30 April 2014

[300414.EN.SEA] PSA: Mega Ships Mean Quay Wastage, Congestion, Late Arrival

MEGA ships bring inefficiencies to quay and stack yard operations as well as declines in schedule reliability, says PSA International CEO Tan Chong Meng.

Mr Tan told delegates of 18th TOC Container Supply Chain Asia Conference and Exhibition at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, Singapore, that bigger ships are a mixed blessing.

Mr Tan said 80 per cent of cargo is concentrated in alliances, while 20 per cent of vessels are mega-ships, characterising the development as "three steps forward and two steps back".

Containerships, he said, are now 400 metres long and result in far more "berth wastage" as handling two of them renders 90 metres of a berth unusable while three smaller ships could fit in nicely before.

Of the 52 berths PSA operates in Singapore, said Mr Tan, 20 can handle mega ships, less than 40 per cent of total quay capacity. By 2018, 35 out of 67 berths will be able to handle mega-ships, he said.

"But in terms of kilometres of quay, these 35 berths will take up two-thirds of the total, so it's a much higher investment - our capacity investment is much higher over the next two decades," he said.

Another problem was the effect of the cargo flows from the mega ships when combined with cost reduction such as slow-steaming and voided sailings, reported the British International Freight Association (BIFA) newsletter.

"Schedule reliability is getting worse and reached a new low of 64 per cent of on-time arrivals in the fourth quarter last year, and it doesn't seem to be getting better," he said.

This is compounded by the huge numbers of containers being loaded and unloaded in a single call, which led to far more complexity in yard operations and had a direct effect on landside flows in and out of box terminals, he said.

"We have to find new ways of optimising the supply chain, the upsizing of vessels is only the beginning. The other parts of the supply chain have yet to catch up," said Mr Tan.

Source : HKSG.

[300414.ID.AIR] Cardig Air Garap Pasar Kawasan Teluk

Bisnis.com, JAKARTA- Maskapai kargo berjadwal Cardig Air mengincar pasar kargo bagi 7 juta warga Indonesia di kawasan Gulf Country Council di Timur Tengah dengan menggandeng Qatar Airways.

CEO PT Cardig Air Boyke P. Subroto mengatakan Asean Open Sky yang bakal berlaku 2015, memberikan tantangan bagi maskapai penerbangan kargo seperti Cardig Air. Karena itu aliansi dianggap menjadi solusi agar bisa bertahan dalam persaingan.

“Atas dasar itulah saya kemudian mengajukan proposal ke Qatar Airways untuk menjalin aliansi dan merek mau bekerja sama,” katanya dalam penandatanganan aliansi di Jakarta, Senin malam (28/4/2014).

Dia melanjutkan, dengan aliansi yang bertajuk Qampoengqoe, para diaspora Indonesia di kawasan teluk bisa mengirimkan barang dari 24 destinasi di kawasan tersebut seperti Arab Saudi, Kuwait, Uni Emirat Arab, Qatar, Bahrain, dan Oman, menggunakan Qatar Airways ke Indonesia yakni ke Bandara Soekarno-Hatta Cengkareng dan Ngurah Rai, Bali.

Setelah tiba di Indonesia, lanjutnya, Cardig akan mendistribusikan barang ke alamat tujuan dari Sabang hingga Merauke melalui PT Pos Indonesia. Badan Usaha Milik Negara (BUMN) tersebut menurutnya memiliki jaringan pengiriman barang paling luas se-Indonesia.

“Begitu juga sebaliknya, bagi warga Indonesia di Tanah Air, bisa mengirimkan barang melalui kerja sama dengan Cardig Air dan Qatar Airways ke seluruh destinasi yang dimiliki Qatar Airways,” paparnya.

Cardig Air, urainya, sudah membuka perwakilan di Doha yang akan mengontrol 24 destinasi di wilayah Teluk untuk mengatur pengiriman barang tersebut melalui kantor cabang.

“Kantor cabang atau yang disebut co-loader akan membantu pelanggan termasuk menjemput kiriman,” tambahnya.

Menurutnya layanan ini juga dilengkapi dengan reservasi online yang akan memudahkan para pelanggan melakukan proses pengiriman barang serta menggunakan Cargo Tracking System yang memungkinkan pelanggan dapat mendeteksi posisi paket.

Para diaspora katanya, memiliki potensi pengiriman barang, paket atau kargo yang cukup tinggi. Hingga saat ini, lanjutnya, rata-rata setiap hari pengiriman barang dari Qatar mencapai 1,5 ton perhari atau senilai US$25.000.
Dia memperkirakan pada 2014 peluang bisnis pengiriman paketkargo di kawasan Teluk mencapai 60 ton hingga 120 ton perharinya.

CEO Cargo Qatar Airways, Ulrich Ogiermann mengatakan setiap hari ada tiga penerbangan kargo milik maskapai tersebut yang tiba di Indonesia membawa beragam komoditas seperti garmen dan suku cadang dan peralatan elektronik menggunakan pesawat berbadan lebar seperti Boeing 777.

“Kerja sama ini juga akan meningkatkan pangsa pasar kami di Indonesia yang perekonomiannya makin bertumbuh dari tahun ke tahun,” tambahnya.

