[300913.EN.AIR] IATA Downgrades Global Airline Profitability by US$1 Billion in 2013

THE International Air Transport Association (IATA) has downgraded airline profitability by US$1 billion to $11.7 billion for 2013 since its earlier more optimistic June forecast.

IATA's outlook for Asia-Pacific airlines has also been downgraded because of lower regional GDP growth. Asia-Pacific carriers are big in cargo markets and thus, the most affected, though offset by China's strengthening domestic market.

The profit lowering is due to slower growth trajectory than expected due to the effect of oil price spike associated with the Syrian crisis and slow growth in emerging economies. Nonetheless, results are still better than 2012's $7.6 billion profit forecast.

Cargo growth is forecast to grow by 0.9 per cent, down from a previous projection of 1.5 per cent. Yields will fall as much as 4.9 per cent in 2013 due to its direct link to passenger demand and in turn bellyhold capacity. Cargo revenues are forecast to drop by $8 billion to $59 billion from 2011 peak.

Airlines are forecast to return to net profit in 2014 of $16.4 billion in the strongest year this century after 2010 which will be supported by cargo increase of 3.7 per cent against cargo markets yields decline of 2.1 per cent.

"Profitability continues on an improving trajectory. But we have run into a few speed bumps. Cargo growth has not materialised," said IATA director general Tony Tyler, adding that he is still confident that 2014 is shaping up to be a positive year with profit more than double that of 2012.

The BRIC region has seen slowdown in growth to offset improvements in developed markets and in particular the US with North American airlines being the strongest performers.

European airlines is on the up as well from 2012 with bigger profits supported by the long-haul market and economic stability in the Eurozone, particularly in German and UK markets.

Despite economic slowdown in Brazil, improvement is expected on the back of restructuring and capacity discipline, said the report. The long-haul market between North and South America remains strong.

The outlook for Latin American carriers is unchanged. Economic weakness in Brazil is being offset by better performance because of restructuring and capacity discipline. The long-haul market between North and South America continues to grow.

Source : HKSG.

[300913.ID.BIZ] Soho Group Ubah Nama Jadi Soho Global Health

Bisnis.com, JAKARTA — Perusahaan farmasi Soho Group melakukan aksi corporate branding dengan mengubah nama menjadi Soho Global Health per 1 Oktober 2013.

Head of Public Relations and General Services Widi Nugroho Sahib Soho Global Health menuturkan langkah itu dilakukan untuk menyesuaikan dinamika bisnis selama ini.

“Soho Group yang dalam 2 tahun terakhir telah mengalami metamorfosis tampilan corporate branding-nya, maka terhitung efektif mulai 1 Oktober 2013 kami mengubah nama,” ujarnya dalam keterangan pers, Senin (30/9/2013).

Menurut Widi, kelompok usaha Soho melakukan sejumlah penetrasi bisnis sepanjang tahun ini, baik internal maupun eksternal.

Di awal tahun, Soho melakukan investasi pembangunan pabrik di Kawasan Industri Jababeka.

Selanjutnya beberapa bulan lalu, Soho melakukan kemitraan investasi dengan Fresenius Kabi atas PT Ethica Industri Pharmasi.

Langkah itu menjadikan Ethica Industri sebagai perusahaan pertama—yang berdiri sejak 1946—di dalam kelompok perusahaan Soho berubah dari penanman modal dalam negeri (PMDN) menjadi penanaman modal asing (PMA).

Widi mengemukakan Soho Global Health memulai kampanye nasional mengenai produk obat dan produk kesehatan berbasis herbal melalui beberapa aktivitas ATL maupun BTL pada Oktober 2013, baik di media cetak, online, iklan televisi, serta media luar ruang.

“Khusus di Kota Jakarta, dapat dilihat pada media luar ruang yang ada di Gedung Mal Taman Anggrek serta papan iklan di Jalan Tol Bandara Soekarno-Hatta,” katanya.

Tidak hanya itu, melalui Soho Flordis Internasional yang berbasis di Sydney, Australia, Soho melakukan akuisisi Ginsana.

Perusahaan tersebut memproduksi Ginseng G115 dan merupakan salah satu ragam produk kesehatan berbasis herbal.

