CMA-CGM ADJUSTS EASTERN AFRICAN ROUTE, MOGADISHU, SOMALIA NOW INCLUDED IN NOURA EXPRESS

In a continued effort to provide increased reliability and quality services in a challenging environment, CMA CGM will reorganize its services connecting India Middle East Gulf to East Africa strategic markets.

Starting mid July 2016, NOURA EXPRESS and SWAHILI services new configuration will provide significant improvements: Positive developments for reefer cargo from Port Victoria direct to India and to Europe with a weekly frequency instead of fortnightly.

Improved service reliability to Mogadishu from Mundra with direct service in 18 days instead of in transhipment, very fast transit time from Jebel Ali to Port Victoria in 18 days.

NOURA EXPRESS service operated with 4 vessels of 2,200 TEU will stop Salalah call and add in its port coverage Mundra and Port Victoria. Effective m/v MARIE DELMAS voy. 1339WS Mundra ETA July 24th, 2016, and as from m/v CMA CGM LATOUR voy. 1299WS Port Victoria on July 31st, 2016.

NOURA EXPRESS service new port coverage will be the following: Mundra - Khor Fakkan - Jebel Ali - Mombasa - Mogadishu - Port Victoria - Mundra.

SWAHILI service operated with 6 vessels up to 2,700 TEU linking India Middle East Gulf to Tanzania will be revised in order to respond better to customers’ need for service punctuality.

Very challenging operation conditions in Zanzibar with heavy port congestion has negatively impacted our scheduling. To restore Swahili service reliability, Mundra and Port Victoria calls are transferred on to Noura Express which has sufficient buffer time.

SWAHILI service new port rotation is effective with m/v DELMAS KETA voy. 1192SS Nhava Sheva ETA July 21st, 2016, as follows: Nhava Sheva - Khor Fakkan - Jebel Ali - Longoni - Dar Es Salaam - Zanzibar - Nacala (fortnightly) - Nhava Sheva 

CMA-CGM ADJUSTS EASTERN AFRICAN ROUTE, MOGADISHU, SOMALIA NOW INCLUDED IN NOURA EXPRESS

In a continued effort to provide increased reliability and quality services in a challenging environment, CMA CGM will reorganize its services connecting India Middle East Gulf to East Africa strategic markets.

Starting mid July 2016, NOURA EXPRESS and SWAHILI services new configuration will provide significant improvements: Positive developments for reefer cargo from Port Victoria direct to India and to Europe with a weekly frequency instead of fortnightly.

Improved service reliability to Mogadishu from Mundra with direct service in 18 days instead of in transhipment, very fast transit time from Jebel Ali to Port Victoria in 18 days.

NOURA EXPRESS service operated with 4 vessels of 2,200 TEU will stop Salalah call and add in its port coverage Mundra and Port Victoria. Effective m/v MARIE DELMAS voy. 1339WS Mundra ETA July 24th, 2016, and as from m/v CMA CGM LATOUR voy. 1299WS Port Victoria on July 31st, 2016.

NOURA EXPRESS service new port coverage will be the following: Mundra - Khor Fakkan - Jebel Ali - Mombasa - Mogadishu - Port Victoria - Mundra.

SWAHILI service operated with 6 vessels up to 2,700 TEU linking India Middle East Gulf to Tanzania will be revised in order to respond better to customers’ need for service punctuality.

Very challenging operation conditions in Zanzibar with heavy port congestion has negatively impacted our scheduling. To restore Swahili service reliability, Mundra and Port Victoria calls are transferred on to Noura Express which has sufficient buffer time.

SWAHILI service new port rotation is effective with m/v DELMAS KETA voy. 1192SS Nhava Sheva ETA July 21st, 2016, as follows: Nhava Sheva - Khor Fakkan - Jebel Ali - Longoni - Dar Es Salaam - Zanzibar - Nacala (fortnightly) - Nhava Sheva 

CMA-CGM ADJUSTS EASTERN AFRICAN ROUTE, MOGADISHU, SOMALIA NOW INCLUDED IN NOURA EXPRESS

In a continued effort to provide increased reliability and quality services in a challenging environment, CMA CGM will reorganize its services connecting India Middle East Gulf to East Africa strategic markets.

Starting mid July 2016, NOURA EXPRESS and SWAHILI services new configuration will provide significant improvements: Positive developments for reefer cargo from Port Victoria direct to India and to Europe with a weekly frequency instead of fortnightly.

