[140711.EN.LOG] Agility Opens New Office In Kuching To establish Borneo Operation

AGILITY has opened a branch office in Kuching, East Malaysia to strengthen its presence in Sarawak and to provide a platform for further growth in the region.

Sarawak, on the island of Borneo, has a dynamic growing economy exporting timber, crude oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and pepper. Multinational technology companies are expanding their presence in Sarawak and are opening manufacturing operations, a company statement said.

From its new office in Kuching, the company will provide international sea and air logistics services, customs clearance, warehousing and distribution solutions to locally-based and international network customers.

Said Agility south east Asian chief Mike Gildea: "As we build our domestic distribution across Malaysia, Sarawak is strategically located in the heart of South East Asia with good access to regional and global business centres."

The logistics firm has more than 500 employees across its Malaysian network and more than 41,000 square metres of warehouse space. It has been operating in Malaysia since 1985 and is planning further investments in Sarawak and Sabah.

Source : HKSG, 14.07.11.

[140711.ID.SEA] Proyek Kalibaru Tetap Didanai JICA

JAKARTA: Pemerintah tetap menggandeng  Japan International Coperation Agency atau JICA dalam proyek pengerukan di alur Timur Pelabuhan Tanjung Priok dan pembangunan Jembatan menuju terminal Kalibaru.

Wakil Menteri Perhubungan Bambang Susantono menjelaskan pemerintah tetap menggandeng JICA untuk mendanai kedua proyek yang dikeluarkan dari paket pembangunan terminal Kalibaru.

Dia menjelaskan meskipun konsep pembangunan Kalibaru tidak mengadopsi kajian JICA, tetapi lembaga donor asal Jepang tersebut tetap berkeinginan membantu di proyek itu.

“Jika kondisi keuangan negara terbatas, JICA akan membantu. Lembaga itu tetap menarik membantu RI,” katanya, hari ini.

Menurut dia, pembangunan infrastruktur jembatan dan pengerukan alur pelayaran timur Pelabuhan Tanjung Priok menjadi tugas pemerintah sesuai dengan ketentuan perundang-undangan yang berlaku.

Seperti diketahui, dalam pengumuman lelang pra kualifikasi, pemerintah   mengeluarkan proyek pengerukan alur timur dan jembatan dari paket proyek pembangunan terminal peti kemas di kawasan utara Kalibaru, Pelabuhan Tanjung Priok.

Melalui pemisahan itu, pengerjaan pengerukan alur timur Pelabuhan Tanjung Priok dan jembatan sejauh 700 meter akan menghemat biaya investasi yang harus dikeluarkan investor sebesar Rp2,9 triliun. (arh)

Sumber : Bisnis Indonesia, 13.07.11.

[130711.EN.SEA] Global Port Tracker Expects Autumn Upturn In US Import Container Volume

US IMPORT cargo volume at American major container ports continued flat, but is expected to resume increases in the autumn, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker from the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates.

"With the economy facing continuing challenges, retailers are managing their inventory levels carefully," said NRF vice president Jonathan Gold. "But the increases in import volume expected this fall are a clear sign that retailers are confident consumer demand will be there in the fourth quarter."

US ports surveyed handled 1.28 million TEU in May, the latest month for which numbers are available. That was up six per cent from April and one per cent from May 2010. It was the 18th month in a row to show a year-on-year improvement after December 2009 broke a 28-month streak of year-on-year declines.

June was estimated at 1.31 million TEU, down 0.80 per cent year on year if the estimate holds true when final numbers become available. July is forecast at 1.36 million TEU, which would be a 1.3 per cent decrease from a year ago, and August is forecast at 1.43 million TEU, up 0.60 per cent from last year. 

Stronger increases are expected to return in September as retailers begin to stock up for the holiday season, with volume forecast at 1.47 million TEU, up 10 per cent from last year. October is forecast at 1.53 million TEU, up 18 per cent, and November at 1.41 million TEU, up 19 per cent.

The first half of 2011 is estimated at 7.2 million TEU, up five per cent from the first half of 2010.

