Finefish, a Norwegian processor offering a range of fresh and frozen seafood products, became the 2000 MSC (1) Chain of Custody certificate holder when it was assessed by independent certifier Det Norske Veritas (DNV) to have met the MSC seafood traceability standard. Finefish can now sell their Cod, Haddock and Saithe products as MSC certified, and use the blue MSC ecolabel on-pack.
Widespread adoption of MSC seafood traceability standard
The number of MSC Chain of Custody certificate holders has increased rapidly over the last years, evidence of accelerating interest, from supply chain companies, of sourcing from certified fisheries and demonstrating their commitment to sustainability. By August 2009, ten years after the launch of the MSC program, there were 1000 Chain of Custody certificates in force; less than three years years later this number has now doubled.
Camiel Derichs, Deputy Director Europe of MSC comments: “I’m delighted to welcome Finefish as the 2000th MSC Chain of Custody -certified company into the MSC program. Since the Norwegian cod and haddock fisheries were certified late 2011, we have witnessed a significant increase in the number of Chain of Custody certificate holders in Norway. They join a market for certified sustainable seafood which is of growing global significance as well as being important to the Norwegian seafood sector. ”.
Our standard for seafood traceability provides seafood buyers and consumers with assurance that products bearing the blue MSC ecolabel are sourced from a fishery that is MSC certified and sustainable. Essentially it protects buyers and consumers from mislabeling and false claims and ensures that MSC certified fisheries receive the market recognition they deserve. It also means that supply chain companies can demonstrate their commitment – of increasing importance to consumers worldwide – to putting sustainable sourcing at the heart of their business strategies.”
Robust certification
Seafood companies that wish to sell their products as MSC certified, must be MSC Chain of Custody certified. To obtain certification, processors, wholesalers and distributors must pass an independent, third-party audit that is conducted by an independent accredited certification body. Certified companies are subject to annual surveillance audits, unannounced audits, and product trace-backs. Collectively these tools assure that the MSC standard for traceability continues to be met, and that MSC certified and non-MSC certified products are not mixed at any point in the supply chain.
Robust Chain of Custody certification and labeling control are critical to the credibility of any eco-label. Apart from compulsory audits against MSC Chain of Custody standards, annual audits and unannounced audits, MSC’s product integrity program involves product tracebacks and a DNA testing program.
What Finefish says
Jan Erik Myrseth, Sales Director at Finefish says: “We started the process around the MSC-certification in the end of summer 2011 after close discussions with our most important customers. They made it clear that the MSC-approval would be essential in the upcoming Skrei season running from January to the end of April. And indeed it has been. Together with the quality focus we have on our products it has become clear that the MSC-approval has been crucial for the increasing volumes we have exported of the Skrei products this winter. With products we mean: Skrei-Head off/Head on, Skrei- fillets, Skrei-loins and other biproducts from the Skrei. FineFish is a young and dynamic company that is 100% quality focused. Not only on the products we export, but also in the way we do it. Our ambition is easy; Our clients should feel that doing business with FineFish is risk free in all aspects of the trade. The feedback we have registered is that we supply high-end quality products and high-end services. The MSC-certification most certainly is a part of this service and we are glad to present our clients the product sustainability that they require.
FineFish is MSC-Certified for Cod, Haddocks and Saithe in whole fish, fillets and industrial quality. And we produce the whole range of these products.”
Source MSC
Latvian national airline airBaltic has improved conditions, to make its services more attractive for its long-standing and loyal partners. From now on, corporate customers, which include companies, institutions, NGOs, governments, as well as travel agencies will receive better rewards for choosing airBaltic for flights to and from 60 destinations in Europe, Middle East, Russia/CIS.
Michael Grimme, Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing of airBaltic: “airBaltic has an excellent product for both leisure and business travellers. The long-term partners of airBaltic, who choose us for flights more often and increase the amount of services purchased, will now enjoy better prices, conditions and incentives.”
airBaltic has improved its incentive and discount schemes, simplified dealing processes, reduced agency fees, improved group bookings, as part of the initiative to move closer to its corporate and travel agency partners in Europe, Middle East and Russia/CIS.
