Shipping Search - Archive

Korean Carrier Files for Court Protection After Bank Turns it Down

SOUTH KOREA – One of the world’s largest container shipping lines, South Korea's Hanjin Shipping, has filed for court protection having failed in its attempts to secure support from its banks. Such drastic action from a major player in the ocean freight sector was bound to happen at some point, with overcapacity and falling rates continuing to plague the global industry, and as Hanjin struggled to pay back its debt of 6.1 trillion won (approximately $5.46 billion) according to the company’s figures by the end of June, Hanjin’s creditors could no longer find a viable reason to sustain the ailing company having already poured over 1 trillion won into the shipping line since 2013.

Perishable Market Always Benefits from Faster Turnaround Times

US – Earlier this month the Crowley Maritime Corporation announced it was launching a new, weekly, fixed-day container shipping service between its Jacksonville, Florida base and Costa Rica. Crowley says the new service will enhance customer service and improve their freight supply chains whilst reducing their overall costs. The two container vessels on the rotation, which will call at the Jacksonville Port Authority’s Talleyrand Terminal, will make port calls in Jacksonville on Thursdays, Port Everglades on Fridays, and arrive in Puerto Limon, Costa Rica, on Wednesdays. Frank Larkin, Crowley senior vice president and general manager, logistics commented:

International Consortium of Lines Agreement Halted by Regulators Questions

US – WORLDWIDE – After a year in which container shipping alliances between the major freight carrying lines have held the headlines, and with global regulators mostly allowing shipping companies to enter such partnerships unopposed, comes the news that the US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has ‘stopped the clock’ on the formation of the Ocean Alliance between CMA CGM, COSCO Container Lines, Evergreen, and OOCL, asking for more information on the proposed vessel sharing agreement before the discussion on the finer details of the collaboration can go further ahead.

66 Million Years to Travel from the US to the Netherlands

NETHERLANDS – Historically the old fossils on the News Desk here at the Handy Shipping Guide have always been inundated by emails of the latest and greatest freight shipments, and our skeleton staff have no bones about discarding the boring ones. Sometimes however something comes along that is truly deserving of a rapturous round applause when Dutch firm Jan de Rijk Logistics transported the remains of a 66 million year old skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol to the city of Leiden where she will be on display at the Naturalis Museum.

December Ushers in a Change from 20 Year Old Technology

UK – The Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB), the body set up following the tragic Paddington rail disaster of 1999 which cost 31 lives and injured over 500 others, has led a Safety Management Intelligence System programme to create a completely new on-line safety reporting system, ‘SMIS+’, to replace the existing SMIS management system which was introduced in the 1990’s, as the technology used then has become outdated. Both passenger and freight stakeholders will have full access.

Air Cargo Chief to Quit by Year End

WORLDWIDE – This week’s round up of staff changes in the logistics sector begin with the news of the stepping down of a freight industry veteran as The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) has announced that its Secretary General, Doug Brittin will retire at the end of this year. He will stay with TIACA in an advisory capacity once a replacement has been found. Doug Brittin took over the position in July 2013 and has a career stretching back 36 years as a senior professional in a variety of logistics and governmental roles.

Free Entry for Visitors and Conference Discount for HSG Readers

UK – The exhibition and industry conference dedicated to overhead lifting and safe work at height, LiftEx is this year heading to Scotland for the first time. Of particular relevance to both on and offshore logistics professionals and now in its twelfth year, LiftEx 2016 will take place on the Wednesday 23rd and Thursday 24th November at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre -and readers of the Handy Shipping Guide can get an exclusive discount to the Conference portion of the event.

Not the First (or Probably the Last) Seemingly Never Ending Story of its Kind

SCOTLAND – In yet another battle over such a development the Judges of the Scottish Court of Session have overturned a decision by Scottish Ministers to give the go ahead to proposals for an international rail freight terminal at Mossend in Bellshill, stating that Ministers ‘failed to give proper, adequate and intelligible reasons for their decision’ having previously disagreed with a recommendation to dismiss the development plans over concerns of the loss of Green Belt land. With 70% of Scotch whisky carried by road an extended intermodal terminal has long been an ideal for logistics stakeholders.

