Shipping Search - Archive

February 2014

image: Hamburg Süd Argentina Germany box vessel container ship TEU reefer slot

Fourth Vessel in Class Named This Week

GERMANY – ARGENTINA – WORLDWIDE – With all the talk of 18,000+ TEU ultra large container ships the naming yesterday of the Cap San Lorenzo in Buenos Aires at a ‘mere’ 9,600 TEU might seem a little low key. The 124,500 dwt 333 metre long vessel however is the fourth box ship in the ‘Cap San’ class of six new builds for Hamburg Süd and, like her sisters, the latest addition to the fleet carries 2,100 reefer slots, making these craft currently the world's largest ships for reefer capacity.

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image: Compañía Sud Americana de Vapores (CSAV) anti-trust conspiracy container shipping freight cartel

Yet One More Example That Secret Anti-Trust Agreements Have a Habit of Being Uncovered

US – WORLDWIDE – Compañía Sud Americana de Vapores (CSAV), the Chilean ocean freight company, which will become the world’s fourth largest container shipping line if plans to merge with German shipping group Hapag-Lloyd proceed as widely anticipated, has agreed to plead guilty and pay an $8.9 million criminal fine for its involvement in a conspiracy to fix prices, allocate customers and rig bids of international ocean shipping services for RoRo cargo, such as cars and trucks, to and from the US and globally.

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image: International Women's Day logistics National Careers Week freight industry hairdressing pirates choice Clare Bottle

Push to Promote the Freight Industry While the Converted Study Pirates and Other Relevant Issues

UK – With International Women's Day coming up (March 8) and next week being National Careers Week (March 3 – 7), the UK organisation, Women in Logistics UK (WiL) is calling for women and girls to seriously consider logistics as a career. The three and a half thousand strong organisation is pressing for a higher profile and, as part of this drive, WiL Vice Chair, Clare Bottle, will be spending the week visiting schools, highlighting the benefits of a career in logistics to students, with girls a particular target. A 2012 study showed an old fashioned preoccupation with traditional gender roles with seven year olds aspiring to careers in science, education, sports etc. with, for example, 9% of girls (and only 0.1% of boys) considering hairdressing as their future.

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image: Australia staff freight logistics news passed away

More Sad News Leads the Way for the Third Consecutive Time

AUSTRALIA – For the third consecutive week we have the sad task of leading staff news in the freight and logistics sector with the loss of an industry colleague. Secon Freight Logistics Chief Executive Officer Terry Considine passed away last week following a recent heart attack. Mr Considine had previously chaired the Victorian Transport Association. A memorial service will be held at St Augustine’s Church in Melbourne on March 1, to which anyone wishing to pay their respects is welcome to attend.

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image: Netherlands mobile harbour crane Liebherr straddle carrier bulk freight container handling

Mobile Harbour Equipment and Straddle Carriers both Popular with Dutch Customers

IRELAND – GERMANY – THE NETHERLANDS – Crane manufacturer Liebherr has seen success recently in the Dutch market with the commissioning of seven of the groups straddle carriers and one of its versatile mobile harbour cranes (MHC) all in the past few weeks. The straddle carriers, capable of stacking 1 over 2 containers high, with a safe working load of 40 tonnes, were for the ECT Delta Terminal in Rotterdam whilst the MHC arrived at a new export terminal in Amsterdam.

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image: UK New Zealand dnata air freight cargo handling centre tonnes

Flag Carrier to Move Operations After Seventeen Years

UK – Air New Zealand Cargo has become the launch customer for dnata’s purpose-built cargo logistics centre at London’s Heathrow airport. The New Zealand flag carrier has moved into Unit Three of the new dnata City facility after seventeen years at its previous freight handling unit. Established in 1959, dnata is one of the world’s largest air services providers, offering ground and cargo handling and other aviation related services.

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image: Onne Port Nigeria UK plant and machinery export project freight forwarding Tuscor Lloyd’s

Machinery Movement Not Delayed Despite Port Closures

UK – NIGERIA – Over the past few years the export trade of plant and machinery from Britain has flourished, both in new as well as second hand products. The size and shape of many items can present a challenge to project freight forwarding groups, particularly for newly manufactured items which, despite the nature of what often lies before them, are expected to arrive in pristine condition.

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image: Maersk container shipping line financial results sustainability logistics terminal oil recovery

Maersk Releases Simultaneous Information on Results and Targets for Past and Future

DENMARK – WORLDWIDE – When a group such as AP Moller-Maersk undertakes to commit to more sustainable operations, one is talking about doing so on a massive scale. Not only does the group contain the largest container shipping line in the world but has subsidiaries stretching from logistics, Damco, to oil research and recovery, terminal operations, towing and various other related fields. In 2010 the group produced its first Sustainability Report and this month published the second such document showing achievements, failures and aspirations to 2013.

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image: UK BITO Storage Systems Smart Slide Supply Chain Freight Consolidation Cargo pallet

New Product Operates 'Like a Sliding Wardrobe' Maximising Space

UK – One of the perennial bugbears of storing and locating smaller items is employing a system which facilitates easy location and satisfies safety guidelines whilst presenting a minimal footprint. Many supply chain and freight consolidation warehouses employ pallet racking systems which can hold hidden costs for the wrong type of cargo and now, BITO Storage Systems has come up with a solution which works on the same principle as a sliding wardrobe and is based on the company’s own boltless shelving system.

