Archives: April 2008 cargo news
The News stories below are cargo / freight related stories which made the headlines in April 2008 (other archived months are shown at the bottom of the page).
For all the latest Cargo News, click on the link on the left-hand side menu.
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30/04/08 - Tariff Stop Press Notice 23/08 - Additional duties on goods imported from the USA
- Courtesy of HM Revenue and Customs (www.hmrc.gov.uk)Since May 2005 additional custom duties have been applied on the import of certain goods from the United States (US). This was in retaliation to what was commonly know as the 'Byrd Amendment'. For more on the background on this please refer to JCCC paper (07) 10.
This paper is to provide advance notice of a reduction in the number of goods to be subject to an additional 15 per cent customs duty effective from 1 May 2008. ukimports.org
30/04/08 - Dock Road to close for a year
- Courtesy of The Liverpool Echo (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)TRAFFIC will be banned from a long section of Liverpool’s busy dock road for up to a year.
Liverpool council and Mersey Docks and Harbour officials made the decision after finding the metal bridge at Stanley Dock was badly corroded and needed urgent repair.
But it means the road between the junctions with Paisley Street and Blackstone Street will be shut for up to 12 months for normal motorists, starting this Friday. ukimports.org
30/04/08 - Operation Stack in place
- Courtesy of The Ipswich Evening Star (www.eveningstar.co.uk)OPERATION Stack has been rolled out at Felixstowe container port following bad weather in the region.
The lorry parking initiative was put in place at 1pm today, forcing lorries to park in one lane of the Port of Felixstowe Road to allow non-port traffic to pass. ukimports.org
29/04/08 - * TERMINATION OF FEFC OPERATIONS *
- Courtesy of The Far Eastern Freight Conference (www.fefclondon.com)To coincide with the repeal of the liner conference exemption in EC Regulation 4056/86, the FEFC will terminate operations on 17 October 2008. Accordingly, the conference tariff and any other existing FEFC arrangements will cease to be in operation on 18 October 2008. ukimports.org
Click here to read more on the EC Regulation prompting this change
29/04/08 - BA raises fuel surcharges again
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)British Airways says it is increasing fuel surcharges on long and short-haul flights from 2 May.
The airline said the charges reflected high oil prices, which hit a record on Monday just below $120 a barrel.
The surcharge for short-haul flights will increase to £13 per flight from £10, or to £26 for a return flight.
For one-way flights of less than nine hours the charge will increase by £10 to £63, and by £15 to £79 for flights of more than nine hours. ukimports.org
29/04/08 - Cargo flight 'a near catastrophe'
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)A string of failures caused a plane to crash-land at an airport before taking off again and carrying out an emergency landing at another, a report has said.
Air accident investigators said inappropriate and incorrect procedures could have led to a "catastrophe".
These included a badly timed air traffic message to the TNT Airways cargo plane as it tried to land at East Midlands in poor weather in June 2006.
The plane was damaged but later made an emergency landing at Birmingham.
The Belgian Boeing 737 - on a cargo flight from Liege in Belgium - finally came to a stop with part of its undercarriage missing. ukimports.org
29/04/08 - Authorised Economic Operators - new codes to identify AEO in Box 44 of SAD - JCCC CIP (08) 21
- Courtesy of HM Revenue and Customs (www.hmrc.gov.uk)The introduction of new document codes which will give AEOs the option to include their certificate number in Box 44 of the SAD. ukimports.org
29/04/08 - Heathrow rapped by US air chief
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)A senior executive at a major airline says London's Heathrow is probably the worst European airport it uses.
Don Langford, head of customer services Europe for American Airlines, said the site suffered from lack of investment.
The airport - recently criticised for the chaos at the opening of Terminal 5 - was "trying to put 10 pounds of sugar in a five-pound bag," he told the BBC.
But Heathrow operator BAA said things were improving and it would invest £4bn over five years to improve the airport. ukimports.org
28/04/08 - Quayside cranes brought crashing down to Earth
- Courtesy of The Liverpool Echo (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)TWO large quayside cranes were brought crashing down by explosives experts.
The 150ft-high gooseneck structures at Cavendish Quay in Birkenhead Docks were demolished early yesterday morning behind a safety cordon.
The 320-tonnes cranes, erected in 1964, had been mainly used for discharging dry bulk cargoes, had reached the end of their working lives.
