The Cargo Letter

THE CARGO LETTER [353]
Air & Ocean Freight Forwarder - Customs Broker News
27 June 2000

Good Thursday 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."

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Michael S. McDaniel, Editor & Publisher, 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 Air 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
OUR "D" Section: FF in Cyberspace
   6. The Cargo Letter "Cyber Ports Of Call"
OUR "E" Section: The Forwarder/Broker World
   7. New U.S. Transport Related Legal Cases
   8. Tall Ships 2000 / Operation Sail 2000
      * Schedule & Links

OUR "A" Section: Trade, Financial & Inland News

1. Freight Forwarder Trade Briefs

• A Little Flu Relapse? ......... as more banks began injecting emergency funds on May 27 into a cash-strapped subsidiary of Hyundai, the country's largest conglomerate & owner of Hyundai Merchant Marine. South Korea moved to dispel fears of a possible financial crisis. Korea Exchange Bank, Hyundai's main creditor bank says it extended a US$45M emergency loan to Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., South Korea's No. 1 construction company. Hyundai Merchant Marine, got relief earlier this month when Korea Exchange Bank expanded its short-term loan limit by US$45M. Analysts confirmed that the cash flow remains good at leading Hyundai affiliates, & pointed out that 14 listed subsidiaries of Hyundai posted combined sales of US$21.7B with a net profit of US$363M in the 1st quarter of this year.
• Hello Myanmar? ........... as on June 19 the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a state law that restricts purchases from companies that do business with Myanmar, ruling that use of trade sanctions to protest human rights abuses abroad infringed upon the president's power to set foreign policy. The unanimous high court declared unconstitutional the Massachusetts law adopted in 1996 after the military regime in the S.E. Asian nation formerly called Burma was accused of drug trafficking, torture & using slave labor.
• Mercosur Blasts UK & U.S. .......... as a May summit of political & business leaders from the Southern Cone Common Market (Mercosur, comprising Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay & Paraguay) railed against the EU & U.S. for projectionist measures & called for an aggressive Mercosur stance in WTO negotiations. Brazil's President Fernando Henrique Cardoso told the summit that the globalization process must become "more symmetric, more inclusive," and criticized EU & U.S. projectionist policies that serve to thwart Mercosur trade. "[Mercosur countries] come up against obstacles which have prevented them from reaping the benefits of their competitiveness in sectors which have been excluded from liberalization, like agriculture," Cardoso said.
• Central American FTA ........ as Mexico Guatemala, Honduras & El Salvador have reached a free trade agreement that will liberalize regional trade over the next 12 years. Mexico already has free trade agreements with the Central American countries of Nicaragua & Costa Rica.
• China WTO To Boost Air Cargo ......... as a report by financial giant, Credit Lyonnais Securities (Asia) (CLSA), has identified aviation, with air cargo in particular, as a major beneficiary of China's impending entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO). The report predicted future increases in both cargo & passenger traffic volumes with air cargo growth directly linked to a potential upsurge in demand for fast air transport from a WTO boosted high-tech manufacturing sector. Noting that growth in freight traffic exceeded 20% in China during the first 4 months of this year, the report goes on to detail the effect WTO membership will have on existing cargo flow patterns within China itself. Subject to better air industry infrastructure & the relaxing of China's rigid air rights & Customs regulations, CLSA concludes that a substantial amount of traffic volume will be diverted back to the mainland instead of through established centers such as Hong Kong. The report notes that Hong Kong has recently enjoyed double-digit annual growth in cargo traffic which bodes well for other transport hubs in China including Shanghai's new Pudong airport. Along with China Eastern Airlines operating out of the new Pudong facility, a new airport in Guangzhou would also enable another carrier, China Southern, to establish a dominant position in the region. With both airlines launching new cargo lines, & with Beijing planning to spend US$600M on improving 20 regional airports, air cargo frequency will continue to enjoy ongoing growth.
• Russia Wants In ........ as it moved one step closer in its bid to join the WTO last month, at the 1st meeting in 18 months of the WTO working group on Russian accession. Russia is currently looking to accelerate its 6 year efforts to join the organization, and has said that it will make its Int'l obligations to trade rules a priority in domestic legislation once it has joined WTO. In working group meetings on 25 May, several WTO members raised questions about the transparency of the country's laws. Russia's response to the overall concerns was that Moscow would soon publish a number of changes in Russian legislation either proposed or in the process of being ratified by the State Duma, Russia's lower house of Parliament.
• Deutsche Post Back On Hot Seat .......... as for the 2nd time The European Commission launched an investigation into antitrust movements of Deutsche Post, Europe's biggest logistics & post group. Deutsche Post might have abused its position in Germany by imposing surcharges on mailings from postal companies in EU member states, like from TNT Post & British Post. The European Court of Justice last Feb. ruled in favor of Deutsche Post in a case about border-crossing postal services from TNT Post, which wanted to have distributed mail from German companies within Germany, but imported from The Netherlands, avoiding DP' high tariffs.
• FIATA Hopes To Cool The Hot Seats .......... as the Int'l Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA) has established an arbitration code for its members, which will permit legal disputes between forwarding agents to be settled at low cost without going through the courts. An arbitration tribunal will be composed of representatives from FIATA's Extended Board or Advisory Body on Legal Matters. The arbitration tribunal will only take a decision if both parties have accepted the arbitration code in writing. The procedure will generally be in writing & in English. The estimated cost for the arbitration tribunal will range from US$500 to $3,000. Guidelines for the code will be sent to FIATA members in July.
• Yemen & Oman Go On The Road ............ as they officially opened a new land route on their border to boost trade between the 2 Arab neighbors. The 245 km (152 mile) route, funded by Oman at a cost of US$36M, was launched by Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh & Omani National Heritage & Culture Minister Faisal bin Ali bin Faisal al-Said. The route, extending from al-Ghayda city in eastern Yemen to Shihan city in western Oman, will boost trade & limit smuggling operations. Oman & Yemen completed the demarcation of their borders in 1995. An Omani Chamber of Commerce & Industry official had earlier said that Oman & Yemen were planning to set up a joint shipping firm and a commercial bank to open up trade between the countries. Yemen was the 3rd largest importer of Omani goods, excluding oil & gas, in 1999 after the UAE & Iran.
• U.S. Customs Service Vision .......... as it has released a draft of its strategic plan for operations in fiscal 2000-2005. The draft includes the agency's goals for trade facilitation & enforcement, and the actions needed to achieve them. Some of those actions may negatively impact on importer, exporter & carrier operations. To view Customs' draft strategic plan, access Internet site. Other questions may be addressed to Lou Hirsch at (202) 927-6866. http://www.customs.treas.gov/about/about.htm
• Customs Starts AES ........... as it will soon receive export transportation data from carriers through the Automated Export System (AES). A trial began at Charleston Port on June 26 with plans to take the system nationwide in August. Charleston was chosen for the trial because of its central location on the U.S. east coast & its large volume of container traffic. P&O Nedlloyd was the 1st carrier to complete the Vessel Transportation Certification Test for the AES with a number of other carriers to be certified by the end of June.
• Customs Penalty Rules ........... as it will publish new guidelines for imposing & mitigating penalties. The changes refer to Appendix B of Part 171, section 592 of the agency's regulations governing entry or attempted entry of merchandise into U.S. commerce by fraud, gross negligence or negligence. The changes reflect the themes of "informed compliance" & "shared responsibility," which are stipulated in the 1993 Customs Modernization Act. The new rules spell out when Customs will take action on entry mistakes made by importers & their customs brokers. For example, Customs will not issue penalties for repetitive unintentional, non-detrimental errors in electronic entry submissions, unless the agency has previously pointed out the error to the filer. The complete new guidelines are available on the Internet. http://www.customs.treas.gov/news/fed-reg/notices/914507.htm
• Customs Wants To Reconcile ......... as it is requesting comments from the industry to a survey on the Reconciliation Prototype to evaluate and possibly revise or expand the prototype. The Reconciliation Prototype allows importers to pay duties on the estimated value of goods at the time of entry and then follow up 12 to 15 months later with a more accurate figure. The program was developed in 1998 as part of the 1993 Customs Modernization Act. Survey responses are to be received by July 10. For information, contact Shari McCann at (202) 927-1106 or Don Luther at (202) 927-0915. http://www.customs.gov/recon
• Finland Joins Wood War On Nematodes .......... as it is the latest country to try to safeguard its forests from the pinewood nematode. In the past year, several countries, including China & Russia, have implemented regulations on the quality of packing materials allowed for in bound shipments. The fear is that materials contaminated with the parasite nematode are being used for packaging & so will introduce the nematode into the country. Starting May 31, Finland began insisting that all packing materials entering the country must conform to the solid-wood packing materials regulations. In particular, Finland is looking at shipments which come from the U.S., Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Canada & Mexico. The U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is especially anxious about the new rules & stated that the regulations will be very difficult to put in place, without disrupting the multibillion-dollar trade which exists between the 2 countries. Although the Finns have said that they may exceptionally allow shipments to enter without a Phytosanitary Certificate, packing material will have to be destroyed or re-exported. APHIS insists that the pinewood nematode can be eliminated by stripping bark from the wood or by heat treatment. However, the Finns are taking no risks & will expect shippers to comply with the regulations.
• Banana Split ............... as the European Commission's anti-fraud office OLAF has uncovered a huge fraud in Italy involving the evasion of banana import duties. OLAF said it had supported an investigation by the Italian authorities showing that since March 1998 some 160,000 tons of Ecuadorian bananas had been fraudulently imported through the Italian port of Catania resulting in 126 million euros (US$120.6M) of lost duties. The EU's anti-fraud office, in cooperation with the Italian authorities, said it had been informed of a serious smuggling operation in July 1999 that had caused "a vast disturbance"' to the EU's banana market. OLAF said it had uncovered 101 false import certificates which allowed holders to benefit from reduced import duties & led to the EU's annual import tariff quota of 2.2 million tons for bananas grown in Latin America being substantially exceeded in 1999. Following a raid on one vessel docked in Catania, OLAF and Italy's Guardia di Finanza confiscated 4,000 tons of bananas and arrested an importer & custom s agent. OLAF said it was still trying to identify who was responsible for forging the import documents, but it had passed on its information to the Italian authorities, who were conducting an inquiry into the involvement of organized crime in the banana trade in Catania.
• Bolero Still Moving Fast .......... as the secure message exchange system now includes the insurers Tokyo Fire & Marine and the Yasuda Fire & Marine. Their involvement comes after involvement with Itochu and Maurubeni, 3 banks & several shipping companies. These partners plan to jointly develop a computer system to handle customs, ship chartering & insurance. The company will be called eGuarantee. http://www.bolero.net/overview/product/
• Goodbye President Assad - Hello Internet? ........... as it is reported that Syria, hitherto resistant to the information age, will change with the rise to power of Col. Bashar Assad his 2nd son. Traditionalists under the Assad regime, have done their best to resist new technology in the form of faxes, cell phones, satellite TV & the Internet. While Pres. Assad banned Internet access, his son is understood to favor introducing the Internet into the society, which he believes will soon become an integral part of the country's traditions. Currently, in the absence of a local ISP, Syrian net enthusiasts who can afford it pay the long distance charges to access the Net via an ISP in neighboring Beirut. http://www.syria-online.com/index.htm
• The UK Star ........ as Davies Turner, the UK's largest privately owned UK freight forwarder, has been voted Freight Forwarder of the Year for the 2nd year running. The independent poll by the Lloyd's/Informa Group has awarded the company its highest award for the 3rd time in its 7 year history. The award is based upon votes from members of the UK shipping industry.
• Promotions At Fritz ......... as Fritz Cos. has appointed Raymond L. Smith to CEO & Graham R.F. Napier to COO. Smith joined Fritz in Jan. 1999 as the San Francisco-based logistics firm's COO. Previously, Smith was president of U.S. Fleet Leasing and spent 15 years in various management roles at GE Capital. Napier joined Fritz in August 1999 as Ex. V.P. of engineering. Prior to that, he was V.P. & general manager of strategic business development & supply chain services at Allied Signal Aerospace. "Although Lynn C. Fritz will step back from his day-to-day duties as CEO, he remains principal shareholder & will retain his key strategic, policy and oversight role as chairman of the board," the company said.
• Ever Expanding The Circle .......... as Circle Int'l Inc. has opened expanded logistics operations in Los Angeles; Dallas; Edison, N.J.; & Madrid, Spain. The expansion represents an investment of nearly US$9M & adds more than 300,000 square feet of space for dedicated customer logistics, distribution & forwarding operations. Circle recently won a multiyear contract from Xerox Corp. as it's preferred provider of customs brokerage, clearance & trade compliance services for most import shipments into the U.S.
• UTi's Prague Summer ......... as it has opened a subsidiary in Prague in the Czech Republic as part of the expansion of UTi Europe. The new subsidiary will be known as UTi-CZ. UTi is the forwarder previously known as Union Transport.
• Hellmann Continues South ........... as the company has recently opened a new office in Sao Paulo as part of continuing expansion in the region.
• Trucker Gets First .......... as Consolidated Freightways has acquired privately held FirstAir, Inc., a freight forwarder. FirstAir had revenues in excess of US$20M in 1999. Financial details of the purchase were not disclosed. The Minnesota-based company has been named CF AirFreight and is a wholly owned subsidiary of CFC. Richard McCrady Sr., formerly CEO of FirstAir, has been named president of CF AirFreight.
• TEE For The Rail ........... as 3 European railway companies are going to cooperate in the area of cross-border goods traffic as a way to bring down their costs & strengthen their competitive position against air transport. The effort, called TEE Rail Alliance, involves Deutsche Bahn, SBB of Switzerland & Austria’s ÖBB. The companies plan to spend about 60 billion francs on the joint purchase of 130 tilting trains. The train carriages will go into use in 2005. The 3 railway companies want to stand up to the competition of the liberalized aviation sector in Europe. Through the purchase of the tilting trains, which lean into the bends, higher speeds can be attained. The companies hope in this way to be able to increase productivity by an annual 5%.
• Smooth As Iron ........ as Pres. Kim Dae-jung's raised hopes that an "Iron Silk Road," starting from the Korean Peninsula & stretching to Europe, could become reality now that railways linking the north & south of the pennisula are to be reconnected. UN ESCAP, headquartered in Bangkok, has conducted a study on a model project to transport containers from Pusan, through North Korea, en route to Germany. High speed rails linking Japan-Korea- China-Russia-Europe would allow passengers & freight to travel between Northeast Asia & Europe by land in 2 days. History repeats the famous "Silk Road?"
• RailAmerica Jumps Ahead .......... as the world's largest short line & regional railroad operator, has announced that total carloadings (including intermodal units) for May 2000 increased 250% to 102,143 from 29,224 in May 1999. Carloading totals for 2000 include the recently acquired RailTex railroad properties (as of Feb. 2000), the Toledo, Peoria & Western Railroad (acquired Sept. 1999) and the former RaiLink railroad properties (acquired Aug. 1999). Year-to-date May 2000 carloadings (including intermodal) rose 491% to 451,919.
• Border Backup .......... as trucks have formed waiting lines stretching between 5 to 7 kms at Finnish-Russian border points after Russian customs checking procedures were tightened late last month. At the Vaalimaa crossing the line was some 7 kms long while the line at Nuijamaa extended 5 km. due to tougher inspection methods adopted by Russian customs which came into effect May 20. The majority of trucks affected were Russian. Finland is a key gateway for transport to/from Russia. According to Finnish customs, exports to Russia from Finland totaled 9.5 billion markka (US$1.48B) in 1999 and imports were 12.7 billion markka. You can see the waiting lines LIVE! at our TRANS-CAMS Internet feature. Click on "Int'l Border Crossings." TRANS-CAMS
• UK Trucks Just Disappear! ........... as British truckers now drive with a Dutch registration number in order to thus escape the high Motor Vehicle Tax in Britain. Since August at least 1,000 British trucks have changed their registration number, according to the RVI Inspectorate of the Dutch Ministry of Transport. The drivers arrange for testing of their truck there, and next register it in the name of a small Dutch company which they quickly register. That makes a difference of EUR 3,600 per truck per annum. If it becomes apparent that these Dutch branches of the British entrepreneurs only amount to a postal address, then the license can be withdrawn. Wearing wooden shoes is not expected to help.
• Tragic Gulp ......... as a young Iranian drug trafficker died from ingesting large doses of heroin he had hidden in his stomach to avoid detection, the Iranian daily Kayhan reported on June 12. The man died in the western city of Kermanshah after one of the 32 plastic bags of heroin he was carrying in his stomach tore open. Each bag contained 10 grams (0.4 ounces) of heroin. To bypass police barriers, major drug traffickers often hire unemployed young men to smuggle drugs in their stomachs. So very sad.
• Just How Old Are These Cops? ........... as "antiquity police" in Egypt's Mediterranean city of Alexandria on June 25 foiled an attempt to smuggle Pharaonic, Roman & Greek antiquities worth US$35M, police sources said. A businessman & a former police major general, who had worked as a manager at Alexandria's el-Nozha airport, tried to smuggle the artifacts out of Egypt via el-Nozha. The antiquities, hidden in the men's travel bags, included a clay statue of the Greek goddess of love Aphrodite, colored wooden statues used to decorate ancient coffins & perfume containers from the Roman & Greek dynasties Egypt is cracking down on antiquities smuggling, after a series of operations were uncovered in recent years.
• Those Fun Loving Iraqi Guys .......... as a painting recovered in the coastal city of Izmir this month is believed to be a stolen Picasso taken from the Kuwaiti royal family during the Persian Gulf War. Turkish police said an Iraqi army Capt. stole the artwork - said to be the 1908 oil painting "La Fermiere'" (The Farmer's Wife) - from the Kuwaiti royal palace in 1991. Two Syrians & 4 Turks were arrested last week after attempting to sell the painting to undercover police for US$6.5M. After smuggling the painting out of Kuwait in his uniform, the Capt. brought the Picasso to Syria, where his cousin & another Syrian contacted 4 Turks who knew of a potential buyer in Izmir. The painting hung on the walls of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, before coming to Kuwait. It will now be stored at the state art museum in Ankara while Turkish police & Interpol continue the investigation.
• Attack of The Giant Killer Tomatoes? ........ as the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture's Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service has proposed rules to allow for the irradiation of fruit & vegetable imports. The agency says irradiation will help to eliminate up to 10 species of fruit flies in these shipments. Fruit fly infestations have been particularly devastating to U.S. agriculture. APHIS says it will take comments from the industry on the proposed rules through July 25. The rules can be viewed on the Internet. For the largest killer tomatoes, we suggest shotguns or Claymore mines. http//www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html