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image: Russia Brazil UK US freight forwarding cargo oil and gas space exploration Volga SDV Heavy lift

Heavy Lift Transport of Oil and Gas plus Satellite Traffic This Month for Moscow Based Group

RUSSIA – ITALY – US – UK – BRAZIL – The oversize freighter aircraft of Volga-Dnepr Airlines have had a busy month with yet another contribution to the support of space exploration plus a considerable milestone with the company’s 1,100th flight for customers in the oil and gas industry with its latest cargo of 45 tonnes of equipment from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil to Prestwick, Scotland. We have written before of the Russian group’s singular ability to transfer freight associated with off planet business and the latest movement saw the transport of the Pressurised Cargo Module (PCM) of the Cygnus resupply spacecraft from Turin, Italy, to Wallops Island, US.

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image: US freight forwarding logistics Toll Sipes Federal Court

Possibility of Twenty Years Incarceration Looms for Former Toll Executive

US – The former Director of Finance of the international freight and logistics group Toll Global Forwarding has admitted stealing more than $1.3 million from her former employer through an elaborate false invoicing scheme. Karen Sipes of Brick, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before a Federal Court to ‘wire fraud’ during her time at Toll from August 2010 to August 2012. She now faces a 20 year prison sentence and has been ordered to pay back the full amount in addition to a $250,000 fine.

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image: Access Group IT supply chain logistics manufacturing stock held warehouse management

All Suppliers Seek the Balance Between Production, Demand and Stock Held

UK – Business software specialist the Access Group which designs and develops practical solutions in a range of fields, recently commissioned Redshift Research to conduct a supply chain management (SCM) study among three hundred stakeholders from the logistics and manufacturing sectors to identify how to achieve the optimum balance between meeting demand whilst minimising stock levels, and has produced a white paper ‘Supply Chain Nirvana’ from the results gathered.

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image: Dubai Emirates SkyCargo million tonnes freight road haulage cargo Al Maktoum

Move to New Base Means Amplifying Road Haulage Links

DUBAI – Emirates SkyCargo is gearing up for the move of its freighter fleet to Al Maktoum Airport (DWC) by signing a five year trucking contract with Dubai-based road haulage firm Allied Transport that will see the haulier provide road feeder services between its current base at Dubai International (DXB) and DWC for SkyCargo, including the operation of a fleet of up to 45 trucks in the first year.

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image: UK road haulage blind spots cyclists HGVs Crossrail

Mutual Respect is the Key to Less Accidents

UK – According to a recent survey undertaken by Crossrail, 99% of cyclists intend to change their cycling habits after getting behind the wheel of an HGV at an ‘Exchanging Places’ event at the London Bike Show. More than 850 cyclists took part in ‘Exchanging Places’ run by Crossrail and the Metropolitan Police Service, which allows them to see the road from a lorry driver’s point of view. The event allowed cyclists to get a better understanding of what drivers can and cannot see. Most were unaware of the size of blind spots from inside the driver’s cab. Chief Superintendent Sultan Taylor, Safer Transport Command said:

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image: UK LPG Diesel dual fuel road haulage logistics Norbert Dentressangle

System Minimises the Use of LPG to Enhance Diesel Engine Performance

UK – French headquartered road haulage and logistics group Norbert Dentressangle is one of six companies taking part in a field trial of a pioneering LPG combustion enhancement system which could see the company improve its fuel efficiency by more than 15%. The EASI-LPG system is being fitted to one of Norbert Dentressangle’s 18 tonne Renault Premium rigids with automatic transmission, and is one of six vehicles taking part in a six month ‘in-service’ trial which will test the system under real operational conditions.

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image: DHL intercontinental cargo panda logistics freight China Belgium Hao Hao Xing Hui

Panda's Transported as Intercontinental Cargo

CHINA – BELGIUM – The chance to ship two giant pandas over 8,000 kilometres was too good to miss for logistics giant DHL when an enquiry arrived regarding relocating the animals from Chengdu, China to Brugelette, Belgium. Shipping any living thing as freight always poses problems but for creatures as rare, delicate and valuable as Hao Hao and her mate Xing Hui the difficulties can be truly unique. Thanks to the presence of two animal handlers and a veterinary physician and a plentiful supply (100 kilogrammes) of bamboo, the intercontinental transit was completed without undue fuss.

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image: Liebherr project freight recycling environmental Able Seaton Port Liebherr mobile harbour crane

Recycling Specialist Employs Country's Largest Ever Mobile Harbour Unit

UK – Liebherr has set another bar higher recently when one of its giant LHM600SHL mobile harbour cranes arrived at Hartlepool’s Able Seaton Port, the specially adapted unit has a 208 tonne lift and a 58 metre radius and Able claims it to be the largest crane of its type operational in the country. The standard hook height has been extended by 19 metres to a lofty 64 metres, together with an increased fulcrum height in order to reach over tall structures such as semi-submersible oil rigs, and the crane will be used for wide range of activities associated with handling project cargo, particularly large components as freight for the offshore wind sector, as well as maintaining offshore oil and gas drilling rigs and other general port-related activities.