Soho Flordis Internasional juga mengakuisisi ProThera yang berada di Amerika Serikat, sebagai salah satu realisasi strategi perusahaan untuk membuka gerbang pemasaran di Negeri Paman Sam tersebut.

Sumber : Bisnis Indonesia, 30.09.13.

[290913.EN.SEA] IMB: Piracy Chased From Far East to Somalia, Now to West Africa

PIRACY, rather than pirates themselves, has been chased from Somalia to West Africa in recent years just it was chased from the South China Seas many years ago, says International Maritime Bureau (IMB) director Pottengal Mukundan.

"We see an improvement in Somalia," he said in a Skype interview with Piracy Daily. "They have had a central government since September last year and conditions are improving. When the conditions improve, pirates find it difficult to hold hostages.

"The local population is getting more and more unhappy with these criminals. There have been cases where villages have driven pirates out simply because they were upset with the way they were conducting themselves," he said.

Government corruption is a problem: "If you look at product tankers. These are kept [by pirates] for seven to 10 days. They do ship-to-ship operations, which take a couple of days. It should be possible with aerial surveillance to locate the transshipment, and for naval forces - Nigeria has the best naval assets in the area - to approach, wait until the hijacked vessel is free - then swoop. There is no reason why it has not been done," he said.

But Capt Mukundan was pleased with the recent signing of a Gulf of Guinea international anti-piracy agreement. "But we need to follow up with action as soon as possible on the water. That is the next step. There should be further initiatives for information sharing between these countries and between law enforcement agencies."

But he opposed suggestions that a new international anti-piracy agency be established.

"We must be careful. There is always a temptation to set up new institutions, but it is much more important to build on what we have. INTERPOL has a good system of sharing of information on various crimes. They do it with drugs, illegal weapons, illegal immigration and so forth."

The key differences between Somali and West African piracy are differing business models, one focusing on kidnap and ransom while the other specialised in cargo theft, mostly fuel oils sold on the domestic black market. There have been West African kidnappings for ransom too, he said, but this is a recent development.

What makes kidnapping less promising in West Africa is that however unevenly governed the region is, there are real police forces to pursue pirates ashore. Pirates must land somewhere, he said, and Somalia's lack of government provided them with a secure operational environment ashore.

Capt Mukundan was positive about the development of private maritime security contractors, and hoped that oil majors whose cargo is often the target of West African piracy, would contribute more to their development.

He also noted that the Advanfort firm had been given permission to set up in Benin, to conduct anti-piracy operations and offer security services to vessels.

Said Capt Mukundan: "I think what Advanfort is doing there is exactly what is required, particularly in trying to build capacity for countries like Benin to build up expertise and knowledge in response to piracy. Whether it is a private company, or whether it's the government, it doesn't matter. The important thing is that it needs to be done."

He said the legal and diplomatic aspects of piracy pose serious problems to law enforcement, too.

"You don't have easy access to witnesses, laws are different, attacks may have taken place in international waters. So building up the capacity of law enforcement, building up the capacity of the judiciary, is very important," he said.

Source : HKSG.

[290913.ID.SEA] Dahlan Iskan: Tanjung Perak, Pelabuhan Pertama di Dunia Pakai Monorel

Surabaya - Menteri Badan Usaha Milik Negara (BUMN) Dahlan Iskan menyebut pelabuhan Tanjung Perak Surabaya akan menjadi pelabuhan pertama di dunia yang dilengkapi fasilitas monorel angkut kontainer. Monorel ini nantinya menghubungkan pelabuhan Tanjung Perak-Terminal Teluk Lamong sepanjang 11,44 km.

"Ini pertama di dunia pelabuhan pakai monorai. Kita wujudkanlah," ucap Dahlan saat menyaksikan pengembangan monorel di Pelabuhan Tanjung Perak Surabaya, Sabtu (28/9/2013).

Menurutnya pengembangan monorel yang bakal dikembangkan oleh BUMN serta menggandeng BPPT.

"Kita kerjasama dengan BPPT. Mewujudkan hasil nyata bagi masyarakat. Saya komitmen bisa aplikasikan temuan dan keahlian di BPPT," sebutnya.

