Petrodrill secures rig cash lifeline Petrodrill, the company building six new rigs for charter by Brazilian state oil company Petrobras, has finally secured financing for the first two rigs in the ambitious $1.14bn project.
Iraq picks up the pieces DAILY life returns to normal, and a woman pushes home a canister of cooking gas from a filling station in the southern Iraqi town of Basrah, following four days of US and British air strikes which ended on Saturday.
Skaugen joins share buyback bandwagon Norwegian gas transport and lightering company I M Skaugen has joined the growing list of corporations seeking to take advantage of the country's new share buyback regulations.
Indian freight terminal plan India's railways ministry and the planning commission have launched a plan to create an independent authority for the management of freight terminals as part of the corporatisation of the railways.
China yard calls for tax cuts to stave off crisis A prominent Chinese shipyard has called for further tax reductions in a bid to stave off the worst downturn the industry has seen in more than a decade.
South Korea newbuilding exports lower than 1997 THE perception that South Korea's weakened currency had enabled the nation's shipbuilders to win a greater slice of the world's newbuilding export market has been undermined by latest statistics from Clarkson Research Studies.
Liquid Gas Shipping quits Unigas LIQUID Petroleum Shipping is to withdraw its gas carrier fleet from the Rotterdam-based Unigas pool next year.
Murchison talks on Zarate box project ARGENTINIAN ports and shipping firm Murchison Estibajes y Cargas is to lead investment of $45m in a new container terminal project at Zarate, on the River Plate.
PNOC disposal deal faces collapse NEGOTIATIONS to dispose of the PNOC Shipping and Transport Corp, the tanker subsidiary of the state-owned Philippine National Oil Co, are on the brink of collapse.
Philippines to sell smuggled sugar PHILIPPINES state-owned National Food Authority will sell to the public the 110,000 bags of smuggled sugar, which the Customs bureau had confiscated during it sugar crisis.
Med Feeder re-starts west Med service MED Feeder Italia is re-introducing its West Mediterranean service from January after acquiring the Malta-Italy feeder business of P&O Nedlloyd.
IM Skaugen plans share buy-back IM SKAUGEN has called an egm for January 7 to discuss the board's proposal to give it the right to use the company's funds to buy back its own stock
Montreal water levels at 30 year low A DRY summer and autumn in Canada and little snow so far this winter have brought water levels at the port of Montreal to the lowest mark in 30 years.
La Spezia receives MSC boost LA SPEZIA'S success in attracting Mediterranean Shipping Co from Genoa and Leghorn has boosted throughput this year by 20 per cent to 600,000 teu.
Premier charters OceanBreeze to Ramada PREMIER Cruise Lines has chartered its oldest ship to a US hotel group for two years for cruises from Florida to the Bahamas.
Amsterdam gives green light to box terminal AMSTERDAM City Council has agreed to proceed with a new 650,000 teu capacity container terminal, although the cost has increased by Df 100m ($53m).
US names steel dumpers THE US Commerce Department says it has found evidence that stainless steel producers from eight countries have been illegally dumping their products in the US market.
South Korea bids for Japan's shipbuilding crown SOUTH Korea might edge out Japan this year as the world's leading shipbuilder in terms of new orders.
Japan extends double-hull concession JAPAN'S transport ministry has agreed to extend a special depreciation system for new double-hulled vlccs to March 2001.
Drunken pilot falls into the sea A DRUNKEN Finnish pilot fell into the sea after a ship in his charge had run over a shoal off the Finnish coast.
GESCO targets the lng sector GREAT Eastern Shipping Co is planning to enter the lng shipping sector and has informed the Indian government that it is prepared to invest in a lng carrier.
Chinese shipbuilding slumps CHINA'S shipbuilding industry lost about 1.8m dwt of orders to foreign competitors in the first nine months of the year.
New Singapore terminal off to steady start SINGAPORE'S fourth container terminal, Pasir Panjang Terminal (PPT), has handled more than 400,000 teu in its first year and will see the addition of its fifth and sixth berth in 1999.
'Inadequate fire equipment' put crew at risk AUSTRALIAN safety authorities say owners of Taiwanese-flagged bulk carrier Ming Mercy put the crew's lives at risk last year because of inadequate fire protection equipment.