Furthermore, this summer airBaltic will offer better connections having increased the number of cities where passengers can make single day trips. Numerous destinations in Western Europe, Scandinavia, Russia, Ukraine and the Baltic region, are served multiple times every day. In addition to that, airBaltic improved flight frequencies to offer double daily services to Amsterdam, Brussels, Munich, and Vienna. Other airports in Europe, Scandinavia and CIS will also see flights added for the convenience of the business customer, while leisure travellers will enjoy the return of popular summer destinations on the Mediterranean, Caspian and Black Sea coast.
airBaltic serves over 60 destinations 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
2012-03-23
Capacity increase opens up prospects for more cargo
Work on extending operational areas at the Port of Kiel’s Norwegenkai Terminal has now been completed. Construction was officially brought to a close at a ceremony today involving the State of Schleswig-Holstein’s Minister of Economics, Science and Transport, Jost de Jager, the Mayor of the Federal State Capital of Kiel, Peter Todeskino, and Dr Dirk Claus, Managing Director of the SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co KG. Jost de Jager said “the extension of Norwegenkai means that the potential of the state capital’s port has been increased yet again. Urgently needed new interim stowage space is now immediately available to accommodate rising cargo traffic to and from Norway. The extension also opens up new opportunities to attract further service business”. The Norwegenkai expansion covers an area of 9,250 m², which serves as interim stowage, parking and transport space for trucks and trailers as well as containers. Dirk Claus said “the north eastern expansion meets the demands of our customers for more space and means we can further optimise cargo unit interim stowage operations”
The SEEHAFEN Kiel acquired the industrial site adjacent to the north eastern part of Norwegenkai in 2008 and took it over at the end of 2009. Work began in Spring 2011 on integrating the site into Norwegenkai and involved the demolition of old buildings, site infilling and securing as well as the fencing and illumination of the area according to ISPS regulations. Dirk Claus said “the acquisition and integration of the adjacent property was a unique opportunity to expand the Norwegenkai site in order to secure potential for an extension of cargo volumes to and from Norway”. The north eastern expansion involved an investment of about EUR 1.2 million, which does not include land purchase costs. Jost de Jager said “I’m happy that the state was able to be involved in this project within the framework of its Business Development Programme. We want to continue our successful promotional policies in the future, particularly in the port infrastructure sector”.
The SEEHAFEN KIEL operates Kiel’s commercial port on behalf of the Schleswig-Holstein state capital, of which it is a 100% subsidiary. Kiel boasts three terminals for ferry and cruise ships - all of them in inner-city locations. The ferry ships of Color Line – “Color Fantasy” and “Color Magic” - operate out of the Norwegenkai Terminal and link Kiel daily with the Norwegian capital Oslo. Last year about 1.1 million passengers and 800,000 tons of cargo were handled at Norwegenkai. In addition to passengers and their cars, 35,000 trucks as well as trailers and several thousand import/export vehicles were also loaded or unloaded at the terminal. The facility also boasts a direct rail link for cargo and has a second fully equipped ship berth available with an hydraulic RoRo ramp, suitable for handling cargo ferries of up to 200 m in length. “The extension of operational space at Norwegenkai means that port-side conditions have now been created for the handling of an additional cargo ferry”, said Dirk Claus.
Source SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co. KG
Environmental Tectonics Corporation's ("ETC" or the "Company") Simulation Division, located in Orlando, FL, has contracted with Rosenbauer International AG ("Rosenbauer") for the delivery of two additional ADMS-HRET simulation training systems. The virtual reality systems will be delivered to Rosenbauer customers to train operating skills for the Panther Airport Rescue Fire Fighting ("ARFF") vehicles with Stinger High Reach Extendable Turrets ("HRET").
