway cargo tonnage increased 1.9 per cent year on year but decreased one per cent month on month to 8.97 million tonnes. Waterway cargo turnover dropped 13 per cent year on year and 10.3 per cent over March to 99.77 billion tonnes per kilometre.
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
CROATIA's Adriatic Gate Container Terminal (AGCT), a unit of Manila's International Container Terminal Services Inc (ICTSI), has ordered two post-panamax quay cranes, eight rubber tyre gantries and rail mounted gantries from with Shanghai's Zhenhua Heavy Industries Company (ZPMC).
ZPMC (its initials retained from the company's former name, the Shanghai Zhenhua Port Machinery Company, will deliver all the equipment to the Port of Rijeka next May when the new quay extension will be complete with 14.5 metres alongside and an 80,000-square metre yard.
The new equipment will allow full access to post-panamax vessels for handling when fully loaded. The deliveries will also coincide with the start of intermodal connection inland with scheduled trains operating between Rijeka, Belgrade and Budapest.
In 2011, ICTSI signed an agreement with Luka Rijeka for a 30-year partnership for the operation, management and development of AGCT. The terminal is being primed to become the gateway to central and south eastern Europe, serving Hungary, the former Czechoslovakia and the former Yugoslavia and well as southern Poland.
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
AP MOLLER MAERSK chief executive Nils Smedegaard Andersen, 53, was clearly back at work with the announcement of Danish shipping giant's quarterly results after he spent more than four months on medical leave following heart surgery.
Mr Andersen was hospitalised during a skiing holiday in Switzerland in December, reported Dow Jones. After surgery to replace a cardiac valve in Switzerland for two weeks, he returned to Denmark in mid-January.
He was initially expected to resume work at the beginning of February, but suffered a setback and further surgery in late March, said the report.
"Having participated in a number of meetings and having been updated on our activities during the last couple of weeks, I am now ready to return to work," Mr Andersen said.
During his absence, the company has been led by members of the executive board, reporting to supervisory board chairman Michael Pram Rasmussen.
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
GLOBAL logistics provider Kuehne + Nagel Japan has been granted the medical device manufacturing licence (packaging, labelling and storage) for its logistics facility in Ichikawa by the Chiba Prefecture Government.
"The licence is a huge step forward for Kuehne + Nagel to expand its position as a leading logistics provider to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry," said Kuehne + Nagel Japan president Tadhg Meaney.
The newly obtained licence enables the company to undertake three aspects of manufacturing processes of medical devices, namely the packaging, labelling and storing of medical devices, before distributing the tools to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry in Japan.
The company has also appointed a dedicated on-site technical specialist for medical device manufacturing at its Ichikawa logistics facility to comply with the licensing requirements.
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
THE Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has appointed the International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) as one of two organisations to give an enhanced bunkering course for cargo officers in a bid to upgrade professionalism and competence.
From July 1, all new cargo officers will be required to not only be familiar with the requirements of the Singapore Standard on Bunkering (SS 600), but also to have successfully completed the Enhanced Bunkering Course, before working independently on board bunker tankers. Existing cargo officers will be required to attend and successfully complete the course by June 30 2013.
IBIA, along with the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA), has run a cargo officers' course since 2009, to enhance cargo officers' technical knowledge on bunkering related shipboard operations as well as to raise general awareness of maritime security and personal safety.
Trevor Harrison, IBIA's acting chief executive said: "Credit must go to the regional manager of IBIA Asia, Kwok Fook Sing, who has invested a great deal of time and effort in devising the course structure and producing its content, as well as liaising with the MPA to ensure that the course fulfils its objectives and meets the MPA's high standards."
Kwok Fook Sing said: "We are pleased to be able to have worked with the MPA in developing this course to members of the bunkering community and we look forward to working with them to achieve their targets for quality standards through the delivery of these courses."
As well as the enhanced course, IBIA is also providing a one-day Basic Bunkering Course on SS600, which is recognised by MPA, and both courses are currently run at monthly intervals.
