_{The Cargo Letter}

OUR "C" Section: FF World Ocean News

FF World Ocean Briefs
The Cargo Letter Cargo Damage Dispatches

FF World Ocean Briefs

BIMCO Seeks Aid To Battle Pirates ........ as its president Michael Everard of the Baltic & Int'l Maritime Council took unusual step of writing to the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan & urging UN members to actively counter piracy. Mr. Everard outlined the increasing occurrence of incidents & said: "This increase in the frequency & ferocity of piracy attacks indicates the situation is worsening, as many coastal states are unable or ill equipped to counter this menace. Moreover, in ports where security is lax or virtually nonexistent, there is a risk that ships can be used in terrorist attacks."
www.bimco.dk.
UK P&I Club Bumps Up ........ as it has decided to increase general premiums by 20% plus extra costs associated with difficulties in the reinsurance market. The club said that members’ premium ratings would be reviewed in the light of loss records & other factors and further increases or reductions applied individually. In a letter to club members, chairman Aleco Kairis acknowledged the increase was significant. “However, the downturn in the financial markets, particularly equities, over the last 18 months means that the pure underwriting deficit is no longer being covered [our] investment income & the free reserves are being eroded" he said.
CKYH Flett Will Top 300 Vessels ........ as the alliance of Hanjin Shipping & its subsidiary Senator Lines will combine forces with the alliance of COSCO Container Lines, "K" Line & Yangming Marine to form a larger, yet-to-be-named global alliance. The 5 carriers said their respective management met in Shanghai on Sept. 20 and agreed on a future cooperation, with the ultimate goal of establishing an alliance based on their worldwide networks. Hanjin Shipping in Seoul said the combined 5 carrier alliance will have more than 300 vessels, & will be among the largest in the container shipping industry. "CKYH," the temporary name for the new alliance, incorporates the initials of COSCO, "K" Line, Yangming & Hanjin.
Maersk Makes A Neutral Buy ........ as AP Moller Group company Maersk Logistics has acquired some of Distribution Services Ltd. (DSL)'s activities & assets -- DSL's transload & warehouse operations, ocean transport intermediary activities & consolidation business. Acquisition is expected to increase the company's cargo volumes from Asia Pacific region to North America in the supply chain management segment; enlarge company's transload & warehouse operations in North America; & help Maersk Logistics establish a presence in ocean transport intermediary (3PL) activities.
Dominica Port Authority Runs The Show ........ as it has effectively taken control of all labor at the country's port, in an effort to reduce cargo handling charges. The Authority regained responsibility for providing stevedoring & longshore services which it had handed over in Jan. 1983 to a private company, the Dominica Stevedores Ltd. Acting Manager of the Port Authority, Benoit Bardouille said all charges by shipping agents are now being paid directly to the Authority. The move would result in immediate reductions in some port charges, he said. "The new tariffs show reductions in every area of a 10% -- 15% reduction on a number of items of labor costs."
OOCL Now Speaks Chinese ........ as China's entry into the WTO has prompted OOCL to launch a Chinese-language option on its web site.
www.oocl.com
Faster Logs ........ as M/V Tasman Commander, from TOL service, discharged its 1st consignment of LOGRACS this month at Port Klang. Developed by an AHRENKIEL Group Company, LOGRACS are specialized, purpose-built flatracks, with a 35-ton payload for the transport of logs, pipes & other difficult to handle cargo. Six LOGRACS were discharged from the vessel just like ordinary 40 ft. containers. It took 20 minutes to land the 6 units -- carrying about 175 cubic meters of New Zealand Radiata Pine Logs - for Malaysia. Such an operation would normally take about 2 to 3 hours in breakbulk form. Reduced handling achieves considerable savings along the transport chain as well as reducing risk of possible damage. Can also be used for the transportation of steel bars, beams & other non-typical container cargo as well as project cargoes.
Downhaul To Containerland ........ as the Port of Rotterdam is testing a new concept for temporarily converting water into land, bearing the name "Containerland." In early Oct. 4 "packages" with a total of 24 containers were set down on the bed of the port. Next they were covered with sand & paved. The containers will remain in this trial position until the beginning of 2002 while practical trials are carried out to test the concept. Containers in the trial project are stacked 3 high. Every package of 6 containers is fitted with concrete slabs, top & below, so that pressure is directed to the corners. Old containers are used for the project, in which holes are bored to allow them to fill with water.
Port of Long Beach Up ........ as it has reported that container cargo shipped through the port in Aug. rose to the highest level this year, with 405,862 TEU, mainly because of holiday shipments. Aug. until Oct. is traditionally the port's peak season, when stores stock up for goods from Asia. Terminals at the port reported that the number of containers shipped in August increased by 7% compared with July's figures.
Port of Long Beach Is Bigger ........ as U.S. Navy is finally transferring ownership of 280 of the 500 acres of former Long Beach Naval Station on Terminal Island to the Port of Long Beach. Before land could be transferred, the Navy had to fulfill requirements to clean the land of contaminants, so while resolving the environmental issues, the Navy & port agreed to a lease in 1998 that allowed the port to use the site for container terminals.
Ports of Japan Down ........ as westbound cargo traffic volume to Europe has recorded negative growth this year, according to figures released by the Japan-Europe Freight Conference (JEFC). Volume for the 1st 8 months of 2001 fell 6.2% compared with same period last year, to a total volume of 292,121 TEU -- a drop of 1.4%, with 200,402 TEU, whereas the 3rd quarter, from July to Sept., took the brunt of the decline with only 91,719 TEU handled, a 14.2% drop in volume compared with the same period last year. Record low volume.
Evergreen To Dump Singapore For Malaysia? ........ as the Taiwan carrier is planning to remove its 1.2 million TEU a year operations from Singapore in favor of the nearby Port of Tanjung Pelepas in S. Malaysia.
Stallion To The Glue Factory ........ as the FMC has ordered closure of Miami based NVOCC, Stallion Cargo Inc. & assessed a US$1.34M penalty against its owner Rafael Croes for violating the 1984 Shipping Act. FMC launched investigation on Oct. 5, 1999. The agency found that the NVO had "willfully & knowingly" misdescribed cargo on 15 occasions & failed to charge its applicable tariff rates on 152 occasions. Croes' attorneys argued that a US$50,000 penalty would "destroy" his business & because of its cooperation with FMC and small business status under Florida law, it should pay a US$5,000 penalty. However, FMC decided to impose a penalty of US$1.34M in addition to revoking the company's license. Wow.

