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NEWS Iran faces ship inspections...


The UN Security Council voted for tougher sanctions against Iran on 9 June, including checks on cargo moving to and from the country, along with inspections of vessels on the high seas. The sanctions are being imposed over fears that the country may be trying to build a nuclear bomb. The resolution calls on all


states to inspect all cargo to and from Iran in their territory, including seaports and airports, if there are reasonable grounds to believe that it contains prohibited items. States may also request


inspections of vessels on the high seas with the consent of the flag State, and the UN is calling on all countries to cooperate in such inspections if there are reasonable grounds to suspect that vessel are carrying banned goods. The UN sanctions included a


list of Iranian shipping companies under


sanction. However,


Matthew Godsey, research associate at the US-based Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control, described the UN measures as “timid”. He said: “The sanctions include an annex for entities owned, controlled, or acting on behalf of IRISL, but


only lists three such entities, all of which are just long established subsidiaries that can be found on the IRISL website.” However, as reported in the previous issue of FBJ, IRISL has set up a large number of other subsidiary companies, none of which are included in the UN list. In a parallel move, the US may


itself also impose stiffer sanctions against European and other non-US firms doing business with Iran including a ban on doing business with US firms or from bidding for US government contracts, under a bill currently before the US Congress.


While a similar law has been


on the statute books since 1996 it has not been enforced thanks to a presidential waiver but the new legislation would remove this. EU foreign ministers, meeting


in Luxembourg on 14 June, also agreed to ban investment in Iran’s oil and gas industry. On 21 June, the Gulf News reported that the United Arab Emirates had closed down 40 companies for violating UN sanctions on Iran. The UAE was traditionally a gateway for the country but the crackdown could be a sign that it is taking a harder line against its neighbour.


Addressing the needs of a thousand islands


The New Zealand arm of Asia-based NVOCC and freight services supplier Famous Pacific Shipping has launched a new regular direct ocean freight consolidation service to Micronesia, Guam and the Marshall Islands in the Pacific. All LCL cargo will be consolidated at FPS’s facility in Auckland and


FPS NZ will operate every 18 days from Auckland with a three-week transit time to Majuro, Micronesia, and four weeks to Guam. FPS is working with Reef Shipping, which operates scheduled


services from New Zealand and Australia to most Pacific Island nations and is the sole service provider to some key ports, including Niue, Aitutaki and Vavau. Previously, LCL cargo from New Zealand had to transit over South Korea, Hong Kong or Singapore, adding weeks to voyage times. New Zealand is a major trading area for the region, but until


now there has been a lack of direct shipping services from there to Micronesia, says FPS (NZ) managing director, Marcus Goldsworthy. Even so, serving this vastly scattered and diverse region “is not without its challenges” says Mr Goldsworthy. “Physically, distances are enormous and the populations are relatively small.” Some islands,


like Numea, are extremely weal thy - others seems stuck in a t ime-warp. Many of the islands, like Ki rabat i – only 4 metres above sea level and 200 metres across at its widest point – are in danger of disappearing due to global warming. While there some relatively major centres of population, such


as Fiji, 80% of whose people live on the two main islands, the population is spread over thousands of miles of ocean and there are around 1,000 different languages. For example, cargo being onforwarded to Kirabti from Fiji faces


a voyage of 1500 miles on a service that operates only every three weeks.


DHL moves into outsourcing


DHL aims to capture a share of the public procurement market as governments worldwide wrestle with growing deficits. A new UK-based team called DHL Procurement Outsourcing is headed by Roger West, the former head of NHS Supply Chain - a DHL business procurement unit created in 2006 under contract to the UK Department of Health. Roger West said that while the proposition is a new direction for Deutsche Post DHL, it was a logical step. “If we move it, why not be involved in buying it?” The new unit aims to help drive down costs, drawing on DHL’s specialist expertise which it says has saved the UK National Health Service over £100m in the past three years, ahead of expectations. DHL now wants to build business in other countries, replicating its


‘direct from manufacturer’ sourcing programme. The service will operate on a local, national and global basis,


said Roger West. “We are a global company so clearly leveraging our international logistics capability is an attractive opportunity for customers, but we will also be supporting procurement solely within a country’s borders. We’re focussed on the needs of the customer and will look to develop integrated supply chain solutions that meet their challenges.” He added: “Many businesses in the private sector will be quick


to grasp the competitive benefits of a ‘one-stop’ procurement and delivery process from our company, and we hope to extend our well known and trusted logistics services to integrate procurement of some of the things that we move.”


Russia relents on fruit & veg


Russia has aligned some of its maximum levels for fruit and vegetable pesticide residues with EU and international standards, helping to remove a long-standing trade barrier. Excessively strict limits were seen as a major trade barrier and led to delays or consignments being rejected at the Russian border. The EU now hopes to harmonise standards for other areas, particularly meat and dairy products, plant health and veterinary inspections.


Garuda is back


Garuda Indonesia has launched a new daily air service from Jakarta to Amsterdam via Dubai as the first step in rebuilding its long-haul international network. An EU ban prohibiting all Indonesian carriers from its airspace was lifted in July last year. Garuda said it planned to add more more European destinations over the next four years, including London, but was unable to give any indication when that would occur. The airline has awarded a Europe- wide cargo general sales agency to European Cargo Services for the 14 tonnes of capacity available on the Airbus A330- 200 flights from Amsterdam.


New service to Gulf


CMA CGM is to replace its joint container service with MSC from North Europe to the US South Atlantic, Mexico and the US Gulf with an upgraded route in partnership with CSAV from October. However, the new route will no longer serve the UK although Felixstowe is still included in CMA CGM’s Round The World and Liberty Bridge services.


ISSUE 2 2010


...but Tehran Book Fair goes ahead


UN sanctions have however failed to prevent forwarder Davies Turner from breaking its record for shipments to the Tehran International Book Fair – and nor did the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud that grounded much of Europe’s airfreight, just as Davies Turner was gearing up for deliveries to this year’s event, which attracts 1,400 foreign publishers displaying 150,000 titles. Davies Turner’s joint MD Philip Stephenson said he switched from air cargo to road freight for the final deliveries of books and had to use more express trailers - which achieved transit times from the UK to Tehran of as little as 7–10 days. Single-manned trucks normally take around two weeks to complete the journey. He added that books are not subject to the UN sanctions


and the event was unlikely to be affected in future. It is the most important event of its kind in the whole of Asia and the Middle East.


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