Port operator the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company, part of Peel Ports Group, said removing the quayside cranes will allow for better use of the area. ukimports.org
27/04/08 - US business airline Eos goes bust
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)US business-class airline Eos has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and said it will cease operating flights by Monday.
The firm said it had "insufficient cash to continue operations" after failing to win an investment that would have sustained the firm until 2009.
Eos was launched two years ago, flying between New York's JFK airport and the UK's Stansted.
Its collapse follows the demise of rival Maxjet last December.
The entire airline industry has been battling surging fuel prices, competitive pressures and declining consumer spending, particularly in the US and UK. ukimports.org
26/04/08 - Three people bitten by rabid dog
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)Three people are being treated for exposure to rabies after being bitten by an infected puppy which was in quarantine.
The puppy had been brought to the UK from Sri Lanka, said the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
The people bitten were at the centre, thought to be in the Chingford area of Essex, and are being vaccinated.
The dog died whilst in quarantine, and this contained any public health risk, the Health Protection Agency said.
The dog had been held at the centre since 18 April, and died on Friday.
Other animals that may have come into contact with the puppy were being checked, Defra said. ukimports.org
25/04/08 - Authorised Economic Operators (AEO) - update on implementation - JCCC CIP (08) 29
- Courtesy of HM Revenue and Customs (www.hmrc.gov.uk)An information update on the implementation of AEO in the EC and the development of mutual recognition with third countries. ukimports.org
25/04/08 - Additional duties on goods imported from the US - JCCC CIP (08) 27
- Courtesy of HM Revenue and Customs (www.hmrc.gov.uk)A decrease to the number of goods originating from the USA that will attract 15 per cent additional duty rates as a result of the retaliatory action under the Byrd Amendment. ukimports.org
25/04/08 - Humberside Airport to be sold off
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)The owner of Humberside Airport has announced it is planning to sell its stake in the business.
Manchester Airports Group (MAG) said it wanted to sell its 82.7% share to focus on its larger airports - Manchester, East Midlands and Bournemouth.
The news surprised North Lincolnshire Council which owns the remaining 17.3% of Humberside Airport. ukimports.org
25/04/08 - Travel boom makes Air China soar
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)Air China has reported a 147% rise in quarterly profits, helped by a travel boom sparked by the rapid growth in the Chinese economy.
The airline made net profits of 1.04bn yuan ($149m; £75m) in the first three months of 2008.
The strengthening yuan against the US dollar has also helped because the airlines pay for fuel and other expenses in dollars.
Air China is expected to get a boost from people travelling to the Olympics.
Air China shares rose more than 5% on Friday. ukimports.org
24/04/08 - Airport fears impact of new tax
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)Newcastle Airport claims plans to bring in a new aviation tax pose the biggest threat yet to its business.
The government is proposing a per plane tax, rather than per person, which it says is a better way of reflecting the environmental impact of air travel.
The airport has written to ministers stressing the move could hit passenger numbers and future expansion plans.
A Treasury spokesman said the new tax would better take account of the social and economic impacts air travel. ukimports.org
23/04/08 - Airport reopens after hole fixed
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)Edinburgh Airport was closed to incoming flights for almost three hours due to a hole found in its main runway.
Planes were diverted to Glasgow and Prestwick airports following the discovery at 1500 BST.
A secondary runway was being used for departing flights but delays are expected for the rest of the day.
The runway is undergoing a resurfacing programme which is conducted at nights. A BAA spokeswoman said the hole was fixed by about 1715 BST. ukimports.org
22/04/08 - Airlines refuel outside Scotland
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)Airlines have been asked not to refuel their aeroplanes at Scottish airports and instead go outside Scotland ahead of an oil plant strike.
BAA made the advisory call to airlines at its three airports in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen.
Workers at Grangemouth plan to strike from Sunday over plans to end the final salary pension scheme for new recruits. ukimports.org
22/04/08 - BAA airport ownership criticised
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)The Competition Commission has said that BAA owning seven UK airports, "may not be serving well the interests of either airlines or passengers".
The regulator's "emerging thinking report" confirmed that BAA, "dominates the airports markets in the South-East of England and in lowland Scotland".
Its next report in August may call on BAA to sell one or more airports. ukimports.org
21/04/08 - Napoli report warns ships at risk
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)Accident investigators have identified 12 other ships that could suffer the same failure as the container ship Napoli which was beached off Devon.
Urgent strengthening of the ships has been ordered by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB).
