Archives: May 2009 cargo news
The News stories below are cargo / freight related stories which made the headlines in May 2009 (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. ukimports.org
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26/05/09 - £1 million wood recycling site opens at Tilbury Docks
- Courtesy of The Thurrock Gazette (www.thurrockgazzette.co.uk)A WOOD recycling firm from the North West of England has expanded into the south with the opening of a £1 million site at Tilbury Docks.
Hadfield Wood Recyclers, which is based in Manchester, opened the two acre site this week.
The facility will be used for collecting and pre-processing waste wood from all over the south of England.
Managing Director of Hadfield Wood Recyclers, Geoff Hadfield, said: “This is a very exciting project for us because there is a huge demand in the area for a wood recycler who can take all grades of wood and recycle it into sustainable and environmentally-friendly products.
“This is just the start of our presence in the area.
“Ultimately we will be looking to build a full processing plant to cover the south east, so we can process and clean the wood, and manufacture our products, as we already do at our sites in Manchester and Teesside.” ukimports.org
26/05/09 - Heathrow activists claim DfT handed personal data to police
- Courtesy of The Hounslow Guardian (www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk)Campaigners fighting a third runway at Heathrow today expressed concern following reports the Department for Transport (DfT) compiled dossiers on them and handed the data to police.
Residents' groups accused civil servants of spying on potentially thousands of people who have spoken out against the £9bn expansion plans. ukimports.org
26/05/09 - Fastest freight ferry due at port
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)The first high-speed freight catamaran to operate across the English Channel is expected to arrive in Kent later.
The Norman Arrow has spent three weeks travelling from Tasmania and is scheduled to arrive at the Port of Dover between 1700 and 1800 BST.
LD Lines will use the Incat 367ft (112m) vessel, the world's largest diesel-powered catamaran, on the Dover to Boulogne route from 6 June. ukimports.org
26/05/09 - Maiden Call For Cosco Guangzhou
- Courtesy of Felixstowe TV (www.felixstowetv.co.uk)The Cosco Guangzhou has made its maiden call at the Port of Felixstowe. ukimports.org
25/05/09 - Aircraft in runway wheel collapse
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)A light aircraft came off the runway at Newcastle Airport causing disruption to other flights.
The four-seater single engine aircraft veered off on to the grass on Monday afternoon causing its nose wheel to collapse and damaging the propeller.
There was one man on board and he was not injured.
Five flights were diverted to Durham Tees Valley or Edinburgh, two outbound flights were cancelled and other outbound flights were delayed. ukimports.org
25/05/09 - Dispute causes cancelled flights
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)Flights at Guernsey Airport have been disrupted because of a shortage of fire cover at the island's airfield.
Flybe was forced to cancel Birmingham, Southampton, Gatwick and Exeter flights due to no airport fire crew sickness cover or staff available for overtime.
The lack of cover resulted in flights being cancelled in the afternoon.
The ongoing dispute between the States and airport firefighters centres around pay and is also expected to affect flights on Tuesday afternoon. ukimports.org
22/05/09 - Containerships selects Teesport as strategic northern freight hub
- Courtesy of PD Ports (www.thpal.co.uk)Containerships, a leading shortsea carrier, has chosen North East based Teesport, owned by PD Ports, as its strategic freight hub for Northern Europe. The shipping line, which acquired Mediterranean short-sea specialist Contaz in March, has chosen to use Teesport, the UK’s third largest port by volume, to link its new Mediterranean services with its traditional Baltic routes. ukimports.org
22/05/09 - Security alert at Southampton airport
- Courtesy of Southern Daily Echo (www.dailyecho.co.uk)SOUTHAMPTON airport was put on security alert this morning after staff discovered what appeared to be a chemical container in the toilets.
The Chemical Investigation Unit was called and the container was taken outside the building where a cordon was placed around it. ukimports.org
21/05/09 - Fire causes traffic gridlock on A14
- Courtesy of The Ipswich Evening Star (www.eveningstar.co.uk)A STRETCH of the A14 was this afternoon gridlocked after a fire on an articulated lorry.
