Dag Schjerven, president and CEO Wilhelmsen Maritime Services (WMS), addressed the need for the international maritime industry to adopt a green shipping ethos at yesterday’s EXPO 2012 in Korea.
“Some have criticised the IMO for acting too slowly and it has been suggested local regulation might be more effective. Whilst we agree that regional initiatives have made an important contribution to the cause, exclusively-local regulation would make it very difficult for international ship owners to operate effectively. And a global industry like shipping needs global rules and standards,” he said.
Mr Schjerven discussed how the combination of engineering and global network capabilities has made it possible to develop environmental solutions for Wilhelmsen Ships Service (WSS) customers worldwide:
“By offering the best available technologies in the market we can help our customers stay compliant and reduce their vessel operating costs. The less energy a ship consumes the less fuel it will burn, resulting in reduced pollution and cost savings. The majority of vessels use large amounts of chemicals for cleaning, maintenance, water and fuel treatment. Our companies, such as Wilhelmsen Ships Service, are leading the way in bringing environmentally acceptable marine chemicals into the market.”
“Through continuous adjustments to customer demands, international regulations and new technologies, we are making constant improvements to address the environmental challenges of the maritime industry. Our green agenda fits the company’s vision of shaping the maritime industry. To us, going green makes sense.”
Source Wilhelmsen
HARD TIMES have brought about an increase in bogus claims against ship managers by shipowners, warned the International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC) in its latest issue of Claims Review.
The ITIC finds that shipowners are resisting payment of ship maintenance costs and end up owing ship managers, not only for their own fees but also for money paid on owners' behalf, reported London's Tanker Operator.
But when ship managers go to collect, they are charged with negligence in the running of the ship. Resulting claims are costly to defend, the ITIC said.
One case that ended up costing US$250,000 in legal fees, involved a balance of funds owed to the ship manager.
The matter remained idle for five months, until the owner raised a claim against the ship manager, through its lawyers, for alleged negligence, said the report. The owner claimed that the manager was in breach of its duty to maintain the ship in an efficient, employable state and that resulted in significant losses.
The claim put forward by the shipowner was in excess of $17 million and included alleged losses in respect of the vessel's future employment, expenses paid by the shipowner for repairs, spares, drydockings, reduction in the vessel's market value and other additional damages.
The ship manager rejected these allegations in full and lawyers were appointed by ITIC to defend its position. The manager maintained that the vessel's condition had deteriorated due to age, constraints of trade, plus expenditure and maintenance restrictions imposed by the owner.
The manager further stated that the owner was fully aware of the deficiencies and the condition of the ship when it was taken under management. Despite this, the owner had not taken the necessary steps to facilitate remedial action.
Lawyers for the owner pursued the claim against the manager, but the manager's files and correspondence on the ship were in good condition and a thorough audit trail existed for every decision regarding the running and maintenance of the ship.
The ship was eventually scrapped, but the owner continued to maintain that it had a claim against the manager, even though it was unable to provide any proof, or to document its losses, said the report.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
STRIKES, increasing cargo volumes and power outages have slowed Mumbai's Nhava Sheva terminals box handling capability, leaving carriers to mull congestion surcharges, reports London's Containerisation International.
Chronic congestion through Mumbai is driving business to state of Gujarat to the north as several ocean carriers divert Delhi cargo to Pipavav and Mundra, both of which have posted double-digit volume gains last year.
The Nhava Sheva terminal complex, which handles two thirds of India maritime container traffic, lacks state of the art box-handling facilities while India's growing prosperity and rising export and import volumes outpace its main box port's ability to cope.
While no one carrier has levied a surcharge, Hapag-Lloyd has issued a warning, suggesting that carriers were "working with the port authority and terminal operators to come up with solutions to minimise the delays".
Said the Hapag-Lloyd statement: "As part of the contingency plans to clear the congestion terminal operators are imposing container loading restrictions on some vessels from Nhava Sheva. This will unfortunately impact the ability to accommodate all bookings requests for our services from Nhava Sheva."
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
IN the first quarter, the Jiangsu provincial logistics index climbed 0.008 points to 0.4555. The eastern China's province's value of all logistics operations climbed 12.4 per cent. Seventeen per cent of the service industry's added valued was contributed by the logistics industry, Xinhua reports.
