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 25th October 1998 |
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Shipping
Dubai Drydocks will refit "Cossack Pioneer"Dubai Drydocks has been awarded the contract for the extensive refit of the Floating Production Vessel "Cossack Pioneer". The 150,000 tonne vessel, which is currently moored about 130 kms North-West of Dampier, in Western Australia, will be taken off station in January next year, and is scheduled to enter the Dubai yard during February, 1999. Woodside Energy Ltd., on behalf of the North-West Shelf Joint Venture, awarded the contract to Dubai Drydocks after a competitive tendering process.The work includes major improvements to the gas export system, improvements to the existing four gas turbines and two steam turbines, the installation of an additional gas turbine and generator, improvements, to emergency generators and the uninterrupted power supply, and upgrades of electrical switch gear and fire pumps. Extensive pipe renewals are planned throughout the ship during the upgrading of the process plant. The product swivel assembly will be dismantled for re-machining and seal replacement. The accommodation module will be enhanced, and the control system will be upgraded and consolidated, to include rectification of potential Year 2000 problems. During its stay in Dubai, the vessel will be taken through its sixth special survey, under A.B.S. rules. This is not the first time Dubai Drydocks has carried out offshore conversions. Several vessels have undergone modification work in recent years, including the full conversion of "N'Kossa 1" to an F.S.U. in 1996.The award of the present contract is seen as an important step forward for the yard and indicates the willingness of international owners to place sophisticated repairs and conversions with Dubai Drydocks.
Atlantic Service upgradedKawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line) of Japan, Yangming Marine Transport of Taiwan and Cosco of China have upgraded their joint Atlantic container service to a nine-ship, two-loop operation from the present four-vessel, one-loop set up from the first week of October. The new operation will consist of one-loop to cover the North Atlantic by the four 2,200 TEU ships used in the current Atlantic service, and the other loop will cover the South Atlantic and Mexican Gulf with five 2,200 TEU vessels to be newly assigned. The five ships have yet to be chosen from among the three carriers' fleets. The North Atlantic weekly service will rotate: Antwerp- Felixstowe-Bremerhaven-Rotterdam-Le Havre-New York- Baltimore-Norfolk-New York-Halifax-Antwerp. The South Atlantic/Mexican Gulf weekly service will rotate: Antwerp-Felixstowe- Rotterdam -Bremerhaven- Antwerp-Le Havre-Charleston- Miami- New Orleans- Houston-Charleston- Antwerp.
Marseilles approved as coffee storage portThe Port of Marseilles has been approved as coffee storage port by the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange. The listing follows a rapid growth in coffee throughput at the port. Last year coffee imports rose to 110,000 tonnes up from 87,000 tonnens in 1996, and 47,000 tonnes during 1995. The vast majority of the coffee was containerised with the main bulk of the traffic coming from the lvory Coast and Vietnam. Leading international roasters and traders were said to have backed the Marseilles application following a two year campaign by the port authority in which the trade's service and tariff requirements were adopted as a standardised package by shipping lines, agents, forwarders and port operators.
Diploma in Shipping Port AgencyThe Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers, Sri Lanka Branch, will begin a lecture programme from November to March 1999 leading upto the Diploma in Shipping Port Agency Examination and Certification of the Institute of the Chartered Shipbrokers ICS London. ICS London is considered the higest professional and educational body worldwide and its qualificaiton is perceived as the way ahead in Shipping, Freight Forwarding and Trading (Imports/Exports). V.J. Forman of SGF Surveyors won the world's best prize - "The Armac Award" for the highest marks in Foundation Diploma in "Port Agency" at the examination conducted this year, and the pass rate of the Sri Lanka Section has been the highest in the world. Lectures are conducted on Sundays from 0900 to 1200 hrs. at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and the topics include, International Trade, Law of Carriage, Transport Documents, Commercial Geography, Accounting, Port Agency Operations, Chartering type of Ships, Classification and Registration, Insurance, Disbursements. The Core Faculty includes Parakrama Dissanayake, Executive Director, Pership (Shipping) Limited, Capt, Palitha Lanerolle, Pilot - Sri Lanka Ports Authority, Capt. Priyantha Dias, Marine Surveyor and M.S.M. Ilmi, Managing Director, Transocean Agencies (Pvt) limited. As the intake is limited, registrations will be on a first come first served basis.