The westbound carriageway of the busy road - close to the Sainsbury's roundabout in Bury St Edmunds - this afternoon came to a standstill following the blaze. ukimports.org
20/05/09 - A12 travel chaos as lorry overturns
- Courtesy of The Ipswich Evening Star (www.eveningstar.co.uk)COMMUTERS faced travel chaos today after a lorry overturned on a busy Suffolk road.
Motorists were held up in long tailbacks as a result of the accident on the London-bound carriageway of the A12.
No one was injured in the crash, which happened at about 6.40am between the East Bergholt junction and the Stratford St Mary junction.
Queues of up to a mile stretched back nearly to the Copdock roundabout in Ipswich, leaving drivers frustrated with another day late to work because of the region's unreliable road network. ukimports.org
20/05/09 - Japan's economy in record plunge
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)Japan's economy during the first three months of 2009 shrank at its quickest pace since records began, as exports slumped, officials figures have shown.
Output in the world's second largest economy contracted by 4% during the period, or by 15.2% on an annual basis.
Japan's economy, which depends heavily on exports, has been hit hard by the global downturn. ukimports.org
19/05/09 - Two dead as lorry hits van on M62
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)A van driver and passenger were killed when a lorry crashed through a motorway central reservation in West Yorkshire.
The lorry was travelling east on the M62 when it ploughed through the barrier, hitting the van and a mobile crane on the opposite carriageway.
Police said the lorry driver was badly injured and several others suffered minor injuries in the rush-hour crash.
Part of the M62 between Leeds and Bradford was closed both ways for more than 12 hours, causing disruption. ukimports.org
19/05/09 - Road reopened after fuel spill (in Felixstowe)
- Courtesy of The Ipswich Evening Star (www.eveningstar.co.uk)A FELIXSTOWE seafront street was open again today after a huge fuel spillage left it awash with diesel.
Investigators are looking into the circumstances of the incident, which happened in Manning Road when it is understood a fuel tank fell from a rubbish truck.
Some 100 litres of fuel spilled across the road - leaving highways workers with a big clean-up operation. ukimports.org
19/05/09 - Mersey crossing inquiry to begin
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)A public inquiry into plans to build a second bridge across the River Mersey is getting under way in Cheshire.
The £431m Mersey Gateway toll crossing would link Runcorn and Widnes in Cheshire, to ease congestion on the existing Silver Jubilee Bridge.
Halton Borough Council, which submitted the plans in 2008, said the crossing would help create thousands of jobs.
Opponents of the scheme said that tolls planned for both bridges would cast an "economic blight" across the area.
Under the proposals, users of the existing - and free to cross - bridge would also be charged tolls once the new crossing opens. ukimports.org
18/05/09 - NES Service Availability - 6576
- Courtesy of UK Trade Info (www.uktradeinfo.com)Tuesday 19 May 07.30 - 08.00
Due to an upgrade, you will be unable to use this service between 07.30 and 08.00 on Tuesday 19 May. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Web and XML only
During this time CAP declarations will be delayed. ukimports.org
18/05/09 - NCTS Service Availability - 6577
- Courtesy of UK Trade Info (www.uktradeinfo.com)Wednesday 20 May 07.00 - 17.00
Due to a scheduled upgrade, any submissions made to our online service between 07.00 and 17.00 on Wednesday 20 May will queue and will not reach the foreign countries of departure/destination until the upgrade is completed. Messages for UK Transit movements will not be affected by this downtime. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Permission is granted to use paper Fallback procedures during this time in accordance with JCCC Paper(05)36. ukimports.org
18/05/09 - Plan for new high-speed rail link
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)Two entrepreneurs are looking to raise £4bn to build a new high-speed rail link between Cambridge and Norwich.
George Freeman, founder of 4D Biomedical, and Nigel Brown, chairman of the Greater Cambridge Partnership, are looking at how to raise the funds.
