Good Thursday Morning from our Observation Deck......overlooking the officially designated "Cargo City" area and...... Runway 25-Right, at Los Angeles International Airport, voted "Best Cargo Airport in North America.".

Here is what happened in our transport industry for Nov. 2007.

We are often asked whether Countryman & McDaniel, conducts training seminars. Yes, from multiple Fortune 100 companies, to smaller forwarders, to the U.S. government, to insurance companies -- for years we have conducted inovative programs for domestic & Int'l claims, Customs, security, trade compliance & post 9/11 industry business practice. McD

To help you find what you need -- FAST -- there's now a transport search engine installed at our Cargo Law.com website!

Contribute your knowledge, stories & company information.......by e-mail to The Cargo Letter.  We strive to bring you useful information which is timely & topical.  Be sure to visit our website.

Our corporate sponsor &endash;- Interpool, Inc. -- named again to Forbes "Best 200 Small Companies" List -- for the 2nd consecutive year! -- http://www.interpool.com/

The Cargo Letter Archives of Past Issues

Michael S. McDaniel, Editor, Countryman & McDaniel, forwarder/broker/trade consultant attorneys at LAX.

INDEX to The Cargo Letter:

OUR "A" Section: Trade, Financial & Inland News***

1. Freight Forwarder Trade Briefs ______________                            

2. The Cargo Letter Financial Page ______________                               

OUR "B" Section:  FF World Ocean News***

3. Freight Forwarder World Air Briefs ____________                         

OUR "C" Section:  FF World Ocean News***

4. FF World Ocean Briefs _____________________                                            

5. The Cargo Letter Cargo Damage Dispatches _____        

**Back By Popular Demand**

OUR "D" Section:  FF in Cyberspace***

6. The Cargo Letter "Cyber Ports of Call" _________             

OUR "E" Section:  The Forwarder/Broker World***

7. New Transport Related Legal Cases ___________            

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 Back To Main Page

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OUR "A" Section: Trade, Financial & Inland News***

  1. Freight Forwarder Trade Briefs _____________

***The Cargo Letter .... There was no edition of The Cargo Letter for you in Oct. 2007 while we attended the 2007 World Congress of FIATA - the Int'l Federation of Freight Forwarding Associations -- at Dubai, United Arab Emirates. This is not the Middle East of daily T.V. news. Dubai is clearly at harmony, the home of free enterprise and soon to be one of the greatest freight forwarding centers in the world when the Freight Forwarding City is complete. All went well on our journey. Concerning container scanning required under recently promulgated U.S. guidelines, Byron Countryman of the Countryman & McDaniel Law Firm offered our EU friends a perspective which we hope may have softened their views. (SEE OUR: World Ocean News section below). The next FIATA World Congress 2008 will be hosted by Vancouver, Canada. See you there!

Back at home our Cargo Law Iternet Web site has now received over 93,350,000 hits thus far for the year & we are amazed that YOU readers visit us so often. We urge you view the Antarctic disaster last week for the loss of M/V Explorer . Next up, the Countryman & McDaniel Law Firm will conduct ground breaking 2-day seminar programs for the The Asia Business Forum in Singapore & Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 18-19 & 20-21 Feb. 2008. These "Cargo Claims Handling & Loss Prevention" training programs will set the pace for understanding actual risk in our industry, and how that risk should be managed from the practical & economic points of view. More details next month, but mark your calendars. Please schedule your employees to attend.

***Noted Maritme Lawyer Joins The Countryman & McDaniel Law Firm ...... as Geoffrey W. Gill, Esq. is an accomplished admiralty law practitioner of more than 25 years experience, a maritime safety consultant and a former deck & navigation officer in worldwide service. Mr. Gill is a graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and a lecturer at the California Maritime Academy, Maine Maritime Academy, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and New York Maritime College. He is the author of West's Federal Forms For Admiralty and member of the California, New York and Florida bars. Mr. Gill has been a licensed master of sailing vessels carrying passengers for hire and is a consultant to NASA.

***New Air Carrier Security Criteria ........ as U.S. Customs & Border Protection has released its minimum security criteria for air carriers participating in the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT). The program hopes to have similar security criteria in place covering 3PL providers by early 2008. C-TPAT is a voluntary industry partnership program under which importers with approved internal security controls for their supply chain are eligible to receive fewer container security exams at ports of entry. Carriers & other service providers do not receive similar trade facilitation benefits, but tend to join the program to attract business from shippers that need all their suppliers to follow the same standards in order to receive expedited clearance at the border. The C-TPAT program has grown to 7,774 certified members and validated more than 90% of the companies so they can receive the full trade benefits, according to the agency's latest statistics. CBP has conducted 2,334 validations this year and expects to complete 670 more by the end of the year to achieve its objective of doing 3,000 validations in 2007. CBP's goal is to conduct 3,600 overseas supply chain security audits in 2008 and even more in 2009. The agency has suspended or removed 416 companies from the program, about half of them Mexican long-haul highway carriers. The suspension figures are more than double the amount since the program's inception in 2002 through 2006. CBP is in the process of setting up management teams to run the new Houston & Buffalo C-TPAT offices by the end of the year and hopes to hire and deploy field auditors shortly thereafter, Skinner said. The new offices will focus on Canada & Mexico supply chains. There are still fewer than a dozen companies that have taken advantage of the 3rd-party validation program that CBP is offering in China, where its own inspectors so far have not been permitted to travel. CBP set up the one-year trial program at the insistence of Congress and implemented it to help companies whose only suppliers are in China receive validations. CBP certified 11 private companies to conduct validations on its behalf, but shippers have been reluctant to pay for the service so far. Specifics of the new Air Carrier Security Criteria.

***China Mulls C-TPAT Cooperation ...... as U.S. Customs & Border Protection officials plan to meet with their Chinese counterparts in Beijing sometime in Dec. to work out details for cooperation on the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT), Michael Mullen, assistant commissioner for international affairs & trade relations said. CBP Commissioner Ralph Basham announced in Nov. 2007 that Minister of Customs Mu Xinsheng had finally agreed to allow U.S. inspectors in the country to verify security compliance of manufacturers and logistics providers whose customers participate in the voluntary supply chain security program. China is the only country that has refused to allow access to U.S. Customs teams seeking to validate that foreign suppliers are following security plans submitted by their U.S. import customers and approved by CBP.

