Good Wednesday 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." This Month: The financial crisis deepens & Lufthansa tries to buy everything!

CLAIMS TRAINING: The Law Offices of Countryman & McDaniel will again present our two day "top to bottom" training courses in Asia for understanding the theory & science of cargo loss, cargo claims handling, loss prevention & Post 911 cargo security. Our courses begin in Singapore & Kuala Lumpur from Feb. 9 to 12, 2008. While The Cargo Letter has sponsored these classes for many groups over the years -- our model will again be presented by the Asia Business Forum. The schedule for our U.S. & UK presentations will be announced. JOIN US! See EVENTS section.

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.

The Cargo Letter Archives of Past Issues

Michael S. McDaniel, Editor, Countryman & McDaniel - Trade, Transport, Hull & Machinery 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***

***China Over Supports $$$ Buy Chinese ..... as the U.S. has requested World Trade Organization dispute settlement consultations over China's "Famous Brands" programs. The programs appear designed to promote the development of global Chinese brand names & to increase sales of Chinese-branded merchandise around the world, said U.S. Trade Representative. Mexico has also requested formal WTO consultations with China on the matter. The U.S. has discovered that China, as part of its industrial policy aimed at promoting the sale of Chinese products abroad & encouraging worldwide recognition of Chinese brand names, apparently provides numerous subsidies at multiple levels of government. The subsidies appear to include cash grant rewards for exporting, preferential loans for exporters, research & development funding to develop new products for export, and payments to lower the cost of export credit insurance. The designated Chinese brands represent a wide range of sectors, including household electronic appliances, textiles & apparel, light manufacturing industries, agricultural & food products, metal & chemical products, medicines, & health products. The subsidies apply across the economy and therefore may unfairly alter the competitive landscape around the world for any industry competing with these Chinese products. The U.S. also has found other apparent export subsidies for Chinese products in particular sectors of the Chinese economy - available whether or not the products are famous brands - including textiles, agricultural products & products with high-technology content.

***President-elect Barack Obama Picks Transport Secretary ...... as he has officially named Rep. Ray LaHood as Secretary of Transportation. Lahood, 63, is the 2nd Republican selected by Obama to serve in the Cabinet. The Illinois congressman served 6 years on the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee and more recently was a member of the Appropriations Committee. He is widely praised by politicians and Capitol Hill observers for his efforts to reach out to the other side of the political spectrum. The Transportation Trades Dept. of the AFL-CIO issued a statement praising his non-partisan legislative approach. "During his career in Congress, Rep. LaHood sought to bring civility & bipartisanship to the House of Representatives and earned a well-deserved reputation as a leader who worked with both sides of the aisle. It was this approach that led Rep. LaHood to break from his own leadership & stand with transportation workers on a number of important issues," the labor group said. LaHood was also praised by the American Assn. of Railroads for his ability to deal with the infrastructure funding challenges facing the nation.

***Chinese 24 Hour Rule .... as the customs authority will introduce a new regulation in connection with the bill of lading or air waybill on 1 Jan. 2009. All information has to be submitted electronically to the Chinese authority at least 24 hours before loading a ship and/or 4 hours before freight is put on board an aircraft. Customers therefore need to send the relevant information to their forwarders at an early date, so that the Chinese customs' deadlines can be met, and shipments can be processed smoothly. The regulation applies to all import, export & transhipments to/from all Chinese ports & airports (expect for those in Hong Kong).

***He Has Left The Building .... as the U.S. Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements has cancelled the Electronic Visa Information System (ELVIS) requirements for textiles produced in China & exported to the U.S. on or after Jan. 1.

