Why the Navy set fire to a woodchip carrier The 44,527 dwt, 1989-built woodchip carrier New Carissa could be burning off the coast of Coos Bay, Oregon, for days.
Mobil in VLCC venture with Onassis and Goulandris Mobil Shipping and Transportation Company (MOSAT) has formed a joint shipping venture with two leading Greek shipping organizations to acquire two very large crude carriers (VLCCs).
Norway's Kvaerner Fjellstrand wins contracts for three fast ferries. Orders from Egypt and Turkey include biggest single contract ever signed by the yard
Mobil in landmark Greek joint venture A LANDMARK three-way joint venture has been established by Mobil and two leading Greek shipowners to own the pair of VLCCs recently ordered at South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries for the oil major's shipping needs.
Astilleros Espanoles chief quits Antonio Mendoza has resigned as chairman of Astilleros Espanoles, Spain's largest shipbuilding group, writes Tony Gray.
Finnlines expects downturn Finnlines group of Finland has warned that a decline in the country's economic growth coupled with the continued crippling of Russian transit traffic will adversely affect its bottom line for 1999. The group did not say whether it foresaw a loss.
Marathon looking for output boost Marathon, the oil and gas subsidiary of USX Corporation of New York, expects to boost liquids production in 1999 to 230,000 barrels per day, up 35,000 bpd from last year, before seeing it rise to to 260,000 bpd in 2001.
SCL staff 'thrilled' by takeover A P Møller's planned purchase of Safmarine Container Lines has been greeted as a very smart move by industry watchers, with the Danish company acquiring a good business carrying a strong brand name.
BLG beats off ECT competition for Klaipeda box terminal contract BLG Container, the container handling subsidiary of Bremen and Bremerhaven port company Bremer Lagerhausgesellschaft, has beaten off rival Europe Combined Terminals and signed a memorandum of understanding with UAB Viachema to operate Klaipeda port's new container terminal.
State agencies urged to use US shipping STRONG pressure on recalcitrant US government agencies to make greater use of US, rather than foreign-flag cargoships has been applied by influential senator Daniel Inouye.
Estraden in Harwich debut ARGOMANN'S newbuilding Estraden made her first call at Harwich Navyard Wharf yesterday, on her maiden voyage from Turku.
Mobil forms Greek joint venture MOBIL has announced the formation of its new shipping joint venture with the Onassis Group and Petros J Goulandris Sons Group, to acquire two vlccs from Hyundai HI.
Grounded woodchip carrier 'set alight' US Navy demolition teams have ignited 1,000 tons of fuel aboard the grounded wood chip carrier New Carissa.
Hanjin containership adrift off Vancouver HANJIN Elizabeth, a 1991-built, 2,692 teu containership on charter to Hanjin is reported to be drifting about 60 miles south-west of Vancouver Island after a main engine failure
Preussag board approves HDW sale PREUSSAG'S supervisory board has approved the sale of a 50 per cent shareholding in German shipyard HDW to engineering group Deutsche Babcock.
Managers form strategic alliance SHIPMANAGERS Barber International and Norbulk Shipping (UK) are to form a strategic alliance to strengthen their purchasing power.
Europe-Asia rates 'set to recover' CONTAINER freight rates from Europe to Asia should start rising again this year, according to Vernon Rolls, conference manager of the Far Eastern Freight Conference.
BHP withdraws from trans-Tasman AUSTRALIAN mining company Broken Hill Proprietory has announced it is quitting the trans-Tasman shipping business.
Davie Industries wins more time CANADIAN shipyard Davie Industries and its parent, Dominion Bridge Corp, have been granted another reprieve by a Quebec court.
Japan's steel exports tipped to plunge JAPAN'S steel exports will fall by more than 6m tonnes this year to about 21m tonnes, according to the Japan and Iron and Steel Exporters' Association.
Yokohama budgets $318m for port projects YOKOHAMA port has budgeted '36.3bn ($318m) for construction and improvement projects during the next financial year.
Russia clouds Finnlines' profit improvement FINNLINES, the Finnish liner shipping group, has warned that the weakness of the Russian economy will hit 1999 profits..
Maputo has strategic role says P&O Ports P&O PORTS has suggested that its smallest facility, at Maputo in Mozambique, might become critically important in the event of political instability in neighbouring South Africa.
IUA sets up marine committee THE International Underwriting Association of London (IUA) has set up a marine technical and underwriting executive committee.
