New China Import Rules Bring Headaches
Makers of Irish whiskey, Belgian chocolate and European coffee brands are scrambling to comply with new Chinese food and beverage regulations, with many fearful their goods will be unable to enter the giant market as a Jan. 1 deadline looms.China's customs authority published new food safety rules in April stipulating all food manufacturing, processing and storage facilities abroad need to be registered by year-end for their goods to access the Chinese market.But detailed procedures explaining how to get the required registration codes were only issued in October…
Ever Given Fiasco Illustrates Importance of the Shipping Container
Take a look around you.Perhaps you’re snacking on a banana, sipping some coffee or sitting in front of your computer and taking a break from work to read this article. Most likely, those goods—as well as your smartphone, refrigerator and virtually every other object in your home—were once loaded onto a large container in another country and traveled thousands of miles via ships crossing the ocean before ultimately arriving at your doorstep.Today, an estimated 90% of the world’s goods are transported by sea…
MSC Adds New Rail Service in Spain
MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company is launching a new rail service to bring agricultural cargoes from Spain closer to the international markets.The transportation and logistics company said that the new service runs will improve links between Seville and Cordoba (Spain) and destinations in the Mediterranean, the Middle East and the Far East, beginning in October 2018. It is expected to run at least twice a week from both Seville’s inland maritime port – Puerto de Sevilla – and Cordoba’s cargo rail terminal and the port of Valencia, a major hub port in the Mediterranean.MSC’s new rail service will provide better connectivity and improved transit times for exporters in various southern regions of Spain…
Cargo Ships De-listed After Crimea Grain Trades
At least two countries have struck cargo vessels off their registries in recent weeks after the ships were involved in transporting grains from Crimea to Syria, maritime officials told Reuters.Crimea has been under Western sanctions since it was annexed from Ukraine by Russia in 2014 and has been frozen out of many export markets. That leaves Syria, which has also been targeted by sanctions, as an ideal trading partner for Crimea, given that the latter is open to receiving goods…
Aragon, Yiwu Sign for the "Train of Silk"
The regional government of the northern Spanish region of Aragon and the Chinese city of Yiwu signed an agreement to maximize the benefits of the Yixinou freight train, which links the Chinese city and Madrid, the capital of Spain, reports Xinhua. The "train of silk" goods "Yixinou", unites over 13,052 kilometers Yiwu city with Madrid, has a stop in Zaragoza. An 8,000 mile crossing from China to Spain, passing through eight countries and taking 20 days, has raised hopes of a new "Silk Train" transport route. The President of the Government of Aragon, Javier Lamban, and the chief of Yiwu, Sheng Qiuping, have signed this agreement to strengthen economic relations between the two countries.
Port of Albany Reports Increase in Container Traffic
Mayor Gerald D. Jennings today announced that, in its first six months, the Port of Albany’s new container service has resulted in more than 325 containers passing through the Port, generating additional work for longshore labor, and successfully opening an exciting new chapter for business at the Port. “It has been a busy six months,” Mayor Jennings said. “Since April, over 325 containers have been handled at the Port, which is great news for our longshoremen, and promises a very bright future for Port of Albany. The new container cargo at the Port includes artificial Christmas trees, olive oil, tile, safety products and logs. In addition to this cargo, the Port of Albany continues to receive all of its traditional cargo including grain, molasses, heavy lift equipment and wood pulp.
Research Teams Survey Chios Wreck
In the fourth century B.C., a Greek merchant ship sank off Chios and the Oinoussai islands in the eastern Aegean Sea. The wooden vessel may have succumbed to storm, fire or rough weather, ruining the cargo of 400 ceramic jars of wine and olive oil. The ship went down in 60 meters of water where it remained unnoticed for centuries. The classical-era ship might never have divulged to archaeologists its clues to ancient Greek culture but for a research team from MIT, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI), the Greek Ministry of Culture and the Hellenic Center for Marine Research (HCMR), who used a novel autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to make a high-precision photometric survey of the site last July. The robotic vehicle used at Chios is an AUV called SeaBed.
