The Shipping Gazette News

China has banned shellfish imports from the US west coast, cutting off a US$270-million Pacific Northwest industry from its biggest export market, reports Shipping Gazette (China). The ban was imposed after recent shipments of geoduck clams from northwest waters were found to have high levels of arsenic and a toxin that causes paralytic shellfish poisoning. The restriction applies to clams, oysters and all other two-shelled bivalves from Washington, Oregon, Alaska and northern California. Canada was not mentioned in the ban.

China will promote a mixed-ownership economy by diversifying the shareholding structure of state-owned enterprises (SOE) reports the Chinese 'Shipping Gazette', citing the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. The Commission informed the nation it will speed up the transformation of SOEs, especially parent companies, into joint-stock firms. The pay system will also be reformed with a focus on using performance as the basis for compensation for SOE managers. It will also improve the shareholding structure of SOEs.

The Port of Shanghai posted a 4.3 per cent increase in container volume in November year-on-year to 2.94 million TEU, according to figures from Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG) reports the Shipping Gazette. Throughput of the entire port of Shanghai is expected to hit 33.5 million, enabling it to stay as the world's largest container port for the fourth consecutive year, according to Shipping Gazette, citing a Xinhua report. November 2013 box volumes also increased 4.6 per cent to 2.81 million TEU over October's throughput.