UK oil firms combine in $1.4bn deal British-Borneo and Hardy Oil and Gas, two British-based independent oil companies, have merged creating a new group valued at '910m ($1.4bn).
Edinburgh Castle passengers sent home PASSENGERS aboard the Castle Cruising-owned vessel Edinburgh Castle 'had to be repatriated over the weekend after an onboard electrical blackout due to generator damage.
Arco in $15m Philippines plan A 16-company consortium led by US-based Atlantic Richfield Corp (Arco) is set to invest an additional Peso650m ($15m) to sustain its drilling operations in the Sulu Sea in the southern Philippines.
FleetFinder tracks down containers German computer system developers IVU, Berlin, and OHB Teledata, Bremen, claim that with their new telematics system, FleetFinder, shipowners and other transport companies may soon be able to monitor their container as well as truck fleets through the Internet without special software, writes James Gladden, Bonn.
Gore opens APL's new box terminal in Seattle A NEW container terminal built for APL in Seattle was held up by US vice-president Al Gore as a "milestone" project that demonstrates how contaminated land can be transformed into a state-of-the art facility.
Smit posts steep rise in half-year profits Rotterdam-based salvage, marine contracting and port services group Smit International has posted a hefty increase in half-year net profits, from Fls18.1m to Fls33.2m ($16.6m).
Long Beach pursues Cosco plan Long Beach port officials say they are not giving up their plans to build a terminal for Cosco on former Navy property despite a political setback that makes it doubtful that the Chinese-owned line will ever occupy the property.
London Express closes Hapag chapter of renewals GERMAN liner operator Hapag-Lloyd yesterday named the London Express (pictured) in the port of Southampton, bringing to a close the latest chapter in its ongoing programme of fleet renewal.
Tuticorin owners seek separate berth at Colombo TUTICORIN shipowners have called for a separate berth at Colombo because security restrictions have reduced the number of calls by their vessels.
Korean-Russian ferry route to reopen A CAR ferry route between the South Korean port of Pusan and the Russian port of Vladivostok will reopen later this year.
Greeks in showdown over manning GREEK flag cruiseship operators have given a 48-hour ultimatum to Greek seafarers to accept their terms on manning or face mass redundancies.
Indian port equipment in bad condition A REVIEW of cargo-handling equipment in India's ports has shown them to be overloaded, with little sign of a maintenance programme.
Hong Kong's unemployed swamp sea course A COURSE aimed at encouraging Hong Kong's employed to go to sea has been being swamped with applicants interested only in the HK$4,000 ($516) monthly allowance.
Delhi investigates bareboat resolution INDIA'S government has demanded that the shipowners' association provide a copy of a resolution banning bareboat charters.
Interest shown in closed Canadian shipbuilder AT least one US-based company has expressed an interest in taking over the Davie Industries shipyard at Levis, Quebec.
Modern Terminals hits record throughput MODERN Terminals Ltd, the Hong Kong-based port operator, saw record throughput last month after winning the Grand Alliance earlier this year.
Osprey signals fleet disposal programme SINGAPORE-based Osprey Maritime has confirmed that two vlccs are back on the S&P market, signalling what could be the start of a fleet disposal programme.
Author refloated after five days aground ISLE of Man-registered containership Author was refloated on September 13 after running aground five days earlier at the entrance to Ponce harbour, Puerto Rico.
DnB rating is downgraded to 'negative' STANDARD & Poor's, the credit rating agency, has described the outlook for Norway's Den norske Bank as 'negative'.
Mitsui 'has not ruled out further expansion' MITSUI OSK Lines (MOL) has not ruled out further mergers and acquisitions in the tanker and gas carriers sectors, according to president Masaharu Ikuta.
New German merger denies yard speculation THYSSEN-KRUPP, the newly formed German industrial group, has denied local media reports that it is planning to sell its Blohm + Voss and TNSW shipyards.
FBI to investigate MSC and MarAd contracts ALLEGATIONS of criminal fraud in the awarding of shipping contracts to private US companies by the US MSC and MarAd are to be investigated by the FBI.
Attempts to refloat grounded containership fail FIRST efforts to refloat the British-registered containership Author in Ponce Harbor, Puerto Rico, have failed.
Eurokai rumoured to be in running for Sepetiba UNOFFICIAL sources say Brazilian steel company CSN is to take on Hamburg-based terminal operator Eurokai to operate the superport at Sepetiba.
Congress likely to kill Cosco terminal bid COSCO's two-year bid to open a dedicated container terminal at Long Beach seems destined to fail in light of the expected decision by the US Congress to prohibit the deal.
Berlian Laju bids for PNOC subsidiary BERLIAN Laju Tankers, the Indonesian operator, has bid for the tanker subsidiary of state-owned Philippine National Oil Co.
Indonesia adopts new sea-lanes INDONESIA has officially adopted three north-south sea-lanes in its archipelago, to be opened to international shipping in 1999.
Holyman plans further liquidations FURTHER liquidations are planned by Holyman as part of the Australian-based transport group's debt reduction strategy.
Patrick 'extremely pleased as EBA begins PATRICK yesterday declared that it was extremely pleased with the manner in which its new enterprise agreement was implemented. A Patrick director, Bill Clayton, told DCN there were only minor incidents, one in Brisbane and one in Sydney and these were quickly resolved to the satisfaction of the company. Both related to safety issues which were resolved in Patrick's favor once safety authorities were called in. Mr Clayton said he was extremely pleased that the agreement was working and, in particular, that the same work was being performed with roughly half the workforce required previously.
Contship, FANAL in N American tie-up In a move which may signal an unsatisfactory end to negotiations between CP Ships and Delmas/Brierley Industries over a possible sale of ANZDL, Contship Containerlines and Far Eastern Shipping Co have announced a tie-up in the North America-Australia/New Zealand trade. Although several rounds of talks about possible co-operation have been held over the past twelve months, formalisation of the deal appears to have taken local management of both lines by surprise and details yesterday were scarce. According to a statement issued in the UK on Saturday (Australian time) on behalf of Contship and FESCo, a vessel sharing agreement has been reached, although the deal reached appears to be more of a slot charter/exchange than a VSA. "Under the arrangement, due to commence in November and subject to U.S. regulatory approval, Contship Containerlines will gain access to container slots on the fixed-day weekly service of FESCo Australia North America Line via the US West Coast," the statement said.
Holyman loss follows write-downs HOLYMAN recorded an operating loss, after tax and abnormals, of $44.747 million in the half-year to 30 June, according to the latest report on the Sydney-based transport group's fluctuating fortunes. Chairman Richard Austen said although the $44.747 million loss compared with a profit of $204,000 over the same period in 1997, the latest result followed a continuing major overhaul of operations designed to shed non-core businesses and re-focus Holyman's corporate outlook on its shipping and transport operations. He said the directors had, therefore, written down the value of non-core assets to reflect their expected earnings and market value.
Toll deal near AGGRESSIVE transport giant Toll Holdings appears set to add one of Australia's largest road express operations to its broad transport group after launching a takeover bid for Mayne Nickless's troubled Ipec and Jetsroad business. It is believed that a heads of agreement for Toll to acquire the recently merged express freight businesses was to be completed late yesterday [14/9] following a Mayne Nickless board meeting. The takeover, which continues Toll's ongoing program to grow by acquisition, was thought likely to be announced to the Australian Stock Exchange late last night ahead of today's release of the company's 1997-98 annual results in Melbourne.
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