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Law Offices of Countryman & McDaniel
THE CARGO LETTER [403]
Air & Ocean Logistics - Customs Broker News
28 July 2004
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Good Wednesday Morning from our Observation Deck......overlooking the officially designated "Cargo City" area and...... Runway 25-Right, at Los Angeles International Airport, voted "Best Cargo Airport in North America." Here's what happened in our industry during June 2004. Will U.S. Ports shut down this week? See our World Ocean News.To help you find what you need -- FAST -- there's now a transport search engine installed at our Cargo Law.com website!
Contribute your knowledge, stories & company information.......by e-mail to The Cargo Letter. We strive to bring you useful information which is timely & topical. Be sure to visit our website.
Our corporate sponsor &endash;- Interpool, Inc. -- named again to Forbes "Best 200 Small Companies" List -- for the 2nd consecutive year! -- http://www.interpool.com/
Michael S. McDaniel, Editor, Countryman & McDaniel, forwarder/broker attorneys at LAX.
INDEX to The Cargo Letter:
OUR "A" Section: Trade, Financial & Inland News***
1. Freight Forwarder Trade Briefs ______________
2. The Cargo Letter Financial Page ______________
OUR "B" Section: FF World Ocean News***
3. Freight Forwarder World Air Briefs ____________
OUR "C" Section: FF World Ocean News***
4. FF World Ocean Briefs _____________________
5. The Cargo Letter Cargo Damage Dispatches _____
**Back By Popular Demand**We're sorry, but there were so many sinkings, explosions, pirate attacks, fires, cargo mishaps, battles on the water & other disasters at sea that we do not have room to print even the highlights this month. Many people lost their lives at sea this month!!
But you can read all this month's disaster news at our special Internet web feature which provides full details of each event -- our Vessel Casualties & Pirate Activity Database. Bookmark the site and visit every day! Updated twice daily.
SPECIAL NOTE: Please view the dramatic new pictures at our special "Gallery of Cargo Loss" website feature.
See our new photo feature for July 2004: "Coal Face - The Cargo Was Danger"
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.
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OUR "D" Section: FF in Cyberspace***
6. The Cargo Letter "Cyber Ports of Call" _________
OUR "E" Section: The Forwarder/Broker World***
7. New Transport Related Legal Cases ___________
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OUR "A" Section: Trade, Financial & Inland News***
1. Freight Forwarder Trade Briefs _____________
***China Soars ...... as 1st half statistics from the mainland China's General Administration of Customs show that the nation's foreign trade increased by 39% to a record US$523Bn compared to the 1st 6 months of 2003. Xinhua News Agency said the foreign trade figure showed that it had already exceeded the total value of imports & exports in 2001 which amounted to US$509.7Bn. In June alone, the total value of imports & exports amounted to US$99.2Bn, an increase of 48% over June 2003. During the 1st 6 months, exports totalled US$258.1bn & imports US$264.9Bn -- representing increases of 36% & 43% respectively over the same period last year. According to the news agency, the exports of machinery and electrical products during the same period jumped 46.3% to US$100.3Bn. On imports, the report said soybean & steel decreased, while crude oil increased. The European Union continued to be the mainland's top trading partner with Sino-EU trade reaching US$80.72Bn in the 1st 6 months of the year, an increase of 37.4%. Japan ranked 2nd, while the U.S.- which is China's largest export market - remained in 3rd spot as an overall trading partner, Xinhua added.
***Gap Narrows ....... as U.S. trade deficit narrowed in May to US$46n from a record deficit of US$48.1Bn in April, the Commerce Dept. said. This marked the 1st decline in 6 months and the largest reduction since Oct. 2002. Exports rose 2.9% to a record US$97.1Bn in May, the biggest gain since they jumped 3.1% in March, Commerce said. Imports rose 0.4% for the month to a record US$143.1Bn, led by automobiles & industrial supplies, including oil.
***National Cargo Security Conference Certification ..... as the culmination of a year-long initiative to expand a certification program for cargo-security professionals from the entire transportation spectrum has been unveiled. "Cargo theft & now terrorism are the twin threats to the safety & security of world commerce, requiring an ever-increasing level of sophistication, education and technology. NCSC has led cargo-security improvement efforts for more than 3 decades. We are continuing this tradition by formalizing training & certification to combat terrorist activities. We're offering this to the interdependent global transportation community, including professionals involved in commercial transportation, government and academia," NCSC said. The certification's venue will be classrooms (college/university & conventions/seminars) & online. Core competencies will include: business processes, federal regulations, management, IT, investigation, technology, quality assurance & emergency esponse, each tailored to a specific transportation mode -- air, truck, sea, etc. -- to elevate senior-management perception of the cargo-security function.
***Down In The Dumps ...... as under pressure from Congress for not collecting about US$130M in unfair trade penalties in fiscal 2003, U.S. Customs & Border Protection announced new guidelines on establishing higher bond levels for agriculture & aquaculture products to help the agency recover duties if an importer defaults on its duties. Customs said it was tightening its continuous bond requirements for antidumping cases by determining the bond amount based on a company's potential liability using the value of imports for the previous year. The agency has had difficulty collecting the full duty amounts owed in antidumping cases involving garlic, honey, shrimp & other types of agriculture products. Regular importers typically pre-file a continuous transaction bond with Customs that provides umbrella coverage for all normal customs entries during a given year. The bond is set at 10% of the importer's annual estimated duties, taxes & fees. Dumping occurs when a foreign producer sells products for less than normal market value in the home or export market or less than the cost of production and shipping. The U.S. Dept. of Commerce can slap antidumping duties on such imports to raise their cost & take away any unfair advantage over U.S. producers. Final antidumping tariff rates can be much higher than the temporary rates the department sets at the start of its lengthy investigations. Importers have to pay the difference between their initial cash deposits to cover the estimated tariff amount & the final amount but, many times, companies go out of business, cannot afford a huge duty or fraudulently evade the duty. This leaves U.S. Customs to recover a fraction of the final duty amount by filing a claim with the insurance company that issued the performance bond. Many importers qualify for the US$50,000 bond minimum, but antidumping duties can range in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Under the new formula, port directors will multiply the preliminary antidumping margin set by Commerce for a particular product and the value of the merchandise an importer brought into the country during the previous 12 months to more accurately reflect the potential liability. If an importer, for example, has imported agriculture/aquaculture merchandise subject to the antidumping case with a value of US$1M and the antidumping rate is 40%, the importer's continuous bond amount will be increased by US$400,000.
***U.S. Int'l boycotts ..... as the U.S. Dept. of the Treasury issued the current list of countries which may require participation in, or cooperation with, an In'tl boycott that is inconsistent with U.S. law. The current list consists of: Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, and the Republic of Yemen.