2. The Cargo Letter Financial Page

• Air France. UP with 1st quarter net profits surging 42% year-on-year to US$330M. Operating profits were up sharply to US$334M, a 34.1% rise, and overall operating revenues increased 13.5% to US$9.6B. Net earnings per share for the quarter stood at US$1.63, a 37.8% rise. Cargo operating revenues rose 9.3% to US$1.04B. Cargo maintenance operations grew 4.2% with operating revenues of US$469M.
• British Airways World Cargo. UP with a 3.2% increase in sales of US$818M for its fiscal year ending March 31. Worldwide freight, mail & courier traffic rose 4.9% to 897,000 metric tons. A strong first three months this year gave BA World Cargo a needed boost. Cargo sales improved 5.5% year-over-year. Volume was up 8.7% at 224,000 metric tons.
• China Airlines. UP with US$186M operating revenue for April 2000, a 15.4% year-on-year rise.
• Danzas (logistics & forwarding arm of Deutsche Post AG). UP as annual 1999 earnings before interest & taxes rose 72% to 50 million euro (US$45M). Net sales jumped 40% to 4.2 billion euro, due mainly to acquisitions. Revenue included the contribution of Nedlloyd's European transport & distribution business since July & those of the acquired Swedish forwarding group ASG since Sept. The figures for Air Express Int'l, the latest large acquisition by Danzas, will be integrated later this year.
• Evergreen Marine Corp. UP as net operating income increased 17% in 1999, to NT$3.7B (US$121M), from NT$3.2B in 1998. Operating revenues were NT$52.7B (US$1.7B) last year, up 1% in local currency. Measured in U.S. dollars, revenues increased by a larger percentage. Net income for 1999 was NT$933M (US$30M), down 13%.
• Interpool, Inc. UP as it will pay a cash dividend of 3.75 cents per share for the 2nd quarter of 2000. The dividend will be payable on July 17, 2000 to shareholders of record on July 3, 2000. The aggregate amount of the dividend is expected to be approximately US$1,034,000.00. The amount of the quarterly dividend is based on a 2000 annualized dividend rate of 15 cents per share. Interpool, originally founded in 1968, is one of the world's leading lessors of cargo containers used in Int'l trade & is the 2nd largest lessor of intermodal container chassis in the U.S. Interpool is corporate sponsor of The Cargo Letter library & archive.
• Japan Air Lines. DOWN as operating profit climbed to 44.89 billion yen (US$419.9M) in the year to March 31, but net profit fell 26% to 19.74 billion yen, partly due to reduced income from the sale of used planes.
• Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line). UP with a consolidated net income of US$64.5M for the Japanese financial year ended March 31, 2000. The figure represents a 429% quantum leap on the previous year's net income. Although the line's overall consolidated revenue was down 5.3% to US$4.58B for the April 1999 to March 2000 fiscal year, operating profits rose 24.7% year-on-year to US$252.6M. K Line invested US$354M during the fiscal year & has a total shareholder equity of US$698M.
• Kuwait Airways Corp. DOWN with a projected loss of US$30M in the 9 month period to end-March due to continued recession.
• Lufthansa. UP as 1st quarter earnings were up 18% to US$92M, with revenues rising to US$3.1B. The carrier had reported pretax profits of US$1B f or 1999, down 21% from the 1998 level, with revenues 9% higher, totaling US$12.5B.
• Mitsui OSK. UP as overall pretax profits jumped over 60% to US$267.4M, with aggregated revenue rising 11.3% to US$5.98B. Sales, however, fell 7.4% to US$8.35B by virtue of a stronger yen against the greenback.
• NYK Line. UP with an impressive 27% year-on-year increase in net income for the fiscal year concluded March 31, 2000. Japan's largest shipping group saw its net income jump to US$149M during the year, while operating income soared 49% on the previous year's levels to US$668M. Consolidated income also saw a 2% year-on-year rise to US$10.4B. Tramp & specialized carriers accounted for 43% of the group's non-consolidated revenue for the year, with liner shipping & tankers making up 31% & 17% respectively. NYK's logistics division saw operating income soar 46% to US$25M. Revenues rose 2% to US$1.5B.
• Royal Air Maroc (Moroccan state-run airline) DOWN with a 42% slide in net profit to US$14.27M in its 1998-1999 financial year, due mainly to higher energy costs.
• The TT Club. DOWN as income declined for the 1st time in several years, due to a significant reduction in investment returns & the decline of European currency.