Nittsu prepares for freer market in IndonesiaPT Nittsu Lemo Indonesia Logistik, an Indonesian subsidiary of Nippon Express is set to intensify its organisation ahead of future liberalisation of the country's shipping industry. International forwarding services by foreign companies are currently impeded in Indonesia. Nittsu, which was set up in November last year, has begun operating out of a new warehouse completed last month in Jakarta. Situated approximately 10 kilometres from Tanjung Priok Port, the facility is part of a series of distribution services which include container depots. Standing on a 10,000 square-metre site, the one-storey warehouse has a total floor area of 4,750 square metres and also houses a 500 square-metre office area. In order to deal with customer needs for domestic physical distribution in Indonesia Nittsu will make storage, delivery and other similar services available from the new warehouse.
Evergreen invests in QEQ developmentBy Gunapala RanasingheEvergreen Marine Corporation has signed an agreement with the South Asia Gateway Terminals Ltd. (SAGAT) to invest in the expansion and modernisation of the Queen Elizabeth Quay (QEQ), of the Colombo Port. Evergreen President George Hsu told 'The Sunday Times' at his headquarters in Taiwan that he is enchanted with the Colombo Port. Speaking about Evergreen's involvement in the Colombo Port, he said that Colombo Port is destined to have a very bright future.The company has already signed an agreement for the investment of 10% on the development project and already 20% of the investment is staked, as an initial amount. Evergreen, which is a global company, is enchanted with the Colombo Port and they expect it to be the best port in the region in the near future. Mr. Hsu said he had the opportunity of visiting Sri Lanka on the occasion of the opening of the local agent's 10 storey Green Lanka tower in Colombo recently. Evergreen was among the main operators who sought to invest in the QEQ development plan. He said that the Colombo Port is one of the main hubs of the 11 hub ports under Evergreen. Mr. Hsu said that that his visit here was a nostalgic one and he considers it his good fortune to have visited this country and seen its hospitable people with a culture of their own of which they can be proud. He has also visited Kelaniya historic temple and said that he has lasting memories of his visit. He expressed the hope that Colombo Port would improve its proficiency and expedite its infrastructure development. Mr. Hsu added that Evergreen likes to see their agents strong and make good profits and spread the service. Colombo Port, he said, has the potential to improve to be the best port in the sub-continent.
Korea to open door to foreign carriersKorea's government is drafting legislation to abolish a cargo reservation system that will finally open the doors for foreign carriers to participate in the country's importation of strategic commodities. According to the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries the new rules will lift restrictions on crude oil, liquefied gas, iron ore and coal. Once the Designated Cargo System is abolised from December 31 this year "all charter contracts - existing and future - will abide by the revised Act," said Yang, Pyung Kwan, the director of ministry's shipping policy division. Korea committed itself to these dramatic changes in maritime policies three years ago as part of its application to join the OECD. The legal basis for this so-called 'Designated Cargo System' is the Shipping Industry Promotion Act. It will be abolished and some of the provisions will be included in the more general Maritime Transport Act. In addition, the other significant change in the new legislation is that steel mill Pohang, electric power company Kepco, and Korea Gas Corp will be authorised to operate their own fleets. Under current legislation, owners of major cargo including crude oil, iron ore, liquefied gas, coal for power generation are not allowed to engage in ocean-going cargo transportation. At present, it is difficult to determine how eager the cargo owners are to take advantage of the new rules, because many of the cargo owners are bound by service contracts to shipping lines. In addition. many of the major cargo owners in Korea are state-owned companies that are in the initial stages of preparation for privatisation, and as a result, they would be cautious about assuming additional capital commitments, particularly in light of the current economic climate. The potential volume of cargo to be affected would be dramatic. According to the ministry, the annual transport volumes are 119.8m tonnes of oil, 74.8m tonnes of iron ore, 10.3m tonnes of liquefied gas, and 49.9m tonnes of coal. "The government is honouring its commitment that it made when entering into the OECD", said Tae-Woo Lee, of the Korea Maritime University. "Korea is on the road to opening the shipping market," he added. In a recent speech, the assistant manager from Korea's ministry explained that Korea's shipping policy was a core element of the national industrialisation policy that propelled the country through modernisation. After growing 10% per year in the 1960s and 1970s, foreign trade accounted for more than half of gross domestic products in Korea. The second main reason for such a strategic stance towards the shipping sector was the unsettled political situation between the two Koreas, which remains technically still at war. "For these two reasons, Korean shipping and port policy objectives have been aimed at expanding the national fleet and ports with a view to meeting rapid trade growth and preparing for a political worst case scenario."
