ASIA: Shippers reject IMO box weight proposals
The Asian Shippers’ Council (ASC) has reacted angrily to the International Maritime Organization giving its backing to container-weight verification proposals.
In a strongly worded statement, the Asian shippers’ organisation said it “rejected†the container weight verification agreement and that the decision was taken without proper representation from the shipper community.
It said the ASC and the European Shippers’ Council, which claim to represent 75% of the world’s shippers, were not involved in any meetings convened to discuss the proposals or to address the issue of container safety.
ASC chairman John Lu said: “There are millions of shippers across Asia, with different levels of maturity and different operational constraints.
“Before arriving at a key gateway for export, cargoes may have to use multiple modes of transport – trucks, ships and/or rail.
“Can you imagine trying to implement what is agreed at the IMO in such a challenging environment?
“As there are many emerging countries elsewhere – in South America and Africa – in similar situations, a one-size-fits-all requirement cannot work.
“It has not worked for 100% security screening and it will not work for 100% verification of gross weight of containers.â€
The ASC claimed terminal operators shared its concern.
Source: Lloyds List Oct 2013
China rates strategy begins to work
Decisions by China-Australia container lines to withdraw sailings during and following Golden Week holidays appear to have played a crucial part in pulling southbound freight rates back from the precipice.
Members of the Asia Australia Discussion Agreement implemented a US$500/teu ‘rate recovery’ on September 20 and sources say independent carriers followed suit.
At that point spot rates were reported to have fallen to a remarkable US$285/teu, down from US$350 at the end of August and well over US$1000 back in February, as shippers exploited overcapacity and lines chased each other down as they protected market share.
Rates were last week said to be pushing back through the US$700/teu mark and this has encouraged AADA to announce a further increase for all shipments from China and Hong Kong from October 24.
Meanwhile it has been announced that China’s Hainan Pan Ocean Shipping (PO Shipping), whose withdrawal from the Australian trade in February ironically played a major part in triggering the present over-capacity, has now completely suspended its shipping business.
A depressed market, poor freight rates and lower cargo volumes, were behind the decision, local media reported.
Chairman Le Kelin has resigned and the company will have to supply an operations report to the Hainan local government in an effort to obtain financial assistance to resume.
New cranes a reality for Adelaide box terminal
Flinders Port’s Adelaide Container Terminal will complete its acquisition of two new post-panamax cranes within two weeks, general manager Stewart Lammin has said.
After purchase of the cranes has been signed off there will be an 18-month lead time in getting the units into port. He had earlier announced the company was looking into getting new cranes in April this year.
“To give us a little bit more headroom for the straddle operation, we are just about to hardstand another four hectares of land, which will give us around 2700 ground slots for the terminal behind berth eight,†Mr Lammin told delegates to the South Australia Transport Infrastructure Summit 2013.
Flinders Ports is also said to be looking into relocating its existing depot operation onto the vacant land in its northern corner, plus developing alternative gate access.
Mr Lammin said Flinders Ports is looking into where it can move administration and maintenance facilities, currently situated in the middle of its yard operation, within the terminal footprint, to offer more yard space for operations.
“And if we go down the track of automatic stacking cranes, we have to start decommissioning some of the straddle ground slots adjacent to berth six, in preparation for [them],†Mr Lammin said.
Larger ships may not help productivity
Using larger containerships does not necessarily improve port productivity – what matters, when it comes to speed of unloading, is the number or intensity of cranes used, a leading maritime consultancy has found.
Drewry Maritime Research’s latest Container Insight report also found the maximum number of cranes deployed to unload a ship rests on the length of the vessel in question – yet the expanded capacity of new, larger vessels stems from their increased height and width, and not their length.
That fact limits ports’ ability to increase the number of cranes used to discharge large ships, Drewry concluded.
“Container-handling productivity is clearly influenced by ship size, with larger ships generally facilitating faster handling,†Drewry said.
“However, there are numerous operational and commercial factors, in particular crane intensity, which also influence vessel turnaround times, so it should not be assumed that bigger ships will automatically lead to faster port turnarounds.â€
Another factor in port productivity is the performance of individual gantries. Yard performance also affects crane productivity. However, Drewry said yard performance rested on resources deployed; the more tractors/trailers and straddle carriers deployed, the faster the individual crane could perform.
TT-Line considering future of Spirit of Tassie vessels
Speculation is rife that TT-Line is considering buying a dedicated freight vessel to move cargo across Bass Strait.
This follows a question from Liberal MHA Rene Hidding to infrastructure minister David O’Byrne in state parliament, when he asked if TT-Line was considering acquiring freight-only ships.
TT-Line is a state government-owned entity which operates the two Spirit of Tasmania vessels. While these ships primarily move people and vehicles, they also carry a significant volume of freight.
Mr O’Byrne confirmed TT-Line is going through a process of either vessel refurbishment or replacement – but did not elaborate. A TT-Line spokesman declined to comment on the issue when contacted by Lloyd’s List Australia.
Rob McGuire from the Tasmanian Freight and Logistics Council said it was no secret TT-Line faced some important choices.
“Freight has become more important to TT-Line. “Also the end of the useful life of the ferries is happening. “TT-Line could refurbish them, or they could find another way to move freight and allow more passengers and cars into the state.â€
Mr McGuire said tourists sometimes grumbled about freight taking up space on the ships making it impossible to fit caravans and campervans.
Three years ago the state government binned plans to replace the vessels by 2014, putting back that date to 2017, as was originally planned by TT-Line.