Dirjen Perhubungan Udara Kementerian Perhubungan Herry Bhakti S.Gumay menyambut baik aliansi antara Cardig Air dan Qatar Airways. Dia mengharapkan kerja sama tersebut bisa meningkatkan jumlah kargo dari dan menuju Indonesia.

Selama tiga tahun terakhir jumlah kargo internasional yang masuk ke wilayah Indonesia makin meningkat yakni 72.163 ton pada 2011, 90.692 ton pada 2012, serta 96.416 ton pada 2013.

Sumber : Bisnis Indonesia, 29.04.14.

29 April 2014

[290414.EN.SEA] Singapore's PIL and NileDutch Merge Asia-sub Sahara Africa Loops

SINGAPORE's Pacific International Lines (PIL) is to join Rotterdam's NileDutch to provide a new Asia-West Africa service in May. 

NileDutch's FEWA and PIL's SW3 will merge into a combined service offering direct weekly coverage from north, central and south China to South Africa, Angola and Congo deploying 13 panamax vessels. NileDutch will provide nine and PIL, the remaining four. 

The service will greatly enhance capacity from FEWA service which currently deploys eleven 3,600 TEU ships while PIL's SW3 uses seven 1,700 TEUers.

The partnership follows MSC's announcement to begin a direct service to West Africa rather than transship to reduce transit times. Other partnerships on the Asia to west central Africa include CMA CGM and Maersk Line's combined direct services.

The trade lane has seen a year-on-year increase of 12.3 per cent to 1.4 million TEU in 2013 and is forecast to increase by 12.1 per cent to 1.6 million TEU this year, according to analysts at MDS Transmodal. 

Previous projections of vessel utilisation levels by Containerisation International were at 86 per cent during the second quarter 2014, but this is likely to be offset by the cascading of larger vessels in service changes such as from MSC, NileDutch and PIL.

Source : HKSG.


[290414.ID.BIZ] Proyek Monorel: Perjanjian Kerja Sama Pemprov DKI-Jakarta Monorail Masih Menggantung

Bisnis.com, JAKARTA -- Pemprov DKI hingga saat ini belum dapat memastikan waktu penandatanganan perjanjian kerja sama (PKS) pembangunan monorel dengan PT Jakarta Monorail (PT JM).

Wakil Gubernur DKI Jakarta Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama mengatakan saat ini pemprov masih melakukan penghitungan nilai kompensasi yang harus dibayarkan oleh PT JM kepada DKI terkait penggunaan dan pengelolaan lahan seluas 200.000 meter persegi.

"Di dalam perjanjian lama dicantumkan ada hak untuk mengelolan 200.000 meter persegi, hanya sekarang kami tinggal hitung bayarnya berapa ke pemda," ujar Ahok di Balai Kota, Senin (28/4/2014).

Pemprov DKI, lanjutnya, memiliki hak untuk mendapatkan pembagian keuntungan sebagai kompensasi dari pembangunan pusat perbelanjaan di atas depo monorel.

"Mereka mesti bayar ke kita dong, itu kan haknya Pemda kan. Seperti bayar sewa gitu, dan kita dapat kompensasi dari situ. Yang penting pokoknya mereka harus bisa nutup biaya-biayanya," ucap Ahok.

Sumber : Bisnis Indonesia, 28.04.14.



28 April 2014

[280414.EN.SEA] Piracy At Record Low Since 2007 With Indonesia Becoming New Hot Spot

GLOBAL piracy is at its lowest levels in the first quarter since 2007 at 49 piracy incidents in which two vessels were hijacked, 37 vessels boarded, five vessels fired upon and five attempted attacks were reported.

According to the latest International Maritime Bureau (IMB) Piracy Report, 46 crewmembers were taken hostage and two kidnapped from their vessel.

Somalia remained at the same number of incidents of first quarter 2013. Of the five reported, three were attempted hijacks and two were vessels fired upon. In an incident in January, a skiff launched from a mother vessel fired upon a Panamax sized product tanker 115 nautical miles south of Salalah, Oman. 

The attack was repelled and the international navies subsequently intercepted the mother ship - an Indian dhow which itself had been hijacked a few days previously.

Eleven Indian crewmembers were freed and five suspected pirates apprehended. 

West Africa reported 12 incidents which included two vessel hijacks with 39 crew taken hostage and two crew kidnapped from their vessel. 

Nigeria accounts for six incidents including the hijacking of a supply vessel, which was used unsuccessfully to hunt for other potential vessels to hijack, reported GAC Hot Port News. 

Angola saw its first reported hijacking in the first quarter, demonstrating the increased range and capability of Nigerian piracy if left unchecked. The incident involved armed pirates boarding and hijacking a loaded tanker from Luanda anchorage. 

The pirates stole a large quantity of the tanker's gas oil cargo in three separate STS operations. The vessel was under the control of suspected Nigerian pirates for over a week before the owner regained contact, off Nigeria, 1,200 nautical miles from the initial boarding. One crewman was injured during the incident.

