[280219.EN.AIR] Atlas Pilots Call Amazon Air's Contract a 'Ticking Time Bomb'

ATLAS Air pilots, who fly Amazon's Prime Air cargo planes, like the one that crashed and killed all three aboard near Houston last week, are overworked, reports New York's Business Insider.

Thirteen pilots who work for airlines that Amazon Air contracts with have told the Insider that their pay and benefits fall below industry standards.

"It's a ticking time bomb," said Robert Kirchner, an Atlas pilot and executive council chairman of Teamsters Local 1224, adding that those working on Amazon flights tend to be less experienced.

He blamed Atlas management. "They don't recognise pilot fatigue," Capt Kirchner. "They think its people are goofing off. We have to constantly show them some of these schedules. Ninety-nine per cent of the time, we're able to prove to them that this is fatiguing."

The fatal Atlas Air Flight 3591 was flying from Miami to Houston. It fell from 6,525 feet to 3,025 feet in 30 seconds, according to Flight Radar 24.

In October, a Boeing 747 cargo plane operated by Polar Air, a subsidiary of Atlas Air, veered off the airway at the Northern Kentucky Airport. It came to stop on soft ground.

An Atlas Air Boeing 767 cargo airline had a hard landing in July at the Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Creases around the fuselage and "substantial damage to the aircraft" was found after the flight inspection.

For decades, Amazon moved its cargo through air cargo services from UPS, USPS and FedEx.

But in 2015, Amazon started taking air cargo in-house. Air Transport Services Group and ABX Air told Motherboard that they were leasing two cargo jets each to Amazon, which was building an air hub at Ohio's Wilmington Air Park.

Four years later, it's becoming clearer that that air cargo network is crucial for keeping down the company's ballooning shipping expenses. Year over year, Amazon's worldwide shipping costs jumped by 23 per cent in Q4 2018, from US$7.4 billion to more than $9 billion.

Amazon now has 40 Boeing 767s, with plans for 10 more. Last year Amazon expanded two-day-shipping availability to "almost anywhere" in the US with its additional Amazon Air capacity. Free one-day shipping is now accessible for the "majority of Prime members in the US." Three additional Amazon Air gateways are underway in Ohio, Illinois and Texas.

Source : HKSG.

[280219.ID.BIZ] Wajib Sertifikat Halal Berlaku Tahun Ini, Bagaimana Cara Mengurusnya?

Bisnis.com, JAKARTA -- Aturan wajib sertifikat halal bakal diimplementasikan mulai 17 Oktober 2019, sesuai Undang-Undang Nomor 33 Tahun 2014 tentang Jaminan Produk Halal. Bagaimana sebenarnya proses sertifikasi halal yang mesti dilakukan pelaku usaha?

Saat ini, proses sertifikasi halal masih dilakukan di bawah kendali Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI). Ada delapan tahap yang harus dilalui sebuah perusahaan jika ingin mendapat sertifikat halal dari MUI.

Salah satunya adalah perusahaan membuat Sistem Jaminan Halal (SJH). Sistem itu mencakup penetapan kebijakan halal, penetapan Tim Manajemen Halal, pembuatan manual SJH, pelaksanaan pelatihan, penyiapan prosedur terkait SJH, pelaksanaan internal audit, dan kaji ulang manajemen.

Namun, mulai 17 Oktober 2019, proses sertifikasi bakal melibatkan Badan Penyelenggara Jaminan Produk Halal (BPJPH). BPJPH bertindak sebagai regulator, Lembaga Pemeriksa Halal (LPH) selaku auditor, dan MUI sebagai pemberi fatwa halal.

Ada enam prosedur yang harus dilalui agar produk dari sebuah perusahaan mendapat sertifikat halal sesuai UU JPH.

Pertama-tama, perusahaan harus mengajukan permohonan sertifikat halal secara tertulis kepada BPJPH. Setelah permohonan diterima, BPJPH menetapkan LPH yang akan bertugas memeriksa atau menguji kehalalan produk.

LPH kemudian melakukan tugasnya di lokasi produksi dan hasil penelitian itu diserahkan kepada BPJPH.

Selanjutnya, BPJPH harus memberikan hasil pemeriksaan LPH kepada MUI. Setelah itu, MUI menggelar sidang fatwa halal untuk menentukan kehalalan produk yang diajukan.

Jika produk terkait dinyatakan halal, BPJPH berhak menerbitkan sertifikat. Produk yang dinyatakan tidak halal akan dikembalikan ke pemohon, disertai alasan dari MUI dan BPJPH.

Kepala BPJPH Sukoso menerangkan saat ini, lembaganya masih menyiapkan sejumlah infrastruktur untuk menerapkan UU Jaminan Produk Halal (JPH). Salah satunya, persiapan dilakukan dalam hal penerimaan pendaftaran produk halal.

“Insya Allah Maret atau April 2019 sudah uji coba Sistem Informasi Halal. Itu sistem yang meliputi pendaftaran, registrasi [produk agar mendapat label halal],” sebutnya kepada Bisnis, Selasa (26/2/2019).

Sumber : Bisnis, 27.02.19.