***Tis The Season .... as with the peak season for freight shipping rapidly approaching, U.S. railroads are already stretched thin and it appears that more delays & capacity scarcities are looming. The nation's largest railroad, Omaha, Neb.-based Union Pacific, warned in a recent letter to its customers that it may have to limit carloadings & shift some freight to other modes of transport. Limiting carloads could mean asking customers to ship less freight or to switch freight to trucks, UP spokesman Mark Davis said July 13. "[I]n some cases alternative methods of shipment will be a challenge, given the huge demand & strain on all forms of freight transportation today," UP said in a July 8 letter to customers. Union Pacific stopped running 3 trains in March for UPS Inc. in March.
***More Rail ..... as the Assn. of American Railroads said the number of intermodal loadings on U.S. railroads totaled 215,820 trailers or containers in the week ended July 17, up 11% from the same week in 2003. AAR said that trailer traffic was up 12.9%, while container volume fell 10.3%. Railroading, like commercial trucking, is considered an important economic indicator. Intermodal traffic, which tends to be merchandise rather than bulk commodities, is more directly competitive with trucking & more reflective of the state of the economy. So far this year, intermodal volume totaled 5.7 million trailers or containers, up 9.1% from last year.
***Smokey Hits China Roads ..... as shippers on the Chinese mainland are increasingly using the country's railway & waterways to transport their freight following the crackdown on overloaded trucks which has resulted in rising road transportation costs, Xinhua News Agency reported. According to the report, a recent survey showed that some road transportation charges have more than doubled, & the crackdown has increased the burden on the nation's railway system. There has also been a rapid growth in the demand for ships. Xinhua cited the example of the once depressed Haimen Port in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province which was now handling an increasing amount of cargo diverted from Ningbo &Shanghai. The report also said that consumers have been affected with the rising costs to use trucks to transport agricultural products. Chinese authorities report that 4.2 million vehicles carrying freight have been examined from June 20 to July 9, among which 433,000 were fined for overloading, reported the Xinhua News Agency. The statistics also show that due to China's new edicts against overloading, the percentage of overloaded vehicles out of the total transportation vehicles around the country has decreased from over 80% to 10.4%. Highways which have experienced a substantial decrease in traffic discharge due to the crackdown include: the Shanxi province section of China's 312th national highway, down 52%; Henan Xinyuan section and Huibei south section of the 107th national highway, down approximately 60%.
***Rails Over The Hump ..... as an Indian train departed from Kolkata, India on July 12 & headed to Nepal on an historic journey connecting the countries. Goods were only able to be transported up to the Nepalese border in the past; from there consignments were off loaded & carried across into Nepal. Now a new stretch of tracks connecting Raxaul in India & Birgunj in Nepal will enable trains to travel directly into the Himalayan Kingdom. Indian railway officials said they expect a 70% -80% growth in cargo on the Raxaul sector of the track. Goods were transported on 74 containers on this 1st journey to Nepal. The consignment was sent to Kolkata Port under the World Food Program from the U.S.
***Menlo Worldwide Trade Services Claims To Be Ist ACE ....... as it said on June 29 it became the 1st company ever to file an entry in the Automated Commercial Environment. U.S. Customs & Border Protection is developing ACE to replace its outdated customs filing & trade communication system. ACE has been under planning and development for several years and is not expected to be fully functional until later this decade. Customs is conducting a pilot test with 41 select importers & 17 customs brokers of the new periodic monthly payment function as the agency moves to account-based instead of transaction-based processing of customs entries. The new streamlined system is supposed to give Customs inspectors access to an importer's total import history in a single screen shot. Menlo Worldwide Forwarding also reports it has supplanted BAX Global as Boeing's Co.'s top heavyweight freight forwarder.
***Pacific CMA To Singapore ..... as the New York-based freight forwarder & logistics service provider has completed acquisition of 60% of AGI Freight Singapore Pte Ltd., a Singapore-based, privately held freight forwarding & logistics company.
***DHL's Kid In Indonesia ...... as Danzas Air & Ocean has opened a new logistics center at Sepinggan Airport in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan to cope with its growing customer base in Indonesia.
***DHL Touchdown ..... as a 2-year partnership with the Miami Dolphins & Pro Player Stadium will extend through the completion of the 2005 football season. The partnership positions DHL as a major sponsor of both the team & the stadium, and features a series of initiatives & projects that will enhance the synergy between all three South Florida organizations. The new partnership makes DHL "The Official Express Delivery Provider of the Miami Dolphins & Pro Player Stadium."
***Kuehne + Nagel At Home Base ..... as it has signed one of its largest ever supply chain management contracts with the Argos Retail Group (ARG) which consist of Homebase & Argos. ARG is the UK's biggest non-food retailer which plans to accelerate its direct import business with the assistance of Kuehne + Nagel -- to initially involve 65,000 TEU to the UK over the next year, mainly from the Far East.
***China To Allow More Forwarders ..... as in the latest in a series of moves to liberalize the mainland market, China on July 1 discontinued a requirement to screen mainland companies before they are issued with an Int'l freight forwarding license. The screening process used to involve several ministries, & applicants were scrutinized on issues such as capital and ability to provide service & market experience, according to the China Int'l Freight Forwarders Assn. (CIFFA), one of the groups previously authorized by the central government to examine firms applying for such a license. As a result of the change, Chinese companies are now only required to register with the government when starting up their operations. However, the change in policy will not apply to foreign companies, which will still have to wait until next year when China is expected to open up its domestic freight forwarding market under the terms of a World Trade Organization agreement. CIFFA said the recent policy change will give mainland companies time to make necessary improvements to their facilities & services to face growing competition expected next year. At present, there are more than 5,000 licensed Chinese Int'l freight forwarders operating on the mainland. But, there are more than 30,000 unlicensed ones, which according to CIFFA, are creating problems in the market.
***5 Minutes To Shut Down .... as the California Air Resources Board said it voted last week to ban heavy-duty trucks & diesel-powered buses from idling more than 5 minutes. CARB said in a statement the regulation applies to more than 400,000 trucks & buses registered in California, and all out-of-state trucks & buses operating in the state. The rule would save about one million gallons of diesel fuel each week, CARB said. It would take effect in 6 months pending a technical review by the state's Office of Administrative Law.
