Viewpoint – Page 8
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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.
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Between a rock and a hard place
In the last issue of the year, it is traditional to reflect on the year gone by. However, I''m afraid I can see little worth in reliving the mess that was 2009.
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NewsPrivate concerns
Much is written about the ''pioneering'' nature of the UK port model. Indeed, a fully privatised model was a thing of envy in the late 1990s when ports around the world were getting to grips with the benefits privatisation could bring.
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NewsFly by night
More and more, moving a container from A to B is becoming like flying with a low cost budget airline. You book your ticket, you pay the fare only to find that it doesn''t really cover everything you expected it to.
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A fine mess
The news that France and Germany are ''officially'' out of recession should be music to the ears of box terminal operators. A growth in gross domestic product - albeit a subdued 0.3% one - in both countries in the second quarter should herald the start of the uptick, bringing with ...
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What's in your basket?
As the latest set of quarterly container throughput figures hits the wire, there''s no disguising the continued trade slump on the key east-west trade routes. So, perhaps it''s time to remind ourselves that seabourne trade is not all about boxes - although it''s been hard to think of anything else ...
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Work smarter
It''s easy in this economic trough in which we find ourselves to be fooled into thinking that nips and tucks in your business structure will be enough to see you through the lean times. But if your "vision" is that narrow, you will be missing many tricks that could put ...
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Fully charged
It amazes me in this day and age - and this economic climate - that the UK government is still persisting in its drive to drag backdated rates from the nation''s port businesses.
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The half-full glass
I am, one of those rare breeds: an optimist at heart. And it gladdens me to read that the Port Strategy columnists feel the same way.
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Lateral thinking
It''s a common misconception that being green costs money. In fact, there are plenty of ways you can ''green'' your port or terminals without spending a penny. And you could even save money - something not to be sniffed at times of economic meltdown.
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Bright spots
In these harsh - and getting harsher - times, it''s refreshing to hear that not everyone has been dragged down by the doom and gloom brigade.
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Perfect storm
With credit running dry and real costs spiralling, the UK''s revision of business rates for port operators could not have come at a worse time. And when that revision slaps bills running into millions of pounds on the desks of large and small operators alike, the nation''s port sector can ...
