U.N.: Maritime security not seaworthy

Tue May 25, 2004
The JOURNAL of COMMERCE ONLINE

Fewer than 6 percent of the world's seaports and ships adhere to United Nations rules aimed at preventing terrorist attacks, the head of the U.N.'s maritime agency said Tuesday.

The U.N.'s International Maritime Organization said it would begin enforcing the International Ship and Port Security code when it takes effect July 1, which could disrupt shipping.

"Ships will be detained," said Efthimios Mitropoulos, the agency's secretary general. "There will be disruption."

The code, adopted after the Sept. 11 attacks to protect ports and vessels from terrorism, requires port staff and ships' crews to conduct regular anti-terror drills, restrict the number of weapons and visitors aboard vessels and have attack contingency measures in place.

Commercial vessels are also required to submit security plans to the maritime agency.

Mitropoulos said only 301 of about 5,500 port facilities comply with the security code.

"The situation is not as rosy as it should be," he said, adding that the agency also has accepted only 1,933 security plans out of 12,283 submitted by commercial vessels.

He stressed the deadline won't be extended.

"Shipping handles 90 percent of the world's trade. If anything should happen, half the world would starve," he said.

Washington and Singapore have warned of possible port attacks by so-called "floating bombs" -- ships rigged to explode.

Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network is blamed for the October 2000 attack that killed 17 U.S. servicemen on the USS Cole in Yemen, and the bombing two years later of the French tanker Limburg, which killed one person.

Mitropoulos was on a two-day visit to Singapore to watch an anti-terror exercise in the port, one of the world's busiest. The U.S. Coast Guard and China's maritime authorities also observed Tuesday's simulated terror attack on a container ship in Singapore.

Mitropoulos said he welcomed any proposal to secure the busy Straits of Malacca, a link between oil and trading hubs in the Middle East, Europe and Asia. He said any measures must be made in consultation with nearby countries.

Both Malaysia and Indonesia have rejected any outside patrolling help, particularly from the United States.

Singapore already complies with the security code. The country's Maritime and Ports Authority says it will turn away noncompliant ships.

OOCL deploys 'largest' containership in trans-Pacific

Mon May 17, 2004
The JOURNAL of COMMERCE ONLINE

Orient Overseas Container Line recently named the OOCL Ningbo -- calling it the world's largest containership - at its namesake port in China.

The vessel, built by Samsung Heavy Industries, has a declared capacity of 8,063 TEUs, is 1,056 feet long, and is 140 feet wide, enough for 17 containers.

OOCL said in a media release that the new-generation SX-class vessel includes environmentally-friendly features such as a specially designed hull which allows it consume less fuel while maintaining a cruising speed of 25 knots. The vessel is also designed to burn cleaner, low sulphur fuel.

The port of Ningbo moved 2.76 million TEUs in 2003, up 48.6 percent the previous year, and is China's fifth-largest port. It has been a regular call for OOCL on its trans-Pacific, Asia-Europe and intra-Asia services.

The vessel will be deployed in the Grand Alliance fleet serving customers in the trans-Pacific Super Shuttle Express.

Taiwan plans major inland container port

Wed May 12, 2004    By P.T. Bangsberg
The JOURNAL of COMMERCE ONLINE

Taiwan will develop the inland Port of Taipei to handle ocean-going container vessels and eliminate transshipping through other ports.

The NT$20 billion ($600 million) project, to be constructed by a private consortium on a build-operate-transfer basis, will add seven container terminals on the site of a former bulk-only, 270-acre site with seven piers aggregating over 7,000 feet. The first is due to be operating in 2008 and the rest by 2014.

"A significant feature of the port lies in its 16-meter (52-foot) draft, which allows it to accept ships carrying over 10,000 TEUs," said Lin Shing-san, chairman of Taipei Port Container Terminal Corp., which is undertaking the project.

Taiwan authorities intend to create a modern international port based on existing infrastructure at Taipei in a three-stage process. The container terminal is part of the second phase.

The new port will enable ships to load and unload directly, and bypass the port of Keelung to the northeast and the main Port of Kaohsiung in the far south.

"In the past, 1 million to 1.4 million TEUs with the final destination of northern Taiwan were unloaded at Kaohsiung because Keelung was unable to accommodate all the traffic," said a Taipei port official.

He forecast that with all seven container terminals in operation, Taipei would be able to accommodate significantly more than the 1.4 million TEUs of northbound cargo now transshipped via Kaohsiung. Taipei's new facilities could also take over some of the 1.9 million TEUs now routed through Keelung, the official said.

By 2014, Taipei expects to handle upwards of 2 million TEUs.

Keelung Harbor Bureau director Wang Chung-hsiung acknowledged that its facilities can't be expanded in line with growing demand. "In the future, Taipei will most likely service larger vessels from the U.S. or Europe, while Keelung port will service smaller vessels from countries closer to Taiwan," Wang said.

Taipei Port Container Terminal was established last year, and includes Evergreen Marine Corp., Yangming Marine Transport Corp., the island's two leading lines, and Wan Hai Lines Ltd.

China foreign trade to reach $1 trillion: report

Thu May 6, 2004
The JOURNAL of COMMERCE ONLINE

China's foreign trade this year is forecast to reach $1 trillion, up 17 percent from a year ago, according to a report by the Ministry of Commerce and the International Trade Economic Cooperation Institution.

The report predicted that China's exports will reach $505 billion, up 15 percent while imports total $495 billion, an increase of 20 percent from 2003.

The report said that there is room for further expansion of exports, as the world economy continues to gather momentum. The World Trade Organization estimated that world trade volume will grow 7.5 percent in 2004, up about three percent from the previous year.

However, the report said trade could be complicated by currency fluctuations, high oil prices, and the threat of terrorism. Higher prices for raw materials will lag exports to some extent.

China has been taking steps to temper its soaring growth, which has strained global supplies of raw materials and vessel availability.

In the first quarter of this year, China reported $239.8 billion in foreign trade, up 38.2 percent over the year-ago period. Exports totaled $115.7 billion, up 34.1 percent, and imports reached $124.1 billion, up 42.3 percent.