HONG KONG's Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) has announced it will increase its rate on cargo from Asia to Europe rate by US$525 per TEU from November 1.

The increase covers cargo from the Far East (including Japan), the Indian subcontinent as well as the Middle East to north Europe, the Mediterranean and to Black Sea ports.

CEO of Maersk Line Soren Skou recently said at a refrigerated logistics conference in Antwerp that the world's largest carrier is going to increase reefer rates 30 per cent to an average of US$1,500 per FEU from January 1, 2013.

He said the increase is to compensate the increasing production cost of making reefer containers and the growing operation cost of reefer services.



Besides, Mr Skou said the level of reefer rates has been much lower than the growth of inflation and bunker costs in the past seven years, reflected in a two per cent annual increase of reefer rates, but a four per cent growth in inflation and 18 per cent surge in bunker costs.



As the market leader in the reefer segment, Maersk's reefer fleet can carry 230,000 FEU, accounting for 23 per cent of the global fleet of one million FEU, reports American Shipper.



But the carrier recently withdrew its reefer-intensive services from South America to North America (the Spondylus) and Europe (the Andean). Mr Skou said earlier Maersk will curtail 25,000 TEU of reefer capacity, more than 10 per cent of its existing fleet.



Looking ahead, Mr Skou said Maersk will stop investing in new reefer equipment in 2013 along with the rate increase.



But he said this will not change Maersk's last year's decision to buy a reefer equipment production plant in Chile. As that plant will be available to start production in 2014, Mr Skou hopes the rates will have improved enough at that time to allow more production.



As reefers require more investment than dry containers, Maersk's reefer slowdown is likely to affect the supply-demand balance in the near term, as conventional vessel reefer capacity has been declining and scrapping rates have doubled from 2008 to 2012.



The number of conventional reefer ships stood at 847 in 2008, according to an American Shipper report, but is expected to decrease to 691 by the end of 2012 and to 362 by 2018, resulting in a more than 50 per cent fall in a decade.



Maersk projects that there will be an annual demand growth of five per cent. So in 2015, the reefer box supply will be short by as high as nine per cent.



Mr Skou said the liner industry needs to invest a total of $3.5 billion in new reefer equipment between 2012 and 2015.

MARINE construction involving dredging to create a barge loading dock will be carried out at the former Kai Tak Airport runway, from Wednesday October 3 for about four months, announced the Hong Kong Marine Department.

After it has been constructed, the temporary loading facility will remain in barging operation for about three and a half years.



"The works will be carried out by one grab dredger, two split hopper barges and one derrick barge, and one tug will provide assistance. The number of vessels engaged in the works will change from time to time to suit operational requirements," the marine department said.



A working area of 30 metres around the grab dredger will be established. Yellow marker buoys fitted with yellow flashing lights will be laid to mark the positions of the anchors extending from the grab dredger, said the statement from department.



Several silt curtains, extending from the sea surface to the seabed, will be established within the works area. Each silt curtain is a large piece of netting used to contain mud and sediments. Yellow markers fitted with yellow flashing lights will be laid to mark the extents of the silt curtains, said the notice.



The hours of work will be from 7am to 7pm. No works will be carried out on Sundays and public holidays. Vessels engaged in the works will stay in the works area outside the hours of work, it said.

KOREA's Busan New Port has opened Asia's first vertical-automated container terminal, BNCT, which can simultaneously berth four of the world's largest container vessels at its 1,400-metre quay with 17-metres alongside.

"It is a tremendous honour and privilege to be part of such a great team that has already performed so many impressive feats," said BNCT president and CEO John Elliott.



Said BNCT sales chief Peter Slootweg: "With three large vessels alongside today we could not have wished for better circumstances to demonstrate the advantages of vertical-automation and to show the Asian shipping community and prospective customers how it actually works."



BNCT now offers 11 regular services with an annual throughput of 750,000 TEU, which is expected to grow to 1.3 million TEU by the end of the year, reported London's Port Technology International, adding that BNCT plans to increase to 2.7 million TEU a year.

GREEK trade unions have staged a 24-hour strike after violent anti-austerity demonstrations in Spain and Portugal broke out earlier this week.

The 24-hour walkout by Greek workers, including doctors, teachers and air traffic controllers brought the country to a halt and has already led to clashes between protesters and the police prompting teargas volleys.



To receive further European Union and International Monetary Fund bailout funds, the Greek government must cut EUR11.5 billion (US$15 billion), reported London's Containerisation International.



