During her maiden voyage the HANJIN SOOHO, the Korean shipping company HANJIN’s largest containership to date, berthed in the Port of Hamburg on 4 May 2012. With a slot capacity of 13,100 TEU (20-ft standard containers), this mega-containership was handled at Eurogate Container Terminal Hamburg (CTH).
The HANJIN SOOHO is 366 metres long, 48.20 metres wide, and has over 800 connections for reefer containers. It was named in honour of the late Sooho Cho, former Chairman of Hanjin Shipping Group, who died in 2006. The HANJIN SOOHO is also the first of nine 13,100-TEU newbuilds to be deployed by HANJIN jointly with its partners on the East Asia-Europe service NE6 organized by the CKYH Alliance.
Along with Werner Viessman of the Nautical Operations Centre, Jong-Man Hong, Managing Director Europe, Patrick Won, Country Manager Germany, and further representatives of HANJIN SHIPPING and Thomas Eckelmann, Emanuel Schiffer and Peter Zielinski of the EUROGATE Executive Board, to mark the occasion Captain Dosun Han of the HANJIN SOOHO was presented with the Admiralty Coat of Arms of the Port of Hamburg.
The HANJIN SOOHO will be deployed on the NE6 Europe-East Asia container line operated by HANJIN jointly with COSCO, K-Line and YANG MING. With this NE6 service, the four shipping companies call at the ports of Hamburg, Rotterdam, Le Havre, Algeciras, Singapore, Hong Kong, Xingang, Kwangyang, Busan, Shanghai, Yantian, Singapore, Algeciras and Hamburg in a rotation lasting 77 days.
In 2011 a total of 5.2 million TEU were handled in the Port of Hamburg’s container traffic with Asia. “The forthcoming deepening of the navigational channel of the Lower and Outer Elbe will further boost Hamburg’s attractiveness as the European hub port for mega-ships such as the HANJIN SOOHO,” said Patrick Won.
Source PORT OF HAMBURG
2012-05-09
First airline to fly direct between Europe and inland Chinese megacity
Today Finnair begins flying direct to Chongqing, one of the largest and fastest-growing cities in China. The new route is a logical next step in the carrier’s strategy of offering the shortest connections between Asia and Europe via Helsinki. Finnair is the first carrier to open a direct flight route between Europe and Chongqing.
Situated on the edge of the Tibetan plateau, greater Chongqing is one of China’s four province-level municipalities, and the only one located in inland China. With a total population of 32 million residing in an area about the size of Austria, Chongqing’s urban population is expected to double over the next five years.
“China is a key part of our Asia-Europe strategy,” says Finnair's CEO Mika Vehviläinen. “Western China is an important growth area, and the new route will strengthen our position in the growing Asian markets. I want to thank the Chongqing authorities and the local airport for the excellent cooperation and support for opening this new route. We believe Chongqing has the potential of developing into a hub for travel between Western China and Europe, both for business and leisure travellers.”
Chinese companies and many Western companies, especially in the electronics, automotive and chemical industries, are currently expanding their operations in Chongqing, and business travel and cargo prospects are promising. Chongqing Airport also has already opened 140 routes to more than 80 cities in China and Asia, and the airport is undergoing expansion. When the expansion is complete in 2015, the airport will be capable of receiving 45 million passengers per year.
Besides booming business activity, Chongqing offers much to see for tourists interested in China’s history and nature. Visitors can enjoy historical buildings, temples, hot springs and natural beauty, as well as the Dazu Rock Carvings, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Chongqing also provides convenient access to river cruises on the Jialing and Yangtze rivers, and the city is well connected to Lhasa, Xian and Kunming.
Finnair is flying Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft on the route, which takes eight and a half hours. In addition to four flights per week to Chongqing, in China Finnair flies daily to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong from Helsinki, the most geographically logical transfer point for connecting with more than 50 destinations in Europe. This summer Finnair will operate 81 flights per week to 11 destinations in Asia.
