Florida Shipper articles from October 2008

Florida Shipper archives from October 2008

Michael Roberts rejoins Crowley.
October 3, 2008... Michael Roberts, a well-known and respected Washington, D.C., attorney specializing in legislative and regulatory issues involving the maritime industry, has rejoined Crowley Maritime Corp. as senior vice president and general counsel. He...

Nominate your leaders.
October 6, 2008... Each year Florida Shipper publishes a special report identifying transportation leaders who have made a real difference in the past few years in their industry, their business and their community. We solicit nominations from our readers and...

Cold chain linkage.
October 6, 2008... BYLINE: RICK EYERDAM Specialized reefer shipping seeks consistency The cold chain is a long, colorful subject that only recently is becoming formalized by organizations such as the 360 Quality Association for specialized reefer...

The Ambassador terminal.
October 6, 2008... Ambassador Services at Port Canaveral is the only Florida terminal affiliated with the 360 Quality Association. Founded in 1984 by Jeff Allen and Chris Shuman, Ambassador handles a broad range of bulk and refrigerated cargo and is...

NYKCool secures 8 specialized reefer vessels.
October 6, 2008... NYKCool will strengthen its fleet by purchasing, bareboat chartering and time chartering in eight reefer vessels. "In order to secure long-term tonnage and show our commitment to the specialized reefer shipping industry, I am pleased to...

Mexico suspends exports of meat and poultry to US.
October 6, 2008... Mexico voluntarily suspended shipments of meat and processed poultry to the United States after the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service identified systemic problems with Mexican sanitation controls and...

Four countries remove restrictions on US beef.
October 6, 2008... U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer told a gathering of beef producers in Fargo, N.D., recently that decisions by the governments of Costa Rica, Belize, Qatar and Ghana to allow U.S. beef and beef products from cattle of all ages is a victory...

USDA seeks comments on Chilean citrus proposal.
October 6, 2008... The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service wants to allow sweet oranges and grapefruit grown in Chile to be sold in the continental U.S.  Based on the evidence in a recent pest risk analysis, APHIS...

FDA tackles 'port shopping'.
October 6, 2008... The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a proposed rule designed to reduce a practice known as "port shopping" that the agency says puts the safety of imported food at risk. "This system will make it more difficult for food...

Produce market to relocate in Philadelphia.
October 6, 2008... The Philadelphia Regional Port Authority, the Philadelphia Regional Produce Market and Essington Avenue Partners II, a development affiliate of O'Neill Properties, announced that the Produce Market will relocate to Essington Avenue in...

Continental Airlines accredited for Envirotainers.
October 6, 2008... Continental Airlines Cargo has become the first U.S. airline to be accredited as a qualified Envirotainer provider. Envirotainer said that accreditation under the Qualified Envirotainer Provider Training and Quality program (QEP) is formal...

New security filing rule 'days or weeks' away.
October 6, 2008... Publication of Customs and Border Protection's importer security filing rule known as 10+2 is "a matter of days or weeks" away, Deputy Commissioner Jayson Ahern said in late September. The long-anticipated rule is under review by the White...

Chiquita signs lease at Wilmington, Del.
October 6, 2008... Gov. Ruth Ann Minner recently announced an 11-year, multimillion-dollar land lease between Chiquita Fresh North America (Chiquita) and Diamond State Port Corp. This new 27.6-acre lease will keep Chiquita at the Port of Wilmington and in the...

Big bucks for infrastructure, ports.
October 6, 2008... The U.S. Senate has proposed a $42.2 billion fiscal 2009 appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security, which is $2.4 billion above the Bush administration's budget request. The DHS legislation includes $400 million for the...

Crowley signs lease in San Juan.
October 6, 2008... Crowley Maritime Corp.'s liner services group and the Puerto Rico Port Authority have signed a new lease that will keep Crowley at its Isla Grande terminal for up to 20 years and allow for multimillion-dollar investment by the company in...

