Weekly edition 11th November

Dollar’s rise spells bad news for many exporters

“IF YOU thought Australia’s exports were going well, it might be time to think again,” says Ian Murray, executive director of the Australian Institute of Export.

Clinton state visit prompts port to show off its goods

IN WHAT seemed like a whirl of orange, Hillary Clinton entered the building.

Ports need to claim high ground and move now to win on climate change

CLIMATE change poses many risks in many forms to ports, for example, structural risk and reputational risk. Action to quantify emissions from port facilities and operations and manage climate change risk is obviously part of port environmental management.

Patrick chief insists the company has not gone off the rails option

STEVEDORE Patrick remains determined to see rail volumes grow despite an abrupt exit this year from its money-losing Camellia terminal and the pending rail regulations at Port Botany.

Wheat market inquiry opting to keep spotlight on fair port access

ACCESS to port terminal facilities is the most significant issuein wheat export marketing.

Greek owner looks towards larger bulkers

GREECE’s Angelicoussis Shipping Group has this year confirmed its focus on the larger sizes in the dry bulk trades as it bolsters its position in the Australian ore trades in particular.

China’s yards face losses from rising yuan

THE MAJORITY of Chinese shipbuilders could face losses by 2013 due to currency appreciation and reduced ship prices, according to the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (CANSI).

US policy agenda set for election shake-up

MARITIME industry pundits are already focusing on the policy agenda in the US after voters issued an electoral rebuke to President Barack Obama’s Democrat party.

Greek foray into box market is no mere fad

GREEK owners are so identified with the dry bulk and tanker trades that burgeoning interest in boxships this year still has an air of novelty.

Thenamaris shows container ship newbuilds on radar

APPETITE among Greek owners for an investment in the container sector may turn to newbuilding orders if this is the only way it can be satisfied.

Offshore crane accidents raise questions of quality control

FAULTS and defects on offshore and marine cranes are causing serious injuries to offshore workers and seafarers and are delaying costly newbuilding projects, according to a shipowner, crane parts supplier and industry bodies.

US cracks down on ‘repeat offenders’ on vessel safety

THE US Coast Guard (USCG) has published a policy in the Federal Register that seeks to crack down on so-called repeat offender shipowners.

Crew wages to drive rise in operating costs

SHIPPING accountant Moore Stephens took the unusual step of giving a forward-looking view of the kind of costs owners can expect this year and next.

Seeking a level playing field: below-rail infrastructure must now play catch up

Rail technology in Australia has changed dramatically over the last 50 years. Today’s locomotives are packed with high tech systems and equipment that provide higher haulage capability, higher levels of tractive performance, better reliability and a safer operating environment. Australia’s below-rail infrastructure however, can be a constraint to above rail, with track gauge and axle loading of particular concern. JENNIFER PERRY spoke with Australia’s two heavy haul locomotive manufacturers, Downer EDI and UGL Rail, and electric locomotive manufacturer, Siemens, about technological developments that have had the most positive impact for our freight rail operators.

Lower prices push Japanese owners to offshore yards

THE RECENT decision by Japan’s Daiichi to order a raft of handymaxes at South Korea’s Hyundai Mipo Dockyard could mark the escalation of a trend that sees more Japanese shipowners lured overseas by lower prices, warned Namura Shipbuilding director and senior managing executive Mikinori Ikeda.

Taiwan’s CSBC, China’s Yangzijiang sign for a shipbuilding tie-up

TAIWAN’S largest shipbuilder, CSBC, has entered into its first ever partnership with a shipyard from mainland China by signing a cooperation agreement with Yangzijiang Shipbuilding.

Global manufacturing rebound drives Asian growth says IMF

FIRST-half regional economic growth in Asia has been “well above trend”, according to the latest economic assessment of the region by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Debt drags Thoresen Thai into downgrade

FITCH Ratings has downgraded Thoresen Thai Agencies to BBB+ from A- saying the Bangkok-listed company’s weakening financial leverage is a result of the deteriorating performance of its core businesses as well as its substantial increase in its debt level due to several recent acquisitions.

Mumbai closure boosts Mundra

INDIA’s largest privately owned port, Mundra, has recorded a 33% year-on-year increase in container throughput after it benefited from the shutdown of operations in Mumbai and Jawaharlal Nehru ports following the MSC Chitra collision.

Bulking up to meet future promise

North Queensland Bulk Ports (NQBP) is on track to surpassing last financial year’s trade volumes. Port expansion at its Abbot Point port helped it deliver a 2.5m tonne increase in throughput to a record 16.9mt in 2009/10. And there was a 17mt rise at the Hay Point port to 99.4mt.

Merged enterprise celebrates big jump in first quarter earnings

THE PRE-TAX earnings of Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal (DBCT) climbed 50% in the first quarter of the current financial year.

Grain boosts Flinders but keen eye is also on minerals development

A SOLID grain season should lift the volume of throughput at Flinders Ports by 20-30% in the current financial year, the port authority’s chief executive Vincent Tremaine said.

Grain boosts Flinders but keen eye is also on minerals development

A SOLID grain season should lift the volume of throughput at Flinders Ports by 20-30% in the current financial year, the port authority’s chief executive Vincent Tremaine said.

