en-gb Fri, 3 Feb 2012 23:07:25 GMT Copyright: (C) Handy Shipping Guide, see http://www.handyshippingguide.com terms for terms and conditions of use SOMALIA – Who’d be a truck driver in Somalia? Regular readers will know that we try to print only articles which have relevance in the world of freight and logistics movements but the latest happenings in South and Central Somalia give an indication of the difficulties facing the region and provide an insight into a country where piracy, kidnap and extortion are the only growth industries. The further sophistication of methods to deter and eliminate pirates which we have detailed previously, plus several fatally flawed attacks, has made that particular field ever more hazardous for those who pursue the trade. http://www.handyshippingguide.com/shipping-news/as-pirate-attacks-reduce-the-logistics-of-humanitarian-aid-gets-ever-more-difficult_3433 Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:13 GMT http://www.handyshippingguide.com/shipping-news/as-pirate-attacks-reduce-the-logistics-of-humanitarian-aid-gets-ever-more-difficult_3433 SOMALIA – Reports from the region regarding the rescue of two hostages today by US forces paint a vivid picture of the fragmented society that has spawned the current wave of pirate attacks. A unit deployed in the area consisting of US Navy Seals together with other specialist troops from Army, Navy, Marine and US Air Force factions has apparently been in place for some while awaiting instructions for any possible intervention in hostage or terrorist situations. The rescue did not involve victims from freight or passenger vessels as Dane Poul Hagen Thisted and American Jessica Buchanan were seized in the town of Galkayo in October while working for the Danish Demining Group (DDG) a branch of the Danish Refugee Council (DRC)a non-profit organisation that works worldwide to help victims of conflict. http://www.handyshippingguide.com/shipping-news/freight-vessel-attacks-down-as-hostages-rescued-by-special-forces_3415 Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:57 GMT http://www.handyshippingguide.com/shipping-news/freight-vessel-attacks-down-as-hostages-rescued-by-special-forces_3415 NEW YORK – The International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu met UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday, 20 January 2012, at the UN Headquarters in New York to discuss matters related to the IMO’s work and cooperation between the UN and the IMO to combat Somalia-based piracy. http://www.handyshippingguide.com/shipping-news/un-secretary-general-supports-imo-initiative-for-closer-counter-piracy-cooperation_3410 Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:06 GMT http://www.handyshippingguide.com/shipping-news/un-secretary-general-supports-imo-initiative-for-closer-counter-piracy-cooperation_3410 EUROPE / WORLDWIDE - EU Foreign Ministers are to discuss adding further sanctions on Iran and Syria when they meet in Brussels today (23rd January). In a written statement to the UK’s Parliament announcing the agenda for the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) meeting the Minister for Europe, David Lidington, said that he expected the EU to expand and strengthen its sanctions against Iran, including an oil embargo and further restrictions on finance, petrochemicals and gold. http://www.handyshippingguide.com/shipping-news/eu-ministers-meeting-expected-to-add-to-iransyria-sanctions-and-discuss-somali-piracy_3409 Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:10 GMT http://www.handyshippingguide.com/shipping-news/eu-ministers-meeting-expected-to-add-to-iransyria-sanctions-and-discuss-somali-piracy_3409 SOMALIA – After successfully accompanying a World Food Programme ship carrying aid into Somalia and while operating close to the Somali port of Mogadishu yesterday the Spanish warship ESPS Patino was attacked with light calibre weapons after pirates presumably mistook her for a freighter. The skiff bearing seven men were immediately fired upon and the EU Navfor flagship launched her helicopter which caused the would be hijackers to throw boarding ladders, weapons and fuel barrels over the side. http://www.handyshippingguide.com/shipping-news/pirate-feared-dead-after-attack-on-naval-warship-mistaken-for-freighter_3387 Fri, 13 Jan 2012 12:04 GMT http://www.handyshippingguide.com/shipping-news/pirate-feared-dead-after-attack-on-naval-warship-mistaken-for-freighter_3387 THE GULF – Tensions which have been raised in the Gulf region since the start of naval exercises by elements of the Iranian military on the 24th of December have been ratcheted up further today by comments made by a senior commander of the Iranian navy. Speaking to the Iranian English-language service Press TV Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said that “…closing the Strait of Hormuz is very easy for Iranian naval forces,” adding that “Iran has comprehensive control over the strategic water way.” http://www.handyshippingguide.com/shipping-news/just-how-big-a-threat-to-the-shipping-industry-would-an-iranian-blockade-of-hormuz-be_3344 Wed, 28 Dec 2011 17:44 GMT http://www.handyshippingguide.com/shipping-news/just-how-big-a-threat-to-the-shipping-industry-would-an-iranian-blockade-of-hormuz-be_3344 JAPAN – Regular readers will know that Mitsui OSK Line (MOL)try to do more than most when hardship strikes a community, their assistance during the recent Thai floods being a good example. Assistance with the horrors which followed the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami was almost expected therefore when the disasters occurred on home turf for the company known best for container freight carriage was itself directly affected last April. http://www.handyshippingguide.com/shipping-news/japanese-freight-container-line-wins-cruise-ship-award-for-humanitarian-effort_3331 Fri, 16 Dec 2011 10:41 GMT http://www.handyshippingguide.com/shipping-news/japanese-freight-container-line-wins-cruise-ship-award-for-humanitarian-effort_3331 Yesterday port and dock workers and road haulage staff walked out to protest at Prime Minister Mario Monti’s declared austerity package. Italy looks set for a series of disputes this week similar to those seen in Greece over the past few months. A euronews report shows demonstrators parading outside the Parliament offices in Rome in a rare show of solidarity between four of the country’s major unions. http://www.handyshippingguide.com/shipping-news/port-and-road-haulage-workers-strike-as-the-eurozone-shudders_3323 Tue, 13 Dec 2011 13:05 GMT http://www.handyshippingguide.com/shipping-news/port-and-road-haulage-workers-strike-as-the-eurozone-shudders_3323 ANGOLA – WORLDWIDE - Angola LNG Supply Service (ALSS) has signed a global agreement with GAC, the Kuwaiti headquartered logistics group to provide ship agency services to its vessels. ALSS is a specialist transporter of liquefied natural gas owned by affiliated companies of Sonangol, Chevron, BP, Total and ENI and will be shipping LNG from the Angola LNG Project liquefaction plant in the north of the country to receiving terminals worldwide beginning in the 1st quarter of 2012. http://www.handyshippingguide.com/shipping-news/new-african-lng-shipping-agency-contract-for-gac_3300 Tue, 6 Dec 2011 11:37 GMT http://www.handyshippingguide.com/shipping-news/new-african-lng-shipping-agency-contract-for-gac_3300 WORLDWIDE – The 1st December is World Aids Day and the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) has released details of a study it has undertaken showing how the HIV/AIDS situation has impacted on the port community and the ITF’s affiliated unions. The aims of the survey also included increasing understanding of the effects and perceptions of the disease and to prepare appropriate responses. http://www.handyshippingguide.com/shipping-news/ports-have-a-stake-in-world-aids-day_3289 Thu, 1 Dec 2011 00:15 GMT http://www.handyshippingguide.com/shipping-news/ports-have-a-stake-in-world-aids-day_3289