DAILY SHIPPING NEWS - FRIDAY FEBRUARY 03, 2017

Air Freight News :

EAS in top gear for emergency auto spares charter.

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EAS International a member of the  X2 Critical forwarder alliance has organised an Airbus A310 freighter full charter flight to transport automotive parts from Romania to Turkey.

Marco Muggianu, development director for EAS (the alliance member responsible for France and Romania) said: “The operation was very difficult due to the very bad weather conditions in Romania including snow, ice and minus 15 degree temperatures.”

Muggianu approached fellow X2 Critical member Qualitair & Sea Istanbul (QAS). In collaboration they chartered freighter and loaded the aircraft with 25-tons of automotive parts.

The entire operation was prepared, shipped and arrived in less than 24 hours door to door.

Added Muggianu: “This was a real X2 Critical members’ success story. The network specialises in providing value added services specifically meeting the needs of the aviation, aerospace and maritime industries."

SAA Cargo races to transport Dakar rally vehicles.

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South African Airways Cargo (SAA Cargo) has transported three racing vehicles and spares for the Dakar Rally as part of a partnership deal with the Toyota Gazoo South Africa team.

The cargo division transported the three vehicles from South Africa to Argentina via Sao Paulo for the 13 day race that covers Paraguay, Bolivia and Argentina.

The racing vehicles are designed in line with size restrictions for commercial cargo holds and thus built in such a way they can be disassembled to the size of the pallet and container to be used.

It takes around three hours to disassemble each car, which weigh around 2,000 kg, and six hours to reassemble them after transport.

SAA Cargo’s general manager, Tleli Makhetha said: “We are very proud of our association with this team who achieved a top ten finish at the most gruelling international motorsport race.

Record cargo year for Singapore's Changi airport.

·         Singapore Changi Airport recorded a 6.3% rise in airfreight throughputs versus prior year to reach 1.97m tonnes in 2016.

The Asian hub, the world's 15th largest cargo hub by volumes in 2015, ended 2016 with a strong December, handling 177,360 tonnes, up by 8.4% on the same month in 2015.

Changi Airport welcomed two freighter carriers — Neptune Air and Silkway West Airlines — to its family of over 100 passenger and cargo airlines last year, while freighter airline K-Mile Air resumed operations to Singapore.

A spokesperson for the airport authority said: “In terms of airfreight throughput, growth was recorded across imports, exports and transhipments.  Perishables and pharmaceuticals were segments that performed well, contributing a significant portion of Changi’s total cargo throughput.”

The top five country markets for airfreight were China, Australia, Hong Kong, the US and India.

Dubai's DWC airport saw cargo volumes up by 0.8% in 2016.

·         Dubai World Central (DWC), the Middle East emirate’s second international hub, recorded a slight increase in 2016 airfreight volumes at 897,998 tonnes, up 0.8% versus prior year.

Owner Dubai Airports stated: “[DWC]Cargo volumes registered strong growth in the fourth quarter with 252,300 tonnes of air freight, up 10.3% compared to 228,770 tonnes recorded in Q4 2015.”

DWC in the UAE is currently served by 27 passenger carriers, operating an average of 108 flights weekly to 44 international destinations and is home to 64 scheduled cargo operators that fly to as many as 138 destinations around the world.

Sister airport Dubai International Airport (DXB), reporting its full year 2016 results last week, shrugged off a 2016 third quarter cargo lull to rebound with a 3.4% rise in volumes to just under 2.6m tonnes.

Sea Freight News :

South Korea's Hanjin Shipping on course for bankruptcy Asian Review Hanjin Shipping is heading for liquidation after a court decided Thursday to essentially pull the plug on the struggling South Korean container giant, potentially closing the curtains on the company's 40-year history. The Seoul Central District Court elected to discontinue Hanjin's rehabilitation plan due to the shipper's falling liquidation value and the lack of any turnaround sponsors. The court is set to finalize the bankruptcy decision on Feb. 17 after two weeks to give creditors or other parties a chance to appeal. The bankruptcy proceedings are able to move forward because the court managed to sell off Hanjin's stake in a U.S. terminal, a major creditor told the Nikkei on Thursday. Hanjin, once the world's seventh- or eighth-largest container shipper, applied for court receivership last August.