The MAIB blamed the MSC Napoli's design after a series of large waves left a crack in her hull in January last year. ukimports.org
21/04/08 - Drug haul discovered in motorhome
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)Cannabis worth nearly £635,000 has been seized and a Briton arrested following a search of a motorhome at Dover docks.
About 661lb (300kg) of cannabis resin was found under a bed by officers from the UK Border Agency (UKBA).
The vehicle was stopped and searched on Saturday as it arrived at Dover's Eastern Docks on a ferry from France.
Police said Robert Claude Orchard, 64, who lives in Malaga, Spain, has been charged with attempting to smuggle drugs.
His 34-year-old daughter, who was travelling with him and is from the Stirling area of Scotland, was released on bail pending further inquiries.
Carole Upshall, regional director south of UKBA, called the seizure "an excellent result".
Bob Gaiger, spokesman for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), said their main priority was reducing the availability of Class A drugs. ukimports.org
20/04/08 - Apples seized at docks go to zoo
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)Eleven pallets of apples seized at customs during a check on a lorry at Dover have been donated to wild animal parks in Kent.
HM Revenue and Customs said the fruit - a quantity of Gala apples - was being used to camouflage 4.6m cigarettes being smuggled into the country.
The apples have now been given to Howletts and Port Lympne where they will be fed to the animals.
The driver of the lorry was interviewed and bailed until June.
Officers from the UK Border Agency stopped the truck on 8 April at the docks in Dover. Inquiries are still being carried out in the case. ukimports.org
19/04/08 - (Felixstowe) Port Loses One Maersk Service
- Courtesy of Felixstowe TV (www.felixstowetv.co.uk)The huge Danish shipping line Maersk has withdrawn one of its container ship services from the Port of Felixstowe.
The Port has confirmed that Maersk has withdrawn its South American service, but said that the shipping line has contracts with Felixstowe for a number of other services, including important Far East routes. Managers at the Port have said that there are no plans to cut jobs, but negotiations are continuing with workers as part of the 'Contributing to a Secure Future' proposals, which they say aim to make sure Felixstowe is as competitive as possible.
Competition is set to get tougher for the Port of Felixstowe over the coming years, with a new container port the size of Felixstowe planned for London Thames Gateway at Thurrock in Essex, a new container terminal at the Port of Liverpool approved by Government, and schemes to expand container handling capacities at Teesport, Bristol, and Southampton also currently being considered for approval. ukimports.org
19/04/08 - Watchdog expected to savage BAA
- Courtesy of The Financial Times (www.ft.com)BAA, the operator of Heathrow and six other airports, is braced for criticism next week from competition watchdogs over the workings of an industry over which it enjoys a near-monopoly.
The Competition Commission is due to unveil a report detailing its latest thinking in a year-old probe into BAA airports that could end with a break-up of the company’s dominant position in London and Scotland.
The chaos at the opening of Heathrow’s Terminal 5 last month has raised the stakes for both BAA and its arch-critics among leading airlines, which have long attacked the near-monopoly and what they see as weak regulation of the company.
One person familiar with the investigation said that, unlike in the case of the high-profile grocery market probe, which said supermarkets generally did a good job for consumers, the commission would not conclude that “everything is fine”. ukimports.org
15/04/08 - CHIEF Downtime
- Courtesy of HM Revenue and Customs (www.hmrc.gov.uk)All CHIEF users should be aware that the CIES service has two scheduled outages this week as part of a CIES Disaster Recovery (DR) exercise as described below. CHIEF will not be available during these periods.
Stage One – Fail-over of CIES from current computer centre (CC) site to the DR site on Wednesday 16th April. This will take place between 13:30hrs and 14:30hrs to close CIES at the CC site then reload it at the DR site. The CIES service will be available for normal use for 23hrs thereafter from the DR site.
Stage Two – Fail-back of CIES DR site to CC site on Thursday 17th April. There is a planned outage between 13:30hrs and 14:30hrs to close CIES at the disaster recovery site and return to normal operational service.
The two outages have both been agreed with HMRC but please be aware that due to the nature of this exercise the times that CIES is available from the DR site, and again from the CC site, are subject to change. ukimports.org
15/04/08 - Work begins to chop up crashed cranes
- Courtesy of The Ipswich Evening Star (www.eveningstar.co.uk)WORK has started on chopping up two huge quayside cranes which crashed to the ground when a ship smashed into them.
Specialist demolition contractors have been brought in to Felixstowe port to dismantle the steel gantry cranes, which were destroyed when the 244 metre long Zhen Hua 23 was ripped from its moorings by gale-force winds.
