Air Freight News :

Hactl passes GDP audit with flying colours.

Hactl has completed its World Health Organization (WHO) Good Distribution Practices (GDP) audit, with no non-compliances or observations.

It is the third successive year in which Hactl has passed the audit with a perfect score.

Hactl was the first cargo handler in Hong Kong to attain WHO GDP accreditation; the initial and subsequent audits have been conducted by leading independent global standards auditor SGS.

The WHO GDP audit once again included examination of Hactl’s staff competence, premises, equipment, processes, quality control system and hygiene standards.

It confirmed that Hactl’s entire cold chain management system continues to conform to its specified standards and those of the relevant GDP legislation and guidelines, and that the company continues to adhere to its stated policies, objectives and procedures.

UPS reaches tentative contract agreement with pilots.

The Independent Pilots Association (IPA) and UPS Airlines have reached a tentative agreement on a new five-year labour contract for pilots, after four years of discussions.

UPS and IPA said the new agreement provides for improvements across all sections of the contract but added that specific details of the agreement will not be disclosed before the union presents the proposed contract to all UPS pilots.

The contract must be ratified by a majority of UPS’s 2,600 pilots. The vote by the pilots will be completed on August 31 and if ratified, the new contract will become effective from September.

“This tentative agreement has been unanimously approved and endorsed by both the IPA executive board and our negotiating committee. Over the next month we will present it to our members with an unqualified recommendation for ratification,” said IPA president Captain Robert Travis.

“This is an excellent offer and we are pleased to have reached this agreement,” said Brendan Canavan, UPS Airlines president.

“This contract rewards our crew members for their outstanding contributions and contains provisions that protect UPS’s ability to deliver competitive service to our global customers.”

The tentative agreement was signed yesterday by the IPA and UPS in the presence of Nicholas Geale, Chairman of the National Mediation Board (NMB).