***Start Your Engines ..... as U.S. retail sales of Class 8 trucks surged 35.6% in June to their highest level in almost 4 years, prompting truck makers to further increase their production rates. Manufacturers sold 17,192 heavy-duty trucks in June, up from 12,683 a year earlier, according to data from Ward's Communications. That marked the 8th consecutive monthly increase in sales from the same point a year earlier, & was the largest monthly total since 17,504 in July 2000. Every trucking nameplate saw Class 8 sales increase in June.
***Sleepy Time ..... as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has voided new truck driver "Hours of Service" rules announced by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) & remanded them back to the FMCSA for revision consistent with the court's opinion. The new hours of service rules had been challenged by a group called "Public Citizen." The appeals court agreed with the petitioner that the rules were "arbitrary" and capricious" because the FMCSA had "failed to consider the impact of the rules on the health of drivers." The old regulations had prohibited truckers from driving more than 10 hours without taking 8 hours off during the day. The new rule increased the maximum permissible driving time from 10 to 11 hours. The appeals court said the FMCSA's justifications for the new rule were of "questionable rationality" and raised "very grave concerns." The petition from "Public Citizen" also touched upon sleeper-berth exceptions, electronic on-board recorders, and the 34-hour restart period. The court did not rule on those issues, but urged that FMCSA reconsider how it had regulated them. The FMCSA, said in a statement that the U.S. Justice Dept. has 45 days to review the appeals court's decision "and decide whether to seek other legal remedies." Meanwhile the current hours of service rule, announced in April 2003, remains in effect.
***FedEx Corp. More Kinky ..... as it will open 70 new locations for its Kinko's division in fiscal year ending in May 2005. The package shipping giant also said in its annual report to the Securities & Exchange Commission that it expects to spend US$20M on rebranding the new division as FedEx Kinko's Office & Print Centers. FedEx bought the Kinko's copy shop chain of 1,200 stores in Feb. for US$2.4Bn, making it the 4th major division of the parent company.
***QuikDrop To The Auction ..... as its stores allow eBay users to drop off items worth at least US$50 for listing on the online auction site. QuikDrop said it then handles payment & DHL handles shipping arrangements with the winning bidder. DHL has been appointed to provide U.S. express, deferred & ground delivery, in addition to Int'l delivery for all shipments that require transportation direct to consumers from QuikDrop stores & from store to store. There are currently 12 QuikDrop stores in the U.S., with another 4 expected to open in Aug. In addition, franchise contracts are in place to open over 337 stores in the U.S. & 95 stores internationally.
***GAO To GAO Is Not For Free ..... as the investigative arm of the U.S. Congress said "under recently passed legislation, we have changed our name" from the "General Accounting Office" to the "Government Accountability Office" (GAO). Congress has asked the GAO, which is independent & nonpartisan, to evaluate federal programs, audit government expenditures, & issue legal opinions. The next investigation should be to determine which guy is responsible for the US$5M in charges for new signage, letterhead, etc. for changing the name "General Accounting Office" to the "Government Accountability Office." Geeeez. Calling Earth .... please come in ....
***Big Foots .... as after 5 years & almost 14,000 miles, Global Walker Polly Letofsky is returning home triumphant as the 1st American woman to walk around the world. Letofsky finishes her journey July 30 in Vail, CO - exactly where she started on Aug. 1, 1999. Determined to fulfill a lifelong dream while raising awareness about breast cancer. Letofsky has been accompanied around the world by BOB, her constant travel companion. Together, they've traveled through 22 countries, walking every day for what will be 1,825 consecutive days. The Global Walker named BOB, a custom-altered running stroller, after the California-based company that manufactures BOB Sport Utility Strollers & bicycle trailers. Though the stroller's usual cargo is a baby, Letofsky's BOB has served as a rolling backpack, carrying all of her possessions, including water, snacks, clothes, overnight supplies & her laptop. Yes, transportation can be basic, but bold. Bravo!
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2. The Cargo Letter Financial Page ______
**AMR Corp. (parent of American Airlines Inc.) UP with earnings of US$6M for 2nd quarter, an improvement compared to last year's Q2 loss of US$75M.
**Cessna. DOWN as profits were down by US$22M to US$44M in Q1.
**C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. UP as its net income for 2nd quarter was US$32.3M or 37 cents per share, compared with US$27.2M or 32 cents a year earlier.
**CNF Inc. UP as it earned US$35.5M or 64 cents per share in the 2nd quarter, more than double the US$16.3M or 31 cents earned a year earlier.
**Continental Airlines. DOWN with a 2nd quarter net loss of US$17M, compared to a profit of US$79M during same period in 2003.
**Covenant Transport. UP with a 39% rise in income in the 2nd quarter to to US$4.4M compared to the same period in 2003.
**Delta Air Lines. DOWN with a net loss of US$1.96Bn for the quarter ending in June 2004, which compared with a profit of US$184M for same period in 2003.
**J.B. Hunt Trucking. UP as net income for 2nd quarter was US$45.6M or 55 cents per share, compared with US$25.1M or 31 cents a year earlier.
**Ryder System Inc. UP as 2nd-quarter profits were US$63.6M or 97 cents per share, compared with US$34.7M or 55 cents a year earlier.
**Swift Transportation Co. UP as net earnings were US$34.6M, or 43 cents per share, compared to US$19.2M, or 23 cents per share, for 2nd quarter of 2003.
**Union Pacific. DOWN 43% as net income fell to US$158M or 60 cents a share, compared with US$275M or $1.05 a year earlier.
**USA Truck, Inc. DOWN for quarter ended June 30 as net income decreased 27.7% from US$1,853,000 to $1,339,000 for the same quarter of 2004.
**U.S. Postal Service. UP as its net income for the fiscal 3rd quarter ended June 30 was US$259M on revenues of US$16.6Bn.
**U.S. Xpress. UP as net income for the 2nd quarter increased 91.4% to US$4.2M, or US$0.30 per diluted share, from net income of US$2.2M, or US$0.16 per diluted share, in 2nd quarter of 2003.
**Yellow Roadway Corp. UP as net income for 2nd quarter was US$46.9M or 97 cents per share.
***United Parcel Service Soars ....... as net income rose 18.2% to US$818M for the 2nd quarter on a 7.8% increase in revenue led by strong growth in its global small package delivery business. Total revenue for the period ending June 30 was US$8.87Bn. Operating profit climbed 21.3% to US$1.31Bn. Total average daily package volume worldwide rose to 13.6 million, up 550,000 packages per day compared to the same 2003 period. Average daily U.S. domestic ground volume increased 4.9% & revenue rose 5.8% to US$6.48Bn. Domestic operating profit gained 7.2% to US$892Bn & operating margin improved to 13.8%, the highest in 2 years. Total U.S. air & ground volume was up 3.8%. Int'l export volume increased 13%, led by China with a gain of almost 70% UPS reported. Asia export volume increased 17% and U.S. export volume grew 12%. Int'l revenues gained almost 18% to US$1.61Bn as average daily package volume rose 8.5%. Operating profit rose 72% to US$272M at the Int'l unit, which now contributes more than 20% of UPS total operating profit. Excluding tax benefits from the sale of the company's Mail Technologies unit last year, operating profit for the quarter rose 18.7% & net income was up 20.6%. For the first half of the year, revenue was US$17.79Bn, up 9.5%, and operating profit jumped 24.8% to US$2.53Bn. >> Revenue for the non-package segment grew 6.4% to US$778M, including US$568M for UPS Supply Chain Solutions. The company raised its earnings guidance for the full year to nearly 20%, up from the teens.
