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The Cargo Letter
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Section A: Section: Trade, Financial & Inland News|
Section B: FF World Air News |
Section C: FF World Ocean News | Section D: FF in Cyberspace |
Section E: The Forwarder Broker World
FF World Ocean Briefs
The Cargo Letter Cargo Damage Dispatches
- Hyundai Struggles ........
as a financial plan has been put
together by Credit Suisse First Boston Company, to try to reduce South Korean
Hyundai Merchant Marine's (HMM) liabilities. Plans include the no longer
functioning Hyundai group holding company; the sale of HMM's shares in the
group; sale of HMM's 6 domestic (port of Pusan & Kwangyang port) & Int'l
terminals; & sale of some of HMM's owned ships. HMM has also called for bids
on its terminal Kaohsiung No 75 at port of Kaohsiung, Taiwan, as well as its
2 terminals on the U.S. west coast: the CUT terminal on Long Beach & WUT
terminal in Tacoma. The 6 terminals up for sale have an annual handling
capacity of 3 million TEU. HMM's specialized auto terminal at Ulsan in South
Korea, however, is not up for sale. The company will reportedly also seek to
delay repayments of corporate debentures.
- Hapag-Lloyd Gets Biggest ........
as it has taken delivery of the 1st
in a series of four 7,200-TEU containerships built by the Hyundai Heavy
Industries in Korea. The M/V Hamburg Express, described as "the largest
containership built to date," is 320 meters long & 42.8 meters wide. The
other contenders for the title of the world's biggest container vessels are
the "S-class" ships of Maersk Sealand, which have a length of 347 meters, a
width of 42.8 meters & an estimated capacity of more than 7,400 TEUs. The
vessel will be the largest in Hapag-Lloyd fleet & is powered by the world's
most powerful marine diesel engine of 93,360 bhp. The 7,200-TEU ships can
carry 17 containers abreast on deck & have a maximum draft of 14.5 meters (48
feet). The remaining 3 new ships ordered by Hapag-Lloyd will follow in next
year & early 2003.
- Canada Reforms ........
as the shipping reform act of Canada, which
includes a reform of the Shipping Conferences Exemption Act, has received
royal assent & will become effective on Jan. 30. The Shipping Conferences
Exemption Act was amended mainly to keep Canada's conference legislation in
balance with the legislation of its major trading partners, said a spokesman
for Transport Canada, the country's department of transportation. Under the
revised law, Canadian shippers & carriers will be allowed to sign one-on-one
confidential service contracts, much like their counterparts in the U.S.
since enactment of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 1998. Canadian
carrier/shipper agreements have been based on conference contracts that were
disclosed to other conference carriers, or on individual actions on
conference rates. The Canadian Shippers' Council was unable to convince the
government of the need to have a "sunset clause" to limit duration of the
conference antitrust exemption. Carriers opposed such a sunset clause &
killed a draft law that contained such a provision.
- New Law Aims To Increase East Coast Port Volumes ........
as the
West Coast shipping industry has started a vigorous lobbying campaign to
defeat the proposal of a new tax on all ocean containers entering California
seaports. Robin Lanier, executive director for the West Coast Waterfront
Coalition said in a letter to California Sen. Betty Karnette, "This proposed
bill would impose a new fee on all full or empty containers entering any
California port for the express purpose of funding road infrastructure and
dealing with the problems of port congestion. Lanier added: "Assessing a fee
on all containers that enter California ports ... is almost sure to drive
business away from the state. While this might reduce congestion in
California, it would surely do so at the expense of the state's economy." You
tell 'em Robin!
- New Application To Reduce Capacity ........
as the Trans-Atlantic
Conference Agreement carriers plan to temporarily withdraw a ships from the
trade during the forthcoming New Year slack season. TACA members -- Atlantic
Container Line, Hapag-Lloyd, Maersk Sealand, Mediterranean Shipping Co., NYK,
OOCL & P&O Nedlloyd -- are seeking approval from the U.S. FMC to temporarily
withdraw up to 2 vessels a week in the trade from late Dec. to late Jan. or
early Feb. 2002. They also want to bring the withdrawn vessels back around
the 1st week of March. TACA implemented a similar program last winter that
had been approved by the European Commission & the FMC.
- Also Staying Home ........
as lines in the Trans-Pacific trades are
reducing their capacity while they await further decline in volumes during
the winter, according to the Journal of Commerce. New World Alliance, Grand
Alliance & Maersk Sealand are to remove ships, which will reduce capacity by
at least 10%. The Grand Alliance will suspend one of its weekly Pacific
Southwest services from Dec. 2001. The New World Alliance later in Nov. 2001
will combine its Pacific Northwest service with its Asia-U.S. East Coast
service.