Pada kesempatan itu, Direktur Utama PT Pelindo III (Persero) Jarwo Suryanto menjelaskan pengembangan monorel khusus ini merupakan solusi mengurai kemacetan di area pelabuhan. Apalagi dengan adanya terminal baru Teluk Lamong.

"Kita dihadapkan 2 pilihan. Bikin jalan layang atau bikin jalur khusus kontainer ini lebih spesifik. Dari aspek kemudahan dan kecepatan kita pilih monorel. Adhi Karya kembangkan monorel sejak lama tapi nggak jadi-jadi. Saya tantang bisa nggak bikin monorel angkut kontainer kan cuma beda beban saja. Ini kita coba," sebutnya.

Jarwo pada kesempatan itu menjelaskan pengembangan monorel ini juga akan menggandeng pengusaha transportasi lokal.

"Pemilik ini juga jangan mematikan angkutan ada. Saya ajak nanti organda untuk jadi pemilik angkutan ini," sebutnya.

Proyek monorel ini akan dikembangkan oleh konsorsium BUMN yakni Adhi Karya, LEN dan INKA. Proyek ini menelan biaya hingga Rp 2,5 triliun. Saat ini proyek monorel masuk tahap feasebility study.

Sumber : detikFinance, 28.09.13.

[280913.EN.SEA] Venerable Lloyd's List To Close As Newspaper, But Will Continue Online

TECHNICALLY, one of the world's oldest newspapers - since 1734 - will close on December 20, when Lloyd's List of London, abandons words on paper for full digital publication.

The move follows months of research showing that "customer demand overwhelmingly favours a digital product" with fewer than two per cent of readers using the print version exclusively.

"What started life as a printed notice pinned to a coffee shop wall in London is now the shipping industry's most sophisticated online intelligence tool, accessible in any coffee shop 24 hours a day," said editor Richard Meade.

"This is move supported by the overwhelming majority of our customers. We have already undertaken years of investment in our digital and mobile platforms, but the move away from print will allow more time and resource to build on innovative approaches to content tailored to individual customer needs," he said.

Source : HKSG,

[280913.ID.BIZ] Hore, Kereta Bandung-Cirebon Beroperasi Hari Ini

Bandung - Bagi anda yang terbiasa bepergian Bandung menuju Cirebon, kini mempunyai alternatif transportasi baru. Mulai hari ini, PT Kereta Api Indonesia (PT KAI) membuka jalur baru Bandung-Cirebon atau Ciremai Ekspres, dengan dua kali keberangkatan (PP).

Pembukaan jalur baru ini bertepatan dengan HUT PT KAI ke-68 hari ini, Sabtu (28/9/2013). Jadwal pemberangkatan KA Ciremai ekspres dari Stasiun Kejaksaan Cirebon pukul 04.35 WIB dan pukul 13.45 WIB, sedangkan jadwal pemberangkatan dari Stasiun Bandung pukul 09.15 dan 18.15 WIB.

KA yang terdiri dari satu kereta eksekutif dan empat kereta bisnis tersebut berdaya angkut 350 penumpang. Harga tiket untuk eksekutif Rp90 ribu dan bisnis Rp50 ribu. Waktu tempuhnya sekitar empat jam melintasi jalur Bandung-Cimahi-Cikampek-Jatibarang-Cihaurgeulis-Cirebon.

"Hari ini dilaunching Bandung-Cirebon, kalau Organda menolak, ya kita jalan terus. Aneh, bersaing kok takut," ujar Dirut PT KA Ignasius Jonan saat ditanya komentarnya soal penolakan Organda Jabar mengenai operasional Ciremai Ekspres.

Menurutnya dengan adanya kereta Bandung-Cirebon, masyarakat kini punya lebih banyak pilihan. "Lagipula kereta dan otobus beda, kita di rel, mereka di jalan. Lagipula apakah kita juga protes saat Cipularang dibuka? Enggak kan. Ya kita tingkatkan saja pelayanan," tegas Jonan.