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OUR "B" Section: FF World Air News***
3. Freight Forwarder World Air Briefs __________
***Sino Path ..... as China & the U.S. signed a new aviation agreement July 24 more than quadrupling the number of flights between the countries. Under the pact, the number of scheduled passenger & cargo flights will be increased from the current 54 per week to 249 over the next 6 years. Yang Yuanyuan, director of the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China, & U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta signed the pact in a ceremony in Beijing this month. The Associated Press quoted Mineta as saying the pact will also eventually eliminate most limits on schedules & cities which Chinese & U.S. carriers can serve. It should also lower fares by increasing competition, replacing "very restrictive" terms that have blocked carriers from meeting demand for passenger and cargo flights, he said.
***Goodby LanChile S.A. ...... as one of Latin America's leading passenger & cargo airline groups, announced that at an extraordinary shareholders' meeting, its shareholders approved changing of the Company's corporate name to LAN Airlines S.A. This change will be effective upon completion of the formal steps set forth by Chilean regulations. Through its passenger airlines in Chile, Peru & Ecuador and its code-share arrangements, LAN serves 15 destinations in Chile, 7 destinations in Peru, two in Ecuador, 18 destinations in Latin America, 25 in North America, 10 destinations in Europe & 4 in the South Pacific. Currently, the Company operates 52 passenger aircraft & 7 dedicated freighters. At our LAX windows -- we now see "LAN" flights.
***United Airlines To Vietnam ..... as the carrier is poised to become the 1st U.S. commercial carrier to provide service to Vietnam in decades when it begins daily flights from San Francisco to Ho Chi Minh City on Dec. 9 after securing final approval from the Vietnamese government. The 1st flight is to arrive in Ho Chi Minh City via Hong Kong on Dec. 10, with daily flights departing Vietnam for San Francisco starting the following day. United will operate combined passenger & cargo service using a Boeing 747-400 aircraft.
***Anywhere, Any Time ..... as Boeing has recently completed 90% of the design for its 777-200LR (longer range) airplane, which will fly farther than any commercial jetliner. The milestone signifies that Boeing is moving from design to production of the world's longest-range aircraft. "This airplane will provide non-stop service anywhere in the world, offering more cargo volume, consuming less fuel, & flying farther than the A340-500," Boeing said. For "hot cargo" -- this is huge! A milestone for which you were present. Some day we will recall "anywhere."
***Night Flight ...... as Deutsche Post AG plans to reduce its night air mail flights in stages from March 2005, particularly at Frankfurt's main airport. The restructuring of the night air mail network and the shift towards more road haulage will lead to a reduction in the number of night flights in the Deutsche Post mail network from 20 at present to 14 in 2005, to 10 in 2006. In future, just 4 night flights will be needed for letter mail in Frankfurt, instead of the current 12. "In making changes to the night air mail network, we are also fulfilling our social responsibility," said Deutsche Post.
***When Pigs Can Fly! ....... as China Southern Airlines the largest airline in The People's Republic of China, operated a special 747-400 cargo aircraft to relocate more than 500 breeding swine to China. China Southern's freighter flight #CZ494 from Liege, Belgium was re-routed to Denmark to pick-up 15 main deck pallets containing more than 500 breeding pigs. Total weight of the plump porkers was more than 65 tons. Each of the cages were specially built for this project, with specific dimensions to conform to China Southern's Boeing 747-400 freighter. Each cage had 3 levels with built-in drinking facilities for the animals.
***FedEx At MIA ..... as the opening of its US$50M Miami Gateway Hub that is intended to serve the South Florida market & enhance the company's connectivity to Latin America, & the Caribbean. The FedEx Gateway Hub will sort up to 6,000 packages per hour or 40,000 packages a day. The facility, with approximately 145,000 square feet of space, occupies 23 acres of land at the Miami Int'l Airport. The hub will also include refrigerated storage space for agricultural products & a 1,000 square foot cooler system.
***Atlas Shrugged ...... as U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida has confirmed the Joint Plan of Reorganization of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. following the required approval of the Plan in a vote by the Company's creditors. The Court ruled that AAWH has now met the requirements to implement its Joint plan of Reorganization. This action allows AAWH to emerge from bankruptcy on or about July 26, 2004. AAWH initially filed for Chapter 11 protection on Jan. 30, 2004. The newly confirmed Plan restructures AAWH's financial affairs by implementing the various restructuring agreements AAWH and its subsidiaries reached with their aircraft lessors & lenders prior to filing for bankruptcy and by distributing new AAWH common shares to certain creditors & cash to others.
***Blue Hawaiian ...... as the U.S. Internal Revenue Service has filed a claim for US$129M in back taxes, interest & penalties from Hawaiian Airlines. But, the airline's bankruptcy trustee, Joshua Gotbaum, said the claim may be "substantially overstated." A claim filed by the IRS in U.S. Bankruptcy Court said the carrier owed US$84.1M in federal excise and corporate income taxes from the tax years 2001 & 2002, and part of 2003.
***TNT Express Blows Away Protest ...... as the express carrier has won a long-running legal dispute with protesters objecting to night flights at Liege Airport in Belgium. Protestors wanted the Court of Appeal in Liege to close the airport, or to ban all night flights by TNT Express. However, the court dismissed the case stating that the company had complied with all regulations and had demonstrated its commitment to controlling the environmental impact of night flights.
***Qanthai? ....... as Qantas took a 49% stake in Thai Air Cargo with Thai company CTI Holding Co. recently. The investment is the airline's second joint venture in Asia as it seeks new opportunities for expansion outside Australia. Qantas also a 49% partnership in a Singapore-based low-cost carrier expected to start intra-Asia services later this year. The Thai venture will begin with one leased aircraft, probably an L1011, hubbing in Bangkok and it would fly to India, Singapore, Shanghai & Hong Kong.