Costa Rica may amend CAFTA bill.
October 6, 2008... Rodrigo Arias, Costa Rica's presidency minister, has requested the Legislature to move quickly and amend the last bill required to implement the Central America Free Trade Agreement with the U.S. The controversial bill strengthens...

Hanesbrands to move Honduras business to Vietnam.
October 6, 2008... Apparel giant Hanesbrands Inc. told its investors it plans to close nine plants across five countries and cut about 12 percent of its work force as it restructures its operations in order to cut costs. The moves will eliminate the jobs of...

Crowley buys equipment.
October 6, 2008... Crowley Maritime Corp.'s liner services equipment fleet is continuing to grow this year with the acquisition of $21 million worth of containers, chassis, refrigerated containers, trailers and generator sets. Part of the order - 600 45-foot...

Gulf container exports log double-digit growth.
October 6, 2008... BYLINE: JANET NODAR Imports sag; exports take up slack Containerized exports led the charge during the 12-month period ending on June 30, increasing 17.6 percent in the Gulf region. Imports declined 2.9 percent during the same period,...

DOT proposes Evergreen air service to China.
October 6, 2008... The U.S. Department of Transportation officially proposed to name Evergreen International Airlines as a new all-cargo entrant in the U.S.-China aviation market. If granted final authority, Evergreen will operate six round-trip flights per week...

Tampa Port Authority hires security director.
October 6, 2008... The Tampa Port Authority has hired Mark Dubina to head the port's security operations. Dubina brings more than 25 years of law enforcement experience, investigative expertise and other specialized training to his new position as director of...

Jaxport board elects officers.
October 6, 2008... The board of directors of the Jacksonville Port Authority elected William C. Mason as board chairman. Beginning Oct. 1, 2008, he will assume the role from Ricardo Morales Jr., who will continue to serve as a Jaxport board member. ...

Revenge of the accountants.
October 13, 2008... I was a financial reporter during the so-called savings and loan crisis. I remember watching functioning savings and loans seized by the Office of Thrift Supervision because, overnight, they failed to meet an arbitrary, contrived formula for...

Freeport's grand gamble.
October 13, 2008... BYLINE: RICK EYERDAM Fleming Family Partners plans a new Dubai The Roddie Fleming family, distant relatives of the man who created James Bond, is trying to sell Bahamians a grand plan to turn Grand Bahama Island into the next Dubai or...

The future according to the Flemings.
October 13, 2008... What follows is based on the Flemings' report on its planned redevelopment of Grand Bahama's free port after a purchase of the Grand Bahama Port Authority. In crafting the strategy, the Flemings make the following assumptions about the global...

Roddie Fleming at a glance.
October 13, 2008... Roddie Fleming received his initial training with Cazenove, one of the most prestigious investment houses in London that has roots extending back to 1685. This was followed by a period with Morgan Guaranty in New York, before he joined the...

Costa Rica gets extension on CAFTA.
October 13, 2008... Members of the Central America Free Trade Agreement have agreed to allow Costa Rica three more months to pass the laws the trade pact requires for compliance. Casa Presidencial, the Costa Rican White House, announced the news after...

Panama Canal solicits bids for next phase of expansion.
October 13, 2008... The Panama Canal Authority has released a request for proposals soliciting bids for the third of four dry excavation projects, marking the next phase in the waterway's multibillion-dollar expansion project. The project will help to create...

IDB: Caribbean economies at risk.
October 13, 2008... An executive of the Inter-American Development Bank told a meeting of Caribbean financial officials that Caribbean countries face an unknown but large risk from the economic problems facing the United States. "I think in many ways the...

White House OKs trade benefits for Haiti, Dominican Republic.
October 13, 2008... President Bush has reinstated some trade benefits in the HOPE II Act that permit preferential tariff treatment for certain apparel and other articles originating in Haiti and imported into the U.S. directly from Haiti or the Dominican Republic....