Indonesia ranks as the country with the highest number of attacks with 18 reports compared with 25 in the first quarter of 2013. In all incidents, vessels were boarded. Although many of these were low level thefts, seven crew members were taken hostage in five incidents, while in four incidents the pirates possessed firearms. 

The Indonesian Marine Police launched regular patrols of the higher risk anchorages in an effort to bring down the number of incidents, said the report. 

Source : HKSG.

[280414.ID.BIZ] Insider Trading: Mantan CEO E-Bay Setuju Bayar Denda US$664.822

Bisnis.com, WASHINGTON - Mantan kepala perusahaan teknologi yang diakuisisi oleh EBay Inc. setuju membayar US$664.822 untuk menyelesaikan klaim aturan AS bahwa dirinya memberi informasi kepada teman-temannya mengenai rencana pengambilalihan, sehingga mereka dapat keuntungan terlarang insider trading lebih dari US$300.000.


Seperti dilansir dalam laman Bloomberg, Christopher Saridakis, yang saat itu merupakan CEO dari divisi solusi marketing pada Perdagangan GSI, menginformasikan anggota keluarga dan teman-temannya mengenai rencana EBay untuk mengakuisisi perusahaan di Raja Prussia, Pennsylvania dan mendorong mereka untuk melakukan perdagangan saham atas itu.

Hal tersebut dikemukakan Komisi Perdagangan dan Keamanan mengatakan dalam keluhan yang diajukan pada Jumat (26/4/2014) di pengadilan federal di Philadelphia.

Menurut Komisi Perdagangan dan Keamanan, Kantor Jaksa AS untuk Distrik Timur Pennsylvania juga mengumumkan tuntutan pidana terhadap Saridakis, yang tinggal di Delaware.

Komisi tersebut juga mengajukan klaim terhadap lima pedagang dan menandatangani perjanjian yang bukan penuntutan dengan yang lain. Kelima orang tersebut akan membayar lebih dari US$490.000 dalam penyelesaian mereka, hal tersebut disampaikan Komisi Perdagangan dan Keamanan dalam sebuah pernyataan e-mail

"Saridakis akan bertanggung jawab atas perbuatannya dan menyesali bahaya yang mungkin telah ia sebabkan kepada keluarga dan teman-teman," Ivan Knauer, seorang pengacara di Pepper Hamilton LLP di Washington, mengatakan dalam sebuah pernyataan. "Dia senang telah mampu menyelesaikan masalah ini dengan Komisi Perdagangan dan Keamanan".

Sumber : Bisnis Indonesia, 27.04.14.

27 April 2014

[270414.EN.BIZ] OECD Transport Forum Hold Miniterial Meeting In Leipzig May 21-23

NATIONAL transport ministers and CEOs from the private sector are expected at the Annual Summit of Transport Ministers in Leipzig organised by the OECD's International Transport Forum from May 21 - 23 May. 
Leaders from international bodies such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), International Energy Agency, World Bank, Asian Development Bank as well as ministers from France, Japan, Mexico, United Kingdom, Germany, Korea, Norway, New Zealand, Indonesia, Denmark, Ireland and Canada are expected to attend.

CEOs and top executives from Turkish Airlines, Volvo, Michelin, Deutsche Bahn, Nestle, DHL, UPS, car2go, Bombardier, Transdev, IBM, Oracle, SAP, Uber, Inrix, PTV Group and many more are also expected.

The meeting is the biggest gathering of transport ministers in the world, and brings together experts from all transport modes.


Source : SN-TR.

[270414.ID.AIR] Pengsdilan Federal AS Restui Merger American Airlines dan US Airways


Bisnis.com, WASHINGTON - Merger dua maskapai penerbangan AS, American Airlines dan US Airways Group, senilai US$17 miliar akhirnya diterima oleh pengadilan federal AS setelah proposal mereka disetujui.

Bloomberg melansir Sabtu (26/4), kesepakatan damai itu sekaligus meresmikan terbentuknya maskapai penerbangan terbesar dunia. Hakim Colleen Kollar-Kotelly mengeluarkan putusan itu pada Jumat (25/4) di Washington, AS.

Putusan ini keluar sekitar 5 bulan setelah American Airlines setuju menjual beberapa aset kepada pesaingnya. Hal ini dilakukan untuk mengakhiri gugatan dari Kementerian Kehakiman yang khawatir merger tersebut dapat menyebabkan naiknya tarif. 

Atas disetujuinya merger ini, Kepala Divisi Persaingan Usaha Kementerian Kehakiman Bill Baer mengatakan putusan itu menguntungkan para penumpang karena kompetisi antara maskapai bertarif rendah menjadi lebih ketat.

Agustus tahun lalu, kementerian menggugat kedua perusahaan karena menilai merger dapat menaikkan tarif bagi calon penumpang dengan hilangnya insentif bagi US Airways dalam menawarkan tarif rendah. Namun, gugatan itu diselesaikan secara damai pada November 2013.

Meski putusan pengadilan baru keluar, tapi merger sebenarnya sudah rampung sejak Desember 2013. Aksi korporasi itu menghasilkan American Airlines Group Inc. yang berbasis di Fort Worth, Texas.