***Asia Pacific Surges ...... as the global contract logistics market grew just under 10% last year, according to a report from UK-based Transport Intelligence. The study, "Global Contract Logistics 2007," reports that the market was driven by growth in the Asia Pacific region, which it said overtook North America for the 1st time to become the world's 2nd largest market. Europe, the most mature market, "experienced solid if unspectacular growth." Transport Intelligence said the regional growth rates disguised a "huge" national disparity in market growth. Europe, Russia & Turkey led the way, while in Asia Pacific, the biggest growth was recorded by China, India and South Korea with Japan stagnating. In North America, the Mexican contract logistics sector advanced by double digits, helped by the return of "near-sourcing" by U.S. manufacturers & retailers. The Middle Eastern market is also buoyant due to the region's development as a major transport hub, investment in oil and construction projects and the growth of consumer markets. Latin America, however, is failing to live up to analysts' positive predictions.

***World Bank Ranks Trading Nations ....... as it has published a new logistics study ranking 150 countries and pinpointing places where it's easy or difficult to ship goods. The study, "Connecting to Compete: Trade Logistics in the Global Economy," finds that the countries with the most predictable, efficient & best-run transportation routes and trade procedures are also the most likely to take advantage of technological advances, economic liberalization, and access to international markets. The U.S. is ranked No. 14 in the study, Singapore No. 1, and Afghanistan is at the bottom of the list. Countries are given a score on a Logistics Performance Index that ranges from one to five. Nobody gets a perfect score -- Singapore got a 4.19, Afghanistan a 1.21. The study.

***China Garments Surge ...... as according to the latest customs figures, export and import of textiles & garments to and from mainland China in the 1st 8 months of 2007 were 18% higher than in the same period last year which stood at US$124Bn, reported Xinhua News Agency. The textile & garment trade accounts for up to 10% of the mainland's total trade volume in the same period. Statistics from China Customs show the value of exports reached US$12Bn during this time, while imports were 4.4% higher at US$12.5Bn.

***U.S. NAFTA Freight Record ....... as the value of U.S. freight shipments to Canada & Mexico in 2006 rose to a record US$866Bn from US$790Bn in 2005, the Dept. of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported. The 2006 level is a 9.7% gain over 2005, which was the previous record, DOT said in a statement. The value of shipments moved by truck rose to US$534Bn in 2006, up about US$43Bn from 2005, the largest year-over-year increased for any single mode of transportation, said DOT. Trucks carried about 62% of the total amount of freight moving from the U.S. to Mexico or Canada last year, according to DOT. Railroads moved about 15%. The busiest U.S./Canada border crossing by road in 2006 was Detroit, through which about US$115Bn worth of freight passed. The busiest U.S./Mexico crossing was Laredo, Texas, which handled about US$78.5Bn worth of shipments.

***Another Door Reopens For U.S. Beef ...... as the Philippines has announced it will open its market to all U.S. beef imports that are in compliance with Int'l trade standards. Like many, the country closed its borders to U.S. beef in late Dec. 2003 after the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or "mad cow" disease, in a Canadian-born cow in Washington state. In May 2007, the World Organization for Animal Health formally classified the United States as a controlled risk country for BSE. Recently, the Philippines restricted U.S. beef imports to boneless beef and offals from cattle less than 30 months of age. According to the USDA, more than 100 countries now allow the entry of at least some U.S. beef products. However, the entire EU still refuses to lift a ban on U.S. poultry products.

***New Fruit For U.S. Tables? ...... as the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture's Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service will consider allowing commercial import of 7 types of Hawaiian fruits to the U.S. mainland -- mangosteen, dragon fruit, melon, cowpea pods, breadfruit, jackfruit and fresh moringa pods. If approved, the fruit would require irradiation treatment prior to shipping.

***Burma Restrictions Tighten ..... as the U.S. Dept. of Commerce (DOC) issued a Federal Register notice announcing a final rule amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to move Burma into more restrictive country groupings and to impose licensing requirements for goods exporting to persons in Burma who are subject to sanctions imposed by the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC). The rule moves Burma from Country Group B, which designates countries raising few national security concerns, to Country Group D:1, which designates countries raising national security concerns. Only 14 export licenses have been approved for exports to Burma since 1997.

***C-TPAT Returns To The Big Easy ........... as the annual Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism conference will take place for the 2nd consecutive year in New Orleans, Feb. 26-29. More details soon.

***The Big Push Looms ..... as USPS, FedEx, DHL & UPS predict that Dec. 17 to 19 will be the highest volume shipping days this year. UPS says Dec. 19 will be its highest volume day of the year with 5.6 million air packages moving. FedEx claims it will move an estimated 11.3 million packages through its air & ground networks on Dec. 17, 5 million of those will move through the FedEx air express network. DHL is also predicting Monday, Dec. 17 as their highest volume day with a 50% increase in volume. DHL will add 425 extra flights and an additional 440 truck routes during the peak holiday season. The U.S. Postal Service is expecting to deliver 20 million pounds of mail to military installations around the world this holiday season. The 2nd week of Dec. should be the busiest week for overseas delivery. Mail to Iraq alone during this period is expected to increase more than 400% over the average weekly volume.

***China Move To Regulate Textile Exports To EU ...... as the China Chamber of Commerce for Import & Export of Textiles, China National Textile & Apparel Council, and China Assn. of Enterprises with Foreign Investment have announced that China will be imposing entry barriers on textile exporters exporting to the European Union (EU). The goal of this regulation is to control the growth of exports and to reduce trade friction with its major partners. With the new rule, China will issue export licenses to qualified exporters, while the EU implements an automatic import license system. According to the criteria, 8 categories of textile products such as t-shirts, pullovers, trousers, women's shirts, sheets, dresses, undergarments & flax yarn will be monitored bilaterally starting Jan. 1, 2008 for a one-year period. Still, no restrictions will be imposed on product volumes. Qualified exporters must have a registered capital of more than 500,000 yuan & must have more than 3 years of export history with the EU. The companies are required to export over US$10,000 worth of textile products to the EU in the previous year and should be an existing member of China Textile Assn. with no violation records of intellectual property rights for 3 years.

***Hub Group Continues To Buy Self ...... as the Downer's Grove, Ill., logistics firm has authorized a US$75M stock buyback. The repurchase program is in addition to an existing US$75M buyback initiative that has about US$5M remaining, the company said.

