HONG KONG's Orient Overseas Container Lines (OOCL) has announced it will increase freight rates for westbound Asia-Europe trade US$450 per TEU from May 1, covering shipment from the Far East (excluding Japan), India subcontinent and Middle East to North Europe, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.
"The ocean freight rate for the Asia Europe Trade continues to be below the required level to cover basic operating costs," the company explained.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
SINGAPORE-based APL Logistics will raise rates by US$450 per TEU on westbound trades from Asia to Europe starting May 1.
This is the third general rate increase imposed this year on the depressed trade lane. The carrier imposed increases of US$750 per TEU from March and US$400 per TEU from April.
"The rate restoration is applicable to all shipments from Asia to North Europe, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea," APL India said.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
HONG KONG's Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL), the 13th biggest carrier in the world, has signed a 40-year container terminal lease with the Port of Long Beach, according to a company statement.
The agreement, also known as the Middle Harbour Redevelopment Project (MHRP), was signed by OOCL chief executive Philip Chow and Port of Long Beach executive director Chris Lytle before representatives of the two parties and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU).
The lease will help OOCL develop a more advanced terminal with the latest automation technologies that will "triple the handling capacity of its current terminal at Long Beach and cutting environmental emissions by half."
Said Mr Chow: "This land-lease agreement has been many years in the making and without the support of the citizens of Long Beach, the government, the ILWU, harbour commission, and all those who believe in the many benefits that this project will bring to the city and region, this day could have been possible."
Said Mr Lytle: "OOCL has been a valued Port of Long Beach business partner for many decades. The historic agreement we sign today strengthens and continues that partnership for many decades to come. The Middle Harbour property is key to the future competitiveness of the Port of Long Beach. And we could not have a better partner than OOCL."
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
ITALIAN antitrust authorities have fined 15 container shipping line's in-house shipping agents and two trading firms US$5.3 million for price fixing at Genoa from February 2004 to December 2009.
The shipping agents were accused of undertaking secret activities that fix prices for shipping services, including issuing bills of lading for exports and delivery orders for imports, according to the Italian authority AGCM, which held that the pricing-fixing exerted "a significant impact on the market".
Maersk Italia was not fined for joining the cartel because it informed on the rest as did Hapag-Lloyd Italy to a lesser extent, which got its fine halved to $322,000.
Marseilles' CMA CGM was fined with the largest penalty of $1.18 million followed by China's Cosco at $965,000 and Japan's "K" Line at $575,000.
Other participants, which were each fined $108,000, included Singapore's APL, Taiwan's Yang Ming, Israel's Zim, and the two trade associations, Assagenti and Spediporto.
The exposure of the cartel can be used as a reference to look into the transactions in other Italian ports, including La Spezia and the container transshipment hub Gioia Tauro, said the authorities.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
GERMANY's Commerzbank are expected to suffer shipping loan losses of as much as EUR441 million (US$588 million) this year, reports Bloomberg.
Many German smaller and mid-sized shipping companies, which has the world's third largest shipping fleet, can no longer pay debts with some facing bankruptcy, says the German Shipowners' Association (VDR) shipping association.
"A lot of the charter owners can't pay principal to the banks because of low charter rates. Smaller tonnage is hit especially hard. Markets are really poor and we still have a certain backlog of ships," said the Hamburg-based VDR's managing director Max Johns.
Commerzbank's 2008 takeover of Dresdner Bank AG increased its stake in shipping lender Deutsche Schiffsbank to 92 per cent, doubling the size of its maritime loan portfolio, just before the industry went into a worldwide slump.
Commerzbank has the world's third-largest shipping portfolio at $28 billion, according to Athens-based vessel finance consultant Petrofin SA.
Today, Germany's second-largest bank, behind Deutsche Bank, is already working to fix its balance sheet and raise EUR5.3 billion by the end of June.
Shipping loan losses will likely rise to 2.1 per cent of such lending at Commerzbank this year, Morgan Stanley analysts Henrik Schmidt and Doug Hayes wrote in a note. That's more than the 1.8 per cent projection for the Royal Bank of Scotland and the 1.5 per cent forecast for Norway's DNB, Italy's UniCredit SpA (UCG) and France's BNP Paribas.
"Shipping is one of the reasons behind Commerzbank's underperformance in the past 12 months," Kepler Capital Markets analyst Dirk Becker told Bloomberg from Frankfurt. "It is a risky business, as risky as many parts of commercial real estate. There'll be a time of reckoning at some point."