It is not known how long it will take to cut up the giant tangled metal pieces of cranes, but it is expected to be some weeks. ukimports.org
15/04/08 - US merger forms 'largest airline'
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)Rival US companies Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines have agreed to merge in a $5bn (£2.5bn) deal that will create the world's biggest carrier.
The new airline, to be called Delta, will have annual revenue of more than $35bn and employ about 75,000 staff. ukimports.org
11/04/08 - Revised Eastbound Tariff with effect from 1st June 2008
- Courtesy of The FEFC (www.fareasternfreightconference.com)The 1st October 2007 tariff revision was the first step towards restoring contribution levels in the eastbound trade. Although the revision was reasonably successful, it must be understood that freight rates have not yet reached a level which would support the premium services offered by the FEFC Lines. Lines have therefore decided to re-launch the eastbound tariff with revised freight rate levels for the UK-Northwest Continent sector with a view to improving the recovery of costs of, inter alia, equipment imbalance and port congestion. Rates in the Mediterranean remain unchanged.
Lines would also remind customers that the present volatility in both the fuel and currency markets make maintenance of the CAF and BAF of great importance to the viability of the trade. ukimports.org
11/04/08 - Please note the following amendments to Vol. 3 of the printed Customs Tariff
- Courtesy of HM Revenue and Customs (www.hmrc.gov.uk)Appendix C11 Pages 9-109 and 9-110
The temporary document codes 9002 and 9003 for EUR-MED Certificates and EUR-MED Invoice Declarations have now been replaced with the following permanent codes:
U045 Movement Certificates EUR-MED
U048 EUR-MED declaration of preferential origin on an invoice or other commercial document
These codes which are already included in Appendix C11 must be inserted in box 44 where all claims to preference are supported by the above documents. ukimports.org
11/04/08 - JCCC CIP (08) 21
- Courtesy of HM Revenue and Customs (www.hmrc.gov.uk)The introduction of new document codes which will give AEOs the option to include their certificate number in Box 44 of the SAD. ukimports.org
11/04/08 - BA postpones long-haul move to T5
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)British Airways has delayed moving most of its long-haul flights to Heathrow's new Terminal 5 until June.
"It is only sensible to ensure that Terminal 5 is operating consistently at a high standard before the move begins," said BA boss Willie Walsh.
The new £4.3bn terminal has been plagued by problems, especially with its baggage handling, since it opened.
Almost all of BA's long-haul flights were supposed to switch from Terminal 4 to Terminal 5 on 30 April.
BA boss defends Terminal 5 postponement
No date in June has yet been given for the move. ukimports.org
10/04/08 - Fresh chaos for US air passengers
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)The US's biggest airline has cancelled 900 more flights after safety concerns forced it to ground 300 planes - nearly half its passenger-carrying fleet.
It is the third day of cancellations by American Airlines. Nearly 2,500 flights have been affected, causing delays for 100,000 passengers.
The action follows an inspectors' warning of problems with wiring repairs on the MD-80 aircraft two weeks ago.
Other major US carriers have also been forced to ground planes for inspection.
Alaska Airlines has cancelled more than 40 flights, and Midwest Airlines 10, to inspect their own MD-80 jets.
Delta Air Lines, which operates 117 of the twin-engined craft, was likely to call off "a handful of flights", the Associated Press reported the airline as saying. ukimports.org
09/04/08 - American Airlines grounds flights
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)American Airlines has cancelled more than 1,000 flights after grounding its MD-80 aircraft to conduct extra safety inspections on wiring.
The cancellations - almost half of the airline's schedule - came after about 450 flights were scrapped on Tuesday.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) raised concerns about the wiring inspections two weeks ago.
The FAA has been clamping down on safety inspections and several airlines have been forced to ground planes. ukimports.org
07/04/08 - Fire terror for plane passengers
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)Passengers have spoken of their terror as they saw flames coming from a jet engine during a flight.
A Boeing 737 from Athens to Luton made an emergency landing at the Greek airport 40 minutes after take-off.
Those travelling on the plane told how they thought they were going to crash and shouts of "fire, fire" were heard from the back of the aircraft. ukimports.org
07/04/08 - Crisis talks over airport plans
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)Crisis talks are to take place in an effort to rescue multi-million pound development plans for Carlisle Airport.
