Romanian coup by ABN-Amro DUTCH banking group ABN-Amro has pulled off a coup in the competitive ship finance arena with a deal to advise the Romanian government on privatisation of the country's shipping sector, and its three leading state-owned shipping companies.
US to debate Ocean Shipping Reform Act THE US Senate may, today, take up for debate and a final vote the long-dormant Ocean Shipping Reform Act liberalising the US Shipping Act of 1984.
Tax concession blow for Newport News shipyard VIRGINIA'S General Assembly has dashed the hopes of Newport News Shipbuilding, the US' largest privately-owned newbuilding and repair facility, to obtain a $98m tax concession for building and operating a major research and development centre.
Clinton backs Card for top post at USCG PRESIDENT Bill Clinton has approved the nomination of Vice-Admiral James Card for promotion to vice-commandant of the US Coast Guard.
South Korean shipping acts to overcome financial crisis SOUTH Korea's shipyards believe they are currently in the best position, and top executives bristle at having to field questions about financial integrity.
Russia starts tests on new navigation system NAVIGATION in the eastern waters of the Finnish Gulf should become safer due to a new satellite navigation system which has started trials last week near St Petersburg. Sergei Palekhov, director of the department of shipping security of Rosmorflot, the Russian Transport Ministry's maritime division, said the Russian-American Glonass/Navstar system would be more accurate than earlier systems.
Nantes hopes for 1999 start on extension PORT of Nantes-Saint Nazaire is hoping that a public inquiry into its plans for a major FFr370m ($60,5m) extension to its container and bulk handling facilities will get under way before the end of this year, allowing construction work to start before the end of 1999.
Sonag case settlement disappoints shippers SHIPPERS have expressed disappointment that an important legal dispute involving inland pricing by ocean carriers was settled out of court.
Stolthaven to acquire stake in Dovechem STOLTHAVEN Asia Pacific, the tanker and tank container subsidiary of Stolt-Nielsen, is to acquire a 30 per cent stake in storage terminal operator Dovechem.
Mersey Docks bids for Venezuelan port MERSEY Docks and Harbour Co has teamed up with two local companies to bid for the 30-year operating contract for the Venezuelan port of Guanta.
Malta drops ferry modification plans MALTA'S government has dropped plans to modify a newbuilding ferry after studies showed the company would still be unable to compete on the Malta-Sicily route.
Dockwise planning to order new heavy lift ships DUTCH heavy lift transporter Dockwise is planning to order two, possibly three, new heavy lift vessels.
Manila ports seek further rate hikes ATI and ICTSI, the Manila-based port operators, are calling for another round of cargo handling rate increases to compensate for higher operational costs.
Docenave to flag two bulkers back to Brazil BRAZILIAN dry bulk operator Docenave has announced that it will flag two vessels from Liberia to Brazil.
MISC acquires Konsortium's shipping operations MALAYSIA International Shipping Corporation has taken over the shipping operations of troubled Konsortium Perkapalan owned by local transport tycoon Mirzan Mahathir.
Gales delay cruiseship transfer STRONG winds prevented the newbuilding cruiseship Norwegian Sky being towed from Bremen to Bremerhaven last week.
Wilhelmsen to build three roros at Daewoo WILHELMSEN has signed a letter of intent with South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo for the construction of three roro vessels with an option for a further three.
Foreigners short-listed for MDD job MALTA Drydocks has short-listed three foreigners for the post of ceo.
Mercur to demerge wet and dry operations MERCUR Tankers is planning to demerge its tanker and dry cargo businesses and float the dry cargo business on the Oslo stock exchange.
Sepetiba seeks hub port role BRAZILIAN president Fernando Henrique Cardoso has announced he is to set up an agency to promote the port of Sepetiba as a South Atlantic hub facility.
SCI may float coastal shipping subsidiary STATE owned Shipping Corp of India is to explore the possibility of floating a subsidiary to develop coastal shipping in the country.
Australia underwrites more export finance THE Australian government has announced further measures to underwrite the nation's exports to the financially troubled Asian market.
BHP shipping division to be sold NEGOTIATIONS are underway to try to sell Broken Hill Proprietary's Australian shipping division.
Le Parlement européen en conflit avec le Conseil des ministres Le Parlement européen se penche aujourd'hui à Strasbourg pour la deuxième fois sur une modification de la directive européenne existante (93/75/UE) concernant les normes minimales auxquelles doivent répondre les navires qui transportent des matières dangereuses ou polluantes de et vers les ports de l'Union européenne. L'adaptation de cette directive a pour but de renforcer la prévention et la lutte contre les accidents en mer impliquant des navires transportant ce type de cargaisons. Aucune nouvelle norme n'est toutefois prévue.