Maersk Line, CMA CGM and Hapag-Lloyd recorded losses in 2011 because of high fuel costs and falling freight rates, attributed to an oversupply of tonnage.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
THE biggest vessel ever to dock at Sharjah's Gulftainer's Khorfakkan Container Terminal (KCT), the 14, 074-TEU CSCL Uranus, has arrived on its maiden voyage from the Far East, reported WAM, Emirates New Agency.
Fresh out of a Korean shipyard on the March 9, it is the largest ship to arrive at Khorfakkan Container Terminal and is the China Shipping Container Lines' (CSCL) largest ship.
"For KCT, this marks another success in our ever-expanding client range," said Gulftainer managing director Peter Richards. "The selection of CSCL Uranus to dock in KCT on its maiden call further proves KCT's abilities as one of the world's fastest-moving ports."
Gulftainer's KCT was named Shipping Port of the Year in 2011 at the Annual Supply Chain and Transport Awards (SCATA 2011) in Dubai and is recognised as one of the most efficient ports in the world, said the report.
KCT has 1,900 metres of quay, a 16-metres alongside, 20 ship-to-shore gantry cranes, and is able to dock the biggest containerships.
It is located on Sharjah's Indian Ocean coast, conveniently outside the tense Strait of Hormuz and near main east-west shipping routes with its easy access to the UAE's Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi.
The port was recently expanded, increasing the total number of gantry cranes to 20 and the overall storage space to 450,000 square metres, said the report.
Gulftainer Company Limited has been operating since 1976 in the UAE and operates three main ports in the Emirates: Sharjah Container Terminal (SCT) and Khorfakkan Container Terminal (KCT) on behalf of the Sharjah Port Authority, and terminal operations on behalf international plastics solutions company, Borouge, in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
CHENGLINGJI, a port in Hunan province's Yueyang city has started a new shipping service via Yangtze River and along the coast to Hong Kong and Macau, which is the first such service to the two special administrative regions, Xinhua reports.
According to Changsha Daily, in Hunan province, the inauguration ceremony was held at the Chenglingji International Container Terminal, the maiden ship carried 28 TEU of fireworks to Hong Kong.
The service is operated by Fujian Lianfa Shipping Company, the subsidiary of the largest carrier in Fujian in terms of capacity, Fujian Guanhai Shipping Company. It uses two ships and offers six round-trip sailings per month that sails along the Yangtze River to Shanghai then sails along the coast to Hong Kong and Macau. Each single journey lasts six to seven days. Using the new service, shippers can save up to CNY300 (US$47.64) per TEU.
Customs at Shanghai, Wuhan, Chongqing and Changsha have started to cooperate on trans-regional clearance for the new service. Cargo from Yichang, Chuanjiang and Chongqing that are previously transshipped at Wuhan's Yangluo port will now be transshipped via Chenglingji port, bringing 50,000 to 120,000 TEU to the port's throughput.
Experts said that the new line will bring opportunities for the development of Hunan's export-oriented economy and international logistics.
Being the largest port in Hunan province, Chenglingji port is located on the south bank in the middle reaches of the Yangtze.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
THE United States may soon allow China to import American technology with military applications, said US Ambassador to China Gary Locke in a recent speech in Shanghai, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Beijing has long complained that US limits on exports of such high-tech equipment such as aircraft engines, underwater cameras and propulsion systems and telecom gear are tantamount to protectionism.
Mr Locke said US officials will go to Shanghai in May with a group of American tech companies to discuss what equipment China would be allowed to purchase.
"We are in the midst of a major reform and simplification that will enable more high-tech goods to be exported to China," said Mr Locke, adding that liberalisation would boost US exports and reduce America's trade deficit.
The Wall Street Journal said such moves risk a backlash from some Republican politicians in an election year. Rightist Republicans have been attacking the leftist Obama administration over its engagement with China on intellectual property, currency and market-access concerns.
"China is an increasingly hostile and disruptive force in the world. The idea that we are cooperating with them, in any capacity, is alarming," California Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher told a congressional committee.
But American Chamber of Commerce in China wants restrictions eased, fearing lost sales to European producers whose products are more accessible and where China is likely to fund research.
Xinhua reports the Ministry of Commerce welcomes all measures conducive to expanding high-technology trade, "But till now, China has not seen any substantial moves from the United States to relax control over its exports to China." said a ministry spokesman.