AMR Corp., induk usaha American Airlines, sempat menyatakan diri pailit pada 2011. Namun, perusahaan itu bangkit dan bergabung dengan US Airways pada akhir 2013. Merger tersebut menghasilkan maskapai penerbangan dengan jumlah armada terbesar di dunia.

Saat ini, maskapai hasil merger tersebut diklaim mempunyai lebih dari 330 rute tujuan di seluruh dunia.


Sumber : Bisnis Indonesia, 27.04.14.

26 April 2014

[260414.EN.SEA] US West Coast Longshore Contract Negotiations Commence May 12

US WEST coast labour contract talks will begin between the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) on May 12 over a two-week period in order to negotiate a new contract effective July 1. 

Following delays on contract talks between the PMA and ILWU, other interested parties such as the National Retail Federation has recommended speeding up contract negotiations in order to produce a new contract by end of June.

NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay said the negotiations are essential for "all of the import and export and related industries who rely on these ports to move the nation's commerce", reported American Shipper.

Lloyd's List reported that the Transpacific Stabilisation Agreement, a rate setting shipping conference wrote to the PMA to ask for talks to be brought forward.

But this scenario looks unlikely as moves to hold talks early in the past have failed to speed up the process. In 2008 talks started in mid-March but were still not concluded by the time the contract expired.

"From March to the beginning of June, we got nothing done," PMA chief executive James Mckenna told the recent Trans-Pacific Maritime conference. "There was no pressure to move."

Mr Mckenna also said he did not expect strike action this time round, although he did not expect negotiations to be concluded by the June 30 deadline.

Source : HKSG.


[260414.ID.BIZ] Kemenhub Rancang Gapeka Terbaru, Urai Padat Lintasan

Bisnis.com,JAKARTA - Direktur Prasarana Perkeretaapian, Ditjen Perkeretaapian Kemenhub Arief Heriyanto menyatakan telah mengantisipasi terjadinya saling tindih perjalanan antara kereta jarak jauh, kereta barang, dan KRL Commuter yang melintasi jalur rel Manggarai-Cikarang.

Kemenhub telah merancang grafik perjalanan kereta api (Gapeka) terbaru yang menyesuaikan keadaan tersebut. "Nanti kami atur, bisa saja kereta jarak jauh dan kereta barang memasuki jalur tersebut harus pagi-pagi, sehingga tidak mengganggu perjaanan KRL," ujarnya.

Dia mengatakan penjadwalan kereta itu sangat mungkin untuk mengurai kesibukkan perlintasan sebelum double-double track (DDT) selesai. "Kami juga mengupayakan agar DDT cepat rampung," ujarnya.

Menurut Arief, pihaknya menargetkan penyelesaian DDT hingga 2016. Saat ini, mereka tengah memfokuskan pengerjaan jalur elevatedManggarai-Jatinegara, serta perampungan pembangunan Depo Lokomotif.

Ketua Forum Perkeretaapian MTI (Masyarakat Transportasi Indonesia) Djoko Setijowarno menyatakan dukungannya terhadap percepatan pembangunan DDT. Dia menilai tanpa adanya DDT, kekisruhan perjalanan akan selalu terjadi.

Sumber : Bisnis Indonesia, 25.04.14.

25 April 2014

[250412.EN.SEA] Tsuneishi Shipbuilding Wins First China Order For Four 1,020-TEUers

JAPAN's Fukuyama City-based Tsuneishi Shipbuilding has gained orders for four 1,020-TEU ships from the Hong Kong subsidiary of Shanghai International Port (SIPG), Shanghai Haihua Shipping (HASCO) in its first shipbuilding order from a Chinese state-owned company.

The four ordered vessels boast fuel efficiency made in 2013 in compliance with new international regulations with two of these ships scheduled for completion in 2016, the remaining in 2017.

Reduction in fuel consumption and nitrogen compounds contained in gas emissions is made possible by an engine in which fuel injection is controlled electronically rather than by the conventional mechanical method.

Efficiency is further improved by a proprietary propeller design so that the main engine's output can be more efficiently converted to propulsive force.

"The high energy-saving performance of this ship model not only cuts operational costs for our maritime business, it is certain to contribute to environmental protection as well," said HASCO general manager Gu Jianmin.

It also features design in compliance with stricter regulations regarding on-board ship noise that were issued by the IMO for chartered vessels contracted from July 2014, and there are also other improvements in the crew's working environment.

As with previous models, the accommodation is at the stern of the ship, entirely behind the on-deck container loading space, which helps to make cargo handling operations more efficient and less time-consuming.

Source : HKSG.

[250414.ID.BIZ] Transportasi Asean: Standar Transportasi Darat dan Penyeberangan Antarnegara Diseragamkan

Bisnis.com, SENGGIGI -- Standar pergerakan penumpang melalui transportasi darat dan penyeberangan antarnegara Asia Tenggara bakal diseragamkan dengan tujuan mendorong konektivitas di era Masyarakat Ekonomi Asean.

Hotma Simanjuntak, Ketua Delegasi Indonesia Pertemuan Kelompok Kerja Fasilitasi Asean bidang transportasi mengatakan dalam pertemuan berklasifikasi working group itu akan dibicarakan secara terbuka tentang pergerakan penumpang di sektor perhubungan darat antarnegara Asean.