Customs wants industry to help test ACE system.
October 13, 2008... Customs and Border Protection is asking the trade community to participate in an early roll-out of a new automated entry filing system, and industry experts are advising companies to accept the invitation. "It will require a lot of work,...

Tag, you're it!(Company overview)
October 13, 2008... BYLINE: ALAN M. FIELD  As hype fades, RFID's impact grows When radio-frequency identification tags burst onto the scene five years ago, the technology became instantly identified with the "end-to-end" supply chain, from supplier...

Activity slows as clean-trucks plan starts.
October 13, 2008... BYLINE: BILL MONGELLUZZO Truck traffic in Los Angeles-Long Beach was down considerably on Oct. 1, the day the ports launched their clean-trucks programs to reduce pollution in the harbor area. On a positive note, marine terminal...

Martinair expands services.
October 13, 2008... Martinair Americas has launched four new services for perishable cargo. The services, known as Can do Fresh, Can do Fresh Pre-cool, Can do Thermal and Can Do Thermal Pre-cool, are available from Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Miami. They were...

Brazil, Argentina divert from dollar-only trade.
October 13, 2008... Argentine President Cristina Fernandez announced on Oct. 1 that Brazil and Argentina would no longer require bilateral trade to be in U.S. dollars. The change will eliminate bank fees associated with converting local currencies to dollars...

Customs returns to basics on ACE.
October 13, 2008... Customs and Border Protection is regrouping and reprioritizing development of the Automated Commercial Environment, an advisory group to Customs said. Representatives of the Trade Support Network said Customs ordered a review of ACE to...

Ryder extends logistics reach.
October 13, 2008... Ryder System Inc. has reached agreement to acquire Transpacific Container Terminal Ltd. (TCTL), CRSA Logistics Ltd. and the CRSA operations in Hong Kong and Shanghai.  The acquisition is expected to be finalized in late November and is...

Seasons' greeting.
October 20, 2008... Get ready for some new chaos on the docks and for late holiday shipments. By early November, you will be doing additional work to make life easier for the Consumer Product Safety Commission. It is probably not the commission's fault. Congress...

Turn the page.
October 20, 2008... BYLINE: Rick Eyerdam Slow growth is better than no growth At the America's Society and its related Council of the Americas Web site, the resources are exceeded only by the opinions and position papers "uniting opinion-makers to...

Horizon Lines celebrates 50 years of service in Puerto Rico.
October 20, 2008... Horizon Lines Inc. one of the nation's leading domestic ocean shipping and integrated logistics company, celebrated 50 years of service in Puerto Rico in August at an event for customers, vendors, labor leaders, government officials and staff...

Ex-Horizon, Sea Star execs plead guilty to PR price fix.
October 20, 2008... BYLINE: JOSEPH BONNEY Four former executives of Horizon Lines and Sea Star Line have agreed to plead guilty and serve jail sentences for participating in what the Justice Department said was "a wide-ranging conspiracy to rig bids, fix...

Drewry sees bear container market.
October 20, 2008... BYLINE: PETER T. LEACH The strong growth container shipping has enjoyed for five years is shifting into reverse as the credit crunch impacts all the major economies, according to the annual forecast released by Drewry Shipping Consultants....

US box slump continues.
October 20, 2008... BYLINE: BILL MONGELLUZZO The slump in containerized imports is expected to continue for at least the next six months, according to the October Port Tracker published by the National Retail Federation and the economic forecasting firm...

Connaughton draws praise, but prospects are slim for confirmation.
October 20, 2008... BYLINE: R.G. EDMONSON With a record of waking up a dormant Maritime Administration, what could Sean T. Connaughton do as chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission? The White House in September announced President Bush's intention to...

IWS bids to operate Port Everglades examination station.
October 20, 2008... International Warehouse Services has responded to a request from U.S. Customs and Border Protection to operate as a Centralized Examination Station at Port Everglades. IWS is located at 3400 Mclntosh Road in Fort Lauderdale, and plans to...