Neptun predicts return to profit NEPTUN Maritime, the Finnish passenger shipping group, predicts a profit for 1999 after booking a Fmk369m ($70m) pre-tax loss for 1998.
Eurokai links with Sepetiba terminal HAMBURG-based Eurokai Group has signed a three-year agreement to manage the TECON container terminal in Sepetiba, Brazil.
Moscow to get container service A NEW container service between German ports and Moscow will be started this month.
Domestic package delivery carriers have been complaining for years that the U.S. Postal Service uses its monopoly position to engage in unfair and anti-competitive practices. But compared with Europe, the U.S. is a model of fair market competition. With the liberalization of Europe's postal industry, once sluggish national postal services such as Deutsche Post AG, TNT Post Group in the Netherlands and La Poste in France have entered the marketplace with a vengeance. With huge cash reserves from monopolies on domestic mail delivery and toothless enforcement from the European Commission, they appear unstoppable.
U.S. port officials fear if tax dollars are not provided by Congress to help them deepen harbors to between 45 and 50 feet, the newest generation of containerships will abandon U.S. ports for Vancouver and Halifax in Canada and Freeport in the Grand Bahamas. The American Association of Port Authorities is lobbying for quick passage of the Water Resources Development Act, which would provide federal dollars to help ports on both coasts deepen channels and make other improvements to enhance their competitiveness.
There's no shortage of electronic commerce startups these days. One of the newest is WorldSpy Corp., which opened its virtual doors in December. The company describes itself as an "online shopping portal" that allows consumers to do their comparison shopping online and even order directly from one of the approximately 30 manufacturers that sell directly to them through the site. The site culls articles from consumer publications and the Hearst publishing group for its product information. Consumers can log onto the site and check out 12 different categories, or "pavilions" such as electronics, jewelry or home and garden, for product comparisons.
Towne Air Freight has decided to disaffiliate with the American Trucking Associations' Air & Expedited Motor Carriers Conference unless there is a sharp reduction in its dues assessment. Towne Chairman Duke Downey says his company's financial commitment will rise from $520 currently for membership in the Air & Expedited group to around $50,000 under the new ATA dues structure. Besides Towne leaving, the entire Air & Expedited group could be looking for a new partner, Downey says, as specialized carriers seek more value for their trade association dollar.
As waves of alien plants and animals invade the U.S., the government sets up an Invasive Species Council to help mobilize a counterattack. Sound like an "X-Files" plot? It isn't. Hordes of exotic pests landing on U.S. shores have prompted the U.S. government to establish an interagency group to combat the problem. The implications for U.S. trade could be serious. Wood-boring insects that already have destroyed thousands of trees soon may be eating into shippers' bottom lines.
How far apart are the Western railroads and their customers on what are the "best practices" for railroad customer service? The two groups got an inkling of that at a recent rail shipper conference held in Houston Feb. 1. Whereas Union Pacific, Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Kansas City Southern focused on how new Internet technology will mean a bright future for the railroads and their customers, a shipper representative believed old-fashioned diligent work - on the part of real people - was just as important.
It's finally over. Much to the relief of shippers everywhere, the pilots of Federal Express ratified a five-year contract with the express carrier, ending a labor dispute that stretches back more than five years. Both sides claimed victory, but the contract is especially sweet for the pilots and their union, which struggled long to gain recognition. The new contract, which takes effect on May 31, is the first collective bargaining agreement between FedEx and the FedEx Pilots Association. At least 87 percent of the pilots, who are the only unionized workers at FedEx, approved the deal, which gives them a 17 percent pay increase over the next five years.
Mobile Security Communications officially acquired Xata Corp.'s Enterprise Technologies group. The company plans to make Xata Enterprise Technology's applications, particularly TBMS, a core part of its corporate strategy, said Thad Eidman, president and COO of Mobile Security Communications. TBMS, or Transportation Breakdown and Management System, assists fleets with breakdowns and service needs and includes XET's other main application, Dealer Locator, a database of 30,000 service facilities in 35 categories with street-level maps for each location. Eidman expects XET to be profitable in 60 days, although Xata Corp. lost money with the unit. TBMS will be packaged with services offered by MSC to create a "total solution."
Canadian highway accidents involving transport trucks should be investigated by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada rather than provincial or local police forces, according to a special Canadian Senate committee on transportation safety. The Canadian trucking industry is provincially regulated and accidents are investigated by police who likely have little training in what to look. The report urged the board be put in charge of examining collisions involving trucks over 4,500 kilograms.
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