STATISTICS released by the Port of Los Angeles show that box throughput in April surged 14.5 per cent to a total of 707,182 TEU compared to the same month last year.
"April was a very, very strong month with double-digit increases on both the import and export side. It was our best month of 2012 and also the busiest April ever in terms of overall volumes. We were pleasantly surprised with the import numbers, and that could reflect increased consumer confidence," said port spokesman Phillip Sanfield.
Factoring in empties, which increased 13.3 per cent year on year, the overall volume reflects the busiest April in the port's history, surpassing April 2007 volumes of 679,575 TEU, reported American Shipper.
At the same time, import volume rose 16.7 per cent to 364,555 TEU from 312,359 TEU in April 2011, while exports increased 11.5 per cent, from 167,448 TEU to 186,838 TEU in April 2012. Combined, total loaded imports and exports for April increased 14.9 per cent from 479,808 TEU last April to 551,393 TEU in April 2012.
For the first four months of 2012, overall container volumes have increased 6.1 per cent (2,582,003 TEU) compared to the same period in 2011 (2,433,499 TEU).
Said Mr Sanfield: "The increase in empty containers returning to Asia bodes well because it's an indication that shippers are repositioning containers for the return-to-school season. Those goods traditionally start coming toward the end of June and into July. After that, we're hopeful that our late summer volumes will move into a more traditional holiday peak season pattern."
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
NEW YORK listed Seaspan, with major offices in Hong Kong and Vancouver, but registered in the Marshall Islands, posted a first quarter 1.4 per cent net profit increase to US$51.25 million year on year, drawn on revenues of 152.08 million, up 25 per cent.
"During the first quarter, Seaspan continued to generate strong, stable operational and financial results for shareholders," said Seaspan CEO Gerry Wang.
The company achieved 99.1 per cent in vessel utilisation. "We also took delivery of two newbuildings during the quarter, increasing our fleet to 67 vessels," said Mr Wang.
Both 13,100-TEU ships, named Cosco Excellence and Cosco Faith have started operations under 12-year, fixed-rate time charter with China's flag carrier Cosco.
On April 18 and 27, Seaspan received the delivery of Cosco Hope and the Cosco Fortune, bringing its operating fleet to 69 vessels. Both 13,100-TEU ships are also on charter to Cosco under 12-year, fixed-rate time charter contracts.
Besides, it fixed the ship CSCL Ningbo on a six-month time charter with CSCL on April 24 at a charter rate of $8,450 per day, with an additional six-month extension option at a charter rate of $12,250 per day.
But it said CSCL did not exercise its option in March to extend the time charter for the CSCL Dalian. So the company plans to re-charter the ship when it is redelivered to Seaspan in July.
Also, the company said it was notified in March that the time charter for the UASC Madinah will not be extended, so the ship will be returned to Seaspan in June.
Said Mr Wang: "We remain committed to drawing upon our strong and flexible capital structure to further grow our high-quality fleet in a disciplined manner. In achieving this important goal, we intend to continue to emphasize our SAVER vessel design, which we believe provides customers with improved efficiency and operational savings."
The company will now pursue its plan on building three 10,000-TEU vessels. On May 12, three of its subsidiaries signed a deal of $224 million loan with a leading Chinese bank for these newbuildings.
The company said it expects the agreement to be implemented by early June. "These vessels are scheduled to be delivered in 2014 when they will commence operations under charters with Hanjin Shipping for a period of 10 years, plus an additional two years at the option of Hanjin."
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
TAIWAN's Evergreen Line will join Hanjin Shipping and UASC to start a West Africa Service (WAF), presenting transshipment opportunities through Algeciras from the end of May.
Four ships with capacities of 2,800-3,000 TEU will be deployed on the joint service which will provide an efficient transshipment link to the Far East and Europe via Algeciras and extend Evergreen's global service network to West Africa, the company said.
Evergreen Line and UASC will deploy one vessel each and the other two ships will be operated by Hanjin. The first sailing is planned from Algeciras on May 30, and the port rotation for the 28-day voyage is as follows: Algeciras, Lagos, Tema, Abidjan and back to Algeciras.
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
KUWAIT's big forwarder, Agility, has posted a first quarter year-on-year eight per cent net profit decline to KWD7.1 million (US$25.4 million), drawn on revenues of KWD321.8 million, down one per cent.
But the company said that after a one off adjustment, EBITDA grew 41 per cent from KWD10.9 million to KWD15.4 million during the period.
"2011 was the first year that we began reporting our numbers excluding defence and government contracts. Relative to this baseline, 2012 has started off on the right track," said Agility chairman and managing director Tarek Sultan.
"We are pushing forward with the initiatives already started last year. We have worked hard to restructure the business in the last two years, and as a result, we are today a strong and stable company - more streamlined, efficient and competitive. Although we still have work ahead to complete the turnaround in our commercial business, I am confident that we are focusing on the right priorities," he said.
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
CHINA Shipping Container Lines' new 4,738-TEU Xin Qin Zhou vessel, the first ship named after south western China's Qinzhou port, was launched at Qinzhou Bonded Port Area International Container Terminal, Xinhua reports.
The 255.1-metre long and 37.3-metre wide ship has a draught of 13 metres. It has a dead weight tonnage of 66,903 tonnes. It was built in August 2010 and delivered in April this year.
The ship is deployed on CSCL's domestic trade lane from Qinzhou to Tianjin. CSCL domestic trade manager Song Tao said south-western China's fast economic growth will provide abundant cargo for the shipping line and that CSCL plans to launch more routes from Qinzhou in the future.
During the first four months this year, port of Qinzhou handled 136,400 TEU, 68.9 per cent more than in the same period last year.
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
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
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