Sementara itu Kepala Humas Daop 2 Bandung Jaka Djarkasih pembukaan jalur Bandung-Cirebon ini juga sesuai permintaan para pelanggan, terutama kalangan mahasiswa dan pelajar.

"Selama ini untuk Bandung-Cirebon dilayani kereta Harina (Bandung-Semarang), tapi itu kan sampainya malam. Kalau ini kan dari Bandung, bisa tiba ke Cirebon lebih siang," ujarnya.

Sumber : detikNews, 28.09.13,

[270913.EN.SEA] OECD Study Says Port Throughput Brings Local And National Prosperity

DOUBLING port efficiency was found to increase two countries' bilateral trade 32 per cent, according to a recent study by the affluent nation group, the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The OECD report focuses on the value of ports at local and national economies. It reveals that one tonne of throughput is associated with US$100 economic value as well as finding that one million tonnes of throughput equates with 300 short-term jobs.

Entitled "The Competitiveness of Global Port-Cities" the study is report is based on earlier port-cities case studies of Hamburg, Marseilles, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Durban, the Le Havre-Paris corridor and Shanghai.

"There are three main options for increasing local value from ports: maritime clusters, industrial development and port-related waterfronts, but all options have shown mixed results; there are good practices but also policy failures," he said.

The report covers 10 world regions with the highest volume of patent applications in shipping are those with large global hubs such as Los Angeles, Long Beach, Houston, Oakland, Tokyo and Rotterdam.

Source : HKSG.

[270913.ID.OTH] Kisah "Blusukan" Jokowi Tersiar Hingga Amerika

NEW YORK, KOMPAS.com — Kisah tentang Gubernur DKI Jakarta Joko Widodo turut disiarkan oleh media massa di Amerika Serikat. Oleh surat kabar New York Times, Jokowi disebut sebagai seorang gubernur yang gemar turun ke lapangan atau blusukan.

Artikel yang ditulis oleh Joe Cochrane tersebut dibuka dengan kebiasaan Jokowi, sapaan Joko Widodo, yang hampir setiap hari melakukan aktivitas yang tak biasa dilakukan oleh pemimpin-pemimpin lain di Indonesia. 

Jokowi turun ke lapangan, berbicara langsung dengan warga, dan kedatangannya selalu disambut antusias oleh warga.

Dalam artikel itu, Cochrane menceritakan bagaimana Jokowi berusaha menjelaskan program-program pembangunan dengan menyapa langsung warganya. Jokowi juga menggali informasi dan keinginan warga tentang program-program itu. Ini yang sering disebut Jokowi sebagai "belanja masalah". Crochcane juga menjelaskan bagaimana Jokowi memantau aparat-aparat di bawahnya untuk memastikan bahwa dia mengawasi kinerja mereka.

Crochane juga menuliskan hal-hal yang sudah dilakukan Jokowi di tahun pertamanya memimpin Ibu Kota. Jokowi memenuhi janji-janjinya selama kampanye, yakni membuat Kartu Jakarta Sehat dan Kartu Jakarta Pintar untuk warga kurang mampu. Ia juga menerapkan sistem pembayaran pajak secara online serta memastikan pembangunan sarana transportasi cepat massal.

Catatan lainnya meliputi pemindahan pedagang kaki lima dari jalan-jalan sekitar Pasar Tanah Abang yang menyebabkan kemacetan lalu lintas di Jakarta Pusat. Tidak hanya memindahkan PKL, Jokowi juga menyediakan ruang bagi pedagang itu untuk menempati lapak-lapak di dalam pasar terdekat. Crochane juga menuliskan upaya Jokowi memindahkan 7.000 keluarga miskin di sekitar Waduk Pluit, Jakarta Utara, agar waduk itu bisa dikeruk untuk pertama kalinya dalam 30 tahun. 

Jokowi selalu mengunjungi kedua kawasan itu untuk memastikan proyek yang digagasnya berjalan lancar. Ia juga ingin meyakinkan kepada warga bahwa program relokasi itu dilakukan bukan untuk mengubah kawasan itu dengan membangun pusat perbelanjaan.