***Winged Trucks ........ as U.S. Xpress Enterprises Inc. says its subsidiary, Xpress Global Systems Inc., has purchased the less-than-truckload airport-to-airport operations of CRST Van Expedited Inc. Terms of the deal not disclosed. U.S. Xpress said that Xpress Global Systems and CRST's Major Airport Xpress unit are among the largest providers of airport-to-airport transportation services to the air freight industry.
***Sex Change ...... as B/E Aerospace, Inc. has announced that Alaska Airlines has selected a team consisting of B/E's Flight Structures unit (FSI), and InterContinental Aircraft Services (ICAS) to design, build, install, & certify the conversion of its 737-400 aircraft from a passenger to freighter configuration. The Boeing Co. will provide post-conversion engineering support. This program includes orders for 737-400 Combi (freight in forward area & passenger capacity in rear) as well as a full freighter conversion. Revenue to B/E Aerospace is expected to be approximately US$1M per 737 conversion & deliveries are expected to begin in the late 2005 time frame.
***Son of $10,000 Toilet Seat? .......as the U.S. Air Force continues to order the new C-130J cargo plane despite spending US$2.6Bn to buy 50 planes that do not meet the military's requirements & cannot be flown in combat zones, Pentagon investigators said. Contractor Lockheed Martin hasn't delivered any C-130J planes that met requirements in the 8 years since the program began. The Air Force & Lockheed Martin disagree. Problems with the propeller-driven cargo planes include faulty computer & diagnostic systems and inadequate defense measures, the Pentagon's Office of Inspector General concluded. So far, none of the planes has been cleared for some of their primary missions: Dropping troops & cargo into war zones & flying in conditions requiring the crew to wear night-vision goggles. The inspector general's report concluded that Air Force & Defense Dept. officials mismanaged the program, requiring millions of dollars in upgrades & thousands of hours of work to make the planes capable of performing as well as the aging models they're supposed to replace. The Air Force strongly denied the report's conclusions. Propellers for C-130Js designed for gathering weather data inside hurricanes were damaged in all tests. The weather planes also didn't have radar strong enough to penetrate storms as far as it should. Upgrades to fix those problems mean C-130Js won't be able to fly hurricane missions until at least next year. The C-130Js are so different from older models that pilots qualified to fly older C-130s must be retrained to fly the new ones.
***Cruelty Inc. ..... as a British man & woman face lengthy prison sentences after being convicted July 20 of trying to smuggle more than 2 pounds of cocaine in the stomachs of 2 dogs. London residents Gregory Graham, 27, & Kaye Chapman, 20, were found guilty of conspiracy to import the drug. Two others were acquitted. The cocaine was discovered inside Labradors Rex & Frispa at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport in Sept. An X-ray taken after an airport worker thought the dogs were behaving oddly revealed that 21 canisters of cocaine with a value of US$232,000 were stitched into the animals' stomach cavities. Rex recovered, but Frispa had to be put down. A vet found the canisters had fused to her abdominal wall. The dogs had arrived on a flight from Colombia & were awaiting a plane to London. Dutch officials tipped off British police, who set up a sting operation to catch the suspects at Stansted Airport. The pair faces lengthy prison terms at their Sept. 3 sentencing -- but not long enough.
***This Too Shall Pass ..... as a suspect swallowed nearly US$50,000 in cash in a failed attempt to smuggle the funds out of Colombia. Bogota airport police said they X-rayed the suspect because he was acting nervous while preparing to board a flight for Lima, Peru. The photo showed dozens of latex-wrapped packets inside his stomach & police assumed it was drugs, since such a smuggling technique is used by traffickers. "This is the 1st time we've ever found dollars," the head of Bogota's airport police said. Passengers leaving Colombia can carry up to US$10,000 in cash without having to declare it. Police say new anti-money laundering laws have made it more difficult for drug traffickers to send & receive cash, forcing them to adopt the same methods used to smuggle drugs. However, despite anti-money laundering laws -- such procedures are highly suggested in this particular case.
***The Friendly Skies ....... as 2 flight attendants have attacked a passenger in an unprecedented case of reverse air-rage, according to Russia's leading airline. An Aeroflot spokeswoman said the incident occurred on a domestic flight from Moscow to the Siberian city of Nizhnevartovsk after passenger, Mr. Artyom Chernopup, said the men were drunk & not doing their job. He was then beaten up by crew members. Russian media said the alleged victim left the plane with a black eye & reported the incident to the police. A Nizhnevartovsk Airport representative told Izvestiya newspaper that a medical examination after the flight showed the cabin attendants were heavily intoxicated. Another passenger said that the stewards distributed in-flight meals only when the plane started its descent, and managed to spill large quantities of food on the floor. "At this point I noticed something was wrong," the passenger said. "Only about half the meals ended up on the tables or in the laps of passengers, the rest ended up on the floor. "We left the plane with lunch-boxes crunching beneath our feet." The entire crew of the flight has been temporarily dismissed.
***Please Return Your Toilet Seats To The Full Upright Position ....... as Ryanair employees were fired July 23 for sitting in the toilets of a packed airplane in breach of aviation regulations. The no-frills EU airline said the pilot of July 17 night's flight from Spanish city of Girona to Dublin also had resigned after admitting he permitted the 2 off-duty cabin crew workers to sit in the aircraft's rear toilets because no seats were available. Ryanair said in a statement that pilot had 30 years' experience while the 2 fired workers held the rank of "Senior No. 1s." This meant, the airline said, they both were "fully aware of our seating & boarding regulations" and after refusing to resign were "dismissed for gross misconduct." The Irish Aviation Authority still investigating the matter. >> First, Business, Economy & Flush Class! Geeez!
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OUR "C" Section: FF World Ocean News***
4. FF World Ocean Briefs ________________
***Singapore, Malaysia & Indonesia On Patrol In Malacca Strait ....... as the S.E. Asian nations that straddle the Strait of Malacca have sent out a powerful message to the U.S. that they have the naval capability & determination to protect the world's busiest shipping lane from terrorist & piracy attacks. A report by The Straits Times said that the coordinated patrols launched on July 20 with the deployment of a 17-vessel strong naval fleet, including 7 ships from Indonesia & 5 each from Malaysia and Singapore. The coordinated patrols are intended to ease fears of disruptions to global trade through terrorist attacks on international shipping in the Malacca Strait, which security experts have labelled as a soft target. The patrols also aim to curb rampant piracy in the Strait, where there has been a recent rise in the number of armed pirates and ransom demands for the release of ships' crews. The Straits Times claimed that the 3 Asian neighbors are considering introducing legislation that would permit pursuit of suspicious vessels in each other's territorial waters.
