• SingaPort '98 expects record 8,000 visitors despite downturn
  Representation from regional ports has been hit, but the event has drawn interest from outside Asia
• Fewer orders expected for Japan and S Korean yards
• Pirate attacks becoming more violent: IMB report
• PORT SHOTS

• SIA to provide technical support to new Tata airline
  An 'in principle' agreement has been reached on India's US$370m airline
• UPS hopeful on expansion after deal reached with pilots
• Thai airfares cannot be in dollars
• European airlines lash out at EU antitrust policy
• Continental Airlines' 4th quarter profits up 55%

• More to raise funds via IPOs
  Study shows firms sell shares for 3 reasons: vessel acquisition, speculative asset play and debt repayment

• China's shipbuilding ambitions and Korean yards' problems

• K Line reorganises transpacific West Coast services
• Korea's port charges set to rise
• Fuel surcharges unreasonably high warn FTA
• Remote dual reefer monitoring system launched
• Profit surge anticipated for containership companies
• Korean Air offers cargo service to Vietnam
• Air cargo rates rises blocked by threat from forwarders
• PAL sticks to purchase plan
• Ground-handling monopoly to end at Frankfurt airport
• Lot and BA join to improve Central European routes

• Antwerp to get new container terminal
• Lower profits for CSX and subsidiary Sea-Land
• Northwest reports fourth quarter record
• Row over Amsterdam Airport intensifies
• Belgians now also drive on deep-frier oil

• $1.4 billion hit puts Boeing in red
• Phil Bannan returns to Port of Everett
• BLG delivers million box year
• Canadian port begins ballast water program
• Corps releases Columbia River dredging report
• American railroads restructure organization

• Cheng Lie set to upgrade Asian operations
• Sea-Land posts drop in operating income
• CSX reports net earnings of $799 million for 1997
• JAL to add another freighter for fy 1998
• TNT express to start '9 am Express'
• Northwest achieves record profit in 1997

• Crescita media superiore al 20% per i terminal con punte di eccellenza a Genova (+42%) e a Gioia Tauro (+145%)
  I porti italiani a tutta forza
  Solo La Spezia, che era stata leader nel '96, crolla e perde il 30% del traffico specializzato
• Gallanti propone un fronte comune del Mediterraneo
• Ma sulla ripresa torna l'ombra della riforma
• Entro il 31 marzo la chiusura del contratto per assegnare il Molo Settimo
  L'olandese Ect in rotta verso Trieste
• Parte la mega-alleanza fra Amburgo e Brema

• Marine Drilling Signs 3-Year Exxon Contract
• Transocean Wins Unocal Contract

• Antwerp wins go-ahead for $124m quay project
  ANTWERP has won the green light from the Belgian government for a phased construction programme geared to more than double container handling capacity at the port from 2.5m teu to cross the 5m threshold between now and the end of the next decade.
• NEL Lines seeks capital increase to fund newbuildings
  INVESTORS in the Maritime Company of Lesvos (NEL Lines) will shortly be asked to approve a large capital increase to pave the way for the company's first newbuilding contracts.
• Cammell takeover is 'breakthrough
  GIBRALTAR'S deputy chief minister has said that UK group Cammell Laird's takeover of the territory's former naval dockyard could open the way to a significant expansion of its maritime services.
• Saga in refit dispute with A&P
  SAGA Group, which was forced to cancel a Christmas cruise after refit delays and a fire on board the Saga Rose at A&P Southampton's yard, is locked in a dispute with A&P over final payment for refurbishment work to the vessel.
• Malta Drydocks blast probe nears conclusion
  AN appeal court rehearing of an inquiry into a fatal explosion at Malta Drydocks in February 1995 is expected to enter its final stage shortly.
• Carriers switch SLCS service to Thamesport
  CANADA Maritime and Orient Overseas Container Line are switching one of their UK ports of call for the St Lawrence Co-ordinated Service (SLCS) from Felixstowe to Thamesport.
• Ships warned over lack of charts
  AN official report into a bulk carrier grounding has warned that ships are still flouting international standards by sailing into Australian waters without the appropriate charts.
• Financial crisis forces rise in Asian airline rates
  ASIAN airlines are increasing freight rates both on long-haul and short-haul routes to absorb some of the heavy costs caused by the financial crisis in the Far East.

• Saga Shipping witholds repair payment
  SAGA Shipping is refusing to pay its final instalment for repair work carried out in December by A&P's Southampton yard on its cruise vessel, Saga Rose.
• Bids for Crete ferry services blocked
  THE Greek shipping minister has quashed the hopes of Attica Enterprises and Strintzis Lines expanding their activities into the domestic Greek ferry routes.
• Strike Club extends cover
  THE Strike Club is extending its level of protection for members, but is also implementing a five per cent general increase in rates for Classes I and II.
• SingaPort expects record attendance
  PSA Corp is confident that SingaPort will achieve record visitor figures despite the south-east Asian region's recent currency turmoil.
• Finland increases shipping levy
  THE Finnish government has raised the charge levied for ships using the nation's shipping lanes by three per cent from the beginning of this year.
• DFDS turns its back on Swedish flag
  DFDS has decided to register the first of three freight roro newbuildings on order for its Tor Line subsidiary with the Danish International Ship register.
• Bids sought for Haldia project
  CALCUTTA Port Trust is seeking bids to build a ship repair complex and two multipurpose berths in Haldia Dock Complex.
• POEA suspends manning agent
  THE Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has finally acted on complaints against a crewing agency.
• Asia satisfied with pollution exercise
  A RECENT joint exercise conducted near the Indonesian port of Ujung Pandang showed that the region has more than enough expertise to deal with an oil spill disaster.
• Indian ports to ban unsafe ships
  INDIA'S Secretary of the Ministry of Surface Transport has announced that the country's ports will be closed to ships that do not conform to the ISM Code
• Alaska debates oil spill response regulations
  THE grounding of the Japanese reefer ship Kuroshima in the Aleutian Islands has Alaska politicians and environmentalists seeking oil spill response legislation.
• Canadian ferry chief resigns
  ANDREW Hamilton, who has headed the controversial fast-ferry construction programme being overseen in British Columbia by Catamaran Ferries International, has resigned.
• Cruise shipping to boost Gibraltar port
  GIBRALTAR port is expecting a record number of cruiseship calls in 1998.
• Hamburg-Bremerhaven to merge container businesses
  HAMBURG'S Eurokai and Bremen/Bremerhaven port operating company Bremer Lagerhaus (BLG) plan to merge their container businesses.
• Gibraltar port study published soon
  GIBRALTAR is soon to make public a study of future strategy for the territory's port.
• SIGTTO members on target for ISM
  SIGTTO says that its member companies will have no problem meeting the ISM deadline.

