Worldwide Container Shipping news - Archive 2007, December

News was prepared under the information
support of Online Daily Newspaper
on Hellenic and international
Shipping "Hellenic Shipping News".

Suez Canal Plans Incentives to Lure U.S.-Bound Ships From Asia

Egypt, seeking to profit from growing Asian exports to the U.S., plans to provide incentives for ships to use the Suez Canal instead of sending goods to West Coast ports or through the Panama Canal. ''We want to lure more containers into using ... »

31 Dec 2007

Port of Seattle to hold hearing on state audit

The Port of Seattle Commission will hold a public hearing on Jan. 8 to discuss the Washington state auditor's critical performance audit of the port's construction management. The audit released earlier this month found the port had wasted $97.2 mill ... »

31 Dec 2007

Vizag Port expects 200% rise in LPG cargo

Visakhapatnam Port expects a growth of over 150-200 percent in the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) handling after the completion of the South Asia LPG cavern project (SALPG). The port handles 4- 4.5 lakh tonnes of LPG a year. The port will handle over ... »

31 Dec 2007

New shipping link for port

The new service will complement the existing international carriers of Maersk, Hamburg Sud and Tasman Orient that already service the port and which largely handled a record 77,000 container throughput in the last financial year.Mr Abraham said the s ... »

31 Dec 2007

Shipbuilders Council, Pasha challenge rebuilt Matson ship

The Shipbuilders Council of America and Pasha Hawaii Transport Lines have filed a federal lawsuit that seeks to prevent a recently converted Matson Navigation Co. ship from sailing between California and Hawaii or in other domestic trades. ... »

31 Dec 2007

First cargo shipping line launched between Iran, UAE

The first shipping line was established between this Iranian island in the Persian Gulf and the United Arab Emirates to transit different cargos between the two sides, a local official said on Sunday. Managing Director of the Kish Shipping Company Ah ... »

31 Dec 2007

UASC looks to boost fleet with new Korea orders

United Arab Shipping Company, which has operations in Qatar, has commenced construction of its sixth high speed container ship MV Jazan. Jazan is being constructed under an order placed by UASC with a Korean shipbuilder for eight container ships. UAS ... »

31 Dec 2007

Indonesia container depot tariff to surge by 15%

Indonesian businessmen on container depot have agreed to increase the tariff by 15 percent per annum as the oil price has increased so that cost to move the containers has been increasing. The Chairman of the Association of Indonesian Container Depot ... »

29 Dec 2007

High seas put coal terminal out of action

Strong winds and high seas have forced operators of Queensland's largest coal terminal at Dalrymple Bay, south of Mackay, to suspend operations. No ships have been able to dock since yesterday, with more than 40 ships now anchored off the Mackay coas ... »

29 Dec 2007

Shipping to contribute more than 15 billion euros in the Hellenic economy in 2007

More than 15 billion euros are expected to pour into Hellas from shipping activities during 2007, a sum which - if confirmed - will be a new record. Already, according to preliminary data from the Central Bank of Greece for the first ten mo ... »

29 Dec 2007

Lianyungang port throughput exceeds 2m TEUs

The container throughput of Jiangsu Province's Lianyungang Port had exceeded two million TEUs by December 26th, making Lianyungang Port the largest container port in Jiangsu Province. Lianyungang Port opened direct shipping routes to Japan and S ... »

29 Dec 2007

Kochi port extending concession given to mainline vessels

The Cochin Port Trust has decided to extend the concession of 50 per cent on all vessel-related charges granted to all mainline vessels with international ports of call on a trial basis up to March 2008 following the request from shipping lines. On a ... »

29 Dec 2007

Nigeria: Olokola Deep-Sea Port to Gulp $1bn

The landmark project to develop sub-Saharan Africa's first deep-sea container port in Olokola will gulp about $1billion, according to information made available to THISDAY. The project, for which a 10,000-hectare expanse of land has already been acqu ... »

29 Dec 2007

Mitsui leaves Seattle for Tacoma

In a new blow to the port of Seattle, local news reports say that Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. (MOL) has decided to move its calls to the port of Tacoma. The move is especially 'painful' for Seattle since the Japanese carrier has been calling there ever ... »

29 Dec 2007

Singapore: Rebate for vessels handling transshipment vehicles

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has announced that it will extend the scheme that grants a 20% port dues rebate for vessels handling transshipment vehicles, from 1 January 2008 until 31 December 2010. According to MPA Port Marine C ... »

29 Dec 2007

Rate increases on North America to Far East trade

Maersk Line will be implementing a general rate increase (GRI) on from the United States and Canada to Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and V ... »

29 Dec 2007

NYK zooms in on Yangshan

Japanese carrier NYK Line (Nippon Yusen Kaisha) is poised to take a stake in Phase 3B of Shanghai's flagship deep-water facility, the Yangshan container terminal. The shipping major said “it expects to be chosen as one of the investors'' after a Chri ... »