***Port User Fee Increase Veto ...... as a U.S. Senate bill authorizing more than US$8Bn in funding for the Coast Guard in fiscal 2005 includes US$300M for port security measures. The Senate unanimously passed the authorization bill one day after the House passed its US$8.2Bn version of the bill. One of the co-sponsors of the bill, Sen. Ernest Hollings, has tried repeatedly to get user fees & other funding mechanisms passed over the objections of the Bush Administration & House Republicans to pay for port security improvements required by the Maritime Transportation Security Act.
***Australian Security Bill ..... as the government has unveiled a package of measures costing US$72.67M to boost port security across the nation over the next few years. The new package of measures include the setting up of a task force to look into security for offshore oil & gas rigs. Facilities to X-ray containers at ports will be stepped up, and on board random customs checks will be increased. But the package of measures doesn't include the inspection of all cargo.
***New Clouds Gathering At Los Angeles? ....... as thousands of additional dockworkers are needed at the nation's largest port complex to cope with a crush of cargo traffic that has caused delays and threatens to undermine security inspections of cargo containers, labor leaders said July 22. Despite a tentative agreement between shipping operators at the ports of Los Angeles & Long Beach and the Int'l Longshore & Warehouse Union, a final agreement on how to add more workers has not been reached. The ILWU & the Pacific Maritime Assn, which represents shipping companies, have yet to agree on terms of expanding the ports' work force. So far, local union & shipping company officials have agreed to hire 2,000 so-called casual workers & establish a pool of more than 10,000 others. ILWU leaders said hiring thousands of workers would not help alleviate a logjam of cargo that has developed at the ports over the past month. For example, as of July 22, there were 9 ships at the outer anchorage awaiting access to the port. Normally, between 3 & 4 ships are forced to wait entry, but the average since the beginning of the month has been between 14 & 15, said Dick McKenna, deputy director of the Marine Exchange, which monitors ship movements at the ports. The cargo log jam stems from insufficient manpower at the ports, problems with the rail lines and an increase in cargo from the Far East. The size of the ships & the number arriving, particularly from China, has also contributed to the cargo delays. The PMA had projected a cargo increase this year of 5%, but it has turned out to be about double that, PMA said. New "Peak Season" strikes?
***FMC Action ...... as the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission says 9 firms have reached compromise agreements requiring payment of civil penalties totalling US$549,000. The agreements were reached with VOCCs, NVOCCs & ocean freight forwarders, & proprietary shippers who were alleged to have broken FMC regulations. The businesses involved are: Atallah Business Group - US$20,000; Antillean Marine Shipping Corp - US$60,000; Cap Barbell, Inc., Body Q, Inc. and Hepta Run (companies with common ownership), US$180,000; Hub Shipping Company - US$35,000; Margaret J. Zimmer US$20,000; MP Lines de Mexico - US$45,000; Sea-Line-Cargo - US$25,000; Star Trans Container Line & various affiliated companies - US$85,000. An FMC statement said: "In concluding the above compromises, the parties did not admit any violation of the 1984 Act or the Commission's regulations. These compromise agreements resulted from investigations conducted by Area Representatives of the Bureau of Enforcement located in Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Seattle, South Florida & Washington, DC. Staff attorneys with the Bureau of Enforcement negotiated the compromise agreements."
***FMC Revocations ...... of 17 OTI licenses for failure to maintain valid bonds. The firms are Access Freight Forwarders, Miami; Brittain Int'l, Brownsville, Texas; Challenge Warehousing, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Delta Line Int'l, Miami; Domar Enterprises, Houston; E.M.W. Freight Forwarding Corp., Miami; Expressair Cargo, Miami; FITS Ltd. Liability Co., Kingwood, Texas; FTS Int'l, Jamaica, N.Y.; J.E. Lowden & Co., San Francisco; Michael J. Loprimo, Port Jefferson, N.Y.; New York Forwarding Services, Berkeley Heights, N.J.; Ocean Conco Line, New York; Paula Solano, Bellmawr, N.J.; Rimtech Int'l Transport, Torrance, Calif.; Seven Seas Consultants, Kingwood, Texas; and Super Freight Int'l, Wood Dale, Ill.
***Decision Not Locked ....... as building a 3rd set of locks on the Panama Canal could cost between US$5Bn & US$8Bn according to a Panama Canal Authority (ACP) spokesman. Panamanian legislator Julio Cesar Castillo, who presides over the Panama Canal Affairs Commission of Panama's Legislative Assembly, has said he agrees that the Board of Directors on the master plan on the future expansion & modernization of the waterway should be considered by the government before any decision is taken.
***Dry Hole ...... as one of the world's largest saltwater, transport lakes could dry up completely unless neighboring countries in Central Asia work together to increase its water supply, the UN warns. The Aral Sea, formerly the world's fourth-largest inland body of water, now receives only tenth of the water it once did, according to a report by the U.N. Economic Commission for Europe in cooperation with the U.N.'s economic & social commission for Asia and the Pacific. The Aral Sea -- between the former Soviet states of Kazakhstan & Uzbekistan -- has shrunk to half its original size because of a regional drought & the excessive use of its main feeder rivers, the Amu Darya and Syr Darya. It would cost an estimated US$275Bn to return the sea to something of its former size, possibly by diverting other rivers to feed the salt lake, said Yevgeny Nadezhdin, another adviser who helped to compile the U.N. report. Four of the 5 former Soviet nations in the region -- Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan -- have approved the U.N. cooperation strategy contained in the report. The 5th, Turkmenistan, did not participate.
***All Reach The Peak ....... as peak season surcharges, previously a characteristic of shipping tariffs in the eastbound transpacific container trade, are also being applied by shipping lines in numerous regional & north/south trades to and from the Far East. The carriers of the Far East/Middle East "Informal Rate Agreement" conference will levy a peak season surcharge of US$200 per TEU from Hong Kong & South China, effective Aug. 18. A carrier agreement in the trade from Hong Kong and South China to the Indian Subcontinent also plans to charge a peak season surcharge of US$150 per TEU, effective Aug. 1. NYK Line, a carrier of the controversial Asia Australia Discussion Agreement, reported peak season surcharge of US$300 per TEU for all Far East export shipments to Australia, effective Aug. 9. The Asia Australia Discussion Agreement is under investigation by Australian authorities. NYK & Maersk Sealand, also members of Asia Australia Discussion Agreement, have notified their customers they will levy a peak season surcharge for cargoes from the Far East to the East Coast of South America from Aug. 1 to Nov. 30. Carriers in the Asia/South Africa trade are also believed to have implemented peak surcharges. Meanwhile, the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement's tariff for the current shipping season includes a peak season surcharge of US$400 per 40-foot equivalent unit, or US$200 per TEU.
