Singapore prices on slippery slope Singapore bunker prices have fallen by more than $10 this week. Losses were particularly big on Wednesday and Thursday, while the free-fall ground to a halt this Friday as crude prices showed modest gains. A local source pointed out that there is still room for price falls in Singapore, because the big price differential with Rotterdam works against buying interest in the long term.
Elf Marine to start supplies in Fujairah Elf Marine Bunkers' Paris office has already started quoting for bunker deliveries in Fujairah, a new service which will come into operation no later than October 18th this year.
Texaco with new bunker location in Southeast Asia Texaco Fuel and Marine Marketing (TFAMM) has recently introduced a new bunkering location to its international supply network. Starting on October 1 this year, TFAMM was able to take nominations for Port Kelang, Malaysia.
Crude losses felt in bunker prices across the globe Crude prices lost ground throughout this week (41), with especially large losses on Wednesday and Thursday. Consequently bunker prices have followed suit, with some regional fascinating differences.
General Dynamics in US yard deal THE accelerating trend of US shipyard consolidation has taken another leap with the announcement by defence contractor General Dynamics that it will buy California's Nassco Holdings for $415m in cash and assumed debt.
Blair plea as dollar falls UK prime minister Tony Blair yesterday urged the world's leading industrialised nations to take quick and concerted action to calm the global economic crisis.
Regulatory uncertainty hits Taca business plan TRANS-Atlantic Conference Agreement carriers have delayed publication of the group's 1999 business plan for a month while they consider how to respond to regulatory changes on both sides of the Atlantic.
We apologise South Korean president Kim Dae-Jung (left) shake hands with Japanese premier Keizo Obuchi at the Akasaka state guest house in Tokyo after exchanging documents of a joint declaration in which Japan issued its first written apology to an individual country for inflicting 'damage and pain' before and during the Second World War.
Ingalls wins US cruiseship deal LITTON Industries' Ingalls Shipbuilding of Pascagoula, Mississippi, has beaten out two other leading domestic yards to win a Letter of Intent to design and construct the first two large cruiseships built in the US in more than 40 years.
Ministers launch new UK agency UK deputy prime minister John Prescott and fellow ministers have given the new Maritime & Coastguard Agency a high-profile launch, writes Jack Gaston.
Unions welcome EC jobs initiative European Commission proposals to promote the employment of European seafarers on board ferries trading in EU waters have been welcomed by the Federation of Transport Workers' Unions in the European Union (FST).
Credit-rating caution for stevedore Holt HOLT Group, the US stevedore company that unsuccessfully tried to buy Atlantic Container Line earlier this year, has had its corporate credit rating affirmed at double-B-minus by Standard & Poor's. Senior unsecured debt is rated at single-B-plus.
BFI hits 1000 The Baltic Freight Index has today reached 1000 basis points
Cunard restructures Seabourn fleet CUNARD Line has announced the completion of its fleet restructuring drive, with the renaming, re-deployment and re-flagging of three vessels.
Two port plans for Newcastle TWO major port development plans have been put forward for an Australian steel-making site at Newcastle which is scheduled to close next September.
Filipino seafarers warned of drugs menace FILIPINO seafarers have been warned of the growing menace of drug smuggling involving officers and crew.
Osaka throughput takes a hit JAPAN'S sluggish economy and Asia's financial crisis has triggered a substantial decline in cargo throughput at the port of Osaka.
Korean newbuilding orders slide SOUTH Korean shipbuilding orders nose-dived last month compared with the position 12 months ago.
NZ fights potential pollution disaster ANTI-POLLUTION crews are trying to prevent a spreading oil spill from causing what the New Zealand government says is a "potential ecological disaster".
P&O settles with MUA AUSTRALIA'S largest stevedore has amicably settled pending court action against the Maritime Union of Ausrtralia.
China completes multimodal selection CHINA has decided on 12 transport companies to operate the country's multimodal transport system.
General Dynamics to buy Nassco IN a move that will shake up the US shipbuilding industry, US defence contractor General Dynamics (GD) said yesterday it will buy Nassco Holding.
Sino-Trans enters fleet expansion drive SINO-Trans is planning to expand its fleet by 50 per cent, having secured a loan of $1bn from the Bank of China.
Neptun to axe cruise liners NEPTUN Maritime, which yesterday unveiled a Fmk 524m ($105m) rights issue plan, intends to sell the three cruise liners it owns at the end of their present charters.
Bergesen ups stake in Kv'rner OSLO-based bulk shipping group Bergesen has bought 723,300 more class A shares in the Anglo-Norwegian shipbuilding and construction group Kv'rner.
NOL calls foul on APL sell-off claims NEPTUNE Orient Lines has described as "grossly inaccurate" recent reports that it has entered discussions to sell part of American President Lines.
General Dynamics To Buy NASSCO General Dynamics Corp. reportedly will buy San Diego-based shipyard NASSCO for $370 million in cash, plus the obligation to pay off about $45 million of the seller's debt. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year, with November 30 the reported target date. This will be the defense giant's first shipyard presence on the West Coast, and it will bring its total number of shipyards to three, including its Electric Boat Div. in New London, Conn., and its shipyard in Bath, Maine. NASSCO employs 4,000 employees and anticipates 1998 revenues of $485 million.
