The 10,061 TEU (20-foot equivalent unit) containership Cosco Asia has said to have been attacked while transiting the Suez Canal on Saturday, according to press reports. Details of the alleged attack vary, with some reports claiming that two explosions were heard aboard the vessel, while others suggest the ship was fired at from shore, possibly with a rocket propelled grenade. The vessel is said to have experienced a fire and an explosion in a container on board, at 15:55 hrs on Saturday … [Read more...] about Chinese Cosco containership attacked in Suez
Air Forwarding
Airbus, China sign ATM modernisation agreement
Airbus and China’s Air Traffic Management Bureau (ATMB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cooperate on modernising the country’s Air Traffic Management System and to implement the latest Air Traffic Management (ATM) technologies. The MoU signed by Airbus and the ATMB under the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) focuses on improving air transportation, capacity and efficiency, while contributing to a sustainable future. It will also help in harmonising … [Read more...] about Airbus, China sign ATM modernisation agreement
Slow cargo uptick in July, Asia still weak
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced global air cargo traffic results for July showing a continuation of the modest improvement trend experienced in June. Global freight tonne kilometres (FTKs) were up 1.2 per cent in July year-on-year, slightly better than the 0.9 per cent year-on-year increase recorded in June, as growth in Europe and the Middle East offset weakness in Asia. As a result of the July performance, air freight volumes are at their highest level … [Read more...] about Slow cargo uptick in July, Asia still weak
Paying lip service?
For the carrier that sure seems like the most fun airline in the world, Turkish Airlines almost had a lot of people (not) seeing red, recently. It all started when it emerged that the carrier was planning on banning its female flight crew from wearing red lipstick and red nail polish. Turkey’s national airline said it wanted to give flight attendants a “natural look” so that they are “artless and well-groomed with makeup in pastel tones”. Reading this, we began … [Read more...] about Paying lip service?
CHEP sees dichotomy in the current market
Speaking to Payload Asia CHEP’s president Ludwig Bertsch, noted the dichotomy that the troubled market presents: “The downturn in cargo traffic has had an effect on everyone, including us, and it was sad to see one of our valued customers, Air Cargo Germany, go into chapter 11. Nevertheless we managed to grow our topline year-on-year by nearly 50 per cent, mainly due to the diverse range of services which has helped us to continue our growth story even in a difficult … [Read more...] about CHEP sees dichotomy in the current market
A post e-freight world
The other day I came across an interesting blog post on the future of data exchange. Written by Scott Sangster, the VP of Global Logistics at Descartes he looks at the question of what information will be required to be exchanged in the future. A key question he highlights, is who should be driving the future? Should IATA and Cargo 2000 be dictating the terms of reference to lead the way in terms of messaging, or should it be the tech companies? For Sangster it’s not an either/or … [Read more...] about A post e-freight world