The pair believe it would provide a boost to the economy of Norwich and the ports of Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft.
Mr Freeman said they want to see if it is feasible to bring together private and public funds to build the line. ukimports.org
18/05/09 - BAA to challenge airport break-up
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)BAA says it will appeal against the decision by the Competition Commission ordering it to sell three airports.
The commission told BAA in March that it must sell Gatwick and Stansted airports and either Edinburgh or Glasgow airport.
BAA said the ruling did not take into account current economic conditions. It also said that the commission's report was "affected by apparent bias". ukimports.org
17/05/09 - Blaze smoke drifts over airport
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)Fire crews have been tackling a large fire on a trading estate in Surrey.
They were sent to the Brett Trading Estate, in Littleton Lane, Shepperton, just before 1840 BST on Saturday, after reports of 80 tonnes of rubbish alight.
The fire then spread to industrial buildings, some containing acetylene cylinders. That led to an exclusion zone being put in place at the site.
Surrey Fire and Rescue said Heathrow Airport had to be advised as smoke was drifting in that direction.
But a spokesman for the airport said it had not affected any arrivals or departures. ukimports.org
15/05/09 - REMINDER!! 1st June sees implementation of RHIDES
- Courtesy of London Thamesport (www.londonthamesport.co.uk)Following a successful phase in period during which the bulk of drivers using London Thamesport have been issued with RHIDES cards, we would like to remind all our customers that the RHIDES driver identity card system at the Port will be implemented with full effect from Monday 1st June 2009.
If you require any further information on the use of RHIDES at London Thamesport, please contact Tony Gray Tel No 01634 273596. ukimports.org
15/05/09 - Southampton's business leaders condemn port tax rise
- Courtesy of Southern Daily Echo (www.dailyecho.co.uk)CITY business leaders and the marine community are united in protest against plans to hike shipping taxes by up to 67 per cent.
The Daily Echo has been campaigning against the proposed increase in the tax, known as light dues, which finishes its key consultation phase on Monday.
Business leaders from across Hampshire have called on the Government to abandon the plan and are now hoping their voices have been heard.
It is feared that if the proposals are given the green light, shipping companies will cut the number of visits to Southampton, threatening the futures of many of the 12,000 people in the region reliant on the port for work.
Docks bosses have said it feels like the industry is “under attack”. ukimports.org
15/05/09 - New speed limit plan for M20
- Courtesy of Kent Messenger Online (www.kentonline.co.uk)Motorists on the M20 could soon be fined for breaking variable speed limits of 40 or 50 mph.
The Highways Agency has launched a 12-week consultation on implementing a Controlled Motorway variable speed limit scheme between junctions 4 (West Malling) and 7 (Detling).
At the moment signs flash up telling drivers to keep to slower than national speed limit speeds but these are not enforceable by law. ukimports.org
14/05/09 - Port Statistics - 2008 Provisional Results
- Courtesy of The Office For National Statistics (www.statistics.gov.uk)Publication including preliminary annual statistics on freight traffic handled at UK ports.
Please note: Provisional Port Statistics - Q1 2009 - Release date: 11 June 2009. ukimports.org
14/05/09 - Chemical spill latest - road still shut
- Courtesy of The Ipswich Evening Star (www.eveningstar.co.uk)A SECTION of road remains closed more than 24 hours after deadly chemicals leaked from a lorry.
Seven people were taken to hospital yesterday after nitric acid leaked from a lorry onto the A120 close to Harwich International Port.
The highly corrosive substance - which causes severe burns when in contact with skin - was spotted spilling from barrels on the back of the vehicle at around 8.30am yesterday.
Two areas were cordoned off by police - one between Ramsey and Parkeston and the other on East Dock Approach - and the A120 was closed as specialists cleaned up the area. ukimports.org
14/05/09 - Ryanair scraps check-in desks at city airport
- Courtesy of Edinburgh Eveninng News (www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com)BUDGET airline Ryanair is set to scrap its check-in desks at Edinburgh Airport.