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image: UK Port of Felixstowe container shipping berth TEU box vessel

Permission Granted for Further Construction at Suffolk Port

UK – The battle to handle the bulk of Britain’s container borne freight hotted up this week with the announcement by the Port of Felixstowe that it has received permission from the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) to construct the 190 metre long ‘finger quay’ at the Southern end of berths 8 and 9. This will enable the port to berth two ‘ultra large’ 18,000+ TEU box vessels simultaneously by increasing the overall length enough to manage two of the four hundred metre long vessels at one time.

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image: Panama Canal cost overrun logistics ultra large container shipping lock gates TEU freight

Dispute over Cost Overruns Settled - at Least for a While

PANAMA – Work has resumed on the much awaited Panama Canal expansion project this week after the recent stoppages caused by a dispute over cost overruns. Major logistics groups have continued to expand operations in the region whilst for the past fortnight nothing has happened at the Canal site as the Spanish/Italian/Panamanian/Belgian consortium argued about costs. When the works are completed the Canal will be capable of taking vessels the length of the latest breed of ultra large container ships (366 metres) when carrying up to 12,000 TEU of freight.

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image: Airbus Polish logistics Swiss freight forwarding

K + N Collect Blue Chip Customer Contract

POLAND –The newly formed aerospace and defence unit of the Airbus group, named simply as Airbus Defence and Space, has selected Swiss based freight forwarder Kuehne + Nagel as exclusive contract logistics provider in Poland. The new four-year contract strengthens Kuehne + Nagel’s global partnership with the Airbus Group after K+N was recently retained as lead logistics provider for the Group, as well as marking a further strategic step into the Polish aerospace and aviation logistics market. Tobias Jerschke, National Manager of Kuehne + Nagel in Poland, said:

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image: Brazil air freight cargo carriers cartel colluding

Both Companies Seem to Have Serious Problems

BRAZIL – Earlier this week, Brazil’s competition authority the Administrative Council of Economic Defence (Cade) fined two air freight carriers and two unnamed representatives of the airlines, a combined total of R$83 million for their roles in a bid-rigging cartel. Skymaster Airlines has been fined R$35 million whilst the Brazilian Express Transportes Aéreos (Beta Cargo) will have to pay R$47 million.

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image: London Gateway Lord Mayor of the City of London, Fiona Woolf container shipping logistics DP World

Lord Mayor Shows Interest as Box Lines Increase Trade

UK – WORLDWIDE – The steady growth of the UK’s latest deep water container shipping port and logistics park continues with DP World’s London Gateway project seeing new services in May as Hamburg-Sud and Hapag-Lloyd commence various services to and from the River Thames location. MOL, Maersk, Safmarine and DAL already operate a weekly call on their joint Southern Africa – Europe service. The port’s success was witnessed first-hand recently by the Lord Mayor of the City of London, Fiona Woolf, on a visit to the site.

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image: UK Ireland freight transport road haulage fuel duty

Lower Fuel Duty and Safer Roads are Priorities says FTA

UK – IRELAND – The Freight Transport Association (FTA) has been outspoken this week on both sides of the Irish Sea. In mainland Britain the organisation which represents many companies with road haulage interests has made a pre-Budget submission to the Chancellor urging more support for its members activities via lower fuel duty whilst in Ireland it calls for stronger measures against transgressors on the country’s roads.

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image: Maersk shipping container Myanmar TEU Damco freight Safmarine

Myanmar New Target for World's Largest Box Group

DENMARK – SRI LANKA – MYANMAR – News this week from the world’s largest container shipping line with an update on the Svendborg Maersk incident in which freight was swept overboard whilst transiting the Bay of Biscay in high winds and the revelation that AP Moller-Maersk is to consolidate its Burmese operations with the opening of its own office in Myanmar in the next couple of months.

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image: Asia container shipping freight alliance Cosco, K Line, Yang Ming, Hanjin and Evergreen Line CKYHE

Five Asian Box Carriers Join Forces

ASIA – EUROPE – It seems the fashion begun by the three giant container shipping companies in creating the P3 Alliance last year may have started a trend with the announcement from Cosco, K Line, Yang Ming, Hanjin and Evergreen Line that the five box carriers have agreed in principle to establish a shipping alliance. To be operational only on the freight trades between Asia and Europe, including the Mediterranean region, it will be called the CKYHE Alliance.

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image: US Germany double death freight logistics fork lift truck staff news

Comparatively Young Heads of Two Major Companies Pass Away

US – GERMANY – Sadly we start the week’s logistics staff news telling of the deaths of two relatively young men who headed up truly household names directly concerned with the freight trade. Union Pacific Corporation Chairman James Young has died at the age of 61, after a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer. Young worked his way from an entry-level finance position before serving as President and CEO from 2005 to 2012 and being elected Chairman in 2007. The family asks that in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to pancreatic research in care of Dr. Jean Grem at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, or the charity of their choice.

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image: Lufthansa air freight scandal cartel STX raids Korea shipbuilding shipping Germany corruption

Raids in Europe and the Far East on Two Major Logistics Related Companies

GERMANY – SOUTH KOREA – Prosecutors around the world have been busy this week after German investigators raided the offices of air freight carrier Lufthansa Cargo in connection with a bribery probe, whilst prosecutors in South Korea raided the offices of the ailing shipbuilding and shipping conglomerate STX Group and its affiliates over allegations of corruption.