Controlled items include aircraft and aircraft engines, avionics and inertial-navigation systems, lasers, depleted uranium, underwater cameras and propulsion systems, certain composite materials, and some telecommunications equipment for space communications or air defence, according to the China section of the US Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security.
Mr Locke spoke of 141 items he said China wanted from the US. China reportedly provided the US with the list in preparation for Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to the White House in January 2011.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
ISRAEL's Zim Integrated Shipping Services recently received US$50 million from its major shareholder Israel Corporation as its second part of a $100 million aid package.
Funding will allow Zim to operate with adequate cash flow and comply with its financial covenants. The carrier has already received a total of $450 million fund injected by Israel Corp to avoid bankruptcy in 2009.
As the world's 16th largest carrier, Zim has not been doing well in recent years. According to maritime analyst Alphaliner's figures, it posted an operating loss of $276 million in 2011 and even much greater loss of $675 million in 2009.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
MUMBAI Nehru Port's container volume increased 1.5 per cent to a record 4.32 million TEU in the fiscal 2012, the port authority said.
Gateway Terminals, Nehru's largest container facility operated by APM Terminals, moved 1.89 million TEU, up from 1.85 million TEU a year earlier. Traffic through DP World's Nhava Sheva International Container Terminal totalled 1.4 million TEU, down from 1.54 million TEU. Volume via the state-owned Jawaharlal Nehru Container Terminal increased to 1.03 million TEU from 880,000 TEU.
Traffic through port in fiscal 2011-12 hit 4.32 million TEU. The volume of containers through India's Port of Jawaharlal Nehru (Nhava Sheva) hit an "all-time high" of 4.32 million TEU in fiscal 2011-12 ending March 31.
Officials said total cargo tonnage for 2011-12 was estimated at 65.75 million tons, with containerised tonnage amounting to 58.25 million tons.
"We are taking steps to develop additional capacity to cope with the projected growth in traffic volume," said port chairman L Radhakrishnan.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
LOGISTICS provider Agility has posted an eight per cent increase in net profit to KWD27 million (US$91.1 million) in 2011 despite a five per cent revenue decline to KWD1.3 billion due to a discontinued US defence logistics role.
Fourth quarter profit was up 114 per cent to KWD3.5 million from a net loss of KWD23.7 million in the same quarter 2010, drawn on revenues of KWD345 million, up four per cent year on year.
"We are a different company today than we were a year ago, and we consider 2011 a new financial baseline against which we will measure future performance," said Tarek Sultan, Agility's chairman and managing director.
"We sold the bulk of our vehicle fleet in the Middle East, freed up warehousing space for commercial customers, and converted working capital to cash. Having undergone some heavy lifting in terms of restructuring over the last two years, the company anticipates solid gains in 2012 and beyond," Mr Sultan added.
Agility performance in high-growth emerging markets was a major contributor to revenue, as reflected in the double-digit growth in the Asia Pacific region.
Its infrastructure companies contributed KWD111.3 million with revenue growing 18 per cent year on year supported by profitable niches in the market place, he said helped by the closing of two deals.
Said Mr Sultan: "We merged Agility Qatar operations with Gulf Warehousing Company (GWC) and realised gain of KWD8 million. We also formed a joint venture with France Telecom and converted our debt into equity in Korek. Today we have an indirect stake of 24 per cent in Korek and US$100 million debt yielding 12 per cent per annum".
Other growth areas included its National Aviation Services (NAS) with an aim to further enhance the potential of these airport ground handling services which have succeeded in developing countries.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
CEVA LOGISTICS has signed a two-year contract extension with Renault in Brazil for the receipt, storage and consolidation of auto parts for export to France, Argentina, Mexico, Romania, Colombia and South America.
Operations will be conducted in a dedicated 4,000-square metre area of the logistics firm's site in Sao Jose dos Pinhais, a city in Parana, Brazil, with 17 employees shipping 240,000 cubic metres of parts a year.
The two companies have been working together since 2002 in Brazil, where the logistics operator provides a range of different supply chain solutions for the automotive giant, with key partnerships also in France, Spain, Italy and Argentina.
Mauricio Leonel, Business Development manager for CEVA's automotive sector in Brazil said: "Our ability to offer Renault a solution that has the potential to increase their productivity has helped reinforce CEVA's leadership in the automotive sector in Brazil."
