Transporting Goods

New Scottish Cargo Service

Scottish cargo customers are benefiting from the launch of a new domestic service, linking the Port of Grangemouth to strategic east coast English ports. Forth Ports has recently teamed up with Feederlink to provide a service from Grangemouth – the UK’s largest feeder port – to Southampton, offering an opportunity for Scottish customers with export, import and domestic cargo needs. The new route meets the demands of a range of industry sectors – in particular retail and supermarket trade – and port centred logistics. The new service builds on the Port of Grangemouths’s reputation as one of Europe’s premier feeder ports, and reinforces Forth Ports’ recent capital investment in the Port. In addition, the introduction of the route significantly improves the availability of a sustainable alternative to road haulage for transporting goods across the UK. Feederlink already calls to Felixstowe, Rotterdam, Tees, Tyne and Immingham from the Port of Grangemouth. Feederlink vessels will depart from the Port of Grangemouth for Southampton, calling at Port of Tyne on the return journey, bringing up the number calls at Grangemouth to six a week. Forth Ports also offer services on behalf of Samskip, BG Freight and MSC, linking the Port of Grangemouth with Rotterdam and Antwerp.

MARAD Study to Improve U.S.-Flag Competitiveness

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration recently awarded a research contract to PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLC, of New York, to identify factors that significantly impact the ability of U.S.-flagged ship operators transporting goods to remain competitive.  Current maritime industry estimates appear to indicate that costs associated with operating these vessels under U.S. registry standards are approximately three times higher than those incurred by the

NORTH P&I CLUB Publishes Guidance On Sanctions For Shipowners

The ‘A’ rated, 150 million GT North of England P&I club has published new guidance for shipowners on how to avoid being caught out by the increasingly complex ‘patchwork’ of international trade sanctions currently in force worldwide. Writing in the club’s newsletter ‘Signals’, head of loss prevention Tony Baker says, ‘Trade sanctions are at the forefront of modern diplomacy and can be imposed by individual countries or supranational bodies

AAPA Chief Weighs in on WRDA

AAPA Chairman Testifies Before Senate Committee on Water Resources Development Act; Testimony emphasizes importance of investment in waterside infrastructure.   Jerry Bridges, the American Association of Port Authorities’ Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the Virginia Port Authority, testifying today on behalf of AAPA before the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, stressed the need to authorize new navigation projects to keep the Nation competitive in

CMA CGM Receives the Highest Score

In January 2013, the Group-owned CMA CGM fleet was rewarded by state ports (Port State Control), the highest score for its fleet in recognition of the fleet’s compliance with international regulations regarding safety at sea, technical / regulatory compliance and pollution prevention. For this ranking, port national authorities verify the state of vessels, the level of maintenance, the quality of the crew, procedures in place for the management of safety and pollution.

Maersk Asia/US E.Coast Service to Transit Suez, Not Panama

Maersk Line, will stop using the Panama Canal to transport goods from Asia to the U.S. East Coast as bigger ships make Suez more profitable. Maersk Line will send through Suez Canal a vessel that can carry as many as 9,000 20-foot boxes at a time, instead of using two 4,500-box-vessels through Panama Canal, Soeren Skou, Maersk Line chief executive officer, informed Bloomberg in Singapore. The last sailing through Panama will be on April 7 and the first service through Suez will be a week later

Meeting Scheduled for Dangerous Goods Carriers

The Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA) will conduct public meetings in Washington, DC on June 18 and July 16, 2003. The first meeting is to prepare for the 23rd session of the United Nations' Subcommittee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods. The second meeting is to report on the results of the UN session. 68 Fed. Reg. 32579 (May 30, 2003). (Source: Haight Gardner Holland & Knight

U.S. Freight Forwarder Pleads Guilty to Criminal Charges

A Kirkland, Wash.-based freight forwarder involved in the military's program for shipping household goods of military and civilian Department of Defense (DOD) personnel between the U.S. and foreign countries pleaded guilty to criminal offenses related to its participation in that program, the Department of Justice announced today. Criminal charges were filed today in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., against Air Van Lines International Inc. (AVLC). Under the terms of a

Safer Transport for Dangerous Goods Now Mandatory

Uniform, global rules for the safe transport by sea of dangerous goods and marine pollutants in packaged form are now compulsory, following the entry into force on January 1, 2004 of the 2002 amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), 1974, making the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code mandatory. In welcoming the development, IMO Secretary-General Mr. Efthimios Mitropoulos observed that the decision by IMO Member States in 2002 to make

All American Completes 83-ft Alaska Ferry

All American Marine, Inc. delivered another 83-ft hydrofoil-assisted aluminum catamaran for operation in Alaska.  The recently launched Kachemak Voyager will operate in Kachemak Bay and provide passenger ferry service between the communities of Seldovia and Homer.  Through a competitive bidding process, the Seldovia Village Tribe awarded a contract to All American Marine in September 2008 to build a sistership to the CIRI owned, M/V Aialik Voyager and M/V Orca Voyager