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image: Panama Ceva logistics supply chain management metres pallet

New Warehouse Facility Will Provide Extra Capacity

PANAMA – Supply chain management group Ceva Logistics has announced that it is expanding its Panama City operation to one of the newest logistic parks in Panama this month. Located on one of the largest such facilities in the country, the Parque Sur Industrial Park on Domingo Diaz Ave., Tocumen, the new facility is a multi-customer site which will manage the logistics needs of a number of global brands. The new warehouse has 4,400 square metres of space with capacity for 7,000 pallet positions and 10 metres of free height.

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image: Lloyd’s Register UK shipping app fleet management Navios Thenamaris

Oldest Class Register Brings Data Up to Date

UK – WORLDWIDE – For a name that in the world of shipping is bordering on the prehistoric, Lloyds Register always tries to stay ahead of the game and the latest product from a company originally formed in 1760 is no exception. Lloyd’s Register Marine has created an app to enable access to ship and fleet data from anywhere in the world.

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image: Morocco dark continent freight forwarding DB Schenker logistics

New Standards to Implement European Quality Forwarding into the Dark Continent

MOROCCO – EUROPE – For some time DB Schenker has concentrated in combining its overland freight services to present the optimum blend of intermodal transport. The company boasts that it offers logistics chains with a strong rail component for the European and trans-continental market, combining the advantages of rail and truck transport. Now Schenker has upgraded its branches in Tangier and Casablanca with the intention of extending its European quality services into the continent of Africa.

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image: UK freight forwarding global logistics Hull Enterprise Partnership

Group Strengthens Local Presence with Help from Enterprise Partnership

UK – Neill & Brown Global Logistics is sticking to home territory with its latest venture as the East Yorkshire based freight forwarding outfit makes a £2.5m investment in Hull with assistance from the Humber Local Enterprise Partnership’s (LEP) ‘Growing the Humber’ fund. The company is building a new 40,000 sq. ft. warehouse facility at Marfleet Environmental Technology Park on Hedon Road to provide an enhanced service to existing customers and as part of its strategy for growth.

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image: UK freight logistics UKWA warehousing fire sprinklers

Warehouse Association Calls for a Light Hand on Regulation

UK – The lobbying of a vested interest group has engendered a strong reaction from one of the freight and logistics industry’s generally most accommodating of trade associations. The Business Sprinkler Alliance (a collection of trade bodies and other groups) has recently launched a campaign for the current law to be reviewed and demanded the mandatory introduction of sprinkler systems within all warehouse facilities, not as at present only those units exceeding 20,000 square metres. This proposal has been strongly opposed by the UK Warehousing Association (UKWA), the trade body which represents the interests of some 700 third party logistics specialists.

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image: Bay of Biscay container shipping Maersk freight

Storms Account for Another Victim as Vessel Hit in Bay of Biscay

BAY OF BISCAY – The notorious weather in the region has been responsible for a major incident concerning freight in transit when the 8,160 TEU container vessel Svendborg Maersk, lost a significant number of boxes overboard, during very rough weather in the Bay of Biscay on February 14. Although no official statement on the actual number has been given, it is thought that over 200 containers have been lost with other containers on board damaged as a result of collapsed stacks.

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image: UK heavy lift project freight Russia Ukraine tonnes Ruslan Antonov An-124 shipment

Urgent Power Station Spares Need Instant Response

UK – RUSSIA – UKRAINE – KUWAIT – SINGAPORE – Always worth a mention, if only for the scale of the shipments involved, Ruslan International, the Essex based company which manages and markets the combined Antonov An-124 fleets of its shareholders Antonov Airlines and Volga Dnepr Airlines, has completed yet another heavy lift project freight assignment with the carriage of a giant power station rotor from Kuwait to Singapore, using one of the seventeen giant Antonov An-124 aircraft under its management.

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image: UK Maritime Labour Convention RMT Condor Ferries RoRo Channel Isles

Unions Accuse Channel Isles Shipping Group of 'Massive Scandal' over Wages

UK – The RMT union, which regularly uses the most colourful language to criticise anything its executives deem unfair, is to hold its latest demonstration in a long running campaign against what it terms a ‘social dumping scandal’ affecting RoRo ferries employed in British waters. The protest, supported by both RMT and the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF), will take place at 16.00 on Tuesday 18th February at Portsmouth Commercial Freight Gate, Prospect Road, Portsmouth.

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image: Russia Aeros Zeppelin freight forwarder Bertling transporting cargo airships logistics

After 140 Years is a Niche Market Opening for the Airship Concept?

RUSSIA – US – UK – WORLDWIDE – We have in the past dismissed the notion of reintroducing airships as a viable mode of transporting cargo as little more than hot air. The unveiling of the Aeroscraft, a 266 feet long and 110 feet wide lighter-than-air craft by the now Californian based Worldwide Aeros company simply shows that some maintain faith that the concept so enthusiastically pursued by Count Zeppelin still has a place in the modern age, at least in selected logistics situations, carrying suitable freight to and from certain inhospitable regions.

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image: CMA CGM French container shipping line Oceania PAD 2 box

French Box Specialist Upgrades to Weekly Rotation

US – OCEANIA – THE AMERICAS – French container shipping line CMA CGM says it will now be able to provide weekly services to and from Australia and New Zealand, Central and South America, the Caribbean, North America (USEC) and Canada with the upgrading of Oceania - US services with the launch of the PAD 2 service, as from the beginning of March 2014.