OUR "B" Section: FF World Air News

3. Freight Forwarder World Air Briefs

• 1999 World Air Transport Stats ........... as FedEx, Lufthansa & Korean Air were the biggest Int'l air cargo carriers in 1999, according to the IATA ranking. 1.] FedEx 1.18 million tons; 2.] Lufthansa (1 million); 3.] Korean Air (897,000); 4.] Singapore Airlines (872,0000; 5.] British Airways (684,000); 6.] Cathay Pacific (672,000); 7.] Air France (644.000); 8.] Japan Airlines (615.000). Domestic air freight: 1.] FedEx (3.6 million tons); 2.] UPS (2.5); 3.] Japan Airlines (334,000) The Total Ton Kilometers transported by airlines on their Int'l scheduled operations increased by 7.5%, with Available Ton Kilometers reporting a 5.7% growth. At 64.1%, the weight load factor was only marginally lower than the record 64.6% weight load factor in 1997.
• IATA Says Shape Up! ......... as in his opening address to the 56th IATA Annual General Meeting, Sydney 5 June, Director General Pierre J. Jeanniot said that "an industry which does not regulate itself often deserves to be regulated." Against this background, airline delegates to the AGM endorsed a benchmark resolution on a Global Customer Service Framework - which encourages all Member airlines to adopt a customer service commitment, tailored to the cultures & markets that they serve, as well as a concrete plan for implementing the commitment. The resolution called upon legislative authorities around the world to take individual airline commitments to the IATA global framework into account, when considering the need for regulatory action. Airlines welcomed the worldwide trend to market liberalization, in a 2nd resolution - whilst calling on regulators to recognize the need for: safety & security oversight; adequate airport & ATS infrastructure; the multilateral interline system; industry mechanisms to improve business efficiency; & open market access, giving a fair opportunity to participate in the sustainable growth of the global air transport system. Also reported at the conference was that world airlines saw a sharp drop of US$1.2B in overall profits last year, largely due to a huge rise in fuel costs & a decline in yields from fares, the IATA said. It said returns to its 268 member carriers after payment of interest on loans was only US$1.9B, down nearly 40%.
• Breathing It Will Remain Free ........... as on Aug. 1, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will demand fee payment from non-U.S. airlines for the services they receive in flying over U.S. airspace. Fees levied will be based on the distances that airlines fly over the U.S., with US$37.43 per 100 nautical miles charged for overland flights & US$20.16 charged per 100 nautical miles flown over the ocean. The FAA was prevented from charging over-flight fees by a U.S. federal court ruling in 1998, which determined that the FAA had no measure for the costs to provide its services. Since then, the FAA has developed a cost-accounting system and it is on this that the new charges will be based. The FAA plans to issue bills to airlines on a monthly basis.
• United To Get It's Own U.S Air ............. as UAL Corp., the parent of United Airlines, has agreed to purchase Virginia-based US Airways Group for US$4.3B in cash, plus the assumption of US$1.5B in debt & US$5.8B in aircraft leases. The deal, which will face definite regulatory hurdles in the U.S. & Europe, could combine the world's largest airline with the 6th-largest U.S. carrier. United has an extensive Int'l route network, particularly in the transpacific market. US Airways brings deep regional route penetration in the eastern U.S. & a presence on the transatlantic. The complementary route networks make a good fit, according to analysts, and may be the two airlines' best defense against arguments that the merger will hamper competition. United claims that its route network overlaps just 17% of US Airways' routes. UAL said it will divest itself of some assets, particularly slots at Reagan National Airport in Washington D.C., to ease regulatory approval. The airlines expect to close the deal next year. Each share of US Airways stock will be tradable for US$60 cash. Based on US Airways' stock price on May 23, that represents a 130% premium. It is unclear what benefits shippers will gain form a United-US Airways combination. Some U.S. shippers, particularly in smaller U.S. East Coast markets, could realize faster connections to Asian destinations in United's network, but no specific cargo plans have been announced. "Reasonably strong evidence exists that the merger between will create a domino effect in the airline industry that could result in only three major U.S. carriers," an antitrust expert said June 21. Albert Foer, Pres. of the Washington-based American Antitrust Institute, acknowledged that the need for at least some prediction into the future will complicate an already difficult task for federal regulators weighing whether to approve the US$4.3B merger plan. But he said the question of future mergers and how that would affect competition should be central to the government's review.
• Terms of The Big Divorce .......... as the KLM - Alitalia separation will complete in Sept. Following their well publicized fall-out, the airlines will continue joint services with no schedule changes until the end of August to minimize disruption to customers. Independent code-sharing will commence in Sept. with both carriers reestablishing independent cargo sales & travel offices in all countries. Joint communications are to be phased out & both carriers will revert to individual branding. The airlines decided to part company after a dispute concerning the long term future of Milan's Malpensa Airport. Alitalia has now begun searching for another European partner and has transferred its Int'l flights to the new Malpensa hub, which is inconveniently located over 30 miles from Milan. Other European airlines continue to use the city's smaller but more conveniently located Linate Airport. Alitalia says it may sue KLM Royal Dutch Airlines for US$255M in damages over the abrupt withdrawal. At the heart of the dispute is Alitalia's refusal to refund US$102M to KLM which the Dutch airline had originally given towards the new "Malpensa 2000" airport.
• New KLM Suitor In Huge Deal? .......... as KLM & British Airways revealed on June 6 that they are discussing a combination that would amount to the largest takeover of one national carrier by a foreign airline, but aviation experts do not see the deal going through all that quickly. A full takeover of KLM by BA would be complicated, particularly by the fact that countless bilateral aviation treaties would have to be revised. KLM's landing rights outside Europe are based on about 135 treaties that the Dutch government concluded with individual countries. Some say that those treaties would become endangered if the majority of the shares or control over KLM fall into BA hands. Investment analysts recognize the problem, but do not consider it insurmountable. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is thought to be seeking 30% of the merged group for its shareholders, even though it is less than one-fifth the size of BA in terms of market capitalization. For although the talk is of a merger, BA's size will effectively result in the deal being a takeover.
• Northwest Airlines & American Airlines? ......... as their executives have talked about a possible bid by American to buy Northwest. According to KSTP-TV, AMR's CEO Don J. Carty & Northwest CEO John Dasburg talked about a possible merger, which in fact would be a takeover. American is reacting to the United-US Airways deal, which gives this combination a 28% market share within the U.S. American is No. 2 in the U.S., Northwest is No. 4. American wants an alliance with British Airways, who is in takeover talks with KLM (see above), the Northwest-partner.
• Two More At The Altar .......... as Air France Cargo & Delta Air Lines Cargo plan to launch a joint venture in the U.S. to combine their export sales teams. The lines, which formed a comprehensive passenger alliance last year, will offer a single point of contact for U.S. shippers & forwarders with an integrated product line. Air France recently introduced a new portfolio of cargo services -- including time-definite delivery, special handling alternatives & a forwarder partnership program. Air France said the combination with Delta would give cargo customers nonstop service to 33 destinations in Latin America, Europe & Japan, flexible freighter capacity & connections through Paris to Air France destinations in Europe, the Middle East, Asia & Africa. Delta, which does not operate freighters, will gain access to Air France's large fleet of 11 B-747F all-cargo planes. Air France is the world's 4th largest Int'l air cargo carrier. Delta ranks No. 20. The carriers have filed their plans to the U.S. Dept. of Justice for review & will wait to implement the joint venture until it is approved. The new company will focus on selling & marketing U.S. export airfreight, except to Canada.
• TWA Not Invited To The Dance .......... as like the unpopular teen-ager standing alone at the prom, Trans World Airlines is watching as the airline industry's major players dance with each other. Despite the rash of deals discussed above, TWA's dance card remains blank. Company officials say they're paying attention to what's happening in the industry & will listen to any offer that comes along. But analysts don't expect anyone to start tapping TWA's shoulder. "There is no place in this merger picture for TWA," said Ray Neidl, an analyst with investment bank ING Barings. "I don't think anyone would be interested in them." It's not hard to figure out why. The St. Louis-based carrier hasn't turned a profit since 1988. In 1999, TWA lost US$353.4M, or US$5.58 per share. None of the other top American airlines lost money last year.
• The Fate of Super Jumbo Is Sealed ........... as Airbus Industrie, Europe's plane building consortium, has at last decided to go ahead with plans to build the jumbo A3XX jet. A3XX will be the world's largest passenger plane, carrying 555 seats. Air cargo executives believe the A3XX freighter may be able to carry up to 150 tons, making it a potential rival to the mammoth Antonov An-124. The new planes will demand a price tag of some US$230M each. Airbus has estimated it will spend US$12B to develop the program. Emirates & Singapore Airlines have placed orders for the jet. Airbus has said it has the support of at least 4 other carriers. Atlas Air & FedEx Corp. are those rumored to be interested in a freighter version of the A3XX. Emirates has said up to 2 of its orders could be for freighters. Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic Airways said it plans to order a fleet of the new super-jumbo aircraft from Airbus, and its U.S. rival, Boeing. Virgin said it would spend between U.S. $3-4 billion on a total of 10 to 20 new super jets, the Airbus doubledecker super-jumbo A3XX & the new stretched Boeing 747-400 aircraft. Branson promised to replace some seating with leisure amenities. "We won't have that many passengers because we will have luxuries like more leg room, bars, even a Jacuzzi & separate bedrooms."
• Airbus Feeling Public ......... as the German-French-Spanish consortium that holds a controlling interest in Airbus Industrie will launch its initial public offering of stock on July 10, essentially sealing the merger agreed to last year. The IPO was announced at the Berlin Air Show this month by the 3 European Aeronautic Defense & Space Company partners - France's Aerospatiale Matra SA, Germany's DaimlerChrysler AG's aerospace unit Dasa & Spain's Casa. The partners merged late last year. The consortium owns an 80% interest in Airbus, which reached agreement last week to begin production of the superjumbo Airbus A3XX. British aircraft manufacturer BAE controls the remaining 20%.
• Not Very Fine ........ as parent company of all-cargo airline Fine Air has entered into negotiations with its creditors to restructure its mounting debts. Fine Air Corp., which also owns Arrow Air, missed an interest payment of more than US$9M earlier this month & reported a 1st quarter loss of US$2.3M. The carrier needs to find another US$10M, either from an additional loan or a sale of non-core assets, to meet its annual liquidity requirements. Fine Air used a US$200M debt offering to purchase Arrow Air for US$115M in order to expand its network in Latin America. To meet the new U.S. noise regulations, Fine Air will have to spend a significant amount on "hushkits" for its DC-8F & L1011 freighters. Credit rating company Standard & Poors reacted to the news by lowering its credit rating for the company. Fine Air joins Kitty Hawk & Polar Air Cargo as another carrier facing serious financial strife as a result of Stage Three regulations which prohibit the operation of noisy, old freighter aircraft. The airline was convicted of a federal offense in March when prosecutors found it guilty of destroying & falsifying records related to a mid-1997 freighter crash at MIA which killed 5 people.
• Future For Our PAL After All? ......... as 1st year of a 10 year rehabilitation program for Philippine Airlines (PAL) is turning the flagging carrier around faster than expected. Following a surprise return to profitability during the 1st quarter, PAL executives have indicated that they plan to get out of receivership within 5 years. The Philippine national carrier recently reported a first quarter net profit of US$1M.
• Going For Olympic For Gold .......... as Greece has hired Credit Suisse First Boston Corp. to be its financial adviser for the sale of a minority stake in Olympic Airways, its ailing state-owned airline. The decision announced June 6 by Finance Minister Yannos Papantoniou comes less than one week after British Airways opted out of buying a 20% stake in Olympic Airways, dealing a major blow to the country's flagship carrier. Cash-strapped Olympic, owned by the Greek government, has a history of frequent strikes & complaints of poor service. However, the dolmas are great.
• UAL Or BA Owning A Piece of China? .......... as Merrill Lynch believes the relaxing of foreign ownership limits for Chinese airlines would benefit China's aviation industry by helping to consolidate its operations both in the short & longer terms. The statement was in response to an announcement on May 31 by a Civil Aviation of China (CAAC) official that said Beijing was thinking about increasing the amount foreign investors can hold in domestic airlines. Currently, foreign investment is limited to 35% with China considering an increase to 49%. China's impending entry into the World Trade Organization was a big factor in the decision to consider increasing foreign ownership, according to CAAC. China's 2 major airlines, China Eastern Airlines (CEA) & China Southern Airlines (CSA), were among those lobbying hard to have the ownership restrictions reduced, said Merrill Lynch. The company has an immediate term accumulate & long term buy recommendation for CEA. Merrill Lynch added that increased foreign ownership would allow overseas airlines to take part in equity deals with the larger Int'l carriers and that this would also lead to Chinese airlines working with foreign partners. It stressed the long term benefits to China's aviation industry resulting from these changes. Merrill Lynch also pointed out that Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific is seeking ways of increasing its profile in China & that it has already entered into equity share talks with CEA.
• New Star ....... as British Midland, the UK's 2nd largest airline, is to join Star Alliance on 1 July.
• New One? ......... as Malaysia Airlines may become a member of the global Oneworld Alliance according to aviation observers. The involvement of Australian carrier Qantas in the alliance and the success of the Kuala Lumpur Int'l Airport are said to driving factors in the decision. Aer Lingus & LanChile took up full membership of the Oneworld alliance June 1, bringing the number of member carriers up to 8.