Carrier Overcomes a Host of Difficulties to Bring Contract Home

CHINA – BRAZIL – Hansa Heavy Lift (HHL), one of the few specialist logistics groups capable of such a giant project freight undertaking, has just transported five pipe racks and three modules, weighing a total of 1,871.51 tonnes and measuring 24,075 m³, for a new floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit off the coast of Brazil. With the heaviest piece weighing 730 tonnes, the cargo was loaded onto the HHL Valparaiso at the ports of Itajaí and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil before being transported to Qingdao, in the Shandong Province of China, where it will undergo final outfitting before being transported back to Brazil.

Increased payload and Other Advances Meant Writing on the Wall for Older Vehicles

UK – Following its acquisition in 2014 of the Charthire business and subsequent expansion plans, commercial vehicle hire company TOM Vehicle Rentals has signed a deal with leading online books, CDs and DVDs retailer, World of Books, to supply its new road haulage fleet of 75 Citroen Relay panel vans for its nationwide logistics operation. World of Books has already reported significant fuel savings with the new fleet, expected to be in the region of £35,000 annually.

Lobby Group Requests Chancellor to Think on Prices and Cleaner Fuels

UK – FairFuel UK, the lobby organisation co-founded by Peter Carroll, himself a road haulage transport veteran, has continued its high profile policy of pressing government on the question of fuel duty, something Carroll, former advisor to Danny Alexander, and his associates Howard Cox motoring journalist Quentin Willson have previously proved very adept at. FairFuel UK receives active support from a long list of important logistics and transport industry stakeholders including the RHA, FTA, RAC, BAR and a host of others with less popular acronyms.

However Lighter Than Air Craft Might Well Have a Place in the Future of Logistics

UK – It gives little satisfaction when our cynicism over the future of airships is proved correct but the crash today when the £25 million project Airlander ran into a telegraph pole in not terribly bad conditions perfectly illustrates the limitations of lighter than air vehicles as a future method for transporting freight (or indeed passengers). Developers Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) would argue that their craft has features of both aircraft and blimp, but it seems it may still suffer the vagaries of manoeuvrability which all balloon type craft are cursed with.

What's Happening Around the World - Starting for a Change with Taxis

UK – US – We start this round up going slightly ‘off piste’ by moving a little away from the delights of multimodal freight and writing for once about the passenger transport sector. Nothing perhaps illustrates the official position of local authorities in the UK to their cousins in the US on public transport than the current proposed and passed changes in legislation covering taxi drivers. Both London and New York have recognised, established cab personas, London has the familiar black cab whilst the Big Apple has its equally recognisable yellow cars. Both also have a plethora of other services mini cabs, Uber etc.

A Chance to See Historic Boats in Their Traditional Stamping Grounds

UK – As well as the popular calendar of Thames barge races organised by the Sailing Barge Association which sees a regular sail off of the surviving vessels of this unique class of work boats and whose website offers full information for each venue, this year will see a special ‘Thames Sailing Barge Parade’ as part of the annual ‘Totally Thames’ festival and this is being supported by The Shipowners’ Club, a leading mutual P&I insurer in the smaller and specialist vessel sector, and the aim is to raise funds for the remaining barges’ maintenance and restoration.

What Are the Rules? What's the Best System? Camera vs Radar? Platoon vs Solo? Drivers' Hours?

WORLDWIDE – To write an authoritative piece on the current stage of development and adoption of autonomous vehicles at this point would require a book rather than an article. Things are moving so swiftly that many cities, car and truck manufacturers and passenger and road haulage service providers are currently designing, buying, testing or trialling the new automotive technology. Although our main sphere of interest will always be freight orientated, in this case the state of the private car and passenger vehicle for hire sectors impinge, in that access to the highways of the world are to be directly, and drastically, affected for both commercial and private drivers (and in this case actually non drivers).