***Pub Rush ...... as Dutch brewer Heineken has contracted KN Drinks Logistics, Kuehne + Nagel's wholly owned drinks distribution unit, to handle imports from Europe and primary distribution in the UK. KN Drinks Logistics will also manage the return of all empty kegs back to the point of origin in the Netherlands. Last summer KN Drinks Logistics Ltd has took delivery of 149 Iveco tractors to help serve the new venture.

***UPS Ist To Offer On-Time Guarantee For LTL ........ as U.S. shippers who use UPS Freight 560 tariff in the continental U.S. can request a waiver of their freight charges if their shipment doesn't arrive on time, says UPS Freight. UPS acquired nationwide LTL carrier Overnite Transportation Co. in 2005 to further fuel this service

***UPS Will Fetch ........ as the giant now offers UPS Delivery Intercept service. Have you ever sent a package and wished you could get it back before it was delivered? The new service will return redirct or hold all shipments at the shipper's request.

***Next Step For H Power ...... as after testing hydrogen-fueled lift trucks in two of its Ohio DCs last year, Wal-Mart has apparently decided to take the hydrogen plunge. Cellex Power Products says it has received a purchase order for its GenDrive fuel cell power units from Wal-Mart. Cellex won't reveal how many units Wal-Mart has ordered, but it is Cellex's largest GenDrive order to date. The new units will replace lead-acid batteries in pallet trucks used at Wal-Mart's food distribution center in Washington Court House, Ohio. Just as with technologies such as RFID, the immense Wal-Mart inertia has a way for setting industry trends.

***U.S. Warehouse Market Strong ....... as industrial real estate developer ProLogis estimates the total warehouse space in the U.S. at more than 5 billion square feet. About 1.25 billion square feet of that space is commercial warehouse space available for public use, according to estimates from logistics consulting firm Armstrong & Associates&emdash;that's the space of more than 20,000 football fields. Average industrial vacancy rate across the country's top 30 markets remained at 7.6% in the 1st half of 2007, unchanged from the prior period. Read about the largest 3PL and public refrigerated warehouses of 2007:

***Date Rape Toys Discouraged ..... as the toy industry continues to get battered by news of Chinese product recalls just as the Christmas shopping season kicks in. The biggest blow, however, was the recall of a hot new toy called Aqua Dots. More than 4.2 million units have been sold by Toronto-based Spin Master. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said it received 2 reports in recent days of children swallowing Aqua Dots. Though anticipated to be among the holiday's biggest-selling toys, Aqua Dots -- or Bindeez -- were recalled in the U.S. on Nov. 7 after tests showed they are coated with an industrial chemical that, when ingested, metabolizes into the "date-rape" drug gamma hydroxy butyrate. The problem first surfaced in Australia, where 3 children were hospitalized. Chinese officials suspended export of Aqua Dots. More Even more

***Mush! ..... as 4 people were injured in Houston in Oct. 30 when a driver failed to stop for a red light while eating a bowl of oatmeal & collided with a transit bus. Three passengers were hurt, in addition to the motorist. Witnesses said oatmeal was found all over the inside of the car, and also inside the bus and on the ground, according to a KPRC-TV report.

***Are Freight Forwarders Jaded By All That Travel? ...... as a Lithuanian farmer was left behind at a German road stop spent 9 days trekking part-way home, living on apples & water from puddles along the route, a Lithuanian newspaper reported. Saulius Marcinkevicius, 41, had decided to go on his 1st ever trip abroad with a group of fellow Lithuanian farmers who were bound for an agriculture fair in Hanover earlier this month, the daily Lietuvos Rytas said. The tour bus forgot him when the coach stopped at a service station near Leipzig on Nov. 13. Marcinkevicius, who had only his jacket, passport and around 100 euros (US$150) in cash, decided to make his way home on foot. He spent the next 9 days walking around 200 kms (125 miles) eastwards to Poland, sleeping rough in woods, scrumping apples from orchards, & drinking from puddles. Marcinkevicius told the newspaper that he did not speak any foreign languages & had not dared to ask for help -- even though he was stopped on several occasions by German police who caught him walking alongside the motorway. Upon reaching the German-Polish border, he explained himself to German guards with the aide of an interpreter. He then hitched a ride with a Lithuanian trucker who helped him finally to get home to Kupiskis, in northern Lithuania on Nov. 23. He then hitched a ride with a Lithuanian trucker who helped him finally to get home to Kupiskis, in northern Lithuania Nov. 24. He later checked in with Lithuanian police, who had been searching for him & had even alerted Interpol. Marcinkevicius, who lost 11 pounds during his trek, has vowed never to leave Lithuania again. However, he appeared to have taken the odyssey in his stride, telling the paper: "I got lost, and went through some extreme experiences, the kind that other people sometimes pay big money for." God bless Saulius.

***The Transport Chief Was Not 86 ..... as Rome's mayor sacked the city's traffic & parking chief on Nov. 25 after a newspaper reported he parked his car in a no parking zone & displayed a handicapped permit that belonged to an 86-year old woman. Giovanni Catanzaro parked his red Alfa Romeo Brera in a tow away zone near the Spanish Steps in central Rome before heading off to a restaurant on Nov. 23, Roman daily Il Messaggero reported on Nov. 25, complete with pictures from the scene. His car displayed a permit for disabled drivers that was no longer valid & issued to a senior citizen, the paper said, noting that officials almost never tow away a disabled person's vehicle no matter where it is parked. A spokesman for Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni said Catanzaro had been removed from his post as head of the city's municipal police force that oversees traffic & parking violations after the newspaper report. Busted.

***In Demark Vikings Would Disrupt Transport In The Nude ....... as passengers at a Danish train station were left out in the cold on Nov. 25 when a couple began having sex in the waiting room. "We don't know if it's due to the glacial weather this morning or to unbridled passion, but a couple did not hesitate in having sexual relations in a waiting room at the Koge train station," just south of Copenhagen, police spokesman Carsten Andersen said. Freezing passengers had called the DSB rail company to complain that they were stuck out in the cold due to the steamy love-making of a 37-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman. Police were called in & finally put an end to the spectacle, lecturing the couple to "go back to their bed, away from prying eyes," Andersen said. "I guess they weren't real Vikings (because) they remained dressed. That's why we didn't charge them with indecency," he added. So while in Denmark always remember to make sure your cargo & forwarding errors are conducted while fully clothed.

