Maritime

FMC reviews 3 OTI license applications

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission has received three ocean transportation intermediary license applications and changes for review.

   Seaspan Corp. said it has exercised options to build five 10,000-TEU containerships at Jiangsu New Yangzi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. and Jiangsu Yangzi Xinfu Shipbuilding Co., Ltd.    The ships are scheduled for delivery in 2015 and will be constructed using Seaspan’s fuel efficient SAVER design.    Seaspan said it expects to sign long-term time charters […]

   Japanese ocean carrier MOL announced an agreement with Kansai Electric Power Co. for joint ownership of two new liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers that will sail under long-term charter contracts signed in June 2012.    Kansai Electric Power will hold a 70 percent share in the Bahamas-based MOL subsidiary that will own the two […]

   The U.S. Export-Import Bank will support for a “seven-figure purchase” of two new American agricultural aircraft by Jose Antonio Goncalves Viana, a soybean and corn agribusiness in Brazil.    The buyer is a repeat customer of Air Tractor Inc., a small business manufacturer of specialty aircraft. For this transaction, Ex-Im Bank provided a medium-term […]

   Under the multi-year contract, American Worldwide Agencies will serve as sales agent for AAL’s direct port calls to and from Long Beach and Los Angeles; Vancouver and Everett, Wash.; and ports in British Columbia, Korea and China.

   The London-based industry consultancy Drewry predicts that more ocean carriers will cancel sailings instead of withdrawing whole services during the winter and this practice will continue until the P3 alliance of Maersk, Mediterranean Shipping Co., and CMA CGM begins its new services in the second quarter of next year.    “More sailing cancellations are on […]

   The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is finalizing a rule that will restrict imports of potentially harmful perfluorinated chemicals that could be used in carpets.    The regulation will require companies to report to EPA all new uses, including in domestic and imported products, of these chemicals once used for soil and stain resistance in […]

   The Georgia Ports Authority said it handled 2.5 million tons of cargo in August, 8.5 percent more than in August 2012. Container volume amounted to 280,873 TEU, 3.8 percent more than in August 2012.

The Indian firm said Econocaribe is the third largest non-vessel-operating common carrier in the United States. Based in Miami, Econocaribe has nine U.S. offices and 22 receiving terminals throughout North America.

   U.S. steel imports increased in August compared to July by 13.8 percent, according to preliminary government data reviewed by the American Institute for International Steel (AIIS).    “Improved market conditions during the summer are reflected in these data, as close-by NAFTA producers led the increase in imports in response to increased demand and improved pricing. […]

   Delamode, a U.K.-based logistics and freight forwarding company, said Friday it has acquired John Shirley Ltd., a specialist freight forwarder in the West Balkans region.     John Shirley has more than 20 years experience of handling transportation of cargo between the United Kingdom and the Balkan countries.    Delamode currently has operations in nine countries […]

The Asian Shippers’ Council said an agreement last week by the IMO on mandatory verification of gross weight of containers is unworkable and was not done with what it called “proper representation” from shippers.

   The U.S. Transportation Department’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) has released about $63 million in grants to 33 University Transportation Centers (UTCs) to advance research and education programs that address critical transportation challenges facing the country.    “University transportation centers are key to helping us address today’s transportation needs, from environmental sustainability to […]

U.S. and Japanese officials conducted thorough on-site audits to ensure that their organic programs’ regulations, quality control measures, certification requirements, and labeling practices were compatible.

IMO Secretary General Koji Sekimizu said ocean shipping is “the world’s only really reliable, global, cost-effective and energy-efficient mass transportation method for energy, materials, foods and industrial products.”

   The bulk carrier Nordic Orion, loaded with metallurgical coal in Vancouver, British Columbia, completed a successful voyage through the Northwest Passage earlier this week.    The Norway-based Bellona Foundation said the ship is transporting 73,000 tons of met coal to a steelmaker in Finland.    While increasing numbers of ships are sailing through the […]

   The U.S. and Iraqi governments on Wednesday reaffirmed their strategic partnership during a meeting of the Services, Technology, Environment and Transportation Joint Coordination Committee (STET JCC) in Washington.    Iraqi Deputy Minister of Transportation Bangen Rekani and U.S. Department of Transportation Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs Susan Kurland co-chaired the meeting. The […]

   Carrier Transicold said it has introduced a new container atmosphere control technology that helps maintain quality of produce so it can be shipped over longer distances.    The company said its XtendFRESH system actively manages oxygen and carbon dioxide levels inside the shipping container, while simultaneously removing ethylene. Carrier also said the system is designed to […]

   The stainless steel tubing manufactured by the Finnish company Stalatube is used for a variety of applications, such as building structures and facades, machinery to manufacture food and pharmaceuticals, offshore oil rigs, bus frames, and even sculptures.    About 70 percent of the company’s annual sales of 100 million euros ($133 million) are in […]