CEVA said in a statement that it is the only Renault provider to receive the UET certification-Unity Station of Work. This document certifies that the logistics provider has implemented a management tool that standardises the operation of a particular activity in relation to the production of goods and services, and was granted by Renault after an extensive audit.
"The handling and storage of the products requires special care and expertise, and this is why we have entrusted CEVA to continue running our operations, as well as awarding the logistics operator the UET certification for excellence in quality service provision," said Renault Brazil operations manager Claudemir Bozza.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
FAILING shipping companies, struggling with an oversupply of tonnage and slack demand, are increasingly filing for bankruptcy in the United States because the US law protects them from liquidation, allowing them to continue operations, say lenders and lawyers, according to Reuters.
"Only in Chapter 11 can you get bankruptcy financing, can your management remain in place, and can you continue to operate the company," said DLA Piper bankruptcy lawyer Thomas Califano.
When Dutch-based Marco Polo Seatrade filed for bankruptcy in a US court in July, lenders fought to get the case thrown out as the company's links to the United States were limited to two small bank accounts.
Shipping companies are well placed to do what many other troubled firms would like to do - seeking Chapter 11 refuge - because their assets of ships are on the move, allowing them seek insolvency protection almost anywhere they go.
Creditors, most often European banks, as well as lawyers and judges raise questions about the rightful reach of US bankruptcy law and who should have access to US courts. So far, American judges have handled such cases. Lenders would prefer to push companies into insolvency so they can seize assets.
Chapter 11 offers broad protections to stave off creditors and give companies an exclusive period to file restructuring plans. It differs from Chapter 15, which allows foreign restructurings to be recognised in the United States, but does not give companies the same leeway in reorganising.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
ACE Winches staff recently completed their largest manufacturing contract, worth GBP 4.2 million (US$6.73 million) for Houston's Superior Energy Services which was delivered on the world's largest plane, the Antonov 225.
Winches, a leading deck machinery specialist, has designed and manufactured an electrically driven eight-point mooring spread at its global headquarters in Scotland.
The complete winch package has been designed to be capable of operating in temperatures as low as -45 degrees C. The ABS certified winches are tailored to meet the mooring requirements of the barge, which will be working in extreme Arctic weather.
The ACE winch package began its voyage from Auchterless, near Turriff, Aberdeenshire, the first shipment of winches weighing 125 tonnes was delivered on three trucks to Southampton; it was then shipped across the Atlantic on the vessel Integrity, reaching Baltimore, from where it was driven across America to its destination.
The second shipment was required by the client to be delivered ahead of planned schedule. The winch package also weighing 125 tonnes was exported by air freight from Glasgow on the world's largest plane, the Antonov 225.
This is the heaviest load ever to be exported by air from Scotland. Due to the combined weight of the load and aircraft of 550 tonnes in total, various stops had to be made to refuel including; Goose Bay, Labrador and Minneapolis-St Paul. The Antonov 225 made its final landing in Moses Lake Airport in Washington state before being trucked to reach its destination.
"I am delighted with the commitment and dedication shown by the ACE employees from initial stages of design through to manufacture, accomplishing the completion of this projecting just six months. Everyone at ACE Winches has been involved in this project in one way or another, the manufacturing team has been working 24 hours a day, seven days a week, giving up some of their festive celebrations to complete this order on time," said ACE Winches CEO Alfie Cheyne.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
GERMANY's Lufthansa Cargo is now considering selling its entire fleet of 18 MD-11 freighters after a Leipzig court upheld the blanket night-flight ban covering six hours at Frankfurt Airport.
Since the German Federal court in Leipzig upheld the ban on October 3, Lufthansa created an emergency winter timetable which led to a loss of US$20 million in three months due to cancelled flights and loss of business.
But now the court has ruled again to uphold the ban, Lufthansa CEO Christoph Franz said: "This a big blow for Germany as a place to do business and there is no doubt that one of Europe's biggest hubs will slip in international competitiveness."
Lufthansa Cargo chief executive Karl Ulrich Garnadt said the restricted takeoffs is just a stop gap, which costs money and does not pay, according to Germany's Focus Magazine.
Lufthansa has frozen investment of US$1.35 billion at Frankfurt hub until final ruling from a Leipzig court and forecasts annual revenue loss of $54 million into 2012. The carrier has five Boeing 777 freighters on order and its joint unit Aerologic operates eight leased 777 freighters.
Germany and the Rhine-Main region around the airport transport half the country's air freight and accounts for 80 per cent of Lufthansa's global cargo traffic.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
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