Concerted Efforts Lead to Fuel and Pollution Savings for Retailer Haulage Fleet

UK – Trailer manufacturer Gray & Adams has won plaudits from major customer Waitrose in assisting the retailer in its search for ever more environmentally friendly solutions with regard to its road haulage fleet. Between the two, together with recommendations from a Cambridge University team, they have evolved a breed of ‘Ultra-low carbon’ semi-trailers and the aptly named Simon Gray, Vehicle Engineering Manager for Waitrose parent the John Lewis Partnership (JLP), highlighted the manufacturer’s ability to turn radical designs into practical reality saying:

Freight Association Welcomes Ninety Eight Percent of Roads Free of Works

ENGLAND – In a welcome move that will affect car drivers more than the road haulage truck community, Highways England will lift or complete over 370 miles of roadworks in time for the forthcoming Bank Holiday weekend. By early on Friday morning (August 26) almost 98% of England’s motorway and major A roads, the strategic road network, will have no roadworks, with 373 miles of roadworks removed, comprising 179 sets of roadworks, totalling 319 miles completed and 22 sets suspended totalling 54 miles, ahead of the holiday.

MSC Aids Bicycle Charity with Transport to Africa

UK – GHANA – Time and again we have seen companies in the freight and logistics sector helping those communities around the world which are in need. From earthquakes to hurricanes, stakeholders in shipping tend to act decisively to aid others, and last month it was container shipping giant MSC which stepped up to help those less fortunate and in desperate need of transport in a country where the only alternative for many is to walk.

First Six Months of 2016 Appear Up to the Mark

UAE – Strong trading figures from Dubai based port and logistics group DP World for the first half of the year has prompted it to reiterate that the company will continue with its investment plans for the rest of 2016. Despite a challenging environment in the global ocean freight market, DP World says it saw revenue growth for the period of 10.2% supported by the acquisitions of Jebel Ali Free Zone (UAE) and Prince Rupert (Canada), revenue rising to $2,094 million. Container traffic revenue, up 4%, drove an overall like for like revenue hike of 2.5%, with TEU up 5.4% per unit.

One Story Illustrates the Changing Fortunes of Shipside Engineering

UK – JAPAN – FINLAND – VIETNAM – GERMANY – US – This week one story perfectly illustrates how fortunes have changed in the past century in the sphere of heavy engineering. Before she became the economic post war powerhouse, Japan lacked the expertise to construct its own mega crane, urgently needed to work at the Nagasaki shipyards. The giant cantilever crane even now towers over the Dry Docks in the Mitsubishi yard, where it still sees service after its installation by the Motherwell Bridge Company of Scotland in 1909, despite the efforts of the American atomic bomb which devastated the city in 1945, and is a testament to the craftsmanship and engineering skills of the Glaswegian workers at Appleby’s Ltd.

Some Smaller Items You Might Otherwise Miss

NETHERLANDS – Freight and logistics group Inchcape Shipping Services (ISS) has opened its second office in the country, this one in the Port of Amsterdam to complement its pre-existing Rotterdam operation. The company says it will offer a full suite of marine agency services together with a range of terminal activities including stevedoring, warehousing, storage, forwarding and custom documentation, while also serving the port of Ijmuiden.

(Apologies to John Masefield)

UK – Free offers are in short supply but readers of the Handy Shipping Guide can gain save the £6 entrance fee to a major maritime exhibition in London next month just by mentioning our name at the Gallery desk. The event is to celebrate everything that is wonderful and inspiring about the sea and the marine environment, includes much of interest to the merchant navy fraternity, and is being held from Wednesday September 28 to Saturday 8 October at the Mall Galleries in SW1.

Operator Profits After Taking Control of Prohibited

UK – FRANCE – Cross Channel RoRo and RoPax ferries seem to be the market to be in at the moment despite the ongoing problem with migrants attempting to stowaway on trucks. With P&O Ferries jump in freight traffic reported over the past couple of months now DFDS has announced a 63% hike in freight volumes on the Dover-Dunkirk and Dover-Calais routes in the second quarter of 2016. DFDS of course took over the Calais trade from the ill-fated MyFerryLink service which itself emerged from the corpse of the SNCF owned SeaFrance (see previous stories).