“Jadi kami akan membicarakan bagaimana pergerakan manusia antarnegara Asean bisa dilakukan sesuai cetak biru Asean Conectivitydan Brunei Action Plan,” ujar Hotma, Kamis (24/4/2014).

Indonesia, menurut Hotma, sangat berkepentingan terkait hal itu karena memiliki koneksi jalur darat dengan Malaysia serta Brunei Darussalam melalui jalur Entikong, Kalimantan Barat.

Dalam pembicaraan itu, akan diulas lebih lanjut terkait penyeragaman jenis kendaraan angkutan umum antarnegara yaitu bus serta kuota penumpang tiap negara yang menggunakan transportasi darat. Selain itu, tambahnya, dibicarakan juga terkait penyeragaman aturan soal imigrasi serta bea dan cukai.

“Terkait standarisasi karantina hewan dan tumbuhan juga dibicarakan serta tukar-menukar SDM antarnegara,” ucapnya.

Masih terkait angkutan jalan, melalui pertemuan tersebut, pihaknya bakal membicarakan tentang kesepakatan ASEAN Highway Networkyakni konektivitas jalan mulai dari Singapura-Sumatra dan Jawa.
Selain konektivitas angkutan darat, forum tersebut juga membicarakan persoalan angkutan penyeberangan antarnegara.

Indonesia menurutnya juga berkepentingan karena memiliki beberapa titik penyeberangan di Sumatra yang berhubungan dengan beberapa wilayah di Malaysia.

“Standar jenis armada serta kuota juga akan kami bicarakan,” papar Direktur Lalu Lintas Angkutan Jalan Ditjen Perhubungan Darat Kemenhub itu.

Menurutnya, pertemuan kali ini baru berupa pembicaraan awal sehingga membutuhkan proses panjang melalui mekanisme laporan ke forum Senior Officer Meeting kemudian berlanjut ke Minister Meetinghingga bermuara pada pertemuan para kepala negara yang bakal menyepakati hal-hal yang telah dibahas dalam working group.

Dia menjelaskan, butuh komitmen dari seluruh anggota Asean untuk mewujudkan konektivitas tersebut melalui cara ratifikasi protokol yang sudah disepakati dalam pertemuan antarkepala negara sehingga hal-hal yang telah dibahas bisa diimplementasikan di negara masing-masing.

Sumber : Bisnis Indonesia, 24.04.14.

24 April 2014

[240414.EN.SEA] “Mega-Alliances” Bring Age Of The Big Ship To The Port


A new challenge is facing the port of Hampton Roads: the arrival of the port’s largest-ever container ships. 

“Mega-alliances” formed by the largest ocean carriers are putting gargantuan ships into service on the busiest trade lanes – vessels big enough to carry 18,000 20-foot containers. That’s three times the capacity of the biggest ships only two decades ago.

Though these giants are plying the Asia-Europe routes, they’ve shoved other smaller, yet-still-massive vessels into other trade lanes.

Hampton Roads and many other ports that already have been struggling to handle cargo surges have begun to feel this cascade effect.

“You have this big crunch through the terminal where you’re trying to force more and more containers through the system,” said Paul Avery, associate editor at World Cargo News, a trade publication based in Britain. “Terminals are struggling to manage this without congestion.”

It’s an issue facing ports worldwide, not just Hampton Roads, where cargo backups have been cited as a factor in the Virginia Port Authority’s multimillion-dollar operating losses this year.

“Virginia’s not unique in the challenge that it has,” Avery said.

Preparing for the larger ships the alliances are bringing “is a critical aspect of any port’s job,” said John Reinhart, a former Maersk Line Ltd. chief executive who took over as the Virginia authority’s CEO in February.

Reinhart has moved aggressively to streamline the port’s operations, knowing that its inefficiencies will be magnified in the era of mega-ships.

Just a few years ago, the norm for Hampton Roads was five ships calling per week on a typical trade lane, each carrying the equivalent of 4,000 20-foot containers and unloading 800 of them over five days, said Tom Capozzi, the Port Authority’s chief commercial officer.

In their place, he said, it now may get two 9,000-unit vessels, each discharging up to 2,000 containers – over two days.

The larger ships began calling on Hampton Roads about two years ago, said Joe Harris, a Port Authority spokesman. About a half-dozen of these vessels visited in the past couple of weeks, and their share of port calls is expected to increase sharply in the coming months and years as mega-alliances expand their reach.

The changes are creating “this huge surge of volume that’s all being condensed,” Capozzi said.

Meanwhile, truckers still want to get in and grab the containers they’ve been hired to haul away as soon as they hit the tarmac, and rail customers still expect their cargo to move within 48 hours, Capozzi said. They don’t understand the magnitude of the change occurring, he added.

For ocean carriers, the alliances are a necessity, industry experts say.

It’s all about lowering costs by sharing the space on huge ships that none of the lines could fill on their own.

“For a number of the carriers, this is a matter of survival,” Lars Jensen, CEO of SeaIntel Consulting, said at The Journal of Commerce’s Trans-Pacific Maritime Conference in Long Beach, Calif., last month.