- Panama Canal "Opens" 10 years Ahead of Schedule ........
as the
Culebra Cut Widening Program will increase the canal's operating capacity by
20% and will enable the simultaneous transit of 2 panamax-type vessels in
addition to allowing a more flexible traffic scheduling of vessels in the
waterway. The Panama Canal Authority had wrapped up the drilling & blasting
portion of the Cut's widening program by July 4 and on Aug. 16, the last
shovelful of the land-based wet excavation project was accomplished. A total
of 23.2 million cubic meters of dry material & 12 million cubic meters of wet
material were removed. The project widens the narrowest passage of the Panama
Canal from 152 meters to 192 meters along straight stretches & up to 222
meters on curves. Originally scheduled to be concluded in 2012, the Culebra
Cut project was sped up by more than 10 years to Dec. 31 in order to meet
increasing traffic demands. The widening is part of the canal's US$1B
modernization & improvement program. Just under US$300M was invested in this
project, originally estimated to cost more than uS$600M.
- CP Ships Goes South ........
as it has reached an agreement with
Dannebrog of Denmark to acquire Caribbean/Latin American market specialist
Nordana Line -- includes Nordana's business & its 10,000 TEU container fleet.
It also includes the time charter of 3 ro-ro ships owned by Dannebrog & the
sub-charter of 3 chartered-in ships.
- Grimaldi Gets More ........
as the Italian shipping group Grimaldi has
acquired a 10% shareholding in Atlantic Container Line from CMA CGM. Terms
not disclosed. The deal has increased Grimaldi's ownership in ACL from 81% to
91.25%. Olav Rakkenes, CEO of Atlantic Container Line & one of the best known
figures in liner shipping, will step down at the end of 2002.
- We Just Don't Talk Anymore ........
as CSX Lines said the proportion
of its customer bookings made online has increased to 50% for the 1st time.
The U.S. domestic shipping line said it met its initial E-business target of
35% of online bookings in the 2nd quarter of the year. It expects to increase
the ratio further to 75% by the end of the year. The carrier receives an
average of more than 100 bookings per week through a paperless process.
- Shanghai Wants "E" Manifests ........
as authorities in Shanghai are
hoping to persuade shippers to submit cargo manifests electronically in a bid
to cut down the port stay time of imported goods. Three criteria have been
laid down for electronic submissions. Ships engaged in routes between
Japan/Hong Kong/Korea & Chinese ports must make their submission no less than
24 hours prior to vessel berthing. Ships engaged in other near-sea routes
(mainly to S.E. Asia) must make the submission no less than 48 hours before
berthing, while ships engaged in ocean routes must file no less than 96 hours
prior to berthing. Currently, it is not clear if the berthing of vessels will
be affected by late manifest submission & customs authorities have warned
owners to avoid possible delays by submitting timely manifests.
- Le Havre Kick Off ........
as construction has begun on the
long-awaited Port 2000, a US$600M expansion of Le Havre's container
facilities in its 1st phase, which, on completion, will provide 12 quayside
berths with a total length of 2.5 miles for post-Panamax vessels.
- Port of Savannah Boost ........
as it has maintained double-digit
growth in containerized cargo into the 1st quarter of fiscal 2001, thanks
largely to the area's growing importance as an import distribution center for
major retailers. For quarter ended Sept. 30, Savannah's container terminals
handled 282,470 TEUs, a 11.3% increase over the year-earlier period.
- Building New Builder ........
as Northrop Grumman Corp. & Newport
News Shipbuilding Inc. have signed a definitive agreement under which
Northrop Grumman will acquire all outstanding shares of Newport News
Shipbuilding. The acquisition is valued at approximately US$2.6B, which
includes the assumption of approximately US$500M of Newport News Shipbuilding
debt. Northrop is a US$15B, global aerospace & defense company --
headquarters in Los Angeles. Newport News Shipbuilding designs & constructs
nuclear powered aircraft carriers & submarines for the U.S. Navy and provides
lifecycle services for ships in the Navy fleet.
- Maritime Security Briefing ........
as the U.S. Coast Guard's
Navigation Safety Advisory Council will hold a meeting in San Diego, Calif.,
on Dec. 10-11 -- a maritime security briefing, update on the Marine
Transportation System Initiative & presentation on the Int'l Safety
Management Code. For more information about the meeting, contact Margie G.
