DENMARK's Maersk Line is reducing the bulbous bows on 10 ships in the 4,000 TEU range to cut fuel consumption while slow steaming at the Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry yards.

Bulbous bows even waves created alongside vessels, reducing propulsion power, said London's Containerisation International. On big ships bulbous bows are best at 25 knots, but unfit for slow steaming. Reducing their size reduces resistance, which reduces fuel burn.



According to the yard, a unit of state conglomerate China Shipbuilding Industry Corp, it has made smaller bulbous bows on two ships within three days. Maersk Line earlier estimated that it would take 12 days.



"Our team has optimised the production process of the bulbous bows, each of which weighs some 200 tonnes," the company said on its website. "It was supposed to be built from five parts, but we managed to build it from three parts, thus saving time."



Beihai Shipbuilding is reducing the bows for five Boston class containerships for Maersk Line and will also do similar work on five 8,400-TEU Stepnica-class vessels throughout next year.



"Following this, we will evaluate the business case before deciding whether to spread this to other vessel classes," Maersk Line head of global optimisation and innovation, Niels Bruus said.



For Beihai Shipbuilding, reducing the size of bulbous bows is unprecedented, demanding innovation to complete. "The whole retrofitting process requires four segmental brackets and eight pillars. There were no past experiences to tap into for this kind of project.



"Our process is approved by the shipowner, ABS and Lloyd's Register. We hope the project can help us enhance [the yard's] reputation and improve market competitiveness," the shipbuilders said.

A 22-man ro-ro crew, the longest held pirate hostages on record - 1,000 days, were rescued by the Puntland Maritime Police Force (PMPF) in Garaad in the Mudug region of Somalia in the semi-autonomous Putland region, according to the International Chamber of Commerce's (ICC) International Maritime Bureau (IMB).

After nearly three years of captivity, the Panamanian-flagged 4,500-ton ro/ro ship Iceberg 1 was freed on December 23, following a two-week siege.



Said a Puntland government communique: "After two years and nine months in captivity, the hostages have suffered signs of physical torture and illness. The hostages are now receiving nutrition and medical care."



The ship was seized on March 29, 2010, some 10 nautical miles off Aden, laden with general mechanical equipment en route for Jebel Ali in the UAE.



London's Containerisation International said one of the seafarers committed suicide in October 2010 by jumping overboard and another was allegedly killed by pirates.



The mariners rescued consist of eight Yemenis, five Indians, two Pakistanis, four Ghanaians, two Sudanese and a Filipino, reported GAC Hot Port News.



The use of shipboard armed guards and naval patrols has reduced the number of successful hijackings in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean in the last year, said the IMB, but more than 100 seafarers are still held hostage by Somali pirates, often in brutal conditions.



There have been 75 incidents reported to the IMB off Somalia this year of which 14 vessels were hijacked. The IMB called for vessels to remain alert as they transit through these waters as the threat has not diminished.



Wikipedia says: "The "Puntland Maritime Police Force (PMPF) is a locally-recruited, professional maritime security force, primarily aimed at eradicating piracy, illegal fishing, and other illicit activity off of the coast of Somalia. In addition, the force repairs wells, rehabilitates hospitals and clinics and works on roads, airports and other infrastructure."

AGENCIES chartering vessels to move US Government cargo are now required to provide armed guards aboard US-flagged ships transiting pirate-infested waters under Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Reuthorisation Act recently signed by US President Barack Obama,

The renewed law - with amendments - directs the Transportation Department to certify a training for US seafarers in the use of deadly force against pirates, patterns of attack, defence tactics, rules of engagement when using weapons, and crew survivability if captured.



President Obama signed a law reauthorising programmes for the US Coast Guard (USCG) to carry out its mission and the Maritime Administration national security functions.



The Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2012 authorises the sea service to receive US$8.6 billion in fiscal year 2013 and $8.7 billion in fiscal year 2014, reported American Shipper.



One provision is designed to make life easier for docker, truckers and others while directing the Transportation Security Administration to change the Transportation Worker Identification Credential process so that applicants can obtain the ID in one visit to the enrolment centre instead of having to make multiple trips.



Section 304 specifies that the homeland security secretary verify that classification societies given permission to conduct sea-worthiness examinations of vessels be vetted by the State Department to make sure they don't provide services to any state on the US official terrorist list.



MarAd is also given authority to expand its Short-Sea Shipping programme designed to take freight traffic off congested highways.

THE world's largest lessor of intermodal containers based on fleet size, Textainer Group Holdings Limited (TGH) has acquired a 50.1 per cent interest in a Bermuda company, TAP Funding Ltd that owns a 99,000 TEU fleet of containers managed by Textainer for US$78 million including TAP's debt.

The fleet contains a well diversified mix of container types, including standard dry freight, refrigerated and specialised dry freight containers. Additionally, the fleet has high utilisation and a diversified lessee mix consistent with Textainer's overall container fleet. Textainer has agreed with TAP Ltd, the other shareholder in TAP Funding Ltd, to continue to invest in new containers for this fleet to both grow the portfolio and maintain the relatively young average age of the containers.



"We have long stated that Textainer's strategy is to grow our overall fleet and increase the portion which we own. This transaction reflects our continued execution of that strategy. The TAP Funding Ltd. fleet consists of seasoned income producing assets, the acquisition of which we expect will be immediately accretive to earnings and contribute to long-term growth in shareholder value," said Textainer president and CEO Philip Brewer.



