Summary for November 12 - November 16, 2007:
Monday, November 12, 2007Criminal probe in Bay Area oil spillFEDERAL investigators have begun a criminal investigation into the oil spill caused by the containership Cosco Busan hitting a San Francisco Bay Bridge tower Nov 7 and ripping a gash in its fuel tank. There was no structural damage to the bridge, but 58,000 gal of heavy bunker fuel leaked into the San Francisco Bay, fouling miles of coastline, forcing the closure of nearly two dozen beaches and piers, and killing dozens of seabirds. Crew members of the Cosco Busan will be allowed to leave after federal investigators complete interviews that started Sunday, said Capt. William Uberti, the US Coast Guard commander for the San Francisco Bay region. The National Transportation Safety Board has also started its own investigation. Meanwhile, the head of the Coast Guard defended his agency’s response to the spill while pledging a full and transparent investigation. “On the surface it would appear that we did everything by the book in this case as far as responding,” Commandant Adm. Thad Allen said while en route from Washington, DC, to San Francisco to survey the damage. Web site: US Coast Guard UPS lists new rates, names new directorUPS Nov 9 announced new list rates for 2008, including “an average 4.9% increase for UPS ground and ground hundredweight shipments and a net average increase of 4.9% on all air express and US-origin international shipments.” The increase for air express and international shipments is based on a 6.9% increase in the base rate, less a 2% reduction in the current fuel surcharge, according to the company. The new rates will take effect Dec 31, 2007. The company also announced Nov 8 that the recently retired chief financial officer of Unilever, Rudy Markham, has been named to the Board of Directors of UPS. Markham, 61, will serve on the board until the next UPS annual shareowners’ meeting in May 2008, at which time he is expected to stand for election to a regular one-year term, according to UPS. In other business, the Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.42/share on all outstanding Class A and Class B shares. “UPS has either increased or maintained its dividend every year for more than three decades,” said UPS. Web site: OSHA Maritime group to hold open meetingThe US Dept. of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced it is holding an open meeting of the Maritime Advisory Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (MACOSH) and its workgroups in Washington, DC, on Nov 27 and 28, 2007. The 15-person committee advises the Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA on issues relating to occupational safety and health in maritime industries. The committee has five workgroups: health, longshoring, cranes and falls, shipyards, and outreach and safety culture. Some of the topics for discussion include radiation exposure at maritime terminals from cargo screening devices; traffic safety guidance; ro-ro cargo guidance; cargo lashing safety; working over water from aerial work platforms; and recommendations of the National Transportation Safety Board. Other topics include non–English speaking employee issues; updating the OSHA Training Institute shipyards and longshoring courses; the new maritime outreach training course; and OSHA’s maritime alliance on the 10-hour and 30-hour outreach courses. For information about this meeting, contact Joseph V. Daddura, acting director, Office of Maritime, US Dept. of Labor, OSHA, Room N-3609, 200 Constitution Ave NW, Washington, DC, 20210; (202) 693-2086. Web site: Occupational Safety and Health Administration <<<•>>> Tuesday, November 13, 2007 Black Sea storm: on-going catastropheSIX SAILORS are confirmed dead after their ships sank between the Black and Azov seas Nov 11, according to the Russian news agency Novosti. Five sailors were still missing in Russian waters and 15 more in Ukrainian waters after the storm battered the northeastern corner of the Black Sea, sinking a tanker and at least four freighters and causing what some officials warned is an “environmental disaster.” Hundreds of Russian soldiers were deployed Nov 13 in an effort to contain and clean up an estimated 2,000-tonne oil spill in environmentally sensitive waters. Thick fuel oil deposits clogged beaches around Port Kavkaz, a commercial hub some 750 miles south of Moscow that was the area worst affected by the high winds. Regional governor Alexander Tkachyov estimated 30,000 birds had died. The storm is continuing in the Kerch Strait, which links the Black Sea with the much smaller Sea of Azov. Officials in Russia say high winds are hampering search-and-rescue and clean-up efforts. Russian prosecutors say they are investigating whether the ships’ captains ignored warnings of the approaching storm. Black Sea storm: on-going catastropheSIX SAILORS are confirmed dead after their ships sank between the Black and Azov seas Nov 11, according to the Russian news agency Novosti. Five sailors were still missing in Russian waters and 15 more in Ukrainian waters after the storm battered the northeastern corner of the Black Sea, sinking a tanker and at least four freighters and causing what some officials warned is an “environmental disaster.” Hundreds of Russian soldiers were deployed Nov 13 in an effort to contain and clean up an estimated 2,000-tonne oil spill in environmentally sensitive waters. Thick fuel oil deposits clogged beaches around Port Kavkaz, a commercial hub some 750 miles south of Moscow that was the area worst affected by the high winds. Regional governor Alexander Tkachyov estimated 30,000 birds had died. The storm is continuing in the Kerch Strait, which