***Connecting The Two Chinas ...... as Taiwan's launch of direct cargo links with the mainland will help it better compete with rival transport hubs Hong Kong & Singapore. As a result according to analysts, logistics firms are poised to triple their contribution to economic growth. The launch of 1st-ever direct cargo flights & shipping routes between both sides marked a resumption of services after a 6-decade gap. Taiwan ports have up to now lost business to fast expanding regional transportation hubs. Taiwan leaders say the new links will spur Taiwan's economy in years to come by luring more businesses to set up shop on the island due to its closeness with the mainland. Previously, goods from Taiwan had to be transported to a 3rd destination, such as Hong Kong, before heading towards the mainland. Direct links could save shippers about US$36M a year through shorter transit times and lower fuel costs & working hours. Evergreen Line's 1,140-TEU M/V Uni-Adroit sailing to the northern Chinese port of Xingang made the 1st port call on Dec. 15.

***Not Connecting The Two Koreas ..... as a cargo train service between North & South Korea was stopped Nov. 28, after North Korea shut its border in anger at the government in Seoul. The largely symbolic rail service between Seoul and an industrial park just across the North Korean border had been running largely empty since it began last year as a sign of easing tension between the neighbors. It has been cheaper for companies in South Korea to truck goods from the factories in the North Korean industrial zone than to move them on the rail service. Some, but not all, of the South Koreans who work in the North Korean factories have had their permits to cross the border revoked.

***NAFTA Glows In Dark Times ..... as though the world economy is suffering, through Sept. 2008&emdash;the government's most current statistics&emdash;the value of U.S. surface trade with Canada & Mexico was up US$58.8Bn over 2007, a boost of 8.8%. Focusing on Sept. alone, trade using surface transportation between the U.S. & its NAFTA partners was US$71.8Bn, higher by 7.5% than in 2007.

***The "AirShip" Makes Australia Closer ..... as Lufthansa Cargo is launching a unique multimodal service from Europe to a number of destinations in Australia on Jan. 1. Shipments flown daily from Europe to Shenzhen & Hong Kong can be shipped on from there by sea to the Australian cities of Melbourne, Brisbane & Sydney. Lufthansa will use so-called "AirShipCenters" in Shenzhen and Hong Kong to speed transport, while the whole shipment will be operated under a single air waybill number. Shipments have taken from 6 to 8 weeks on the sea route from Europe to Asia. The AirShip service reduces transit time to 14 to 18 days. It is expected the service will be priced in between all-air or all-sea services.

***NATO Cargo Destroyed ...... as two cargo terminals housing military & food supplies in northwestern Pakistan were hit on Dec. 13, the latest in a string of such attacks in recent weeks, CNN reported. Taliban militants are suspected of destroying 13 containers containing NATO supplies bound for Afghanistan by lighting them ablaze with gasoline bombs. Police in the region said they would begin posting officers at the terminals hit, the World Logistic Terminal & the Al Faisal Terminal.

***IndiaEx ...... as India Post & Deutsche Post World Net (DPWN) have joined forces to provide an Int'l express delivery service - WorldNet Express (WNX). WNX is India Post's first joint mail product. This partnership offers Indian businesses world-class speed, reliability and technology, and the ability to reach global markets. India Post currently offers an economical and reliable international express mail service (EMS) to 97 countries. WorldNet Express will expand India Post's reach to 220 countries.

***Which Is The Better Courier Site? ...... as to identify which online shipping site was easiest for casual holiday shippers, User Centric, Inc., a Chicago-based user experience research firm, compared FedEx, UPS, and the U.S. Postal Service. User Centric noticed that the U.S. Postal Service site -- although streamlined and suitable for consumers -- experienced significant reliability issues. Five separate attempts were needed over 3 days to complete a single shipping transaction on this site. Although FedEx & UPS were generally comparable, User Centric selected UPS because it took a more consumer-friendly stance on payment information. UPS did not require payment information until final shipping costs had been calculated. In contrast, FedEx required payment information during registration, before final shipping costs were offered. UPS also permitted users to schedule a pickup using online tools, while FedEx requested that the final request be made via phone.

***DB Schenker Buys Romania ..... as it has completed the acquisition of Romania's largest freight forwarding company, S.C. Romtrans S.A. Romtrans, formerly a state-owned enterprise, became public in 1994 & had revenue of Euro$130M last year.