Port of Tampa gets good financial news.
October 20, 2008... The Tampa Port Authority has retained its "A2" investment-grade rating on $120.3 million of outstanding revenue bonds with a stable outlook, Moody's Investors Service said in an Oct. 6 report. The port authority also received its eighth...

Coast Guard establishes first Cruise Ship Center of Expertise in Miami.
October 20, 2008... The Coast Guard on Sept. 30 established its first Cruise Ship Center of Expertise (COE) in Miami to focus on a specific segment of the maritime industry. The COE will focus on the cruise ship industry, according to Rear Adm. James Watson, Coast...

W&O breaks ground at Port Jax Trade Center.
October 20, 2008... W&O, the nation's largest supplier of marine valves, pipe, fittings, engineered products and valve automation solutions, recently announced that it has broken ground on its new corporate headquarters in Jacksonville. The new corporate W&O...

Airlines slash fuel surcharges.
October 20, 2008... Northwest Airlines and other major airlines announced new cuts in their fuel surcharges as jet fuel prices fell this month to their lowest levels since January. For the week of Oct. 6, spot prices for jet fuel on the U.S. Gulf Coast...

Taiwan, Guatemala vow trade expansion.
October 20, 2008... Guatemala and Taiwan on Oct. 8 agreed to strengthen bilateral ties by expanding trade and increasing exchange visits. President Alvaro Colom of Guatemala while on a four-day visit to Taiwan discussed bilateral relations with President Ma...

Bernuth Line begins rate increase.
October 20, 2008... Effective Oct. 18 , Bernuth Lines will increase general rates as follows: * Southbound shipments from the United States and Anguilla, Barbados, Dominica, Montserrat, Nevis, St. Kitts, and St. Maarten: 20-foot equipment, $250.00 (all...

Ginn backers bolster Gin sur Mer.
October 20, 2008... A senior executive at Ginn Resorts told the Freeport News that, despite reports that the Ginn sur Mer project in Grand Bahama could be affected by the global financial crisis, the project will continue as planned. Ryan Julison, senior vice...

Fears of dengue outbreak cancel carnival in Costa Rica.
October 20, 2008... Those who think of Costa Rica as the eco-paradise of the hemisphere ought to note that Health Minister Mara Luisa Avila shut down Limn's carnival originally set for the Columbus Day weekend because of what she called the "lamentable" state of...

DOT issues Marine Highway rule.
October 20, 2008... The Department of Transportation this month published a rule to launch a short-sea shipping program. The interim rule, published in the Federal Register, formally establishes the Maritime Administration's America's Marine Highway Program. ...

IMO adopts new emission standards for ocean vessels.
October 20, 2008... The International Maritime Organization this month adopted changes to Annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships that will tighten restrictions on vessel air emissions in ports and areas close to shore....

Va. short-sea service to start.
October 20, 2008... The Department of Transportation will support a container-on-barge service between Virginia International Terminal in Norfolk and the Port of Richmond. The James River service is scheduled to start Nov. 3, but David Host, president of T....

Court rules against US in Jones Act shipyard case.
October 20, 2008... A federal court in Virginia has handed the Shipbuilders Council of America its second victory this year in cases it brought against the Coast Guard for allowing major work on Jones Act ships to be done at foreign shipyards. Matthew Paxton,...

Avoiding prophecy.
October 27, 2008... When Eller's owner, Vic Vickers, said he was going to sue two cruise lines and several of their key executives for predatory practices, he had just failed miserably in his run for U.S. Senate in Alaska. We spoke at length about his allegations...

First the good news: Florida's peninsular advantage.
October 27, 2008... BYLINE: DAVID BIEDERMAN AND RICK EYERDAM Rival mainland ports face a crumbling infrastructure Shippers and carriers of breakbulk and heavy-lift cargo using Florida's ports routinely solve the world's most daunting logistics challenges....