links the Black Sea with the much smaller Sea of Azov. Officials in Russia say high winds are hampering search-and-rescue and clean-up efforts. Russian prosecutors say they are investigating whether the ships’ captains ignored warnings of the approaching storm. <<<•>>>Wednesday, November 14, 2007 Protesters attempt military cargo blockadeAbout 50 Iraq war protesters were arrested Tuesday evening, Nov 13, as they attempted to prevent military convoys from moving cargo from the Port of Olympia to Fort Lewis, WA, police said. Police wearing riot gear shot pepper-spray bullets into a crowd of more than 150 protesters attempting to block the military convoys. Several convoys eventually moved out. Demonstrators also poured cement over railroad tracks at the port in an unsuccessful attempt to halt trains, but port personnel removed the cement and no arrests were made for that part of the protest, according to port officials. Those who were arrested were held on a transit bus under police guard. There also were reports of unrest downtown, where windows at a bank were shattered. The demonstration was coordinated by the Olympia Port Militarization Resistance, police Lt. James Costa said. Demonstrators began their protests last week, after the USNS Brittin arrived at the port and began unloading equipment that had been used in Iraq by the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) from Fort Lewis. Web site: Fort Lewis TNWA cuts winter capacityThe New World Alliance (TNWA) carriers — APL, Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM), and Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) — Nov 13 announced their winter capacity plans for the trans-Pacific trade. “In the face of an unprecedented rise in operating costs – particularly for fuel — TNWA has made the prudent business decision to withdraw more capacity and earlier than in previous years,” said TNWA. In addition to an immediate winter reduction of around 10%, TNWA will from early December also withdraw a further 5% to 10% of its joint capacity in the trans-Pacific. The withdrawal may also run longer than in past years, according to the organization. TNWA anticipates that it will have plenty of capacity to meet demand for cargo transportation services in the trans-Pacific during this winter season. Service will “continue to be provided at all existing port locations,” said TNWA. The carriers did not rule out future additional network adjustments. TNWA member lines serve more than 40 ports using in excess of 100 containerships in the major East-West container trades, according to the organization. Tacoma, Olympia to continue cargo studyA SIX-MONTH extension of an interlocal agreement between the ports of Tacoma and Olympia, WA, was unanimously approved Nov 13 by Olympia port commissioners. The commissioners voted 3-0 to continue studying a plan to build a cargo transfer facility in Maytown. Opponents of the project, known as Friends of Rocky Prairie, had lobbied the commission to allow the agreement to lapse at the original expiration date, the end of this year. Port officials said they needed the extra months to complete their market and site studies of the Maytown plan. The Port of Tacoma owns a 745-acre prairie where the project could be built. The development site is near a state nature preserve and Millersylvania State Park. The Port of Tacoma has agreed to conduct an environmental-impact statement to assess possible threats to the environment and lifestyle in the rural area. Opponents object to the possibility of using the site to transfer garbage from trucks to trains on the way to landfills. Commissioner Paul Telford said, “Extending the agreement doesn’t do anything except give us more time. Talking about things is a world apart from getting things done.” Web sites: Port of Tacoma Port of Olympia <<•>>>Thursday, November 15, 2007 TSA shippers add fuel surchargesTHE TRANSPACIFIC Stabilization Agreement (TSA) container carrier group, representing 14 shipping firms that sail from Asia to US ports, Nov 15 said in a statement that they will immediately impose fuel surcharges to offset surging oil prices. The TSA said new contracts starting from 2008 will also be subjected to the floating surcharge, which for the month of November range from $545 per TEU up to $860 per 45-ft container. “We’re in a global market of nearly $100/bbl for crude oil and over $500 a tonne for bunker fuel — up from $295 at the beginning of 2007,” TSA Chairman and Neptune Orient Lines CEO Ronald Widdows said in the statement. The TSA said its members estimate a gap of more than $5bn between marine bunker fuel expenses from February 2006 through August 2007 and the total fuel surcharges they collected for that same period. “There is no possible scenario under which container lines, with 50% of their operating costs per sailing tied up in fuel, can lock in a fuel surcharge for a year without hemorrhaging money,” Widdows said. Web site: Transpacific Stabilization Agreement German rail strike biggest in historyGERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel’s administration is calling on German state-owned railway Deutsche Bahn AG and the striking train drivers’ union GDL to return to the negotiating table, government spokesman Thomas Steg said Nov 14 at a press conference. The same day, German train drivers began a new strike on freight services, scheduled to last 62 hours. A 42-hour strike last week affected about 90% of German freight services and cost the economy millions of euros, according to press reports. Passenger train drivers are expected to join in the strike Nov 15. The government said it feared the strike could have a dramatic impact on Europe’s biggest economy