Ninety per cent of population say the new cuts are too harsh, especially when the social welfare budget cuts are taking in a situation of high unemployment.

Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia have agreed to boost cooperation on Marine Electronic Highway (MEH) through the Tripartite Technical Experts Group and Co-operative Mechanism at the 5th Co-operation Forum held in the Lion City.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore's (MPA) Co-operation Forum this week was attended by 150 delegates from 32 countries and 14 organisations.



The Co-operation Forum is one of the three pillars under the Co-operative Mechanism on Safety of Navigation and Environmental Protection in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore. It is the main avenue for user states, the shipping industry and other stakeholders to meet and exchange views with the littoral states on issues of common interests in the Straits.



It also facilitates concrete and practical co-operation between the littoral states of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, and user states, shipping industry and other stakeholders in the maintenance of safety of navigation and environmental protection in the Straits.



The three littoral states at the forum signed Letters of Acknowledgement to co-operate to achieve institutional sustainability of the Marine Electronic Highway (MEH) through the Tripartite Technical Experts Group and Co-operative Mechanism.



Lam Yi Young, chief executive of MPA, who represented Singapore in the signing ceremony said, "The incorporation of the Marine Electronic Highway under the Co-operation Mechanism signifies the strong co-operation between the three littoral states and the desire to continue working closely with one another, and user states and stakeholders, to further advance and scale-up the MEH under the Co-operative Mechanism."

THE Panama Canal expansion project is estimated to be 44.5 per cent complete since the ground breaking at Paraiso Hill five years ago.

"The Panama Canal Expansion Programme is moving forward at a good pace. The programme has made positive contributions to Panama's economy such as direct employment, investments, knowledge and technological transfer," said Panama Canal Administrator/CEO Jorge Quijano in a statement.



To date, three of the four dry excavation projects have been completed and the fourth project is 67 per cent completed. The dredging of the Pacific and Atlantic entrances and of the Gatun Lake are advancing as scheduled with progress reaching 92 per cent, 98 per cent and 76 per cent respectively.



One third of the locks design and construction has been finished. The lock gates are being fabricated in Italy and the first four gates are expected to be shipped to Panama during the first quarter of 2013. The last four gates are scheduled to be delivered in the first quarter of 2014.



Concurrently, the valves are being fabricated in South Korea and delivery of valve components to Panama has been on going and is being incorporated into the lock structure. The contractor is expected to complete the main lock structure and begin pre-commissioning tests in the dry during the first quarter of 2014, with flooding of the locks and final commissioning planned to start in September 2014.



The Panama Canal Authority said it is closely monitoring progress on every component of the expansion programme to guarantee that contractors comply with the quality required by each contract.

DP WORLD is to build and equip its third terminal at Jebel Ali, following a US$850 million deal with France-based Soletanche Bachy and the TOA Corporation of Japan due to open in 2014 to create overall capacity of 19 million TEU.

The building will require dredging to a depth of 17 metres to allow for super-sized vessels at 18,000 TEU capacity with a 1.86 kilometre quay line and a 70 hectare yard.



The terminal will invest in 19 ship-to-shore quay cranes and 50 rail-mounted gantry cranes to be provided by Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries and Abu Dhabi's Trans Gulf Port Cranes.



In the first half of 2012, the Dubai global port operator was able to increase throughput in the UAE region by 7.3 per cent to 6.6 million TEU year on year and in full year 2011 it reached 13 million TEU.

THE average price of diesel fell 4.9 cents for the first time in 12 weeks but still up on the 30 cents paid on the same week in 2011 at US$4.085/gallon, said the US Energy Information Administration.

The flattening of prices follows a summer of relentless increases creating a country wide drop outside of the Gulf Region which decreased further to below the $4 per gallon.



A drop of one per cent to 96 cents was post by the New York Mercantile Exchange for November on crude oil, reflecting signs of sluggish oil demand from top global oil consumers, reported the Wall Street Journal.

OW BUNKER, a supplier of marine fuels and lubricants, has launched a new global standard to ensure the quality of products supplied by its physical division as part of strategy to drive complaints below one per cent.

Customers will now be provided with a specification analysis on a minimum of 90 per cent of all physical product orders, delivered prior to the usual testing procedures conducted by an external fuel oil analysis provider. This ensures total rigour in the fuel oil testing process and guarantees that customers receive quality products.