Improved service reliability to Mogadishu from Mundra with direct service in 18 days instead of in transhipment, very fast transit time from Jebel Ali to Port Victoria in 18 days.

NOURA EXPRESS service operated with 4 vessels of 2,200 TEU will stop Salalah call and add in its port coverage Mundra and Port Victoria. Effective m/v MARIE DELMAS voy. 1339WS Mundra ETA July 24th, 2016, and as from m/v CMA CGM LATOUR voy. 1299WS Port Victoria on July 31st, 2016.

NOURA EXPRESS service new port coverage will be the following: Mundra - Khor Fakkan - Jebel Ali - Mombasa - Mogadishu - Port Victoria - Mundra.

SWAHILI service operated with 6 vessels up to 2,700 TEU linking India Middle East Gulf to Tanzania will be revised in order to respond better to customers’ need for service punctuality.

Very challenging operation conditions in Zanzibar with heavy port congestion has negatively impacted our scheduling. To restore Swahili service reliability, Mundra and Port Victoria calls are transferred on to Noura Express which has sufficient buffer time.

SWAHILI service new port rotation is effective with m/v DELMAS KETA voy. 1192SS Nhava Sheva ETA July 21st, 2016, as follows: Nhava Sheva - Khor Fakkan - Jebel Ali - Longoni - Dar Es Salaam - Zanzibar - Nacala (fortnightly) - Nhava Sheva 

CMA-CGM ADJUSTS EASTERN AFRICAN ROUTE, MOGADISHU, SOMALIA NOW INCLUDED IN NOURA EXPRESS

In a continued effort to provide increased reliability and quality services in a challenging environment, CMA CGM will reorganize its services connecting India Middle East Gulf to East Africa strategic markets.

Starting mid July 2016, NOURA EXPRESS and SWAHILI services new configuration will provide significant improvements: Positive developments for reefer cargo from Port Victoria direct to India and to Europe with a weekly frequency instead of fortnightly.

Improved service reliability to Mogadishu from Mundra with direct service in 18 days instead of in transhipment, very fast transit time from Jebel Ali to Port Victoria in 18 days.

NOURA EXPRESS service operated with 4 vessels of 2,200 TEU will stop Salalah call and add in its port coverage Mundra and Port Victoria. Effective m/v MARIE DELMAS voy. 1339WS Mundra ETA July 24th, 2016, and as from m/v CMA CGM LATOUR voy. 1299WS Port Victoria on July 31st, 2016.

NOURA EXPRESS service new port coverage will be the following: Mundra - Khor Fakkan - Jebel Ali - Mombasa - Mogadishu - Port Victoria - Mundra.

SWAHILI service operated with 6 vessels up to 2,700 TEU linking India Middle East Gulf to Tanzania will be revised in order to respond better to customers’ need for service punctuality.

Very challenging operation conditions in Zanzibar with heavy port congestion has negatively impacted our scheduling. To restore Swahili service reliability, Mundra and Port Victoria calls are transferred on to Noura Express which has sufficient buffer time.

SWAHILI service new port rotation is effective with m/v DELMAS KETA voy. 1192SS Nhava Sheva ETA July 21st, 2016, as follows: Nhava Sheva - Khor Fakkan - Jebel Ali - Longoni - Dar Es Salaam - Zanzibar - Nacala (fortnightly) - Nhava Sheva 

KENYA REPORTS CARGO INCREASE AT MOMBASA PORT

Cargo traffic through Kenya's biggest port, Mombasa, increased by 1.4 percent in the first half of this year compared with the same period last year, the port's managing director said on Monday. 

The Indian Ocean port serves as the main trade gateway for East Africa, handling fuel and consumer goods imports as well as exports of tea and coffee from landlocked nations like Uganda. 

Managing Director Catherine Mturi said cargo volume rose to 13.4 million tonnes from 13.2 million handled a year earlier. Total volume rose despite container traffic falling by 0.6 percent to 527,523 TEUs (twenty foot equivalent units) thanks to an increase in loose cargo not shipped by container such as grains and railway steel bars. 

"This is below the expected global average growth rate of four percent per annum, but with the expansion and improved efficiency currently, we should do much better by end of the year and beyond," Mturi said in the statement. 