Jensen, a former Maersk executive, stressed there will be significant demands on ports and terminals.

“There’s going to be a lot more bottleneck effects, and there’s going to be a lot more strain on a port in terms of infrastructure,” he said. “Not because the number of containers they have to handle changes materially, but the concentration changes. It’s going to come much more in lumps – and that’s much more difficult to handle.”

Severe congestion has become a problem at some of the biggest container gateways on the continent, Peter Tirschwell, a top executive at The Journal of Commerce, said at the Long Beach conference.

He rattled off a list of ports – including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Vancouver – that he said are struggling with congestion.

“Higher growth, accelerating trade volumes, is actually, at this moment, a fairly frightening prospect,” Tirschwell said.

An executive at Dollar General Corp., a big shipper, told the audience at a conference session on the mega-alliances that his company will be taking a closer look at where its containers go and what happens to them.

“It’s of growing importance,” said Adam Hall, the retail chain’s senior director of international logistics. “You have to sit down and think through: Where have I had good experiences with port philosophy, where have I had good rail connections?”

The biggest of the new alliances – the “P3” – brings together the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 shipping lines in the world: Maersk Line, Mediterranean Shipping Co. and CMA-CGM.

Early estimates were that the alliance would control about 42 percent of the Asia-to-Europe route, 24 percent of the trans-Pacific route and 40 to 42 percent of the trans-Atlantic route, according to the Federal Maritime Commission. That agency allowed the ship lines’ compact to move forward.

The other big alliance – the so-called “G6” – brings together APL, Hapag-Lloyd, Hyundai Merchant Marine, MOL, NYK and OOCL. It will control roughly a third of the Far East-U.S. West Coast market and about 40 percent of the northern Europe-U.S. trade.

The G6 accounts for more than a third of the Virginia Port Authority’s business.

Earlier this month, the commission let the alliance, already operating in Hampton Roads and some other U.S. ports, expand into additional U.S. trade routes.

A third big alliance has been announced. That one, called “CKYHE,” is made up of Cosco, “K” Line, Yang Ming, Hanjin and Evergreen. It has not yet filed paperwork with the commission.

What’s somewhat confusing is that all or most of these lines already call on many U.S. ports, including Hampton Roads, either independently or as part of other, smaller agreements with other carriers.

For decades, big ocean carriers have shared ships through vessel-sharing agreements, enabling them to lower costs and increase efficiency by splitting up the available slots for containers.

They’re a little like the arrangements some airlines have with one another, enabling them to share seats and keep their planes full.

Since 1984, the Federal Maritime Commission has allowed more than 220 vessel-sharing agreements to advance.

In fact, it’s never stopped one of them.

Many of them, however, were relatively routine transactions, affecting fewer than 100 slots on vessels that carry thousands of containers, according to the commission staff.

The new, giant alliances provide the carriers a way to afford the costs of operating mega-ships.

That may not translate into a benefit for ports.

But port executives know there’s no stopping the mega-ships from coming.

In Hampton Roads, officials have decided to make the best of the situation – and perhaps even capitalize on it.

The Port Authority recently set up a task force to address truck congestion. It plans to launch, in May, a new appointment system for truckers arriving at Norfolk International Terminals – a variation on a system already in use at APM Terminals in Portsmouth.

“We’ve come up with a plan that we think will work,” Capozzi said. “It’s just going to take some time; it’s going to take some investment.”

While the bigger vessels pose logistical challenges, they present opportunities as well, he added.

“There are some real advantages at play for us going forward with these alliances, because what it’s doing is it’s finally bringing the size of ships to the East Coast that play to our strengths, play to our ability to handle the ships with the deep water.”


Source : The Virginia Pilot, SN-TR.

[240414.ID.BIZ] Hari Air Dunia: APP Gandeng Gerakan Ciliwung Bersih

Bisnis.com, JAKARTA - Produsen kertas dan pulp PT Asia Pulp & Paper Group bersama dengan Gerakan Ciliwung Bersih memperingati Hari Air Dunia.

"Semakin kita menghemat air, semakin baik pula kita dapat menghemat energi. Keduanya adalah aksi nyata untuk mengurangi laju pemanasan global, yang dampaknya dapat dirasakan secara langsung oleh masyarakat," kata Suhendra Wiriadinata, Direktur Asia Pulp & Paper Group (APP), dalam acara bertema Save Water, Save Energy, di Jakarta, Kamis (24/4/14).

Menurut dia, persoalan air merupakan isu yang sangat kompleks, karena melibatkan seluruh kepentingan dari hulu ke hilir, sehingga penyelamatan air merupakan tanggung jawab bersama.

Dia menuturkan dalam rangkaian memperingati Hari Air Dunia (HAD) 2014, melalui Indonesia Global Compact Network (IGCN), APP menggelar beragam kegiatan pada 22–24 April di Kampus Anggrek, Universitas Bina Nusantara, Jakarta.

Pada 22 April yang bertepatan juga dengan Hari Bumi (Earth Day), katanya, diadakan kegiatan yang memahami prinsip keberlanjutan air dan lingkungannya.