Wilhelmsen s'adapte aux tendances dans le transport de voitures L'armement Wilhelmsen Lines vient de passer commande au chantier naval sud-coréen Daewoo de trois rouliers d'une nouvelle génération. Cette commande porte sur un montant de 240 millions de dollars (8,8 milliards de BEF) et va de pair avec une option sur trois unités identiques. Il s'agit d'un nouveau type de roulier particulièrement flexible, en ce sens qu'il est conçu pour le transport d'un nombre considérable de voitures, mais aussi de divers types de fret conditionné en ro/ro, qu'il s'agisse de breakbulk sur mafis ou de matériel lourd de génie civil et autres projets industriels. Cette commande s'inscrit dans la tendance qui marque aujourd'hui le marché des car carriers.
Les échanges routiers avec le Maghreb devraient croître, mais... Les chances à venir pour le transport routier entre l'UE et le Maghreb sont excellentes, car on s'attend à une forte croissance économique en Afrique du Nord au cours des prochaines années. Les transporteurs routiers devraient pouvoir pleinement profiter de cette croissance. Toutefois, un certain nombre de conditions - et non des moindres - devront être remplies pour que ces prévisions puissent se réaliser. Les gouvernements et les partenaires commerciaux devront s'y atteler sans tarder pour permettre cet accroissement des échanges. Tel est la conclusion préliminaire d'une étude réalisée par l'institut de recherche en transport néerlandais NEA pour le compte de l'IRU.
WA chamber advocates interventionist policy The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia has supported moves to challenge the nation's current stevedoring duopoly of Patrick and P&O Ports. In a recently-adopted policy document the chamber called for some intervention in the stevedoring industry, stressing that the industry requires some form of price setting mechanism administered by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
ACOS, ASA form federation The Australian Chamber of Shipping and the Australian Shipowners Association have agreed to the formation of an "over-arching federation" - the Australian Shipping Federation which may in future become the Australian New Zealand Shipping Federation. Newly-elected ACOS president Alan Brundish announced the new body at the chamber's annual dinner on Friday night, saying the federation would provide a high degree of coordination between the two organisations and showed savings for the chamber and the association.
Sydney strike to go ahead Patrick was yesterday attempting to minimise the effects of the 48-hour strike which is scheduled to affect its Sydney facilities from tomorrow, according to company director Bill Clayton. The MUA apparently decided to proceed with the stoppage despite agreeing to a joint working party which will examine the union's claims for a new enterprise agreement, the cause of the stoppage.
If wharfies can be farmers... Members of the Maritime Union of Australia have defended its control over all forms of work on the Australian waterfront during a meeting last week with SA Liberal Senator Jeannie Ferris. When asked why they believed they were entitled to exercise such power , picketing MUA members responded that they are a totally integrated workforce, "one minute doing security functions and the next minute climbing up a crane somewhere," Senator Ferris said.
Govt pledge to end MUA 'monopoly' The federal government is committed to ending the monopoly held by the Maritime Union of Australia in the provision of labour on the waterfront, according to secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Max Moore-Wilton. Mr Moore-Wilton told the annual dinner of the Australian Chamber of Shipping in Sydney on Friday night that, "the government supports the introduction of effective competition in container stevedoring such as that to be offered by Producers & Consumers Stevedores. He added that the government was committed to providing a structural framework so that companies were able to establish operations that did not necessarily employ MUA members.
Korea giants mull mega yard merger TOP-LEVEL MEETINGS between South Korea's giant chaebols could lead to a surprise merger between shipbuilding giants Daewoo and Samsung.The move would create by far the world's biggest shipbuilding company with an output of around 5 million-gt a year.The merger proposal has been tabled as Korea's leading industrial conglomerates, under the instruction of the country's newly elected President D J Kim, sit down to try to reorganize their huge industrial empires.Samsung and Daewoo are close neighbors on Koje Island and the most likely candidates for a tie-up. The Daewoo Group has already shown its taste for acquisitions this year with the purchase of Ssangyong Motors.Daewoo chief sales executive In Sung Lee gave a firm "no comment" when questioned on the talks. Other company officials described the rumors as "extreme".Samsung tried to play down the prospect of a mega-wedding with sales executive I D Kim blaming stock market rumors."Shipbuilding is very important for Samsung. It is our core business and we will keep it," he said.However, he conceded that Korea's giant chaebols have been told by the government to reorganize themselves after the economic crisis in South-east Asia.One source said: "Only the top people know what will happen."The Samsung Group is in the process of selling off some of its heavy machinery divisions, which has helped lift its share price. THERE ARE fears shipbuilding could be on the verge of a price collapse as suspicions mount that Korean builder Samsung struck a deal to build a series of Panamaxes at rock-bottom prices. SHIPBUILDING faces further turmoil with the disclosure that a giant building dock is being planned in China capable of building VLCCs. Critics say local rivalries are behind the creation of the facility.