***The Transport Camera Did Not Know Him ..... as Clifford E. Clark, 47, was charged this week in Tennessee with felony vandalism & reckless endangerment for allegedly firing at least 3 rounds from a .30-06 hunting rifle at the red-light transport camera, knocking it out of action. He was arrested after patrol officers heard shots around 2 a.m. Nov. 24, spotted a minivan leaving the parking lot of a closed business & pulled it over. Inside they found Clark & the high-powered rifle. Clark, now facing a US$50 fine if convicted & loss of his rifle, refused to say anything about the incident to police, leaving the motive unclear. Catlett, who oversees the red-light transport camera program, said 6,798 drivers have been photographed running the red light at Broadway and I-640 and ticketed since the camera was installed in 2006. Clark was not one of them.

***Transport Chaos At 8 A.M. ...... as a proposed new law to boost patriotism in Thailand would be "chaotic" because it would require motorists to stop when the national anthem is played twice a day, lawmakers said on 23 Nov. A vote on the Flag Bill proposed by a group of retired & active duty generals in the army-appointed parliament was deferred to allow a committee to study it. Most Thais already stop what they are doing and stand still when the national anthem is played on loudspeakers in train stations, parks & office buildings at 8 a.m. & 6 p.m. This tradition could only be recommended on U.S. expressways as a technique for population control.

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  2. The Cargo Letter Financial Page ______  

***Good Quarter For UPS ..... as total revenues for the 3rd-quarter were US$12.21Bn, up from the same quarter last year's US$11.66Bn. The overall adjusted operating margin&emdash;with one-time items excluded&emdash;was US$1.75Bn, up from last year's US$1.58Bn. Through the first 9 months of 2007, consolidated UPS revenues were up 4.0% at US$36.3Bn compared to 2006's US$34.9Bn.

***FedEx Corp. Expects Lower Earnings ...... as it has lowered its expectations for its 2nd quarter ending Nov. 30 and for its full fiscal year due to escalating fuel costs & concerns over less-than-truckload business at FedEx Freight. The Memphis, Tenn.-based company now expects 2nd quarter earnings in the range of US$1.45 to US$1.55 per diluted share, compared to the previous forecast of US$1.60 to US$1.75. For the full fiscal year, FedEx now expects earnings of US$6.40 to US$6.70 per diluted share, down from the previous forecast of US$6.70 to US$7.10.

***Deutsche Post AG Plunges ...... as the parent of DHL Americas, said its 3rd-quarter profit fell 35% as declining U.S. shipping volumes cramped earnings at its DHL Express unit. Net income decreased to US$512M or 29 cents a share, from about US$785.2M or 45 cents a year ago.

***DP World Bought By The World ...... as the ship terminal operating company that U.S. politicians shunned got a warm welcome from investors as it was able to raise US$4.9Bn through a sale of a 23% stake to the public. Far more investors wanted to buy shares in the company than was available &endash; the issue was oversubscribed by 15 times. With that strong demand, the company was able to sell stock for US$1.30 per share, the top end of the range that investment bankers had set. DP World paid US$6.8Bn for P&O, the British port operator last year, but was later forced to sell assets in U.S. after a political firestorm erupted because of security fears raised by an Arab company owning marine terminals in the heart of major American cities. DP World has 42 existing terminals & 13 new developments across 27 countries. 

***Sinotrans Shipping Goes Public In Part ....... as the Chinese giant expects to raise about US$1.5Bn in an initial public offering of shares, about 35% stake in the company. In reporting the IPO of shares, which will be listed in Hong Kong, the Bloomberg news service said it was the 2nd largest by a Chinese shipping company since 1999, exceeded only by this summer's US$2Bn secondary offering of shares by China COSCO Holding. Sinotrans plans to use funds to build new ships or make acquisitions                             

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OUR "B" Section: FF World Air News***

3. Freight Forwarder World Air Briefs _____

***Backlogs Worsen Year End Crunch ....... as reports from airlines servicing the Asian outbound market reflect continued backlogs to the Americas & European regions. Capacity is at a critical stage fueled by heavy retail shipments for the 2007 holiday season and end of year sales. There is evidence in the market that ocean freight conversion to airfreight is becoming more common place as well. Capacity is at a premium from the key origins of Shanghai & Hong Kong, with a residual effect on key transit hubs in Asia such as Seoul & Taipei.

***Backlogs Meet Higher Rates ...... as increases in global jet fuel prices have led several major air carriers to announce that they will increase their fuel surcharges (FSC) This week. With some exception, the majority of these increases are in the incremental amount of US$0.10 per kilo. Fuel surcharges are regulated by the governments of several countries in Asia. 

***Regional Capacity Crunch Nears Wall ..... as the Int'l Air Transport Assn. reports that India is failing to keep pace with expected air freight demand and a capacity crunch may hit by 2011. An IATA industry forecast said India's air freight market is likely to grow faster than any other in Asia except for China, but that airports in China and the Middle East are better prepared to cope with the surge. Intra-Asian air freight will drive the market, with some 57% of the world's air freight to be moved within the region by 2011.

***Winner At Dubai Air Show ...... as European aircraft manufacturer Airbus has hailed a record year for orders with deals for well over 1,100 on its books, after emerging from the most turbulent period in its history. Airbus announced at the Dubai Air Show this month that it won new orders for more than 150 planes from regional airlines & leasing companies. In the biggest deal announced Airbus sealed a contract for 100 planes worth US$13.5Bn from Dubai leasing firm DAE Capital. But underscoring the fierce battle for the skies, DAE also said it would order another 100 aircraft from Airbus's American rival Boeing for US$13.7Bn. Nevertheless, Airbus was the bigger winner at the Dubai show. It secured a US$3.5Bn order for 34 A320s from UAE-based budget carrier Air Arabia and an option for another 15. More.

***Boeing Also Sweet Dreamlinering ..... as at the Dubai Air Show this month Qatar Airways has ordered 30 787 "Dreamliners" passenger aircraft and five 777F Freighters from Boeing in a combined deal valued at more than US$6.1Bn at current list prices. So far, 12 customers have ordered 82 of the 777Fs, which are scheduled to enter service in the fourth quarter of 2008. There was also a US$3.2Bn order from Emirates for 12 of the B777-300s, bringing the airline's total outlay for new planes to over US$23Bn at the show. LAN Airlines has also ordered 26 of Boeing's new 787 long-range aircraft and will lease six 787-9s. Sticker price for the 2 freighters is US$500M and US$4.5Bn for the 26 787s.