Moves at the Top for Some Major Players

GERMANY – This week’s appointments in the freight sector start with the news that Jochen Müller has been named to take over from Thomas Reuter as Chief Operations Officer of Dachser’s Air and Sea Logistics business unit, effective January 1, 2018. The transition period, during which Müller will work on developing projects, will start on October 1 of this year. Thomas Reuter will remain on the Executive Board in his role as head of Air & Sea Logistics through the transition period until he retires on December 31, 2017.

Port of Tilbury Gains Prime Home Delivery Tenant

UK – Home delivery giant Amazon is to open at the Port of Tilbury what may possibly end up as the largest warehouse in the country, as a fulfilment centre for London and the south east. The new unit will be situated in the London Distribution Park (LDP) which is under construction close to the M25 for owners Forth Ports and Roxhill Developments. At 70 acres LDP encompass 11 acres of hardstanding for haulage vehicles with room for 1 million+ square feet of warehousing, with the only tenant so far being Travis Perkins with around a tenth of that. The centre will be equipped with the latest and most advanced Amazon robotics technology which launched earlier this year in the UK at Amazon’s fulfilment centres in Dunstable and Doncaster.

Offshore Supply Sector Sacrificed as Profits Tumble

DENMARK – WORLDWIDE – The news that Maersk, the largest container shipping group in the world, is to cut its Offshore Service Vessel (OSV) fleet by up to 20 from a fleet of 56, and the consequential loss of 400 jobs, has been met with disappointment in some quarters but with little surprise. The ships will be sold off over the next 18 months after market conditions described as ‘unprecedented’ by the Danish company.

Major Stakeholders Demand Stringent Penalties for Transgressors

WORLDWIDE – Subsequent to moves made in February when the International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) Governing Council announced an interim ban on all shipments of lithium-ion batteries as cargo on passenger aircraft, six of the major players concerned with the hazards of transporting the volatile items as air freight have written to key government and aviation industry figures across the world calling for international safety regulations to be enforced at the point of origin by both shippers and battery manufacturers.

Forget the Hype and Naysayers - Government Must Listen to More Experienced Voices

UK – EUROPE – British International Freight Association (BIFA) Director General Robert Keen has expanded this week on a subject which he first touched on only in the July issue of the organisation’s magazine BIFA link, namely the thorny subject of Brexit. During the intense debate leading up to the fiercely contested referendum the BIFA boss was sensibly silent until 10 days before the vote, maintaining a neutral position, at which time he again refrained from commenting directly, but allowed himself to mention that dreaded word which was to see families argue and friends fall out such was the strength of emotion in some quarters.

DP World Testing Feasibility of Vacuum Tube Type System for Jebel Ali

UAE – Port and logistics management group DP World has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with US based Hyperloop One to explore the role of the company’s innovative pneumatic tube transport technology and its place in the future of intermodal transport. The agreement calls for the two parties to collaborate on an economic and technical feasibility study of how Hyperloop systems can improve the efficiency, profitability and sustainability of DP World's flagship Jebel Ali port, with an initial focus in Phase 1 on moving containers from ships docked at the port to a new inland container depot in Dubai, via the Hyperloop tube. DP World Group Chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem said:

Introduction of HVO 100 Biofuel Will Have Major Effect on Logistics Supply Chain

SWEDEN – NORWAY – FINLAND – In the Nordic countries a quiet revolution is taking place in the road haulage sector and statistics released this week from freight and logistics group DSV show that as early as next month the company’s Swedish road fleet handling all domestic groupage transport will discharge 50% less carbon dioxide than today. DSV says its domestic groupage loads are already handled in a closed HUB system that ensures maximum utilisation of cargo capacity and thus reduces the number of vehicles on the roads. Now the widespread introduction of HVO100 fuel is reducing carbon emissions, with a 90% drop the target envisaged, as ever more filling stations offer the fossil free alternative.

What Freight and Associated Sector Companies Have Announced of Late

DENMARK – Danish Naval Architect firm Knud E Hansen which assisted in the restoration of the Danish Merchant fleet after the Second World War and moved on to developing car ferries, has announced a new company logo. The new design, picturing the superstructure of a modern cruise ship within the lines of a traditional Viking longship is to celebrate the company’s forthcoming 80th birthday next year.