Early this month Kenya inaugurated the first part of a new container terminal at the port, which is expected to boost capacity by 50 percent. 

The port's management says it has reduced the time it takes to evacuate a container from the port by a day to 4.3 days, and the time it takes to load and offload a ship to three days from 3.7 days previously. The east African nation plans to build a second port in Lamu, north of Mombasa, with a capacity of 23 million tonnes per year.

KENYA COMMISSIONS A NEW $296.74 M CONTAINER TERMINAL

Kenya Commissions Terminal at Mombasa Port

Kenya on Saturday inaugurated the first part of a new container terminal at Mombasa which is expected to boost by 50 percent the volume of cargo handled by East Africa's largest seaport. Construction of the 30 billion shilling ($296.74 million)terminal began in March 2012 and was completed in February this year. The project was financed by a loan from Japan through the Japan International cooperation agency (JICA), and Kenya will repay the loan over a 40-year period.

A gateway to East and Central Africa, the Indian Ocean port funnels imports of fuel and consumer goods as well as exports of tea and coffee from landlocked neighbours such as Uganda and Rwanda.

President Uhuru Kenyatta, who opened the facility, said the terminal heralded "a whole new era in the development of our ports and facilitation of the region's international trade". A bigger cargo capacity for Mombasa was crucial because of the discovery of oil and gas in the region, he said.

British explorer Tullow Oil and partner Africa Oil discovered oil in Lokichar in northwest Kenya in 2012. Recoverable reserves are an estimated 750 million barrels of crude and commercial production is expected to commence in 2017. Uganda also has confirmed crude reserves while Kenya's other neighbour Tanzania has huge gas discoveries.

The new terminal can handle 550,000 twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs) per year and will ramp up Mombasa's existing annual cargo handling capacity from 1.05 million TEUs to 1.6 million TEUs.

"In five years' time, we expect to have hit 2.5 million TEUs after completing the second phase," Kenya's finance minister, Henry Rotich, said.

He added the country had already signed an agreement with JICA for credit worth 32 billion shillings to fund construction of the new terminal's second part. 1 = 101.1000 Kenyan shillings) 

SOMALIA OPENS A NEW CONTAINER TERMINAL IN MOGADISHU PORT, SOMALIA

The Somalia Government has opened a New Container Terminal at Mogadishu Port in effort to make Mogadishu port once again, a preferred key gateway to the Indian Ocean Countries in the International Trade of the region.

The Port is already under heavy restructuring and Maintenance by the Turkish Government Agency and A host of Shipping Companies that has made it now served by Major Shipping Lines Like CMA-CGM and MSC Among other NVOCC's.

The Scope of the agreement entered with the Somalia Government in the Mogadishu Port Infrastructure covers stacking and handling of full import and export containers to / from port of Mogadishu, empty containers storage and any additional services required for reefer and dry container, as well as chilled cargoes.

In second phase, Mogadishu Port Terminal further plans to develop a Logistics Centre comprising of a warehouse to store loose cargoes from sea and air freight and a cold store for perishable cargoes to develop and improve exports of Somali fruit, fish and meat to various parts of the world.

African Shipping Line already operates Container Liner Agency at Mogadishu Port, Somalia.

DP WORLD EXPANSION INTO SOMALIA PORT OF BERBERA

Summary: DP World of Dubai has agreed to manage the Somalia'sPort of Berbera, In Somaliland, 

A Break Away Federal Part of Somalia, in a landmark deal this month that opens a new point of access to the Red Sea and gives the global ports operator an alternative hub to Djibouti in the Horn of Africa. Under the terms of the concession agreement, according to a person who has seen the document, Somaliland will grant the Dubai-based company the right to manage the Red Sea Port of Berbera for 30 years.

DP World said Sunday that it agreed to the port-management deal earlier this month in Dubai. Under the term sheet —a nonbinding agreement that serves as a precursor to a more formal deal—the company is to set up a joint venture to manage and invest in the port. DP World put a $442 million value on the project, but said it would be a phased investment and depended on port volumes.

The term sheet—which calls for DP World to pay $5 million a year plus 10% on port revenue to Somalia—is a breakthrough in developing access to the sea for landlocked Ethiopia, the region’s largest economy, which until now solely relies on the Port of Djibouti for its exports.