Nova Natie recède aux actionnaires de Transmarcom sa participation de 50% Figurant parmi les plus importantes entreprises d'expédition de la place d'Anvers, la firme Transmarcom s.a. est à nouveau intégralement dans les mains de ses deux actionnaires (1) de la première heure, le groupe Nova Natie ayant cédé sa participation de 50%. Ce dernier réalise en fait une opération financière et une plus value qui lui assure des fonds qui pourront intervenir pour la poursuite de son expansion et ce, en toute indépendance. Nova Natie avait pris cette participation il y a près de 5 ans.
CA en baisse et bénéfices en hausse pour Corneel Geerts en 1998 Corneel Geerts, le patron du groupe de transport du même nom situé à Wijnegem (Anvers) s'attend à une progression des bénéfices en 1998, malgré une baisse légère du chiffre d'affaires. Les résultats enregistrés au cours des 11 premiers mois de 1998 sont très positifs. Il s'attend pour 1999 à la mise en chantier de plusieurs projets (dont la création d'une filiale en Tchéquie), dans lesquels le transport combiné jouera un rôle important. "Le seul écueil demeure la liaison entre l'Italie et la Belgique, où la qualité de service est totalement insuffisante et où les limitations de gabarit m'empêchent de faire certains choix techniques. Je cherche une solution, mais ne l'ai pas encore trouvée", nous a-t-il dit.
Allongement de la piste d'Antwerp Airport: décision reportée Le mince espoir de la prise d'une décision concernant l'avenir de l'aéroport d'Anvers avant les élections de juin 1999 semble bel et bien évanoui: contrairement à ses promesses, le ministre-président Luc Van den Brande n'a pas réussi à faire passer le dossier en cette fin d'année.
Netelenbos met des bâtons dans les roues de l'Ecocombi Le ministre néerlandais des Transports, Tinneke Netelenbos, a émis de sérieuses réserves quant au concept de l'Ecocombi. Il s'agit d'une expérience avec des poids lourds plus longs et plus lourds. Elle dit avoir des doutes sur la sécurité de ces véhicules de 25,25 m de long, mais son opposition semble davantage motivée par son souci de transférer davantage de fret vers le rail et le fluvial. Le ministre a demandé à l'institut de recherche sur la sécurité routière SWOV d'étudier le concept.
AIRC fails to settle Patrick dispute THE Australian Industrial Relations Commission yesterday failed to settle a dispute between Patrick and the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) over maintenance. As a result, the Commission has now issued Patrick with a certificate allowing the stevedore to take the MUA to either the Federal or Supreme Courts in a attempt to resolve the row. The hearing of the matter started on Friday and continued yesterday. The parties are in dispute over who has the right to maintain a leased fork-lift truck, one of about eight items of heavy machinery now being leased by Patrick at its Botany Bay terminal.
AIMPE predicts further fleet rationalisation THE past year will not be remembered fondly by participants in the shipping industry according the federal president of the Australian Institute of Marine and Power Engineers, Terry Snee. Mr Snee, writing in the December/January edition of the Institute's newsletter On Watch, an advanced copy of which has been obtained by the DCN, said the contraction of the fleet continued unabated. He said it appears that further tonnage loss will be experienced in the first quarter of 1999. "There is a simple fact emerging that on the global stage shipping is becoming a third world industry," Mr Snee said.
HMM appoints agents THE Hetherington Kingsbury Shipping Agency has been appointed for Hyundai Merchant Marine's (HMM) new service between Australia and Asia. HMM has committed eight 1,300 - 1,500 teu vessels to the service will include two separate fixed day weekly services - the Bight and the Torres services. The Bight service, southbound, starts on 17 January and the Torres service, northbound, commences on 21 January. The Bight route's port rotation is: Port Kelang, Singapore, Fremantle, Melbourne, Adelaide, Fremantle and Port Kelang. The Torres route's port rotation is: Port Kelang, Singapore, Sydney, a Tasmanian port, Fremantle and Port Kelang.
OOCL offers new service ORIENT Overseas Container Line (OOCL) is offering an new reefer service aimed at Chinese exporters of fresh produce. The Hong Kong based shipping line has announced that starting from now, exporters in China can deliver their fresh produce to their customers around the world in a more efficient manner with the inauguration of a reefer-on-rail (ROR) service offered by OOCL jointly with China Railway Container Transport Center (CRCTC). This weekly reefer train service is the first of its kind in China which opens up new markets for refrigerated produce by offering a new gateway from inland China to the rest of the world.
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