Source Finnair Plc
JAPANESE second largest carrier NYK has announced it will partner Regional Container Lines (RCL) to launch a joint Thailand-Vietnam-Canton (TVC) service from May 13 to replace the current joint Thailand-Vietnam-Singapore (TVS) service with Vinalines Container.
NYK will deploy one 1,000-TEU ship and RCL two similar size vessels on this loop. The first sailing is scheduled on May 13 by vessel Chana Bhum V.010N calling at Bangkok.
Ports of call for the 21-day rotation include Bangkok, Laem Chabang, Haiphong, Shenzhen-Shekou, Hong Kong, Haiphong, and back to Hong Kong, Shenzhen-Shekou and Bangkok.
NYK said in a statement this new joint service will strengthen its service network from south China to Vietnam and Thailand by shortening the transit time from Thailand to north Vietnam to four days, the fastest in the market.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
DUBAI's Emirates Shipping has announced it will impose a general rate increase (GRI) of US$250 per TEU on cargo from the Far East and south east Asia to east Africa from May 15.
For cargo from the Far East and south east Asia to Indian sub-continent the GRI will be US$300 per TEU.
For cargo from the Far East and south east Asia to the Middle East, the GRI will be US$300 per TEU.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
SHANDONG province's Port of Weifang posted a 23 per cent year on year cargo volume increase to 4.46 million tonnes which made 20.3 per cent of the port's target for 2012.
The central port area lifted 4.13 million tonnes, up 17.8 per cent while the western port area's throughput surged 201 per cent to 333,900 tonnes.
In March, Weifang's throughput grew 33 per cent year on year to 1.89 million tonnes. Central port area lifted 1.71 million tonnes, while western port area lifted 177.400 tonnes, both setting new monthly highs.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
NINGBO customs posted a year-on-year increase of 4.7 increase in the foreign trade cargo value to US$45.21 billion in the first quarter of this year, Xinhua reports.
Export value grew six per cent to $26.66 billion. Import value increased 2.8 per cent to $18.55 billion. Private companies' imports and exports accounted for 66.4 per cent of the total, valued at $17.69 billion.
Ningbo Mitsubishi Chemical, a major Sino-Japanese joint venture in Ningbo with an annual production capacity of 600,000 tonnes, imported 55,000 tonnes of raw materials during the first quarter. In the same period, Samsung Heavy Industry Ningbo Company, subsidiary of Korea-based Samsung Heavy Industry, recorded an import and export volume of 130,000 tonnes.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
THE South Carolina Ports Authority announced that the New World Alliance consortium of ocean carriers and Evergreen are launching a new Far East weekly container service in June, marking the third new container service announced this year for Charleston and the first service for the port with a direct call in Vietnam.
The South China/Vietnam-US Southeast service (SVS) is a Suez service deploying 10 ships of capacity between 4,600 and 5,600 TEU. The service originates in Cai Mep, Vietnam and includes calls in Hong Kong and Yantian in China, Singapore and Tangier, Morocco.
Charleston is the last outbound port on the service, which highlights the port's prominence in handling the region's and the nation's export demand. "Charleston's position in this service demonstrates that ships will be taking on a significant amount of cargo here, relying on our deep water to fill up the ship with heavy exports," said Jim Newsome, president and CEO of the South Carolina Ports Authority.
Charleston Harbour is the deepest in the Southeast region, with 45 feet of depth at mean low water (MLW), and can handle ships drafting up to 48 feet on the tides. Charleston's next harbour deepening project is currently underway.
Participating in the SVS service are the alliance carriers of APL, Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) and Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), as well as Evergreen. The weekly service will call the Port of Charleston's Wando Welch Terminal on Saturdays, adding 52 ship calls a year to the port and supporting jobs across the maritime industry.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
SOUTH Korea's Hyundai Merchant Marine has blamed higher fuel costs and lower container volumes for the widening of its first quarter operating loss to KRW201 billion (US$177 million) from $24 million a year earlier, according to media reports.