"Global Port Tracker has been consistently accurate in its projections of a sharp slowdown from the growth rates of last year, and the current 6.2 per cent growth to 15.7 million TEU forecast for 2011 remains realistic under the circumstances. Imports during 2010 totalled 14.7 million TEU, a 16 per cent increase over 2009," said the NRF statement.

"The low level of inventories-to-sales ratios suggest that import container flows will continue at their suppressed levels for the summer," Hackett Associates founder Ben Hackett said. "On the bright side, there will be no imminent boom or bust in volumes as we experienced in 2007 and 2010."

Global Port Tracker covers the US ports of Long Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle, Tacoma, New York/New Jersey, Hampton Roads, Charleston, Savannah and Houston.

Source : HKSG.

[130711.ID.SEA] INSA Agar Pacu Industri Pelayaran Nasional

JAKARTA:  Kementerian Perhubungan meminta Indonesian National Shipowners’ Association atau INSA dapat berperan strategis dalam mewujudkan industri pelayaran nasional yang tangguh.

Wakil Menteri Perhubungan Bambang Susantono mengatakan peran strategis INSA sebagai mitra strategis pemerintah sangat penting terutama dalam mewujudkan program perberdayaan industri pelayaran nasional.

Menurut dia, industri pelayaran nasional harus dikembangkan menjadi memiliki daya saing sehingga mampu menjadi tuan di negeri sendiri dengan melaksanakan asas cabotage secara konsisten dan mulai menyusun strategi beyond cabotage.

“Pelayaran nasional ke depan agar berperan lebih besar di tingkat global,” katanya ketika dimintai tanggapannya mengenai rapat umum anggota (RUA) INSA yang ke-15 di Jakarta, hari ini.

Seperti diketahui, sejumlah nama mengapung untuk meramaikan bursa pencalonan Ketua Umum INSA periode 2011—2014 pada Rapat Umum Anggota (RUA) yang ke-15 di Jakarta yang akan digelar pada 21—23 Juli 2011.

Mereka adalah Johnson W. Sutjipto, Ketua Umum INSA periode 2008—2011, Carmelita Hartoto yang tercatat sebagai Ketua Komite Tetap Perhubungan Laut Kamar Dagang dan Industri (Kadin) yang juga Direktur Utama PT Andhika Lines.

Kandidat lainnya adalah Lukman Ladjoni, Anggota Bidang Roro dan Penumpang  INSA sekaligus Pemilik PT Surya Bintang Timur, serta Paulis A. Djohan yang tercatat sebagai Ketua Bidang Organisasi dan Keanggota INSA serta Direktur Utama PT Era Indoasia Fortune.

Johnson W. Sutjipto mengatakan  Ketua Umum INSA periode 2011—2014 yang akan datang mendapatkan kehormatan untuk memimpin FASA (Federation of Asean Shipowners’ Association) hingga Desember 2011.

Menurut dia, Indonesia akan menjadi tuan rumah penyelenggaraan acara Annual General Meeting (AGM) ke-39 di Jakarta, pada 9 Desember 2011. “Ini sebuah kehormatan bagi Ketua Umum INSA periode 2011—2014.”

Mengenai kandidat, dia mengatakan dirinya memberikan dukungan kepada semua calon yang akan maju sebagai kandidat dalam RUA Juli ini. “Pemilik kapal sesuai AD/ART INSA memiliki hak dipilih dan memilih,” katanya. (arh)

Sumber : Bisnis Indonesia, 13.07.11.

[120711.EN.SEA] New World Alliance Members Order 14,000-TEUers For The Asia-Europe Trade

SINGAPORE's Neptune Orient Lines' (NOL) container unit, APL, has signed a deal with two South Korean shipyards to build 12 vessels, ten of them, 14,000 TEU ships, five of which will be on three-year charters to Japanese shipping giant and fellow New World Alliance member, MOL.

Separately, MOL has two 8,600-TEU ships from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries on order with delivery expected in 2013. "Along with eight 8,100-TEU ships already in operation, the new vessels will be deployed to Asia-Europe routes," said MOL.

In the NOL batch, the bigger ships will be built by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries as well as two 9,200-TEUers ordered from Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. These ships are destined for the Asia-Europe trade as well.