Disinggung pula dalam tulisan itu bahwa Jokowi adalah pemimpin bersih yang tidak menggunakan kekuasaannya untuk memperkaya diri sendiri. Hal ini menjadi pembeda antara Jokowi dan pemimpin lain di tengah cibiran tentang maraknya korupsi di negeri ini.

Sumber : NYT – Kompas, 26.09.13.

[260913.EN.SEA] Thamesport First To Fall In Port Shakeup, Victim Of Economies Of Scale

THE UK's Thamesport appears to be the first casualty of the looming shake up of the nation's deep sea container ports that is being driven by the combination of factors.

Larger containerships, bigger carrier alliances such as the P3 vessel-sharing alliance between Maersk Line, MSC and CMA CGM, DP World's new London Gateway terminal and greater focus on hinterland connections will reshape the nation's ports in the south of England for years to come.

Hutchison-controlled London Thamesport container terminal looks set to lose all of its deepsea services, after Hapag-Lloyd, OOCL and NYK announced that they plan to switch their transatlantic services to Southampton. Evergreen has also recently consolidated its UK cargo volume at the port of Felixstowe, reports Drewry Maritime Research.

It said that despite Thamesport being a modern, well equipped and well managed terminal, throughput has plunged from a peak of 800,000 TEU in 2008 to 300,000 TEU in 2012.

One of the factors to account for the dramatic decline is the rapid deployment of mega-sized vessels, which Thamesport cannot handle given the draft restrictions in the River Medway approach channel. In February 2013 the G6 Alliance moved the Thamesport call on its Asia-Europe Loop 5 to Southampton after replacing 9,000 TEU ships with 13,000 TEU vessels.

Evergreen's decision to move cargo handling to Felixstowe was reportedly due to greater cooperation with the CKYH Alliance on Asia-Europe strings - itself brought about by vessel upsizing.

Despite Thamesport being excluded from the Asia-Europe services that are deploying the world's biggest ships, the port could still be a call on transatlantic and north-south trade lanes as they use smaller vessels.

Nearby Tilbury is also losing ground to rivals. Member shipping lines of the Southern Africa Europe Container Service (SAECS) consortium has announced it will move to the new London Gateway terminal when it opens later this year.

On a brighter note, Tilbury has an effective competitive niche in north-south and reefer trades. The annual SAECS volume of around 65,000 TEU is also modest compared to the London Gateway's 1.6 million TEU annual capacity in the first phase of development.

The authors of the report believe that recent events affecting Thamesport and Tilbury are just the beginning of further port call shake-ups. For these two ports the future focus is expected to be head-to-head competition for niche deepsea services as well as short sea intra-European services.

For Felixstowe and Southampton, the existing deep sea Far East-North Europe players, the impact is yet to be felt - not only from London Gateway, which will attempt to take Asia-Europe services away from them, but also from bigger ships and alliance changes.

Source : HKSG.

[260913.ID.SEA] Audit Kinerja Pelabuhan Priok Selesai Oktober

Bisnis.com, JAKARTA—Badan Pemeriksa Keuangan (BPK) menargetkan pemeriksaan terinci terhadap kinerja pelayanan di pelabuhan Tanjung Priok akan selesai pada pertengahan Oktober mendatang.

“Saat ini, kami masih melakukan pemeriksaan terinci di lapangan. Kami targetkan pada pertengahan Oktober akan selesai, kemudian dilanjutkan penyusunan laporan [kesimpulan],” ujar Sapto Amal Damandari, Anggota II BPK di kantornya, Selasa (17/9/2013).

Dalam pemeriksaan terinci di lapangan, lanjutnya, BPK akan menguji area kunci atau indikator-indikator yang telah disepakati pada tahap pemeriksaaan pendahuluan sebelumnya. Sayangnya, BPK tidak bisa menyampaikan apa saja indikator yang diuji tersebut.

BPK meminta keterangan dari semua pemangku kepentingan, a.l Kantor Pelayanan Utama Direktorat Jenderal Bea dan Cukai, Balai Karantina Pengawas Obat dan Makanan, Otoriotas Pelabuhan, PT Pelabuhan Indonesia II dan PT Jakarta International Container Terminal.