DP World will control 65% of the joint venture and five of seven board seats, with the rest going to Somaliland, an enclave of Somalia, according to the term sheet, Reports says.

It is the biggest single investment agreement in breakaway Somaliland Federal State—and treats the northern Somali region as ade facto independent nation, a position Somalia rejects. The U.N. doesn’t acknowledge Somaliland as independent, and it isn’t recognized by any other country in the world.

Other investment agreements in Somaliland have included fisheries and offshore oil-exploration licenses, but they have mostly been acquired for small sums or on the promise of job creation and development.

A free-trade zone was also planned to support the development of trade through Berbera, DP World said.

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, DP World’s chairman and chief executive, portrayed the port as a future magnet for shipping to East Africa that would spur regional economic growth.

“Investment in this natural deep-water port will attract more shipping lines to East Africa and its modernization will act as a catalyst for the growth of the country and the region’s economy,” he said.

AFRICAN SHIPPING LINE offers Ship and Container Agency at Berbera Port

The ambitions of Dubai, which is a part of the United Arab Emirates, in the Horn of Africa have run into trouble over the past year. The country left an air base it was leasing in Djibouti after a dispute with the government there—opting to lease another base in Assab in neighboring Eritrea, a remote state under U.N. sanctions for supporting armed groups in neighboring Somalia.

“Berbera represents a pragmatic compromise, providing a friendly corridor for Ethiopian markets while signaling that Djibouti—though by far the most developed gateway to the Horn of Africa—will no longer enjoy a de facto monopoly over trade with the region’s landlocked markets,” Reports say

Another driver for the Berbera deal might be a long-running dispute surrounding DP World’s port in Djibouti, the largest container terminal in Africa. The Djibouti government accused DP World in 2014 of paying bribes to the former head of its ports authority, Abdourahman Boreh, to secure a concession to operate the Doraleh Container Terminal in 2000. Djibouti revoked DP World’s 20-year concession and launched an arbitration case in London.

DP World has denied the allegations, and a U.K. court found in March that Mr. Boreh didn’t take bribes. DP World has continued to manage the port as the legal proceedings continue.

COSCO & CHINA SHIPPING LINE MERGER DONE

China’s two state shipping giants have combined their container-shipping assets among other restructuring efforts, as part of a multi billion-dollar merger to strengthen the nation’s competitiveness in an industry battered by weak demand and persistent overcapacity.

China’s State Cabinet on Friday approved the merger between China Ocean Shipping (Group) Co., or Cosco Group, and China Shipping (Group) Co., according to statement posted on the website of China’s state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, ending years of speculation among analysts that the government would ultimately combine the two groups to boost efficiency.China Cosco Holdings Co. said in an exchange filling that it plans to consolidate the container-shipping operations with its state-backed rival China Shipping Container Lines Co. through acquiring a total of 33 container-shipping related units and affiliates from CSCL for 1.14 billion yuan ($177 million) and leasing its container ships.Meanwhile, the Hong Kong and Shanghai-listed flagship of Cosco Group plans to sell all its dry-bulk shipping businesses to its state parent for 6.77 billion yuan.China Shipping Development Co., the oil-and-bulk-shipping unit of China Shipping Group, also plans to buy the oil shipping business from China Cosco Group, it said.x
x

The asset restructuring also covers the two groups’ ports and oil-tanker-shipping operations. Cosco Pacific Ltd., the Hong Kong-listed port-operating arm of Cosco Group will pay 7.63 billion yuan to buy the port-operating business of China Shipping (Group) Co. Cosco Pacific also plans to sell its container leasing business—Florens Container Holdings Ltd.—to a unit of China Shipping Container Lines Co. for 7.78 billion yuan.

KENYA'S AMBITIOUS USD 290 MILLION SECOND CONTAINER TERMINAL BEGINS

Kenya Ports Authority has begun operations at the new Sh29 billion second container terminal, setting pace for the port's new cargo handling capacity.

Container vessel MV Busan Trader, with a length overall of 210 metres docked at berth 21 on Monday, becoming the first vessel at the terminal. KPA public relations manager Bernard Osero said the ship was expected to complete discharging 934 containers yesterday, and load a similar number on her return voyage.

Kenya's Transport and Infrastructure Permanent secretary Irungu Nyakera said the facility “should be put into maximum use to enhance efficiency in cargo handling”. The first phase of the terminal, which has an annual capacity of 550,000 TEUs, was handed over to KPA in February, boosting the port’s container handling capacity by 50 per cent.

