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May 30, 2011
AUSTRALIA's four big container ports - Brisbane, Fremantle, Melbourne and Sydney - face a seven-day dock strike, as the union resumes cancelled work stoppages on Thursday May 26, which were first threatened in April but cancelled at the last moment. "Our terminals will grind to a halt," said Patrick Terminals director Paul Garaty. "This will have a huge impact on Australian importers and exporters, hurting small businesses, Australian farmers and the transport industry reliant on containers to make a living." Limited stoppages lasting 24 to 48 hours at the targeted Patrick facilities resumed earlier this month and now the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) says it plans "an unlimited number of bans on transfers of any type including but not limited to transfers from ship to ship, transfers from ship to yard, transfers from yard to ship, interport transfers and intraport transfers," said the union. The MUA says talks over a new labour agreement have now taken eight months and while Patrick Terminals has "improved its offer" the company has yet to address safety and training issues raised by the union, reported London's Containerization International. Patrick says the pending action will stop the movement of 50 per cent of Australia's container trade affecting 32 ships and 35,000 containers.
Shenzhen volume up 23pc, remains world's fourth busiest container port SHENZHEN, one of China's busiest ports, saw its container throughput in 2010 hit a record high of 22.51 million TEU, a 23.34 per cent increase over 2009, according to the Transport Commission of Shenzhen Municipality, Xinhua reports. The 770,000 TEU increase was the highest on record and marks the eighth straight year as the world's fourth busiest port. In 2010, some 24,353 international container lines operated at the port, and its overseas container throughput accounted for 75 per cent of the total. As of the end of 2010, Shenzhen Port offered 230 international container routes, 46 more than in 2009, offering services to more than 300 ports in over 100 countries and regions. Shenzhen Port expected that it will achieve the annual target of 230 million tonnes in cargo throughput and 23.5 million TEU in container throughput this year.
In a Federal Register notice published May 20, 2011 the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) implemented a final rule revising the Commerce Control List (CCL), which is used to identify goods subject to Department of Commerce export controls, to account for recent changes to the Wassenaar List. The Wassenaar List is maintained by governments participating in the Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies (WA). With 40 current member countries, including the United States, the WA "advocates implementation of effective export controls on strategic items with the objective of improving regional and international security and stability." During the December 2010 WA Plenary Meeting a number of changes to the Wassenaar List were made. Per the notice, "To harmonize the CCL with the changes made to the Wassenaar List at the Plenary, this rule amends entries on the CCL that are controlled for national security reasons in Categories 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Parts I & II, 6, 7, 8, and 9, revises reporting requirements, and adds and amends definitions in the EAR." The changes to the CCL were effective May 20, 2011. The full text of the Federal Register notice can be accessed online at:
Tons News, for current and past issues of Tons News by E-mail request from tonsnews@tonslogistics.com or call (310) 338-0337. ________________________________________ Tons News is compiled from a number of public sources that, to the best of Tons knowledge, are true and correct. It is our intent to present only accurate information. However, in the event any information contained herein is erroneous, Tons accepts no liability or responsibility. |