New computer system for Kuala Lumpur Airport soonTrepidation is still rife that the chaos, that plagued the new Kuala Lumpur Airport since it opened at the end of June, will return. Though the situation is now becoming fluid, this autumn will see a new computer system at the Malaysian Airline Systems (MAS) sheds become operational. Since the airport opened on June 30, cargo handling procedures have been thrown into disarray, leaving freight to build up at MAS sheds, though, due to the co-operation of both airlines and forwarders, much of the backlog was removed in mid-July. Shippers managed to have their cargo diverted to other airports, such as Penang and Singapore, to lessen the load at KL. These shippers are now making plans to return their cargo to the Malaysian capital.
Exporters prefer SingaporeAn announcement is expected soon from port officials on the Malaysian government's proposal to force exporters to ship a percentage of their freight through Port Klang. The proposal was put forward by the country's cabinet late last month. So far, shippers and shipping analysts have rebuffed the suggestion, saying the government should not make the use of Port Klang a mandatory alternative to Singapore. Instead, they believe authorities should upgrade facilities at Port Klang, Malaysia's largest port, which would encourage more exporters to use it. Some officials are saying that Port Klang's costs are approximately half those of Singapore's, which means less outflow of foreign exchange from Malaysia. The country is aiming to lessen its reliance on Singapore's port and has recently set up new port facilities to achieve this, but shipping companies still say Singapore allows for faster turnaround than Port Klang.
Stock exchange essay contestThe Colombo Stock Exchange organized an All Island Essay Competition among the Advanced Level Commerce students on the stock market. This is the third successive year that this competition has been organized. The competition was organized to enhance the knowledge of commerce students on the role played by the Colombo Stock Exchange in the Capital Market of Sri Lanka. A special feature of this year's competition was that it was open to Sinhala, Tamil and Engish medium students all over the island. There was a 40% increase in the participation of this year's competition in terms of the number of entries. A total number of 671 entries were received. The winners were selected on district basis and all-island basis. The all-island winner of this year's competition is Ms. I.M. Nimsha Udayangani of Yasodara Balika Maha Vidyalaya, Colombo 8. It is important to note that 20% of this year's winners were from Tamil medium schools. Every district was allocated up to five prizes other than 10 all-island prizes. The prize money awarded was also increased this year and a total sum of Rs. 118,250/= had been spent as cash prizes. The prize distribution ceremony was held on Monday 12th October 1998 at Bishop's College Auditorium, Colombo 3. The Chief Guest was Prof. Gunapala Nanayakkara, Director, Postgraduate Institute of Management and the Guest of Honour was Mr. Rienzie T. Wijetilleke, Chairman, Colombo Stock Exchange. The Deputy Director, Education, Western Province, Mr. Neil Hewapatirana, Mr. Hiran Mendis, Director General, Colombo Stock Exchange, Mrs. L. Jayasuriya, Principal, Bishop's College and other officials of the Colombo Stock Exchange and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka. The awards ceremony was attended by a gathering of well over 700 participants including students, teachers and parents. Before the commencement of the awards ceremony, a documentary on the stock market was screened and there were two lectures by the officials of the Colombo Stock Exchange and the Securities and Exchange Commission to enhance the knowledge of the students on the Colombo Share Market. Students were also given publications written on the stock market free of charge at the ceremony.
Seven flights to MaleAir Maldives has set another milestone in its aviation history by introducing seven flights a week to Colombo from October 25 using the DHC-8, a Canadian made aircraft, the first of its kind to conquer the Sri Lankan skies. This unique 37 seater, though small in size is designed to offer maximum comfort to passengers and all departures are conveniently timed to suit the needs of the business traveller or even the holiday maker. Hemas Air Services is the representative for Air Maldives in Sri Lanka.