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image: Kühne Logistics University humanitarian KLU aid competition masters scholarship

KLU Holds Free to Enter Event in April

GERMANY – WORLDWIDE – For the fourth year Hamburg’s Kühne Logistics University is holding an English-language case competition for bachelor´s and master´s students to try for a free master’s programme scholarship. As last year, the many recent events requiring humanitarian aid have prompted the KLU to stay focused on this as a common factor for entrants to target in this latest case study competition.

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image: Ngqura South Africa container shipping handling freight ship to shore rubber tyred gantry cranes RTG STS Liebherr

New RTG and STS Order Emphasises Confidence in Liebherr Port Cranes

SOUTH AFRICA – The development of any of the modern deep water port is something which requires several key elements to ensure the optimum performance necessary for success. Road and rail links need installing and upgrading, entry channels and berths need dredging, and port furniture of the highest available quality must be purchased and installed. Without the latter the throughput of freight will be reduced and the delicate formula for success will be profoundly affected. The latest order for Liebherr container cranes from Transnet Port Terminals therefore speaks for itself.

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image: UK container freight box cargo intelligent padlock SIM high value Mul-T-Lock

GPS and SIM Technology Makes both Routes and Breaks in Security Visible

UK – WORLDWIDE – OK, so that’s not the most exciting photograph we’ve ever published, but behind that plain façade lies technology unheard of a generation ago. One of the nightmares of shipping valuable freight is knowing when a container has been opened and who might have had access. This new padlock from high security locking company Mul-T-Lock hides its light under a bushel but packs enough communications equipment to track the location and route of a vehicle at any time, and to know when and where boxes with expensive equipment or high value goods in transit are opened.

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image: 747-8F Cargolux air freight cargo carrier Boeing

New Boeing Ordered by Luxembourg Outfit

LUXEMBOURG – US – HUNGARY – Lots of news from Cargolux, Europe’s largest freight only airline this month as the recently troubled carrier added to its burgeoning fleet of Boeing 747-8 freighters whilst also collecting a prestigious award. Cargolux was the very first airline in the world to collect the first ever 747-400 Freighter from the Seattle based plane maker back in 1993 and similarly first in the queue for a 747-8F at the launch of the giant aircraft in 2011. The Luxembourg based carrier now runs an exclusively Boeing fleet consisting entirely of the two types of aircraft.

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image: BIFA UK road haulage truck levy foreign hauliers freight

From April Foreign Lorries Must Pay in Advance Whilst Using British Roads

UK – The new road levy on all lorries weighing above 12 tonnes which comes into force on 1 April 2014 is causing many road haulage operators concern at the lack of information they have received from government. The British International Freight Association (BIFA) says it is seeing a considerable amount of enquiries about the charge which is being introduced under the auspices of the HGV Road User Levy Act 2013 and will require payment alongside a truck’s vehicle excise duty (VED).

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image: US Steamship Trade Association of Baltimore ILA International Longshoremen's Association container shipping break bulk freight cargo handlers

Longshoremen Continue to Work Without a Contract After National Union Body Intervenes

US – It seems the bitter dispute at the Port of Baltimore is set to continue after the unionised longshoremen there who handle all manner of break bulk cargo refused to sign up to new contract proposals from their employers. Container shipping is unaffected as the union at the centre of the row, the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) has already agreed terms for moving the box freight.

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image: UK women logistics drivers transport manager freight association

Awards Nominations Close Very Soon for Freight Transport Association (FTA) Sponsored Event

UK – The deadline has been extended for nominations in the 2014 FTA everywoman in Transport and Logistics Awards until Monday 17 February. In its 7th year, this programme continues to uncover role models and shine the spotlight on those women who are enjoying career success in the industry. Whether they are team leaders, stars of the future or are challenging stereotypes as drivers in transport or warehouse managers, these Awards celebrate the diversity of opportunity and career fulfilment the sector offers.

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image: Croatia Romania rail freight intermodal cargo carrier HZ Agit

Redundancies and Talks of Privatisation Amidst Restructuring and Corruption Allegations

CROATIA – ROMANIA – After failing to sell a 75% stake in its struggling rail freight line HZ Cargo, the Croatian Government has signed an agreement with the Railroad Engineers Trade Union of Croatia (RETUC) that will see the company undergo some major changes as 1,100 employees from HZ Cargo’s 3,482 strong workforce will be made redundant with the remaining salaries reduced by 20%. Also part of the restructuring plan, everything which does not belong to core business will be sold and expenses for employees and severance payments will be reduced. In a bid to control the debt and keep it solvent in the short term, the Croatian Government has proposed injecting €30 million into the cargo business as well as implementing plans to merge HZ Cargo with its intermodal subsidiary Agit.

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image: US Japan MOL FMC antitrust RoRo car carriers ocean freight shipping lines

US Authorities Again Stamp On Japanese Shipping Lines

US – The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has reached a compromise agreement with Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) and its corporate affiliate Nissan Motor Car Carrier (NMCC), resolving allegations that the two carriers violated US ocean freight regulations by colluding with other car carriers on the shipment of vehicles by Ro/Ro or specialised car carrier vessels. Under the settlement, MOL agreed to pay $1,275,000 in penalties, a sum higher than that of either K Line or NYK after the companies recently agreed to pay $1.1 million and $1.22 million respectively, to settle similar antitrust allegations against them.