Cunard on buying trail LEGENDARY cruise line Cunard is shrugging off the uncertainty over its future in the hands of Kvaerner by pressing ahead with plans to order two cruiseships.
Clemo still on parade FREDDY CLEMO is a larger-than-life figure by any stretch of imagination. The spry 74-year-old is still working in the Philippines for the P&I Clubs and has lived an eventful life, witnessing the impact of atomic bombs when he was a prisoner of war in Japan.
Monopoly Mallory AMERICAN Charles Mallory has already made a successful career out of being a tanker broker. Now he finds himself spending more time handling a $50m real estate portfolio that numbers shipowners among his clients and investors.
Banks get cold feet THE ECONOMIC crisis in the Far East has sparked a bank exodus. Several are pulling out of ship financing but the extra room in the lending market may turn out to be a help for the players that stay the course.
Maersk Line has big plans for the Uruguayan port of Montevideo. The Danish carrier recently won a 25-year concession to operate the port and plans to triple the cranes, double the space and possibly add feeder operations up and down the coast. Other carriers serving the east coast of South America are paying close attention to Maersk's decision to make the port its regional hub, since the company is one of the leading carriers in the trade lane.
The other shoe dropped at the American Trucking Associations Feb. 26 - or "Black Thursday" as those affected by ATA's deepest staff cuts in more than 20 years are calling it. Approximately 28 of ATA's nearly 280 staff positions were eliminated as the trucking group seeks to cut as much as $2 million in overhead from its $45 million budget. The cuts were the first visible moves to streamline the trucking group since Walter B. McCormick Jr. succeeded Thomas J. Donohue as ATA president on Jan. 1. McCormick said the cuts were necessary to eliminate duplication. On the heels of the firings, ATA also announced hiring a pollster and management consultant to help reinvent itself.
Consolidation, always a familiar face in the truckload sector, is expected to intensify this year as larger carriers seek to buy smaller competitors as much for their drivers as any other strategic factor. That was the consensus among executives, analysts and financial types at last month's eighth annual BT Alex. Brown transportation conference in Naples, Fla. One truckload executive, when asked if he had any live offers on the table, said matter of factly that he had heard from more than 30 smaller companies inquiring about a merger or acquisition. Another says he gets at least one inquiry a week.
United Parcel Service slammed shut the books on one of the most difficult years in the company's history. After losing $775 million in sales in the third quarter and reporting its first loss in years, the company snapped back in the fourth quarter, reporting huge gains in international business that helped offset the still sluggish growth in the domestic parcel sector. The relaunch and restructuring of the company's European operation is paying off and has a lot to do with the income improvements gained in 1997.
Union Pacific Corp. finally bit the financial bullet and halved its dividend, disclosing that it now expects a loss in 1998's first quarter and announcing it would need to raise up to a billion dollars in fresh capital to both dig UP out of its service grave and meet future demands. UP's board of directors cut the dividend to 20 cents per quarterly share from 43 cents and the company disclosed other financial ramifications of its service debacle.
The Port of New Orleans hopes the completion of a seven-year, $215 million capital improvement project will make it a leader in the highly competitive container market. Port officials expect half a dozen new services that have started since mid-1997 will raise the port's container cargo volume.
University of Tennessee MBA students wanted to participate in a graduate-level logistics competition with students from other schools last year. The trouble was, no such contest existed. It does now. Spearheaded by Chris Farha, a second-year MBA student at U Tenn., the first graduate MBA case competition in logistics drew four teams of 25 student and faculty participants from Tennessee, University of Maryland, University of Arkansas and Michigan State University.
How many trailers could a trucking company track if a trucking company could track trailers? More than they used to, thanks to a convergence of cellular technology, satellite networks and the Internet. HighwayMaster Corp. agreed to cross-license its wireless technology with BellSouth to produce a trailer-tracking system, while PeopleNet introduced a trailer-tracking and driver communication system that blends cellular and paging communications networks with Global Positioning System satellites and the Internet. Services like these are extending the reach of mobile communications and asset tracking to smaller companies.
Via Rail needs new equipment and more cooperation from the freight railways if it is to have a long-term future, says the head of the Canadian government-owned passenger train operator. While Via has slashed its dependence on the federal treasury and increased ridership, it can't do much more unless it increases the number and reliability of the services it now operates, Via Rail's president told the Canadian House of Commons.
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