US Group Picks Up Company Offering Port Delivery Services

US – Rail group Genesee & Wyoming (G&W), which last year bought the UK’s second largest rail freight operator, Freightliner, has announced it has agreed to acquire bulk and intermodal operator Providence and Worcester Railroad Company (P&W) for $25.00 per share, or approximately $126 million assuming P&W shareholder acceptance of the offer in the fourth quarter of 2016 and subject to the usual closing conditions.

Novel Way to Aid Crews from Container and Other Cargo Vessels

UK – WORLDWIDE – A maritime charity, the Sailors’ Society, has come up with an innovative way to both communicate what it does and raise income simultaneously. BySea coffee is a commercial first for the international charity which it says represents a ‘sea change’ in coffee with 100% of profits supporting the charity’s work with seafarers and their families around the world. For nearly two centuries the organisation, originally formed as the Port of London Society, the Sailors’ Society has supported the crews of merchant vessels, from latter day sailing ships to the ultra large container vessels of today, with its pastoral services.

Legislation Covering all Vessels from Container Carriers to General Cargo Remains Controversial However

US – The Crowley Maritime Corporation is, quite understandably, one of the major supporters of the Jones (Merchant Shipping) Act which mandates that vessels serving the domestic maritime needs of the freight industry, no matter whether they are container ships, tankers or suited to general cargo, are built, crewed and owned by American citizens. Although often widely criticised as being a restriction on trade the Act is now just four years off its centenary and last week saw Crowley take delivery of MT West Virginia, the fourth new, Jones Act product tanker built for the company by Philly Shipyard Inc.

Rail Freight Challenges Traditional Ocean Route for Perishable Cargoes

RUSSIA – CHINA – It is a fact that multimodal logistics change dependent on numerous factors, not the least of which is geography. When it comes to optimising the supply chain between two such behemoths as China and Russia the challenge is constantly to choose the most economic route, however when perishable cargoes enter the equation the picture can change dramatically and now JSC RZD Logistics, the offshoot of state run rail carrier RZD, has been trialling shipments of perishable goods overland as against the traditional ocean route.

New Warehousing Capacity Aims at ecommerce Online Consumers

HONG KONG - SEKO Logistics has now recently added 100,000 square feet of warehousing and fulfilment capacity in Hong Kong as the freight company seeks to target China’s online consumer market, which is forecast to see spending exceed US$1 trillion in 2017. The new 50,000 square foot warehouse on the border of Shenzhen in south eastern China, which links Hong Kong to mainland China is located 30 minutes from the Port of Hong Kong and 45 minutes from Hong Kong International Airport adds to the 50,000 square foot, high security ecommerce warehouse to provide order fulfilment services as well as same-day and next-day deliveries in the city opened last November.

Who Links Up Where in the Supply Chain as Two Fade from the Scene

US – Leading the news about staff in the freight and logistics sector this week comes the sad news that former Chair of the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), Helen Bentley has died at the age of 92, from brain cancer. Bentley started her long career supporting the maritime sector in 1945 when newspaper, The Baltimore Sun, offered her a position as a journalist. Initially reporting on labour and union issues, she soon moved on to maritime and waterfront news where she became a widely respected reporter with connections throughout the industry.

Safe Parking Available for More Vehicles from This Week

FRANCE – UK – With the recent surge in violence experienced by road haulage drivers in Calais as they make their way into Britain, the Port of Calais has now opened its new, smart reception area for trucks that will supposedly ensure a more secure passage to Dover. Currently security is the greatest concern for drivers with freight companies and industry associations calling for more to be done by the relevant authorities on either side of the border to protect UK-bound lorries.

Another Ocean Port Home for Logistics and Warehousing Company

UK – Trans European Port Services (TEPS), a road freight subsidiary of the well-established shipping, freight forwarding and logistics group John Good, has expanded its UK haulage operations with the opening of a container transport division at the Port of Felixstowe. The expansion significantly increases TEPS’ existing haulage activities together with its footprint in the South of England and complements its warehousing operations, consisting of over 500,000 square feet of racked and bulk warehousing at sites in Hull, Felixstowe and Ipswich.