[270219.EN.SEA] Hapag-Lloyd 2018 Profit Up 7.6pc to US$1,28 Billion as Sales Rise 15pc

GERMAN shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd's 2018 operating profit increased 7.6 per cent year on year to EUR1.13 billion (US$1,28 billion), drawn on revenues of EUR11.5 billion, up 15 per cent.

But fourth quarter operating profit slipped 0.6 per cent year on year to EUR142 million.

"The main drivers were higher global transport volumes, steadily improving freight rates in the second half of the year, the merger with United Arab Shipping Company (UASC), and the resulting cost synergies." said the company statement.

With a fleet of 222 containerships, Hapag-Lloyd has a capacity of 1.6 million TEU and employs 12,500 from 394 offices in 127 countries and offers 120 liner services worldwide.

Source : HKSG.

[270219.ID.SEA] Pelindo III Masih Analisis Kelaikan Kontainer Mini

Bisnis.com, JAKARTA - PT Pelindo III (Persero) masih melakukan analisis terhadap kelayakan kontainer mini meskipun anak perusahaan, yakni PT Pelindo Marine Service, telah membuat purwarupa (prototype).

Purwarupa kontainer yang disebut minicon itu bahkan sempat dipamerkan dalam IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings 2018 di Bali pada Oktober 2018.

Namun, menurut Vice President Corporate Communication Pelindo III R. Suryo Khasabu, studi kelayakan terhadap aspek komersial dan teknis masih harus dilakukan.

"Kami masih kaji, kalau dijual, market-nya seperti apa, kalau diangkut untuk barang, seberapa laik. Kami masih berproses," katanya saat dihubungi, Rabu (27/2/2019).

Mengenai penyelesaian studi kelayakan maupun awal produksi komersial, Pelindo III belum dapat mematok waktu.

Sebelumnya, Pelindo III memaparkan keunggulan minicon yang diharapkan bisa mengatasi kendala dan kekurangan kontainer 20 TEU's selama ini (Bisnis.com, 14/8/2018).

Pertama, kontainer 20 TEU's yang didesain untuk kondisi jalanan luas dan lebar ternyata masih terlalu besar. Akibatnya di banyak pelabuhan, ada banyak kegiatan stuffing yang memakan waktu dan biaya. Pelindo III menghitung, setidaknya Rp3 juta harus dikeluarkan pemilik barang setiap kali pengiriman untuk membiayai kegiatan stuffing di depo kontainer, gudang serta sewa storage dan kontainer. Dengan minicon, biaya itu bisa dihilangkan.

Kedua, sebagian besar perdagangan di Indonesia dalam kondisi less container load (LCL) atau hanya sepertiga dari kapasitas kontainer yang dikirim oleh pemilik barang. Akibatnya, satu kontainer itu bisa dipenuhi dalam 3 hari sampai seminggu sehingga memakan waktu.

Ketiga, tren online sedang berlangsung. Konsekuensinya, pengiriman barang dilakukan dalam volume kecil sehingga tidak memerlukan kontainer berkapasitas besar.

Keempat, perdagangan selama ini berlangsung tidak seimbang. Kontainer dari Jawa ke luar Jawa penuh. Namun sebaliknya, kontainer dari luar Jawa ke Jawa kosong dan pengangkutannya tetap memakan biaya.

Pelindo III sempat menyebutkan rencana produksi 1.000 boks dengan nilai investasi Rp20 miliar mulai tahun ini.

Sumber : Bisnis, 27.02.19.

[260219.EN.BIZ] Gothenburg Rail Dream Comes True As Rail Carries 27pc More

RAIL freight into the Port of Gothenburg increased 27 per cent in the last quarter, indicating that the port's old plan to cope with losses suffered though low-sulphur fuel restrictions may well be paying off.

It's been a long time coming. Because when less stringent low-sulphur fuel restrictions came into for four years ago, Gothenburg had a plan in place.

Gothenberg's vital commodity is lumber to feed Ikea's main factory. The lumber comes in from the north Baltic by ship around the tip of Sweden to the country's main port on the Atlantic, and once processed, is shipped out to the world from there.

The plan anticipated the shift from sea to the under-utilised railway between the northern timber stands and sawmills because the then cost of bunker - US$60 a ton versus $100 for the low sulphur blend - would make it uneconomical for ships to face a deadhead voyage to the upper reaches of the Baltic only to return with a low-value sawn lumber on a long short-sea voyage to the other side to Sweden.

But then came the big surprise. No sooner did the low-sulphur rule come in, than the bottom fell out of the world oil market and the more expensive low-sulphur fuel was about as expensive as the cheaper standard bunker had been. Thus, Baltic shipping stayed more or less as it had been - until recently.

Claes Sundmark, the Gothenburg Port Authority box and ro-ro chief, who told the Hong Kong Shipping Gazette about the scheme on a visit four years ago, was content to say.

"The fact that long-distance freight transport is recovering at a higher rate is a clear indication of the growing confidence in the Container Terminal throughout the country," he said reported St Petersburg PortNews.

During the past year, rail-borne container volumes to and from Gothenburg rose by 13 per cent. Volume growth intensified during the year and was strongest during the final quarter with an increase of 27 per cent.

The freight often needs to be switched to containers at one of the three transloading terminals at the Port of Gothenburg, all of which are located close to the Container Terminal.

Source : HKSG / Photo : Port of Gotheburg.