Sea Freight News…

Ships get relief from piracy insurance premium at Indian ports Financial Express Ships entering or leaving Indian ports are not required to pay a piracy-related additional insurance premium now, a move which will help thousands of the vessels. The development has come after seas close to the country’s western coast were removed from the list of the High Risk Areas (HRA) for piracy. About 22,000 ships, that called on Indian ports between 2010 and 2015, paid an estimated additional war risk premium (AWRP) of about Rs 8,500 crore. “Ministry of Shipping took up the issue of redrawing of the High Risk Area (HRA) Line back to 65 Degrees E (from 78 deg E) in the International Maritime Organization and as a result the HRA was redrawn at 65 deg E,” the ministry said in a statement. “Thereby, the ships coming to or leaving Indian ports do not have to pay AWRP now,” the statement said. Debt-ridden barge owners in Goa banking on Gadkari for bailout Business Line Struggling to get rid of high debts with bankers and financial institutions, barge owners in Goa are banking on Union Minister for Shipping Nitin Gadkari to bail them out through the intervention of Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI). IWAI is the statutory authority in charge of promotion of waterways in the country. With the iron ore mining and exports coming to a halt three years ago following the Supreme Court order, barge owners were one of the major stakeholders affected, with bank debts mounting to 360 crore with around 400 barges going out of work. Atul Jadhav heading the Goa Barge Owners’ Association (GBOA) has been seeking the intervention of the State and the Centre to overcome the debt crisis. GBOA initially tried in vain to press for complete takeover of all outstanding loans by the government under a Central assistance scheme of the IWAI. Nitin Gadkari seeks US help to build smart transport systems Economic Times India is seeking US cooperation in innovative technologies in Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) with its policy shift from 'Build Roads' to 'Move in India' with special emphasis on efficiency and improving logistics. This will be high on the agenda of Minister of Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari when he meets US Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx here on Monday. He will also seek US cooperation in areas of project highways, material, equipment, tunnel projects, road safety initiatives and training institutes and equipment like training simulators. Gadkari, according to an official accompanying him, will highlight the positive indicators contributing to the phenomenal revival of the roads and highways sector in India and brief Foxx about India's leapfrog from Bharat Stage BSIV to BSVI emission norms by 2020. First cargo vessel reaches city from Hooghly Times of India For the trial of goods transportation through inland waterways of Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system (NW1), a cargo vessel from Haldia reached Rajghat here on Monday and another vessel is likely to reach here in next two or three days. The first vessel from Haldia has already reached here and another vessel will arrive by Wednesday or Thursday, assistant director, IWAI A K Mishra said. "Presently, the vessel is docked near Rajghat as it cannot move further in the tortoise sanctuary without the permission of the forest department. After the nod of forest department, both the vessels will move to Ramnagar, where a terminal is being constructed for loading of goods," Mishra said. "The IWAI officials have sought permission for the movement of vessels and the matter is under consideration," DFO, Kashi Wildlife division Manoj Kumar Sonkar said. New path forward for India's logistics industry Meri News India's position to 35th rank in the latest bi-annual World Bank Logistics Performance Index (LPI) report will open many corridors of opportunities as industry will witness swift growth in international as well as inter-state freights, an effect of Union Government's commitment to make India as a preferred destination for many global businesses. Noticeable in the government's latest first of its kind facility in India, the implementation of logistics data tagging of containers to track cargo at the JNPT. "The application of innovative tagging and tracking, which enables in-transit visibility and real time status update, has been so far successfully adapted in many advanced nations such as America, Japan and Germany. Introduction of the same in India is unquestionably claiming India's strong position in the global trade map", said Brijesh Lohia, Managing Director of Global Ocean Group in a statement. India Ports See Huge Growth Port Technology Major public ports in India have seen first fiscal quarter growth of more than 6% in comparison to the same period in the last financial year, with the country’s 12 major ports handling more than 2.1 million TEU from April-June, 2016, compared to 1.99 million a year prior. PTI previously reported that India was looking to build another eight major ports across the country to bring the total number up to 20 and further fuel economic growth. Despite some political uncertainty, a greenfield deep-sea port has been approved by the Indian government and to be built near Colachel in Tamil Nadu, in order to reclaim gateway cargo lost to neighbouring regions. A major initiative currently taking place in the country is the ‘Sagarmala’ which aims to improve ports and logistics processes in India, and is anticipated to receive US$60 billion in investments over the next five years. CMA CGM reconfigures Middle East to East Africa service Arabian News CMA CGM will reorganise its services connecting India and the Middle East to East Africa in a continued effort to provide increased reliability and quality services. The shipping line said in a release that the reorganisation was largely a result of evermore challenging market conditions in the container shipping sector. Starting mid July 2016, Noura Express and Swahili services will be reconfigured: reefer cargo from Port Victoria will go direct to India and to Europe with a weekly frequency instead of fortnightly. Service reliability to Mogadishu from Mundra will be improved with direct service in 18 days instead of in transhipment, and a very fast transit time from Jebel Ali to Port Victoria in 18 days. The Noura Express service operated with 4 vessels of 2,200 TEU will cease Salalah calls and add in Mundra and Port Victoria. Noura Express service new port coverage will be the following: Mundra - Khor Fakkan - Jebel Ali - Mombasa - Mogadishu - Port Victoria - Mundra. China aims to out-flank India by developing Sri-Lanka as a shipping hub Canadian Manufacturing Sri Lanka—China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said his country will align its maritime silk road project with Sri Lanka’s development plans to enable the island nation to become a shipping hub in the Indian Ocean. Wang’s comments came after meeting Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, starting a two-day visit. It is a sign of Sri Lanka’s new government’s increasing receptiveness to Chinese projects having previously suspended some to investigate corruption and possible environmental hazards. “We’ll take the building of the maritime silk road as a priority to better align our development strategy including your five-year development plan so that we can come up with a comprehensive blue print for future co-operation, so that we can help Sri Lanka build itself into a shipping centre in the Indian Ocean,” Wang said. Perishable exports on decline due to lack of packhouses Times of India Lack of certified perishable packhouses and accredited testing labs in Goa have led to a drop in the export of vegetables and fruits to four to five tonnes per day from a high of 60 tons per day in 2012, Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) officials said. Despite Goa International Airport's attractive freight rates, exporters have found it difficult to increase exports and expressed their concerns to the state government in a recent meeting held with agriculture minister Ramesh Tawadkar. "There are at least 15 major exporters who are ready to export, but because Goa does not have a packhouse and an agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) approved testing lab, only two to three exporters are operating," said GCCI member and former secretary of Air Cargo Association of Goa Satyajit Bhattacharya. Keeping pace with maritime regulatory changes Hellenic Shipping News Many of the players in the maritime industry are likely to associate the date 1 July 2016 with the entering into force of the new container weight verification requirements. Others view the same date as an important milestone in their work towards implementation of ECDIS onboard ships. Through our Gard Updates, we focus on a wide range of shipping, claims and insurance issues from the perspective of sharing knowledge and providing advice and recommendations on how to manage technical and operational risks, including information about important maritime regulatory changes (international, regional or domestic) that may affect Members’ and clients’ operations and obligations. Below are only a few examples of international and regional regulations that have entered into force so far in 2016 and for which non-compliance could compromise the safety of the ship and/or come with financial consequences for the shipowner: LNG bunkering market: IMO regulations and government efforts to encourage usage of LNG as a bunker fuel across shipping industry An increasing number of ships and vessels are using liquefied natural gas or LNG as a clean fuel to comply with the regulations laid by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) across emission control areas. LNG as a ship fuel reduces the emission of sulphur dioxide by 90-95% compared to the conventional petroleum fuels. This factor has propelled the growth of the global LNG bunkering market. The market stood at 70 kilo tons in 2013 and is anticipated to expand phenomenally at a CAGR of 63.6% during the period between 2014 and 2025. The overall market is projected to reach 22,540 kilo tons by 2025. The lack of LNG fuelling infrastructure across the major bunkering destinations is one of the primary factors impeding the growth of the LNG bunkering market worldwide. The high cost of building LNG fuel ships has slowed down their adoption among the shipping companies.