***Peak Season Plus ...... as Transpacific container shipping lines operating in the Asia-to-Canada trade plan to implement a 2nd eastbound rate increase Aug. 25 in addition to the traditional May 1 yearly increase already implemented. Effective Aug. 25, the Canada Transpacific Stabilization Agreement member carriers intend to raise rates US$250 per 40-foot container, US$200 per 20-foot container & US$315 per 45-foot container. A peak season surcharge of US$400 will remain in effect as adopted, through Oct. 31. Carriers are: APL, COSCO Container Lines, Evergreen, Hanjin Shipping, Hapag-Lloyd, Hyundai Merchant Marine, "K" Line, Lykes Lines, Maersk Sealand, MOL, NYK Line, OOCL and P&O Nedlloyd.
***Singapore Lift ...... as its PSA Corp. has placed an order for 42 Korean-made gantry cranes costing about US$45M. Deliveries on the cranes are due to start in March next year as part of the accelerated development of Pasir Panjang Terminal (PPT) which will push its capacity from 20m TEU to 24 by 2006. Singapore Shipping Times reports that 3 new berths will be operational at PPT in 2005, including 2 in July & 1 in Sept., as well as 2 more in 2006. Originally, only 1 new berth was scheduled for 2005.
***More On The Lakers ...... as U.S.-flag vessels on the Great Lakes moved more than 12 million tons of dry-bulk cargo in June, the highest monthly total in nearly 2 years, according to the Lake Carrier's Assn. The June total represents a 12% increase compared to the corresponding period in 2003. Compared with the month's 5-year average, this June is 3.4% ahead.
***Newest Giant ..... as world's largest full container vessel, M/V CSCL-Asia, kicked off its maiden voyage on July 13 from Hong Kong. The China Shipping Container Lines vessel, which has a capacity of 8,500 TEU, was the 1st of five 8,500 TEU container vessels that the company has ordered. The mainland company has also ordered eight 9,600 TEU mega vessels that are expected to begin operating in the next few years. The M/V CSCL-Asia is registered in Hong Kong.
***New Horizon ...... as Castle Harlan, a New York private-equity investment firm, has completed purchase of Horizon Lines Holding Corp., a U.S. container shipping company, in a transaction valued at US$650M. Castle Harlan acquired the company from The Carlyle Group, a private- equity investment firm based in Washington, DC, that bought the company from CSX Corp. in Feb. 2003. Horizon recorded revenues in fiscal 2003 of more than US$830M, up 9.6% from the previous year. Castle Harlan, based in Charlotte, NC, operates 16 vessels & approximately 21,700 cargo containers that handle 37% of the marine container shipments from the U.S. mainland to ports in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam & Puerto Rico.
***APL Kicks Up ..... as it carried 20% more containers in the 4-week period ended June 25 than in the same period a year earlier, while its average revenue per 40-foot equivalent unit edged up 3% year-on-year. APL shipped 139,200 FEUs in the latest 4-week period, as compared to 115,600 FEUs a year earlier. Average unit revenue in the 4-week period ended June 25 was US$2,673 per FEU, 3% up from US$2,595 a year earlier & marginally higher than the average rate of US$2,630 for May of this year. The June period was the 3rd period in a row of increasing average container rates at APL, bringing average rates close to a recent 2-year peak of US$2,739 reached in Aug. 2003.
***"We All Live In A ....." ..... as Rickmers-Line, the Hamburg based global breakbulk, heavylift & project cargo specialist, is well known for special & extraordinary cargoes being shipped on its multipurpose vessels. While floating craft are already a regular sight on Rickmers-Line vessels, the company has now added a submersible craft to its portfolio of cargoes carried. A yellow tourist submarine, to be used for underwater excursions on the coast of Cheju Island, Korea's biggest island, was lifted onboard the 17,850 deadweight tons charter vessel M/V Oasis in Honolulu, Hawaii. Weighing 100 tons, the 22.3 m long submarine was lifted aboard Oasis using the ship's own 125-ton derrick. After overhaul at a dockyard, the submarine will be based at Seoguipo on Cheju Island (Korea's "Honeymoon Island").
***Super Backup ...... as Veritas Software Corp. announced that the U.S. Coast Guard has chosen VERITAS Backup Exec software to provide centralized protection of critical data across its entire enterprise. The software will support 38,000 users at 1,100 sites across the U.S., worldwide sites and for all Coast Guard Cutters. The solution has the ability to remotely schedule and launch backups & restores all from a centralized location for the entire enterprise within a 4-hour time frame. The software will work with the Coast Guard's existing tape backup hardware & is certified to operate with Windows 2003 Enterprise server & Microsoft Exchange 2003.
***Taking A Bite Out of Zabotny ...... as a 65-year-old man on a fishing trip along the Georgia coast was injured Jul 21 when a 30-pound barracuda jumped into his boat. Ziggy Zablotny was aboard a charter fishing boat 3 miles off Tybee Island when the fish bit him. "They were fishing for Spanish mackerel and had stopped the boat to re-adjust the lines when this fish jumped over 30 feet from the water into the salon and hit this guy in the hand," said Judy Helmey, owner of F/V Miss Judy Charters. "It broke his hand & cut his finger really badly." The U.S. Coast Guard responded because Zablotny was bleeding heavily as a result of the bite. Zablotny was taken by ambulance to Memorial Health University Medical Center. "We see them jumping all the time, but you never see them jump straight into the boat," Helmey said. "It didn't have a hook in it or anything pulling it in. He was sailing like he had wings." Peter Fischel, a marine biologist at the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, said that barracudas are not usually aggressive toward humans. "It's quite a myth that they go out and attack people," Fischel said. "Generally, it's a mistake by the fish when they bite someone."
***Throughput >> Port of Antwerp container traffic at the port of rose 15% in the 1st 6 months of the year to 3.1 million TEUs, leading the expansion of volume at the Belgian port. >> Port of Boston, up 11% as containerized cargo grew from 74,538 TEU in Jan. to June 2003 to 83,443 TEU in the same period this year. >> Port of Charleston container volume totalled 162,527 TEU, up 17% from May 2003, shattering the previous one-month record set in March 2003 by 6,000 TEU. >> Port of Hong Kong saw its container throughput soar 17% year-on-year in June, to 1.9 million TEUs, according to traffic estimates. >> Port of Los Angeles for the 1st 6 months of the year, total port container traffic was 3.6 million TEUs, an increase of 5% over the corresponding period in 2003. >> Port of Montreal container traffic increased 11% to 584,000 TEUs in the 1st 6 months of the year. >> Port of Norfolk container volume rose per cent 8.5% during the 1st 6 months of this year, compared to the same period in 2003 -- containers moving through the port increased from 788,975 TEU from Jan. to June in 200 856,198 TEU in the same period this year.