• Strange BA Move? ........... as British Airways World Cargo has been given the go-ahead on a wet-lease arrangement with Atlas Air, with the move puzzling industry insiders. The fight between UK & U.S. aviation authorities generally remains at an impasse with both sides refusing to back down, before the recent concession for BA was made. The carrier applied for, and was granted, the rights to operate one of Atlas Air's B747-400Fs for one year. Once a week, the freighter is to be deployed to Frankfurt from London's Stanstead Airport, & from Germany it will be taken on to Atlanta. In addition, the aircraft will operate between the UK & Japan twice a week. All flights will be operated by British Airways except the Frankfurt- Atlanta leg which will be run by Atlas Air, with BA acting as the sole general sales agent. The move was unexpected due to the ongoing struggle between UK & U.S. authorities. The U.S. is vying for air rights in the UK but is not willing to grant reciprocal rights in return. Arguing that the conditions are unfair, British authorities have taken a stand by refusing to allow U.S. carriers the air space they are seeking. When BA recently applied to extend a different wet-lease with Atlas Air, the British carrier was refused permission from UK authorities. BA has been operating a B747-400 freighter from London to Hong Kong, under application for an extension, was only granted 3 more months of operation. The move has been seen as a direct message to U.S. authorities that the UK will only sign an open skies agreement with the States if the conditions are deemed to be fair on both sides. As to why BA was then granted the rights to a wet-lease with the same type of aircraft, with the same carrier, it is not clear. Talks between U.S. & British officials on giving their airlines greater access to each others' airports & routes ended in London on June 16 with an agreement to reconvene next month in Washington. "A wide range of ideas were discussed, including ideas for phasing in liberalization," a British government spokesman said, adding discussions on the long-stalled "open skies" agreement would resume on July 5. "The talks enabled each side to clarify their position on a number of important points," he said. Negotiations last broke down in Jan.
• Clipping Alaskan Wings ............ as the Federal Aviation Authority has proposed suspending Alaska Airlines' authority to conduct heavy maintenance, following a national safety inspection conducted by the agency. The FAA inspection was prompted by the Jan. 31 crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261. The crash is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board. The FAA's inspection is focused on the airlines maintenance & operations systems at Seattle & Oakland. The agency found that while the airline was generally in compliance with the regulations that there were "serious breakdowns in record keeping, documentation and quality assurance," the FAA said. The inspection also found that the airline's maintenance personnel are not following FAA-approved procedures contained in the airlines' manuals. Alaska Air must now file additional information with the FAA, which will then review the information & propose action that the airline will have 30 days to comply with. During that time, FAA review will be required for any aircraft returned to service following heavy maintenance. Heavy maintenance applies to major repairs made while an aircraft is taken out of service. An estimated 6 or 7 of the airline's 89 aircraft are in heavy maintenance in any given month.
• Coalition "X" Moves Forward ........... as Air France, American, British Airways, Continental, Delta Air Lines, Iberia & United are founding members of a new Internet marketplace company, which is as yet unnamed. The founding partners represent more than US$30B in annual purchases. The marketplace will be open to aviation customers & suppliers world wide. Participating airlines & suppliers will see significant value through lower transaction, processing & inventory costs. Specific items bought & sold through this portal may include fuel & fuel services, airframe, avionics, engine components & maintenance services, as well as other goods & services. http://www.airnewco.com
• Forwarder Will Lead Carrier Group ............ as Cargo Networks Services Corporation (CNS) has elected Guenter Rohrmann, vice chair of Danzas AEI, as its new chairman. CNS is the U.S. air cargo subsidiary of the Int'l Air Transport Assn. (IATA). Mr. Rohrmann is the 1st forwarder to serve as CNS chairman in the organization's history. Mr. Rohrmann's top priority at CNS will be to bolster the Cargo 2000 program, set up to improve the efficiency of airline-forwarder cargo operations. Mr. Rohrmann's Danzas AEI colleague, Ron Cesana, was recently named project director for Cargo 2000.
• Your Last Visit Here Was The Hindenburg ........... as CargoLifter plans to locate its 1st airship U.S. Home Base to build giant cargo-carrying dirigibles in eastern North Carolina. This will be the company's 1st operating facility outside of Germany. Two locations in North Carolina are being considered for the company's 4000-acre airship assembly & maintenance facility: Pasquotank County, near Elizabeth City, NC, in the Northeast & Craven County, near New Bern, NC, in the central coastal region. The chosen site will employ 200-300 and consist of an airship hangar, visitor center, administrative buildings & manufacturing shops. CargoLifter AG will manufacture & operate a fleet of giant airships to carry heavylift cargo worldwide. The 1st airship will be completed in late 2002, with serial production of a fleet of 50 set to begin in 2005. CargoLifter CL160s, the largest airships ever built, will carry 176-ton payloads worldwide. CL160s will have a range of 6,000 miles & a crew of 10-12. The 850-foot long craft will pick up & discharge cargo without having to land. Truly, monsters roaming the earth. "Oh, the humanity!" http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000608/CHTH003
• Ohio Airships Will Meet Competition In Next "Great Race" .......... as it also aims to become the 1st in a new market category known as the "Discount Air Cargo Industry." Within 5 years, Ohio Airships looks to complete a new cargo transportation system that will offer shippers lower air cargo prices at just slightly lower air transport speeds. It's solution centers on hybrid airplane/airships. A very great web site explains the U.S. dream & dedication to mount an American challenge to CargoLifter. May the best airship win! Stay tuned to this eciting story here. http://www.ohioairships.com
• TIACA To The U.S. For 2000 .......... as Int'l Air Cargo Association (TIACA) will consider your application to take part in the 20th Int'l Air Cargo Forum & Expo (ACF2000). The event will be held at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington DC., on Sept. 27-30. It is the 1st time the event has been held in the U.S. since the 1994 ACF in Seattle. TIACA is offering its members a discount for on-line registration prior to June 30. http://www.tiaca.org/
• History's 2nd Inchon Landing Approaches ........... as South Korea's huge new airport which is to open early next year, hopes to take advantage of China's trade boom by becoming the main intermodal hub for N.W. Asia. The airport is eyeing the tremendous growth potential of light industrial goods with China's entry into the WTO imminent. The hub is gearing itself to handle 1.7 million tons of air freight per annum with normal operations to take place around the clock. Inchon Int'l Airport is under construction at a site located approximately 50 km. to the west of Seoul. On completion it will replace Kimpo Int'l Airport. Kimpo will revert to handling domestic flights only. Time to look for your new office & warehouse space!
• But Dumbo Has Landing Rights .......... as the Hong Kong government has published an Air Navigation (Flight Prohibition) Order to propose the creation of an Air Intrusion Limitation Zone (AILZ) in the vicinity of the forthcoming Hong Kong Disneyland (HKD) at Penny's Bay. The prohibition will not apply to aircraft following air traffic control instructions or to Civil Aviation Department-published approach & departure procedures, those deviating from such instructions or procedures for weather avoidance or due to technical problems, or for Dumbo. The AILZ has a radius of 2.5 km, which is small in aviation terms. A helicopter or light aircraft will take approximately 2 minutes to fly through the AILZ and only 20 seconds to fly into the HKD site. Tinkerbell has filed a protest.
• New Cargo Venture For Veracruz .......... as the Allianz Aviation Group, Southeastern Airports Group, Consejo de Inversion Veracruzano & the government of Veracruz have announced the creation of a cargo distribution center in Veracruz with an aim to participating in the US$3B cargo market in Mexico. The consortium will invest 120 million dollars in the first stage in the project which is led by Allianz and which aims to capture 20% of the market, which is almost entirely controlled by foreign companies.
• Danzas & DHL In Brazil .......... as the Brazilian subsidiaries of DHL Worldwide Express & Danzas Corp. have entered a strategic partnership for electronic commerce. Danzas also named DHL as its exclusive courier in Brazil.
• A Dull Moment At Polar Air Cargo? ......... as board chairman Eric Dull will serve as acting CEO, following the resignation of Louis Valerio. We wish this Long Beach, CA well after it's problems and that of Fine Air & Kitty Hawk. Those, like Polar, who inovate for our industry should be supported when the lean moments come fromm time to time.
• Sino-Russian Cargo Flights Jump -- All Over Each Other ......... as commercial trade between the 2 countries is flourishing following government steps to boost commercial relations. The resulting growth in air cargo has led to dangerous overcrowding on flight paths, with authorities stepping in to change & standardize air routes. A total of 9 Russian airlines now fly 50 flights a week to a total of 10 Chinese destinations which include Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin & Shenyang. More than half of the flights are dedicated cargo services. East Line Airlines is Russia's largest freight carrier, accounting for some 50% of Sino-Russian air cargo trade.
• S.A. Crash Probed 13 Years Later ......... as South Africa's director of public prosecutions has reopened an investigation into the 1987 crash of a South African Airways Boeing 747 that killed all 159 people on board. Suspicions have lingered that military cargo was stored on the plane by apartheid-era authorities in contravention of int'l civil aviation rules. The Helderberg plane ditched off the coast of Mauritius during a flight to Johannesburg from Taipei after a blaze in the cargo hold. South Africa's Truth & Reconciliation Commission had recommended that the government open an inquiry into the causes of the disaster after it questioned around 15 witnesses in closed door hearings 2 years ago. A previous judicial inquiry found no one was responsible for the crash.
• Dog Days At United ........... as the line will follow Delta (see The Cargo Letter 352) with a pet embargo on all domestic & Int'l flights beginning June 15 through Sept. 7. This embargo will apply to all travel on or after June 15, 2000. During this period, United will not handle live animals as checked baggage, but will continue to accept live animals that are shipped as cargo. Smaller pets will continue to be accepted in the passenger cabin if they meet certain criteria. United Cargo will accept animal shipments only from commercial animal shippers or licensed pet breeders, which must be booked in advance of the shipment. Extreme weather guidelines will apply, preventing cargo shipment of any live animal when the temperature is forecast to exceed 85 degrees Fahrenheit at any point in the animal's journey. Passengers who are unable to travel due to this embargo will be allowed to change their travel dates or cancel their itineraries without penalty.
• The Delta Show ........... as a 140-foot display of Delta Air Lines history & memorabilia is the 1st exhibit in the new Gallery T at Atlanta Hartsfield Int'l Airport. Entitled "The Big Switch," the exhibit represents the conversion of Delta's fleet to jet aircraft from 1959 to 1970. The Delta Air Transport Heritage Museum, a nonprofit foundation, received a grant from the City of Atlanta to research and create the displays and signage. "The Big Switch" is scheduled to be on display through next spring. The exhibit, featuring more than 225 artifacts from Delta's many collections, is the largest single public display of Delta history. http://www.www.delta-air.com
• Perishables Perish In Hoax ......... as Some 25 tons of vegetables, fruits & flowers spoiled on a Cairo runway after a hoax message that the plane carrying it was carrying explosives on May 28. Egyptian authorities said they received a fax from the cargo plane company saying it had received an anonymous call claiming there were explosives onboard the aircraft, which was in Cairo on a refueling stop on May 27 while en route to London from Nairobi. The cargo plane was rented from British Airways by an Ugandan cargo company whose name was not immediately available. The airport announced a state of emergency & sent fire engines, ambulances & sniffer dogs to escort the plane to a cleared area and the cargo was hauled out. The goods went bad after they were left in the heat for 7 hours but no other flights were disrupted. In Feb., a telephone bomb hoax had delayed a Saudi Arabia-bound flight after an anonymous caller claimed there was a bomb on board. That flight was delayed 4 hours.
• Rocky's Revenge .......... as public prosecutors are taking KLM Royal Dutch Airlines to court for grinding up 440 live Chinese squirrels in an industrial meat-processing machine (uhg!). The airline & 2 employees will face unspecified charges for mistreating animals, said Tine Zwiers of the Haarlem public prosecutor's office. KLM decided to slaughter the rodents, similar to the No. American ground squirrel, after they arrived at Schiphol Airport from China in April 1999 without import documents or proper cages. The squirrels arrived in Amsterdam en route to a collector in Athens, Greece. Once discovered, KLM said it had little choice but to destroy the animals. But the manner of their disposal shocked the nation & prompted a debate in parliament. KLM apologized for the death of the squirrels & said it deserved criticism. KLM has stopped all exotic cargo shipments & closed its "animal hotel" which cared for illegally imported animals before they were returned to their home countries. See the full story at our website: "Bulwinke Vows To Revenge KLM Flying Squirrel Killings" in The Cargo Letter 339 of April 1999.
• Terror At Zero Thousand Feet ......... as about 200 passengers on a United Airlines flight bound for Washington, D.C. sat on the runway at O'Hare Int'l Airport for more than 8 hours on June 2. Flight 1806 was scheduled to take off at 1:44 p.m. The wheels finally left the tarmac at 9:53 p.m. The Boeing 777 was one of hundreds delayed by a string of thunderstorms on the East Coast. The plane was forced to return to the gate twice, once to refuel. The plane returned again to replace crew members who had been on duty too long under FAA rules. However, the passengers were not replaced. There were no meals available to the passengers during the delay, but the flight crew passed out granola bars stored on the plane for unexpected delays. As a courtesy, the granola bars will be automatically charged to the passenger's credit cards.