***Buying Switzerland ..... as the Austrian transport logistics firm Gebrüder Weiss is taking over logistics service provider DescaTrans AG, and its subsidiary MSV Verzollungen (which specializes in import & export customs clearance), on 1 Jan. 2009. Gebrüder Weiss and DescaTrans, which is based in Muttenz, Switzerland, have already been partners for a few years now.

***Supply Chain Resilience: How are Global Businesses Doing?.... as nearly half of companies with global supply chains say they fear major disruptions in their ability to source, produce and ship goods around the world, a UPS-sponsored survey said. Forty-seven percent of companies admit they need to pay more attention to risk mitigation compared to just 16% that believe they pay an adequate amount of attention. "As a result, only 38% of those surveyed, rate the resilience of their supply chain above average, while a troubling 42% say the expansion of their global supply chains has outpaced their ability to manage risk," UPS added. The global survey of nearly 350 senior executives was prepared by UPS and the Economist Intelligence Unit. Read the survey:

***Dallas-Fort Worth Warrehouse Market Plunges ..... as the massive build-up of warehousing in the area over the past several years is showing signs of succumbing to growing recessionary pressures, with new construction slowing, vacancies of existing facilities rising, and rents falling. While new warehouse construction is expected to add a record 22.7 million square feet this year, up 36% over 2007, a recent analysis of the Dallas-Fort Worth area's finds that the influx of new space is coming just as firms are cutting expansions and pulling back on leasing or buying new warehouse space. The area's warehouse vacancy rate of 11.4% through the end of the 3rd quarter is expected to jump to 12.5% as of this month, the highest level since Boston-based analyst firm Property & Portfolio Research began tracking vacancy data in 1982. Verage warehouse rents in the Dallas-Fort Worth area have fallen 8%, to US$3.44 per square foot, over the past year.

***World Rail Volume In Doubt ..... as data collected by the Swiss consulting group Progtrans indicate that the logistics sector is not optimistic about how rail freight volumes will develop in the 1st half of 2009. Experts from 300 companies expect European rail traffic to decrease, particularly in the bulk goods sector. Approximately half of the insiders polled said that transport prices will rise, while one third thought that rates will remain stable. Competition has increased in heavily used corridors.

***Sino Speeding ...... as China's first batch of CRH (China Railway High-speed) sleeper trains started operating on Dec. 21. The new high-speed trains travel both between Beijing & Shanghai, and between Beijing & Hangzhou in eastern China's Zhejiang province, with an average speed of 250 kms per hour. Journeys between Beijing & Shanghai will be reduced to less than ten hours, 1.5 hours faster than the fastest train before. Travel between Beijing & Hangzhou will also be cut by 2 hours to 11 hours. The facilities of the new trains are also more customer-friendly with four berths in each sleeper. It will be interesting to see how this will affect air traffic and the cargo carried.

***Trailing Behind ...... as the U.S. commercial trailer manufacturer Wabash National will close operations for more than a month due to weak demand for its truck trailers. The Lafayette (IN)-based manufacturer will not resume work until 3 Feb. Even then, some 800 of the company's 2,000 hourly & salaried employees will remain on layoff status until the 2nd quarter.

***Toxic Toys .... as U.S. officials said on Dec. 15 that Mattel will pay US$12M over last year's recall of two million Chinese-made toxic toys. The toys, fabricated by Mattel and subsidiary Fisher Price, were found to have traces of lead paint in them. The damage payment will be shared among 39 states which reached the settlement agreement. From Aug. to Oct., 2007, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled about 2 million Mattel & Fisher-Price toys, all manufactured by contractors in China as they contained excessive lead levels.