Panic in the streets.
October 27, 2008... BYLINE: PETER T. LEACH  Financial crisis has rattled shipping, too The psychology of fear is rolling out across the globe as credit markets seize up, and it's affecting global trade, which has grown at double-digit rates since...

Tougher credit terms seen likely for maritime operations.
October 27, 2008... Ocean Intelligence, a maritime credit risk assessment group, says the worldwide credit crunch likely will make operational credit terms tougher and force shipping companies to be more open in their business and financial conduct. The...

Crisis cools China exports.
October 27, 2008... BYLINE: ALAN FIELD The head of China's Industrial & Commercial Bank said that the current global financial crisis is driving down demand for exports from China, and threatening the country's economic growth. During a trip to New York...

Global crisis could boost Doha talks.
October 27, 2008... British Prime Minister Gordon Brown recently called on leaders to use the global economic crisis as an opportunity to reform the world's financial system, and to conclude long-stalled trade negotiations. Brown said a global economic summit...

Hometown investors buy Hapag-Lloyd from TUI.
October 27, 2008... BYLINE: BRUCE BARNARD After a year of twists and turns, the Hapag-Lloyd saga ended in anti-climax. On Oct. 12, TUI AG issued a short press release announcing the sale of its container shipping unit to a group of investors from Hamburg, the...

ILWU contract a winner for workers.
October 27, 2008... BYLINE: BILL MONGELLUZZO Terminal operators will be able to improve productivity When the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union agreed on a new six-year contract, some employers were...

'Common sense' will govern enforcement of Lacey Act.
October 27, 2008... BYLINE: R.G. EDMONSON Federal officials from five agencies recently told a meeting of importers that they would take a common-sense approach to implementing new provisions of the Lacey Act aimed at stopping the illegal harvesting and...

Made-in-USA exports continue to rise.
October 27, 2008... U.S. manufactured exports in August were up 15 percent over August 2007, and for the first eight months of the year they are up 16 percent over the same period last year, according to the National Association of Manufacturers. Manufactured...

Panama Canal signs for $2.3 billion financing package.
October 27, 2008... Agencies from Europe, Asia and Latin America will finance $2.3 billion of the $5.25 billion expansion of the Panama Canal, Panamanian President Martin Torrijos announced recently. The final financing structure follows months of extensive...

Laparkan expands barrel trade to wider Caribbean.
October 27, 2008... Miami-based Laparkan Trading Co., which has been a major factor in the barrel trade shipping to the larger Caribbean countries, including Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago Barbados, the Dominican Republic and Guyana, has announced an expansion to...

TSA expands aircraft security rules.
October 27, 2008... The Transportation Safety Administration has proposed rulemaking that it said "would reduce the susceptibility of large aircraft to misuse by individuals wishing to harm the United States and its citizens." In a release, the TSA said the...

Caribbean problems under discussion.
October 27, 2008... Caribbean Central American Action announced recently that the implications of the financial crisis in the U.S. for the countries of the Caribbean Basin will be an underlying theme at this year's Miami Conference on the Caribbean and Central...

IDB approves $6 billion for Caribbean Basin nations.
October 27, 2008... The Inter-American Development Bank has approved a credit of $6 billion for countries in Central America and the Caribbean to help them remain liquid amid the expanded recession. The IDB, the initiative seeks to avoid a "systematic crisis"...

UN extends Haiti protection.
October 27, 2008... The Security Council of the United Nations has extended the mandate of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti for another year and at the same time called for a donor conference to aid the impoverished, denuded and lawless nation. The move...

Miami River dredging completed.
October 27, 2008... After 20 years of discussion and delays, the Miami River, the lifeline to Haiti and the poorest parts of the Caribbean, has been cleared of sludge and sediment and its depth increased to about 15 feet. The five-year, $88 million project...