Peringatan HAD dikoordinasikan oleh IGCN, bersama dengan Gerakan Ciliwung Bersih di bawah pimpinan Erna Witoelar. Juga ikut meramaikan United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), dan Komunitas Peduli Ciliwung.

Dia menjelaskan kata save pada Save Water, Save Energy, bisa diartikan hemat, bisa juga disebut selamatkan. "Dengan meningkatnya pemahaman masyarakat mengenai pembangunan berkelanjutan, perubahan iklim dan pemanasan global, semakin jelas keterkaitan dan saling ketergantungan antara air dan energi," ungkapnya.

Acara Hari Air Dunia ini, ujarnya, sangat penting dalam meningkatkan kesadaran masyarakat, khususnya kaum muda akan pentingnya air dan dampaknya terhadap lingkungan sekitarnya.

Sumber : Bisnis Indonesia, 24.04.14.


23 April 2014

[230414.EN.SEA] MSC Starts Direct Asia-W Africa Service, Slims Down Ipanema

MEDITERRANEAN Shipping Company (MSC), one of the world's top three ocean liners and one of the P3 Alliance trio, has launched a direct service from Asia to West Africa, named Africa Express, to replace its existing transshipment service.

The service deploys ten 4,000 TEU container ships that turn in ten weeks.

The port rotation is: Nansha, Chiwan, Singapore, Port Louis, Lagos-Tincan, San Pedro, Abidjan, Ngqura, Colombo, Singapore, Nansha.

Volumes moved by transshipment via the Spanish port of Valencia between the carrier's Asia-Europe services and the Mediterranean-West Africa service will be transferred to the new service.

Connections will be offered at San Pedro to other West Africa ports.

The service offers a faster transit time of 28 days from Chiwan to Lagos, and 23 days from Singapore to Lagos. It also wayports at Port Louis southbound and at Ngqura northbound, reported Alphaliner.

As a result of offering the new service, the Nansha and Port Louis calls will be removed from the rotation for the "Ipanema" service, and Hamburg Sud will join as a vessel provider.

Source : HKSG.

[230414.ID.BIZ] Kontrak Freeport: Pemerintah Berpotensi Langgar Undang Undang


Bisnis.com, JAKARTA -- Pengamat pertambangan meminta pemerintah mengkaji ulang rencana memperpanjang kontrak pertambangan PT Freeport Indonesia dalam waktu dekat ini. Karena perpanjangan kontrak hanya dapat dilakukan secepatnya dua tahun menjelang kontrak berakhir.

Direktur Indonesia Resources Studies (Iress) Marwan Batubara mengatakan sesuai dengan UU No.4/2009 tentang pertambangan, perpanjangan kontrak Freeport hanya bisa dilakukan secepatnya pada 2019 ( dua tahun dari batas berakhirnya kontrak). Karena itu jika perpanjangan kontrak dilakukan di luar ketentuan tersebut, maka bisa diartikan melanggar undang-undang pertambangan.

“Pemerintah harus patuhi aturan yang berlaku, karena itu pemerintah harus memaksa Freeport, bukan sebaliknya,” kata Marwan, Minggu (20/4/2014).

Sebagai gambaran, saat ini tengah beredar wacana rencana pemerintah memperpanjang kontrak Freeport untuk 2 x 10 tahun. Artinya, Freeport akan dapat izin tambang hingga 2041 mendatang.

Dirjen Minerba R Sukhyar menjelaskan bahwa pihaknya belum meneken perpanjangan kontrak tersebut. “Perpanjangan itu hak pemerintah, tetapi aturannya memang dua tahun sebelum kontrak habis,” ungkapnya.

Marwan meminta pemerintah memanfaatkan momen ini untuk lebih mengatur perusahaan ini. Dia menyebutkan selama ini perusahaan asal Amerika tersebut menolak beberapa aturan yang ada di Undang-undang hilirisasi mineral dengan alasan aturan tersebut tidak masuk dalam kontrak karya yang diteken sebelumnya. 

Sumber : Bisnis Indonesia, 20.04.14.

22 April 2014

[220414.EN.AIR] Cathay-Air NZ Revenue-Sharing HK-Auckland Route Is Working Well

THE joint venture between Cathay Pacific and Air New Zealand that involves revenue sharing is working well, according to the Hong Kong-based airline's chief operating officer, although he can't foresee a rapid recovery in the market. 

The carriers last year introduced the revenue-sharing deal on the Auckland-Hong Kong route, reported the New Zealand Herald.

"The logic of that joint venture between points in New Zealand and Hong Kong is that it is a long, thin route, where a combination of the carriers working together means that you can get connectivity at both ends for two flights rather than one," said Mr Hogg.

"We are trying to build that route and build that connectivity quicker than either of us can do individually," he said. "So far it has worked well."

"We are a long haul and ultra-long haul carrier and we believe the market was ripe for it and that it has given us a big competitive differentiation."

As for the airline's outlook for this year, Mr Hogg said the company was experiencing seven per cent growth in available seat kilometres (ASKs) relative to a flat performance in 2013.