Latest figures released by the Jiangsu government and logistics industry association also show that in this period, demand for logistics service is on a slow but steady rise, but profit is harder to make.
In the first quarter, Jiangsu's cost of all logistics operations increased 11.4 per cent. The growths of cost of transportation, storage and management all surpassed 10 per cent. Plus higher fuel price, taxes and personnel cost, pressure on a logistics operator is becoming heavier.
The results of a survey Jiangsu conducted on 103 major logistics enterprises show that their core business revenue grew 5.2 per cent, while profit went up three per cent.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
EASTERN China's Shandong province has launched series of preferential tax measures to boost development of the local logistics industry, Xinhua reports.
Shandong is to widen the coverage of the pilot scheme of "balance taxing of business tax" in the logistics industry, which aims to regulate tax administration and reduce business turnover tax on the warehousing, distribution and forwarding.
In addition, the province will reduce land using tax 50 per cent for logistics companies' owned land for warehousing use.
The province also encourages manufacturers to spin off their logistics business and set up individual logistics companies by exempting them from added value tax and business tax. The individual logistics company will get subsidy from the government for the additional part of their increased tax.
Besides, Shandong province will also launch other measures to boost technological innovation and application on the logistics industry.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
A MODEL of Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha's (NYK) Super Eco Ship 2030 will be displayed at Expo 2012 at Yeosu, Korea from May 21 to August 21, the Tokyo-based shipping giant announced.
The Japanese pavilion will feature the model of NYK Super Eco Ship 2030 that aims to reduce CO2 emissions by 69 per cent through use of technologies available in 2030, and a video about the ship will be shown to highlight this eco-friendly cargo vessel for the next generation.
The theme of the expo will be "Living Ocean and Coast: Diversity of Resources and Sustainable Activities" and the event will feature displays illustrating the progress and future prospects of maritime technology, a new growth driver for the advancement of humanity.
The Japan pavilion is being set up under the theme of "Our future is a tapestry of forest, village, and sea" to emphasise Japan's links to the country's forests, villages and seas, said the NYK release.
"In addition, actual events of last year's Japanese earthquake will be depicted in a fictional theatrical presentation featuring an animated boy and his community overcoming a natural disaster," it said.
NYK operates 827 sea going ships, as well as fleets of aircraft, trains, and trucks. The company's shipping fleet includes 143 containerships, 344 bulk carriers, 57 wood-chip carriers, 118 car carriers, 86 tankers, 29 LNG carriers, three cruise ships, and 47 other vessels. NYK's revenue in fiscal 2010 was US$22 billion, and as a group, employs 54,000 worldwide.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
BORNEO's Biport, near the Malaysian State of Sarawak's capital of Kuching, suffered a 14 per cent drop in container volume to 251,296 TEU in 2011, port operator Bintulu Port Holdings Bhd announced.
In response to a question from Biport's major shareholder, the Employee Provident Fund (EPF), Biport CEO Mior Ahmad Baiti said the decline resulted from a fall in transshipments.
"Transshipment volume registered a drop of 32 per cent as a result of the rerouting of Sabah and Sarawak transshipment volume to PTP/Port Klang by MTT Shipping after taking over SSJ/Johan Shipping operations and HUBLine," he said, reported the Borneo Post, adding that local containers - in and out - posted a four per cent increase.
Mr Ahmad said the drop was temporary and expected an average growth of 10 to 15 per cent annually from 2012 onwards.
Biport has ordered additional handling equipment to augment the recent delivery two quay cranes and eight rubber tyre gantries.
"Apart from that, we will also continue to promote the conversion of breakbulk cargo into containers [aluminum, paper, silicon and manganese]. Additional container volume will also be generated from industries within the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE)," Mr Ahmad said.
Top cargo revenue producer of 2011 was liquefied natural gas (LNG), contributing MYR354.3 million (US$115.3 million) while palm oil came second place with MYR29.2 million, overtaking containers which came in third at MYR26.2 million.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
CARGOTEC has announced that its new Hiab Multilift skiploader telescopic (SLT) radio control is designed to allow the operator to move freely around the truck and get an all-round view of the working area, making loading, unloading and tipping easier and safer when working with the heavy machinery.
