"At the Core is Sustainable Port Operations in Communication with Local Community"Mr. Lytle stresses in an interview at the 'Clean Port Conference'The Shippers' Journal had an interview with Mr. Chris Lytle, who is the executive director of the port of Long Beach, on 20th March at the Seoul Press Center where 'The 1st Clean Port Conference' was held. Mr. Lytle participated in the conference as a speaker and we asked him some questions on-site. The conference was co-organized by Shippers' Journal and CSR Today.- First of all, we appreciate your participation in the clean port conference as a sp
He was 2 meters tall, and a typical German gentleman, who made me raise my head a bit to maintain eye contact during the interview. I met Mr. Frank Dreeke, the next chairman of BLG(Bremen Logistics Group/Bremen Lagerhaus Gesellschaft), in the lounge of the Intercontinental Hotel on 22nd of Feb. He was just on the verge of going back to Germany after three days' visit to Hyundai Glovis, their long term Korean partner. With my question as to outcome of the meeting, he carefully skirted round the specific answer saying "It was a satisfying meeting. We had a favorable and decent talk such as diver
Danish container shipping firm A.P. Moller-Maersk reported a rise in full-year 2012 profit, reflecting mainly lower tax expenses. For full-year 2013, the Group expects a result below the 2012 result of $4.0 billion. Operational result is expected to be in line with 2012, excluding impairment losses, divestment gains and gain from tax settlement in Algeria.According to the company, profit was positively affected by settlement of an Algerian tax dispute of $899 million in the first quarter, combined with improved volumes, rates and unit costs in Maersk Line business.Profit was negatively affecte
It was 100 years ago today when Maersk Line – the world’s biggest private-sector shipping company – began to trade with Brazil for the first time. Steamship Laura Maersk reached Brazil’s shores on 19 February 1913, docking at Paranagua first – nearly seven weeks after the ship was launched on 1 January 1913.“The importance of Brazil to Maersk Line has changed significantly since 1913, we have gone from 2,800-tonne bulk cargo ships to a fleet of SAMMAX 88,237-tonne container cargo ships and we have played a key role in helping the food industry establish itself as a major global player,” said P
Another tough year is on the horizon for tanker owners as the market continues to struggle under the pressure of overcapacity. Global oil consumption only managed a timid growth in the fourth quarter of 2012, with global crude oil loadings increasing by 0.6%.OECD consumption shrank by 1.0%, despite US Gulf Coast refiners increasing imports of heavy crude from the Middle East Gulf by 2%. This contrasted with a 2.7% increase in non-OECD countries as weak US demand for light crude forced West African producers to export to eastern markets.Tonnage demand in the tanker market increased 0.6% to 325
Shipping used to be built on long charters (in the 1970s over 80% of tankers were on long charters to oil majors), but this fizzled out in the 1980s. For years shipowners hoped they would return, but they never did, leaving ships exposed to a spot market, where there always seemed to be too many of them.In the 1980s recession, the struggle to come to terms with this change kick started a trend to “flagging out”. Initially it was a matter of financial necessity. In the 1980s the OPEX of a Panamax bulker under German flag was $5,000/day, but by switching to a foreign flag the job could be done f
As 2013 began, the fully cellular containership fleet contained 469 vessels of 8,000+TEU (VLCS), with a combined capacity of 4.69m TEU. Just six years ago, at the start of 2007, the 134 VLCSs then on the water comprised 1.17m TEU. This rapid growth of the VLCS fleet has driven significant infrastructure development, but how many global ports are now seeing VLCS calls, and how has the geographical distribution changed since 2007?At the start of 2007, 90% of 8,000+TEU capacity (and all three of the 12,000+TEU vessels) was deployed on the Asia-Europe trade. Of the 57 global ports that received ca
Together with the Norwegian shipyard Fjellstrand, Siemens has developed the world's first electrically powered car ferry. The 80m long vessel, with a capacity for 120 cars and 360 passengers, will serve the route between Lavik and Oppedal, across the Sognefjord, from 2015. The ship's batteries will be recharged in the breaks between crossings, a procedure which only takes 10 minutes.The vessel currently serving this route uses on average 1M litres of diesel/year and emits 570 tonnes of CO2 and 15 tonnes of NOx. The electrically powered ferry was developed for submission to a competition organi
The senior level delegation of BLG(Bremer Lagerhaus Gesellschaft), a company devoted to providing logistics services for the port of Bremen/Bremerhaven in Germany, is visiting Korea from 20 until 22 February.The delegation headed by the current chairman Mr. Detthold Aden consists of 8 members also including Mr. Frank Dreeke, the next chairman and Mr. Manfred Kuhr, a vice chairman in automobile logistics division, and is projected to discuss further cooperative issues with their Korean partners Hyundai Glovis and EUKOR Car Carriers.This will be the first time the high level BLG delegation on su
Image courtesy Lloyd’s Register.Climate change, rather than “global warming”, has been identified as a major concern that drives many of today’s social policies and the maritime industry has long recognised that it, too, must play a part in developing more sustainable operations for the world fleet.While shipping is recognised as the most efficient and environmentally sustainable method of moving goods around the world, responsible for only some 2.7% of global emissions, the industry itself has put in place a range of technical and operational measures that will help to control the growth of e
The port of Inchon is preparing to jump up with a new vision in time for launching of cruise service on Inchon-Tianjin(China) route in next May.Although being a gateway port to the metropolitan area, the development in Inchon has been stalled compared to that of the port of Busan. In an interview with 'Shippers' Journal', Mr. Kim Choon-sun, a CEO of Inchon Port Authority(IPA) said a number of projects are being lined up."The burning question is to improve container handling throughput. We are trying to accomplish 2 million TEUs annually and to do that, it is also very important to reinforce ca
BP will plead guilty to manslaughter charges stemming from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and agreed to pay $4.5 billion in government penalties, Attorney General Eric Holder announced Thursday.Separate from the corporate manslaughter charges, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging the two highest-ranking BP supervisors on board the Deepwater Horizonon the day of the explosion with 23 criminal counts. The two men were charged with seaman's manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter for each of the 11 men killed in the blast, as well as
Denmarks largest bank, Danske Bank, does not expect the shipping market to improve any time soon.“2013 will be another difficult year,” the bank tells ShippingWatch, pointing to several negative factors.The crisis in the shipping sector can be felt clearly at Danske Bank, with the bank having to perform significantly bigger impairments in the third quarter this year, compared to the same period last year. This development is especially caused by the Danish and Nordic customer relations in the shipping industry, and the bank does not expect this to improve in 2013.More accurately, the bank had
Hyundai Merchant Marine(HMM)received an award for top leading company in Korean transportation i ndus try f rom CDP(Carbon Disclosure Project) committee ofKorea on 30 October. This is two years' consecutive award winning.Earlier, HMM's 60,000 ton class bulk ship 'Pacific Pride' achieved a certificate for environment friendly vessel from Korean Register(KR) inlate August.As the 'Pacific Pride' is equipped with PBCF(Propeller Boss Cap With Fin), the ship's energy efficiencyhas turned out to be 10% higher than the vessels in the same class.Besides, the company got a certificate for 'Green Managem
China, which imports more iron ore than the rest of the world combined, will buy a record amount this quarter, easing concern about the engine of global economic growth and extending a two-month rally in shipping rates.Capesizes, carrying more ore than any other vessel class, will earn $12,000 a day in the first quarter, says Arctic Securities ASA, a bank in Oslo whose recommendations on shipping stocks returned 17 percent in a year. Investors may profit from that because freight swaps for the period are trading at $8,500. Fourth-quarter shipments will rise 5.5 percent from a year earlier to 1