Cambodian Agency Awarded to International Group

CAMBODIA – Container carrier Bengal Tiger Line (BTL) has appointed maritime and logistics service provider Inchcape Shipping Services (ISS) to represent the company as part of its Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) trades network. Based in Singapore, BTL is a common feeder, carrying up to 900,000 TEUs per annum utilising around 25 vessels operating from the Far East to the Arabian Gulf and the Indian Sub-Continent as its core activities. The appointment comes after a long established relationship between the two companies.

Thames Side Logistics Facility Adds Road Haulage String to its Bow

UK – The expansion of services available at DP World’s Thames side port of London Gateway continues to expand with the news that Hireco, the largest chassis leasing company and the largest buyer of articulated trailers in the country, is to set up services at the deep water container port and logistics facility. Hireco, which offers contract hire and maintenance specialist for the road haulage industry will initially provide facilities for hauliers using the Port and Logistics Park, with onsite ancillary services for their fleets.

Repeal or Match with Reciprocal Rules on Minimum Drivers Wages Says FTAI

FRANCE – IRELAND – The joke of the ‘Loi Macron’, brainchild of French Minister of the Economy, Industry and Digital Affairs, Emmanuel Macron, is that it has been publicised as a method of freeing the country’s economy somewhat from its strict employment laws and opening up to a more European standpoint, yet the section covering the minimum wage for foreign freight and coach drivers engaged in road haulage operations is now seen as doing the exact opposite. Industry stakeholders are asking how a rule insisting truck drivers’ wages are decided by the French, no matter where they hail from, be described as loosening the country’s over regulated economy, as our recent article listing the regulations pointed out.

IATA Format Accepted by North American Authorities

US – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced that its Cargo-XML messaging standard will be utilised by the US Customs and Border Protection Agency (US-CBP) to collect advance cross-border data on US export shipments. IATA says the new data format will make electronic communication between the US-CBP’s Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) system, airlines and other air cargo stakeholders simpler and more efficient when it is adopted over the next few months.

Acquisition of European Outfit by Australian Group

MALTA – AUSTRALIA – WORLDWIDE – Maltese based maritime communications specialist WINS Limited (WINS) which supplies VSAT, L-Band, Accounting Authority Services and International Maritime GSM services to over 2,000 merchant vessels plus numerous other craft such as RoRo ferries and cruise liners, has been acquired by Australian group SpeedCast International Limited which operates global satellite communications operations in over 90 countries and itself hosts maritime communications worldwide. WINS client portfolio includes well known freight sector names such as Finnlines, Tirrenia and Grimaldi as well as Costa and MSC Cruises.

International Effort to Build Giant Success

NORWAY – SOUTH KOREA – US – WORLDWIDE – Classification society DNV GL, founded in Norway but these days an international body, has welcomed the world’s largest semi-submersible drilling rig into class recently. Christened Ocean Greatwhite the rig is to be a new design MOSS CS60E high specification state-of- the art semi-submersible drilling unit suitable for operations in harsh environments, which is the first MOSS CS60E and the largest rig in the world.

Maritime Union Offers Assistance

UK – EUROPE – The report this week from the Home Affairs Select Committee on the migrant crisis in Europe has criticised the lack of resources from the British government calling the number of Border Force vessels in operation worryingly low and calling for Royal Navy ships to make up the shortfall. This however is unlikely to happen as, in a recent investigation by ‘Private Eye’ it was alleged that some of the most potentially suitable vessels, the six Type 45 destroyers in the fleet, all remain docked in Portsmouth, one permanently as a ‘harbour training and accommodation ship’ and the others having to alternately use the single auxiliary power line available to maintain their complex, and power thirsty, electrical systems.

Assaults on Freight Vehicles Persist as Calls for More French Police Intensify

FRANCE – For a member of the Road Haulage Association (RHA) who was investigating the worrying migrant situation in Calais this week, the conflict with would be immigrants into Britain took on a very personal note when he was attacked in the Port of Calais and a boulder thrown at his vehicle, a situation unfortunately familiar to many truck drivers heading for Britain.

Why Should Shippers Pay for Factors Such as Bad Weather and Shortage of Labour?