Textainer acquired more than 230,000 TEU from managed container acquisitions in 2012, increasing its owned fleet from 59 per cent in January to 71 per cent with this and other transactions Mr Brewer said.

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has established procedures in event of an expected strike which was averted in the 11th hour by a docker-management agree to extend to labour contract 30 days, must still provides guidelines for what to expect if an east and Gulf coast longshore strike takes place.

"The following procedures are general vessel, cargo, and entry guidelines developed in cooperation with trade stakeholders and incorporating CBP system limitations identified during the recent disruptive events. These instructions should assist the trade stakeholders in developing contingency plans for the possible diversion of vessels and cargo scheduled for discharge at US ports.



"Trade members should work closely with local CBP port management to ensure compliance with all CBP policies and procedures. These procedures are only applicable during a disruptive event. In the event of such disruption, CBP will publish a notice when these interim procedures are terminated and normal processing resumes.



Full guidelines are available online at the CBP website (http://www.cbp.gov) . For information about operations in the USA contact GAC USA at usa@gac.com

FROM January to November, north western Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Liaoyemiao Checkpoint's import and export cargo volume reached 1.26 million tonnes with expectations to hit 1.5 million tonnes by the end of 2012, making it the third biggest overland checkpoint in Xinjiang after Alataw pass and Huorguosi checkpoint, reports Xinhua.

The figures from Xinjiang Entry-exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau show that the Laoyemiao Checkpoint's cargo trade volume totalled to 325,000 tonnes in 2010 and one million tonnes in 2011.



Laoyemiao checkpoint has launched a series of supportive measures to enhance its clearance efficiency and has upgraded its Hami office in charge of inspection and quarantine to Hami entry-exit inspection and quarantine bureau to further shorten inspection time.



Laoyemiao Checkpoint is located in Xinjiang's Balikun County in Hami district, adjacent to Altay province which is close to Mongolia, 773 kilometres from Urumchi. It got approval of becoming the national first class bilateral seasonal open up checkpoint from the State Council in 1991.

CANADA and Saudi Arabia have entered into an agreement whereby they will ease rules on routes and pricing in each other countries in a new expanded air transport accord.

The amended agreement, which includes new dedicated cargo rights and an open code-share network, is wider than earlier air service accords.



"This expanded air transport agreement will facilitate the movement of people and goods and will provide new business opportunities for Canada's air industry," said Canadian Transport Minister Denis Lebel.



Said Canadian International Trade Minister Ed Fast: "An expanded air transport agreement with Saudi Arabia supports Canada's trade objectives and helps overall efforts to strengthen economic ties with the Gulf Cooperation Council region as a whole."



The new agreement is part of Canada's Blue Sky programme, which has focused on generating air transport agreements with other countries. Canada has such agreements with some 70 countries.

THE feasibility study of the Chongqing airport functional zone logistics centre phase 2 project has won approval from the State Council, reports Xinhua.

The CNY3.9 billion (US$630 million) project phase 2 involves an electromechanical logistics zone, logistics base expansion zone, logistics information centre area and a bonded logistics zone, covering 188.2 hectares.



Its CNY1.05 billion logistics centre phase 1 project is in northern Chongqing, north of Liangjiang New Area, with an floor area of 167,000 square metres.

BUDGET carrier Air Arabia has appointed Globe Air Cargo, part of the ECS Group, as its GSA in the Britain and Ireland.

Its six-plane all-A320 fleet carries freight, mail and courier traffic across a network of 82 destinations, serving Sharjah, Casablanca, Morocco and Alexandria.



Air Arabia flies thrice weekly from London Gatwick to Casablanca and twice weekly to Tangiers. Fully laden A320s carry two to 2.5 tons with a maximum piece weight of 150 kilogrammes, reported Atlanta-area Air Cargo World.



Air Arabia has just taken delivery of its sixth A320 in 2012 and has now received 14 of the 44 aircraft it ordered from Airbus in 2007. The full complement will be delivered by 2016, more than doubling the size of the fleet.

TEXAS-based independent forwarders alliance, the International Freight Logistics Network (IFLN), says it has entered into a global partnership deal with international logistics software provider, CargoWise, for the group's members to boost productivity and reduce costs by accessing "industry-leading technology".

Many of IFLN members, as well as 21 of the top 25 largest freight forwarders in the world, are currently using ediEnterprise software. The new agreement is expected to make it easier for IFLN members to access the software and benefit from the productivity improvements it offers, a network release said.



Based on a single database, combining sales, marketing, financial and organisational data, the ediEnterprise software suite functions across all types of freight forwarding services, including air and ocean, consolidation, NVOCC shipments, imports, exports, transshipments and onward forwarding.



The software also provides integrated electronic manifesting between branches and overseas partners, which is intended to eliminate costly double entry of shipment data.



IFLN president Michel Vanlerberghe believes the CargoWise deal will facilitate greater levels of business sharing between IFLN network members, such as operating from the same, software platform that will enable them to compete more with larger multinationals.



Said CargoWise vice president Volodya Bilanovsky: "IFLN agents around the world would be able to reduce processing times up to 80 per cent through the automation of many data-based processes such as manifest data processing, job status reports and PODs."