Stobart Air, which wants to invest £30m in a new passenger and freight facility, is unhappy at conditions imposed by city council bosses.
Carlisle Council approved the redevelopment plans on Friday, but said this was conditional on a host of restrictions being imposed.
The two sides were meeting on Monday in an effort to resolve the situation. ukimports.org
06/04/08 - More cancellations at Terminal 5
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)More than a 100 flights have been cancelled at Heathrow's Terminal 5 after snow added to disruption caused by earlier baggage-handling problems.
Of the flights cancelled to and from T5, 12 were due to technical problems with the baggage system.
The rest were the result of the bad weather that has affected flights right across Europe.
British Airways is advising the figure could rise. A total of 185 flights across Heathrow have been cancelled. ukimports.org
06/04/08 - Delays at airport after snow fall
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)Passengers are being warned of delays at Bristol International Airport on Sunday after the weekend's snow fall.
The runways was closed for an hour during the early morning to allow the snow to be cleared.
This caused some delays which will have a knock-on effect during the rest of the day. ukimports.org
04/04/08 - Fuel supplies problem at airport
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)Flights travelling from Manchester Airport face cancellation following a problem with fuel supplies.
Jet fuel from its suppliers at Shell's Stanlow refinery in Ellesmere Port has been shut off since Wednesday because it was found to be of a poor standard.
The airport can store four million litres of fuel but can use up to three million litres a day.
A spokesperson for the refinery said they were "confident" the supply issue would be resolved in "due course". ukimports.org
03/04/08 - BA's Terminal 5 losses top £16m
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)British Airways has said that the chaos surrounding the opening of Terminal 5 has so far cost about £16m.
The costs were incurred mainly by the cancellation of 300 short-haul flights, the firm said.
"Although there remains a small number of cancellations for today and tomorrow, the Terminal 5 performance is steadily improving," BA said.
Earlier the airline had promised that a full schedule of flights would operate on Saturday.
It will be the first day of normal operation for the terminal, which has been hit by serious problems with baggage handling. ukimports.org
03/04/08 - Terminal 5 ready for full flights
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)Heathrow's Terminal 5 will operate a full schedule of flights on Saturday, British Airways has said.
It will be the first day of normal operation for the terminal, which was plagued by problems on its opening day.
Scores of flights have been cancelled by the airline over the past week in order to take pressure off overloaded baggage handling systems.
On Thursday BA cancelled 34 flights, fewer than the previous two days when more than 50 services did not fly.
The weekend schedule is less busy than the weekday timetable, a spokeswoman for BA said. ukimports.org
03/04/08 - Men 'planned airliner explosions'
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)Eight men planned to detonate bombs aboard flights from London across the Atlantic to create deaths on an almost unprecedented scale, a court has heard.
Homemade devices were to be smuggled on to passenger aircraft and detonated mid-flight, Woolwich Crown Court heard.
After their arrests in August 2006, passengers were banned from carrying most liquids on board aircraft.
The eight men all deny conspiring to murder others and endangering aircraft bound for the US and Canada in 2006. ukimports.org
03/04/08 - Thirteen held in VAT fraud raids
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)Thirteen people were arrested in raids by officers investigating allegations of a multi-million pound VAT fraud.
About 280 police and customs officials swooped on 20 premises in Lancashire, Greater Manchester and the Midlands.
Searches took place at businesses and private homes in Preston, Warrington, Rochdale, Birmingham and Leicester.
Investigations centred on the import of counterfeit goods and the alleged overvaluation of exports, leading to false claims for VAT repayments. ukimports.org
02/04/08 - United grounds Boeing 777 fleet
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)United Airlines has been forced to cancel flights after grounding its entire fleet of Boeing 777 aircraft.
United said that during a regular review of maintenance records it had discovered tests on a fire suppression system had not been thorough enough.
The airline cancelled 31 of its 84 daily 777 flights on Wednesday and expects more cancellations on Thursday.
United has been using other aircraft on the mainly long-haul routes as well as booking passengers onto other airlines. ukimports.org
01/04/08 - Police arrest six in road checks
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)Six people were arrested and seven vehicles seized in road checks at Dartford docks.
Three were arrested on suspicion of drugs, theft or driving offences, and bailed, Kent Police said.
The other three were arrested over alleged immigration offences. They are being dealt with by the Borders and Immigration Agency. ukimports.org
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UKimports.org is not responsible for any content or advice given in any external site and we are not endorsing or promoting any product or company referred to on our site. ukimports.org
