Shipbrokers face futures shake-up LONDON shipbrokers trading in freight derivatives face a radical shake-up of their $2bn annual business as part of a broader review by Britain's Financial Services Authority.
Gulf guard frigate sails in US warplanes yesterday attacked military targets in southern Iraq's no fly zone after they were fired on by Iraqi anti aircraft guns. Earlier, the British warship HMS Newcastle docked in Kuwait as part of her role to enforce UN sanctions against Iraq.
Smedvig faces $40m overrun on drillship Norwegian offshore contractor Smedvig has reported a $40m cost overrun on the West Navion, a 50:50 drillship being finished at Offshore & Marine Shipyard in Sandnes.
A&P 'imported' labour row Workers at a UK northeast shipyard are angry that bosses have "imported" up to 80 workers for a new refit contract on a Channel ferry.
Mitsui yard to axe jobs and cut pay Japan's Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding has announced a 10% salary cut for its entire workforce and will also accelerate plans for job losses.
Öresund bid for role as world maritime centre THE Öresund region around Copenhagen and Malmö is planning to fashion itself as an international maritime centre and draw at least some of the attention away from traditional centres such as Oslo and London, writes Andrew Draper, Denmark Correspondent. A number of maritime organisations from Denmark and Sweden have together set up Europe's Maritime Development Centre. Its secretariat is housed at the Danish Shipowners' Association, one of the founder members.
Philippines in setback over crew training PHILIPPINE efforts to qualify for the new 'white list' of internationally approved crew supply nations have suffered a setback.
China oil deal back on track THE Chinese government said yesterday that it would not back away from a long-standing arrangement with the Japanese government to supply it with crude oil from the Daqing field in the northeast of the country.
Frans Maas s'allie à Kochtrans en Allemagne Frans Maas Deutschland a décidé de s'allier avec la société Kochtrans à Ratingen pour la couverture de l'Allemagne en distribution nationale. A l'inverse, Kochtrans s'appuiera sur le réseau européen de Frans Maas pour offrir à ses clients des services de transport internationaux ou même intercontinentaux. C'est ce que nous a déclaré Rob Kowalski, le directeur général de Frans Maas Deutschland. Il nous a par ailleurs annoncé la mise sur pied d'un système novateur en matière de coûts logistiques unitaires.
CGM rachète les lignes Med/Caraïbes et Med/Guyane-Brésil de Delmas Un accord de principe a été conclu entre l'armement Delmas et la CGM concernant la vente par le premier cité de ses services entre la Méditerranée et les Caraïbes et entre la Méditerranée, la Guyane et le Brésil. L'accord porte également sur la reprise des 50% que détient Delmas dans l'entreprise de manutention et d'agence maritime SOMARIG en Guyane, qui passera donc totalement sous le contrôle de la CGM.
La croissance du commerce maritime mondial est retombée à 2,2% en 1998 Le rythme de croissance du commerce maritime international s'est sensiblement ralenti en 1998, mais les échanges maritimes ont atteint un nouveau record de 5,064 milliards de tonnes. La progression de 2,2% (contre 4,1% en 1997) est cependant la plus faible depuis 1987, indiquent des estimations de la CNUCED. Cette baisse de régime serait principalement imputable à la stagnation des trafics de vracs liquides (qui représentaient 2,17 mia. de t ou 44% du total en 1997) et à l'impact de la crise asiatique, qui a gravement affecté les courants de trafic Est-Ouest, dont l'organisation s'attend à ce qu'ils perdurent.
Pakhoed est prêt à poursuivre son expansion Le président-administrateur de Koninklijke Pakhoed, Klaas Westdijk, peut être satisfait des résultats de 1998, avec un bénéfice record de 215 mio. de NLG (98 mio. d'EUR), contre 179 mio. de NLG (81 mio. d'EUR) l'année précédente. Or, 1998 a été, aussi bien pour Pakhoed que pour son ancien allié Van Ommeren, troublée par une fausse note. "La fusion échouée a frappé tout le monde", précise Westdijk, "mais nous étions sûrs de ce qu'on voulait, de sorte qu'une décision était facile à prendre. Pakhoed occupe une forte position. Nous sommes bien intégrés dans la chaîne producteur-client et nous avons l'intention de poursuivre notre expansion."
Second test for Newcastle stand-off Patrick yesterday applied to the Australian Industrial Relations Commission for an extension of orders under section 127 of the Workplace Relations Act against the Maritime Union of Australia in the continuing dispute over stevedoring at Newcastle's Eastern Basin Distribution Centre. The hearing, before Mr Commissioner Wilks in Melbourne, was given additional urgency with today's arrival of a reefer vessel, the Maunakea, to load between 900 and 1000 tonnes of mutton.
Bulker's costly ballast blunder Owners of a two-year-old Capesize bulk carrier face a repair bill exceeding half a million dollars after a major de-ballasting incident off the Queensland coast. After suffering an implosion on 14 February, the 1997-built, 178,739 DWT, Mitsui OSK-controlled, Hong Kong-flagged Bright Century diverted to Brisbane and has been undergoing major repair work alongside Sea-Land Terminals' Fisherman Islands berth. A one-line report on the incident by the vessel's class society, NKK, confirmed that the vessel's No. 4 hatch cover coaming was deformed during de-ballasting off the Queensland coast.
Wavemaster's Philippines first may be last Wavemaster International's 30-metre monohull, Kristen, scored a first for the Henderson company when she became the first vessel of this size to be delivered on her own bottom from Fremantle to the Philippines. The vessel, which will be operated by Jet Ferries, will carry 176 passengers on the run across Manila Bay to the large industrial area of Mari-Velles. It will replace a propeller driven ferry which has required Jet Ferries to staff the vessel with an extra person solely for the task of cleaning the propellers of debris from the polluted waters.
Maynes: Health up, logistics down Mayne Nickless's long-term presence in the transport sector remains uncertain after the release of its half-year results yesterday, which showed growth in its healthcare business and a drop in logistics earnings. The diversified company, which has pinned its hopes for profit growth on hospitals and away from its traditional transport business, posted a net profit after abnormals of $452.72 million for the first half ending 3 January 1999. This was above the prior first half result of $59.18 million and includes an abnormal $411 million profit on the sale of its 25 per cent stake in Optus. Net profit after tax and before abnormals for the half was $60.2 million, slightly below the $60.5 million reported last year.
Keystrokes fix ferry Although she has not been tested in the rough sea conditions during which a rubber coupling in one of her drive trains burned out on two previous occasions, TranzRail's new 150-metre ferry, Aratere, appears to have been cured of the problem, according to a company spokesman. He said the two Finnish engineers sent to Wellington a week ago by engine components manufacturer AAB Industries, had advised that following adjustments to the vessel's computer system and tests on normal scheduled runs the problem had been fixed.
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