The Stinger HRET is used to fight fires inside and outside aircraft. The HRET includes a penetrator nozzle mounted on a joystick-controlled hydraulic boom arm. The penetrator nozzle is used to create a hole in an aircraft fuselage to apply agent directly to interior fires.
ETC Simulation is the sole distributor of the Stinger HRET simulation which helps vehicle operators to develop the skills necessary for hands-on operation of the HRET. The training systems are built upon the proven platform of the Advanced Disaster Management Simulator (ADMS(TM)) and consist of a turret console with a real Rosenbauer HRET joystick to train students on fuselage penetration and fire fighting. Optional steering wheel and pedals allow the trainee to drive the vehicle to the scene and practice tactical positioning. The system includes a scenario generator and an after-action review tool, which can replay an exercise from any viewable angle for optimal debriefing. Computer-based HRET training simulators are recognized as a training aid by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and can be funded under the Airport Improvement Program (AIP).
Sources
Hugin online
2012-03-23
INC Research, LLC (the "Company"), a therapeutically focused clinical research organization (CRO) with a Trusted Process® for delivering reliable results, will conduct a conference call to discuss its fourth quarter financial results at 11 a.m. ET on Thursday, April 26, 2012. The fourth quarter financial results also will be available on the Company's secure website on Wednesday, April 25, 2012.
To access the financial results and dial-in information for the conference call, a party must pre-register and certify that it is eligible to do so. Access to the financial results and conference call will be available only to (1) holders of the Company's 11.5% Senior Notes due 2019, (2) hi-yield securities analysts and broker-dealers and (3) prospective investors that certify that they are qualified institutional buyers as defined in Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. To receive information on how to pre-register and certify eligibility, parties must send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. requesting access to the financial results and conference call information no later than April 25, 2012.
Sources
Hugin online
INC Research, LLC
HONG KONG's OOCL has announced that it will cut a call at the port of Gdansk, Poland, due to "unforeseen circumstances of securing a berthing window" from the G6 Alliance's Loop 3 service.
"Cargo bound for Poland will continue to be accepted on G6 Alliance services that call at German ports as it will be discharged at either Hamburg or Bremerhaven before being relayed by feeder," said a statement from the carrier.
Rotation of the revamped Loop 3 is Shanghai, Ningbo, Shenzhen-Shekou, Singapore, Tangier, Rotterdam, Bremerhaven, Gothenburg, Rotterdam, Jeddah, Singapore and back to Shenzhen-Shekou, Hong Kong and Shanghai.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
HAMBURG's Hapag-Lloyd, the world's No 4 container carrier, has posted a net loss of US$38.3 million in 2011, despite an operating profit of $133.3 million, after reporting a $565 million net profit in 2010.
"In comparison with the competition, this was an excellent result for Hapag-Lloyd in a challenging year," said CEO Michael Behrendt, referring to the overall losses suffered by rival carriers.
"Not only were we the only large liner shipping company to achieve a positive operating result in all four quarters of 2011, but we were also the only market participant to close the second half of the year with a group profit after interest and taxes," he said.
The world's fourth largest carrier previously reported revenues slipped to $8 billion from $8.2 billion in 2010 largely because of exchange rate fluctuations.
Throughput grew 5.1 per cent to 5.2 million TEU while rates fell 2.4 per cent to $1,532 per TEU. A 34 per cent surge in the average bunker price to $655 per ton "severely depressed" profits, said the statement from the carrier. The additional cost of around $600 million could not be passed on to customers "as some market players resorted to aggressive pricing in 2011 to gain market share".
But Mr Behrendt said the market appears to have accepted recent rate increases that came into force in March and will again go into effect in April when higher rates are imposed.
"These increases are unavoidable in order to get back to adequate and sustainable rates again, especially as the bunker price has gone up even further," he said.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
THE US has imposed lower than expected tariffs - between 2.9-4.73 per cent - on China solar panel exports, arguing that manufacturers received unfair subsidies, reports London's Financial Times.