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
GAC BUNKER FUELS Limited has started offering customers a new pricing and market information platform accessible over the Internet to provide data on a daily basis and facilitate fast and informed fuel procurement decisions.
This new interactive service, which allows shipowners and operators to design their own customised daily pricing page, is available at http://www.gac.com/bunkerfuels .
The service provides historical data, allowing users to track and analyse market trends. In addition, GAC's website hosts ship agency details, information on specific ports and weather routing data in order to give its customers market intelligence to make efficient and cost-effective bunker purchasing and operational decisions.
The company is also launching a weekly market intelligence bulletin that will provide insight and information from across the group, including port congestion updates and bunker availability.
"The process of procuring the right bunker fuel at the right time, in the right place and at the right price can be highly complicated, particularly in a volatile market where prices continue to fluctuate amid rising trends," said the GAC statement.
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
SCHENKER Khimji's LLC, the joint venture that DB Schenker Logistics established with long-time partner Khimji Ramdas Group in Oman, commenced operations this month.
The new company provides air and ocean freight, land transport, contract logistics, supply chain management and event logistics solutions. DB Schenker Logistics' delegate in Oman, Martin Hackl, has assumed the role of managing director of the joint venture.
Said DB Schenker regional CEO Peter Glatz: "We see a big potential in Oman to become another hub in the Middle East. This market is growing steadily, with new ports and airports being established. This joint venture will enhance our strong position in the GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] region."
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
HONG KONG's Cathay Pacific Airways and its unit Dragonair carried 124,531 tonnes of cargo and mail in April, declined 11 per cent year on year, the company announced in its monthly report.
The combined air cargo and mail load factor fell five percentage points to 63.3 per cent. Capacity, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometres, dropped 6.8 per cent, while cargo and mail tonne kilometres flown decreased 13.7 per cent. For the first four months, tonnage has shrunk 10.7 per cent against a capacity reduction of 3.3 per cent.
Cathay Pacific general manager for cargo sales and marketing James Woodrow said: "After the temporary surge in business in March, driven by large shipments of hi-tech products from mainland China, demand softened again out of our key markets in April. The general air cargo market remains soft, especially to Europe, though intra-Asia traffic is holding up better, helped by a recent expansion of the passenger network in the region. Looking forward, we will continue to manage capacity in line with demand, particularly on long-haul flights to Europe and transpacific. Fuel prices continue to be a major concern on these long-haul routes."
But both airlines carried a total of 2.5 million passengers in April, up 11.7 per cent versus the same month in 2011. The passenger load factor also rose 2.8 percentage points to 83.1 per cent. Capacity for the month, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), grew 8.2 per cent. For the year to date, passenger numbers have increased 9.7 per cent compared to a capacity growth of 8.5 per cent.
Said Cathay revenue chief James Tong: "Passenger volumes showed an increase compared to April 2011, though in the same month last year traffic to and from Japan was still being heavily affected by the earthquake and tsunami. Regional traffic last month was boosted by additional Cathay Pacific and Dragonair frequencies. The biggest problem at the moment is yield, which continues to decline in all classes, especially economy, while our business in the premium cabins is coming under increasing pressure."Sino-Indian CO2 defiance2
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
EIGHT Chinese and two Indian airlines have defied the EU carbon tax scheme requiring that they submit emissions data for entire flights and not just over European airspace, reports Reuters.
Penalties start at EUR100 (US$127) per tonne of carbon airlines fail to pay for, while the cost of compliance is estimated at EUR2 per passenger for a flight from Shanghai to Frankfurt, says the EU.
The European Union's Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said 1,200 airlines have submitted to the tax. But 20 countries have grouped themselves into a "coalition of the unwilling", meeting in Moscow to consider retaliation, saying they would meet again in Saudi Arabia at an unspecified date.
"You cannot enforce laws outside your sovereign area. The implications are huge," Indian Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh told Reuters.
But Ms Hedegaard stood firm. "We have given them [China and India]) until mid-June to report their data."
To reduce tension, said Reuters, the commission has looked to the UN' International Civil Aviation Administration (ICAO) to come up with a global approach to curbing carbon emissions.