OUR "C" Section: FF World Ocean News

4. FF World Ocean Briefs

• Henry Won't Give Up .......... as U.S. House Judiciary Committee chairman Henry Hyde, R-Ill., is not giving up on legislation to repeal ocean carriers' antitrust immunity. Chances appear slim such a major bill will be undertaken by Congress during a busy election year, but Hyde is trying to build support for the bill via a "dear colleague" letter sent to all Congress members. With the disappearance of most U.S. owned ships from the Int'l shipping arena, antitrust immunity now benefits foreign shipowners at the expense of U.S. consumers, Hyde says. Meanwhile, carrier representatives, shippers & governments failed to reach an agreement this month following antitrust reform discussions in Paris arranged by the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD). Over 120 delegates attended the meeting to discuss a variety of issues. Shippers called for the reform of antitrust exemptions, with their views predictably opposed by ocean carrier delegates. U.S. government representatives echoed the country's stance that antitrust exemption should be retained following the implementation of the U.S. Ocean Shipping Reform Act last year.
• Early OSRA Results .......... as confidential service contracts & the declining power of ocean conferences under a new shipping environment created by the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 1998 are benefiting ocean carriers & shippers, according to an interim status report released by the Federal Maritime Commission. Though more definitive results of OSRA will become known when the FMC issues its final report next summer, preliminary indications show that rates & services "increasingly are being driven by market forces." From May 1, 1999, through May 2000, the FMC has received 46,035 new service contracts & 95,627 contract amendments. Almost all of the contracts were confined to a single U.S. trade lane, & generally carried a one-year duration, according to the FMC study. The commission said it expects to see global contracts become more popular as large shippers and carriers reconfigure their transportation logistics. 75% of the service contracts were signed by beneficial owners of the cargo, while 20% were signed by NVOCCs, & 5% by shippers' associations. The number of liner conferences has slipped from 32 in 1997 to 22 today, while the FMC received 11 sets of voluntary service guidelines, mostly filed by discussion agreements. The FMC's preliminary analysis shows that rate & service contract guidelines are being followed most closely by agreements whose members are operating closest to vessel capacity.
• Piracy Reporting Center Foils Pirate Hijack ........... as IMB (part of Commercial Crime Services, a division of the Paris-based Int'l Chamber of Commerce) has claimed another victory with the recovery of a hijacked tanker, missing in South East Asian waters since Feb. Authorities in China have confirmed a ship they boarded & impounded at the end of last month off Hong Kong waters is the M/T Global Mars. The Global Mars was hijacked by a band of pirates barely a day after setting sail from Malaysia 4 months ago. The ship was boarded by masked bandits armed with guns & swords. They blindfolded the crew of 8 Koreans & 10 Myanmar nationals before transferring the crew to a fishing boat and setting them adrift with only basic provisions. The crew managed to get to Surin Island in Thailand & eventually made their way to the mainland. The Panamanian flag vessel, built in 1985, was carrying a cargo of 6000 metric tons of palm oil products. "The Piracy Reporting Center sent out a piracy alert to maritime contacts in the region and were able to track the hijacked vessel," said IMB Director, Capt. Pottengal Mukundan. "This has been another good example of cooperation between the shipping industry & law enforcement." Chinese investigators found 20 people aboard the hijacked tanker, including 11 Philippinos & 9 Myanmar nationals. They are currently being questioned by police. "The vessel had been renamed "Bulawan" purportedly under the Honduran registry. But Honduran authorities confirmed that no such vessel could be traced." "The Hong Kong SAR and the China Maritime Search & Rescue Center in Beijing were instrumental in the seizure of the vessel. The Chinese Police & Border Defense Bureau acted within hours of confirmation by ICC-IMB that the Bulawan was a false identity. They used aircraft & patrol boats to locate and identify the vessel," said Capt. Mukundan. There is an estimated 2500 metric tons of cargo still on board. The IMB Piracy Center was set up in 1992. It is financed by voluntary contributions from shipping companies and P&I associations. Of the ten serious cases of hijacking in the past 2 years, the IMB Piracy Reporting Center has helped recover 9 of the stolen ships. Read our daily report of pirate attacks:  Int'l Vessel Casualties Database
• New Incarnation For NACA ........... as the New American Consolidators Assn. has gone from individual NVOCCs to a shippers' association to a single corporation, and has expanded its management team. The new NACA corporation, comprising Direct Container Line, Brennan Int'l & Conterm Consolidation Services, has become one of the power hitters among the neutral NVOs. "Before this move, each company was a medium-sized player with nowhere to go," said Owen Glenn, chair of NACA & founder of DCL. "NACA provides them with a new direction." Two years ago, the freedoms of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act encouraged the 3 NVOs to form the NACA shippers' association. This allowed them to pool their freight volumes to negotiate more favorable rates & service from the ocean carriers. That was also the time when rumors began floating around the NVO industry that the NACA members were actually one company. The members adamantly denied the rumors, asserting their independence, but the writing was on the wall. "We've become a hybrid entity as a result of what's happened in the market," Glenn said. "Why shouldn't it be one company?" NACA expects to handle upwards of 160,000 TEUs this year, with annual gross revenues of about US$420M. In the next 2 years, the company expects to increase its annual gross revenues to US$750M, Glenn said. The company has appointed James Molloy, formerly V.P. & controller at BAX Global, to CFO. Jeannette Bateman, NACA's director of operations & work process development, will specialize in evaluating vendor use and quality control of the company's operations DCL's Andrew Nangano has been appointed manager of commercial administration. He will responsible for NACA's pricing & tariff administration.
• Pirate Tracking To The Lair ............ as the Int'l Maritime Bureau (IMB), a unit of the Paris-based Int'l Chamber of Commerce, has launched a dedicated Web site, Shiploc.com, so owners can track and view the exact position of vessels at any time. The number of reported piracy attacks worldwide for 1999 rose to 285, an increase of 40% compared with 1998 figures & almost tripled with 1991 according to the ICC Int'l Maritime Bureau in London (IMB). To help fight piracy, a new tool, SHIPLOC, has been approved by the IMB. SHIPLOC is the result of a close cooperation between the IMB & CLS, a world leading satellite tracking system operator. It is based on a small device that regularly reports to ship owners the exact position of their ships through a satellite network. If the ship is hijacked, the IMB, with authorization from the ship owner, will be able to access the ship's data. IMB will then alert the appropriate law enforcement agency who will take the necessary action. The SHIPLOC unit needs to be installed on every ship to be tracked. This is a small device, about the size of a shoebox, which can be easily concealed on a ship. It is powered by the onboard power supply, but also includes its own back-up battery. If a piracy act occurs & should the onboard power be cutoff, the transmitter will still be able to send data. The positions are reported automatically & are available either by E-mail or via the SHIPLOC website. The only requirement for using the system is to have a PC with Internet access at the shipowner's headquarters. http://www.shiploc.com/
• MARAD Gets Some Authority ........... as the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee has cleared for a Senate vote legislation authorizing funding for Maritime Administration programs for the upcoming fiscal year, and allowing non-U.S. built cruise ships to operate in the U.S. domestic trades under certain conditions. Aside from providing US$80.2M for MarAd's administrative costs and for running the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy & State maritime academies, the Maritime Administration authorization bill provides US$54M for the agency's Title XI shipbuilding finance program. The US$96M for the agency's Maritime Security Program, which grants operating payments to U.S.-flag merchant ships, does not require authorization, but does require congressional approval when MarAd's overall budget comes before the House & Senate. The authorization bill also eliminates for one year the 3 year period newly registered bulk operators must wait to carry government-impelled cargo. A recent analysis conducted by MarAd shows that if just 2 or 3 bulk carriers take advantage of the elimination of the 3 year waiting period, taxpayers could save more than US$52M over a 5 year period. The legislation also clears the way for scrapping aged vessels in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, by restoring the right to scrap ships abroad. Over the past several years, MarAd has been barred from scrapping overseas because of concerns raised by the Environmental Protection Agency. The bill directs the Secretary of State & Secretary of Transportation to initiate discussions to establish an Int'l standard for scrapping vessels. The bill also orders the Navy, the EPA, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration, the State Dept. & the Transportation Dept. to develop a scrapping program within 9 months after the legislation is passed by Congress.
• Brazil Taxes Paradise ........... as it has published regulations -- Normative Act Nr. 8 -- calling for a 25% tax on freight revenue, demurrage & container hire. Last year, Brazil passed the tax, known as Medida Provisoria 1924-4, that would be applied to all remittances made from Brazil to companies situated in "fiscal paradises." Brazil defines a fiscal paradise as any place that has an income tax rate of less than 20%. As many as 34 countries -- mostly small island nations & territories -- are affected, such as Panama, Marshall Islands, Bermuda, Mauritius & Malta. So far, there have been no reports of the tax being imposed on carriers & shippers, but this could change soon. Companies located in countries that have signed tax avoidance treaties with Brazil are eligible for exemption. They include Argentina, Chile, Colombia, India, Russia & South Africa.
• Won More Time ............ as the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee has cleared the nomination of Del Won for another term on the Federal Maritime Commission. Won is known for his investigation which uncovered a number of ocean carrier practices in the transpacific trade, his free-market approach to ocean shipping, and his stand against antitrust immunity for ocean carriers as it applies to rate-setting under conferences and voluntary rate & service guidelines under discussion agreements. The Senate is expected to clear the nomination soon. "Antitrust immunity is an issue where reasonable people may disagree," he said at his nomination hearing. He said he approves of antitrust immunity as it applies to cost savings and efficiency-enhancing agreements, but is concerned that ocean carriers could use their antitrust exemption "as leverage against the shipping public." Won predicted that it will take 3 to 5 years for the full benefits of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act to become known. But indications are that the market under OSRA "is moving in a free-market direction." Won was nominated by President Clinton for a new 2 year term on April 12, 1999. He was sworn in as an FMC commissioner in Aug. 1994.
• P&O Nedlloyd Buys Farrell Lines .......... as the deal is subject to regulatory clearances from the U.S. Maritime Administration. The companies have reached agreement on integrating their respective activities in the trade between the U.S. & the Mediterranean, which will be branded Farrell Mediterranean Express. Farrell Lines Inc. is a privately held USA based shipping company headquartered in New York. It operates 5 U.S. Flag container ships of an average size of 2000 TEUs in a service between the U.S. East Coast & the West & Eastern Mediterranean. A key cargo segment is the U.S. Military & Preference cargo, which require U.S. flag ships. It has a number of owned offices in the USA, Genoa, Italy & Tblisi, Georgia and is employing 165 staff. Farrell Lines, originally named American South African Line, was established in 1925 by John & James Farrell.
• CSAV Gets Norasia Container ......... as Compania Sud Americana de Vapores (CSAV) has acquired the conventional container service operations & trade name of Norasia Lines Ltd for US$38M, in what has become CSAV's largest takeover to date. The June 1 acquisition was effected through a newly formed company, Norasia Container Lines Ltd, Malta. The deal adds 400,000 TEU of cargo shipments to CSAV's tally, giving it a total of about 1.5 million TEU annually. The Chilean company will take control of Norasia's operations in the transpacific, Asia/northern Europe, Middle East/northern Europe, Asia/Middle East & Asia/Mediterranean trades. It is understood that the companies will continue to operate independently but, where core volume demands, will focus on equipment, systems, service development, agencies & in back-office functions.
• Maersk Leads U.S. Pack ......... as the latest U.S. Global Container Report by Piers Maritime Research Services has put Denmark's Maersk Sealand at the top of its ranking of shipping lines serving the U.S. trades. With 547,129 TEU of cargo being shipped to/from U.S. ports over the 1st quarter of this year, Maersk Sealand cleared 66% more cargo than nearest competitor Evergreen. Evergreen was 2nd in handling 328,864 TEU, while APL came in 3rd managing 259,653 TEU. U.S. container trade for the 1st quarter measured just over 4 million TEU with exports accounting for 1.6 million TEU & imports standing at 2.4 million TEU. The same period in 1999 saw 3.7 million TEU shipped to/from America. In that year exports were just over 1.5 million TEU & imports stood at 2.2 million TEU.
• Goodbye DSR-Senator ......... as the line based in Bremen, Germany, has been renamed Senator Lines. The company name included the initials "DSR" following the consolidation of the container shipping activities of the former East German shipping group Deutsche Seereederei Rostock & West German carrier Senator Line. Hanjin Shipping, of South Korea, owns 80% of Senator Lines
• Coast Guard Will Work For Food? ........... as financial crisis in the Coast Guard budget has forced reductions in air & sea operations, resulting in increased response time in some rescue missions and fewer drug & migrant interdictions, the Coast Guard Commandant, Admiral James M. Loy said on June 7. Congress fully funded the US$4.2B budget for the Coast Guard requested by President Clinton for the fiscal year 2000 that started last Oct. But that budget did not include money for military pay increases & other personnel benefits approved in a separate Defense Dept. bill. As a result, Loy said, "US$75M75 worth of bills have sort of accrued on us." The Coast Guard has deferred maintenance on aircraft & vessels & diverted funds from law enforcement. In Jan., Atlantic & Pacific area commanders were ordered to reduce cutter days & flight hours by about 10%. The Coast Guard has identified a US$225M shortfall for this fiscal year, including some US$71M in immediate obligations. The immediate costs include US$18M in medical expenses, US$15M for housing, US$15M for recruiting & retention and US$7M for increased fuel costs.
• FEFC, TACA Hearing Begins .......... as the Court of First Instance of Luxembourg has started hearing the appeals of carriers against the European Commission concerning key competition law cases in liner shipping. The appeal cases concern the former Trans-Atlantic Agreement, the Trans-Atlantic Conference Agreement and the Far Eastern Freight Conference & have been pending for years. The EU court will decide whether the joint inland rates & capacity management of the former TAA were illegal and whether the agreement was a conference or, as the EC said, an agreement between conference & non-conference carriers. The TAA agreement was ended in 1994 and replaced by TACA. The FEFC case will also deal with whether joint inland ratemaking by conferences is legal in Europe. The TACA case will deal with whether the European Commission was entitled to lift TACA carriers' immunity from fines. The court will not handle the main appeal by TACA carriers against the EC's US$300M in fines, imposed in 1998. The outcomes of the appeal cases will be watched carefully by shipping lines & shippers, as they are expected to settle continuing disagreements between carriers & the EC on the correct interpretation of European competition rules concerning conferences & multimodal pricing.
• NVO Banished ........... as the FMC has won an injunction which will stop World Line Shipping Inc., a Los Angeles area company, from acting as an NVOCC, pending the completion of an FMC investigation. The injunction bars World Line Shipping from advertising or performing NVO services without a license, bond or public tariff. NVOs are required by law to posses an FMC-issued license & to have a tariff publicly available for inspection. NVOs operating in the U.S. must also show financial responsibility by providing a US$75,000 bond. The injunction, handed down by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, will remain in effect until 10 days after the FMC ends its investigation. The FMC's deadline for completing the case is Dec. 20. FMC chairman Hal Creel welcomed the court's action. "We are committed to ensuring that shippers can safely rely on companies providing ocean transportation services," he said. "Consumers have a right to expect such entities to be licensed and bonded in accordance with statutes passed by Congress. We will vigorously pursue unscrupulous operators & recidivists, in both FMC proceedings and, when necessary, in federal court."