The low-cost carrier said that from next Wednesday, all new passenger bookings, including those travelling with infants and checked-in bags, would be done online.
The Irish airline is planning to phase out check-in desks from the 146 airports where it operates by 1 October next year. ukimports.org
14/05/09 - Complacency led to ship accident
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)A "complacent attitude" to keeping watch contributed to a collision between two ships in the English Channel, an accident report has said.
The cargo vessel Scot Isles lost 60 tons of marine gas oil in the sea in the accident with the Egyptian bulk carrier Wadi Halfa in the Dover Strait. ukimports.org
13/05/09 - Mystery over airport plot to smuggle cocaine
- Courtesy of Newcastle Evening Chronicle (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)WHO was behind a plot to smuggle £250,000 of cocaine into Tyneside is still a mystery.
After a jury acquitted Chiniemerem Igbaniousi of the charge, the Mr Bigs behind it remain free.
Mr Igbaniousi was intercepted by customs officers at Newcastle Airport after he arrived from the Cameroon via a flight from Paris in September. ukimports.org
13/05/09 - Airport bar ‘gun’ man avoids jail
- Courtesy of Scotland's Evening Times (www.eveningtimes.co.uk)A MAN who claimed to have two guns on him after being told to leave a Glasgow Airport bar has narrowly avoided jail.
Sheriff Mairi Mactaggart told Abdul Chaudry that in the current climate of fear and apprehension over terrorism, he was fortunate not to have been prosecuted in a higher court, considering the location of his offence. ukimports.org
12/05/09 - Transport group Stobart unveils Carlisle Airport offer
- Courtesy of The Liverpool Echo (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)TRANSPORT group Stobart announced plans to buy Carlisle Airport for £14m today – but said the next year will be one of consolidation as it develops its road, rail, air and ports divisions.
The group employs more than 500 staff at its Merseyside operations, including Warrington road haulage depots and its Runcorn and Widnes multi-modal site embracing a key road and rail hub and its Mersey Ports Gateway, where 10,000 jobs could be created in transport and warehousing. ukimports.org
12/05/09 - Strong winds close port
- Courtesy of The Ipswich Evening Star (www.eveningstar.co.uk)BRITAIN'S biggest port was closed at lunchtime today as winds hit 45mph on the coast.
Rail and yard operations at Felixstowe were affected with access to the quaysides restricted for safety reasons. ukimports.org
08/05/09 - Four year jail term for 60-year-old caught smuggling cash
- Courtesy of The Hounslow Guardian (www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk)An unemployed man who was caught by an airport sniffer dog as he tried to smuggle £1.2m out of the country has been jailed for four years.
Yahya Forozan, 60, was carrying the laundered money in four suitcases at Heathrow’s terminal three on January 15 last year when the detector dog became suspicious.
Customs officers opened the cases, which all had baggage tags with Forozan’s name, and discovered the bundles of banknotes.
It led to Forozan, of Witham Road, Isleworth, being sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court yesterday, after he was found guilty by a jury of an offence under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. ukimports.org
08/05/09 - National Clearance Hub (NCH) Clearances
- Courtesy of HM Revenue & Customs (www.hmrc.gov.uk)Due to a telecommunication problem in the Manchester area the National
Clearance HUB is currently without CHIEF. It is hoped that the system will
be restored shortly but there will obviously be some delays . Manual release
notes are being issued for priority consignments. ukimports.org
08/05/09 - Ships shelter from economic storm
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)The global economic downturn has hit shipping hard, forcing many owners to take their vessels off the seas and mothball them at ports.
In a hidden and sheltered Cornish river sanctuary, there is a spectacular sight - a sign of just how bad the global downturn has become.
The Fal estuary has been filled up with giant container ships waiting for global trade to pick up.
In the distance, the Santa Giovanna bobs gently up and down with the incoming tide.