"We are seeing a lot of growth across the Pacific, partly because the American economy, we think, is very flexible and obviously very large," he said. And there were "huge volumes of traffic" from China, Hong Kong and India.

However, he was not overly optimistic about market conditions as many parts of the world, especially Europe. "It's not a disaster but we don't see big signs of rapid recovery."

Source : HKSG.

[220414.ID.BIZ] Produsen Obat Pfizer Akan Akuisisi AstraZeneca Plc Senilai US$101 Miliar

Bisnis.com, JAKARTA—Produsen obat Pfizer Inc. tengah mendekati AstraZeneca Plc (AZN) untuk mengakuisisi perusahaan obat asal Inggris tersebut senilai lebih dari 60 miliar poundsterling  (US$101 miliar), menurut sebuah laporan.

Pembicaraan transaksi itu dilaporkan media Sunday Times dengan mengutip kalangan industri yang tidak mau disebutkan namanya. Pembicaraan itu dilaporkan media tersebut sebagai pembicaraan tidak resmi.

“Sebagaimana bisnis biasa, kami terus mencari peluang untuk meningkatkan nilai bagi para pemegang saham,” ujar Joan Campion, juru bicara Pfizer sebagaimana dikutip Bloomberg, Senin (21/4/2014). Dia menambahkan bahwa pihaknya tidak berkomentar soal spekulasi pasar atau rumor.

Esra Erkal-Paler, juru bicara AstraZeneca, juga tidak mau berkomentar terkait rencana akuisisi tersebut.
Selama tiga tahun terakhir, Pfizer terus melakukan upaya penyehatan usahanya melalui berbagai proyek riset. 

Perusahaan itu juga memecah sektor usahanya menjadi tiga bagian utama, yakni dua perusahaan obat baru dan satunya lagi fokus pada produk lama.


Sumber : Bisnis Indonesia, 21.04.14.

21 April 2014

[210414.EN.BIZ] Innovation Needed in Air Freight Industry to Reverse Falling Yields

FORWARDERS are demanding innovation in air freight to prevent it becoming commoditised and producing low yields, as shippers centralise buying organisations and seek simplified and instant pricing. 

The industry is being urged to offer innovations or "risk becoming commoditised by the procurement people [within shippers]," global head of network carrier management at DHL Global Forwarding Peter Penseel said at last week's Nordic Air Cargo Symposium. 

"If they commoditise our industry, we will then only be talking about cents and dimes. So we need to quantify the value of what we are doing."

Mr Penseel said air freight's leaders have failed to seek innovation over the last two decades, and the sector was making slow progress with initiatives such as Cargo 2000 launched 14 years ago.

The shippers also called for simplified pricing structures and instant pricing from air freight providers, and for providers to do a better job of demonstrating how air freight can provide "value" to cargo owners, said a report from Lloyd's Loading List.

CEO of Scan Global Logistics Henrik von Sydow said forwarders should listen carefully to their customers and design solutions around their needs.

"And we should deliver quality, not excuses," he said. Forwarders ought to be able to provide security and comfort to customers, "so that they can rely on their LSP taking care of their needs."

Executive vice-president of Geodis Wilson's Global Freight Forwarding Division Kim Pedersen commented, "It is clear that shippers are decreasing the number of their suppliers in order to increase their buying power, and that drives competition."

Mr von Sydow said he has experienced yield decline in air freight throughout his 36 years in the forwarding business, while there had been a tenfold increase in general pricing.

"We have shippers complaining air freight prices are too high," he said.

"I am seriously worried about where freight forwarding is going; there is a sense that we will do anything for the shipper," including passing on rate cuts to airlines, which he said was "a dangerous scenario."

Source : HKSG.

[210414.ID.BIZ] Lookman Djaja Bangun Kawasan Logistik Terpadu

Bisnis.com, JAKARTA - Direktur Operasional Lookman Djaja Kyatmaja Lookman mengatakan pihaknya belum dapat memaksimalkan angkutan kereta sebelum merampungkan kawasan logistik terintegrasi. 

Menurutnya, pengangkutan melalui kereta api memang menjanjikan efisiensi biaya, akan tetapi harus didukung infrastruktur yang lengkap seperti pusat distribusi dan kawasan terpadu. 

Saat ini, Kyatmaja menambahkan, pihaknya sedang membangun pusat logistik yang berdekatan dengan jalur kereta api di sekitar Karawang, Jawa Barat. 

“Kami mau membangun logistics park yang terintegrasi dengan jaringan kereta api,” ujarnya kepada Bisnis.com, Senin (21/4/2014). 

Nantinya di kawasan tersebut, terdapat bangunan pergudangan serta fasilitas bongkar muat. Dengan demikian, lanjut Kyatmaja, pengiriman jarak jauh dengan kereta bisa langsung dikondisikan sampai pengiriman door to door. 

Hingga saat ini, proses pembangunan kawasan terpadu itu masih terkendala pembebasan lahan. Menurut Kyatmaja, pengiriman melalui kereta api selama ini hanya mengungguli waktu pengiriman antarstasiun, tetapi tertinggal dengan angkutan truk dalam pengiriman hingga gudang pemilik (door to door).

Sumber : Bisnis Indonesia, 21.04.14.