Trade Services News

A U.S. Treasury official has ruled out secondary sanctions to enforce a price cap mechanism on Russian oil exports despite a proposal last week by U.S. senators.Democratic and Republican senators last week proposed that U.S. President Joe Biden's administration use secondary sanctions on international banks to strengthen the price cap aimed at capping Russia's oil revenues while minimizing the impact on global markets and prices."We don't think secondary sanctions are needed," Catherine Wolfram, deputy assistant secretary for climate and energy economics at the U.S.

The U.S. trade deficit jumped to a record high in March amid roaring domestic demand, which is drawing in imports, and the gap could widen further as the nation's economic activity rebounds faster than its global rivals.Manufacturers lack the capacity to satisfy the surge in demand because of resource constraints and bottlenecks in the supply chain. Inventories are very lean. Demand is being driven by a rapidly improving public health situation and massive government aid to households…

Everett Ship Repair (ESR) is a relatively new name in the U.S. ship repair business. Established in October 2019, the Pacific Northwest shipyard is owned by Ice Cap Holdings, LLC, which is also the parent company to another shipyard not too far away: Nichols Brothers Boat Builders (NBBB).Both ESR and NBBB are headed up by CEO Gavin Higgins, who is responsible for the development of new business opportunities and cultivation of new business relationships, including working with industry groups…

Taiwanese container transportation and shipping company Evergreen Line has launched a new digital platform designed to provide customers with seamless booking capabilities and greater access to integrated trade services.Evergreen Line said in a press note that GreenX platform provides a digital portal for Evergreen customers to get instant quotes and book secured space with prioritized equipment supplied by the carrier.From the time of its soft launch last month, GreenX has received nearly 2,000 sign-ups via this one-stop digital platform, demonstrating customers’ interest in executing their bookings and trade services digitally.The digital platform is powered by BlueX Trade…

China is building its first international undersea cable that will carry information and data flow between the country and the ASEAN nations, says Xinhuanet. Its also setting up Information Harbor for the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. The government run China Unicom, one of the main telecommunications providers in the country, is cooperating with Myanmar's telecommunications operators to build the underwater cable, said Jiang Zhengxin, vice general manager of China United Telecommunications Corp, parent of China Unicom. China first proposed the Information Harbor initiative in September 2014. The initiative will include five cooperative platforms to benefit China and ASEAN members…

Maersk Line, the container shipping unit in the A.P. Moller-Maersk group in Copenhagen, says it will cut about 16% of its capacity on the West Central Asia-Europe trade lane. "In our continuous effort to provide our customers with an attractive and competitive West Central Asia / Europe network - both in terms of capacity and coverage - Maersk Line is enhancing the ME1, ME2 and ME3 services and discontinuing the ME5 service with effect from October 2015," says a statement from the company. The closure of the ME5 will result in a capacity reduction corresponding to approximately 16 percent of our dedicated West Central Asia / Europe service capacity. The termination of the service will not impact our ability to serve our customers in the market that the ME5 covers.

Toronto-headquartered Livingston International says it has acquired New York-based FPA Customs Brokers, Inc. “We look forward to welcoming the FPA team and their clients into the Livingston family,” said Livingston CEO Steven C. Preston. The acquisition bolsters Livingston’s air/sea customs brokerage operations, and expands the company’s presence in the United States. Notably, it strengthens Livingston’s footprint in New York and Los Angeles, the country’s two largest ports. Livingston was also attracted to FPA’s expertise in the retail textiles and apparel industry sectors in which Livingston continues to grow its presence. “This transaction…

BHP Billiton, Royal Bank of Scotland, Westpac Banking Corporation, Cargill and Minerva Marine recently completed the first trade financed iron ore trade using ESS’s CargoDocs electronic bill of lading and eUCP Presentation solutions. CargoDocs was used on a shipment from Australia to China. In this trade the electronic bill of lading was drafted by BHP Billiton in Shanghai (eliminating the need for separate document instructions). It was then approved signed and issued on behalf of Minerva Marine by Wilhelmsen Ships Services in Port Hedland, Australia. BHP Billiton created original electronic peripheral documents within CargoDocs and the whole eSet was endorsed and presented electronically to RBS under an eUCP600 letter of credit.

The New World Alliance said it will temporarily reduce capacity on selected Trans-Pacific Trade services to coincide with Lunar New Year factory shutdowns in Asia. The three container shipping lines in the alliance -- APL, Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) said the winter deployment program is expected to last six weeks; more if necessary. "We'll review demand and capacity again well in advance of the peak shipping season," said APL President Eng Aik Meng. Winter deployment programs are routine for The New World Alliance carriers and the Trans-Pacific Trade in general, where Asian exports slow significantly during the Lunar New Year holiday break. Factory closures sharply curb the production of finished goods which are a staple of the trade.

LIG Marine Managers’ sister company, LIG Educational & Consulting Services, in conjunction with the International Institute for Marine Insurance Studies, announced the 2011 CMIP Seminar Schedule for those individuals working towards earning the Certified Marine Insurance Professional (CMIP) Designation. The designation is designed for agents, brokers, CSRs, Insurance Company Personnel, Underwriters or other insurance industry professionals who wish to expand their knowledge of Commercial Marine Insurance. The CMIP Designation requires attendance at four 2½-day Seminars and passing a short exam at the end of each Seminar. The first of the 2011 CMIP Seminars, “Fundamentals of Marine Insurance” will be held in Tampa, Fla. April 13-15, 2011.

Hit hard by the global financial and economic crisis in the year 2009, the Port of Hamburg reports total cargo-handling figures of 28.6 million tons for the first quarter of 2010, an increase of 4.6 per cent over the same period in the previous year. On the import side, Port of Hamburg Marketing – the marketing organisation of the Port of Hamburg – recorded cargo-handling figures of 16.7 million tons (+6.0 per cent). Exports via Hamburg also increased in comparison with the first quarter of 2009, with a total of 11.9 million tons (+2.7 per cent). General cargo handling, the dominant segment in Hamburg, returned to growth (1.1 per cent) with a total of 18.6 million tons.

MOL hosted a party to celebrate the grand opening of its new Panama Vessel Operation Center in Panama City, Panama on December 9, 2003. Some of the guests in attendance included: Mr. Joaquin Jacome, Minister of Commerce; Mr. Jerry Salazar, Minister of Canal Affairs; and Mr. Shuji Shimokoji, Ambassador of Japan. Considering Panama to be one of the world’s key maritime centers, the company established MOL (Panama) Inc. in May 2003, which is responsible for handling all commercial activities for MOL’s liner division in Panama. The responsibilities of MOL (Panama) Inc. were increased last month when it was named a regional office in charge of managing the activities of MOL’s Caribbean and Central America shipping agents.