and made an urgent appeal to GDL and Deutsche Bahn to return to the negotiating table. Deutsche Bahn Boardmember Norbert Bensel said the strike was costing the operator 50mn euros a day. Bensel said Deutsche Bahn was standing firm in its refusal to grant the drivers either a pay rise above the 10% it has offered or a separate contract from other rail workers. APL unveils 53-ft ocean boxesTHE FIRST 53-ft ocean-capable containers from shipping line APL rolled off the assembly line and were loaded onto the vessel APL Philippines Nov 12 for their initial voyage across the Pacific. The carrier also announced a name for the new product: Ocean53. Major retailers are snapping up the containers to take advantage of “big-box economics” on the trans-Pacific trade from Asia to the US, said APL. “We took the first order of 53-ft containers from our manufacturer in China and immediately put them to work,” said Bob Sappio, senior VP of the trans-Pacific trade at APL. “There’s a long list of shippers waiting for these boxes.” APL last month introduced the world’s first 53-ft containers designed specifically for deep-sea containership transport. According to APL, 53-ft containers could become the transport method of choice for customers moving cargo to inland US destinations. The bigger boxes have 60% more capacity than standard 40-ft containers They’re “built to withstand the rigors of deep-sea ocean containership transport,” unlike 53-ft boxes already in use for US domestic-oriented truck, rail, and barge transport, according to APL. Web site: <<<•>>>Friday, November 16, 2007 California board targets oil spillCALIFORNIA Treasurer Bill Lockyer has announced that the state’s Pooled Money Investment Board has authorized a loan of up to $54.9mn to clean a major oil spill in San Francisco Bay. Some 58,000 gallons of fuel oil poured into the bay Nov. 7 after the container ship Cosco Busan sideswiped the protective barrier around one of the suspension towers of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in early morning fog. In the aftermath, pollution from the spill has spread around the bay and into the Pacific Ocean outside the Golden Gate, contaminating beaches, covering birds in oil, and prompting a ban on most fishing. Money from the loan approved by the investment board, which is chaired by Lockyer, will be used only if the responsible party is unable to provide enough money, and sufficient federal funds are unavailable or won’t be available quickly enough. Lockyer supported a successful state bill this year to clarify the board’s authority to make such loans. Existing law authorized the imposition of a uniform oil spill response fee on distributors, pipeline operators, refiners, and marine terminal operators to provide up to $54mn to the state’s oil spill response trust fund. This year’s bill clarified the treasurer’s authority to issue bonds backed by the response fee, said Tom Dresslar, Lockyer’s spokesman. If the investment board loan is needed, it will be repaid with proceeds from that fee, or if necessary using bonds secured by the fee, Dresslar said. California orders harbor boats to install cleaner enginesCalifornia took a pioneering step toward cleaner air Nov 16, requiring that certain high-polluting harbor craft - ferries, excursion boats, tugs and tow boats - be fitted with cleaner engines within the next 2-8 years. Air Resources Board officials believe California is the first state to adopt such a measure for harbor boats, which typically employ high-polluting diesel engines. Although the four types of boats to be regulated account for only about 15% of the state's 4,200 harbor craft, they represent about 50% of harmful emissions, according to the air board. The new rule does not apply to recreational boats or oceangoing vessels. Regulators said the rules will cut harmful diesel soot and some smog-forming emissions by 40-50% by 2015. The board estimates that about 90 premature deaths are associated with commercial harbor craft emissions each year in California. Ferry operators in the Bay Area seemed generally supportive, or at least accepting, of the new rule, while operators of excursion craft and tug boats complained of the burdensome expense of replacing the engines by the measure's deadlines. Friends of the Earth and other environmental groups had pushed for strict rules and deadlines. NY-NJ Port Authority needs extra $3.4 billionTHE PORT Authority of New York and New Jersey needs an additional $3.4bn for its 10-year capital plan, according to an update released yesterday at its monthly board meeting. The additional spending brings the total up to $29.5bn for the authority's 2007-2016 capital program. To pay for the additional capital spending, the Port Authority yesterday proposed fare and toll hikes that would generate an additional $325mn annually. The authority has not raised tolls since 2001. "For too long, this region has lived off transportation investments made decades ago. Now, it is time to pay back the foresight of our predecessors by building for the generations to come," said Port Authority executive director Anthony Shorris. "Besides securing our assets and protecting existing infrastructure, we are demonstrating our commitment to a more sustainable region with investments and discounts that will reduce the numbers of cars as well as by offering our first incentives for low-emission vehicles." The proposed bridge and tunnel toll fares would rise from $4 to $6 for off-peak travel and $5 to $8 in peak hours to encourage greater off-peak use for drivers using EZ-Pass. Cash tolls would increase from $6 to $8. Tolls on buses and trucks would increase at various levels depending on the size of the vehicle. |