Reuters reported that analysts had expected duties of 20-30 per cent with Joe Osha, of Bank of America, warning that the benefits to US manufacturers may be short-lived and lead to lower demand for US solar energy products.
The US Commerce Department set 2.9 per cent duties on Suntech cells and 4.73 per cent tariffs on Trina Solar panels and 3.61 per cent duties for all other Chinese solar manufacturers.
The low duty rate seemed to satisfy both sides in a US election year, with each ready to blame China for American economic troubles, calling for tariffs and others warning about the damage they may cause.
Peng Fang, chief executive of China's JA Solar, warned investors of the negative impact this trade dispute could have on the company, saying the "increase of tariffs will disrupt trade with China into 2013."
Chinese solar makers have begun to shift production outside the country in an effort to head off duties, though tariffs may target companies that have their operations, rather than production, based in China.
The US Commerce Department also set large punitive tariffs on steel wheels from China on Monday, stating that Chinese producers sold products at 45-194 per cent below fair value. The department will make final duty decisions on galvanised steel wire and optical brightening agents.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
ENVIRONMENTAL regulations should be uniform and global and not products of individual countries, trading blocs and provincial jurisdictions each trying to out-green each other, says International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) chairman Spyros Polemis.
Speaking to the Maritime Association's Shipping 2012 conference in Connecticut, Mr Polemis said local rules are 100 times more stringent than what has been agreed on by the UN's International Maritime Organisation.
"Many governments now see MBMs [market based measures] as a means of raising money from shipping as an end in itself - a tax on trade seen as green protectionism. This is inequitable," he said.
It was unfair to view the shipping industry as a "cash cow" levied on a local basis the problem is global involving a vessel flagged in one country, owned in another with cargo bound for still others.
Mr Polemis said he was committed to the decision made by the IMO agreement three years ago for regulatory change of sulphur (SO2) emissions, but says carriers must be able to get its hands on distillate by 2015.
The introduction of Emission Control Areas (ECAs) standards already implemented in Europe, the Baltic and the North Sea is to be run along the west and east coasts of the United States in which ships will be required to burn fuel with a sulphur content of one per cent this year, and just 0.1 per cent in 2015.
"It is still unclear whether enough low sulphur fuel will be available for the US shipping industry, let alone the huge amount of international shipping that trades in and out of the US," he said.
If the oil refining industry is unable to produce enough and the costs of fuel increase it could risk an intermodal shift to roads counteracting any environmental benefits, said Mr Polemis.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
THROUGHPUT of Barcelona port was up more than four per cent to over two million TEU in 2011 due to a boom in the first year of the year.
But results also reflected the slowdown in the in Spanish economy in the second half, reported London's International Freighting Weekly (IFW), adding that the growth was driven by exports, which increased 14 per cent to 511,096 TEU with China, the Arab emirates and Turkey. Other major overseas markets include Algeria, the US, South America, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, South Korea and India.
In March, it Terminal Catalunya, a member of the Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) group, took delivery of eight super-postpanamax quay cranes at its Muelle Prat terminal at the port.
Said HPH central European managing director Clemence Cheng: "This is another important milestone in the completion of this new terminal, which is scheduled to open in mid-2012. With the eight-track rail facility connecting the terminal to the European rail network, Barcelona will be an important Mediterranean gateway for southern and central European cargo."
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
SOUTHWESTERN China's emerging manufacturing city Chongqing plan to reduce land using tax on warehouses, both owned and leased, by 50 per cent in the upcoming three years, Xinhua reports.
With demand soaring, Chongqing is facing a shortage of warehousing facilities. Warehouse charge has gone to CNY20 (US$3.16) per square metre from CNY10. Reduction of the land using tax is expected to reduce operating cost for logistics service providers.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
THE Port of Charleston achieved a 9.2 per cent increase in container volume handled in February compared to the same month last year.