• Israeli Port Delays Will Continue .......... as Zim Israeli Navigation Co. reports that labor problems at the ports of Haifa & Ashdod continue to disrupt the schedules of liner services calling at Israeli ports. Stevedores are protesting against the plans to allow private-sector terminal operators from Israel & overseas to bid for the construction and operation of new terminals in the country, said Dan Nadler, spokesman for Zim. Israeli ports are currently run by government controlled port authorities. Zim said that it has temporarily suspended calls at the port of Ashdod within its Asia-Med Line service and made other adjustments to maintain the schedule of the service. Port disruptions in Israel have been chronic since Feb.
• A Bigger Panama Canal? ........... as authorities have completed advanced feasibility studies to build 2 new locks over the next 8 years, at the Atlantic & Pacific entrances of the canal, at a cost of US$3.9B with another US$2B for widening the channel by 2030. The expansion would eventually allow larger and heavier ships to transit & dampen spirits of competing schemes. The expansion would allow the transit of post-Panamax-size vessels and would increase ship traffic by 36% to 51 ships per day by 2020 & another 31% to an average of 67.2 ships per day by 2060, compared with 37.3 transits today.
• Bangladesh Fast ........... as it's main Chittagong port ground to a halt on June 24 after dock workers walked off the job in protest at a government plan to allow a private container terminal nearby. Port officials said about 100 of the protesters had begun a hunger strike to drum up support. The protesters fear the terminal proposed by an American company would choke a river channel connecting the Chittagong port to the Bay of Bengal and might pose security threats to nearby Chittagong airport & military installations. Bangladesh government has in principle decided to allow Stevedoring Services of America (SSA) to build the US$500M container terminal near the Chittagong port. But the move has faced stiff resistance by trade unions at the port, including those backed by the ruling Awami League & opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
• Mexico Ponders It's 150 Years of One Party Rule .......... as foreign shipping companies handle 30% of Mexico's exports after the disappearance of the Mexican high-seas merchant navy, & especially after the demise of the country's container ships fleet, according to the private sector & exporting companies. Mexico misses an income of nearly US$40B in hard currency with the control of the exports of commodities in containers by foreign shipping companies, said the Confederation of Industrial Chambers (Cocamin). Alejandro Martinez Gallardo, Cocamin chairman, said during the 1st Commodities Transportation National Forum, being held in Acapulco, in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero that Mexico exports goods worth US$140B every year, with 30% corresponding to the mobilization of TEUS (20-foot containers) that are transported in container ships owned by transnational firms. "We do not have a fleet to handle containers in Mexico, & the commodities that are transported in containers are practically 30% of all the goods moved in this country, and the movement of containers is made by foreign shipping companies," said Martinez Gallardo. For those of us who truly love Mexico, the next step might not require a revolution.
• EU Slaps Price Fixing ......... as the European the Commission has imposed fines for violations of antitrust rules in the 15-nation European Union. Included were Maersk (1998) at EU$27.5M, P&O Nedlloyd (1998) at EU$41.3 & Sea-Land (1998) at EU$27.5
• Down Under Will Go Up .......... as the Europe to Australia & New Zealand Conference has announced increases in southbound rates, effective July 1. Rates from Europe, except Italy, will go up by US$150 per TEU. Freight rates for southbound cargo from Italy will be raised by US$225 per TEU. The conference said that the increases are aimed at "bringing rates to more sustainable levels." The carriers are CMA CGM, Consortium Hispania Lines, Contship Container, Hapag-Lloyd, Marfret, P&O Nedlloyd & Wallenius Wilhelmsen.
• TransPac Up .......... as carriers of the Westbound Transpacific Stabilization Agreement will increase fuel surcharges by US$40 per 40-foot container, US$32 per 20-foot box or US$2 per revenue ton, effective July 1. The WTSA said the change follows increases in marine fuel prices. The higher fuel surcharges will apply to shipments under tariff, and under service contract where applicable under the contract terms, the carrier group said. WTSA carriers are APL, COSCO Container Lines, Evergreen, Hanjin Shipping, Hyundai Merchant Marine, "K" Line, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Maersk Sealand, P&O Nedlloyd, NYK Line, OOCL & Yangming.
• TACA Goes For Three .......... as the Trans-Atlantic Conference Agreement (TACA) is set to raise westbound ocean tariff rates for the 3rd time this year, with a rise of US$320 per 20-foot container & US$400 per 40-foot container scheduled for Sept. 1. Rates for existing service contracts between shippers & TACA carriers will remain unaffected, with rates to be individually renegotiated as contracts expire. The conference's east-bound rates will remain unchanged. TACA will change its bunker adjustment factor (BAF) on July 1, when charges will be set at US$38 per 20-footer & $57 for 40-footers for North American east coast shipments. A BAF of US$76 & US$114 will be set for U.S. west coast shipments. The conference's member carriers are Atlantic Container Line, Hapag-Lloyd, Mediterranean Shipping Co., Maersk Sealand, NYK, OOCL and P&ON.
• Use A Pilot Or Hit The Road? ........... as a pilot strike in all Belgian & Dutch ports is threatening later this month in a protest against the plans of Belgium & the Netherlands to exempt oceangoing vessels less than 90 meters long from mandatory pilot guidance. The measure was created under pressure from the port authorities, who want to make their ports cheaper. The authorities fear a loss of security but especially jobs & income. The planned exemption for smaller vessels would mean that 30% of shipping on the Schelde River can sail without a pilot.
• Conterm Claims An NVOCC First ........... as on June 1 Conterm introduced an e-mail documentation program that it says is the 1st available in the non-vessel-operating common carrier industry. It provides electronic delivery of documents for container load & LCL shipments to/from North America. In the 1st week of operation, E-Docs handled over 20% of Conterm's paper transactions to clients by e-mail. The system is fully integrated with Conterm's UNIX-based information system, which enables the company to profile customers for automatic delivery of documents. Customers registered with the program can receive quotations, booking confirmations, dock receipts, arrival notices & waybills by e-mail, fax or regular mail.
• APL Stacks Up .......... as it is to deploy an additional 50,000 TEU of newly commissioned dry & reefer containers worldwide at a cost of US$100M. It is the single largest order of containers that APL has made in recent years, and the new containers will take APL's total number of containers to 450,000 TEU. The order was placed earlier this year with China Int'l Marine Containers (CIMC) & Korean manufacturer, Jindo
• QuoteShip.com ........... as the B2B company has expanded to include online sea freight shipments. Since launching its air freight exchange back in March of this year, more than 80 transport providers have been actively providing quotations on QuoteShip’s site every day to more than 700 registered cargo shippers. Cargo shippers can now use QuoteShip.com’s selective cargo exchange to maintain relationships with their trusted transport providers for both air & sea freight, while ensuring they are being quoted rates reflecting current market levels. QuoteShip.com plans to offer truck services throughout North America in the near future. http://www.quoteship.com
• Ivy League Under Sail ......... as Yale's business school will soon offer executive education seminars on the high seas under a 5 year agreement making it the exclusive academic partner of the only genuine working clipper in Europe, S/V Stad Amsterdam which was commissioned June 1 in Amsterdam. The seminars (leadership, social entrepreneurship, managing organizational change, & strategic management in the information age) are scheduled to begin in the spring of 2001. The Stad Amsterdam was the world's fastest cargo ship during the 2nd half of the 19th century. A promotional vehicle for the City of Amsterdam, the Stad Amsterdam was under construction since 1997, and is designed to celebrate Dutch shipbuilding, navigation & trading. Eighty-thousand of the 200,000 hours of work that went into the building of the Stad Amsterdam were completed by 135 unemployed Dutch youth. The 698-ton, 27-sail Stad Amsterdam will lead the flotilla of tall ships for SAIL Amsterdam 2000, an annual 5 day event attracting hundreds of sailing ships & millions of spectators from around the world, before making its way to U.S. waters in time for the 2001 Super Bowl in Tampa. See our feature this month, below: "Tall Ships 2000 / Operation Sail 2000"
• Job Exam Found To Discriminate ..............as a federal judge has found that an employment exam for apprentice dock workers discriminates against minorities because it tests skills that have little to do with longshore work. A consent decree approved June 9 by U.S. District Judge Dickran Tevrizian bars further use of the "Test of Adult Basic Education." The standard exam is given by many employers & government agencies across the country, and tests reading comprehension, grammar & basic math. The decree also requires shipping companies & the stevedore union to pay US$2.75M to minorities who failed test after they applied for dock work in L.A. & Long Beach. As many as 2,200 minorities who applied for work with the Int'l Longshore & Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association since 1997 will get to reapply. They still must complete their training and pass the remaining battery of written, driving & physical agility tests to be eligible for a share of the damages. The companies, which represent 100 shipping lines, stevedore firms & operators of cargo terminals on the West Coast, did not admit to any wrongdoing. The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission began an investigation into the test 2 years ago after a complaint by black applicant. But can they cook?
  We seriously question why these employers & unions now can't require basic intelect skills as a threshold requirement. Why can't the company seek to improve itself & it's work force to meet the tremendious market forces we see ahead? Why must we require so little in ability for jobs which may require so much of all of us in the future? What is wrong with attempted excellence in attempting to prepare our ports to compete? Why must we use a Court to "dumb down" those upon upon who we will we will depend to meet the technological challeges of coming years? Why can't we demand & receive the VER Y BEST available for a US$90,000 American job? Indeed, most of the world would die for such a job. If the problem is a "Closed Union", then let's hit that problem, but not at the expense of an educated industry force. The Cargo Letter
• Long Beach: "Cargo Space Port" ........... as Sea Launch Ltd., the Int'l communications satellite launching company that is 40% owned by Boeing, says it will move its headquarters from the Cayman Islands to Long Beach, CA. Backed with a US$400M investment from Boeing, the Sea Launch partners include RSC Energia of Russia, KB Yuzhnoye/PO Yuzhmash from the Ukraine & the Anglo-Norwegian ship building company, Kvaerner (KVI.OL) . The company already has its oceangoing launch platforms & technical support in Long Beach. Sea Launch expects to be operational in Long Beach by the end of Sept. The move will cost the Caymans about US$6M annually in lost payroll. Sea Launch was the 1st company to successfully launch commercial satellites from an oceangoing platform, which launches from a site in the Pacific Ocean near the equator. Sea Launch ran into problems with the U.S. government over the exchange of sensitive satellite & launch information with its Russian & Ukrainian partners. At one point, the U.S. Congress temporarily halted the project & investigated whether classified information was given away. Boeing, with its heavy dependence on U.S. government contracts, was pressured into moving the company to the U.S. where its books will be open to taxpayer scrutiny in addition to taxation of profits. Already the biggest port in the Americas ..... and now all of space! Indeed, Long Beach reports an increase of 8% in container traffic for April to 366,465 TEUs. Outbound loaded containers soared by 18% to 91,014 TEUs, from 77,040 TEUs in April last year. Inbound loaded containers were up by 11% to 200,724 TEUs. Total loaded containers rose by 13%, to 291,738 TEUs, from 258,615 TEUs. The number of empty containers handled by the port dropped to 74,727 TEUs, from 81,071 TEUs in April last year. All this, and giant Port of L.A. is just across the channel!
• Ocean Carrier Buys Water! .......... as the Japanese shipping group NYK & ALJ Sons Investments Ltd., an investment firm linked to Saudi Arabia's ALJ Group, have acquired a 34% stake in Nordic Water Supply ASA. Nordic Water Supply ASA, established in 1991, specializes in the bulk ocean transport of water stored in 10,000 to 30,000-ton-capacity bags that are towed by a tugboat. "It is said that the world will start to run dry of water in the 21st century and the southern part of U.S. & the UK will suffer from a more critical water shortage in addition to the Middle East," a spokesman for NYK said. NYK said that studies to supply water at a low cost have been undertaken for years, including converting tankers to carry fresh water, but these have not been implemented due to the high cost.
• Should Have Said They Were Coneheads From France .......... as Taiwan detained a Chinese ship near the island's southern coast & arrested 5 alleged spies. The ship was detained May 22 off Tainan in southern Taiwan, the Coastal Patrol Administration said. Five Chinese men on board claimed to be fishermen but could not explain why they carried night-vision cameras & Taiwanese maps but no fishing equipment. Film seized from the men showed shots of military facilities & sentries deployed on the outlying Taiwanese islands of Penghu & Wuchiu. The men were handed over to the Tainan District Court on charges of endangering national security. The seizure comes at a sensitive time. On May 25, China began week-long live-fire artillery exercises near outlying Taiwanese islands.
• Well Tiled Bust ........ as Greece said on June 8 it had seized cocaine concealed among ceramic tiles on board the Greek-flagged M/V Carmen bound for Albania. Customs officials in Piraeus, the port west of Athens, found more than 125 kg (275 lb.) of drugs hidden in 3 containers of tiles shipped from Venezuela & eventually destined for Pristina in Kosovo, via the Albanian port of Durres. Police issued warrants for the arrests of suspects from the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia and Albania.
• Pack Your Sea Bag! ......... as the U.S. military & Yahoo! are teaming up to deliver action-packed military jobs to winners of the "Fantasy Careers in Today's Military" contest. Winners will get to experience military jobs in a way that has never been offered before. The winner in the Army category will fly in an Apache helicopter at Fort Rucker, Ala., then parachute with the Golden Knights at Fort Bragg, N.C. The Navy winner will experience life aboard an aircraft carrier. He or she will fly to the ship aboard a C-2A Greyhound, then see how the crew makes the floating city work. The contest runs through July 4 & calls for entrants to write an essay answering why they would want to participate in one of these jobs. U.S. residents age 18 and older who want to participate simply need to go to Yahoo, click on the "Fantasy Careers." http://careers.yahoo.com
• Very Controversial Cargo ........... as the Maltese government & the Mediterranean island's Catholic bishops reacted angrily on June 14 to plans by a Dutch doctor to set up an abortion ship in Int'l waters. Amsterdam-based Rebecca Gomperts told The Times of Malta newspaper that she planned to offer abortions on a ship moored in Int'l waters close to countries where abortion is illegal, including Malta. Social Policy Minister Lawrence Gonzi said the plan was "horrendous" and that although the abortions would not be carried out in Malta, criminal action would be taken against anyone organizing or helping to arrange the service. The bishops issued a statement calling on the government & all those responsible to ensure that no one had anything to do with these "heinous murders." The Maltese people are seen as being strongly against abortion & all the island's political parties oppose its introduction.
• The Big Bust .......... . as Spanish Civil Guards with help from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency seized the freighter M/V Paul carrying more than 2 tons of cocaine in the Caribbean, arresting 21 people in the operation. The Cape Verde-registered freighter was intercepted June 21 near France's Martinique Island with about 2.2 tons of cocaine, though police suspect the crew threw part of the smuggled drug into the sea. The drug was heading to the Spain's northwestern region of Galicia with a street value of US$194M.
• Throughput Sample ........... as the Port of Le Havre reported that it handled 4.8% more container traffic in Jan.-May than in the same period in 1999. Throughput was 590,531 TEUs compared to 563,710 TEUs last year. The Port of Long Beach handled 315,786 loaded TEUs in May, buoyed by an improving economy in Asia, the highest-ever loaded container total in a single month for any U.S. port
• This Month in U.S. Naval history ........ as June 4-6, 1942, the Battle of Midway was fought. This was considered to be the turning point of the war in the Pacific. Japanese losses included 4 carriers, 1 heavy cruiser & 253 aircraft. American forces lost the destroyer USS Hammann (DD 412), the carrier USS Yorktown (CV 5) in addition to 147 aircraft.