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image: UK Daily Telegraph London Stock Exchange 1000 companies project freight forwarder road haulage logistics SME’s

Recognition for Some in Telegraph - Stock Exchange List (even if they've gone under!)

UK – The Daily Telegraph joined forces with the London Stock Exchange recently to compile a list of ‘1000 Companies to Inspire Britain’ to identify some of the UK’s most dynamic and exciting small and medium-sized enterprises, with the aim of showing that these companies are the lifeblood of the UK economy. Naturally the logistics sector was well represented, although many in the trade might feel that not enough credit was given to the industry's numerous SME’s, including road haulage outfits and freight forwarders, who have battled through the latest financial downturn.

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image: Southampton Deep Water Port straddle carriers container berth Rentokil Harris Hawk

Meanwhile Away with the Birds Hope Should Triumph Over Expectations

UK – The happenings at Southampton’s container port last month illustrated just how varied the scope of the freight handling business can be. The photograph gives an indication of the more unusual announcement but in less unconventional news DP World proved it is not just at its deep water London Gateway facility on the Thames where the group is investing, with the arrival of six brand new Kalmar straddle carriers which arrived on a RoRo vessel, direct from the manufacturing plant in Gdynia, Poland for DP World Southampton.

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image: Allianz Worldwide care seafarers shipping companies Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC 2006)

Lines Can Protect Seafarers with Comprehensive Cover Which Addresses Legal Requirements

WORLDWIDE – Global health insurer Allianz Worldwide Care has launched a new plan which offers a compliant solution for onshore healthcare to shipping companies affected by the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC 2006), which came into force in August of last year and requires shipping companies to provide comprehensive rights and protection to the world’s 1.2 million seafarers, including the provision of a minimum level of healthcare cover.

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image: Cathay Pacific Hong Kong air freight cargo carrier antitrust

Class Action Suits Claim One More Scalp as Hong Kong Flag Outfit Rolls Over

US – The air freight arm of Cathay Pacific has entered into a settlement agreement in the multidistrict class actions against cargo carriers underway in New York. In order to avoid the ongoing litigation underway in the Big Apple, Cathay Pacific has agreed to make a payment of US$65 million to settle without admitting any wrongdoing or liability, a move seen just last month when two other defendants, Korean Air and Singapore Airlines, entered into similar agreements with freight purchasers to pay a total of $207 million in reparation, but made no admission to any wrongdoing or liability.

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image: Germany container shipping freight logistics appointments departures Kruse

Industry Appointments and Departures

GERMANY – We start this week’s freight, logistics and other transport related staff movements with the sad news that former Chairman of the Executive Board at shipping group Hapag-Lloyd, Hans Jakob Kruse, has died at the age of 84. Kruse was the Chairman for two decades from 1973 until 1993, when upon his retirement, he continued to contribute to the Company initially as a member of the Supervisory Board and later on the Advisory Committee.

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image: Singapore Supply Chain Professionals Global Logistics

Singapore Conference Warns that All Risks Should be Anticipated

SINGAPORE – WORLDWIDE – The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) held its 2014 conference, entitled ‘Effective Strategies for Managing Supply Chain Risk: Assuring the Viability of Your Supply Chain’ in Singapore last month and the event, which attracted almost 200 high-ranking delegates from manufacturing, logistics, government and academia, was centred on planning for the ‘worst way’ scenario’s which have often featured in global logistics of late.

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image: UK China logistics handling loading London Taxi Fare freight forwarders Levaton

Bespoke Loading/Unloading Design Solves Double Handling Problem

UK – CHINA – WORLDWIDE – In the field of logistics time, quite simply, is money and sometimes a little thought can provide a logical solution to a familiar problem. Most freight forwarders are familiar with the difficulties of transporting private cars in containers and there are a myriad solutions designed to make the whole thing a faster and, more importantly, safer operation. We have featured before specialist solutions primarily aimed at the classic car transport market such as the Levaton pallet system which travels with the vehicle, but what if your sole business is producing the same vehicle over and over again.

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image: UK road haulage HGV low carbon emission dual fuel logistics

New Dual Fuel Technology Test Appears to be Successful

UK – In November 2012 thirteen companies heavily involved in the logistics field were selected by the Government’s Technology Strategy Board (TSB) as guinea pigs for the establishment of road haulage fleets with an element of alternative and dual-fuel technology included. Altogether three hundred low carbon commercial vehicles received funding including HGVs used by such well-known names as Tesco, the John Lewis partnership, Robert Wiseman Dairies, and the BOC Group.

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image: Hong Kong China logistics freight forwarders Customs brokerage, warehousing supply chain management project cargo logistics out-of-gauge import/export traffic U-Freight Kerry

New Agency Arrangement for Hong Kong Multinational

CHINA – SRI LANKA – UK – Since the settlement of the civil war in 2009, the Sri Lankan government has had the goal of a minimum growth per year of 8% for the formerly troubled country, a figure exceeded on seven successive quarters between June 2010 and March 2012 and ensuring at least 5% overall growth for the past five years. Combined with an ambition to lower government indebtedness from around 80% to 60% of GDP by 2015 these factors have encouraged more global freight forwarders and logistics groups to increase their presence on the island as import/export traffic develops.

