Viewpoint – Page 7
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NewsLow blows for US ports
Falling volumes, bun fights for dredging works, misguided protestors disrupting operations – US ports are certainly having a tough time of it.
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NewsFull throttle
You certainly can’t accuse Virginia Port Authority of half measures. In July, it replaced all of its board members bar one in a sweeping move to kick-start growth.
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NewsThe bigger picture
US labour issues have once again stolen the headlines on the West Coast, with a timing bordering on perfection.
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NewsPiracy port breach will force fresh thinking
The scourge of modern day piracy has prompted shivers down the spine of many a hard-working ship owner. With one of the world’s key shipping arteries at the top of the Gulf of Aden, avoidance of the area is unrealistic.
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NewsWhy it's good to talk about the future
Too much talk, not enough action. It’s a charge levelled with alarming frequently at the maritime industry – usually from within and from those at least partially responsible for the constant posturing.
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NewsWhere's the trust?
Ports should be watching the latest round of European anti-trust raids with interest.
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NewsRadiation checks reveal common policy void
As April ended and May started, ships that had called at Japanese ports post-radiation leaks finally found their way to European and US ports. And what greeted them was a disjointed mix of reactions and confused strategies on screening and decontamination plans.
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NewsFront line
Ports are the front line for any island nation; they are the gateway for both inbound goods and commodities and for potential revenue-earning exports. The series of recent natural disasters has put this dependence into stark perspective.
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NewsJoining the dots
February’s opening of Vietnam’s largest ever container terminal has at last crystallised the country’s true potential in the box handling market.
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NewsHutchison aims for top of the list
New year, new take on port listings. Or that’s what Hutchison Whampoa is banking on with its US$6bn initial public offering for its port assets in Hong Kong and southern China.
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NewsTiming issues
Dalian, north China''s largest operator, is the latest port to test the murky capital financing markets with a listing on the Shanghai stock exchange.
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NewsStarter's orders
Is it time to reinvigorate those stalled port expansion plans, or should operators wait for more certain economic statistics?
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NewsBrave new world
Surely dockworkers around the world must be getting the message that pressure tactics have had their day... or are they still able to turn a blind eye to the big picture of economic uncertainty and lower priced alternatives?
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NewsHigh society
The new UK government’s championing of “Big Society” has inspired at least one national port community to think local.
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NewsChain reaction
Today’s busy lifestyles mean that we are always on the run – whether it’s from one country to another, one meeting to another, or, in the case of ships, from one port to another.
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NewsAn oily mess
As I write this column, we are one month on from the devastating Deepwater Horizon explosion and the inevitable ecological disaster is still to be fully realised.
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NewsA watery rebirth
As I write this column, the UK is just emerging from yet another day of airspace troubles; the result of Iceland’s hard-to-pronounce volcano slewing thousands of tonnes of ash into the skies.
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NewsA spoke in the wheel
It''s easy to get caught up in the ‘us’ and ‘them’ mindset working in the shipping industry.
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NewsPlant food
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised at the events taking place in the liner industry today; once that solitary green shoot had been spied the woes of the past year suddenly seemed a distant memory. Recession? What recession?
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NewsThe strategist
In the first Strategist column of the year, I''d like to start with some simple suggestions for future port operations success.