Refreshing approach to growth via prudent measures: Gautam Adani Indian Express Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s focus on agriculture, rural employment and infrastructure in his Budget for 2017-18 shows Narendra Modi government’s ability to balance growth with prudence, billionaire Gautam Adani said on Thursday. The Budget provides for “growth for the rural and underprivileged – build-up of infrastructure in urban India, affordable housing, fiscal prudence and most importantly, more money in the hands of honest taxpayers. A refreshing approach towards growth through prudent budget measures,” he said. The Adani Group Chairman said he sees this year’s Budget in the backdrop of fragile global economic condition and continuing uncertainty. “Amidst this backdrop, India is considered to be a bright spot by international agencies including IMF and UNCTAD,” he said in a statement.

Budget is reasonably balanced for an inclusive growth: Adarsh Hegde Business Standard The union budget 2017 with an agenda to transform, energise and sanitise India is reasonably balanced for an inclusive growth of the Indian economy. A couple of initiatives announced in the budget presented on February 1 bring some cheer to the sector. The government has taken the onus of setting up 100 India International Skill Centres which will definitely create a larger impact to address the issue of skilled labour in India. Another good move of the government in the budget to offer tax relief to corporates is the carrying forward MAT for additional 5 years. The bold target of 2500 crore digital transactions for 2017-18 will transform the way India transacts. The implementation of end to end solutions by railways for some commodities and significant investment in development of national highways, are steps towards ensuring multimodal connectivity and better transport system.

JNPT shippers to pay higher rates JOC Shippers using India’s top container port should expect to prepare to pay more to use the gateway, but the improvements the higher rates fund should improve productivity. India’s Tariff Authority for Major Ports, or TAMP, last week approved a request from Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust to increase cargo-related charges 16 percent and marine dues 21 percent. Cargo-related charges cover stevedoring, wharfage, and demurrage, while marine dues include berth hire and pilotage charges. “The revised scale of rates will come into force after expiry of 30 days from the date [Jan. 24] of notification of this order,” the port regulator said. The increase could ease pressure on JNPT to make up funding shortfalls for infrastructure upgrades meant to ease congestion and improve productivity levels.

Budget with long term objective to steer economy, says exporters SME Times Hailing the Union Budget limiting revenue deficit to 2.1 percent of GDP and pegging fiscal deficit for 2017-18 at 3.2 percent, while focusing on rural India and infrastructure, S C Ralhan, President of FIEO, the apex exporters body, said that the budget has drawn a road map for bringing economy back on track and accelerating it in medium term. The investment of close to Rs.4.00 lacs crore in the infrastructure encompassing road, railways, aviation would not only improve competitiveness of manufacturing and exports sector but would reduce the logistics cost of exports as well. President, FIEO said that while Trade Related Infrastructure Scheme is welcomed, it would require sufficient funding to make an impact. The MSME sector with a turnover of upto Rs.50 crore will get a boost with reduction in income tax, while SEZs may draw a consolation in carry forward of MAT from 10 years to 15 years.

India Opens Special Account in Its Annual Budget For Iranian Chabahar Port Sputnik News After much dilly dallying, India has started special allocation for development of Chabahar port in Iran in its annual budget. Indian government has allocated $22.5 Million for the development of Chabahar port in financial year starting from April this year. India had received contract to develop a multipurpose cargo terminal (600 meters length) and a container terminal (640 meters length) at Chabahar port last year in May. Indian government had agreed to equip both the terminals with equipment worth $85 Million. Last year, Indian government had allocated $15 Million for the said project. Indian has also planned major event at Chabahar port in April this year whereas it will showcase the opportunities for private players. India had pledged $500 Million investment in the project mostly from Indian private companies having business interest in Iran.

GST rollout vital for logistics sector Business Line The Finance Minister has made a number provisions for the port and logistics sector, including plans for 2,000-km coastal roads in the Union Budget but experts feel that more details about the GST roadmap and its impact on the sector should have been shared with the market. Allcargo Logistics Ltd Executive Director and COO, Prakash Tulsiani said the Finance Minister has only mentioned about IT systems for GST rollout but the GST roadmap has not been spelled out. The budget has made provision for the sector but connections between GST and budgetary provisions have not been explained, he said. Arif Patel, Vice-Chairman of Patel Roadways, said the budget provisions for logistics sector should have been synchronized with the implementation of GST. If the GST does not get implemented, it will have repercussions on the sector, he warned.