Hegy at (202) 267-0415.
- Cheaper To Buy A Ticket ........
as the cost of dealing with stowaways
illegally boarding commercial ships in many parts of the world probably
exceeds US$20M a year, according to the U.K. Protection & Indemnity Club, the
insurance mutual of shipowners. In the 5 years ended 2000, the U.K. P&I Club
saw reported cases reach 2,091, with a total cost for club members of
US$11.6M in detention, repatriation, deportation & other expenses.
- The Fleet Is In -- Trouble ........
as the U.S. Attorney's Office for
the N. District of California has indicted Fleet Shipping Lines, company
president Steven Schneider, N.J., & Gen. Mgr. Charles Centorrino, of N.J.,
for illegally transporting hazardous wastes. The consolidators allegedly
arranged for hazardous cargo to be shipped outside the U.S. by lines such as
APL, Zim Israel Navigation Co. & DSR-Senator Line -- without disclosing that
the cargo contained hazardous materials, & without properly labeling the
shipments as containing Haz Mat. Maximum penalty for each of the 14 counts is
5 years of probation & a US$500,000 fine for Fleet Shipping. Maximum
penalties for individual defendants are 5 years in custody & a US$250,000
fine. Arraignment scheduled for Dec. 7 in Oakland.
- Crime Doesn't Pay ........
as the FMC has revoked the ocean
transportation license of Rahway, N.J based AAA Nordstar Line Inc., which had
committed fraud against the Defense Dept. AAA Nordstar, whose corporate
officers included Anil V. Rane, president, & Maria E. Fabros, V.P., also
operated an unlicensed entity, Great Eastern Shipping, which engaged in the
transportation of military household goods under contracts with the Military
Traffic Management Command from its Rahway office. On July 26, the U.S.
District Court for the New Jersey District found Rane guilty of 2 counts of
mail fraud & conspiracy to commit mail fraud against the federal government.
Fabros was convicted for the same crime on Sept. 14. According to court
papers, Rane & Fabros, through Great Eastern Shipping, handled more than 350
single-shipment contracts for the Defense Dept. from Sept. 1998 to June 2000.
During that time, Rane & Fabros routinely overbilled MTMC & also falsified
documents to make it appear that Great Eastern Shipping was using U.S. flag v
essels when the company was actually providing foreign flag vessel
transportation services. MTMC contracts require the use of U.S. flag vessels.
Both Rane & Fabros were sentenced to jail time & extended court supervision
upon their release. They also agreed to make financial restitution to the
federal government of more than US$4.32M.
- Quick Trial ........
as on Nov. 9 a Greek court sentenced 7 Turkish
sailors to 10 years each on charges of smuggling hundreds of migrants taken
in by Greece when their ship caught fire Nov. 5. The defendants -- the
captain & 6 crew of Turkish-flagged M/V Erenler -- were also fined US$2M
each. Greece took in 714 exhausted immigrants packed onto the 50-meter
Erenler after a fire broke out in its engine room on Nov. 5. Greek
authorities initially said there had been more than 1,000 people on board.
The migrants, mostly Turks & Iraqis, have been given temporary shelter on the
Ionian island of Zakynthos as authorities ponder their fate. For more
maritime news -- daily as it happens:
www.cargolaw.com/presentations_casualties.html.
- From "The Maritime Advocate" ........
as the fine publication of our
friend Dr. Ignacio Ros has shared his experience during an interview with a
maritime lawyer in London when he felt justified in asking, "How much do you
charge?" The reply came back, "I charge US$300 to answer 3 questions." When
Mr. Ros responded, "That's a bit steep isn't it?" the lawyer replied, "Yes it
is. Now what's your 3rd question?"
www.maritimeadvocate.com.
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.
We're sorry, but there were so many sinkings, explosions, pirate attacks,
fires, cargo mishaps, artillery battles on the water & other disasters at sea
that we do not have room to print even the highlights. 100's of people lost
their lives at sea this month!!
SPECIAL NOTE: The Cargo Letter has received exclusive photos of two new
transport disasters. Please view these dramatic pictures at our special
"Gallery of Cargo Loss" website feature.
www.cargolaw.com/gallery.html.
Our Daily Vessel Casualties & Pirate Activity Database is updated for you
twice daily! You can also search ship wrecks & losses of the past in our
extensive index.
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.
Please click below for other sections:
Section A: Section: Trade, Financial & Inland News|
Section B: FF World Air News |
Section C: FF World Ocean News | Section D: FF in Cyberspace |
Section E: The Forwarder Broker World
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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