Company shorts - 01 Dec. 11 German commercial bank HSH Nordbank, specialized in shipping finance, has posted a €224 million loss for the nine months of 2011, after making a special payment of €500 million to its main shareholders, as requested by the European Commission. Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and cargo-handling operator Terminaux de Normandie (TN) are to provide funding for a new container terminal at the French port of Le Havre. The new €160 million investment with an annual capacity of four million teu will be open to traffic by 2013. Belfast Harbour in Northern Ireland has awarded a US$77.5 million contract to Farrans (Construction) to build an offshore wind installation and pre-assembly terminal. The Sri Lanka Ports Authority has secured about US$1 billion investment, in addition to $800 million approved by the government for a new port in Hambantota. The outlook for shipping and port traffic looks grim after almost four years of declining import volumes at the Republic of Ireland's ports, reported by the Irish Maritime Development Office. Credit ratings agency Moody's could downgrade the debt ratings for the Japanese companies Nippon Yusen Kaisha and Mitsui OSK Lines, following a decline in their recent results. Sources: Lloyd's List; International Freighting Weekly; 01 December 2011 |
World trade slowdown in 2012 Global trade is set to grow by 4.8 per cent in 2012, and then to pick up by 7.1 per cent in 2013, according to the latest forecast issued by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The euro area sovereign debt crisis has spread out to several countries and OECD says they will face stagnation next year, but OECD countries could see a 1.6 per cent growth in 2012, slowing from 1.9 per cent this year. Meanwhile, emerging economies are expected to expand at a moderate pace, with China's economy predicted to grow 8.5 per cent in 2012 and 9.5 per cent the following year. Source: Lloyd's List; 30 November 2011 |
Zim seeks solutions for losses Israeli container line Zim Integrated Shipping Services is to be restructured for the second time in two years after posting a US$66 million third-quarter loss. Weak rates and higher bunker prices have damaged the company's revenue which dropped eight per cent to $973 million from $1.1 billion in the third quarter of 2010, although volumes have increased by 8.3 per cent to 646,000 teu. Ofer Group, the main shareholder of Zim with more than 99 per cent shares, is prepared to inject $100 million into the troubled carrier. Zim is also seeking partners for a possible merger in order to compete with major carriers. Source: International Freighting Weekly; 30 November 2011 |
Shipping lines reconsider box business Malaysia's shipping line MISC is to exit the container market in the near future after reporting a US$789 million loss in the last three years. MISC plans to sell 16 containerships that it owns and to return 14 chartered-in vessels to their owners or sub-lease them. Last year, it pulled out of the Asia-Europe routes. MISC, in which the Malaysian state-owned oil company Petronas is a majority shareholder, says it wants to focus on energy transport. Chile's giant Compañía Sud Americana de Vapores (CSAV) has rejected rumors that it planned to dispose of its container business. CSAV said it was looking for strategic partners, but decided to split the port and terminal operation business, currently operated by its subsidiary Sudamericana Agencias Aéreas y Marítimas, from the cargo shipping. Source: Lloyd's List; 30 November 2011 |
Services cut and rate restoration on Asia-Europe trades Danish shipping giant Maersk Line and China's Orient Overseas (International) Ltd (OOIL) have unveiled capacity withdrawals from their Asia to Europe services. Both lines have blamed euro crisis and low demand for the deteriorating trades. Maersk Line is to merge some of its services and create feeder services, whilst OOIL has reduced its Asia-Europe capacity by 20 per cent. Other carriers, such as French line CMA CGM and South Korea's Hanjin Shipping, have announced surcharges for routes to Europe. Last week, freight rates for Asia services to Europe have hit new lows on both the Shanghai Containerised Freight Index and World Container Index Source: Lloyd's List; 30 November 2011 |