Weekly edition 29 September

Court asked to rule on dispute over Tassie transporter Andrea

AGILITY Shipping and Agility Logistics are seeking more than $1m in damages from the owners of the vessel Andrea, a ship now under arrest at Station Pier in Melbourne.

More Webb Dock strikes as little progress evident

AN UNRESOLVED dispute between workers and Patrick Stevedoring over wages, conditions and resulting of further strikes has bubbled over, with further strikes at Melbourne’s Webb Dock.

Shippers should to move from FOB to CFR says Braemar

SHIPPERS should move away from free-on-board (FOB) agreements and towards cost-and-freight (CFR) to reduce the impacts of congestion at Australia’s bulk ports, according to Braemar Seascope.

CBFCA gala raises great support

MEMBERS of the trade and logistics industry gathered to celebrate the achievements of their peers at a gala dinner in Sydney this month.

Reef shipping laws born of hard lesson

THE INTRODUCTION this month of higher penalties aimed at protecting the Great Barrier Reef from oil spills has met with mixed reactions from the shipping industry.

Resource exports will continue to dominate

GOOD news for Australia – mineral and energy exports are forecast to grow in 2012, following a flattened last quarter of 2011.

Fuel now, pay later under threat

The use of credit to fund the bunkering business is becoming expensive, writes ERIC VAN DEN BERG

London insurance market told to improve service

LONDON’s marine insurance market must do more if it is to keep up with the changes underway in the shipping industry, where the focus is no longer on price but on better service and reliability.

FMC to probe cargo routing

THE US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) is to examine whether in-bound containers are being routed via Canada and Mexico in order to avoid paying Washington’s harbour maintenance tax (HMT).

Maersk pays US$9500 a day for 3.4k teu boxship

THE container charter market is taking a further dip and most brokers have written off any recovery until Chinese New Year in January 2012.

China and India set to consume a third of all global energy in 2035

CHINA and India will together consume as much as 31% of the world’s energy by 2035, as both countries’ populations continue to grow and generate greater energy demand.

Record global steel volume cheering for bulker lines

GLOBAL steel production in the first eight months of this year has reached a record 1bn tonnes, providing support for capesize vessels employed to ship cargoes of iron ore used in steel production.

Markets this week 29 September 2011

Capes prop up market in robust demand scenario

Epidemic of shipping company failures is unlikely – analysts

PUBLICLY listed dry bulk companies will not see a spate of bankruptcies until at least 2014 even if rates remain weak, while some tanker companies might not be able to avert the day of reckoning for quite that long.

India set to break cabotage deadlock

A DEADLOCK on Indian cabotage rules may soon be broken, allowing DP World to bring its new Cochin container terminal into full operation.

Now for the good news

WITH markets volatile, Greece’s debt problems threatening French banks and the last US jobs report showing zero job growth, it looks scary out there for shipping demand. But China appears to be marching forward all the same.

Pain promises gain

As Papua New Guinea’s resources boom hits its straps shipping lines are beginning to reap the benefits – at least as far as infrastructure limitations will allow. In the Pacific Islands the situation’s not nearly so rosy, but as usual carriers are adapting, reports DALE CRISP

Islands playing to strengths

AN INDUSTRY veteran once characterised the Pacific Islands trades as subject to “perpetual fiddling” and a quick look at the accompanying article on service changes will confirm the truth of that assessment.

Voyage through a tangled web

IF WE were to attempt to render the network of Papua New Guinea and Pacific Islands services diagrammatically, it would make Barry Jones’ infamous Knowledge Nation look like child’s play.

Millions spent on Lae and more to come

MORE than K30m ($13.56m) has been spent by the Papua New Guinea Ports Corporation so far this year on increasing efficiency at the port of Lae, ahead of a major expansion project due to begin in 2012.

Panamaxes to miss out on split cargoes

OWNERS of panamax bulk carriers hoping that rocketing voyage rates for larger capesizes, particularly those positioned in the Atlantic basin, would lead to charterers splitting cargoes on to smaller vessels may be left disappointed as brokers do not expect this to materialise.

Global cellular fleet to grow 20% in a year

THE GLOBAL fully-cellular container fleet continues to grow at an exceptional pace, according to the Lloyd’s List Intelligence (LLI) database.

Egypt bans weapons on any ships transiting its waters

EGYPT has banned all weapons and armed security teams on merchant ships transiting its waters, including the Suez Canal, according to an official notification from the country’s maritime ministry.

Indices show freight rates under pressure

CONTAINER freight rates remain under pressure on trades routes around the world, with the latest Shanghai Containerised Freight Index (SCFI) signalling an early end to the peak season.

Box trades database set to go worldwide

PRICE and volume data covering every container trade in the world will be available by the end of the month, giving ocean carriers, shippers, forwarders and brokers yet another source of information about freight rate developments and cargo flows.

Largest ever vessel carves northern sea route record

SOVCOMFLOT’s suezmax tanker Vladimir Tikhonov, pictured, has completed its passage of the Northern Sea Route in under eight days.

Shipping singled out in call for boost to US security

A DECADE after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO)has said that work remains in implementing border security, including the 100% scanning of containers in the maritime supply chain.

Casualty briefs 29 September 2011

Maritime

The Pilgrim trade to Mecca by sea in 1965 before the age of air transport – part 3

THE MEDICAL establishment on board was impressive. There were two Pakistani doctors, two Malay nurses, four Malay dressers, basically male nurses and two Malay sweepers.

When the front fell off, a near oil-spill disaster – 20 years ago

AUSTRALIA’S oil spill plans were savaged 20 years ago as being fatally flawed. Criticism was directed at the plans by Captain Ken Ross, the managing director of United Salvage.

Royal Caribbean plays down shareholder split

CRUISESHIP operator Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCCL) is playing down the impact of a sudden decision by its two largest shareholders to terminate a longstanding agreement between them.

Long Beach and Toyota sign long-term lease for car space

LONG Beach has consolidated its position in the deepsea car trades through a long-term lease agreement with Toyota.

Asset values under threat as German banks move in

DOZENS of German-financed vessels could face compulsory auction in the months ahead, as accounting practices increase the pressure on lenders to end payment deferrals granted to owners after the financial crisis of September 2008.

Shipping must take lead role on climate

Whether or not we believe in global warming, can we really take the risk of doing nothing? JOHN AC CARTNER*