• Anvers: premier navire attendu au 3e terminal à marée vers la mi-2000
  Le gouvernement flamand a donc donné le feu vert au projet de réalisation du troisième terminal à containers dans la future darse à marée à réaliser au sud du village de Doel. Lors de sa réunion du 20 janvier dernier, ledit gouvernement a en fait pris des décisions très importantes, qui vont au-delà de ce projet, car permettant une nouvelle vision de ce que va devenir cette zone portuaire de la rive gauche, ce qui implique en fait la disparition à terme du village de Doel et une révision du plan initial d'aménagement de certaines infrastructures.
• Cosco va impliquer Anvers dans ses services sur l'Afrique du Sud et l'Amérique du Sud
  "Nous devenons "Global" et sommes axés sur le marché mondial. Outre le transpacifique et l'Atlantique, nous abordons d'autres secteurs. Nous avons d'autres services à l'étude qui intéressent l'Europe et le port d'Anvers sera impliqué". C'est ce que nous a déclaré Chen Xuekun, président de Cosco Europe GMBH, le QG de l'armement à Hambourg, à l'occasion d'une réception donnée à la clientèle pour la présentation de la nouvelle étiquette de l'agence anversoise, qui lui est dédiée, à savoir "Cosco Belgium s.a." (ex Cosfur Shipping and Agency Co) (1).
• BLG et Eurokai fusionnent leurs activités dans le secteur containérisé
  Les opérateurs de terminaux Bremer Lagerhausgesellschaft (BLG) de Brême et Eurokai de Hambourg ont l'intention d'exploiter ensemble leurs activités containérisées à partir du début de l'année prochaine. Pour ce faire, ils prendront des participations croisées. La collaboration sera concrétisée en une joint venture 50/50, qui sera introduite en bourse et devrait être ouverte au grand public à partir de 2003.

• BA's AA deal isn't only hassle the carrier faces
• Argentina to announce runoff winner
• Jones Act combatants make their case to GAO
• Fredrickson sells assets, closes doors
• Corpus Christi to host meeting
• Level of liberalization at issue in US-Japanese aviation talks
• Postmaster General Runyon to exit; boosted competition against FedEx, UPS
• Kerr Norton Marine
• Illinois Central net income up 17% in fourth quarter
• Evergreen expands at Kaohsiung as Uniglory upgrades its fleet
• Yentas, take note: 2 Israeli firms are developing ultra-fast modems
• The solution to port industry's problems could be lying in your own back yard

• WA rejects SCT bid
  Melbourne-based private operator Specialised Container Transport was dealt a blow yesterday when it was announced that the West Australian government had decided against declaring all rail and freight support services sought by SCT.
  The National Competition Council, which received five applications from SCT last year for declaration of rail and freight support services in WA, said the WA Premier had decided not to declare Westrail’s rail line service on the basis of there being an effective access regime in place.
• Giles, Adelaide get deepsea nod
  Port Giles and Port Adelaide (Inner harbour berth 27) are being recommended for major redevelopment by the Deep Sea Port Investigation Committee (DSPIC)which has been looking into the future of South Australia’s grain export future. A comprehensive report on the DSPIC’s findings is being released today for public comment.
• Millennium bug to strike ship owners
  The Australian Maritime Safety Authority has warned ship owners to brace themselves for the millennium bug and begin making preparations now to counter its possible effects on their operations. The safety authority has advised shipowners that the millennium bug may strike a range of onboard systems rendering some vessels inoperable if measures are not taken now to counter their effects.
• Another fast ferry for Cook Strait
  Competition in the New Zealand fast passenger ferry area is building with the introduction of a new Cook Strait fast ferry service operating between Mana north of Wellington and Picton. The latest ferry was built by Cougar Catamarans at the South Pacific marine boat yard in Queensland.
• Hedland licence won’t be exclusive
  The Port Hedland Port Authority has indicated it is unlikely to grant exclusivity to the company which wins the right to provide stevedoring service at the port. PHPA general manager Ian Hutton said documents being drafted to call for expressions of interest in providing stevedoring at the port would differ from those issued for the management of the Dampier public wharf.
• Union won’t provoke rig dispute: Coombs
  The Maritime Union of Australia has no intention of provoking a dispute on the oil rig Ocean General, according to MUA national secretary John Coombs.
  Mr Coombs yesterday told DCN from Hobart, where he is attending the ALP national conference that he welcomed the decision of the AIRC not to exclude the union from representing workers on the vessel, a new oil rig which will operate on the North West Shelf of Western Australia.