The European Court of Justice ruled in December that the law was valid and did not breach international treaties. It said the scheme was a market-based mechanism and not a tax.
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
THE 30-hour strike by Chennai airport cargo loaders of Bhadra International on May 14 had paralysed the cargo movement though the workers withdrew the strike later after gaining Bhadra's assurances on a wage increase.
A senior airport executive said the damage caused to the normal operation was "chaotic," reports The Times of India. "There is a cargo pile-up in the export and import divisions. We have started clearing cargo from the import section which will take a minimum of three days," said the official.
The airport needs to handle most cargo in the first few days of the week as many flight movements take place on Sunday night, Monday and Tuesday.
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
2012-05-17
Checks of taxi drivers, a widespread information campaign for passengers and increased vigilance of security services are some of the measures to be taken by Chopin Airport and the Warsaw authorities to tackle illegal taxis at the airport.
"The comfort and safety of passengers using Chopin Airport is our top priority. We cannot let them be targeted and cheated by bogus taxi drivers. With the support from the City Hall and state services, we are determined to finally put an end to this practice," said Michał Marzec, director of Chopin Airport.
Representatives of the Trading Standards Authority, Road Transport Inspection Authority and the Police have been working incognito for a couple of days now, checking the drivers' licenses and fares. Those who are caught without the required documents or provide misleading tariff information face heavy fines.
The airport's operator has also put up additional information posters in the Terminal, providing a list of names and phone numbers of the recommended taxi companies. The posters appeared in the baggage reclaim hall and on exit doors, among other places.
"Soon, the recommended taxi rank will be better signposted, with new signs put up in the arrivals hall and outside the terminal. Passengers will be assisted by special staff wearing bright colours, who will show them the way to the legit rank," promised Michał Hofman, head of Chopin Airport's Passenger Handling Service.
Before UEFA Euro2012 kicks off, there will also be stands with leaflets prepared by the city authorities and special posters with tips on how to recognise a legal taxi. In addition, the airport's operator plans to put up barriers at the rank outside the terminal, helping form a line of customers waiting for a taxi.
Any passenger who has been approached by touts or feels cheated or otherwise unfairly treated by a person posing as a taxi driver can report this to an Airport Security Service officer, who will pass the complaint on to the Police for further investigation. Apart from personal details of the person reporting the incident, the complaint will also include CCTV footage and other available evidence. Complaints, including information on when the incident happened and personal details of the sender, can also be emailed to pr@polish airports.com. These will also be referred to the police to deal with.
"We encourage anybody who feels they have been treated unfairly to report this. They are the only people who can help the Police as witnesses in the investigation," said Radosław Żuk, director of Chopin Airport's PR Bureau.
"The problem of illegal taxi drivers can only be resolved with the help of our passengers. The first thing we can all do is to raise awareness of the fact that it is only safe to use properly licensed and marked taxis. Reporting attempts of touting and cheating will allow the competent state bodies to take the right action. I hope that the measures we have put in place together with the city authorities and the Police will soon enable us to tackle the problem of illegal taxis once and for all," added director Michał Marzec.
Source Warsaw Chopin Airport
2012-05-17
17 May 2012 - The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) today launched an online marketing toolkit - http://marketing.msc.org - to help more retailers and brands promote their commitment to certified sustainable seafood.
Inspire, Educate, Navigate: a ‘turnkey solution’ to promote MSC labelled products
The online platform offers MSC partners a ‘turnkey’ solution to engage with consumers on seafood sustainability issues at the point of sale.
As consumer demand for certified sustainable seafood continues to grow, the web-based toolkit is designed to allow more MSC partners to take part in marketing activities that help drive shoppers’ preference for MSC labelled products, enhance partners’ sustainability credentials and reward fisheries that have demonstrated they are operating sustainably.
Created with the support of renowned shopper marketing agency Saatchi & Saatchi X, the toolkit follows their shopper journey model and includes everything required to Inspire, and Educate the shopper and help them Navigate to MSC labelled products in store. It also highlights a number of case studies of successful joint campaigns carried out by Albert Heijn in the Netherlands, Aeon in Japan, and Loblaw in Canada.