NDB in GalleThe 7th Branch of the National Development Bank (NDB) officially opened its doors to the public of Galle on October 12. The branch was opened by the Chairman and General Manager of the NDB. The staff of NDB's latest branch look forward to bringing its expertise in specialist project lending and other financial services to the entrepreneurial community of Galle and surrounding areas. The NDB already has a branch in Matara and has found that there is a need for cash-flow based funding, among industries in the Southern Province. Among its range of services, the branch will offer medium to long term finance, at very competitive rates, including finance for SMI through the on-going SMAP and SMILE credit lines, and provide leasing for a variety of needs. It will also place at the disposal of its clients, the expertise developed by the NDB over the years, in industrial, agricultural and service sectors. The Branch will also operate a special scheme known as the Perennial Crop Development Project (PCDP) implemented by the Central Bank. NDB's Galle branch is located at the Trade & Commerce Association Building, Sri Gnanobash Mawatha, Orappuwatte.
SIA unveils KrisFlyerSingapore airlines (SIA) has announced its own frequent flyer programme, KrisFlyer. The new programme will enable customers in all three classes -First, Raffles and Economy-to earn mileage credits that can be redeemed for travel awards. Enrolments begin immediately. Members can begin earning and redeeming mileage in KrisFlyer from 1 February 1999. With KrisFlyer, miles will be awarded not only for travel on SIA services, but also for journeys on SIA's subsidiary regional airline,SilkAir, or on any of the KrisFlyer partner airlines, namely Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways, Ansett Australia, Asiana Airlines, Delta Airlines and Lufthansa.
Luxury cruises for Conqueror usersA luxury cruise calling at three countries, inclusive of air travel to and from the port of departure, awaits the printers who use the largest volume of Conqueror products over the next three months, the brand's local agent, Hayleys Photoprint Limited has announced. The company said printers who buy Conqueror papers or boards and collect 165 gold coin stickers which are issued with purchases of a specified value between now and December 31, would qualily for the grand prize, while others would be eligible to win an array of valuable gifts. This unique promotion, titled "Conquer the Gold" is targeted exclusively at printers who are the biggest purchasers of Conqueror products, Hayleys Photoprint's Director/General Manager Ashan Abeyesundere said.The 'gold coin' stickers which printers receive when they make purchases should be pasted on a chart provided by the company, and the customer is entitled to whichever prize corresponds to the number of points earned, explained Sanjika Perera, Executive - Printers' Requisites Department of Hayleys Photoprint. A total of 165 gold coins will win the printer a trip for two on a Star Cruise ship from Singapore inclusive of return air ticket for four days in three countries. Other prizes on offer to those who do not qualify for the cruise include, Philips Music Centres, 21 inch TVs, VCRs, Fujifilm, zoom cameras, Philips vacuum cleaners, mini stereos with CD players, Usha water filters, jug kettles, Fujiflim, clear shot plus cameras, Conqueror three-in-one radio/torch/alarm clocks and Conqueror revolving desk organisers with 13 accessories. Printers are provided time till January 15, 1999 to present the completed entries and charts to Halyeys Photoprint. Gold coins are earned on purchases of Conqueror Laid, Wove, Contour, Strataklour, Rives, Countryside and Hi-Speed boards and papers.
IGATEX will upgrade garment industryIGATEX, an international exhibition of garments and textile machinery, accessories and fabrics, offers a good opportunity for local garment manufacturers and those in SAARC region to upgrade their technology. The apparel industry is the fastest growing industry, and earns a large amount of foreign exchange and has a lot of potential for improvement. Conference and Exhibition Management Services (Pvt.) Ltd.will present this exhibition in Sri Lanka. IGATEX '99 is to be held at the SLECC in January next year.Leo Maladeniya, Centre Director of the Textile Development Board of Singapore said that this was a good opportunity for Sri Lanka to acquire for itself new technology. Fifty to eighty principal exhibitors from nine countries are expected to exhibit state -of -the -art technology at this event. This exhibition will help make Sri Lanka the hub of garment and textiles for Sri Lanka,he said.