The Cargo Letter Cargo Damage Dispatches

Visit our new Vessel Casualties & Pirate Activity Database ......... where daily updates of these ship news are posted. Stay up to date!
www.cargolaw.com/presentations_casualties.html

With so many sinkings, explosions, pirate attacks, fires, cargo mishaps, & other disasters at sea that we do not have room to print even the highlights this month. 100's of people lost their lives at sea this month!! Indeed, an entire U.S. post office SANK on Oct. 23!

You can read all this month's disasters at our special Internet web feature which provides details of each event. This month we also include special coverage of raising the Russian Oscar II Class nuclear submarine Kursk.

Our Daily Vessel Casualties & Pirate Activity Database is updated for you twice daily! You can also search ship wrecks & losses of the past.

Bookmark the site and visit every day! Thousands of visitors can't be wrong!
www.cargolaw.com/presentations_casualties.html

NOTE: The historic dangers of carriage by sea continue to be quite real. Shippers must be encouraged to purchase high quality marine cargo insurance from their freight forwarder or customs broker. It's dangerous out there.

The Cargo Letter Correspondents:
Michael S. McDaniel, Esq., Editor (Countryman & McDaniel).
Cameron W. Roberts, Esq. (Countryman & McDaniel).

Written from wire stories, the Associated Press, Reuters, Hong Kong Shipping News Lloyds & other world sources.

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