Sunday 29 January 2017

DAILY SHIPPING NEWS - WEDNESDAY JANUARY 25, 2017

Air Freight News :

Cathay moves into Lufthansa's Frankfurt cargo terminal.
·         Cathay Pacific Cargo is relocating its local cargo handling activities in Frankfurt to the Lufthansa Cargo terminal as part of the co-operation agreement between two airlines that both have sizeable passenger and pure freighter fleets.
The Frankfurt move follows a reciprocal arrangement which saw Lufthansa Cargo move its Hong Kong freight handling operation to Cathay Pacific’s terminal as part of its Joint Business Agreement (JBA) with the Far Eastern carrier.
The relocation of Cathay Pacific Cargo's freight handling into the Lufthansa Cargo Center (LCC) in Frankfurt is a core element of the JBA, announced in May 2016. The merging of freight handling for imports and exports at Frankfurt was concluded on January 17
Etihad's Hogan to step down in second half of 2017.
·         James Hogan (above) will step down as president and chief executive of Etihad Aviation Group in the second half of 2017
James Hogan will step down as president and chief executive of Etihad Aviation Group in the second half of 2017. 
Hogan will join an investment company along with Etihad Aviation Group chief financial officer James Rigney, who will also leave the company later this year. A global search for their replacements is already underway, said the Abu Dhabi-based airline. 
The airline company board and Hogan first initiated the transition process last year with the formation in May of the Etihad Aviation Group, a diversified global aviation and travel organisation. 
Only last week, at a Dublin conference, Hogan, hit out at critics of the Middle East carrier’s partnership strategy, describing it as a “core element of the growth of the business”.
In the same week, the Middle East carrier also had to deny industry rumours, originating in the Italian financial press, that Etihad was looking to take a stake of up to 40% in Germany's Lufthansa.
Accenture to buy Seabury's aviation consulting businesses.
·         Professional services company Accenture is to acquire the aviation consulting businesses of Seabury Group, the New York-based professional services firm focused on the aviation industry.
Accenture said that the combination of Seabury’s corporate advisory and consulting businesses, together with the new owner's global capabilities, “will help the world’s leading airlines accelerate the pace of digital transformation”.
Jonathan Keane, managing director of Accenture’s Aviation practice, said: “Airlines are having to innovate to respond to changing customer expectations, digital disruption and revenue and cost pressures.
“The aviation expertise that Seabury will bring to Accenture will complement our global capabilities, solutions and services.”
Seabury’s corporate advisory practice focuses on restructuring distressed aviation companies through strategic planning and cost reduction. Seabury’s consulting practice focuses on fleet, network, commercial, maintenance, airports, cargo and human capital improvements.
Sea Freight News :
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Union Budget 2017 to be a logistics sector friendly budget

India Infoline
The coming budget is expected to be a logistics sector friendly budget, in terms of allocation of funds for infrastructure creation, tax benefits for technology introduction and incentives for cashless transactions in the road transportation industry. In the area of infrastructure, a few things that can be expected are - (a) Allocation of funds for creating integrated-check-posts infrastructure with simultaneous checks by all departments at a single point for minimizing on-route delays (b) green-channel at all highway check-posts for all consignor / consignee validated consignments (c) development of highway-side infrastructure through oil companies (d) allocation of land and set-up of base infrastructure for transport hubs and warehouse hubs at strategic locations. Cashless transaction will see a major push with the development of payment-infrastructure at tolls and fuel retail outlets through banks.

Kochi port offers cargo handling facilities to cos

Business Line
Aimed at improving the financials as well as cargo throughput, the cash-starved Kochi port is reaching out to companies by offering cargo handling facilities in the port area. Jindal Steel located at Alibagh has approached the management for using the port area to handle its finished product steel coils. The company intends to utilise the cost-effective coastal shipping route to move these high volume cargo from Maharashtra to cater to the south Indian markets, AV Ramana, Deputy Chairman of the port, said. “Discussions in this regard are in final stages and we are encouraging them to use Kochi as the hub to cater to the industries in Tamil Nadu”, he said. Likewise, talks are on with leading cement companies with a throughput guarantee to set up units in Willingdon Island for semi-captive use as well as with private sector petroleum companies for POL products handling.

4 State rivers to get national waterways

The Hindu
Transporting cargo and ferrying passengers on Maharashtra’s rivers is likely to begin in a few years, with the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) deciding to set up four National Waterways (NW) in the State. Besides these, three NWs are also being planned in the neighbouring State of Goa. Pravir Pandey, vice-chairman, IWAI, said, “We have identified eight to nine rivers in Maharashtra. The Detailed Project Report (DPR) and environment study are at an advanced stage. By June 2017, we will have a clear picture. However, we are certain that we are going ahead with four NWs in Maharashtra.” The rivers chosen for these national waterways include the Amba (NW 10) with a 42-km waterway. The NW 28 will use the Dabhol Creek-Vashishti, Revadanda Creek-Kundalika for the NW 85 and the Savitri Bankot Creek NW 89. Mr. Pandey said IWAI will be signing MoUs with the Maharashtra Maritime Board for developing these waterways.