***Kitty Hawk Shuts Down ....... as the beleaguered company had filed for bankruptcy protection in 2000, reorganized, and then emerged from Chapter 11 in 2002 to compete in the highly competitive air cargo market. Shipments of freight have declined as costs of jet and diesel fuel have risen. In the first 6 months of 2007, the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport-based airline had net losses of US$19.9M and is reported to have lost US$34M since Jan. 2006. Kitty Hawk filed for Chapter 11 protection in mid-Oct. of this year, then shut air freight & ground operations 2 weeks later, eliminating 500 jobs. The company offered movement of heavy weight and oversized cargo, an expedited overnight and second-morning delivery product and time-definite ground freight. The company indicated it had experienced a plunge of 25% in air freight operations and a 15% decline in demand for its ground offerings.

***Singapore Airlines Expands Freighter Network ....... as it has begun freighter service between Belgium & Chicago & Los Angeles in the wake of a revision between the air services agreement between Singapore & Belgium. The agreement provided so-called "seventh freedom rights" that allow its cargo subsidiary to operate flights between third countries without originating from, or returning to, Singapore.

***UPS Charge Up ...... as it will increase rates an average of 4.9% for UPS Ground and Ground Hundredweight shipments as well as all air express and U.S. origin Int'l shipments, effective Dec. 31. The increase for air express & Int'l shipments is based on a 6.9% increase in the base rate, less a 2% reduction in the current fuel surcharge, the Atlanta-based express giant said. A similar announcement was made by FedEx.

***Paperless Brown ........ as because most Int'l small package shipments handled by UPS require a commercial invoice, the new UPS Paperless Invoice will permit shipments to clear Customs using electronic data rather than paper forms. This does not apply to letters or documents. The technology helps integrate order processing, shipment preparation and commercial invoice data. It then transmits it worldwide to Customs offices in 98 countries & territories. Within this same geographical coverage, the carrier offers UPS Returns that allows shipment recipients to receive an international return label and commercial invoice through email, for local post offices or from a UPS driver picking up the package to be returned. UPS Returns will be accessible through UPS shipping systems like UPS WorldShip & UPS Internet Shipping.

***The DHL-ABX Dispute ...... as Wilmington, OH-based ABX Air has notified the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission that it cannot meet the deadline to file its financial results for the 3rd quarter because its major client, DHL Express (USA), failed to reimburse it for providing air cargo delivery & ground hub staffing. ABX Air, one of two companies that provides overnight airlift for DHL's package delivery network, said DHL has defaulted under its dedicated aircraft lease and carriage contract, and its hub & trucking contract. DHL claimed that it withheld amounts related to overhead expenses it disputed during the 2nd & 3rd quarters of 2007. Whatever the problem, it did not slow down ABX from reaching agreement this month to purchase Cargo Holdings Int'l (CHI) of Orlando, FL. In addition to providing air cargo transportation and related service to domestic & foreign air carriers and others that outsource air cargo lift needs, CHI leases aircraft as well as providing fuel management, specialized transportation management & air charter brokerage services.

***Egypt Air Cargo Joins Efficiency Group ....... as it has become the 24th Int'l carrier to join Cargo 2000, an air freight industry coalition within the Int'l Air Transport Assn. that aims to streamline air cargo processes, achieve cost efficiencies & improve customer satisfaction. This group is worthy of your look.

***Brazilian TAM & United Airlines Wed ....... as they have begun a codeshare & frequent flyer partnership in/out of Brazil..

***Agility Takes A Bow ...... as it was the winner of the Best Airfreight Forwarder Award at the inaugural Supply Chain Asia Awards at a ceremony in Hong Kong. Logistics and supply chain professionals, customers and readers of Asia's leading logistics magazine Supply Chain Asia were polled and asked to vote for the best companies in 14 logistics industry sectors. Agility was launced one year ago.

***Russian Billionaire Eyes Italian Cargo Line ..... as oligarch Roman Abramovich, ranked 16th on Forbes' 2007 Rich List with an estimated net worth of US$18.7Bn, is reportedly looking to buy a controlling stake in Italian all-cargo airline Ocean Airlines for US$430M, claims Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti. Established in 2003, Ocean Airlines is owned by Finrep, Ined Holdings and ITAL Aviation. It is headquartered in Brescia Montichiari Airport and operates two Boeing 747-200 Freighters on services from Italy to Shanghai & Hong Kong with stopovers at Lahore in Pakistan, Almaty in Kazakhstan, & Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The airline has ordered 6 more 747-200Fs that are all due for delivery by next April enabling it to open new routes to Abu Dhabi, Luanda, Nagoya, Nairobi & Washington.

***Volumes >>> American Airlines flew 187.8 million Int'l & domestic system cargo ton-miles in Oct., down 6.2% compared to 200.1 million system cargo ton-miles carried in the same month last year & after 10 months of the year, American's system cargo ton-miles declined 4.3^ to 1.76 billion system cargo ton-miles. >>> Continental Airlines transported 94.6 million cargo revenue ton-miles in Oct., a drop of 1.9% compared to 96.4 million cargo revenue ton-miles in the same month last year & after 10 months of 2007, Continental flew 852.6 million revenue ton-miles, down 4.3% against 890.6 million revenue ton-miles after the same period in 2006. >>> Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways & sister airline Dragonair carried a combined 153,549 tons of cargo in Oct., up 6.6% year-on-year. 

***TSA Wants To SimpliFLY Your Life....... as the Transportation Security Agency program urges travelers to neatly & carefully pack their carry-on bags so that scanning & searching such items will be more efficient during the busy holiday season. There seems to be an expectation that terrorists are untidy, making them easier to identify. Otherwise -- No, SuperFly Was That 70's detective. 

***Body of Evidence? ........ as Hawaiian Airlines is suing Mesa Air Group on a business matter and believes Mesa's Chief Financial Officer, George "Peter" Murnane III, has, or had, documents relevant to the lawsuit on his office computer but that, recently, conveniently, the documents had been deleted. Mesa acknowledged in a Sept. court filing that Murnane had indeed recently erased a huge number of files from his office computer, but said he was merely deleting his massive collection of pornography, according to the Honolulu Advertiser newspaper.

***Mesa Air Group, Inc. Appoints Interim Chief Financial Officer ..... as the airline announced Nov. 5 that its Chief Financial Officer, George "Peter" Murnane III, was terminated. William Hoke will serve as the company's interim Chief Financial Officer.                         