5. The Cargo Letter Cargo Damage Dispatches

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Visit our new Daily Vessel Casualties & Pirate Activity Database ......... where daily updates of this news are posted. Stay up to date! https://cargolaw.com/presentations_casualties.html

This is only a partial list of casualties for the month in that most dangerous place ....... out there. Read much more at our website.

M/V RIAD M. (3,237 gt, built 1965) had engine fire in approximately lat 35 25N, long 34 55E, Jun 26. Crew abandoned vessel & picked up by tanker M/T BT Stream. Crew reboarded vessel after fire apparently died down, & reported fire extinguished. Vessel to be towed to Syria. (Tues. June 27 2000)

Tamil rebel carried out a suicide attack on the Colombo registered M/V Mercs Uhana carrying food & other items for government troops and civilians in the north Monday. Sri Lanka navy boats rescued 21 of 28 crew members, who abandoned ship. An unspecified number of rebels on the suicide boat were believed dead. Mercs Uhana was attacked by rebel suicide cadres as it tried to anchor off Point Pedro. The 2,850-ton ship was carrying food, 500 tons of cement & other supplies from the capital, Colombo, to Point Pedro for the 40,000 troops stationed in the Jaffna peninsula fighting the separatist rebels. Some of the food also was meant for 500,000 civilians trapped in the fighting. (Mon. June 26 2000)

Liberian LPG carrier M/T NORGAS DISCOVERER (7,173 gt, built 1971), Oita for Antwerp, was in collision with Bahamian tanker M/T GREEK FIGHTER (62,670 gt, built 1974), on voyage from China, in lat 03 13N, long 100 35E, on June 24. Norgas Discoverer began taking water & listed 7 degrees to port. Vessel also sustained superstructure damage. Tug will escort Norgas Discoverer to Singapore. No significant damage to Greek Fighter. (Sun. June 25 2000)

Container vessel M/V HANJIN BREMEN, (37,134 gt, built 1991), which arrived Hamburg on Jun 8, declared General Average in respect of a fire on board while on voyage from the Far East. Understood many containers effected by heat/water. (Sat. June 24 2000)

The South African tanker M/T Treasure carrying 1,300 tons of oil sank June 23 six miles off Cape Town, unleashing a large slick threatening Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned 17 years. The ship had developed a 56-foot-wide hole in the hull, but its cause was not immediately clear. All 29 crew members, most Chinese, were airlifted to safety as the Panamanian-registered Treasure - China for Brazil - went down before dawn. The oil did not pose an immediate threat to the popular beaches along the coast. But the 20-square-mile slick was a danger to Robben Island, a rocky outcrop where political prisoners were incarcerated by the apartheid government. Mandela, now the former president, spent 17 of his 27 years in prison there. The island is now a museum and World Heritage Site & home to a large colony of penguins & other birds. The South African Maritime Safety Authority said air patrols were trying to determine the direction the slick was moving, while patrol vessels were trying to contain it. South Africa's last major oil spill was in 1994 when the bulk ore carrier M/V Apollo Sea sank 40 miles north of Cape Town, killing 36 crew members & causing extensive environmental damage. The Treasure was carrying twice as much oil as the Apollo Sea. (Fri. June 23 2000)

The Lithuanian refrigerated M/V LINKUVA (4,160 gross), on ballast voyage, had main engine failure about 220 nautical miles S.W. of Acapulco during "Hurricane Carlotta" Jun 21. 18 persons on board. Unlocated & all contact lost Jun 22. The 330-foot, 4,160 gross ton Linkuva carrying 18 people was last reported to be rolling 35 to 40 degrees in heavy storm conditions created by Hurricane Carlotta. Carlotta was upgraded to a Category 4 storm early June 21 according to Mexico's National Weather Service, puttiing the storm about 240 miles S.E. of Mexico's coastal state of Michoacan. Pray. (Fri. June 23 2000)

More than 180 people are missing after an overloaded passenger ferry capsized in a fast-flowing stretch of the Yangtze river in Hejiang county in the S.W. Sichuan province on June 22. The vessel was carrying an estimated 200 day-trippers to a country fair, Xinhua news agency said. Only 20 or so passengers had been rescued & 7 bodies had been pulled from the waters. State television reported that more than 180 people were still unaccounted for. All those aboard were tossed into raging waters after the vessel capsized in the S.W. province of Sichuan. The overturned vessel was dragged several miles down the river by the force of the current. None of the passengers had been issued tickets, so there was no record of the exact number on board. The mighty Yangtze is one of the world's most treacherous waterways, narrowing in places into surging torrents that race between jagged rocks. It is also a major transport artery from the western interior to eastern cities as far as Shanghai on the coast. In Nov. last year, 280 people were drowned when a ferry caught fire & capsized in freezing conditions off the coast of Shandong in one of China's worst shipping disasters in recent years. (Thurs. June 22 2000) Update: Chinese authorities have arrested the captain & the owner of the overloaded ferry that capsized in the Yangtze river, leaving more more than 130 people still missing. (Sat. June 24 2000)

The bodies of 58 people thought to be asylum-seekers were found on board a truck on June 19 in the English Port of Dover. A Home Office (interior ministry) spokesman said the bodies had been found in the rear of a Dutch-registered vehicle at about midnight. Two people were found alive and taken to hospital, where they are expected to survive. The nationalities of those found aboard the truck were not immediately known. The discovery was made by customs officers during a search of the truck after it disembarked from a cross-Channel ferry just before midnight. It had traveled from the Belgian port of Zeebrugge. Dover, a major landing point for ferries from France & Belgium, has been a major entry point for asylum-seekers, many of whom come from eastern Europe. The British government introduced fines earlier this year for people who try to smuggle illegal immigrants into the country in a bid to stamp out the practice. (Mon. June 19 2000)

The Greek tanker M/T SLOPS (10,815 gross) had explosion & fire amidships while at permanent moorings at Kynosoura, Salamis Island, Jun 15. Fire under control Jun 16. 1 dead. (Sun. June 18 2000)

On June 10 2000 at 1215 LT at Tg. Priok anchorage, Indonesia. Eight pirates armed with steel pipes boarded a container vessel from the stern. They were noticed & alarm was raised. The pirates immediately left the vessel. (Fri. June 16 2000)

On June 9 2000 at 2220 LT at Chittagong Roads, Bangladesh. Two pirates armed with long knives boarded a general cargo vessel from the stern & lowered 2 mooring ropes into the water. A small wooden boat dragged the ropes slowly. Duty AB spotted the incident & alerted the crew. On seeing the duty AB, the pirates threatened him with knives. The duty AB resisted with a steel bar & the pirates escaped with ropes. (Fri. June 16 2000)