Hapag-Lloyd Names Second 10,500 TEU Ship

World Maritime News
German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd named its second new 10,500 TEU containership Cartagena Express at the Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries shipyard in Samho, South Korea, on January 23, 2017. Scheduled to be deployed in the company’s SW service, Cartagena Express is the third ship of the Post-Panamax series to be delivered to Hapag-Lloyd, after the Valparaíso Express, which gave its name to the new class, and the Callao Express. All three newbuildings will be deployed in the SW service, which offers weekly connections between North Europe, the Caribbean and West Coast South America. “With the Cartagena Express, yet another state-of-the-art ship of our 10,500 TEU fleet is setting sail. In terms of size, design and reefer capacity, it is ideally suited for the traffic between Europe and South America West Coast,” Anthony J. Firmin, Chief Operating Officer of Hapag-Lloyd, said.

India Subjects Foreign Shippers To Service Tax

Tax News
From January 22, the same service tax and levies already imposed on Indian shipping companies are also payable by foreign exporters using non-Indian vessels to import goods into India. On a free-on-board basis, Indian shipping companies have been subject to a service tax of 4.2 percent, plus the 0.15 percent Swachh Bharat (Clean India) and 0.15 percent Krishi Kalyan (Farm Welfare) levies, since June 1 last year. However, the service tax and levies were not imposed if non-Indian vessels were employed. Imports of goods into India on foreign vessels on a cost-and-freight basis will now pay the same taxes as imports using local ships. While Indian shipping companies will now be more competitive, it is expected that the overall cost of imported goods in India will increase.

IRISL launching new container service connecting France, Iran and Asia

Seatrade Maritime
Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) is a launching a new service that connects the French port of Le Havre with Iranian, Middle Eastern and Asian ports. Before the international embargo and sanctions, Iranian containerships called at Le Havre every week between 2006 and 2009, connecting the main Iranian ports. The service will begin in February and will be operated by HDASCO Line (Hafez Darya Arya Shipping Company), also named HDS lines, which is a speciast container carrier under the IRISL Group. This new service times are as follows times: 19 days between Le Havre and Bandar Abbas for example. It will call at the following ports: Bandar Abbas, Asaluyeh, Bandar Iman, Khomeini, Busher and Khorramsharh in Iran and the port of Um Qasr in Iraq. The service will also call ports of: Malta / Khor Fakkam / Jebel Ali / Xingang /Busan/Qingdao/Shanghai/Ningbo/Yantian / Port Kelang.

Seafarers’ insurance now mandatory

Hellenic Shipping News
Seafarers will have better protection under mandatory insurance rules that took effect on Tuesday, which require ship owners to have compulsory insurance to cover abandonment of seafarers as well as claims for death or long-term disability. International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary General Kitack Lim in a statement welcomed the new obligations under the Maritime Labor Convention (MLC 2006), saying that these will improve working conditions for seafarers. “These amendments, which will provide better protection for seafarers and their families, are the fruit of successful collaboration between IMO and ILO to ensure better working conditions and better protection should things go wrong. I am very pleased to see these amendments enter into force today (January 17) for the Parties to MLC 2006, all of which are also IMO Member States,” Lim said.

Container Shipping: What next for the smaller TEU fleet?

Platts
The world is becoming an ever smaller place and the ability to conduct business with the most competitive companies globally is paramount for survival. The emphasis on customer needs now provides competitive advantage, and in the case of the container market, this may present opportunities for smaller TEU vessels. These containerships, which generally fall into the 1,000-4,999 TEU size range, were once pioneers laying a foundation for the modern behemoth of the container market. Later, when the focus shifted to their bigger and younger sisters and the economies of scale they provide, smaller vessels started to quickly lose their appeal. Now, after the opening of the new Panama Canal locks, they no longer hold their main advantage and many believe they are facing a maybe slow, but certain extinction. With big liner services and the largest ships mostly serving the big hub ports, smaller vessels may still embrace their advantage of flexibility and concentrate on the more niche trades.


Maharashtra’s Dighi port may get Russian security system

Port News
A Russian-made port water monitoring system is likely to be installed at the Dighi Port in Maharashtra’s Raigad district, Artyom Cherepanov, Deputy Director General (Commercial Affairs) of the Morinformsistema-Agat consortium told TASS on Jan. 20. According to Cherepanov, members of the All India Association of Industries (AIAI) expressed interest in installing the security system at the Dighi port while holding talks with Agat’s representatives in Mumbai. The Dighi port is close to Mumbai and is a part of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), a planned industrial development project between Delhi and Mumbai. Investments to the tune of $90 billion are being pumped into the project, which aims to build planned industrial cities and form a global manufacturing hub. The corridor is receiving financial and technical assistance from Japan. Russia has also been invited to participate in the project.

Newbuild deliveries biggest threat to container market recovery: Drewry

Seatrade Maritime
The biggest threat facing the recovery in the container shipping market is the large amount of newbuildings set to be delivered this year according to consultants Drewry. While both freight rates and demand have improved in recent months risks for newbuild tonnage and cascading of older vessels remain. “We are more optimistic than we have been in a long while as demand will continue to make small, incremental gains and freight rates will rebound after last year’s nadir,” Drewry commented in its weekly report on the container market. “However, we also identified the biggest risk to that outlook as the huge number of ship deliveries, particularly at the top end of the scale.” Barring delivery delays container shipping is facing up to 1.7m teu of newbuildings this year, more than half of these over 14,000 teu, meaning the vast majority will be deployed on the Asia – North Europe trade.

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