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OUR "C" Section:  FF World Ocean News***

  4. FF World Ocean Briefs ____________                                                    

***Does Lower Container Traffic Predict Slow Holiday Season? ...... as Sept. saw another month of declines in container traffic at North American ports. Claiming that the lower volum reflects retailers' cautious expectations for sales during the holiday season, the National Retail Federation says that ports surveyed handled 1.46 million TEUs in Sept., down 1.9% from the same month in 2006. Aug. also recorded a drop (off 1.4%) from the same month a year ago. Oct. is the traditional peak month for container traffic, and volumes are estimated to be about 3,300 containers short of the record high of 1.51 million TEUs set in Oct. 2006. While Nov. is expected to be flat compared to last year's volumes, Dec. should see a 6.4% increase and it is predicted Jan. will be up 5.9% over Jan. 2007.

***European Union Demand U.S. "Take Its Medicine" ..... as officials have blasted the U.S. Congress for requiring 100% scanning of ocean containers in foreign ports as the type of unilateral approach that runs counter to forging Int'l partnerships against terrorism. The legislation passed in Aug. would require within 5 years radiation detection & imaging machines to automatically inspect all containers before vessel loading. Mandating security measures that shift the implementation burden to other countries "is a significant departure" from the principles of good Int'l relations, said John Bruton, the EU Ambassador to the U.S., during a conference organized in Washington by the Trans-Atlantic Business Dialogue and the Federation of German Industries. Particularly galling, Bruton said, is that the U.S. is not prepared to take the same medicine & inspect its outbound cargo for terrorist weapons to protect other countries. This issue was also debated at the 2007 World Congress of the Int'l Federation of Freight Forwarding Associations (FIATA) in Dubai last month where a representative of U.S. Customs & Border Protection and Byron Countryman of the Countryman & McDaniel Law Firm strongly disagreed with the EU position, stating that export shipments from the U.S. fail to represent any credible portion of the real risk where the Int'l partnerships against terrorism are concerned. They also pointed out that the U.S. took a leadership position to protect international commerce, while the EU commissions might well have debated the issue for years.

***Technology Delay ..... as the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security has quietly agreed to postpone for at least one year certification & production of next-generation radiation detection machines used in ports and other applications to check conveyances for nuclear material or weapons. The news about the Advanced Spectroscopic Portal monitors was disclosed Nov. 2 on the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee Web site.

***British Int'l Freight Assn. Blasts Congestion Charge ..... as it has added its voice to growing condemnation among shipper bodies of the Far Eastern Freight Conference's plans to introduce a US$145 per TEU congestion surcharge on westbound cargo from Asia to the UK next month. BIFA said that based on the FEFC's own volume figures alone, the surcharge will add costs of just over US$70,300 per day, or US$25.7M per annum.

***The Bigger Box ...... as Singapore-based container shipping company APL announced its latest innovation: 53-foot ocean containers that could significantly alter the U.S. import market. The Singapore-based carrier said it took delivery of the world's first 'ocean-capable' 53-foot boxes Nov. 7. The 1st units will be deployed as a weekly service on APL's premier South China to Los Angeles service. The creator of outsize containers in the 1980s, APL said its latest innovation-premium big-box service on a regular, weekly basis-has the potential to make a significant difference to the economics of Transpacific trade.

***China Ports Surge ...... as container volume at China's major container ports grew 22.7% after 9 months of 2007 to 82.11 million TEUs, according to statistics supplied by OOCL China. The leading 10 Chinese ports as judged by container throughput through September 2007 are (1) Shanghai, 19.35 million TEUs., (2) Shenzhen, 14.94 million TEUs, and (3) Qingdao, 7.01 million TEUs. >>> Shanghai is forecast by some to overtake Singapore as the world's busiest port this year, with Shenzhen & Hong Kong in 3rd & 4th place.

***Hong Kong No Longer The Jewel? ....... as Hong Kong think-tank Civic Exchange has advised the government to abandon plans to build a new container terminal, saying the city's port industry will be gradually overtaken by the Port of Shenzhen, across the border in south China. Civic Exchange said although Hong Kong will not be marginalised by China's growth, it should consider ditching business areas in which it is becoming less competitive.

***China Shipping Container Line Plans Big Jump ...... as it will invest US$2Bn on container ships in the coming years, according to the newspaper China Daily. With the investment, CSCL is expected to operate a fleet of more than 180 ships with a combined carrying capacity of 630,000 TEUs by 2011. CSCL currently has a fleet of 86 owned & 54 chartered ships with a total capacity of 428,653 TEU, making it the world's 6th-largest container fleet. CSCL has 40 ships on order with a total capacity of 253,312 TEUs. The China Daily story said ships on order include four 8,500-TEU container vessels & four 4,200-TEU models that will be delivered before 2009. The newspaper also said CSCL has signed a contract with Samsung Heavy Industries to build eight 13,300-TEU ships that will be put into use by 2011.

***Healthy Revenue Increase For APL ...... as Singapore-based Neptune Orient Lines reports a 9% rise in average revenue per FEU for its APL line during a 4-week period ended Oct. 19. APL's average revenue per FEU during the period improved to US$2,916 from US$2,665 a year ago. At the same time, APL moved 188,400 FEUs, 12% more than 168,200 FEUs in the comparable period last year. For the year, APL's container volume is up 11% to 1.88 million FEUs with the average revenue per FEU up 2% at US$2,713.

***Hamburg Süd Line Buys ..... as it expects to take over the liner activities of Costa Container Lines S.p.A. (CCL) and Calmedia Agenzia Marittima s.r.l. on Dec. 1, after reaching agreement with the Orsero family's GF Group s.p.a. Financial details of the deal were withheld. The transfer is still subject to the completion of the consultation process with staff representatives in Italy and to the approval by competition authorities. Genoa-based CCL has annual volume of about 360,000 TEUs and last year generated revenue of US$570M.

***Big Vessel Record For Big Ditch ...... as the Panama Canal Authority has announced that monthly transit record for ships of 900 feet in length or greater was broken when 164 such ships made the transit in Oct. Total transits of the Canal grew 3.7% in FY 2007 to 14,721 compared to FY 2006's 14,194. The new canal locks can't come soon enough.

***China Giant Closes Egyptian Buy ..... as COSCO Pacific Ltd. has completed the purchase of a 20% equity interest in the Suez Canal Container Terminal (SCCT) at Port Said in Egypt. The Chinese terminal operator acquired the shares on Oct. 30 from Egyptian Int'l Container Terminal S.A., a subsidiary of A.P. Moller-Maersk. The deal was 1st announced at the end of 2005.