UK- WORLDWIDE – One of the oldest gripes from shippers has always been the propensity for shipping lines to impose surcharges upon them as soon as it is perceived there might be a reduction of the carrier’s profits. Now the British International Freight Association (BIFA), the trade association for UK freight forwarding and logistics companies, is renewing its efforts to have surcharges done away with after the latest complaints from shippers.

Vessels Can Work Independently Using No Fuel On Long Range Ocean Surveys

UK – WORLDWIDE – Autonomous vehicles are one of the high interest developments in recent months with advances made in truck technology, pilotless aircraft and even cargo vessels all under discussion but the likelihood is that it is in specialist areas the new technologies will have the most major impact. MOST (Autonomous Vessels), was founded in 2012 and has now changed its name to AutoNaut Ltd., designing and manufacturing wave-propelled boats, equipped to operate as an autonomous marine data collection hub.

Tie Up Extends Existing Collaboration

NEW ZEALAND – In a week when the government confirmed that NZ$25 million of a NZ$245 million infrastructure investment in the Hawke’s Bay region over the next three years is earmarked for highway improvements to and from Napier Port, the port itself has now announced a strategic alliance with island partners the neighbouring Ports of Auckland, which lie 400 kilometres to the North.

Renewed Agreement Pleases Haulier and RoRo Ferry Operator

UK – The small island ferry services which provide essential services to those living and working off the mainland are key in many regions of the world and now haulier Steve Porter Transport and cross Solent ferry company Red Funnel have agreed to continue their agreement which sees the Hampshire based road haulage operator remain the RoRo ferry group’s Preferred Freight Partner ensuring that Steve Porter remains the Isle of Wight’s largest independent freight carrier for the next five years.

Hauliers Overcharged for New Vehicles by Lorry Manufacturers are Seeking Compensation

UK – Regular readers will be well aware of the propensity in the US to pursue those in logistics related industries who have engaged in antitrust activity by way of a ‘class action’ whereby anyone who considers they have lost money as a result of the illicit activity is entitled to be compensated along with those similarly treated. Our archives are littered with cases of wrongdoing of this nature with air and ocean carriers regularly prosecuted by global authorities. Now it seems likely that the recent scandal of European truck manufacturers colluding together is to be subject to a class action brought by the Road Haulage Association (RHA) on behalf of its members affected by the cartel activities of the lorry manufacturers.

Investment Will Bring Atlantic Gateway Up to Modern Standards

CANADA – UAE – Port and logistics management group DP World has signed a long-term lease agreement for the expansion and operation of the multi-purpose Rodney Container Terminal at Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. The Dubai based company will commence the running of existing freight operations from the beginning of 2017 and, in company with the Saint John Port Authority, work on a planned expansion programme for the ensuing four years with a lease continuing for another thirty years thereafter.

One Dead Six Injured and Chainsaw Attack on Driver as Riots Rage

FRANCE – UK – A week or so ago the Road Haulage Association (RHA) was welcoming the news that the new British Prime Minister supported Calais to remain Britain’s ‘gateway to Europe’. Now a few days of violence has shown that the tragedy engendered by the migrant situation has seen one Ethiopian man reportedly hacked to death and now a Belgian truck driver attacked with a chainsaw as unrest turned to outright rioting. The infamous Jungle camp, supposedly closed down, now hosts in excess of 7,000 people looking to get to the UK and the Freight Transport Association (FTA) has once again appealed for increased efforts from the authorities.

Import Trucking Deal on Warehousing and Distribution

US – CHINA –Sino-Global Shipping America, an international shipping firm with a Chinese heritage, has signed a Strategic Cooperation Agreement with global supply chain service provider COSCO Logistics (Americas), in which both companies will mutually provide logistics services between China and the United States and develop shipping customers as an end-to-end global logistics service.

All Places Filled for 2017 Cycle South Africa Event

SOUTH AFRICA – International development charity Transaid, has assembled its largest ever team of cyclists to take part in one of its fundraising challenges in Africa – with each of the 43 available bikes now assigned to a rider for Cycle South Africa 2017. The charity, a favourite among many freight and logistics interests for its work in bringing easy access to transportation in areas most in need, has reported unprecedented appetite for places declaring the event a ‘sell-out’ with eight months still to go before the team saddles up in Cape Town.