***We Thought You Were From Burbank .... as IFCO Systems North America, a maker & distributor of pallets for a wide variety of shipping uses, has agreed to pay a US$20.6M fine to avoid prosecution for hiring illegal immigrants, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement announced on Dec. 19. Houston-based IFCO specializes in supplying and managing a pool of 75 million plastic reusable containers primarily used to transport fresh produce to grocery retailers. It also manufactures & manages the distribution and return of wooden pallets used in the warehousing and transportation industry for shipping packaged goods & produce. It is the largest pallet management company in the U.S. Nine senior managers have since pleaded guilty to misdemeanor & felony immigration charges. Others still face charges & may be prosecuted in New York.

What Kind of Mileage Does That Transport Get? ...... as police in South Salt Lake City, Utah, have arrested a man they say tried to steal a fire truck so he could drive home &emdash; to Washington &emdash; for Christmas. Detectives say firefighters on a medical call heard the US$500,000 truck's air horn blaring Dec. 23, and ran outside. They found a man in the driver's seat trying to drive away. After a lengthy struggle, firefighters were finally able to subdue the man until police arrived. Police say the 25-year-old man told them he wanted to go to Washington to see his mother for Christmas.

***Rail Bait .... as U.S. Customs & Border Protection officers on Dec. 15, discovered 427 pounds of marijuana in an empty railcar crossing into the U.S. from Mexico at the El Paso, Texas, port of entry. A specialist noticed an anomaly in the hopper car as part of a routine gamma ray inspection that all trains undergo. Subsequent search located a disguised access panel leading to a hidden compartment containing 179 bundles of the drug. CBP officers each month process about 210 northbound trains averaging 61 cars apiece at the El Paso rail crossing.

***Not In My Guano! ..... as traffickers hid 2.8 tons of cocaine inside thousands of pounds of smelly bird droppings, Peruvian police said on Dec. 15, after uncovering the latest ruse to conceal drug shipments. Cocaine exporters in Peru, the world's No. 2 producer after neighboring Colombia, counted on the stench of the dung, which is sold as a high-end organic fertilizer, tricking dogs trained to find drugs at ports of entry.Guano, as the dung is known in Spanish, is rich in nitrates & phosphorous and has a strong ammonia smell. The cocaine was hidden in 400 bags of guano that together weighed 20 tons & was bound for Europe. "The organic products camouflaged the cocaine by neutralizing it to avoid detection," police said after a 5-month investigation that led to the seizure at a warehouse in Lima about 10 days ago. Five people were arrested, including a Colombian man. Guano accumulates as white mounds on the desert islands where birds such as pelicans live along the coasts of Peru & Chile. It was once one of the world's most valuable commodities, and Bolivia, Peru & Chile fought over its control in the 1879-1883 War of the Pacific.

***Drop The Chocolate -- And Step Back! ..... as ten tons of chocolate bonbons could stuff a lot of stockings this holiday season &emdash; but instead they will be under the lock & key of French customs agents. The French customs service announced Dec. 23, that officers at the giant Rungis int'l market outside Paris seized nearly 33,000 boxes of gold-foil-wrapped morsels, on suspicion that they were counterfeit Ferrero Rochers, a popular Italian chocolate brand. Lab tests and an examination by Ferrero itself found that the seized candies were harmless but low-quality copies. They arrived in France by refrigerated truck from Turkey & were seized in late Nov. Legal proceedings are under way between Ferrero & the chocolates' importer. It was the 1st time the government had ever seized chocolates &emdash; and what a seizure: 10 tons of coconut-filled dark chocolates & milk chocolate balls worth an estimated US$312,000. The customs office said the fake Ferreros confirmed a trend seen in recent years of counterfeiters moving on from luxury goods like leather handbags & expensive perfumes to more day-to-day consumer goods like food, medicine & car parts. By last month French customs agents had seized 5.4 million counterfeit items this year, up from 4.6 million in all of 2007. As for those chocolates &emdash; they're to be destroyed, except for all those in Customs stockings.

