Gulf Shipper articles from November 2008

Gulf Shipper archives from November 2008

How long, how low?
November 3, 2008... With most economists and analysts forecasting a deep recession ahead for the transportation industry, the question on everyone's mind is how deep and wide will this downturn become before it bottoms out. The new president who will be...

Despite storms and economy Gulf ro-ro still rolling.
November 3, 2008... BYLINE: PAUL T. ROSYNSKY Given the economic crisis in the U.S. and a devastating hurricane that ripped through Texas earlier this year, it would be easy to believe that most shipping industries along the Gulf Coast are struggling. ...

Ro-ro room needed.
November 3, 2008... BYLINE: BILL DIBENEDETTO Carriers jockey for room to expand The issue of tight capacity that's dogging roll-on, roll-off carriers at sea is also a problem for them on the ground. Most U.S. ports are struggling to find space to handle...

Drewry's Page: Project, heavy-lift markets on solid ground.
November 3, 2008... The project and heavy-lift sectors of the breakbulk shipping industry will fare much better during the current global economic crisis than either the bulk or the container sectors. Even if breakbulk shipments of such commodities as steel...

Tougher credit terms likely for maritime operations.
November 3, 2008... According to Ocean Intelligence, a maritime credit risk assessment group, 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. ...

DOT issues marine highway rule.
November 3, 2008... The Department of Transportation last 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. ...

Massive infrastructure investment needed, BNSF's Rose says.
November 3, 2008... The national transport system won't be adequate to handle U.S. freight or passenger needs by 2020 unless the country can invest $225 billion a year just to expand the highway alone to match the expanding population. That's the message...

International Shipholding expects profit growth in third quarter.(Financial report)
November 3, 2008... International Shipholding Corp., a holding company for a group of breakbulk, bulk and roll-on, roll-off carriers, forecast net income to increase to about $11 million to $11.5 million in the third quarter. It said the results to Sept. 30...

TWIC cards pile up:.
November 3, 2008... BYLINE: JEANETTE VALENTINE Deadline clock winds down As many as 30,000 Transportation Worker Identification Credentials sit unclaimed in Gulf of Mexico-area enrollment centers, even as deadlines for possessing the biometric security...

Port of Tampa gets good financial news.
November 3, 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...

Port of Beaumont and SVA Logistics announce partnership.
November 3, 2008... The Port of Beaumont and Texas-based SVA Logistics have formed an alliance that will allow port customers to request shipping rates and arrange for transportation through a direct link with SVA Logistics on the port's Web site. SVA...

Semons wins cruise.
November 3, 2008... Raffle raises $500 for Rebuilding Together New Orleans Barbara Semons, a Houston-based sales executive with Dachser Transport of America, won a Galveston-Cozemel luxury cruise on the Carnival Ecstasy during Port Night New Orleans, the final...

China's bubble.
November 10, 2008... Barely three months ago, China was on top of the world with its Olympic dazzle in Beijing. Whether the Summer Olympics will become China's pinnacle in global esteem remains a question. As the U.S. and EU economies spiral into recession,...

The reality of recovery: Raising the stakes, and the port.
November 10, 2008... BYLINE: Janet Nodar Gulfport makes radical plans for the future It's been a little more than three years since Hurricane Katrina hammered the Gulf Coast and the Port of Gulfport. The storm destroyed the port's 700,000 square feet of...

Thanks, but no thanks.
November 10, 2008... BYLINE: ARI NATTER DOT economist sees proposed stimulus package 'inefficient' for creating jobs Democratic leaders stand ready to send billions of dollars flowing to transportation infrastructure projects around the country, but the...

Robert Buckley, ex-shipping executive, dies.
November 10, 2008... Robert M. Buckley, former president and senior partner at SS&Y/TTT Ship Agency Corp. and chairman of the National Cargo Bureau, died last month in Ponte Vedra, Fla., after a long illness. He was 79. Buckley rose through the ranks at...

Kornegay named 2008 Maritime Person of the Year.
November 10, 2008... The Greater Houston Port Bureau and the Marine Exchange of the West Gulf have chosen Tom Kornegay, executive director of the Port of Houston Authority, to be their 2008 Maritime Person of the Year. He will be honored at a gala event scheduled...

LaGrange named to Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Advisory Council.
November 10, 2008... Port of New Orleans President and Chief Executive Gary LaGrange was recently named to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Advisory Council on Trade and Transportation. Members are responsible for providing advice, insight and industry...

Report: Changes threaten intermodal route.
November 10, 2008... BYLINE: PETER T. LEACH After years of dominating the United States maritime trade, the intermodal route connecting the major West Coast ports with interior regions is coming under threat, according to a logistics white paper published by...

Zeppelin arrives at Port of Beaumont.
November 10, 2008... A helium-filled Zeppelin was discharged from Combi Lift vessel Combi Dock II at the Port of Beaumont's ro-ro dock last month. The Zeppelin will be used for tourist sight-seeing and as a billboard on the U.S. West Coast. James J. Flanagan...