29 Dec 2007

Search is on for next 'scrubber' trial

Plans are moving ahead to fit another vessel with a sea-water scrubber. The project is part of a drive to demonstrate the effectiveness of abatement technology as a way of reducing sulphur emissions from ships. The project has been delayed whil ... »

29 Dec 2007

Port of Rotterdam breaks European goods handling record

In 2007, the Port of Rotterdam was the first European port to break through the barrier of 400 million tonnes cargo throughput. 406 million tonnes were loaded and unloaded, 6.4% more than in 2006. Imports increased by 4% to 300 million tonnes, export ... »

29 Dec 2007

Small-Cap Spotlight: Diana Shipping Taking On Water?

This week, Frank and Larsen put the spotlight on Diana Shipping (DSX), one of the major (but still small-cap) names in the Greek dry-bulk shipping sector. Companies in this sector own and operate fleets of ships that haul thousands of tons of cargo a ... »

29 Dec 2007

Dry bulk, freight & tanker rates to remain firm: SCI

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, S Hajra, CMD, Shipping Corporation of India said dry bulk rates, freight rates and tanker rates remain firm, going forward. Hajra added that 2008 will remain a decent year for the world and Indian shipping, like 2007 has been. ... »

28 Dec 2007

Supertanker seized over SKorea's worst oil spill: officials

A Hong Kong-registered supertanker at the centre of South Korea's worst oil spill has been impounded until clean-up costs of more than 11 million dollars are paid, anti-pollution officials said Wednesday. The 147,000-tonne Hebei Spirit was seized aft ... »

28 Dec 2007

Lehman takes Navios Maritime stake

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LEH) has taken an 8.1 percent passive stake in drybulk shipping company Navios Maritime Partners LP, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Wednesday. Lehman reported holding 846,035 shares of Nav ... »

28 Dec 2007

General Maritime Corporation Announces Change to Board of Directors

General Maritime Corporation announced Steve A. Kaplan has stepped down from the Company's Board of Directors effective December 21, 2007. Peter C. Georgiopoulos, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President, stated, "Steve has provided more than ... »

28 Dec 2007

FreeSeas to Acquire Two Modern Drybulk Carriers; Increases Fleet to Seven Vessels

FreeSeas Inc. (NasdaqGM:FREE - News) (NasdaqGM:FREEW - News) and (NasdaqGM:FREEZ - News), a provider of seaborne transportation for drybulk cargoes, announced today that it has agreed to acquire two second-hand drybulk carriers from affiliated partie ... »

28 Dec 2007

Demand rising for OSVs in Latin America

Offshore support vessel (OSV) owners active in the region continue to sing praises for Central and South America. With as many as 238 offshore support vessels, of 254 total in the region, on term charter, why wouldn't they be pleased? In Novemb ... »

28 Dec 2007

Koreans serious about Indonesian port project

Some Korean businesses are reportedly serious about developing South Sumatra's port of Tanjung Api-api in Banyuasin. A consortium of Korean companies has agreed to spend $20 million on a feasibility study for the project. According to the Mayor of Ba ... »

28 Dec 2007

MRTPC may probe cartels in shipping, transport, tyre industries

The government may ask competition watchdog MRTPC to investigate and take appropriate action against cartels in shipping, transport and tyre industry, Corporate Affairs Minister Prem Chand Gupta said on Thursday. "We are getting reports which indicat ... »

28 Dec 2007

Chinese Overseas Shipping Company to partner OKFTZ

The Chinese Overseas Shipping Company (Cosco), has expressed interest in the Olokola Free Trade Zone, a Joint Project Between Ogun and Ondo State Governments.An Indication to this Emerged During a Meeting Between Ogun State Governor Otunba Gben ... »

28 Dec 2007

Australia Hay Point stops coal exports, bad weather

Australia's Hay Point coal terminal has been closed since Dec. 26 due to adverse weather conditions, halting coal exports, and is expected to reopen by Friday, sources at the port said. The port closed its berths on Wednesday morning due to strong wi ... »

28 Dec 2007

Shipping fee to increase 10%

Shipping lines operating between the Far East and the Gulf have agreed to raise the Emergency Bunker Surcharge (EBS) by 10 per cent to $214 (Dh785) for 20-foot containers and $428 for 40-foot containers. Captain Mansour A Ghafoor, Head of the Nationa ... »

28 Dec 2007

EU ports: New EU sulphur limit for Marine Gas Oils

From 1 January 2008 until 31 December 2009, a 0.1% sulphur limit applies to Marine Gas Oils used in EU territory with a viscosity or density falling within the ranges of viscosity or density defined for DMX and DMA grades under ISO 8217. The exemptio ... »