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  2. The Cargo Letter Financial Page ___________

**AirBridgeCargo Airlines. UP as revenue for the Russian carrier grew 55% in the 1st 11 months of 2008, to US$423M.  

**El Al. DOWN with 3rd quarter net profit of US$30.4M, down 25.3% from US$40.7M last year.

**FedEx Corp. UP with US$493M net profit in 2nd quarter versus US$479M last year. 

**UTi Worldwide Inc UP with Q3/2008 net profit of US$37.9M, 8.6% more than the US$34.9M in 2007.  

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

3. Freight Forwarder World Air Briefs __________  

***50% Inspection ..... as the Transportation Security Administration has finalized the last steps necessary to implement its security program for non-airline business entities to help inspect airfreight carried on passenger aircraft. Shippers & freight forwarders certified by the agency can now officially begin checking cargo by physical or automated means to meet the Feb. 1 government mandate to screen 50% of all shipments aboard passenger planes. Congress set a final deadline of Aug. 2010 for inspecting 100% of airfreight in the passenger environment. Although 96% of U.S.-launched flights are of the narrow-body variety, the remaining 4% of wide-body flights handle 75% of the cargo. The Certified Cargo Screening Program is targeted at inspecting cargo that moves on large aircraft to domestic & int'l destinations. The TSA, part of the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security, on Oct. 1 required airlines to inspect all cargo on narrow-body planes such as Boeing 737s. Shippers must sign the commitment letter, technically called an "order," accepting their security responsibilities and TSA oversight of their activities because TSA only has statutory authority over airlines & indirect air carriers. Airlines & freight forwarders already must meet sector-specific security rules to operate, but the rules had to be updated to include protocols for the CCSP.

***Large Air Cargo Loss Forecast ..... as the Int'l Air Transport Assn. (IATA) announced its forecast for 2009 showing an industry loss of US$2.5Bn. All regions, except the USA, are expected to report larger losses in 2009 than in 2008. IATA amended its 2008 projection to a loss of US$5Bn.

***West Coast Plunge ..... as cargo traffic at U.S. west coast gateway airports was in free fall in Oct. San Francisco Int'l Airport showed the steepest drop, with overall cargo business down by 19.8% compared to Oct. 2007. Imports from Asia that anchor the airport's freight operations plummeted by 24.2%. Los Angeles Int'l Airport saw its freight tonnage fall by 14.8% compared to the same month a year earlier, giving the USA's largest Asia gateway a 10% decline in freight traffic in the first 10 months of 2008. Seattle-Tacoma airport saw a 7.5% drop in overall cargo traffic.

***China Battens Down ..... as the big 3 of Chinese Airlines have begun to ground aircraft & cut flights as their domestic market continues to slump. Adding to woes are lower fuel prices as the airlines had signed hedge contracts. The big three are Air China that has seen double-digit drop in year over year traffic, China Southern that saw a net loss of US$118M in its 3rd quarter & China Eastern, whose president noted as the airline grounded some aircraft, that, "Nowadays almost all the big carriers are cutting flights, especially int'l flights." China Southern has announced that it will get US$440M in capital from the government in Beijing. The other airlines are said to be seeking governmental assistance, as well.

***Russia Will Help ..... as the state wants to offer low interest loans to several airlines to help them manage the current financial crisis. Vice-president Igor Shuvalov said that Aeroflot, Transaero and the state-owned airline alliance RosAero/Avialinii Rossii, which is currently being developed, would be certainly able to make use of the EUR845M that the government has set aside for stricken airlines. According to unofficial information, a maximum of 5 carriers will have access to the fund. Russia has a total of some 175 airlines.

***New Zealand Follows U.S. Investigation .... as authorities have initiated an investigation against 13 airlines for price fixing cargo rates in and out of the country, int'l media outlets reported Dec. 15. The country's Commerce Commission has concluded that the airlines colluded to fix fuel & security surcharges between 2000 & 2006. Many of the airlines are the same that fell afoul of a similar investigation by the U.S. Justice Dept. that has yielded US$1.2Bn in penalties from 5 airlines. The airlines to be prosecuted are: Air New Zealand, British Airways, Cargolux International, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Garuda Int'l, Japan Airlines, Korean Airlines, Malaysian Airline Systems, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airlines & United Airlines. Officials from Air New Zealand, Cathay & Singapore Airlines have publicly refuted the charges, while BA & Qantas have allegedly agreed to cooperate in order to have potential penalties reduced.