Disrupting shopping patterns
“For a number of years the MSC has been working with Saatchi & Saatchi X and retail partners around the world to create very successful marketing campaigns. The extraordinary results of the campaigns demonstrate how much shoppers value ‘sustainability’ i.e. with a little prompting they will act on those values in store.
This online toolkit builds on the lessons that we have learnt and provides a wealth of inspirational ideas and materials that are available to all partners to download and which have been shown to connect with shoppers very effectively.” said Simon Edwards, Global Marketing and Communications Director, Marine Stewardship Council.
Inspirational ideas to roll out innovative campaigns
The website shows how the ideas can be applied to a host of shopper touchpoints using examples created in a number of different languages by Saatchi & Saatchi X offices around the world.
Providing a flexible marketing solution has been a feature of MSC’s marketing support and partners with a valid Ecolabel Licence Agreement are free to adapt these ideas to fit their own retail template to promote their MSC labelled range.
This new platform complements other MSC tools and activities that promote partners’ commitment to sustainability such as joint marketing campaigns, sustainable seafood product finder, and a new seafood app.
Source MSC
DeLorme, the innovation leader in personal satellite tracking, messaging and navigation technology, today announced that it is contributing an inReach™ two-way personal satellite communicator and airtime to support Beneteau Powerboats’ Greatest Loop Expedition.
The DeLorme inReach product, which won the National Marine Manufacturers Association Innovation Award at the 2012 Miami International Boat Show, is the first consumer-affordable personal satellite communication device offering two-way Follow-Me/Find-Me tracking and locating, text messaging and SOS alerting anywhere on the face of the Earth through the Iridium satellite network.
For the Greatest Loop Expedition, a new Beneteau Swift Trawler 34, crewed by teams of Beneteau dealers and journalists from major U.S. boating magazines, will circumnavigate Eastern North America. The voyage will launch from Annapolis, Md. today and will include inland rivers and canals, the Great Lakes, Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic Ocean and Intracoastal Waterway, returning to Annapolis in September.
“The inReach device will provide an important margin of safety for the crew with its built-in SOS button that sends an instant distress alert to the GEOS international search-and-rescue center in case of an emergency,” said Laurent Fabre, vice president of sales and marketing for Beneteau’s Powerboats Division. “The inReach’s GPS tracking facility will also enable families, friends and other interested parties to view the vessel’s latest position and progress on a map display on our dedicated website www.thegreatestloop.com.”
“In addition to SOS and GPS tracking, the inReach service will permit the crew to send and receive text messages through a wireless Bluetooth connection and mobile app that runs on smartphones and tablets,” said Patrick Shay, DeLorme vice president and general manager for Connected Solutions. “This effectively converts the smartphone into a global two-way satellite texting device for use when outside cellular coverage. The free mobile app also allows DeLorme terrain maps and NOAA nautical charts to be downloaded to the mobile device for improved situational awareness and backup GPS navigation in an emergency.”
Marine NewsWire
2012-05-17
Existing terminals just a download away from multiple voice lines
Thrane & Thrane has launched Inmarsat Multi-voice across its entire SAILOR FleetBroadband portfolio. The new service, which Inmarsat made live in May 2012, is standard on all new SAILOR FleetBroadband systems and is accessible on existing terminals with a straightforward software update. Multi-voice enables FleetBroadband users to expand from the original single voice line to a maximum of nine simultaneous voice lines, on a single SAILOR FleetBroadband terminal.
SAILOR 500 FleetBroadband offers the full nine simultaneous voice lines available through Multi-voice, while a SAILOR 250 FleetBroadband can offer up to six concurrent calls and a SAILOR 150 FleetBroadband up to four concurrent calls. With no requirement for extra hardware besides the additional handsets, existing users can upgrade their SAILOR FleetBroadband terminals quickly and easily via the free software update. With the software update in place, all users need to do is configure their SAILOR FleetBroadband terminal via the user-friendly web-interface and attach the required number of Thrane & Thrane or third party handsets, or if desired connect an existing PBX.
