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CMA CGM Eyes USD 660 Mn Container Terminal in Djibouti
French container shipping company CMA CGM is said to be in talks with Djibouti on developing a new container terminal in the country, with an initial investment estimated to be worth USD 660 million.
According to Aboubakar Omar Hadi, Chairman of the Djibouti Ports and Free Zone Authority (DPFZA), cited by Reuters, the concession for the terminal is expected to be awarded in July, with the construction on the project set to start in September.
The new terminal, to be named Doraleh International Container Terminal, would have an initial annual capacity of 2.4 million TEUs and it would take around two years to complete its construction, as explained by Hadi. Further expansion of the terminal would bring its total capacity to 4 million TEUs.
The majority of the terminal construction (85 pct) would be financed by DPFZA via bank loans, while the concession partner would participate with the remaining 15 pct, Hadi is quoted as saying.
Hapag-Lloyd Reshuffles Management as It Returns to Profit
German liner company Hapag-Lloyd has reorganized its executive board as the company’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) Thorsten Haeser steps down.
Haeser, who played a major role in the company’s integration of UASC into the company, is leaving the company as of March 31, 2018, on “the most amicable of terms”, the company said in a release.
As a result, Hapag-Lloyd’s CEO Rolf Habben Jansen will take over the global sales activities.
Joachim Schlotfeldt, who has been a member of the executive committee since 2007, will become a new member of the board as of April 1, 2018. He will take charge of human resources, which was the responsibility of the CEO as labour director, as well as global procurement, previously run by the COO.
In addition, the company said the management changes were needed due to the increased size of Hapag-Lloyd. Following the mergers with the container activities of CSAV (2014) and UASC (2017), the transport capacities and number of containers transported at Hapag-Lloyd have more than doubled.
Revenue rose by the around 50 pct in the same period, and the number of employees increased by around 70 pct.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) climbed up to EUR 1.055 billion, against EUR 607 million posted for 2016.
The group net result stood at EUR 32.1 million for the year 2017, a major rebound from a net loss of EUR 93.1 million from 2016.
Sinokor, Heung-A to Integrate Container Shipping Ops
South Korean liner companies Sinokor Merchant Marine and Heung-A Shipping have decided to merge their container shipping services by the end of the year before joining forces with Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM).
The duo will ink a corresponding agreement in April when a joint office will also be established. The integration is expected to be completed by the end of 2019, the country’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) said in a statement.
Sinokor and Heung-A Shipping together account for 34 percent of Asia’s total fleet capacity excluding HMM and SM Line.
Last year, HMM agreed to become a strategic partner to Sinokor and Heung-A by creating an HMM+K2 consortium.
As explained, the plan is to enhance synergy effects in the container shipping sector through the collaboration between the integrated company, which focuses on Intra-Asia, and HMM, which has a central position in long-distance ocean routes.
In the second half of 2017, South Korean container carriers joined forces to form a cooperation body named Korea Shipping Partnership aimed at strengthening the country’s shipping industry following the collapse of Hanjin Shipping. The fourteen national carriers launched a cooperation council to overcome the crisis in the industry and seek new business opportunities.
The council removed three routes and withdrew eleven ships, among other restructuring measures.
HMM Nets USD 420 Million to Build 5 VLCCs
South Korean shipping company Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) has secured USD 420 million to finance the construction of five very large crude carriers (VLCC).
The funding has been provided via the financing fund worth KRW 2.6 trillion (USD 2.28 billion), which the South Korean government announced in October 2016 to help the country’s shipping industry.
The 300,000 dwt crude carriers have already been ordered from the compatriot shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME). Two VLCCs from the batch have secured work with oil refiner GS Caltex.
The USD 177 million contract, signed in February, will see HMM transport a total of 19 million tons of crude oil from the Middle East to South Korea over a period of five years, starting in July, 2019.
The shipbuilding deal with DSME included an option for five additional VLCCs, however, HMM decided not go through with the additional order earlier this month.
NYK: Impact of Embezzlement Case in Chinese Subsidiary Minimal
The impact of the embezzlement case in NYK Car Carrier China on Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha’s (NYK) consolidated financial results will be minimal, the company said following an investigation into the matter.
NYK explained that the “inappropriate accounting” by former locally-hired management personnel from its Shanghai-based subsidiary engaged in finished car logistics would not require any changes to be made to the previous consolidated results, including those for the nine-month period ending December 2017.
The Japanese shipping giant reported the case in February 2018, saying that an investigation had been launched into suspected “unlawful expenditure” being committed from 2013 to 2017.
The investigation report revealed, among other things, that approx. RMB 47.4 million (USD 7.5 million) was paid from NCCC in the name of service fees for services which had never been provided, in addition to the payment of around USD 500,000 for an “unnecessary and inappropriate agreement”.
The misappropriated money by the former management would be difficult to collect, according to NYK, hence the company estimates around USD 8.4 million in additional taxes and penalties arising from the case.
The investigation is being reported on the back of a USD 486.6 million fine imposed on maritime car carriers by the European Commission.
These include Chilean maritime carrier CSAV, the Japanese carriers “K” Line, MOL and NYK, and the Norwegian/Swedish carrier WWL-EUKOR, which participated in a cartel concerning the intercontinental maritime transport of vehicles.
NYK, which was fined EUR 141.82 million (USD 175 million), explained that it had already recognized USD 186 million as provision for the fines in its nine-month report ending December 31, 2017.
Source: World Maritime News