GE Makes Reinsurance Acquisition GE Capital, the financial service arm of General Electric Co., reportedly agreed to acquire London-based Eagle Star Reinsurance Co. Ltd. U.K., its second reinsurance acquisition in three months.
Container Shipping Companies To Hike Rates In '99 Container shipping companies operating between Asia and Europe reportedly will attempt to raise rates from the Far East up to four times in 1999. Rates would rise by a minimum $200 per 20 foot container and $400 per 40 ft container from January 1, 1999, carriers in the Asia Westbound Rate Agreement (AWRA) said in a statement.
Yangming Secures $300M for New Ships Yangming Marine Corp. has secured a $300 million syndicated loan from a banking consortium to finance the purchase of five containerships. This summer the carrier bought five 5,500 TEU ships from South Korea's Hyundai Group.
Owners ahead in P&I game Big changes are on the way in the once cosy world of the marine insurance clubs that could prove good news for shipowners and charterers. A number of clubs are considering radical restructurings that would would end the risk of shock cash calls. The European Commission has decided against breaking up the International Group cartel, but set terms that may force one club out. Meanwhile the cost of protection and indemnity cover is falling across the board a TradeWinds survey reveals.
The National Labor Relations Board has ruled that 44 drivers at two RPS locations in California are "employees," not independent contractors. The company, a $1.58 billion unit of FDX Corp., says the labor board's ruling will have no effect on day-to-day operations of the small-package concern. RPS officials say the Teamsters union lost one organizing vote and withdrew another at the two California locations cited in the NLRB ruling.
It was a journey mindful of the ancient mariner, but after a four-year tortuous passage through Congress, ocean shipping reform is about to be signed into law and become effective May 1, 1999. The Ocean Shipping Reform Act permits conference lines and independent carriers to enter into confidential contracts with shippers as to rates and service commitments, but those contracts must be filed with the FMC. While the bill eliminates the requirement that individual carriers file common-carrier tariffs with the Federal Maritime Commission, they still must publish tariffs in an FMC-approved format and make them available to shippers for inspection. Antitrust immunity will be available to ocean carriers who discuss and jointly set rates - even if they do so outside the conference process. The FMC will have authority, however, to investigate and impose remedies for market-power abuse where rates are collectively established. The bill also permits ocean carriers to negotiate inland rates collectively with railroads and motor carriers.
Landstar System, the nation's third-largest truckload concern, is leaving the American Trucking Associations because of a dispute over ATA's newly restructured dues. Landstar Chairman, President and CEO Jeff Crowe balked at paying $253,300 yearly dues for ATA membership. ATA drew the line, saying it no longer makes "dues deals." The Landstar situation shows the danger ATA officials face in trying to "reinvent" the 65-year-old trade association without alienating some old-line members.
The heat is on at Circle International Group Inc. A new management team led by David I. Beatson, formerly of Emery Worldwide, is lighting a spark under the venerable company. The 100-year-old San Francisco-based forwarder and logistics provider has been a steadfast if unspectacular performer in its traditional freight forwarding niche in recent years. Instead its growth has come from its customs brokerage business and related logistics services. Now Circle is ready to capitalize on that success. Under Beatson, Circle has pledged to strengthen its sales and marketing, upgrade its technology and spur productivity among its 104 branch offices.
The supply-chain planning and scheduling arena will be consolidating and slowing in growth, according to a study by Benchmarking Partners, an analysis and consulting company based in Cambridge, Mass. The study, entitled "Supply Chain Planning and Scheduling: The Market Leaders," gave an overview of the supply-chain arena in 1997 and made projections for the future of the market.
A new contract with General Electric not only may provide Union Pacific Corp. subsidiary Union Pacific Distribution Services with a needed shot in the arm, it also could open up a new market for the company, which has acted primarily as the IMC for the railroad's automotive business. The program, which will move GE appliances between Mexico and three U.S. distribution points, is predicated on the bundling of boxcars with 48-foot intermodal containers. UPDS is hoping the new business will open more opportunities for boxcar bundling.
Hurricane Georges has forced a labor dispute into the background - for now - while everyone at the San Juan port in Puerto Rico is struggling to rebuild and to move the thousands of tons of relief cargo pouring in. The hurricane forced the issue by destroying most of the cranes in the port, causing a near shut-down when six of the port's eight container cranes were knocked out of operation. The Marine Engineers Beneficial Association, currently in a labor dispute with Holt Cargo Systems of Philadelphia over the use of the two operable cranes, has temporarily set the issue aside to deal with congestion at the port.
After sitting in a Senate Committee for more than 20 years, Montreal Protocol No. 4 finally passed on Sept. 28. The treaty paves the way for airlines to submit air waybills electronically without a paper back-up. The new, simplified electronic form is estimated to shave about $6 off of every international shipment and save the U.S. economy $1 billion a year. The airline industry, freight forwarders and shippers have been calling for the treaty's passage for years.
Canada and the United States were to begin negotiations over agricultural trade disputes that caused six Western states to harass Canadian trucks carrying livestock and grain. It wasn't clear which topics would be on the agenda for the negotiators, although U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky said American concerns about the role of the Canadian Wheat Board would be one key issue. While Canada hopes the talks with Washington can resolve the disputes, Trade Minister Sergio Marchi said the government would reactivate its trade consultation requests immediately if any U.S. state again restricted or obstructed access of Canadian agricultural products.
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