It has increased total terminal capacity at the Port of Mombasa to 1.55 million TEU’s from 1.1 million. The first phase comprises berths number 20 and 21 measuring 250 metres and 300 metres, with an additional small berth.

Maersk Line, MSC, African Shipping Line, CMA-CGM, Emirates Shipping Lines all operate from Mombasa Port.

COSCO SHIPING CORPORATION DEAL WITH VALE (BRAZIL)

The newly-created shipping major China COSCO Shipping Corporation COSCOCS has penned a 27-year agreement with Brazilian miner Vale that will see the Chinese shipping giant transport 16 million tons of iron ore for Vale on annual basis, the Chinese company said.

The deal has been signed earlier today in Beijing and marks the first major deal COSCOCS has signed since its formal launching. The agreement was signed by Ye Weilong, E.V.P of China COSCO Shipping, and Luiz Meriz, Executive Manager for Shipping and Iron Ore Marketing  of Vale.

“The signing of the agreement marks the commencement of a new chapter of the cooperation between the two companies,” a statement from China COSCO Shipping reads.

COSCOCS was officially launched in Shanghai on 18 February, following a merger between China Shipping and Cosco, thus becoming the world’s largest dry bulk and tanker owner and fourth on global scale with respect to its container fleet.

NEW SERVICES ROUTES : TURKEY -AFRICA & INDIA - AFRICA SERVICE

AFRICA SHIPPING LINE is introducing 2 New Feeder Services Covering Africa/Red Sea Ports, Turkey Ports, Arabia and Indian Ports Services Routes:

DUMMO SERVICE : CONNECTING DUBAI - MUMBAI - MOGADISHU

DUMMO

TURKSOM SERVICE : CONNECTING TURKEY - DJIBOUTI - MOGADISHU

TURKSOM

For More Information, Please email: info@ashline.net or Visit our Contacts Page

NEW SERVICES ROUTES : TURKEY -AFRICA & INDIA - AFRICA SERVICE

AFRICA SHIPPING LINE is introducing 2 New Feeder Services Covering Africa/Red Sea Ports, Turkey Ports, Arabia and Indian Ports Services Routes:

DUMMO SERVICE : CONNECTING DUBAI - MUMBAI - MOGADISHU

DUMMO

TURKSOM SERVICE : CONNECTING TURKEY - DJIBOUTI - MOGADISHU

TURKSOM

For More Information, Please email: info@ashline.net or Visit our Contacts Page

NEW SERVICES ROUTES : TURKEY -AFRICA & INDIA - AFRICA SERVICE

AFRICA SHIPPING LINE is introducing 2 New Feeder Services Covering Africa/Red Sea Ports, Turkey Ports, Arabia and Indian Ports Services Routes:

DUMMO SERVICE : CONNECTING DUBAI - MUMBAI - MOGADISHU

DUMMO

TURKSOM SERVICE : CONNECTING TURKEY - DJIBOUTI - MOGADISHU

TURKSOM

For More Information, Please email: info@ashline.net or Visit our Contacts Page

CHINA AFRICAN SHIPPING LINE COMPANY - ASLINE -CHINA

从中国到非洲港口的运输包括 沃尔维斯湾（纳米比亚） POINTE NOIRE（刚果） 拉格斯（APAPA） TINCAN（尼日利亚） 罗安达（安哥拉） DOUALA（喀麦隆） 德班（S.Africa） COTONOU（贝宁） 利伯维尔（加蓬） CABINDA（安哥拉） LOBITO（安哥拉） BOMA（刚果） 香蕉（刚果） PORT GENTIL（加蓬） MATADI（刚果） ONNE（尼日利亚） TEMA（加纳）LOME（多哥） 纳米贝（安哥拉） 达喀尔（塞内加尔） BATA / MALABO（几内亚） CONAKRY（几内亚） NOUAKCHOTT（毛里塔尼亚） BANJUL（冈比亚） ABIDJAN象牙海岸 FREETOWN塞拉利昂 蒙罗维亚（利比里亚） MOMBASA 摩加迪沙 桑给巴尔 DAR ES SALAAM 纳卡拉 TANGA通过达累斯萨拉姆 Pointe des Galets（留尼汪岛 路易港（毛里求斯） 塔马塔夫（马达加斯加） 维多利亚港塞舌尔群岛 Longoni（直接） 莫罗尼和Mutsamudu（通过Longoni Diego Suarez，Nossi Be，Majunga， 贝拉，马普托，Quelimane，奔巴（通过德班）