***This Month In U.S. Navy History .........
1802 - Frigate Constellation defeats 9 Corsair gunboats off Tripoli.
1823 - After pirate attack, Lt. David G. Farragut leads landing party to destroy pirate stronghold in Cuba.
1846 - First visit of U.S. warships (USS Columbus & USS Vincennes) to Japan is unsuccessful in negotiating a treaty.
1905 - Body of John Paul Jones moved to Annapolis, MD for reburial.
1912 - First airborne radio communications from naval aircraft to ship (Lt. John Rodgers to USS Stringham).
1942 - Capt. Joy Bright Hancock appointed director, Women's Naval Reserve.
1947 - First Navy all jet squadron (VF-17A) receives its 1st aircraft (FH).
1948 - President Harry S. Truman orders desegregation of the Armed Services.
1948 - USS Putnum (DD 757) evacuates U.N. team from Haifa, Israel & becomes 1st U.S. Navy ship to fly the U.N. flag.
1958 - USS Nautilus (SSN 571) departs Pearl Harbor for 1st submerged transit of North Pole.
1964 - Four Navy divers enter Project SEALAB I capsule moored 192 feet on the ocean floor off Bermuda for 11 day experiment.
1969 - Former Navy pilot Neil Armstrong is first man to set foot on the moon, announcing, "that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Armstrong was Commander of Apollo 11 which during its 8 day mission landed on the Sea of Tranquility. Recovery was by HS-4 helicopters from USS Hornet (CVS 12).
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5. The Cargo Letter Cargo Damage Dispatches
**Back By Popular Demand**
We're sorry, but there were so many sinkings, explosions, pirate attacks, fires, cargo mishaps, battles on the water & other disasters at sea that we do not have room to print even the highlights this month. Many people lost their lives at sea this month!!
But you can read all this month's disaster news at our special Internet web feature which provides full details of each event -- our Vessel Casualties & Pirate Activity Database. Bookmark the site and visit every day! Updated twice daily.
SPECIAL NOTE: Please view the dramatic new pictures at our special "Gallery of Cargo Loss" website feature.
See our new photo feature for July 2004: "Sea (to) Land Express"
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.
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OUR "D" Section: FF in Cyberspace***
6. The Cargo Letter "Cyber Ports Of Call"
Here are our suggested world wide web sites of the week for your business, your information and your amusement..............
Active Hurricane Season Warning
Automated Manifest System News
Best Practices: Supply Chain Management
Export Advantage ...... from U.S. Int'l Trade Administration's Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA) -- information resource for exporting U.S.-made textile & apparel products -- research overseas market potential, find information on requirements & procedures, identify overseas buyers, obtain basic how-to-export information, & locate industry contacts.
Extremely Hazardous Materials Transportation Security Bill -- H.R. 4824 - text.
High Speed Vessel Two (HSV-2) "Swift"
Hong Kong Marine Dept. Notice ........ reminding mariners to exercise caution when loading containers on dumb steel lighters. To avoid shifting of containers on such vessels, loads should be evenly distributed; containers should be adequately secured; & container cargo should be properly packed. Maritime Notice No. 97 of 2004.
Marine Cargo Insurance On Application Area Note
Northwest Airlines Flight #237
RFID-Enabled Logistics Asset Management
Singapore Maritime & Port Authority (MPA) ...... new editions of various charts for Singapore waters.
PRODUCTS>>>>>>>>>
Evandale's London Insurance Market Directory 2004/2005
EVENTS>>>>>>>>>
15th Annual BreakBulk Conference & Exhibition .... Sept. 15-17, 2004, New Orleans Marriott in New Orleans, LA.
2004 SNAME Maritime Technology Conference & Expo ...... Sept. 30 to Oct. 1, Washington Hilton, Washington, DC.
Autologistics Global 2004 ....... 28-29 Sept.,Townsend Hotel, Birmingham.
China World Shipping (CHI Shipping NA) .... 15-16 July 2004, China World Hotel, Beijing. Hosted by COSCO Group, Drewry Shipping Consultants & Maritime China.
Forum for Motor Carrier General Counsels ..... July 25-28 at The Lodge at Vail, CO.
LA Harbor Transportation Club ......... 6PM, Thursday Aug. 19, 2004, The Reef Restaurant, 880 Harbor Scenic Drive, Long Beach Harbor CA -- "Intermodal Roundtable: Challenges in the Intermodal Supply Chain."
Managing Reinsurance Disputes ......30 Nov. 2004, Radisson SAS Portman, London. Legal & practical advice on dispute prevention & management.
North American Cargo Security Forum ........ Oct. 18-19 in Washington DC. See also.
Pacific Homeland Security & Natural Disasters Conference and Expo ... Oct.5-6, 2004, Marriott City Center, Oakland.
TMC Int'l ....... 3rd annual meeting in Mexico City July 15-16.
U.S. Maritime Security Expo ... Sept. 14-15, Jacob Javits Convention Center, New York.
Wireless Warehouse Europe Conf. & Exhibition ....Oct. 14-15, Brussels.
FOR FUN>>>>>>>>>
Apollo 17 - Last Man On The Moon ........ QTVR panorama.
This Land Is My Land ... a musical review of the 2004 U.S. election to irritate & delight both sides.
Tombstone Hearse Co. ...... when a Cadillac is not enough.
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OUR "E" Section: The Forwarder/Broker World***
7. New U.S. Transport Related Legal Cases _______
Hall Vs. Royal Carribean Cruises
U.S. 3rd District Court of Appeals
Allegation of drunken fall by passenger states a cause of action in admiralty: The state District Court of Appeal of the Florida Third District held that a complaint filed by a cruise ship passenger that he was injured when he fell down a flight of stairs on the ship while drunk states a cause of action where the passenger alleges that crewmembers negligently continued to serve him alcohol when he was obviously past the point of intoxication. The trial court had dismissed the complaint for failure to state a claim. The appellate court, in sending the case back for trial on the merits, noted that the case is controlled by federal admiralty law, not by state dram shop law. Read the case.
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Written from wire stories, the Associated Press, Reuters, Hong Kong Shipping News, Lloyds & other world sources.
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The Cargo Letter Correspondents:
Michael S. McDaniel Esq, Editor (Countryman & McDaniel)
David Schuchman -- Interpool Corp. -- Webmaster of The Cargo Letter Archive
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