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image: China logistics freight supply chain UK Oxford Unipart Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business

Expert Speaker Stresses the Difference between East and West

UK – CHINA – WORLDWIDE – To many readers the name Unipart will forever be associated with the everyday spares which they purchased for various British built cars and vans but, since a management buyout, partly possible due to employee funds, almost three decades ago, the group has spread throughout the freight and logistics sector to become a leading player in the global supply chain, whilst also diversifying into other areas.

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image: Puerto Rico US container shipping line break bulk freight Caribbean Rickmers American Houston

American Arm of Traditional European Group to Work with Puerto Rican Specialist Carrier

US – PUERTO RICO – Rickmers-Linie (America) has joined up with National Shipping of America (NSA) to extend break bulk freight services to Puerto Rico and give the customers of NSA, which operates a fortnightly service between Houston, Port Everglades, and the Caribbean Commonwealth island state, extended connections to the world at large via the Rickmers-Linie global services network.

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image: Asia Vietnam transport freight forwarding Shanghai China logistics multimodal methods routes ASEAN supply chain

German Company Substitutes Road Haulage system for Short Sea Shipping

ASIA – GERMANY – A good supply chain professional is always seeking to optimise traditional routes by integrating new logistics methods, and now global forwarding group, DB Schenker, says it has taken a fresh look at the modes of transport usually chosen for moving freight around Asia and switched to a more efficient multimodal option which it has christened the ‘Asia Landbridge’. Using twenty three strategically located hubs located in the key cities and border regions Schenker says it has found a better way to ensure fast and sure shipping of cargo.

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image: UK articulated fork lift supply chain flexi truck freight storage warehouse narrow aisle

...Space Saving Genius or Awkward Compromise?

UK – WORLDWIDE – There is something about an articulated fork lift truck that arouses the ‘Marmite’ factor in those in the supply chain industry – you either love them or hate them, but according to one stakeholder, admittedly with a vested interest, those against the concept simply haven’t given it a fair trial. Designed specifically to optimise space in warehouses holding freight stacked on racking, thus enabling the use of narrower aisles, they are at first sight unarguably a touch unorthodox.

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image: Luno France freighter cargo vessel Biarritz Basque département des Landes emergency environmental

Emergency and Environmental Services Alerted

FRANCE – SPAIN – Our photographs show the death throes of the Spanish freighter Luno which split in half last week after her engine failed and she was washed by high winds into the promontory at Anglet in the area just north of Biarritz. The cargo vessel had recently left the mouth of the River l’Adour which separates the Basque country from the département des Landes when she lost all power. Fortunately reports state that the vessel had just offloaded and our photographs seem to confirm this.

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image: Russia multimodal logistics freight Sochi Winter Olympics rail road air cargo RZD Volga Dnepr

By Road, Rail and Air - Traffic Builds Up at Winter Olympics

RUSSIA – The logistics involved in the Sochi Winter Games are coming to a head this week and two major players involved are at different stages of involvement, whilst the Volga Dnepr airline group has now completed its role in helping the event get off to a flying start by delivering over 1,800 tons of air cargo to the Russian city over the last 12 months, RZD Logistics, a separate subdivision of Russian Railways, has been working 24/7 in order to provide multimodal customer services at Veseloe terminal station of North-Caucasus Railway due to limited traffic in the region.

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image: Mexico project freight forwarding cargo container shipping agent

Faster and Cheaper than Traditional Alternatives for Out of Gauge Traffic

GERMANY – MEXICO – Our photograph gives an indication of potential shipping problems when one is given the task of loading pieces up to four and a half metres high stowed aboard a variety of flatrack and standard containers, even when the first leg of the journey for such outsize freight takes place in the North of Germany, one of the more friendly places for transporting out of gauge loads. The 368 tonne project was given to forwarding agent Tuscor Lloyds to puzzle out, and the first task was to utilise the services of a suitable surveyor to study the initial route.

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image: Japan Swanland MOL Comfort sank legal suit claim container shipping Mitsubishi Heavy ClassNK

Worries Over New Materials Used in Construction

JAPAN – Container shipping line Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) has initiated legal proceedings against Mitsubishi Heavy Industry (MHI), seeking compensation for having to strength the hulls of six container carriers following the demise of ill-fated MOL Comfort, which broke in half in rough seas and subsequently sank in June of last year as reported here. The suit also covers the ship itself, which was worth approximately $45 million.

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image: Northern Ireland artic unit Maersk freight container skeletal trailer road haulage offences

Distinctive Unit Should be Easily Identifiable

NORTHERN IRELAND – The photograph accompanying this article is of an artic unit used in the theft of a trailer from the Antrim Business Park. The trailer, a new skeletal tri-axle SK23/3S (inset) owned by Ashcroft Trailer Hire and bearing a battered empty white 20 foot Maersk Line container, was taken on Tuesday 28 January, but the owners were only informed on February 3 of the crime, and road haulage operators are asked to be on alert.

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image: IATA air freight tonnage cargo growth figures

IATA Records Show Gradual Growth in Sector - With Some Reservations

WORLDWIDE – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has released figures showing continued growth in the air freight market despite a slow first half of the year, with a 1.4% increase in global freight tonne kilometres (FTKs) in 2013 compared to 2012. IATA put this growth in air cargo down to a pick-up in the global economic health including the Eurozone’s emergence from recession, and more recently acceleration in world trade growth. Capacity grew faster than demand at 2.6%, but load factors were weak at 45.3%.