Users choosing the sophisticated Thrane IP Handset for Multi-voice on SAILOR FleetBroadband benefit from high-quality hardware, functionality, flexibility and ease-of-use. It offers extra convenience as it provides easy access to a dedicated BGAN menu via the integrated screen, where value-added supplementary voice services, such as phone book and call forwarding, can be operated from the handset itself.
“With multiple handsets integrated to a single terminal, facility for dedicated voice lines can be made anywhere on board, from the engine room or canteen on a merchant vessel and the public areas on a passenger vessel, to the saloon and staterooms aboard a luxury vessel,” explains Casper Jensen, VP Maritime Business Unit, Thrane & Thrane. “Additionally, we have ensured that the SAILOR 3771 Alarm Panel FleetBroadband works alongside the Multi-voice service, ensuring that distress alarms can be sent, regardless of how many voice lines are being used.”
“Multi-voice will enable operators to offer even better crew and passenger welfare services, by increasing the number of telephone lines available on board,” continues Jensen. “The design of SAILOR FleetBroadband allows Multi-voice functionality to be introduced without the need for engineers or hardware changes to the BDU, making it extremely straightforward to add extra voice lines.”
Saltwater PR
2012-05-17
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) called upon the Polish government to accelerate its pro-aviation policies to enable aviation to facilitate economic growth and development in the country.
“Poland sees aviation as an important driver of the economy. And we are eager to work in partnership with the government to build a strong foundation for aviation to deliver even greater economic benefits. Aviation plays a major role in Poland, contributing PLN 6.8 billion to Polish GDP plus an additional PLN 1.6 billion in catalytic benefits through tourism,” said Tony Tyler, IATA’s Director General and CEO while speaking at IATA’s Aviation Day East Central Europe in Warsaw.
However, Tyler noted that some economic opportunities provided by aviation are going unused. “In 2009 there were 18 million air travelers in Poland. This accounts for just 2% of the total European market. Moreover, only 5% of visitors to Poland arrive by air. If we can achieve a common vision to further improving the environment for air transport to do business here, I am convinced that the prospects for Polish aviation are indeed very bright.”
Tyler identified two major areas in which IATA is working with the Polish government to make aviation more competitive:
Fuel charges: The price of jet fuel at Warsaw airport is among the highest in Europe largely owing to the monopoly position of the fuel supplier and the lack of cost transparency of fuel facilities and services. “Fuel represents an average of 34% of airline operating costs. Anything that makes it even more expensive is a heavy negative for travel and tourism as well as any business that depends on connectivity,” said Tyler.
The Polish Airports Authority (PPL) recently agreed to changes in how fuel is supplied at Warsaw. In April, a second supplier obtained access to the jet fuel market. “Now we need to ensure that the new supplier can start doing business quickly and with supply capacity that will make it a credible competitor,” said Tyler.
IATA also welcomed the support of Poland’s Air Transport Department in addressing revisions to the Goods and Services Tax Act that resulted in some airlines not being VAT-exempt on fuel purchases for international flights which contravenes International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) policies.
Air Traffic Control: This year Polish en routes air navigation charges were reduced by 0.2% and terminal navigation charges saw a 32% reduction. These reductions are mainly the result of a significant reallocation of costs from the terminal navigation charges to the en route cost base, assisted by a traffic forecast significantly higher than the European average.
As a result of the cost-reallocation the Polish en route cost base has actually increased at three times the European average. And the Polish Air Navigation Service National Performance Plan for a 6.7% cost efficiency improvement in the 2012 to 2014 period falls short of the EC target of a 10.1% improvement for the period.
“These are challenges that must be managed. Airlines are under constant pressure to reduce costs and increase efficiency. We therefore look to our air navigation service providers and their regulators to control costs and ensure this service is provided as cost-effectively as possible. We are all in this together,” said Tyler.
“The future of aviation in Poland is very bright. I am confident that government and industry, working together, can put aviation on the flight path toward becoming an even bigger contributor to the country’s economic development,” Tyler said.
IATA
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