Said NOL: "Consideration of the charter agreement went into the decision to order the ten 14,000-TEU ships - viewing it as a means of balancing the alliance's capacity contribution, and allowing APL to increase its capacity gradually."

Despite the flexibility offered by smaller 8,000 TEUers, the economics do not add up against the 13,000 TEUers with analysts saying cost differences between a 6,500 TEU and a 13,000 TEU ships are US$250 in favour of the larger vessel, said London's Containerisation International.

Source : HKSG.

[120711.ID.AIR] Bandara Kertajati Butuh Pendanaan APBN

BANDUNG: Bandara Internasional Jawa Barat di Kertajati, Majalengka diproyeksikan dapat dibangun pada 2012 jika pemerintah pusat turut menyokong kebutuhan investasi.

Kepala Dinas Perhubungan Jabar Dicky Saromi menuturkan pemerintah pusat memang sedang mempersiapkan dana pembangunan bandara yang akan dikucurkan melalui Anggaran Pendapatan dan Belanja Negara (APBN) 2012.

“Kami berharap pemerintah pusat benar-benar bisa mengalokasikan dana pembangunan bandara di APBN 2012 supaya bandara itu bisa segera dibangun. Dana tersebut untuk kebutuhan pembangunan sisi udara bandara seperti runway,” katanya hari ini.

Dicky mengemukakan Bandara Kertajati akan memiliki dua jalur runway utama dan satu jalur pendukung dengan panjang landasan masing-masing 3.000—4.000 meter.

Kebutuhan dana untuk pembangunan runway tersebut, kata dia, diperkirakan menelan dana Rp1,5 triliun.
“Kami belum mengetahui rincian skema pendanaan, apakah menggunakan APBN murni atau melalui pinjaman,” katanya.

Dicky mengatakan proses pembangunan sisi udara itu akan paralel dengan pembangunan sisi darat bandara a.l pembangunan terminal dan taxiway.

Untuk proyek pembangunan sisi darat itu, kata dia, Pemprov Jabar mengklaim mampu melaksanakan semua tahapan pembangunan sisi darat bandara, seperti pencarian dana.

Dia mengemukakan hingga saat ini sudah cukup banyak investor yang tertarik untuk ikut dalam pembangunan bandara itu.

Para investor tersebut, kata dia,  dapat diarahkan untuk pembangunan sisi darat bandara yang diproyeksikan menelan dana Rp400 miliar. (arh)

Sumber : Bisnis Indonesia, 11.07.11.

[110711.EN.SEA] America Feeder Lines Revives Halifax-Portland-Boston Loop With 700-TEUer

REVIVING Hapag Lloyd's old Yankee Clipper loop, startup American Feeder Lines (AFL) has set sail from Halifax, Nova Scotia with the 700-TEU AFL New England to begin a service it hopes will one day run along the US eastern seaboard and into the Gulf of Mexico.

AFL plans to focus on heavy containers, weighing more than the legal highway limits and well as reefer boxes, hazardous cargo, which includes many petrochemical products, first going from Halifax to Portland, Maine, then to Boston and back to Halifax in Canada.

"We'll begin with a weekly service," said Rudy Mack, the former Hapag-Lloyd Americas CEO who is the new line's chief executive, adding that it would mostly carry feeder cargo from major carriers.

The chartered vessel was to sail mid-June, but financing has been a problem. AFL continues to seek financing for construction of 10 ships in the 1,300-TEU range. AFL is considering a second ship to be introduced next spring to provide a twice-weekly service.

The Massachusetts Port Authority said the new service will call Tuesdays at Boston's Conley Container Terminal, reported Newark's Journal of Commerce. "The New England-Halifax Shuttle is great news for Boston providing New England shippers with a vital connection to eastern Canada's main transshipment hub," said Massport port director Mike Leone.

AFL chairman and founding partner Percy Pyne said he needed US$750 million to realise his ambitions, and that the company would be profitable in two years. But fellow partner Tobias Koenig said money is hard to find as lenders and investors are wary of unproven business models.

Source : HKSG, 11.07.11.