28 Dec 2007

Fuel reduction key element in vessel design

A leading ship operator in the car carrier and roll-on roll-off market says fuel economy and pollution reduction has been the focus of the design of its next generation of vessels. "Particular attention has been paid to hull lines development in orde ... »

28 Dec 2007

Asian oil freight VLCC rates fall under W300

Asian freight rates for Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) loading from the Middle East slid below W300 levels yesterday, as charterers wrapped up their requirements for January. Rates for VLCCs on the benchmark Middle East Gulf-to-Japan route e ... »

28 Dec 2007

Money still talks louder than safety

So farewell 2007, overall yet another pretty good year for shipping. With some exceptions and a temporary fall in tanker rates, the markets continued to be remarkably buoyant. Even bunker prices of around US$600 a tonne didn't knock much of the gloss ... »

27 Dec 2007

Merry Christmas

HELLENIC SHIPPING NEWS WORLDWIDE Would like to wish to all our readers, their families and friends a Merry Christmas.The team of HELLENIC SHIPPING NEWS WORLDWIDE ... »

27 Dec 2007

Business group secretly forming to buy Haifa port when privatized

The Chamber of Commerce of Haifa and the North is secretly forming a group of businessmen to buy out the Haifa port, when it is privatized. The businessmen intend to incorporate a joint business to make the purchase. Members of the Haifa Chamber ... »

27 Dec 2007

Seaboard Marine signs US$160 million Miami port deal, APM-Maersk in talks

The Port of Miami has struck a US$160 million deal with Seaboard Marine, a container shipping line with 41 vessels running between the United States, the Caribbean, Central and South America that will result in a new maintenance area and export wareh ... »

27 Dec 2007

Kaohsiung sets new handling record

Taiwan's port of Kaohsiung has set a new handling record when it surpassed the 10 million TEUs mark on Monday, reports say. The cross into unprecedented territory occurred when Ever Ursula, a container ship owned by Evergreen Marine Corporation, offl ... »

27 Dec 2007

Port posts record year

The Port of Portland has set a new high-water mark for marine cargo, according to recent data. Through the end of November, the port moved more than 13.2 million tons of cargo, eclipsing the previous record of 12.5 million tons moved in 2004. To ... »

27 Dec 2007

Horizon Lines raising fuel surcharge to record level

Rising oil prices are pushing up shipping rates again as Horizon Lines has notified customers it will raise its fuel surcharge to a record high. Horizon is increasing its fuel surcharge by three percentage points to a record 32 percent on Februa ... »

27 Dec 2007

LA box volumes slow in 2007

The Port of Los Angeles' centennial anniversary couldn't beef up its volumes with container throughput declining over the 2006 11-month figures. The number of containers handled during the first 11 months of the year was 3,645,479 TEUs, down 243,855 ... »

25 Dec 2007

New Year to bring strikes in Hellenic Ports

It seems that the Hellenic ports of Piraeus and Thessalonica seem doomed to never materialize their potential in becoming regional transshipment hubs and key ports of the Mediterranean, something feasible due to their strategic location. Fresh reacti ... »

25 Dec 2007

Western ports draw huge private funds to meet NMDP targets

States along the west coast that have been aggressive in attracting private investment for developing ports and shipyards along their coastlines also seem to have clocked the maximum progress in implementing the Ministry of Shipping's Rs 55,000-crore ... »

25 Dec 2007

Major Indian ports to get container scanners

India will spend $44 million to install container scanners at four ports in an effort to crack down on smuggling activities and malpractices at ports, reports say. A fixed scanner for inbound containers will be installed at Mumbai port while Kandla, ... »

25 Dec 2007

Acquisition of 80% of Fred. Olsen Freight Limited

The Board of Braemar Shipping Services plc is delighted to announce that its whollyowned subsidiary, Cory Brothers Shipping Agency Limited has today acquired 80% of the share capital of Fred. Olsen Freight Limited ("FOFL''. FOFL provides a range of f ... »

25 Dec 2007

Port cargo services in danger over crew safety

CARGO services on the Dublin-Liverpool route have been disrupted after two inspectors from the International Transport Workers' Federation refused to leave a ship berthed at Dublin Port yesterday amid fears for the health and safety of the vessel's c ... »

25 Dec 2007

IMB uncovers fake chemical shipments

The ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB) has investigated a bogus chemical shipping operation originating in Russia and has determined that numerous documents related to these shipments are fraudulent. Allegedly originating from Russian ports, the ... »

25 Dec 2007

WCO to address security concerns

The European Shippers' Council (ESC) is happy that the World Customs Organisation (WCO) has finally recognised the need to reform the existing security practices and address shippers' concerns. ESC was worried that the importer or its agent was being ... »

25 Dec 2007

Uncertainty keeps coal prices high

Coal prices are likely to remain strong next year, close to this year's average levels, because there are many supply uncertainties despite the emergence of the United States as a major exporter.Coal prices surged to record highs this year after a sh ... »

News archive