Winners of BQS awardsThe Best Quality Software awards was organized by British Computer Society Sri Lanka Section. Bandu Ranasinghe, Chairman BCS, Sri Lanka Section, said that there were 16 software projects for the competition. This first ever competition on software projects in Sri Lanka was held in September. The evaluation criteria included: originality and innovation, Level of Complexity, Cost Benefit Users, Functionalities, Commercial Success, Integration of Discrete Technologies, Social and Educational Benefits, Human Computer Interface, Standard of Documentation and Development Methodologies. The results were: Winner: Millennium Information Technologies (Pvt)
Ltd.
Sri Lankan wins prestigious American marketing awardA Sri Lankan has won one of the most prestigious marketing awards in North America. Duminda Ariyasinghe, a Product Manager with Kraft Foods in Toronto has been awarded a Kraft Superior Achievement Award for building the Philadelphia Cream Cheese brand in Canada. Duminda recently received his award from Kraft CEO Bob Morrison and Kraft Canada President Irene Rosenfeld in Chicago. The Superior Achievement Award recognizes outstanding achievements among Kraft's 38,000-strong North American workforce, and Duminda's was the only award to be won by Canada. The award was made specifically for co-leading a cross-functional team that extended the Philadelphia brand to more than 1800 outlets operated by Tim Horton's, the leading bagel and donut chain in Canada. Under Duminda's leadership, Philadelphia, a brand that has been in existence for more than 75 years, achieved record growth in volume, profit and market share. He achieved this via product innovations and a new TV advertising campaign that has since been fast adapted by several other countries. Kraft Foods, based in Northfield, Illinois is the largest US-based packaged food company in the world with over US$ 16 billion in sales in North America alone. Apart from Philadelphia, it has more than 70 major brands, including Kraft cheeses and dinners, Oscar Mayer meats, Maxwell House coffees, Post cereals, Jell-O desserts, Kool-Aid beverages and Toblerone chocolates. Duminda holds an Honours BA Degree in Economics (First Class) from McMaster University, Toronto and an MBA from the University of Toronto. Prior to joining Kraft, he worked for Procter & Gamble, Toronto. Duminda is an alumnus of Royal College, Colombo, and the University of Colombo, where he captained the varsity rugby team. He is the son of late Mr. J. D. Ariyasinghe, and Mrs. Vineetha Ariyasinghe.
Benefits of ISO 14001 certificationBy Ayesha R. RafiqLocal companies and industries have been briefed on the benefits of working towards ISO 14001 certification, an environmental standard. At a meeting held at the Chamber of Commerce, auditorium last week the ISO 14001 Users Association consisting of executives at management levels in companies were introduced to the benefits of working towards ISO 14001 certification. ISO (International Standards Organisation) 14001, which is a further step to ISO 9000, focuses on making companies more environmentally friendly, as well as accountable. Fred Johnson, a volunteer executive of IESC, Chandra de Silva, President of the ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems Users Association, Spencer King, Chief Executive Officer of Technology Initiative for the Private Sector (TIPS), and B.S.P. Mendis, a senior executive of the Sri Lanka Standards Institute (SLSI) addressed the meeting. Johnson said that the standard would apply to all sectors, such as pharmaceuticals, tea, software, manufacturing, the hospitality industry etc. The focus would be on how a company's activities would affect the environment, and how to reduce negative impacts, while maximising both productivity and cost efficiency. Mendis said that Sri Lanka was very far behind as environmental standards went, pointing out that no Sri Lankan company has as yet received ISO 14001 certification, while 500 companies in Japan had acquired it, along with at least 30 companies in most countries in the Asian region. He said the certification which is of a global standard, will be a marketing tool, and in the next millennium companies without it would be at a disadvantage, as customers would want products that ensured environmental friendliness. Mendis said that a new set of standards would be introduced in the near future with regard to employee safety. An open discussion was also held on the work plan on 14001 certification prepared by Mr. James Highland as a follow up of the seminar and workshop conducted by in August this year sponsored by the American Chamber of Commerce (AM CHAM) in Sri Lanka in association with the United States - Asia Environmental Partnership (US - AEP). |
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