Charleston Port handled 119,052 TEU in February, representing 5.8 per cent growth compared to the previous month, largely on the strength of loaded exports.
"We are experiencing a very balanced trade between import and export containers, which is a credit to the companies in South Carolina and across the southeast that are competing well in the global marketplace," said Jim Newsome, president and CEO of the South Carolina Ports Authority.
A statement from port authorities said that Charleston was one of only two of the nation's top 10 container ports that experienced a rise in inbound cargo in February, according to trade intelligence company Zepol Corporation.
Volume for the fiscal year to date (July 2011 through February 2012) remained relatively flat, with a 0.9 per cent increase over the same period the last fiscal year.
At the same time, the SCPA's non-container business segment in Charleston and Georgetown showed double and triple-digit gains.
Breakbulk volume in Charleston, which totalled 62,680 tons, rose 41.9 per cent in February compared to the same month a year earlier, while cargo volume in the Port of Georgetown increased nearly fourfold to 74,083 tons. Total breakbulk volume in February at the two ports was more than double the volume handled in February 2011.
With increased demand in the SCPA's non-container business, the board has authorized the agency to proceed with contract negotiations with Charleston Heavy Lift on the construction of a new, barge-mounted heavy lift crane.
The new crane would be used exclusively in the Port of Charleston in handling oversized and overweight project cargo across the docks. The SCPA said it would contribute up to US$2.5 million to the project for dedicated access over the life of the crane.
The SCPA also said it has completed $23 million in upgrades to Columbus Street Terminal to handle its non-container business, including automobiles made in South Carolina and heavy project cargo requiring on-dock rail.
The board also approved a $525,000 contract for maintenance berth dredging at Veterans Terminal, a 110-acre non-container facility at the Port of Charleston located on the former US Navy Base site.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
DUBAI's DP World Vancouver and the Canadian west coast Nanaimo Port Authority have signed a three-year agreement to operate the Vancouver Island ports facilities including the running of general cargo between the Duke Point facility and Assembly Wharf.
The introduction of a weekly barge service between the mainland facility and Nanaimo will cut costs removing two truck moves and handling of the cargo will aim to increase frequency to twice in a month's time within six months increasing it to a twice daily service.
Vancouver Island is one of the world's highest population, non-road connected communities without lift-on, lift-off container terminal facilities.
DP World Vancouver hopes to pursue container operations for its export resources going to international markets of bottled water, lumber, wood pulp using short sea shipping.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
THE recent UK government initiative to ban payment of ransoms to pirates has been criticised by a leading ship manager for its disregard of the safety of seafarers.
Such a ban would have "massively detrimental effect on the risk to the world's seafarers and the global economy", said Intermanager president Alastair Evitt, also chairman of the Save Our Seafarers Campaign.
Not only would a ban impact recruitment for crews transiting high-risk waters but would create huge insurance premiums for vessels in pirate-infested trade lanes creating higher costs for those forced to reroute. "In many cases vessels would become a total loss after six months," Mr Evitt said in a speech at Maritime Association's Shipping 2012 conference in Connecticut, US.
"I, for one, would not sanction one of Meridian's vessels transiting the high risk area - if there was no ultimate solution in the event of a vessel and her crew being held captive," he said.
The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised the move to stop the illicit flow of money and eliminated the profit motive by breaking the ransom business cycle.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
SWEDEN's Greencarrier Freight Services has signed a cooperation agreement with Turkey's leading logistics company, Ekol Logistics, that will cover the Baltic region and Turkey.
"With its integrated logistics services, Ekol offers efficient supply chain management from a single source with its 3,800 employees in Istanbul, Ankara, Bursa, Izmir and Mersin. Ekol operates 2,000 mega trailers, said Greencarrier CEO Peter Nevhagen in a statement from his company.
"We now have an opportunity to offer daily freight services to and from Turkey. We will offer road, sea and intermodal traffic in a cost effective and environmentally friendly way, combining sea, rail and road freight," Mr Nevhagen said.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
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