Sumber : Bisnis Indonesia, 17.09.13.

[250913.EN.SEA] Shagang Shipping Releases Busted Chinese Cruise Ship After HNA Pays Up

HONG KONG's Shagang Shipping has announced that it has released the Chinese cruise liner the Henna it had arrested in Korea after receiving US$2.7 million from the HNA Group for partial payment of US$58 million it allegedly owes.

"HNA Group Company Limited has continued to resist their obligations, whilst hiding behind a very complex corporate structure which prevents creditors from attaching their assets through layers of companies incorporated around the world," said a Shagang official.

The ship was arrested on Friday September 13 in Jeju, Korea with 2,520 people on board, including 1,659 passengers and 861 crew. Its arrest followed a protracted legal battle with HNA Group, based in Hainan, over the continuing non-payment of US$58 million in unpaid debts.

Advisers to Shagang Shipping said that about 1,100 passengers were on September 15 repatriated to China by chartered aircraft. The rest of the passengers will be offered a tour of Korea's Jeju Island once they disembarked the vessel.

Shagang Shipping said it was able to demonstrate to the Korean Court that HNA were the actual owners of the vessel, which the Korean judge accepted and ordered the arrest.

Shagang Shipping said it will continue to press its long-standing claims against HNA for the rest of the $58 million.

Over the course of two years Shagang Shipping obtained six arbitration awards against Grand China Shipping, and then had to enforce the awards to get paid.

Due to their financial circumstances and failure to meet their debts to a number of creditors, the affairs of Grand China Shipping were wound up by a Hong Kong bankruptcy court earlier this year.

Source : HKSG.

[250913.ID.SEA] Kapal Pengeboran Bawah Laut Jepang Selidiki Asal-Usul Gempa

Tim seismolog yang dipimpin oleh Jepang melakukan misi, Jumat lalu, untuk mengebor dasar laut sampai jauh ke bawah demi mencari asal-usul gempa.

Para ilmuwan mengangkat jangkar di kapal pengeboran dasar laut Jepang Chikyu, dan bergerak menuju sebuah tempat di lepas laut semenanjung Kii, barat daya Jepang, dan sebuah retakan di lapisan kerak bumi yang dikenal sebagai Palung Nankai.

Para ahli telah memperingatkan bahwa palung itu, yang menandai posisi tempat lempeng Laut Filipina bergeser di bawah lempeng Eurasia, kemungkinan adalah sumber gempa bumi raksasa di masa mendatang.

Tahun lalu, pemerintah Jepang menyingkap skenario kasus terburuk, memperingatkan bahwa satu gempa bumi dahsyat di wilayah tersebut bisa memusnahkan 320 ribu orang, jauh melebihi jumlah korban dari bencana gempa-tsunami 11 Maret 2011.

Tahap terbaru dari proyek multitahun yang mulai sejak 2007 itu berencana mengebor 3600 meter ke bawah laut dan mengambil sampel dari kerak bumi. Pekerjaan ini diperkirakan membutuhkan waktu empat bulan.

Tim juga mempersiapkan perjalanan lainnya tahun depan. Mereka berharap bisa mengebor 5200 meter ke dalam, menuju tempat terjadinya gempa.

“Ini akan menjadi pengeboran langsung ke zona seismogenik yang belum pernah dilakukan sebelumnya. Wilayah tersebut diyakini melepaskan energi besar dan menyebabkan kerak bumi bergeser di sepanjang jalur patahan dan memicu tsunami," ujar Tamano Omata, seorang peneliti Badan Jepang untuk Sains dan Teknologi bidang Dasar Laut (JAMSTEC).

Para ilmuwan ingin menanamkan sensor -- seperti seismometer, alat pengukur deformasi dan termometer - di wilayah tersebut, yang akan membentuk bagian dari sebuah sistem bernama Dense Oceanfloor Network System for Earthquakes and Tsunamis (DONET), yang terhubung langsung ke monitor di darat.

“Kami berharap bisa memantau bagaimana kerak bumi tersebut tiba-tiba bergerak sebelum gempa melanda,” ujar Omata.