CHINA SHIPPING CONTAINER LINES (COSCO) NEW MARITIME SILK ROUTES

AFRICAN SHIPPING LINE -CHINA
 info@ashline.net
+971508976941/+254726722226

 Recently and according to the director of China’s State Oceanic Administration, China has big plans for the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (MSR) in 2016. Xinhua cited SOA chief Wang Hong as saying that China will advance the MSR with an action plan this year. Wang also spoke of establishing “a China-ASEAN maritime cooperation center and a platform to boost maritime cooperation in East Asia,” according to Xinhua.

Logistics investors in Asia have been weighing the relative effects of a slowdown in Chinese export trade, the changing composition of Chinese demand, and the potential trade boost from the new Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). 

But at the same time, a fundamental transformation of Asian economic structure, trade relations and policy has been taking place – one that could have a far-reaching impact on the flow of goods and on the infrastructure that connects producers and consumers from the South China Sea to the Mediterranean.

The ‘one belt, one road’ strategy, announced in 2013, aims to bring back China’s historic land and sea trade routes, in the form of the so-called 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and the Silk Road Economic Belt.

Already China Shipping Container Lines Company (CSCL) announced the official launching of its services in the Republic of Georgia through the event “New Maritime Silk Road in Georgia”, hosted at Tbilisi Marriott Hotel on 2nd of December, 2015. 

Meanwhile, just recently, The Greek port of Piraeus emerged under OBOR as China’s new gateway into the EU, creating a shorter link between Southeast Asian production and consumer markets in Europe and Central Asia via the Silk Road maritime corridor across the Indian Ocean and Suez Canal. OBOR is a massive programme and embodies China’s most vital strategic goals, according to a paper by the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS). Since first investing in the port in 2009, China Overseas Shipping Company (COSCO) and its subsidiaries have obtained a contract extension to 35 years, built or rebuilt two terminals, and added modern cranes enabling the port to ramp up annual volume five-fold, from 700,000 standard 20ft containers to 3.6m.

In September, COSCO led a joint venture with two other Chinese state-owned enterprises that invested $940m to buy 65% of a logistics terminal in the Turkish port of Ambarli, on the European side of the Marmara Sea. COSCO is one of three bidders for a 51% stake in Piraeus, most of the Greek government’s 67% share. A decision was expected in late October.

Thailand is also receiving investment in its transport and logistics from OBOR. China is moving to create a network connecting Kunming, the capital of southwest China’s industrialised Yunnan province, and an economic bloc including Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, called CLMV. China Railway Construction Corporation will participate in building a rail line running more than 840km from Kunming to Bangkok and ports on Thailand’s coast.

Through this service extensions, China Shipping intends to support It's Containerized goods directly from it's Factories to the Middle East and Africa and to Increase, facilitate activities of the international commerce.

China Shipping was founded in 1997, has its headquarters in Shanghai, China and is listed on both Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges. The company offers a diverse range of container transportation and supporting services all over the world. Following 18 years of developing, China Shipping has more than 100 branches overseas, more than 540 container vessels deadweight over 36 million tones. 

CSCL is a global container liner service provider affiliated to China Shipping Group currently having a global transportation network with more than 80 international, domestic and feeder service routes serving 180 ports across 60 countries. GNS Georgia was nominated by China Shipping as the sub-agent of the carrier China Shipping Container Lines Co. Ltd. in Georgia. 

African Shipping Line covers many of those ports in the China Silk Ports on The Indian Ocean including Mombasa, Mogadishu, Berbera, Djibouti (Doraleh Port), Salalah, Jebel Ali, Karachi, Mumbai and Colombo Ports. We also have Agency Offices in China Guangzhou, Shenzhen 

NYK, MOL, EUKOR & WILHEMSEN IN NEW FINES BY CHINA

• Nippon Yusen, Mitsui OSK, Kawasaki Kisen among those indicted
• Move follows similar investigations in Europe and Japan

China fined eight shipping lines 407 million yuan ($63 million) in total after finding them responsible for price collusion in the transportation of vehicles and heavy machinery.