The diversified carrier's tanker division narrowed its operating loss to $6.2 million from $32 million in the first quarter of 2011. Bulk shipping losses rose to $19 million from $16 million.
In the first quarter, Hyundai's container volume slipped 0.8 per cent to 708,000 TEU. The carrier said intra-Asia and Asia-Europe volumes rose slightly but trans-Pacific volume fell 3.3 per cent to 295,000 TEU.
The company also said rates rose in the first quarter but were offset by fuel costs. However, the shipping line said it expects per-unit fuel costs to decline following delivery by mid-year of five 13,000 TEU ships that will be more fuel-efficient than existing vessels.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
CONTAINER volume during the first quarter of 2012 at Gothenburg port increased 0.9 per cent year on year to 233,000 TEU, marking a new quarterly record for container movements through the facility, the Baltic Transport Journal reported.
Of the total container traffic, 108,000 TEU were carried to and from the port via the RailPort Scandinavia network, which registered a rise of 11.3 per cent compared to the same period last year. One rail link that is doing particularly well is the newly started shuttle to Sundsvall, which is the network's most northerly rail shuttle destination.
While container traffic rose, the Port of Gothenburg registered falls in other volumes in the first quarter: ro-ro 139,000 cargo units (-5.4 per cent); cars 46,000 (-29.2 per cent); liquid cargo 5.3 million tonnes (-3.6 per cent); and passengers totalled 242,000 (-8.3 per cent).
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
THE first Cool Logistics Conference ever held in the southern hemisphere was warned that if Africa wanted to compete in global markets it had to cut supply chain costs.
The warning came from Chiquita Brands advisor Mark Hassenkamp, CEO of Corvus Investments International, who said logistics costs in Africa are four times higher than elsewhere.
He told the Cool Logistics Conference in Cape Town that changes applied not just in South Africa, but all over the continent - Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
The two-day international event attracted over 150 participants from 15 countries drawn from the global and regional perishable supply chain. Exporters, importers, retailers, air and ocean carriers, 3PLs, ports, cold store and land freight operators came together to discuss the continent's cold chain and perishable logistics outlook.
There seemed to be rare agreement at Cool Logistics Africa between transport, logistics and perishable professionals - including fruit exporters united under the Fruit South Africa umbrella organisation - that change is now of the essence.
Said GoReefers CEO Delena Engelbrecht: "We are playing catch up in South Africa and may have no more than seven years left before congestion and delays put the region on a back foot."
Even in South Africa, logistics costs pitched at 13.5 per cent of GDP remain too high compared with the US and other main trading partners, said Abrie de Swardt, managing director of Capespan Exports.
Transnet National Ports Authority CEO Tau Morwe outlined the ZAR300 billion (US$38.7 billion) capital investment programme to improve South African ports and global logistical competitiveness. He also mentioned that Transnet was ready to engage more proactively with the private sector in the future in order to tackle operational constraints and to become generally more demand-driven.
While reaffirming Maersk's commitment to South Africa as the southern gateway on the African continent, Maersk southern Africa chief David Williams expressed the hope that some of the 'occasional shocks' to the southern African supply chain will be avoided.
Maersk said equipment shortage would not go away. According to the world's leading refrigerated container operator 44,000 FEU were scrapped in 2011. This year the figure is estimated to reach over 47,000 FEU and could reach nearly 70,000 FEU by 2016, based on a 13 year life span.
Big Kenyan producer Sunripe director Hasit Shah, also vice chairman of Kenya's Shippers Council, said: "We need to integrate the small holder into the cold chain."
Alex von Stempel, director, Cool Logistics Resources added: "Following the success of this first ever, we will be back in Cape Town next year to continue the dialogue and facilitate sharing of ideas, knowledge and practical solutions to improve Africa's perishable supply chain performance."
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
PORTLAND, Maine has been hit hard by the sudden shutdown of the American Feeder Lines' (AFL) sole weekly container service between Halifax, Portland and Boston as local businesses scramble to find other methods to get their goods to market.
