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Maersk Line said Friday its new method for calculating fuel surcharges will take effect July 1 for the transatlantic trade.

The cost to transport crude oil from the Caribbean on Aframax tankers fell as port delays eased, freeing ships for new voyages. The availability of ships may drive rates lower this week.

The Iraqi government has issued a request for proposals from international consultants to oversee the privatization of Iraq's main deep sea port at Umm Qasr, Middle East Business Intelligence reported Friday. The deal could be worth $1 billion.

In May, 2008, Murmansk Commercial Seaport handled 1.282.866 million tonnes of different cargoes (+7%, year-on-year), the company informs.

The Hong Kong Government has announced a plan to establish a vessel height restricted area near the new Stonecutters Bridge to prevent damage to the bridge and ensure safe navigation that will be tabled in the Legislative Council June 4, said an HKG communique.

South African company Big Lift Trucks plans to open its new US$5-million warehouse and a three-acre container storage site on the northside of Jacksonville Port in Florida in June.

Legrand, a global specialist in products and systems for electrical installations and information networks, has awarded Kuehne + Nagel a contract to handle the supply of its products to Algeria.

The AP Moller-Maersk Group has taken delivery of a 7,000-TEU newbuilding from the Odense Steel Shipyard.

Seko Synergy, a UK based provider of freight forwarding, logistics and supply chain management solutions, has announced the opening of a dedicated office in Hong Kong.

Eastern China's Jiangsu provincial port of Dafeng Port has launched a new feeder container shipping to Shanghai and Lianyungang.

Container shipping lines participating in the Asia Australia Discussion Agreement (AADA) have announced two upcoming rate hikes.

The Indian ports sector has lined up a major capacity overhaul, but low productivity and infrastructure bottlenecks continue to stifle the performance of the country's major ports. Longer turnaround times and evacuation of cargo still plague Indian ports, despite their efforts at modernisation of cargo handling mechanisms.

For some time, the regulatory authorities, shipping lines, port authorities and terminal operators all over the world (except, perhaps, in India) have been voicing their concern over ship stack emissions in ports.

SSA Containers president Ed DeNike says his company is looking for ways to avoid US west coast ports with their rising environmental taxes by going through the Panama or Suez canals and heading for harbours on the eastern seaboard.

The bidding war over which company will land the concession to operate the Chittagong Container Terminal (CCT) in Bangladesh is intensifying up with Pacific International Line (PIL) and its partner Container and Terminal Services (CTS) leading the pack.

Construction of Vietnam's newest container port, the Cai Mep International Terminal Co Ltd (CMIT) container facility, commenced following ceremonies onboard a vessel overlooking the site.

Taiwan-based Panda Logistics Ltd is expanding in Hong Kong, which will strengthen its business with mainland China, said company's vice chairman Steve Chou.

Hong Kong container volume could hit 92 million TEU a year by 2030 if mainland truckers were given ready access, and the port dropped its unreasonably high terminal handling charges, according to a report commissioned by the Hong Kong Government.

Member container shipping lines participating for now in the Far Eastern Freight Conference (FEFC) carried 5.6 per cent more containers in the westbound Asia to Europe/Mediterranean trade in April.

Maersk Logistics has been presented with the Transport/Logistics/Freight Award at the first Seatrade Asia 2008 Awards held in Singapore earlier this month.