***Governator All At Sea ........ as Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a series of bills designed to "maintain & improve the quality of California's marine environment, promote ocean and coastal research, further develop fisheries management plans and guard against the threat of aquatic invasive species." The bills signed into law include a requirement for specified in-water cleaning and record-keeping for vessels visiting California, and the development of regulations governing the management of hull fouling on vessels by Jan. 1, 2012. Without regard to intent or negligence, any person who permits or causes the discharge of sewage or waste in any waters of the state must notify the local authorities as soon as the person has knowledge of the discharge.

***FOR SALE: Thousands of Used Trucks ...... as Long Beach Harbor Commissioners have voted to ban the oldest, dirtiest trucks from operating at the Port of Long Beach, through approval of a port tariff that will gradually limit access to all but the cleanest vehicles. The tariff, which matches the one recently enacted by the Port of Los Angeles, will cut air pollution from dray vehicles working in the harbor by nearly 80% within 5 years. The upgrade of the industry requires a recapitalization of the fleet within an extremely short time frame -- seen by many as spelling doom for small companies & individual owner-operators. The tariff is based on a progressive ban of the oldest trucks. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags or similar technology will be placed in trucks & tag readers will be installed at port terminal gates to ensure access only for clean trucks. The schedule is:

• Oct. 1, 2008: All pre-1989 trucks will be banned from port service.

• Jan. 1, 2010: 1989-1993 trucks will be banned along with unretrofitted 1994-2003 trucks.

• Jan. 1, 2012: All trucks that do not meet the 2007 federal standard will be banned.

***Now Coast-To-Coast ....... as A&B Properties Inc., the real estate subsidiary of Honolulu, Hawaii-based Alexander & Baldwin Inc., has entered into a contract to purchase the under construction one million square-foot Savannah Logistics Center for US$50M from Oakmont Industrial Group. Alexander & Baldwin traditional ocean & logistics services are through its subsidiaries, Matson Navigation & Matson Integrated Logistics in the Hawaii trades.

***No Torpedoes Will Be Installed ..... as the Port of New Hampshire will soon have a fully operational underwater sonar detection system. The new sonar system will aid several law enforcement agencies including the Coast Guard, Marine Patrol & Dept. of Safety in their efforts for securing the area's waterways. Additionally, the new system will provide a deterrent system that will warn anyone who goes into a restricted area underwater.

***Gassed Master Hits Platform of Same Name ...... as a drunk ship's captain was sentenced Nov. to 12 months in prison by a U.K. court after his vessel sunk 24 miles off Skegness following a collision with an unmanned gas platform. On Aug. 3, Capt. Zbigniew Krakowski was on watch of the 1,922 gross ton coaster M/V Jork en route from Germany to the Humber with a cargo of grain, when it hit the gas platform in the Viking natural gas field. The Antigua & Barbuda-registered ship sank the following day. All of the crew were rescued & taken ashore by helicopter. Krakowski was then breathalyzed by police and found to be about 3 times over the legal limit. Krakowski pleaded guilty in Lincoln Crown Court to one charge brought under the Railway & Transport Safety Act 2004 for being over the alcohol limits and to another charge brought under the Petroleum Act 1974 for breaching the 500 meter zone around the gas platform. He was sentenced to 6 months for the former & 12 months for the latter, to run concurrently.

***This Month In U.S. Navy History .......

1775 - Continental Congress authorizes privateering.

1776 - First salute to an American flag (Grand Union flag) flying from Continental Navy ship Andrew Doria, by Dutch fort at St. Eustatius, West Indies.

1910 - Civilian Eugene Ely pilots first aircraft to take off from a ship, USS Birmingham (CL 2) at Hampton Roads, Va. He lands safely on Willoughby Spit, Norfolk, Va.

1917 - USS Kanawha (AO 1), Noma and Wakiva sink German sub off France.

1918 - U.S. battleships witness surrender of German High Seas fleet at Rosyth, Firth of Forth, Scotland, to U.S. and British fleets.

1933 - Navy crew (Lt. Cmdr. Thomas G. W. Settle & Maj. Chester I. Fordney, USMC) sets a world altitude record in a balloon (62,237 ft.) in flight into stratosphere.

1943 - USS Nautilus (SS 168) enters Tarawa lagoon in first submarine photograph reconnaissance mission.

1943 - In Battle of Cape St. George, 5 destroyers of Destroyer Squadron 23 (Capt. Arleigh Burke) intercept 5 Japanese destroyers and sink 3 & damage 1 without suffering any damage.

1961 - Commissioning of USS Enterprise [CVA(N)-65], the 1st nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, at Newport News, Va.

***Greenpeace Embargo Foiled ..... as a ship carrying palm oil from the Indonesian island of Sumatra managed to break through a Greenpeace blockade on Nov. 17. The environmentalist group, in attempting the blockade of a key palm oil port, is protesting against forest destruction. The tanker it had been trying to block for 3 days managed to leave the port. The group's vessel Rainbow Warrior dropped anchor next to the 33,000 ton capacity M/T Westama in Dumai port in Sumatra island. "We were pushed by two big tugboats close to the M/T Westama, at a distance of about 30 meters," Greenpeace campaigner Bustar Maitar told Reuters. "We tried to blockade the Westama for about an hour, but finally the ship escaped." Reuters reported that the protest was timed to coincide with a meeting in Malaysia this week over sustainable supply of palm oil.

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   5. The Cargo Letter Cargo Damage Dispatches                        

          **Back By Popular Demand**

We're sorry, but there were so many sinkings, explosions, pirate attacks, fires, cargo mishaps, battles on the water & other disasters at sea that we do not have room to print even the highlights this month. Many people lost their lives at sea this month!! Don't miss the pirate attack on  M/V Seabourn Spirit

But you can read all this month's disaster news at our special Internet web feature which provides full details of each event -- our Vessel Casualties & Pirate Activity Database.  Bookmark the site and visit every day! Updated twice daily. You will be amazed.

SPECIAL NOTE:  Please view the dramatic new pictures at our special "Gallery of Cargo Loss" website feature. 

See our new feature for Aug. 2007: "For The 'L' of It"

See our new feature for Nov. 2007: "Explorer Ship Down" - The Death of M/V Explorer - Not Since The Titanic. Must See.

See our other new feature for Nov. 2007: "Kwanyang Krane Kaboom"

You Tube feature: "Container Gantry Gone"

See our newest photo feature "Singles Only" - Transportation Disasters Told In A Single Photo!

