Potential Corus closure threatens PD Ports jobs

http://www.ifw-net.com/freightpubs/ifw/newsarticle.htm?artid=1244195169126

PD Ports has written to all of its 600 workers at Teesport to inform them that up to 20% of them could be made redundant because of volume decreases.

PD Ports’ CEO David Robinson told IFW it may need to make up to 120 redundancies as steel producer Corus has threatened to close Teesside Cast Products because it claims slab buyers failed to meet an agreement to buy a set volume.

If the plant were to close, the port would potentially lose up to 9m tonnes of dry bulk and 2.4m tonnes of finished slab steel.

Robinson said the port had also been hit by a general downturn in traffic caused by the recession. P&O Ferries confirmed to IFW that it was planning to start using its own staff, rather than PD Ports staff, to lash freight on its ships to save costs.

Robinson said: "We’ve entered a consultation period that takes 90 days. No decisions are going to be made until we’ve got certainty over what’s going to happen with the Corus plant and a clear outlook on our business.

"We have activated a voluntary redundancy scheme, which is the most professional way of doing this in the short term.

"When we know the scale of volunteers, we can start to reposition and react to circumstances."

He added: "It will take us a number of weeks and months to know what the outcome of this will be. Until Corus makes a decision, we won’t be doing anything material with the overall workforce."
Robinson said PD Ports had been in contact with the workers’ union, and so far there had been no indication that strike action would take place.

"For the most part they [union members] were expecting us to do something - they were fully aware of the Corus relationship and the Corus connections.

"While it’s an ongoing process and they didn’t appreciate it, they understood why we need to do what we’re going to do."

Although PD Ports is bracing itself for a downturn in bulk volumes linked to Corus, it is also expecting to increase its container traffic by 27% next year.

Robinson said he wasn’t expecting this growth to mitigate all the job losses, but it may mitigate some.

At the end of last month, Tata Steel UK, an indirect subsidiary of Corus’ parent Tata Steel, reached an agreement with banks to suspend covenants until March 2010, and Tata Steel agreed to invest £425m in the firm.

This has led to speculation that the plant could be saved, although Tata Steel UK has to yet to either confirm or deny the rumours.

However, IFW understands that logistics managers at Corus in Teesside have begun asking for quotes from trailer operators for shipments of factory parts to Turkey.

New Services by Both Sea and Rail at the Port of Felixstowe

http://www.portoffelixstowe.co.uk/pressreleases/frmPress.aspx?pid=285

The Port of Felixstowe has welcomed the first call of Maersk Line’s AE1 Asia-Europe service, and, with it, the 28th daily train service from the Suffolk port.
The 6,600 TEU Sine Maersk arrived at the UK’s largest container port from Tanjung Pelepas in Malaysia and is one of eleven ships of between 6,600 and 8,600 TEU on the service.
A new daily rail freight service has been added to support the Asia-Europe service. Operated by Freightliner and dedicated to Maersk Line, the 24-wagon train provides a new daily scheduled connection to Birmingham International Freight Terminal at Birch Coppice. This increases the number of services Freightliner operates from the port to 21 per day and brings the number of inland rail terminals with a direct connection to Felixstowe to thirteen.
Commenting on the service, Chris Lewis, Chief Executive Officer of Hutchison Ports (UK) Ltd, which owns the Port of Felixstowe, said:
“Felixstowe has been Maersk Line’s main port in the UK for many years, and the arrival of the AE1 service means that all its main east-west services are now calling here. This is a great vote of confidence from one of our major customers and testament to the advantages to UK importers and exporters of shipping through Felixstowe.”
Mark Cornwell, Operations Director, Maersk Line UK & Ireland, commented:
“We are pleased to add the Port of Felixstowe to our AE1 service. This new call enables Maersk Line to make more efficient use of our extensive inland infrastructure, including offering a new, high-cube cleared, daily service to and from Birch Coppice, the ninth rail destination served by Maersk Line from Felixstowe. Our comprehensive inland network and industry-leading vessel reliability create a powerful combination and we look forward to working with the Port of Felixstowe, Freightliner and our customers to make this new call a success.”
Referring to the latest train service, Mr Lewis added:
“An increasing number of our customers are choosing rail as a more environmentally friendly alternative, and we have worked closely with Freightliner and the other train operating companies to ensure there is an unrivalled choice of destination and frequency of services from Felixstowe. We are regularly seeing up to 9,000 containers per week being handled by the port’s two rail terminals, and the new service will help boost both the total number of containers, and the proportion of inland traffic, moving by rail.”
Peter Maybury, MD and Interim CEO, Freightliner Group Ltd., commented:
"We are delighted to add to our already extensive network from the Port of Felixstowe with the introduction of our 21st service, and at the same time endorsing our long term commitment to Maersk. This is consistent with our position as the market leader in inland container transportation in the UK."
The Port of Felixstowe offers a comprehensive daily regional rail distribution network, including ten services to the Midlands, nine services to the North West, seven services to the North East, one service to Scotland and one service to London.