"Fuel quality is critically important to our customers, particularly as regulations become more stringent. Our new global standard on pre-testing analysis provides customers with confidence in our products and our quality control processes," said OW Bunker vice president Jan Christensen.



"Claims are expensive for all parties and something that shipowners can ill-afford in the current economic environment. Pre-testing analysis reduces unnecessary claims and saves customers' money. Through this and other quality control measures, OW Bunker is striving to achieve an industry-leading goal of less than one per cent claims," Mr Christensen said.



This is the first of a series of global standards that are being introduced to the market by OW Bunker. Further standards will be launched over the next six months, a company statement said.

THE United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has indicted Japanese forwarder Yamato Global Logistics Japan Co Ltd in its ongoing investigation into price fixing on air freight shipments from Japan to the US from September 2002 until November 2007.

The Japanese forwarder was one of 14 companies in Japan charged by the DOJ with price fixing and as part of a plea deal, Yamato Global Logistics Japan will pay a fine of US$2.3 million for conspiring to fix fees.



According to Scott Hammond, deputy assistant attorney general for the Antitrust Division's criminal enforcement programme, the companies didn't just violate the Sherman Act but also impeded US commerce, reported Atlanta-area Air Cargo World.



"Consumers ultimately were forced to pay higher prices on the goods they buy every day as a result of the non-competitive and collusive service fees charged by these companies," Mr Hammond said in a statement.



The DOJ has made more than $100 million in criminal fines since it launched its price fixing investigation in early 2006. Last year, the department slapped six other Japanese freight forwarders with fees totalling $46.8 million for their participation in an air freight cartel.



The DOJ hasn't been the only government agency doling out fines for price fixing, however. In June, the High Court of New Zealand ordered Japan Airlines to pay NZD2.28 million (US$1.9 million) for participating in an air freight cartel. One month later, Korean Air became the latest carrier to settle with Canada's Competition Bureau for conspiring to fix cargo surcharges from April 2002 to February 2006.

FOLLOWING approval of projects worth nearly CNY1 trillion (US$158.5 billion), China National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has given approval to the feasibility of the expansion of the Ningbo's Lishe International Airport and Shijiazhuang's Zhengding International Airport, reports the China Securities Journal.

Since the beginning of the year, the NDRC and Ministry of Environmental Protection have picked up their pace in the approvals of airports and have given green light to over 20 airport building, expansion and relocation projects, entailing an investment sum of over CNY100 billion.



Commenting on the losses of some existing airports, experts suggest that more private investors should be allowed in airport projects to enhance airports' profit-making ability.



Airport projects winning NDRC approval this year included 11 new ones, eight expansions and one relocation. If these projects are all completed, China's air passenger throughput will increase by 150 million persons by 2020.



The public information from the Ministry of Environmental Protection show that it has approved the environmental assessment reports of new airports in Jiangxi's Shangrao, Inner Mongolia's Holingol, Xilingol, Alxa League and Sichuan's Aba. According to the approval application process, the projects will be shovel-ready after their feasibility and environment assessment reports have been approved.



Calculated based on raw data from NDRC, Ministry of Environmental Protection and local government websites, the report said the above approved projects will cost over CNY100 billion. Most of the new airports will be located in western provinces of Gansu, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Sichuan and northeastern province Heilongjiang. Expansion airports are in provincial capitals or direct-controlled cities like Wuhan, Nanning, Chongqing, Harbin, Hakou and Ningbo.



According to China's 12th Five-year Plan (2011 to 2015), by the end of 2015, China will finished building 82 new airports to bring the total in operation to about 230, 80 per cent of the people in China will have access to airports within 100 kilometres.

INTERNATIONAL Air Transport Association (IATA) chief Tony Tyler, former CEO of Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific, has told Japan that it would be best advised to develop its domestic air transport sector to boost the nation's economy.

Mr Tyler said the local aviation market makes up the world's third largest domestic market, taking 11 per cent of global industry revenues and 5.5 per cent of global traffic.



Furthermore, the industry also contributes JPY3.135 trillion (US$40.27 billion) to Japanese GDP, he said, citing an Oxford Economics study.



Said Mr Tyler: "There is no clearer example of the aviation industry being a catalyst for economic growth than in Japan where it provides vital, irreplaceable links to global markets."



Mr Tyler suggested that Japan could help increase its competitiveness through facilitating its cost efficiency, reducing its current high-cost infrastructure.



"Cost-efficient infrastructure will be an even more important driver of the success of the many point-to-point airlines that it is trying to attract than it is for the network carriers," he added.