U.S. Congress Hearing On M/V COSCO Busan Collision With Oakland Bay Bridge -- Nov. 19 2007

Testimony of Rear Admiral Craig Bone, USCG

Testimony of Capt. Thomas Hand

Statement from Admiral Thad Allen, Commandant USCG

NOTE: The historic dangers of carriage by sea continue to be quite real.  Shippers must be encouraged to purchase high quality marine cargo insurance from their freight forwarder or customs broker.  It's dangerous out there.

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OUR "D" Section: FF in Cyberspace***

  6. The Cargo Letter "Cyber Ports Of Call"___  

Here are our suggested world wide web sites of the week for your business, your information and your amusement..............

Cargo & Trade>>>>>>

Air Flow & Ventilation in Warehouses ...... free white paper

European Business Directory

European Commission "Common Customs Tariff" ........ effective Jan. 2008

IMO Report of Piracy & Armed Robbery Against Ships &endash; Sept. 2007

International Chamber of Commerce Guide On Supply Chain Responsibility

Ireland Chamber of Commerce -- U.S.

Doing Business In Ireland Trade

Doing Business In South Africa

Lieboat Safety - MSC 1206

South African Trade Statistics

Performance-Based Logistics &emdash; Next Big Thing? ....... free white paper

Political Risk Insurance Calculator ....... calculate you risk

U.S. Customs Administrative Enforcement Process: Fines, Penalties, Forfeitures & Liquidated Damages

U.S. Customs Bonds - Questions & Answers

U.S. Customs Foreign Trade Zones Brochure

U.S Customs' Guide on Import Recordkeeping   

U.S. Customs Informed Compliance Publications

U.S. Customs Quota Book Transmittals ........ provides notices of quota opening & closing dates, lists quota levels for products

U.S. Customs - Temporary Importation Under Bond

U.S. Dept. of Commerce - Basic Guide To Exporting

U.S. Flight Delay Information - Air Traffic Control System Command Center

U.S. Airline On-Time Statistics

U.S. Safety Plan For Imports

Waterborne Freight In The UK: 2006 ........ UK Dept. for Transport report

PRODUCTS>>>>>>>>>

Certified Ice Navigation Training

Freightgate Portal 2.0/Beta

Thomas Global Register ........ global industrial buying guide for over 100 years

EVENTS>>>>>>>>>

ExpoDataBase

Transport Events

Trade Shows, Exhibitions, Conferences & Business Events Worldwide

World Trade Organization Events

2007 ATA Management Conference & Exhibition ...... 20-23 Oct. 2007. Orlando, FLA.

2nd Air Cargo India Conf. & Exhibit .... 23-25 Jan. 2008, World Trade Center, Mumbai

5th Vietnam Int'l Trade Fair ...... 4-8 Dec.. 2007, Ho Chi Minh City Int'l Exhibition & Convention Center

Air Cargo India 2008 Int'l .... 23-25 Jan. 2008, World Trade Center, Mumbai

Cargo Claims Handling & Loss Prevention Seminar - Countryman & McDaniel - The Asia Business Forum...... 18-19 Feb. 2008, JW Mariott, Singapore

Cargo Claims Handling & Loss Prevention Seminar - Countryman & McDaniel - The Asia Business Forum ...... 20-21, 2008, Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia

Europort Maritime 2007 .....6-9 Nov. 2007, Rotterdam Netherlands

Intermodal 2007 .... 4-6 Dec. 2007, Amsterdam Netherlands

Marinelog Maritime & Port Security 2008 Conference & Expo ....28-29 Jan. 2008, Crystal Gateway Marriott, Arlington, VA.

Multimodal 2008 .... 22 to 24 April 2008, Birmingham, UK

Free Webinars>>>>>>>>>

5th Annual Virtual Supply Chain Conference

Inventory Optimization at Procter & Gamble: Delivering Business Value .......Dec. 13 at 1 PM

General Interest>>>>>>>>>

2007 Holday Season Packing & Shipping Guide

Air Travel Consumer Report Card

Countdown to Digital Television .........U.S. Analog TV ends on Feb. 17, 2009

HMS Victory Commanding Officer Visits USS Constitution ...... a first

Kiva ......... microfinance loans that change lives

Ocean Express: Cruise the coast while packing colorful cargo perfectly ....... new free game to try

Unattended Vehicles

World Wide Internet TV

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OUR "E" Section:  The Forwarder/Broker World***

  7. New U.S. Transport Related Legal Cases _____     

***U.S. Supreme Court Will Hear M/T Exxon Valdez Case ......... as it has issued an order granting the petition for a writ of certiorari in the case of Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker The Court has agreed to hear argument on & decide 3 issues: (1) whether Exxon is liable in punitive damages for the actions of the master of the M/T Exxon Valdez; (2) whether the penalty provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act preempt judge-made punitive damages for the same conduct; and (3) what are the appropriate standards for awarding punitive damages under general maritime law. Briefs filed with the Court in favor of or opposed to granting the writ of certiorari are available at Exxon Valdez Supreme Court Filings. The Decision

***Corus UK Ltd v. Waterman Steamship Co.

U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals

Oct. 18, 2007 - No. 06-30205

Perils of The Sea Defense: In an unpublished opinion, the court ruled that an unforeseeable severe storm constituted a peril of the sea within the meaning of the Carriage of Goods at Sea Act (COGSA). In the instant case, plaintiff cargo owner had sued the shipowner for damage to the cargo while on board defendant's ship. The evidence showed that the ship had experienced Beaufort 10-12 winds & seas for a full day and that the storm had not been predicted. The Decision

***Hunt Construction Group v. Allianz Global Risks

U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Oct. 1, 2007 - No. 06-4335

Builders Risk Is Inland Marine Insurance:The court ruled that, under Michigan law, a builders risk insurance policy is a form of inland marine insurance and is controlled by the statute of limitations applicable thereto. The decision is probably most interesting in its historical analysis of the insurance industry and the division of casualty insurance into 2 large groups: fire insurance & marine insurance. Under Michigan law, fire insurance claims must be submitted within 1 year of the casualty. All other casualty insurance claims are subject to a 6-year statute of limitations. The Decision    

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Written from wire stories, the Associated Press, Reuters, Hong Kong Shipping News, Lloyds & other world sources.

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The Cargo Letter Correspondents:

Michael S. McDaniel Esq, Editor (Countryman & McDaniel)

David Schuchman -- Interpool Corp. -- Webmaster of The Cargo Letter Archive

Maria Payne (Countryman & McDaniel)

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