***UPS Unveils Shanghai! ..... as on Dec. 10, its new Int'l hub in China opened. UPS says the new hub will improve access to China & speed the movement of express packages & heavy freight around the world. The facility is located at the Pudong Int'l Airport, in the Yangtze River Delta area, and now becomes the key gateway linking China to UPS's global network, the company said. It features the largest on-site 24/7 customs inspection area in Shanghai and was built to a unique design that facilitates rapid handling of express packages in addition to heavy freight. Shanghai Pudong Int'l Airport is the world's 3rd largest airport by cargo tonnage with annual growth of 11.5% he hub features 117 conveyor belts & 47 docking bays and has a package sorting capacity of 17,000 pieces per hour. It also is designed for simultaneous rapid processing of heavy freight. With its high sorting capacity, the hub improves delivery times for customers in eastern China by a full day.

***FedEx Feels The Slow Down ...... as it has postponed delivery of more than a dozen Boeing 777 freighter aircraft, according to its quarterly earnings report filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The move is among several cost-cutting measures the express courier is undertaking in the face of a steep decline in business during the global economic slowdown. FedEx's domestic air package volume is at its lowest level in 10 years. FedEx said it reached agreement with Boeing this month to push back orders for up to 17 months.  

***United Airlines Sees Uptick ...... as parent company UAL Corp. expects a 2.5% to 3.5% increase in mainline passenger unit revenue in Q4/2008 year-over-year. UAL expects to end the 4th quarter with unrestricted cash, cash equivalents & short-term investments of approximately US$2Bn. God's speed.

***KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Concludes Martinair ..... as the Dutch carrier obtained full ownership of Martinair, another Dutch airline, on 31 Dec. KLM and the Danish A.P. Moller-Maersk Group have agreed on the sale of the latter's 50% stake in Martinair to KLM. The transaction has already been cleared by the European Commission. KLM held a 50% stake in Martinair for many years. With this acquisition, KLM aims to strengthen its strategic position and to extend its network & customer services. Martinair Cargo has held a strong position in the perishables market in traffic from Latin America & Africa for many years.

***BA Stalks The Koala ..... as parallel to its merger negotiations with the Spanish airline Iberia, British Airways (BA) seems to be looking at a possible participation in the Australian national carrier Qantas. However only 25% of the company's shares may be held by foreign interests. BA sold its 18% share in Qantas 4 years ago. BA is also negotiating with American Airlines about a closer cooperation.

***Non-Italia ...... as German airline Lufthansa has launched Lufthansa Italia, a new passenger carrier brand in the Italian market. The new carrier, which starts flights in February, will be based at Milan (IT) & serve major European cities. It will compete with Italy's national airline Alitalia.

***Lufthansa On Spending Spree ..... as according to a recent report in a German daily newspaper, Lufthansa has resumed its attempt to acquire a stake in the Scandinavian airline SAS. Negotiations are said have resumed because of the current crisis in the industry. Shortly after, Lufthansa declared that the report was mere speculation. Lufthansa signaled its interest in SAS in mid-Nov. Both carriers are members of Star Alliance. SAS is 50% owned by Sweden, Norway & Denmark. Informed circles reported that Lufthansa had held exclusive talks about a takeover of SAS this summer.

***Lufthansa In A Buying Mood ..... as pending governmental approvals, it will purchase a 41.6% stake in Austrian Airlines at a cost of EURO366.6M. It will also make a public offering to remaining shareholders. Lufthansa has been approved by its supervisory board to spend enough to reach 100% control of Austrian. But during this spending spree, business is not good -- as Lufthansa has taken 3 Airbus A340-300s out of service, in addition to the four A300-600 long-haul aircraft that it has already grounded. The suspension of more aircraft (large & small) is being considered.