Intermarine lowers bunker surcharge and takes delivery of new vessel.
November 10, 2008... Intermarine, the agent for Industrial Maritime Carriers and West Coast Industrial Express, has lowered bunker surcharges for the north, east and west coasts of South America, as well as Mexico and the Caribbean, effective Nov. 20. New charges...

When opportunity beckons.
November 17, 2008... During these dizzying times of softening cargo demand in and out of the U.S. and Europe, U.S. companies that spent the past handful of years going global may well thank their lucky stars for taking such great risks. U.S. shipping companies...

The only woman in the room:.
November 17, 2008... BYLINE: Janet Nodar Despite substantial progress, industry women can still face surprise and skepticism Most people, male or female, have to prove themselves on the job, demonstrating their depth of knowledge, their professionalism and...

Women in the maritime industry:.
November 17, 2008... BYLINE: JEANNE M. GRASSO Breaking through the barriers of perception Growing up in a predominantly male family with an abundance of male cousins, I learned at an early age how to work efficiently and effectively with men. I realized...

Pilot left unlicensed apprentice in charge in July oil spill.
November 17, 2008... Towboat pilot Terry Carver and four witnesses from DRD Towing, the Harvey company that employed him, refused to testify in a Coast Guard investigation of an oil spill that shut down traffic on the lower Mississippi River for several days last...

No blues at Mobile.
November 17, 2008... BYLINE: PETER T. LEACH AND JANET NODAR CMA CGM to call at new Mobile Container Terminal CMA CGM's Pex 3 service will begin calling at the Port of Mobile's new container terminal on Dec. 26 with the arrival of the 5,000-TEU Orca. Frank...

Corpus Christi courts potential buyers for cold storage facility.
November 17, 2008... Two unnamed U.S. companies are interested in buying or leasing the Port of Corpus Christi's refrigerated warehouse, according to the city's Caller-Times newspaper. Michael Perez, the port's director of business development, told the...

Chiquita signs two-decade agreement with Gulfport.
November 17, 2008... Chiquita Brands, which has imported bananas into the Port of Gulfport since the mid-1960s, has signed an agreement to continue to serve the port for the next 20 years. Gulfport ranks third among Gulf ports in container cargo volume....

Security rules keep seafarers from shore leave.
November 17, 2008... Adolf Adrion, chairman and chief executive of Hapag-Lloyd, recalls his days as an able seaman with nostalgia. In those days, young men went to sea to see the world, as well as to earn a living. Times have changed. "Unlike in my day when we had...

Winds of change.
November 24, 2008... The sentiment here and abroad is of an overwhelming desire to see the new U.S. administration take office tomorrow. While nothing can expedite the inauguration of the new regime, there's a high level of speculation about what winds of change...

Going with the grain.
November 24, 2008... BYLINE: JANET NODAR Despite market turmoil, Gulf exports are healthy What a difference a year makes. Last winter, commodity prices and bulk freight rates were sky-high, demand seemed infinite and bulk vessel owners and operators were...

Peak container traffic is lowest in four years.
November 24, 2008... Cargo volume at the nation's major container ports decreased again in October, and 2008 is now expected to be the slowest year for box traffic since 2004, according to the latest Port Tracker report by the National Retail Federation and...

Groups line up for stimulus money.
November 24, 2008... BYLINE: ARI NATTER For months, Democratic leaders in Congress have been calling for infrastructure projects to be a major part of an economic stimulus package. Now comes the hard part - divvying up what could be hundreds of billions of...

Profit plummets at Wilh. Wilhelmsen.(Financial report)
November 24, 2008... Wilh. Wilhelmsen, the world's largest auto logistics and roll-on, roll-off  shipping company, and part owner of Wallenius Wilhelmsen, reported third-quarter earnings down more than 50 percent from a year ago but revenue growth on higher...

Liberty Shipping sues ISC.
November 24, 2008... BYLINE: PETER T. LEACH Liberty Shipping Group, which has been trying to acquire In-ternational Shipholding Corp., has filed a complaint against ISC and its directors in the Court of Chancery of the state of Delaware. Liberty Shipping...

Genco cancels vessel orders.
November 24, 2008... Dry bulk carrier Genco Shipping & Trading said it is canceling a deal to purchase six new dry bulk vessels and will take a related charge of $54 million in the fourth quarter. Genco had previously agreed to acquire these vessels, all to be...

Feeling the pinch: Chinese banks slamming the door shut.
November 24, 2008... BYLINE: PETER T. LEACH U.S. exporters hurt when buyers in developing markets can't get credit The credit crunch is starting to hit U.S. exporters, especially smaller ones. Already squeezed by their bankers' reluctance to provide trade...

Florida ports brace for economic challenges.
November 24, 2008... Port Manatee and the Port of Tampa may have to tighten their belts as they weather the ongoing economic turmoil, according to Florida Shipper, a sister publication of Gulf Shipper. Port Authority Chairman Joe McClash told those attending a...

City council debates Pensacola's future.
November 24, 2008... The Pensacola City Council, which oversees the Port of Pensacola, is divided over whether the port should remain an industrial report or gradually shift to a mixed-use facility, according to the Pensacola New Journal.  Three years...