The 21,000-tonne ship used to be found plying the shipping lanes of the world, laden with goods from Chinese DVD players to New World wine.
Not any more. ukimports.org
08/05/09 - Sinking barge The Goliath beached at Kingsdown
- Courtesy of Kent Messenger Online (www.kentonline.co.uk)A crane barge has been deliberately beached at Kingsdown because it was in danger of sinking in the Channel.
The Goliath was being towed by a tug when it started taking on water as it approached Dover shortly before 5am this morning.
It was hoped the vessel could be brought back to Dover but due to conditions at the port the decision was made to beach it.
The barge had 138,000 litres of its own fuel on board. ukimports.org
07/05/09 - Bringing food products into the UK
- Courtesy of HM Revenue & Customs (www.hmrc.gov.uk)New UKBA leaflet 'Bringing food products into the UK' replacing existing HMRC leaflet. ukimports.org
07/05/09 - Recession 'hitting lorry numbers'
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)The number of lorries on UK roads has fallen dramatically, with the cut being linked to the recession, Department for Transport figures show.
The total fell 12% in the first quarter of this year on the same period in 2008, and 7% in the previous quarter.
The number of lorry drivers looking for work is reported to have increased fivefold in the past 12 months.
The Road Haulage Association says the sector is losing jobs more quickly than almost any other. ukimports.org
07/05/09 - Less cargo, less truckers on A14
- Courtesy of The Ipswich Evening Star (www.eveningstar.co.uk)NUMBERS of trucks on the A14 are down significantly because of the recession - with hauliers having less cargo to carry.
With people spending less - either through belt-tightening and fear of the future, or redundancy - shops are suffering, selling less and ordering fewer goods.
Imports through Felixstowe, Britain's biggest container port, are down 16 to 20 per cent, and some haulage firms have gone bust. ukimports.org
06/05/09 - Major cocaine haul 'found at Newcastle Airport'
- Courtesy of Newcastle Evening Chronicle (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)COCAINE worth £250,000 was found stashed in a suitcase lining at Newcastle Airport, a court heard.
Chiniemerem Igbaniousi was intercepted by customs officers as he arrived from the Cameroon with the hidden 2.56 kilo consignment, Newcastle Crown Court was told. ukimports.org
05/05/09 - New LD Lines high speed ferry makes its way to Dover
- Courtesy of Kent Messenger Online (www.kentonline.co.uk)LD Lines' new high speed ferry, now officially named Norman Arrow, is on its way to Dover.
The 112-metre wave-piercing catamaran left the shipyard in Hobart, Tasmania, on Saturday and is expected to arrive in Dover in three weeks time, having covered 11,726 nautical miles.
The 11,000 gross tonne craft is sailing a course via South West Australia, Seychelles, Suez Canal and Malta and should be in Dover on May 23 or 24.
Norman Arrow will become the largest ever fast ferry to operate on the cross-Channel routes between England and France and the first-ever freight carrying high speed vessel across the Dover Straits, when it begins service on LD Lines' Dover-Boulogne route from May 29. ukimports.org
05/05/09 - Empty port a sign of the times
- Courtesy of The Ipswich Evening Star (www.eveningstar.co.uk)IT'S a stark sign of the times - part of Britain's premier port looking like a giant empty car park.
Landguard Terminal at Felixstowe has been mothballed, mainly because of the recession, partly because it will be demolished to make way for a new deepwater quay.
Forty years ago, this quayside was the scene of the birth of the containerisation revolution in the ports' industry in the UK - the very first purpose-built box terminal.
Now its high-rise ship-to-shore cranes are standing idle, its quayside storage area empty. ukimports.org
04/05/09 - Protest over freight depot plan
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)Hundreds of protesters fighting a planned road and rail freight depot in Kent have gathered at the site.
The campaigners are opposed to the Kent International Gateway scheme which is proposed for a site off the M20 at Bearsted.
The scheme has gone to planning appeal but will still be considered by councillors in Maidstone on Thursday. ukimports.org
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