***A Qatar Olympics? ..... as there are rumours that Qatar Airways might be the winner of the bidding contest for Olympic Airways, but no official announcement has yet been made.

***Leisure Cargo Is Kicking Back ....as the subsidiary of the German airline Air Berlin, is for sale. A purchaser has not been found to date. Leisure Cargo, based in Dusseldorf (DE), sells freight capacities of TUIfly, Condor, Air Asia, etc, in addition to those of Air Berlin.

***Buying Up Baby .... as the privately-owned British airline Flybe is in talks to buy British Midland's subsidiary operations bmi regional & bmi baby. The airlines are not core to the strategy of British Midland's new owner, Lufthansa, according to the company. Lufthansa took over British Midland last month, but the German airline has indicated that it is more interested in bmi's long-haul routes and valuable Heathrow slots than in the 2 subsidiaries. Bmi regional is UK-focused, while bmi baby is a low-cost airline that flies to a number of European destinations.

***Air Tanzania Co. Is Just Done ..... as Tanzania's embattled national airline has been banned from operating any flight within & outside Tanzania. At the same time its operations certificate was revoked by Tanzania's Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA).

***Frankfurt Freight Traffic Plunges ...... as the EU hub falls to 176,230 tons in Nov., a drop of 8% compared to Nov. 2007. This was on top of a 4.1% decrease in October that ended 9 months of growth. Total traffic for the year to date is down by 0.3% to 1.9 million tons. Cargo volume at Fraport's 6 airports in Germany (including Frankfurt), Turkey, Bulgaria & Peru, decreased by 7.9 % in Nov. to 216,541 tons but was 1% higher year-to-date at 2.3 million tons. Frankfurt Hahn (DE) saw freight traffic decline by 12.1% in Nov. to 11,151tons.

***Not The Welcome Gift Taiwan Had In Mind ..... as 30 kg of the smuggled party drug ketamine arrived on one of the 1st direct cargo flights between rivals China & Taiwan following 6 decades of hostile relations, a Customs official said Dec. 19. Airport Customs agents in Taipei found the popular powdered hallucinatory drug packed into 8 boxes on a Chinese cargo plane. "Our expectation was that direct cargo links could possibly lead to drug smuggling," said Lin Shu-chi, deputy Taipei Customs Office head. "I can't say this was beyond our imagination." The ketamine was worth US$27,000. Taiwan & China opened direct cargo routes and launched daily direct passenger flights Dec. 15, for the 1st time since 1949 to help Taiwan investors save time & money on travel & factory shipments. China has claimed sovereignty over Taiwan since 1949, when Mao Zedong's Communists won the Chinese civil war & Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists (KMT) fled to the island. Beijing has vowed to bring Taiwan under its rule, by force if necessary. The jump in trade & transit links underscore how quickly ties have warmed under the island's pro-China President Ma Ying-jeou, who took office in May on a pledge to improve cooperation with Beijing. A 31-year-old Chinese woman was arrested in connection with the ketamine, destined for a convenience store in central Taiwan.

***Can Any of You Passengers Fly A Plane? ...... as a British passenger plane was forced to turn back minutes before landing in Paris because the pilot of 30 years' experience was not qualified to land in fog, an airline confirmed on Dec 18. Speaking over the address system as the Flybe Air flight approached Charles de Gaulle airport, the pilot announced to startled passengers "I am not qualified to land the plane" and turned back to Cardiff. A spokeswoman for the low-cost airline said the pilot was "an experienced aviator with more than 30 years commercial aviation experience flying a number of different passenger aircraft types. He has relatively recently transferred his 'type-rating' from a Bombardier Q300 to a Bombardier Q400 & has not yet completed the requisite low-visibility training to complete a landing in conditions such as the dense fog experienced in Paris Charles de Gaulle," she said. "The captain therefore quite correctly turned the aircraft around & returned to Cardiff; a decision which the company stands by 100%." One passenger, 29-year-old Cassandra Grant, said: "Twenty minutes outside Paris, the capt. said, 'Unfortunately I'm not qualified to land the plane in Paris. They are asking for a level 2 qualification & I only have a level 5. We'll have to fly back." The Civil Aviation Authority described the incident as "quite unusual but probably not unheard of." I guess he thought when he initially took off that conditions would be suitable for him to land," a spokesman said. "There are different classifications of aircraft and when an aircraft is updated, pilots who have flown an older version have to completely retrain. Good thing it did not rain.