The recent start-up, AFL, attributed the shutdown to a lack of volume between the three ports and a loss of private investment reported the Portland MSNBC News affiliate.
"The biggest impact is on the shippers that were using the service," said Maine Port Authority executive director John Henshaw. "They were either saving time or saving money and so those shippers will have to find other routes to market or to receive their imported goods in Maine."
This has been the fifth time since the early 1990s that cargo service between the Port of Portland and other ports has come and gone, but industry experts believe there is enough business to support a similar venture, said the report.
"As a state, we can fill every container outbound that comes in inbound," said Mr Henshaw. "Ideally, we believe that this port could support two services, one operating down to New York and one operating east to Halifax. It is challenging. It requires the right vessel, it requires the right itinerary. The Boston, Portland, Halifax itinerary seemed appropriate. The vessel that was used here might have been too large for the service, at least from the outset. Perhaps as you build volumes over time you might bring on a bigger vessel."
US Maritime Administration administrator David Matsuda came to Maine to tour port facilities in Portland and Searsport and meet members of the local business community to discuss future opportunities for the region's cargo needs.
"There is definitely an opportunity there," said Mr Henshaw. "It is a matter of putting those things together over the long term to make everybody successful."
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
SWISS global logistics provider Panalpina has entered into a partnership with supply chain and retail technology company RedPrairie to provide software to support Panalpina's worldwide expansion.
A company statement said that with RedPrairie's proven technology and support services, Panalpina can strengthen its offering of value-added logistics. The strategic partnership will also allow Panalpina, to drive automation and efficiency within its logistics product division.
VAS plays an increasingly important role for providing customers with integrated supply chain services. By combining VAS with its air and ocean freight services Panalpina is able to provide complete end-to-end solutions to its customers.
"The RedPrairie suite gives us a global standardised platform for logistics and the ability to provide customised, flexible solutions for our customers in key VAS areas such as inbound to manufacturing, production and postponement services and distribution and aftermarket services," explained Mike Wilson, Panalpina's global head of logistics.
Said RedPrairie CEO Mike Mayoras: "Flexibility is a key part of our expansive technology offering. Panalpina will be able to select from a wide range of solutions and services to meet its specific customer needs, benefiting from our powerful supply chain applications and our extensive know-how of supply chain processes."
Said Panalpina CEO Monika Ribar: "RedPrairie is the next step in the deployment of our strategy. RedPrairie gives us a clear distinctive competence to offer the best possible solutions for our customers."
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
GLOBAL provider of outsourced aircraft and aviation operating services, Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, is on track to meet its 2012 expectations after a rebound in March offset a weak January and February, Air Cargo World reported.
Atlas customers flew 11 per cent more than the minimum block hours in March. The strong first-quarter numbers are also due to a new timeline for aircraft engine maintenance; upkeep that was expected to take place during the first quarter will now happen in the next three months.
Atlas Air reported an adjusted net income of US$13.6 million during the first quarter compared to an adjusted net income of $12.7 million in Q1 2011. The company reported a net income of $12.8 million for the first three months of the year compared to $10.5 million in the same period last year.
Operating revenues during the quarter rose 21 per cent to $359.3 million compared to the same period last year. Total block hours increased by eight per cent. ACMI revenues rose by $8.7 million compared to Q1 2011, on the back of two new services for DHL Express. Atlas Air also recently signed a multiyear ACMI deal with Etihad Airways for one Boeing 747-400 freighter, which will commence in June. This will be the first 747-400F in Etihad Cargo's fleet.
Operating expenses rose 20 per cent from the first quarter of last year to $338.7 million because of fuel and an uptick in labour costs. Jet fuel prices rose 28 per cent when compared to the same period in 2011. A wage increase, a ramp up in total block-hours flown and a few new hires pumped employee costs up 15 per cent, year over year.