Shinichi Kuramoto, wakil direktur JAMSTEC's Center for Deep Earth Exploration, mengatakan bahwa penelitian terbaru telah menunjukkan gempa bumi ringan, ketika dua kerak tergelincir melewati satuu sama lain secara perlahan, dan sering terjadi di sepanjang Palung Nankai selama lima tahun terakhir.

Ia mengatakan kemungkinan itu adalah cikal bakal gempa maha dahsyat.

“Pengeboran langsung ke dasar laut dan meneliti tempat yang mungkin mengakibatkan gempa besar akan menjadi langkah penting menuju pemahaman mekanisme seismologi,” ucapnya.

Kapal Chikyu seberat 56.752 ton -- “Bumi” dalam bahasa Jepang -- telah berlabuh di tengah pelabuhan Shimizu, dan terbuka bagi media asing mulai pekan ini menjelang misi tersebut.

Kapal Chikyu yang dibuat pada 2005 dengan biaya $500 juta (sekitar Rp5,6 triliun), dilengkapi dengan menara pengeboran setinggi 121 meter yang bisa diturunkan 7000 meter di bawah dasar laut, hampir tiga kali lipat lebih dalam dari pendahulunya.

Menara itu bergantung pada sistem lokasi satelit dengan akurasi tinggi yang memungkinkan kaptennya mengetahui dengan jelas lokasi kapal tersebut sehubungan dengan kerak Bumi.

Sebagai negara dengan seismik yang aktif, Jepang mengalami 20 persen gempa bumi terbesar di dunia setiap tahunnya.

Orang-orang Jepang terlatih dengan baik untuk urusan berlindung ketika gempa bumi menyerang, yang berarti kerusakan dan korban jiwa seringkali jauh lebih sedikit dibandingkan bagian-bagian lain di dunia.

Namun, kedekatan Jepang  dengan patahan tektonik besar berarti risiko bahaya selalu ada. Pengembangan sistem peringatan gempa yang andal merupakan hal yang sangat didambakan para seismolog.

11 Maret 2011, wilayah timur laut dilanda gempa berkekuatan sembilan skala richter, yang memicu gelombang tsunami besar.Lebih dari 18 ribu orang tewas ketika gelombang menyapu daratan. Mereka juga dibanjiri sistem pendingin di lokasi nuklir di Fukushima, mengakibatkan reaktor hancur  dan memicu kecelakaan atom terburuk di dunia dalam satu generasi.Jika gempa dahsyat melanda Tokyo, ibu kota yang padat, maka Jepang bisa lumpuh secara ekonomi dan politik.

Terakhir kali "gempa bumi besar" melanda Tokyo adalah pada 1923, ketika Gempa Bumi Besar Kanto berkekuatan 7,9 skala richter menewaskan lebih dari 100 ribu jiwa. Banyak dari korban terbakar.

Sebelumnya, pada 1855, gempa bumi Ansei Edo juga menghancurkan kota tersebut.

Sumber : AFP, 16.09.13.

[240913.EN.AIR] AA, US Airways Extend Merger Time In Face Of Justice Department Suit

THE parent company of American Airlines, AMR Corporation, and US Airways Group have agreed to extend the merger deadline a month because of a US Department of Justice lawsuit that seeks to block the merger because it would reduce competition.

The date on which either party can terminate the Merger Agreement has been extended from December 17 to January 18, the companies announced in a joint statement.

The move signals that they continue to push ahead with plans to merge the two airlines and create the nation's largest carrier.

In a joint statement, AMR chief executive Tom Horton and US Airways CEO Doug Parker said: "The boards and management teams of AMR and US Airways remain committed to completing this. Our focus is on mounting a vigorous defence and winning our court case."

A trial to hear the Justice Department's challenge to the merger is due to commence on November 25 at District Court in Washington. AMR, which had filed for bankruptcy in 2011, hopes the merger will allow the airline to clear bankruptcy, reports the Los Angeles Times.

If the judge rules against the challenge before January 17, the airlines will have 15 days to approve the merger.

AMR and US Airways have also agreed to scrap a US$20 million severance package for Mr Horton after the judge overseeing AMR's bankruptcy refused to permit the pay off.

Source : HKSG.