DAFF Machinery Profile Question Amendments transitional arrangements
The Customs Brokers and Forwarders Council of Australia Inc. (CBFCA) has been advised by a number of affected members that the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) has reviewed the profile questions concerning new and used machinery and equipment. The questions have been streamlined across all relevant commodities replacing a number of inconsistent profiles.
Some chapter 85 tariffs in the review were initially assigned the 'do you have documentation' question in addition to the 'used' question. Following implementation of the profiles on Monday 23 September, these changes have been reviewed and updates will be in place from Tuesday 24 September.
Unfortunately the implementation was undertaken without industry consultation, which forced the CBFCA to lobby DAFF on behalf of its members to consider a transition period arrangement to allow industry to prepare and facilitate the clearance of the affected cargo currently on hold since the implementation.
As a result from CBFCA intervention, DAFF has agreed with a transition period for the implementation of these profiles until 1 October 2013.
Until 1 October 2013 and strictly for the new tariff profiles, the department will accept a letter (including email) or a statutory declaration from the importer that the goods in the consignment were ordered as 'new and unused and have not been field tested' as supporting documentation when the consignment is lodged.
Until 1 October 2013, for consignments that have already been referred to the department due to no documentation being available, importers and customs brokers may present the above letter (including email) or statutory declaration for assessment.
From 1 October these arrangements will cease and importers must meet the documentation requirements as per the import conditions for new machinery and equipment. This documentation can be in the form of a valid declaration or invoice from the exporter, supplier or company representative (who may be based in the country of import), stating that:
'The machinery, equipment and/or and parts are new and have not been field tested or factory trialled.'
The company representative must be a representative of the exporter, supplier or manufacturer.
For further information refer to latest Import Clearance Industry Advice Notices below related to this issue:
- Â 81-2013 - Machinery Profile Question Amendments
 -  83-2013 - Machinery Profile Question Amendments, update on transitional arrangements
If you have any questions please contact the Machinery and Military Program on 07 3246 8706 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Source: Customs Brokers and Forwarders Council of Aust (CBFCA)
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West African pirates could hit cargo market as hard as those in Somalia
Piracy in West Africa is the “perfect crime†and one that has the potential to hit the cargo market as hard as Somali piracy, according to Gray Page’s head of intelligence Jim Mainstone.
Speaking at the International Union of Marine Insurance 2013 conference in London, Mr Mainstone said that pirates on ships were the “tip of the iceberg†in a massive, sophisticated network that is heavily embedded within society.
He roughly calculated that piracy in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean over the last five and a half years had cost cargo insurers US$5.5m and said that within two and a half years, activity in the West Africa had cost the market US$2.5m.
“Hijacks are over in the Indian Ocean. The hijack for cargo threat in West Africa is where you are going to get hit,†he warned. There were eight cargo losses in 2011 and 2012 and three so far in 2013, Mr Mainstone said, quoting Gray Page data.
He said this could be due to there being less intelligence available or because pirates now operating were newer to the game and less sophisticated.
Mr Mainstone said he did not expect more than eight cargo losses this year but added that attacks were geographically evolving.
However, he added that reporting was confused and unless a company was intimately involved in an incident, it was difficult to be sure of the truth.
Victoria reports strong export growth
Exports from Victoria increased 4.8% in the three months to July, figures released by Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show.
State trade minister Louise Asher said the increase is in line with an upward trend in exports from Victoria and is above the national figure of 0.9%.
“The upward movement paints a positive future for the state in many areas of production, much higher than the national figure where the export of goods rose by less than 1%,†Ms Asher said.
“While the export of goods fell in many other states, Victoria’s figures were outstanding and reveal a business confidence in the strength of the state’s economy.â€
According to the ABS, global demand for products including canola, meat, fruit and vegetables, gas and pharmaceuticals are behind Victoria’s export growth.
“Critical to Victoria’s economy, exports of non-mining goods have also increased and rural exports reached a record high of $2.8bn in the June quarter,†Ms Asher said.
She said the state government had used trade missions to India, south-east Asia and China to maximise opportunities. “Establishing strong trade relations with our regional neighbours is clearly opening new doors for Victoria’s export industries and will only further strengthen Victoria’s export markets.â€
Treasurer Michael O’Brien said export growth figures and national accounts released show the fundamentals of the Victorian economy remain strong.
Shippers increase their use of ocean freight forwarders
Larger shippers are increasing their use of freight forwarders on certain shipping trade lanes partly because they cannot secure enough capacity from shipping lines, according to a senior executive from Yusen Logistics.
The company’s Europe managing director Ken Kunihiko Miyoshi told Containerisation International that he had noted some customers shifting from dealing with lines directly.
This was partly down to the value-added service that freight forwarders can offer and the consolidation of carriers into larger alliances resulting in reduced choice, but also because carriers were increasingly reluctant to commit to the biggest shippers because of the difficulty they face when trying to forecast volumes.
Mr Miyoshi said: “Europe has always been a strong freight forwarder market but I think we are seeing a change in other trade lanes, for instance the transpacific trade, where usually the customers want to deal directly with the carriers.
“I’m not saying that they have gone out changed 100% to freight forwarders but let’s say a customer was previously using five big carriers, they are now using four big carriers and one big freight forwarder.â€
They have very big volumes which they find it difficult to get carriers to accept during peak season.
“Shipping lines want these big names on their customer lists but the big customers’ forecasts can be inaccurate.
“For instance, their forecast is 500 containers per week but they only give you 200 and suddenly you have 300 spaces to fill.â€