All the controls found on the standard external control can be run from the SLT radio control, said the Cargotec statement.
"Safety and ergonomics go hand in hand. That is why we have designed the SLT radio control for use with gloves. It has a logical control structure with large buttons and easy-to-read symbols. That makes the SLT radio control safe to work with, even in challenging conditions," said Jussi Katajainen, product manager for Hiab Multilift at Cargotec.
The stop function is said to further enhance safety and replace the dead-man's switch, allowing operators to use one hand. "The stop function also acts as an on/off switch for the SLT radio control. Just select off mode to carry the radio control safely in your pocket," said Mr Katajainen.
The radio control runs on rechargeable AA batteries, and there is no need to recalibrate the SLT radio control if power is lost. When the batteries are replaced everything will work exactly as it did before. If the battery runs out, the standard external controls located behind the cabin can still be used.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
GAC Protective Solutions, powered by AKE, says it has entered into two new strategic partnerships with the innovators of anti-piracy technologies to help protect vessels, cargo and seafarers: Unifire's SeaSerpent Anti-Pirate Water Cannon System and Intelligent Engineering's (IE) SPS Citadel Access Protection.
Unifire's SeaSerpent Water Cannon System is a unique, non-lethal protective measure using high-volume, remote control water cannons to rapidly flood pirate skiffs. By delivering a jet of up to 80 litres of water per second from a range of 80 metres, the flooding of the pirate vessel both prevents boarding and inhibits the use of firearms, says the press release. The system can be controlled from the bridge or citadel.
With crew safety paramount for vessel owners and operators, Intelligent Engineering's SPS Citadel Access Protection uses Sandwich Plate System (SPS) to reinforce ship citadels to ensure that even the most determined hijacker cannot gain access. SPS is a composite material that delivers high strength, impact resistance and enhanced rigidity as a robust alternative to conventional stiffened steel structures. SPS Citadel Access Protection panels significantly enhance crew security, are simple to install on new builds or existing vessels and can be deployed within 90 seconds per doorway.
GAC Solutions vice president Christer Sjodoff said one benefit was that the system would save money on piracy insurance.
"We believe that non-lethal protective measures should remain the starting point for shipowners and operators as part of a proactive, integrated and intelligent approach to assessing, monitoring, training for and protecting against the threat of piracy," he said.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
FNC Group, an international freight forwarders association, is to stage the eighth International Freight Forwarders conference in Harbour Grand hotel, Hong Kong on June 15-17.
The conference will showcase all types of industrial transport facilities, customs services, materials handling machinery an expected 200 international participants from various countries.
During the conference one and a half days will be dedicated to one-to-one meetings for delegates benefiting from FNC's background of supporting up to 160 partners worldwide.
To register visit http://www.fnc-group.com .
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
THE 36th TOC Container Supply Chain Europe conference is being held this year at the Antwerp Expo June 12-14.
Focusing on the conference theme "Reliability, Capacity and Efficiency", the event brings together shippers, 3PLs, carriers, transport companies and port and terminal providers to debate the outlook for global container supply chain operations.
The event includes a two days of high-level container supply chain talks, a free-to-attend port operations and technology seminars, a major exhibition of port and terminal services, equipment and technology and industry networking receptions.
Jochen Gutschmidt, transport procurement chief for Nestle, is among the speakers. He will be joined by Exxon Mobil cargo manager Raf Cornelissen, Marks and Spencer logistics chief Jason Keegan, Kuehne + Nagel sea freight senior vice president Peder Winther, MOL vice president (Asia-Europe West Africa) Stanley Smulders and Zim's corporate customer vice president Nissim Yochai.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
The number of registered vehicles rose by 44.2% in March this year in Kazakhstan, the press service of the Statistics Agency announced.
According to the Statistics Agency, 46,282 passenger cars were registered in March 2012 in Kazakhstan, what is 44.2% more than in the corresponding period of 2011.
Totally as of April 1, 2012 availability of passenger cars amounted to 3,549.5 units.
Central Asian News Service, en.ca-news.org
THE International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that Michael Vorwerk has resigned and will end his term as president of Cargo Network Services Corporation (CNS), an IATA company, effective July 31.
At the same time, Mr Vorwerk will also be leaving his concurrent posting as executive director of Cargo 2000 (C2K) which is an IATA special interest group.
