DAILY SHIPPING NEWS - TUESDAY 28, 2017

Air Freight News :

Moscow’s Sheremetyevo saw 2016 cargo surge.

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Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport saw a near 30% surge in freight volumes during 2016 to around 231,000 tonnes.

Moscow Cargo is the main handler at Sheremetyevo Airport, handling more than 90% of total air cargo throughputs at the Russian hub where Russian Federation national carrier Aeroflot and freighter operator AirBridgeCargo (ABC) are the major sources of volumes.

A spokesperson for the airport said: “In 2016, there was a significant growth in transportation of transfer cargo through Sheremetyevo.   “The airport has made serious investments in the development of the cargo terminal infrastructure, making it possible to ensure safety and efficient integration of perishable and temperature-sensitive cargo”.

“Due to mutual efforts by the airline and the airport in 2016, ABC was the first company in Russia that received an IATA CEIV Pharma certificate, confirming fulfilment of the requirements of pharmaceutical companies for transporting over the entire route network, primarily, through Sheremetyevo Airport.”

Mail traffic volume through Moscow Cargo grew by 27% in 2016 to 25,000 tonnes, due to “the intensive growth of the sales volumes on the Chinese on-line market,” said the airport spokesperson.

Cathay Pacific reveals ‘solid start’ to the year.

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Cathay Pacific

Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon (formerly known as Dragonair) flew a total of 151,133 tonnes of cargo and mail last month, an increase of 2.3% compared to January 2016.

The combined cargo and mail load factor rose by 0.3 percentage points to reach 61.9%.

Capacity, as measured in available cargo/mail tonne-km, was up by 0.5%, while cargo and mail revenue tonne-km (RTK) traffic increased year on year by 1%.

Cathay Pacific’s general manager cargo sales & marketing, Mark Sutch, noted: “We got off to a solid start in 2017.

“Tonnage grew ahead of capacity and showed an increase over the same month last year. We saw a good rebound in demand from Hong Kong, Mainland China and various key Asian markets.”

Meanwhile, Sutch observed: “Yield was sustained through a better mix of priority and special shipments. There was also robust demand for fresh produce and seafood across the network.

UPS hits out at plans to triple Alaska's jet fuel tax.

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UPS has hit out at proposals to triple the jet fuel tax in Alaska − home to the world’s fifth busiest cargo airport − a move that the integrator says could impact the state’s role in the cargo industry.

In a letter to Alaska Transportation Committee Co-Chair Adam Wool, UPS vice president of public affairs Nick D'Andrea said that an increase in the jet fuel tax would effectively tax UPS twice as it already pays landing fees.

The proposed tax increase, which will come in over two stages, also covers gasoline and marine diesel and is part of state efforts to help reduce its budget deficit of $2.7bn.  Money raised by each sector through the fuel tax would be ring-fenced for investment in infrastructure used by that particular sector.

The Alaska Air Carriers Association said the tax would only cover domestic US and intra-Alaska flights – an exemption for flights from a foreign destination or foreign-origin flights heading onto other airports in the US would be maintained.

UPS was not the only airline to hit out at the proposals, with Delta Air Lines and Alaska Airlines also expressing their disapproval.

However, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), Alaska Air Carriers Association and Alaska Airmen Association support the measure because of the funding it would bring to regional airports.

Sea Freight News :

Infographic: New Alliances’ Asian Trade Impact Port Technology Some ports in Asia will see calls halved when new alliance service structures come into effect in April. Container trade in the region has been on the rise with Vietnam, India, Malaysia and China leading the way, shown in the Global Trade Fun Facts Intra-Asia trade infographic by Xeneta, with its second infographic (below) showing why the alliances may have a detrimental impact on Asian ports. Nine of the top ten world container ports are Asian and the regional competition and alliances’ concentration of shipping could mean that there are some ports that find themselves a “big-time loser”, according to Olaf Merk, Administrator of Ports and Shipping with the International Transport Forum (ITF), who will be sharing more alliance insight at the PTI Terminal Automation & Training C-Level Networking Conference.

Adani Enterprises plans ship-fuelling business expansion Live Mint Adani Group plans to expand its share in the ship-fuelling market by leveraging the ports it has on India’s east and west coast. The idea is to use its ports to fuel the ships passing through the country, taking away business from ports at Fujairah, Dubai and Singapore, and expanding the 1 million tonne (mt) Indian bunkering market valued at Rs4,000 crore to 3.5mt by 2020. Bunker or ship fuel accounts for the majority of a ship’s operating costs. Adani Enterprises Ltd, which already boasts a 40% share of the business in India, wants to add one location a year for the bunkering business, said Vinay Prakash Goel, chief executive officer, trading and mining. “Singapore accounts for a substantive share of the global bunker market due to its geographical location and facilities offered. For Indian bunker market to compete, we need infrastructure at the ports,” said Goel.

India, other SE Asian nations improving land, sea connectivity: Nirmala Sitharaman ET Auto India and the South East Asian nations, including Myanmar and Cambodia, are enhancing land and sea connectivity to boost trade and are working on various projects such as Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday. She said huge potential exists in the Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV) nations for Indian manufacturers. The Commerce and Industry Minister said India and CLMV countries are working on accelerating projects to improve port, road and air connectivity. India and Myanmar are cooperating to connect the Bay of Bengal ports (Visakhapatnam-Krishnapatnam) and the Sittwe port (in Myanmar), Sitharaman told reporters here. She was speaking here for the 4th India-CLMV Business Conclave, organised by industry body CII.