Darwin handles uptick with tracking system

DARWIN Port introduced a new $150,000 ship tracking system in August to monitor movements in and out of the harbour.

Platinum ACL buyout hits court obstacle

PRIVATE equity investor Tom Gores’ effort to acquire American Commercial Lines has run into a legal logjam after a shareholder sued the Indiana-based inland barge and shipyard company and the Mr Gores-led Platinum Equity.

Yemen bomb puts box scans on agenda again

THE MARITIME industry is preparing itself for renewed calls to shorten the timeline for US rules on 100% container scanning at foreign ports in the wake of a failed terrorist attempt to blowup two air cargo aircraft on last week.

China to curb cowboy brokers with licences

SHANGHAI’s decision to grant licences to foreign shipbrokers, reported exclusively in Lloyd’s List, is part of a broader plan to regulate the industry and weed out cowboy players.

World Maritime University explores private funding

THE FINANCIAL crisis at the World Maritime University (WMU) has forced it to become more aggressive in securing its future by obtaining more of its own funding and it is talking to a number of private sector interests.

Deluge of new tonnage swamps panamax rates

PANAMAX time charter rates look set to slide back to as low as US$15,600 daily as the huge volume of readily available tonnage overwhelms the number of spot cargoes in the market.

Spotmarket fall could cut gain for Vale VLOCs

VALE has signalled it will continue with its strategy to lower iron ore freight costs from Brazil to China, even though analysis by a major shipbroker indicates this might be to its disadvantage.

The market November 11 2010

RATES for capesize bulk carriers are drifting downwards, falling 8% over the last week, with the average time charter closing on Friday at US$39,873 per day.

Cosco will set up in Taiwan to exploit new opportunities

CHINA Ocean Shipping (Group), the largest shipping line in China, has established its first representative office in Taiwan.

Hapag-Lloyd returns to bond market again

GERMAN container line Hapag-Lloyd plans to raise an additional €150m (US$209.9m) from institutional investors via a bond.

Dwindling fleet and order delays hit Precious

BANGKOK-listed Precious Shipping is feeling the effects of a shrinking fleet on the one hand and delayed deliveries of new vessels on the other.

Colombia box port gears up for launch

THE MONOPOLY of port operations on the Pacific coast of Colombia is set to finish by the end of this year following the arrival of new container handling equipment at TC Buen, a joint venture between Colombian port developer Oscar Isaza and Barcelona-based TCB Group.

World Cup bounce for Transnet

A FOOTBALL World Cup bounce helped Transnet, South Africa’s state-owned ports and freight rail operator, overcome the impact of a 17-day strike. The group reported a 7.6% increase in revenue to Rand18.7bn (US$2.7bn) for the six months to September 30.

Biometric ID cards for seafarers a step closer

THE SEVEN-year deadlock over biometric identification for seafarers has moved a step closer to resolution with shipowners, unions and governments finally set to discuss the broad outline of workable technical standards this month.

Seventeen freed in first piracy acquittals

SEVENTEEN Somalis accused of piracy were acquitted by a Kenyan court last Friday, becoming the first defendants to be found not guilty under the arrangement whereby Nairobi tries piracy suspects on behalf of foreign governments.

Fears of political over-reaction on security

AS THE air cargo and deepsea sectors consider the security implications of the bombs found on two air freighters recently, a key shipper has warned that the industry should prepare itself for further regulations imposed by politicians.

Spain drops pollution charges against Fesco

A SPANISH court has ordered the release of a Fesco general cargo ship suspected of polluting Spanish waters. The Second Criminal Court of Algeciras has withdrawn charges against the company and master of the 7,365 dwt Vysokogorsk following an interview with the master and the surveyor’s report.

Casualty briefs: 18 November 2010

CLIPPER MORNING (BAHAMAS) Portsmouth, UK, November 5

Box recovery revives Latin American terminal interest

AN INCREASE in box traffic to and from Latin America has placed large container terminal concessions back in the spotlight in the region’s leading ports.

DP World could turn to markets for liquidity

DP WORLD has US$3bn available to fund its expansion plans but does not rule out going to the market in the future, according to chief executive Mohammed Sharaf.

Team ‘provisionally selected’ to run Phily box terminal

A TEAM of bidders that features Hyundai Merchant Marine alongside US terminal industry giants Ports America and SSA Marine is understood to have been “provisionally selected” as the winner of a tender to develop and run a new marine container terminal in South Philadelphia.

Logistics of record book achievement

AN AUSTRALIAN logistics company has thrown its support behind a group of wheelchair-bound athletes who have set a new Guinness Book of Records time after finishing a gruelling ‘Race across Australia’ journey from Perth to Sydney in the fastest time ever.

Technology still cannot replace human decisions

DURING my time writing about offshore energy for a decade, the sector has changed dramatically. Brazil and Angola have emerged as key oil exporters, the UK a net importer, offshore safety has deteriorated, investment has swung from shallow to deepwater and oil prices have quadrupled.

Looking aft: Melbourne Cup’s crazy customs

THE 150th Melbourne Cup came almost as quickly as it went and, like every year, there was the excessive glamour, excessive partying and, for some, even more excessive betting.