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Climate change: why bother?

Smart Freight Centre, a partner of The Loadstar, has published a simple, clear blog on why companies should care about climate change; it includes their legal responsibilities and a roadmap to get started. It also outlines what could happen if companies fail to address their environmental responsibilities. The ramifications can be significant, from lack of customer loyalty to difficulties in recruitment, as well as challenges in gaining financial support for …

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Explainer: why empty shipping containers are piling up in Australia

You don’t have to be an Australian supply chain operator for this article to be relevant. If you want to understand, in a nutshell, how empty containers have built up in Australia – and the lessons here apply to any importing country with a trade imbalance with Asia exporters – the country’s liner lobby group, Shipping Australia, has put together this easy-to-understand analysis. “Covid is at heart of the problem. …

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https://theloadstar.com/explainer-why-empty-shipping-containers-are-piling-up-in-australia/

Gulf of Guinea this decade’s Somalia as vessel hijacks and kidnapping cases soar

Somali pirates dominated the shipping headlines for the best part of a decade – even to the point they became Hollywood material in the form of the Tom Hanks vehicle Captain Philips (although our personal preference is the brilliant low-budget Danish thriller Kapringen (A Hijacking) starring Pilou Asbæk). Nowadays, filmmakers will need to look at the west coast of Africa to find similar inspiration, according to this report from Splash247. …

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https://theloadstar.com/gulf-of-guinea-this-decades-somalia-as-vessel-hijacks-and-kidnapping-cases-soar/

Cargo vessel captain may face arrest following Beirut explosion

In what looks, on the face of it, to be a classic case of the criminalisation of seafarers, Maritime Executive reports that Interpol has issued an arrest warrant for the master of the Rhosus, the cargo ship that brought the lethal consignment of ammonium nitrate, the cause of last year’s tragic explosion in the port of Beirut. Its owner abandoned the vessel while it was docked in Beirut in 2013-2014, …

The post Cargo vessel captain may face arrest following Beirut explosion appeared first on The...

https://theloadstar.com/cargo-vessel-captain-may-face-arrest-following-beirut-explosion/

Shipping line reliability and accountability now ‘a thing of the past’

Shipping lines are facing increasingly angry customers as rates continue to soar and service levels plunge. Many are noting their frustrations on LinkedIn as the debate over whether carriers are profiteering rumbles on. In one typical example, the international transport manager for a furniture company claims accountability and reliability are now a “thing of the past”, while playing the blame game is the new top trend.
The manager notes that shipping …

The post Shipping line reliability and...

https://theloadstar.com/shipping-line-reliability-and-accountability-now-a-thing-of-the-past/

Ireland seeks its own ‘landbridge’ to continental EU

Despite the eleventh-hour agreement between the EU and UK on tariff- and quota-free trade, the new rules on customs formalities have led to an increase in the costs for Irish importers and exporters using the UK landbridge between the country and continental Europe. Euractive reports that Brexit has led to a surge in new shipping capacity between Ireland and Europe as shippers and their logistics providers try to keep shipments …

The post Ireland seeks its own ‘landbridge’ to continental EU...

https://theloadstar.com/ireland-seeks-its-own-landbridge-to-continental-eu/

France reopens UK border to truckers with negative Covid test

France has agreed to reopen its borders, with air, rail, and sea operations resuming this morning. Under the agreement between governments on both sides of the Channel, anyone entering France from the UK will be required to provide proof of a negative coronavirus test taken within the preceding 72 hours. As the deal was announced, the number of lorries waiting to cross the border had reached 4,000, with mounting concerns …

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https://theloadstar.com/france-reopens-uk-border-to-truckers-with-negative-covid-test/

Four feared dead after Shanghai containership collision

More grim news from the world’s oceans. Container News reports a fatal collision near Shanghai yesterday, which may have caused the deaths of four crew members. According to the report, the 1,700 teu Oceana lost control after a suspected electrical fault with its steering system and collided with the Xin Qi Sheng 69, which subsequently sank.
“The incident forced all 16 crew members of the Xiamen Qisheng Shipping-owned Xin Qi Sheng 69 jump …

The post Four feared dead after Shanghai containership...

https://theloadstar.com/four-feared-dead-after-shanghai-containership-collision/

UK’s peers warn of serious concerns over ‘weak’ contingency plans

For the UK government it never rains, it pours. The Johnson cabinet’s preparations have come under further assault from the House of Lords EU Committee. In a letter directed to Brexit minister Michael Gove, the committee’s chair Baroness Sandip Verma says she is “seriously concerned” over “weak and undeveloped” contingency plans. She has slammed the government’s Brexit preparations and its inability to communicate vital information – and has asked for …

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https://theloadstar.com/uks-peers-warn-of-serious-concerns-over-weak-contingency-plans/

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