Mr Vorwerk has led CNS and C2K since 2009 while on a four-year secondment from Lufthansa Cargo. He will be returning to Lufthansa Cargo to take up new duties as director sales development Germany and board representative for Air Cargo Gateway Frankfurt.
"I thank Michael for this three-and-half years of leadership contributions to the success of CNS and C2K. During that time he has enhanced the stakeholder relationships in both groups to hit many challenging targets in very difficult economic times. We wish Michael well in his future role. Michael leaves behind big shoes to fill. We will be announcing a succession plan in the coming weeks," said Des Vertannes, IATA's global head of cargo.
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
MEMPHIS based FedEx Corp has signed an agreement to buy French business-to-business express company Taxtex to enhance the firm's operations in Europe, just as Atlanta-based United Parcel Service (UPS) is to deploy its new holding, the TNT Express in a battle for market share..
FedEx has been steadily broadening its European network and announced plans one month ago to acquire Opek Sp.z o.o., a Polish shipping company.
The UPS acquisition of TNT meant that Germany's DHL was not longer the biggest express delivery company in Europe, according to the International Express Parcels 2012 report. The TNT buyout acquisition also left FedEx a distant third.
But FedEx came back punching. "This acquisition shows we are continuing to systematically and strategically invest in growing our network," said the FedEx statement.
"The Tatex business complements FedEx's existing operations in the French market, and will enable the company to provide additional local services in one of Europe's largest geographies, to its customers around the world."
The FedEx acquisition plans follow the company's purchase of ANC Holdings Limited, a British domestic express company in 2006 and of its Hungarian service provider, Flying Cargo Hungary in 2007.
Between October 2011 and the end of May 2012, FedEx will have opened 38 new stations across Europe, including 19 in France. The company has also invested in expanding its air fleet to provide an additional five B757s on intra-European routes, and another B777 for long-haul routes, bringing the total number of B777s operating FedEx routes in and out of Europe to four.
Also, the company said "its FedEx Trade Networks has greatly expanded its presence in Europe, including three new locations in France, adding 22 locations in recent years to complement the portfolio of express services."
Meanwhile UK-based Ceva Logistics, 91.3 per cent owned by Apollo Global Management LLC, has filed with US Securities and Exchange Commission to raise US$400 million in an initial public offering of common stock, Reuters reported.
CEVA, the world's second biggest non-asset based supply chain management company, told regulators in a prospectus that it would list on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "CEVL."
Reuters noted that IPOs in the logistics industry were picking up after a long absence. Linc Logistics, which first filed for an IPO in June 2010, renewed its IPO bid earlier this month.
Apollo bought the logistics division of Netherlands-based TNT, the predecessor of Dutch global express company, TNT Express, in 2006 for $1.9 billion and renamed it Ceva. In 2007, Ceva bought Houston-based freight management group EGL Inc for $2 billion.
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
AIR CARGO dependent forwarding giant Kintetsu World Express (KWE) has posted a record 2011 net profit increase of 21.1 per cent to US$119.31 million, drawn on revenues of $3.31 billion, down 1.2 per cent.
Air cargo volume, on which KWE relies, fell because of last year's March earthquake and tsunami as well as a decline in global demand for such products as flat-panel televisions and personal computers, although its sea freight services grew moderately.
KWE said air freight operations were sluggish, but it engaged in severe cost-cutting, such as closing or merging offices. Operating profit increased 16.2 per cent to $172.80 million.
Fiscal 2011 Americas revenue fell 0.8 per cent in fiscal 2011 from a year earlier to $407.34 million. Operating profit in the Americas fell 8.6 per cent to $26.59 million.
Tokyo-based KWE ranks behind Nippon Express Co and Yusen Logistics, Japan's big three international freight forwarders.
"The global economy was lacklustre because of growing concerns about a recession amid the widening debt crisis in Europe and signs that growth in such emerging economies as China and India was slowing," said the KWE statement accompanying the financial results.
"Japan's economic outlook grew uncertain, including the effects of the earthquake and floods in Thailand, a slump in overseas demand and the prolonged appreciation of the yen. But the Japanese economy began to recover gradually in the second half of the last fiscal year," the statement said.
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
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