Vallarpadam terminal registers19% growth in cargo volumes Business Line ICTT, Vallarpadam has registered a 19 per cent growth in volume for the 10-month period between April and January over the corresponding period of FY15-16. This is the highest growth rate achieved much ahead of closing of the current financial year. Last year, the terminal had achieved 14.5 per cent growth over the previous fiscal year. The terminal clocked an average gross crane rate (GCR) of 32 moves per hour in 2017, which is in line with international standards. The truck turnaround time of 26 minutes, gate-to-gate, displays the terminal’s operational efficiency. All services, particularly those connecting the Far East, West Asia and Europe, have been doing exceptionally well. The company has initiated steps to introduce a new dedicated rail service, scheduled to start in March, which will increase the connectivity between Karnataka and Kochi terminal.

Govt mulls joining global customs pact on smoother trans-shipments Smart Investor India's merchandise imports and exports may soon face minimum interference by foreign customs authorities during trans-shipments as the government mulls signing an international agreement in this regard. The Commerce Ministry is in the process of preparing a cabinet note which proposes that India become a signatory to the Convention on International Transport of Goods Under Cover of TIR Carnets (TIR Convention). The Convention will allow India to join an international customs transit system that allows containerised goods to reach their destinations smoothly without the need to be inspected every time it crosses an intermediate border. It also provides customs authorities with the required security and guarantees. It is expected to significantly bring down the cost and time involved in international merchandise movements across land, sea and inland waterways, a senior Commerce Ministry official said.

Centre mulls dedicated cargo airport for Telangana, UP The Hindu The Centre is considering a proposal each from Telangana and Uttar Pradesh for setting up a ‘dedicated cargo airport.’ Telangana wants a dedicated cargo airport to be built in northern Hyderabad, while Uttar Pradesh is seeking the green signal to construct one such airport in the western part of the state, official sources said. The Centre has informed these two states that the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had appointed a consultant to study and suggest name(s) of airport(s) or site(s) in the country that can be ‘developed’ or ‘converted’ as ‘dedicated cargo airport(s)’ – which may also be termed as ‘merchant airport(s).’ The AAI, subject to the Centre’s approval, would facilitate the construction of such dedicated cargo airport(s) once the site(s) and plans are finalised, and after finding that the same would be geographically suitable for air transportation, the sources said.

As GST approaches, CBEC looks at restructuring itself Smart Investor Amid staff concerns over redundancy in the post-goods and services tax (GST) regime from the coming financial year, the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) is identifying new areas of work in international customs, risk assessment, post-clearance audits and taxpayer services, among others, to remain relevant. With limited administrative role under GST, the indirect tax department is aiming to redeploy. "There are a lot of areas where maturity of administration needs to go up. We are not able to perform in those due to lack of workforce and resources. GST is one opportunity -- it will free-up manpower to concentrate on important areas like data analysis, intellectual property, risk assessment, etc," said a senior official. There will be new Customs divisions. One on dispute resolution, capacity building and compliance is being deliberated.

LNG carrier Al Khattiya damaged after collision with oil tanker off Fujairah Seatrade Maritime The Al Khattiya LNG carrier, owned by Qatar’s Nakilat and managed by Shell’s shipping unit Stasco, has suffered damage on its starboard side after a collision with an oil tanker off Fujairah. Pictures show a hole in the side of the vessel that was caused by the accident that took place on February 23. Some additional damage to the hull of the vessel can also be seen. Two ballast tanks aboard the 121,946 dwt liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier Al Khattiya were breached with a loss of some ballast water. The vessel’s manager Shell International Trading and Shipping Company said that the incident did not cause any injuries or pollution, while indications show no loss of LNG containment from the cargo tanks. Media reports name the oil tanker Jag Laadki, operated by India’s Great Eastern Shipping Company as the other vessel involved in the accident.

Rapid claim settlement of marine insurance Maritime Gateway HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company, India’s third largest non-life insurance provider in the private sector, has entered into an agreement with RIVIGO, India’s leading logistics solutions provider, to provide Real-time Policy Issuance and Rapid Claims Settlement (RCS) for Marine Insurance policies for RIVIGO’s customers. Through this tie-up, the aim is to ensure the efficiency in policy issuance and delivery process as well as cut down on physical processes in claim settlements. RIVIGO’s Consignment Note preparation process will be integrated with HDFC ERGO’s policy issuance process. This will facilitate real-time issuance and delivery of the policies to RIVIGO’s customers through emails. Further, with Rapid Claims Settlement (RCS), the claim settlements will become a real-time process.

ZIM Unveils its Restructured Network Hellenic Shipping News As part of ZIM’s strategy, we are pleased to introduce the final phase of our new network, commencing April 2017. ZIM’s new service ZIM MED PACIFIC (ZMP), will serve both the Asia-PNW trade and the Asia – East-Med/Black Sea trades. The service will deploy 15X4.5k vessels, allowing for operational advantages and high schedule reliability, along with competitive transit time and topmost service levels. ZMP rotation: Port Kelang – Cai Mep – Da Chan Bay – Yantian – Xiamen – Ningbo – Shanghai – Pusan – Vancouver – Pusan – Qingdao – Shanghai – Ningbo – Da Chan Bay – Port Kelang – Ashdod – Haifa –Istanbul – Novorossiysk – Odessa – Istanbul – Haifa – Port Kelang.