Japan’s Nippon Yusen KK, Mitsui OSK lines, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha and Eastern Car Liner Ltd., Korea’s Eukor Car Carriers Inc., Norway’s Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics AS, Chile’s Cia. Sud Americana de Vapores SA and its shipping line were the eight indicted after a year-long investigation, the National Development and Reform Commission said in a statement on its website Monday. The companies acknowledge wrongdoing, the top Chinese economic planning agency said.

The probe follows similar investigations by the European Union in 2013 and Japan’s Fair Trade Commission. Japanese regulators raided the offices of five shipping lines in 2013 over allegations they discussed raising rates together for transporting cars, and imposed fines on Nippon Yusen and Kawasaki Kisen in January 2014. AP Moeller-Maersk A/S, CMA CGM SA and MSC Mediterranean Shipping Co. were among companies in the European Union probe.

Companies’ Actions

Eukor will accept the Chinese decision and pay a fine of 284.7 million yuan, the company said in a statement on its website. The company also has implemented a competition law compliance program and corrective measures including antitrust compliance training, it said.

Eastern Car Liner "will execute what was directed immediately," said Yoshihisa Inmasu, the general manager of its general affairs department. The company will undertake stricter and more detailed legal compliance measures. Kawasaki Kisen is restructuring to carry out compliance, said spokesman Masaya Futakuchi.

Nippon Yusen has fully cooperated with the investigation by the Chinese agency and consequently received an immunity from the fine, the Japanese company said in a statement. A Mitsui OSK spokesman declined to comment.

Calls to the Shanghai and Hong Kong offices of CSAV group and Wallenius’s Asia Pacific media representative Bianca Himmelsbach weren’t immediately answered. Rainer Horne, a spokesman for Hapag-Lloyd AG, didn’t immediately respond to an e-mail sent outside regular German business hours. Hapag-Lloyd agreed last year to buy most of CSAV’s assets and become the fourth-largest container shipping company in the world.

The China investigation focused on Mitsui OSK, Kawasaki Kisen and Nippon Yusen because they controlled the bulk of the Chinese market, Bloomberg News reported in July, citing a person familiar with the matter. The person asked not to be identified because the investigation hadn’t been made public then.

In the European investigation, the EU drafted a possible deal with the companies that would spare them any immediate fines, people familiar with the case said.

BUSAN, HONGKONG, NINGBO BIGGEST PORTS IN ASIA REGION

Asia’s ports of Busan, Hong Kong and Ningbo have kept their lead in Container operation turnaround efficiency as they required shorter waiting times at anchorages as compared to the rest of top 10 container ports from around the world for October, the latest analysis from IHS Maritime&Trade shows. The analysis was based on a review of the navigation records of 4,703 full cellular container carriers, greater than 500 TEU (Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit). Even though waiting times at anchorages cannot perfectly reflect conditions of port congestion, average waiting hours per ship (AWT) serves as a useful indicator on ship turnaround efficiency at ports.

In Asia-Pacific, the top 4 ports in September held their same positions in October in terms of the total number of sailings. Singapore remains the world’s busiest port for sea-going containers. In the top 10 group, average waiting time (AWT) at Shanghai main ports, Kaohsiung and Qingdao, saw their waiting times increase that of others. Asian ports Hong Kong and Port Klang recorded increased traffic where the traffic they received increased 6.7% and 5.7%, respectively, the analysis shows.

South China’s ports Shekou, Mawan and Shantou received 10% and 20% more callings, respectively, compared to last month. Direct Berth Rates (DBR) of ports in Shenzhen like Shekou, Chiwan and Mawan and Guangzhou decreased 40% to 60% and their AWT correspondingly increased by 3 to 5 hours.

The review finds that Indonesian ports saw more containers traded with 20% and 13.2% more container ships calling at Tanjung Priok and Tanjung Perak. The other two smaller ports Belawan and Makassar each had more than 20% ships visited as well. The DBR of these four ports all improved, however, with the AWT of Tanjung Perak and Belawan at 8.3 and 6.1 hours, respectively.

Japan in general had less container trades in October, notably the Kawasaki ships seeing a reduction of 6.25%. Consequently, Japan’s DBR for its ports all increased except in Kobe.

Traffic to Laem Chabang in Thailand slumped 37%, which pushed its DBR to 54%.