Unite dockers fight back against recession

http://www.unitetheunion.com/news__events/latest_news/unite_dockers_fight_back_again.aspx?lang=en-gb

Unite dock workers from ports across the UK attended a conference in London today (Thursday) to discuss the impact the recession is having on members’ job security and terms of employment.
Brendan Gold, Unite national secretary for docks and waterways said: “Delegates attending the National Docks Conference reported on the impact the recession is having with redundancies and forced changes to working practices in many ports.
“It is clear that some employers are hiding behind the current downturn to force through changes in working agreements which they have been after for many years.
“The conference today has put port employers on a warning that Unite will support all dock workers fighting to protect their jobs and reject changes which result in the fragmentation of the industry and to resist all attempts to take dock work away from dockers.”

AUDITED RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2008

http://www.hutchison-whampoa.com/upload_docs/2009/03/Corporate/2092/2092_eng.pdf


Outlook

In 2009, the Group is facing the most challenging environment in
recent times with growth slowing in most markets and many of the
world’s major economies in recession. The financial crisis which
originated in the United States has led to global economic activity
slowing sharply in the last quarter of 2008 and through January and
February of this year and this has already affected Hong Kong.
However, with the support of Central Government’s initiatives, the
Mainland economy has to date maintained healthy domestic demand
and the impact of external economic factors affecting Hong Kong
should be mitigated to a large extent.
In the current global economic environment, the Group is focused on
maintaining strict operational and financial discipline to successfully
execute its business strategy. The Group’s cash position remains
healthy. Looking ahead, although the unprecedented economic
environment will have differing adverse effects on the Group’s various
businesses around the world, overall the Group’s established
businesses are still expected to continue to perform satisfactorily and
the 3 Group to continue to progress. I have full confidence in the long
term future prospects of the Group.
I would like to thank the Board of Directors and all employees around
the world for their loyalty, hardwork, professionalism and contributions
to the Group.


Established Businesses
Ports and Related
Services


While global trade declined sharply in the fourth quarter, the ports and
related services division reported overall growth for the year. Total
throughput for the year increased 2% to 67.6 million twenty-foot
equivalent units (“TEUs”), total revenue grew 4% to HK$39,594
million and EBIT increased 3% to HK$13,236 million. This division is
facing reducing global trade volumes, including in Hong Kong and
other Asian ports, and therefore 2009 is expected to be a more
challenging year.

Strike fear at Dublin box hub

http://www.ifw-net.com/freightpubs/ifw/indexarticle.htm?artid=1243847141569


The threat of strike action is hanging over one of Dublin’s largest container terminals because of a dispute between workers and bosses over pay and redundancy.
Marine Terminals, which accounts for around 25% of traffic handled at the port, has made 19 redundancies from its workforce of 81 and is renegotiating workers’ pay because of the economic downturn.
Workers said they were unhappy with the redundancy offer - and as a result only five of the 19 staff members made redundant did so voluntarily - and the new pay levels on offer.
The workers’ union SIPTU-MPGWU has referred the case to the Irish government under the Protection of Employment Act.
SIPTU-MPGWU organiser Oliver McDonagh also said the workers had voted to go on strike, but this was on hold while the case was reviewed by the Irish government.
He said: "We understand that there has to be some redundancies and we do actually understand there are other issues that need to be dealt with as far as other costs are concerned.
"If they had negotiated the redundancy package with us they would have got volunteers and we told them that all the way through the process."
A Peel Ports spokesman said: "It’s extremely regrettable that we have been forced to take this action. We were keen to ensure that we achieved this through voluntary redundancies, but the situation is urgent - we have no other option."
The spokesman added Peel Ports had been in negotiations with the workers’ union for over two months and the wages enjoyed by the terminal’s workers were "far above industry norms".

Shipping accused of doing little to reduce emissions

http://www.lloydslist.com/ll/news/shipping-accused-of-doing-little-to-reduce-emissions/20017657312.htm;jsessionid=D818E9B0F70040A2EEA03DB4AD8554E3

SHIPPING has taken “little or no action” to police itself on carbon emissions and Britain should therefore renegotiate the European Union’s 2020 climate change targets to take in the industry, according to a critical report from an influential cross-party group of MPs in the UK.