"Earnings in the first quarter of 2012 were well above our expectations," William Flynn, the firm's president and CEO, said. "The improvement was primarily due to a substantial pickup in the commercial airfreight market during March 2012. Volumes and rates improved dramatically compared with January and February, and we were well-positioned to help customers respond to an increase in demand for airfreight capacity."
He added that this increase was fuelled by high-tech project launches out of Asia and a demand for time-sensitive shipments of auto parts and pharmaceuticals.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
THE "lack of a true 'open skies policy' in the Arab world is restricting the aviation industry from realising its full potential", said Air Arabia CEO Ali told delegates attending Arab Aviation and Media Summit 2012 in Sharjah, UAE.
Agreeing, Arab Air Carriers Organisation (AACO) secretary general Abdul Wahab Teffaha said: "Unfortunately, many Arab countries still nurture the notion that they should have a flag carrier irrespective of the losses their airlines accumulate."
Said Airbus Middle East president Foud Attar: "Today, many Arab governments are caught in a dilemma, to liberalise or not to liberalise. That is the reason they vacillate on implementing the open skies policy."
Despite such drawbacks and a challenging geopolitical environment as well as rising jet fuel prices, Arab aviation is robust with improved airline interconnectivity, contributing significantly to the gross domestic product of the countries, reported the Kuwait Times.
UAE General Civil Aviation Authority deputy chief Omar Bin Ghalib said: "An increased mobility in the region has remarkably boosted tourism, trade, logistics, technology and most importantly resulted in massive manpower development and job creation."
Mr Bin Ghalib said the UAE's aviation industry enjoyed robust growth after it implemented an open skies policy and liberalised the industry. "We expect reciprocal treatment form all the countries in the region," he said.
"Liberalisation of aviation sector in these countries has dramatically altered the horizons of their aviation industry," he said.
The Arab Spring has impacted on the Arab aviation industry with massive plunge in passenger numbers though the sector has rebounded quickly. "The crisis has affected Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen, which registered a 50 per cent drop in tourists," said IATA regional vice president Maidi Sabri.
But Mr Teffaha said: "The long-term impact of the Arab Spring is extremely positive. It not only presented challenges but offered enormous opportunities to the industry to grow."
The report did not elaborate on the point, but Mr Teffaha said that the aviation sector currently supports 2.7 million jobs and accounts for $129 billion in GDP in the Middle East. Middle East international passenger numbers are expected to reach some 220 million by 2030 compared to 77 million in 2010.
He also pointed out that IATA has raised its 2012 profit forecast for Middle East airlines from $300 million to $500 million. The revision was fuelled by strong growth in regional traffic.
The 21-nation Arab League plans to spend nearly $200 billion on the purchase of new aircraft in the next 15 years. The Middle East is home to 65 airlines with 1,029 aircraft in service, operating from 70 commercial airports.
The region has 13 air navigation service providers. The combined value of the Arab aircraft fleet is expected to rise to nearly $200 billion in the next 15 years, said the report.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
LIGHT aircraft operations at Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) will be transferred to the Danilo Atienza Air Base in Sangley Point, south of Manila within a month to ease congestion at the main national airport, reports the Manila Standard.
"At present, the Department of Transportation and Communications and the Department of National Defence are discussing plans to transfer the general aviation (light aircraft operations) from NAIA to Sangley," Philippines President Benigno Aquino told the media in Corregidor.
To reduce congestion in NAIA, we will move the general aviation in Sangley within a month or so. They have given a timetable of more or less a month," he said at the sidelines of the commemoration of the Fall of Corregidor.
The transportation department earlier announced plans to reduce the load on the runway and taxiways by transferring general aviation to the air bases in either Sangley or Lipa, Batangas.
The takeoff and landing times of flying schools have already been restricted and have been asked to relocate to another site to decongest NAIA. Private flights, particularly prop aircraft, will soon follow.
Airliner Operators Council members backed the plan to reduce the number of domestic flights to help decongest NAIA by moving the general aviation traffic to Sangley Point.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
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