In the Philippines, the daytime truck ban caused severe road congestion in Manila and caused its ports’ AWT jumped to 22.4 hours. This figure now matches that of Jawaharlal Nehru, India, where shipping traffic is still depressed and suffers from severe port congestion.

In the United States, congestion caused by labour shortages continues to be a drag on Oakland’s performance with its port AWT hitting 20.5 hours during the October month. The West Coast is also getting hit with longer waiting times with disruptions by ongoing lorry drivers’ strikes with Los Angeles experiencing a 10-hour increment in AWT to 16.1 hours, while Long Beach saw an increment of 9.4 hours to 23.6 hours.

Shipping volumes to both Spanish ports Algeciras and Valencia rose to more than 5% each. Algeciras’s AWT lowered by half to 8.5 hours, and also saw a noticeable drop in its DBR.

Compared to last month, 3.25% more ships called at Bremerhaven in Germany, which saw its AWT slightly decreased to 9.2 hours and its DBR increased 5.59%. Meanwhile the port performance at Hamburg remained flat at 9.38%, while there was increased traffic to the Ambarli port in Turkey. Felixstowe in UK increased its DBR to 72%.

Container shipping to the East Port Said, Egypt, dramatically declined by almost half, but its AWT still held above 10 hours. South African port Durban had 14.61% more traffic and its DBR increased 12.44%. African Shipping Lines operates from Shanghai, Ningbo and Nansha ports in China Direct to Mombasa, Dar Es Salaam, Mogadishu and Djibouti Ports.

In the Middle East, weather conditions were a concern for port operations in Salalah, Oman, with 7% more traffic up in October and the AWT lengthened to 24 hours. Vancouver in Canada recorded 7.81% less traffic and its DBR reached 53%. More ships called to all 4 major ports in Brazil and the volume at a country level grew to about 20%.

SWISS SHIPPING LINE RORO SERVICE TO WEST AFRICA

Lebanon-headquartered Swiss Shipping Line and Jacksonville-based Africa Car Carrier have formed a joint venture company in an effort to to strengthen their RoRo services in the U.S.

The new company, operating under the name of Blue Alliance Shipping, will combine resources and experience of the two founding companies to offer RoRo services on the U.S. East Coast. Blue Alliance Shipping’s main destination remains the west coast of Africa, with other destinations in the Mediterranean and Middle East to follow.

Next to the usual cargo handling from terminal up to delivery on quay at destination, Blue Alliance will offer real time cargo tracking. The company expects its first sailing to be by the end of this month on the Swallow Ace – V714.

SOMALIA PIRACY NO MORE

The News is: Somalia Piracy is no Longer a Threat.

The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) is out with its statistics for maritime piracy in 2015, and says there is sharp decline in the number of Somalia piracy attacks in recent years and this is a good sign for the Shipping Industry. 

The big driver of this trend is the decline off the piracy at the coast of Somalia. The IMB reports that atleast no Piracy happened in 2015 in the coast of Somalia attributing the drop to a number of factors, including “the key role of international navies, the hardening of vessels, the use of private armed security teams, and the stabilizing influence of Somalia’s central government.”

This was happening as E.U. Chair for the Contact Group of Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS) was reported to have revised and reduced territories it deemed to be High Risk Areas (HRA) for piracy in the Indian Ocean. The revision will take effect on December 1 and reflects a decline of piracy in the region.

The revision might also reduce operating and insurance costs for vessel operators transiting the region. The HRA has previously covered most of India’s western coast and triggered increases in insurance rates that have led to a rise costs. About 70 percent of India’s international trade is by sea and about 40 percent of India’s $7 trillion GDP is generated through international trade.

The HRA was extended to India’s west coast in 2010, which brought the entire Indian Ocean into an exclusion zone. The HRA extension of the Indian Ocean meant the exclusion from annual war risk cover increased premiums for ship operators. The standard war risk insurance charge covered normal operations.

In response to rising surge of piracy in the region, the EU, China, Russia and the U.S. amongst other nations sent warships to protect the commercial shipping lanes. The increased military presence led to a steep drop in piracy. In January 2014, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and International Maritime Bureau (IMB) reported that piracy in the Indian Ocean 40 percent since 2011.

http://www.ashline.net/index.htm

Many Shipping Lines have already established their offices including African Shipping Line Somalia which operates as Liner Agents.