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image: UK freight transport road haulage operators carbon cutting green environment association

FTA to Honour Those Operators Which Value the Environment

UK – There is still time for cargo carriers and road haulage outfits to enter this year’s Freight Transport Association (FTA) Logistics Carbon Reduction Scheme (LCRS) Awards, due to held at the National Motorcycle Museum in Solihull, West Midlands, on Wednesday 21 May during the FTA’s Cutting Carbon - Cutting Costs Conference. Any company with a green freight initiative is invited to enter before 5pm on Friday 14 February. Rachael Dillon, FTA's Climate Change Policy Manager, explained:

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image: US container shipping supply chain logistics reefer Klinge Corporation anniversary

Thirty Year Landmark for Household Name Temperature Controlled Logistics Leader

US – WORLDWIDE – In the global supply chain, as with many industries, some names become synonymous with their sector of a trade, and so it is with the various branches of logistics. This year one of those companies which epitomises a particular facet in the world of shipping containers celebrates an important milestone as the Klinge Corporation reaches thirty, nothing in terms of endurance for a shipping line, but a ripe old age for a veteran of the comparatively young reefer industry.

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image: American Export Lines AEL independent freight forwarding logistics professionals

The Difference Between Good and Bad Can be Frustrating, Time Consuming and Expensive

WORLDWIDE – Logistics professionals reading this really need go no further, any industry stakeholder worth his or her salt knows that the wrong choice of freight forwarder can be costly in every way. Here we get a few insights from Kasra Ferasat, Marketing Director at American Export Lines (AEL) who puts the case for independent freight forwarding operations in an industry when big is not necessarily beautiful and which can apply whether the movement is domestic or international.

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image: Luxembourg CoolChain non ambient logistics freight fruit pharmaceuticals Berlin logistica airport supply chain

Two European Events Examine Different Branches of the Non Ambient Tree

LUXEMBOURG – GERMANY – EUROPE – With the inception of the revised European ‘GDP’ guidelines for the ‘Good Distribution Practice of Medicinal Products for Human Use’ which came into force last September, this year’s CoolChain Europe logistics event was bound to have an even greater slant toward the shipment of pharmacological products, particularly as the venue this year was situated in Luxembourg, near the seventh largest freight airport in Europe and one dedicated to increasing its share of the non-ambient sector. Meanwhile a current German show will concern itself with the supply chain for perishable foodstuffs.

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image: UK Thailand ocean project freight forwarder Rayong shipping Allseas global

International Ocean Yacht Movement Provides Some Interesting Problems

THAILAND – UK – Part of the fun of being a project freight forwarder is facing up to the completely unexpected challenge, the sort of job which arises once in a ‘blue moon’ and after all the puzzled looks and tearing of hair gives the greatest satisfaction when finally it arrives safely at the consignee’s door. Such was the challenge facing Allseas Global project team when asked to undertake the ocean shipping of a private yacht to the UK.

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image: US Japan container shipping line freight and logistics appointments staff movements CMA CGM K

K Line and CMA CGM Both See Reorganisations

JAPAN – Container shipping group K Line has announced a series of changes to its senior staff with Vice President Executive Officer Takashi Saeki and Senior Managing Executive Officers Keisuke Yoshida and Masami Sasaki, all becoming Directors of K Line, effective March 31. The Group has also named the successors with current Senior Managing Executive Officer Eizo Murakami replacing Saeki as Vice President Executive Officer, and current Managing Executive Officers Toshiykui Suzuki, Hiromichi Aoki and Tsuyoshi Yamauchi, all becoming Senior Managing Executive Officers, effective April 1.

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image: RFG rail freight 4th Railway Package European Parliament cargo carriers Transport and Torus Committee

Meanwhile RFG Signs Up a Dozen Sponsors for 2014

EUROPE – Representatives of the cargo rail carrying companies will be present in Strasbourg this week for the plenary session of the European Parliament and, prior to the meeting, a joint letter signed by eighteen passenger and freight operators, customers and associations, has been sent to every member of the Parliament, urging them to accept without change the 4th Railway Package as approved by the Transport and Torus Committee on 17 December, when it comes to the First Reading Vote in Plenary.

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image: Farrall’s road haulage logistics freight operator recognition scheme Silver status bronze artic fleet van

FORS Move from Bronze to Silver is a Big Step

UK – Any road haulage outfit worth its salt will have considered trying to gain Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS) status, the subsidised programme is designed to raise logistics standards in London and across the UK. The scheme is open to those freight interests who run any type of vehicle, from cars and vans up to artics, but accreditation is particularly valuable to those running vehicles in the higher weight categories who can use the qualification to demonstrate their competence.

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image: TT Club damage to freight ocean cargo carrier container shipping UK

New e-learning Tool to Focus Attention on Faults and Instruct on Better Practice

UK – WORLDWIDE – Last October the TT Club held a seminar in London dedicated to improving the standards employed when loading shipping containers, a factor which, when combined with insufficient packing, it calculated accounts for 65% of the damage to freight. Reference to the Cargo Incident Notification System (CINS) employed by the ocean carriers themselves backs up the Club’s findings showing 30+% of cases investigated showed stowage and poor packaging as responsible for the problems incurred.

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