China’s ‘Silk Road’ Plans Stir Protests in Sri Lanka The Wire China signed a deal with Sri Lanka late last year to further develop the strategic port of Hambantota and build a huge industrial zone nearby, a key part of Beijing’s ambitions to create a modern-day “Silk Road” across Asia. The agreement was welcome relief for the island nation of 20 million people. As they try to reduce the country’s debts, officials in Colombo see China’s plans to include Sri Lanka on its “One Belt, One Road” initiative as an economic lifeline. China has spent almost $2 billion so far on Hambantota and a new airport and wants to spend much more. But Beijing now faces a new and unpredictable challenge to its presence in Sri Lanka and broader Silk Road project. Hundreds of Sri Lankans clashed with police at the opening last month of the industrial zone in the south, saying they would not be moved from their land.

Colombo terminal annual volume soars 28pc to two million TEU Sea News The company said ultra large containerships and very large containerships contributed 70 per cent to the volumes achieved last year. The higher volumes handled by CICT contributed to the overall throughput of the port of Colombo increasing by an estimated 11 per cent in 2016, Maritime in Sri Lanka reported. CICT general manager, commercial and marketing, Tissa Wickramasinghe, was quoted as saying: "It must be emphasized that this historic achievement of two million TEU was made possible mainly by the synergies developed through our parent company China Merchants Port Holdings (CMPH). "The ability to access the CMPH global network was the key factor in gaining and attracting new transhipment volumes to the port of Colombo.

FFFAI and JSC RZD Logistics sign agreement on North-South ITC development Maritime Gateway JSC RZD Logistics, one of the leading companies on Russian forwarding services market, and Federation of Freight Forwarders’ Associations in India (FFFAI) recently have signed an agreement on strategic partnership aimed to coordinate efforts in development of the North-South ITC (International Transport Corridor). JSC RZD Logistics and FFFAI agreed to work together to expand the number of contacts with Russian and Indian freighters in order to attract the cargos to the North-South ITC. They are planning to develop Russian-Indian logistics cooperation as well. The signing of the agreement took place during the International Rail Business Forum “1520 Strategic Partnership: The Caspian Region”. “The association with our Indian partners is essential for the successful development of the North-South ITC. The signing of the agreement is another evidence of the interest towards project.

Haifa Port – the first in Israel to enter the era of 14,000 TEU ships, with today’s call of the Maersk Elbaa Hellenic Shipping News This morning (Thursday), the Maersk Elba container ship (13,092 TEU) arrived at Haifa Port’s state-of-the-art Carmel Terminal. The Maersk Elba is the largest ship ever to dock in Israel, and its visit formally inducted Israel’s leading port into the exclusive club of ports that handle high-capacity 14,000 TEU Mega ships. This ship, part of the weekly service line operated by the 2M Alliance of Maersk and MSC, links the ports of South Korea, China and Singapore to Haifa Port, and from there continues to the Adriatic ports. It entered the Carmel Terminal, where it was operated on by 4 STS cranes with an average productivity of 136 containers per ship hour. All who familiar with the shipping industry understand that preparing Haifa Port to welcome this new generation of ships was a lengthy process that has only now come to fruition.

This is Why the Bunker Industry Needs MFMs Ship & Bunker January 1st, 2017 stands out as a landmark date for the bunker industry: the day that MFMs (mass flow meters) became mandatory for IFO deliveries in the world's largest bunkering port, Singapore. The initial feedback has been good so far. In the world outside Singapore, most port authorities are taking a wait-and-see approach regarding the prospect of compulsory MFMs, while others simply say that they have no authority to mandate their implementation. Caution is perhaps understandable, but excuses about a lack of authority are more concerning. Let's be realistic, the bunkering industry has a mixed reputation and the frequent allegations of short volumes only make it worse. It's unlikely that any port authority is unaware of this. And while some may have no legal control to mandate changes, they're all capable of working with their governments or customs authorities to adopt new standards.