In the interim, the UK should adjust its carbon budget to compensate for the country’s share of global shipping emissions.

The call from the House of Commons Environmental Audit Select Committee comes after transport secretary Geoff Hoon last week explicitly committed the government to the inclusion of shipping in the climate change deal that will eventually replace the Kyoto Protocol.

Speaking ahead of the publication today of the document ‘Reducing CO2 and Other Emissions from Shipping’, committee chairman Tim Yeo said: “We deplore the prevarication that has prevented global agreement on how to reduce emissions from international shipping.

“The shipping industry accepts the seriousness of climate change but has taken little or no action to cut its own emissions in absolute terms. Meanwhile, the government has failed to give this issue the attention it deserves.”

A first step would be a more accurate estimate of the UK share of international shipping emissions, replacing the current “weak methodology” based on bunker sales, which underestimates the true figure. The government should not wait for international agreement before tackling the problem and adjust carbon budgets for the rest of the economy downwards in the light of the UK’s share of international shipping emissions, the report said.

Ministers are also urged to make clear their position on emissions trading for shipping, particularly in terms of what cap should be imposed. In addition, a system of UK port dues that vary according to the environmental performance of different ships deserves consideration.

A government-sponsored review of shipping emissions abatement techniques should identify where state support can help UK companies develop technologies that can be retrofitted to existing ships, while air quality regulations governing UK coastal waters should be tightened and the use of cold ironing expanded.

Chamber of Shipping director general Mark Brownrigg said: “The critical tone that comes through is a bit of a surprise. Britain is a country out there leading the interest level, not one that needs to be knocked for inadequate action.”

It was extremely difficult to measure the UK share of international emissions separately, he added. Shipping should therefore be considered as a separate entity, as country by country calculations are almost impossible. Shipping emissions should meanwhile be measured on a worldwide basis while underlying issues are addressed.

Mr Hoon told the International Transport Forum in Leipzig last week that shipping could soon be faced with additional curbs. “[We] will be pressing for both international aviation and shipping to be included in any new climate change deal that is agreed at the Copenhagen Climate Conference in December,” he said.

“It is one of the great missed opportunities that aviation and shipping were not tackled effectively by the Kyoto Protocol. That led to over a decade of inaction. We cannot afford to wait any longer. It is vital that we put that right at Copenhagen.”

However, his speech also stressed that improvements in engine and vessel design can go much of the way to achieving the desired reduction, leaving environmentalist hardliners disappointed.

UK PORT IN DOUBT AS DUBAI REVIEWS PLAN

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/104466/UK-port-in-doubt-as-Dubai-reviews-plan

Dubai Ports World, due to build a new £2 billion container port at Shell Haven in the Thames estuary, is believed to have placed all its major projects under review, putting a question mark over the future of the UK development.
The company received planning consent two years ago for a deep-water container terminal at the site in Essex, which is known as London Gateway.
However, the Dubai terminal operator has been forced to review all its development plans after the Gulf Emirate was hit hard by the credit crunch. Sources say it could postpone the development, which is forecast to create more than 14,000 jobs. It will only press ahead with the terminal if it is convinced of its long-term value.
The port was to be part-funded by debt but those markets have closed, putting DP World under more pressure.
If the port is not built, the UK could lose out to Rotterdam as a new fleet of super-sized container ships takes to the seas in the next couple of years. It would also threaten the regeneration of the Thames Gateway area.
Shell Haven is the historic name for the port on the north bank of the Thames Estuary at the eastern end of Thurrock, Essex. For years it was the location of a Shell refinery. During The Second World War the refineries and oil storage tanks at Shell Haven became a sitting target for air raids, notably in September 1940 during the Battle of Britain.
Under DP World’s plan, the 1500-acre Essex site is slated to include the construction of the UK’s largest business and logistics park. The developments are central to the British Government’s wider Thames Gateway regeneration programme. Transport links would be upgraded as part of the plan.
Last week DP World — the world’s fourth-largest container port operator — said at its AGM it had handled 10 per cent less cargo during the first four months of this year than it did in the same period a year ago. This was due to a contraction in maritime trade amid the global recession. The downturn has caused it to review its expansion plans.
DP World confirmed it is in talks to possibly sell aminority stake in itself to a Middle East private equity firm which it has not named.
A successful deal could provide a significant boost to DP World and its shares, which have tumbled more than 70 per cent since they were floated in late 2007. Depending on how it was structured, the buy-in could also give the state-controlled company’s cash-strapped parent a welcome capital injection.