On June 6 2000 at 0215 LT, 4 nm from breakwater, Chennai, India. Six pirates in a speed boat came alongside to port side of a heavy lift vessel. Three pirates boarded & tried to gain access to the accommodation. The AB on watch noticed them & informed the duty officer who raised the general alarm & the crew mustered at emergency stations. The pirates jumped in to the boat & fled towards the seaward direction. A police launch came to investigate at 0300 hours. (Fri. June 16 2000)

On June 5 2000 at 0300 LT at Belawan anchorage, Indonesia. Two pirates armed with long knives boarded a tanker via anchor chain from a small wooden boat. Duty AB noticed them & raised the alarm. On seeing the alert crew, the pirates jumped overboard & fled in their boat. (Fri. June 16 2000)

The Maltese M/V PETER (6,940 gross) bound Portugal with logs, in collision with French bulk carrier/container vessel M/V ADELINE DELMAS (23,275 gross) off Owndo, Gabon, Jun 8. Peter in sinking condition, crew abandoned ship & rescued safely. LOF signed. Adeline Delmas sustained no serious damage. (Tues. June 13 2000)

The Thailand ferry M/V Phuket Cruiser 2 taking more than 150 foreign tourists from a southern resort island to an outlying island in the Andaman Sea caught fire & sank June 12, but all aboard were rescued safely. The blaze broke out at about 9 a.m., an hour after the ship left the dock at Phuket island, 428 miles south of Bangkok, headed for Phi Phi Island. All 166 passengers & 3 crew members were rescued by the time marine police arrived. The flames later consumed the wooden hull of the boat & it sank. The vessel Capt. & engineer were arrested & charged with recklessness leading to damage of other people's property. (Mon. June 12 2000)

The Italian 15,000 ton M/V Med Star, bound for India's Kandla port in ballast on the western coast has been hijacked by a group of Iranian & Iraqi stowaway pirares who have threatened to blow up the ship. "We received a message from the local agents of the ship that a group of 14 stowaways have taken control over the vessel," Deputy Conservator of Kandla Port Trust, Praveen Chandra Chaturvedi told Reuters from Kandla. According to the message, the stowaways have threatened to blow up the vessel if it moved towards India,'' Chaturvedi said. The captain, who flashed a message to Kandla port on June 8, said the captors clandestinely boarded the vessel at the Iranian port of Bandar-e-Abbas, where the ship sailed from on June 7. The vessel was located some 150 nautical miles from Indian waters & about 275 miles from Kandla port on June 10 evening. "Right now it is difficult to say whether the ship is moving or anchored in the high seas. It is not clear if the hijackers had made any demands. The vessel with 20 crew was scheduled to arrive at Kandla port on June 12 evening to load 2000 tons of granite cargo. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) were in radio contact with the hijackers who are asking to be transported to some European city, (Sat. June 10 2000)

The Australian Navy amphibious landing ship HMAS Manoora with 200 troops, 3 Black Hawk helicopters & 6 armored personnel carriers is sailing for the Solomon Islands to assist in evacuations of foreigners. The fighting involves indigenous Isatabus who in the past 18 months have been pushing thousands of migrant Malaitans off plots of land in Guadalcanal, the main island in this archipelago slightly smaller than Maryland. Warring Solomon Islands militias agreed on June 9 to a 14 day cease fire to allow a Commonwealth foreign ministers' visit this weekend aimed at restoring peace after an attempted coup. HMAS Manoora moved from Australian port of Townsville on June 8 & is expected in the Solomons capital Honiara by June 11 night. The Solomons are about 1,000 miles northeast of Australia. Prime Minister Bartholomew Ulufa'alu was released from house arrest on June 9 after being detained at gunpoint on June 2 by the Malaita Eagle Force militiamen who took over Honiara. This special ground includes Guadalcanal, the territory for which thousands of Americans made their ultimate sacrifice, foot by foot, minute by minute, in the defense of Australia against the Imperial Japanese Forces in World War II. Tell it to the Marines. (Fri. June 9 2000)

The Turkish vessel M/V FAKAZ-1, 702 gt (built 1974), which departed Karasu for Eregli, sent out a distress signal & sank in the Black Sea on June 6. Crew abandoned ship & rescued. (Fri. June 9 2000)

The tug Alex C, owned & operated by Bay State Towing, guiding the Panamanian-registered tanker M/T Posa Vina from Tosco Marine Terminal in East Boston struck & punctured tanker's port side 2 feet above the waterline at 8:30 a.m, causing some 50,000 gallons of heating oil to pour into Boston Harbor. (Thurs. June 8 2000)

The People's Republic of China vessel M/V HAI RONG, 5,168 gt (built 1978), in collision with bulk carrier M/V JOINT MIRIAM, 6,976 gt (built 1978), in lat 38 04N, long 122 23.5E, at 1820, local time, Jun 2. HAI RONG sank & all crew rescued. (Wed. June 7 2000)

Fighting between rival rebel factions on the Solomon Islands intensified on June 7, with one using a stolen gunboat to fire cannon rounds at coastal encampments set up by the other group. A rebel spokesman said his side killed 100 enemies. He said he received the information from colleagues who fired a machine gun from the gunboat directly into a crowd of people, as well from others on the ground watching. There had been about 300 to 400 armed men on the beach. ''There were no civilians.". ''They were all carrying weapons. They were not holding a picnic", said the rebels. There was no immediate way to confirm the rebel claim. A Solomon Islands government spokesman & New Zealand officials said there had been a gunboat attack in the morning, but no information about deaths. For 18 months, the rebel groups -- the Isatabu & Malaitans -- have skirmished on Guadalcanal, the country's main island and the scene of the historic battle between U.S. & Japanese forces in World War II. (Wed. June 7 2000)

The 15,000 g.t. Cambodian-flagged bulk carrier M/V Zeycan suffered damage to its starboard side after colliding with the 6,300 g.t. Maltese-flagged vessel M/V Kaleli Ana around 0000 GMT at the mouth of the Black Sea. There were no reports of injuries. Turkish Coast Guard is escorting the cargo vessels to the Bosphorus Straits. The Zeycan was in ballast toward Ukraine when it collided with the Maltese-flagged ship carrying steel to the Russian port of Novorossiysk. Turkey's Bosphorus & Dardanelles straits, linked by the Marmara Sea, are among the world's busiest shipping lanes and the site of frequent collisions. Tankers use the straits to transport oil from Russia & the Caucasus. Turkey opposes the heavy traffic, citing danger to Istanbul's 10 million residents, but is bound by the 1936 Montreaux Convention to provide free passage to all merchant ships in peacetime. A Russian-flagged tanker ran aground & split in two in the Marmara Sea off Istanbul in February. (Tues. June 6 2000)

Canadian bulk carrier M/V ALGOWOOD (22,558 gt, built 1981), while berthed at Bruce Mines, Ontario, loading stone on Jun 1, had structural problems & the vessel sank at the dock. About 15 feet of hull remains above water. No pollution was reported but oil booms have been deployed around the vessel. No injuries to crew. Salvage operation is expected to take at least a week. (Mon. June 5 2000)

The Norwegian m research vessel M/V RAMFORM VIKING (9,456 gross) contacted ground in lat 52 53N, long 04 36E, and lost her starboard propeller May 27. Diverted to Rotterdam for repairs. Still repairing May 31. (Fri. June 2 2000)

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

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 ...............

Equasis ......... new maritime safety vessel database.

ComPairData .......... vessel schedules, ports & rates.

CargoSphere

InterShipper.com ......... new free service lets business owners compare both national & Int'l air shipping rates, track shipments to customers, & integrate shipping functions into their own Websites.

RightFreight

TransportEdge

FreightDeskPro & Tracking.com ......... software developed by the Bethesda, MD.-based Internet firm to help NVOs & freight forwarders reduce their operations costs.

ShipLogix ........ complete suite of collaborative, Internet-based transportation management tools that link shippers, carriers, 3rd-party logistics providers & other trading partners. Real-time integration and collaboration among shippers, carriers & their customers.

Webmodal ......... Internet-based intermodal transportation service for full-truckload freight transport, called Point-Click-Ship, is designed for door-to-door, intermodal (dray/rail/dray) transportation.

Model Boat Builders of The Internet

World Maritime Directory ...........for US$139.00 from Maritime Reporter Magazine.

World Federation of Trading House Associations (WFTA)

Martin's Marine Engineering Page

Maritime Volunteer Service ...... uniformed service in the UK.

U.S. Navy Cargo Handling & Ports Group

Hampton Roads ......... interesting slide show showing coal & its travel to the ships hold. Coal is one of the largest bulk commodities for the shipping industry.

Global Time Zones ........ an Internet download.

Reduction of Hazards In Midstream Container Handling Operations

OUR "E" Section: The Forwarder/Broker World

7. New U.S. Transport Related Legal Cases

U.S. vs. Mead Corp.
U.S. Supreme Court
Case No. 99-1434

Who Makes The Customs Rules?

This month the Supreme Court agreed to clarify whether courts must defer to U.S. Customs Service rulings on whether import duties should be paid on certain products. The court said it will hear the Clinton administration's argument that the Mead Corp. should have to pay such a fee for importing loose-leaf daily planners. A federal appeals court reversed a Customs Service decision that required payment of the import duty. The appeals court said it did not have to defer to the agency's findings. Mead, based in Dayton, Ohio, imports the daily planners that contain a calendar, sections for daily notes, phone numbers & addresses, and a note pad. In 1993, the Customs Service classified the planners as "bound diaries" on which a 4 percent duty was owed. Mead argued that the loose-leaf planners were neither bound nor diaries & therefore it owed no duty. The U.S. Court of Int'l Trade ruled for the government in 1998, but last year the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed that decision. The appeals court said it was not required to defer to such decisions by the Customs Service because they were not formal regulations and only applied to a specific case. The appeals court agreed with Mead that the daily planners should not be considered "bound diaries," and that the company did not owe a duty on them.

In the appeal acted on this month, Justice Dept. lawyers said the appeals court's refusal to defer to the agency's rulings "has left both importers & the Customs Service without effective guidelines for a wide range of transactions." The ruling will lead to "expensive customs litigation and unpredictable outcomes," the appeal said. Mead's lawyers said such Customs Service determinations traditionally have not been given the deference courts must give to other federal agency decisions.

For the appeals court ruling in Mead v. U.S., go to the web & click on Federal Circuit.

8. Tall Ships 2000 / Operation Sail 2000

• Schedule & Links

Happy Year 2000!!! All along the U.S. East Coast this summer, enjoy the big show with tall ships from around the world -- featuring USS Constitution!

Operation Sail vs. Tall Ships 2000? ........ as these historic events may have pitted port against port for this years East Coast event. Hampton Roads against Charleston, S.C., & Boston against New London, Conn. Ports that once worked in concert are now fighting to lure the big sailing vessels. Cash inducements may have seeped into the once gentlemanly tall-ship community. Read the full U.S. Coast Guard story story. Great stuff! http://www.uscg.mil/d5/group/hamptonroads/opsail20006.html

Tall Ships 2000 / Operation Sail 2000 U.S. East Coast Schedules of Events

NOTE: For ease of downloading to you, the web addresses are not bolded in this feature.

Dates & Timings - may be found on the U.S. Coast Guard site

HAMPTON ROADS JUNE 16-20 OpSail 2000

BALTIMORE JUNE 23-29 OpSail 2000

PHILADELPHIA JUNE 23-29 OpSail 2000

NEW YORK JULY 3- 9 OpSail & INR 2000

NEW LONDON JULY 12- 16 OpSail 2000

BOSTON JULY 11- 16 Tall Ships 2000

NEWPORT JUNE 29- JULY 2 Tall Ships 2000 no USCG site

PORTLAND JULY 28-31 OpSail 2000 no USCG site

Tall Ships 2000 / Operation Sail 2000 Information Web Sites For New York - July 4th

U.S. Coast Guard - also has maps of the harbor, including where the fireworks will be. http://www.uscg.mil/d1/sailevents2000/Boatsafe2000-HomeFull.htm http://www.uscg.mil/d1/sailevents2000/default.htm

Int'l Naval Review 2000

Main OpSail 2000 Site

Main OpSail New York Site

Hidden 'Secret' Site

Liberty State Park Site

Staten Island Events

Pete Seeger's 'Save the Waters' Conference Site
http://www.ernestina.org/StStW.html
http://www.opsail2000.org
http://www.tallships200.com

Enter as 'Guest' http://www.delphi.com/sailtraining/

http://chrisbrady.itgo.com/tallship/ts2000.com
http://chrisbrady.itgo.com/tallship/opsail2000.com

http://www.tallshipsnewswire.com

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