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

  4. FF World Ocean Briefs   

***New World Cargo Law? ..... as the UN General Assembly on Dec. 11, adopted the U.N. Convention on Contracts for the Int'l Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea, & confirmed they will be referred to as the "Rotterdam Rules." The assembly commended the U.N. Commission on Int'l Trade Law (UNCITRAL) on successfully developing the rules and said a signing ceremony will be held in Rotterdam on Sept. 21-23. The new rules were developed during meetings that began in April 2002 and aim to create a modern & uniform law concerning the int'l carriage of goods which include an int'l sea leg, but which is not limited to port-to-port carriage of goods. The treaty will then go to individual nations & needs 20 countries to adopt it before it goes into effect. Proponents of the new treaty hope it will be widely embraced & replace a quiltwork of rules that different nations use today to regulate the carriage of goods at sea including: the Hague Rules of 1924 (source of U.S. COGSA), the Hague-Visby Rules of 1968, & the Hamburg Rules of 1978. Critics' views in comiing editions -- many.

***Bank Sees Container Rate Disaster ..... as the Icelandic bank Kaupthing issued a report that said the decline in consumer spending will propel freight rates down, hurting revenue for the container lines by 20% is 1st quarter and by 26% year-on-year. The report said to expect negative Chinese & Japanese export growth in 1st quarter. "We believe (1st half 2009) will mark the absolute low point in terms of cargo volume contraction & freight rates," the report said. "Both on the export side of the container trade & on the import side of the container trade, leading indicators for trade activity show that a massive deceleration in trade growth lies ahead of us. Unfortunately for the container liners, the deceleration in trade growth culminates just at a point in time when negotiations for next year's container freight rates are at the most crucial stages." Despite the bank's prediction that freight rates will fall dramatically, the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement also suggested last week that no one should expect the low current rates to be extended during the 2009-2010 contract season.

***True Shame.... as managers of M/T Hebei Spirit, involved in a massive oil spill off the coast of Korea last Dec., and various trade organizations are expressing outrage over the jailing Dec. 17, of the tanker's master & chief officer. "The decision by the Korean Appeal Court to find guilty the master & chief officer of the Hebei Spirit, an anchored VLCC which was struck by a moving Samsung crane barge, will surely go down as one of the most disgraceful examples of a miscarriage of justice in a 'supposedly' advanced nation state," said a statement by Bob Bishop, CEO of V.Ships, manager of the vessel. He called treatment of the tanker's Capt. Jasprit Chawla & Chief Officer Syam Chetan -- sentenced to prison terms & led from the court in handcuffs -- "a disgrace & insult to the whole shipping industry." The sentences are "a blemish on shipping worldwide and on Korea's Maritime Authorities in particular," said the Hong Kong Shipowners Assn. It said it "joins the many independent & int'l associations in protesting at the judgment & treatment of the officers of the Hebei Spirit." You do not charge a legally anchored ship for a collision. McD

Video of Collision

***UN Security Council Takes Piracy Step .... as on Dec. 15, it passed a resolution calling on states & regional organizations fighting piracy to conclude agreements with countries, especially in the Arabian Sea region, willing to take custody of pirates & to put their own law enforcement officials on board as "ship riders" to prosecute detained suspects. It also opened the possibility for forces in the area to go after pirates on land by authorizing the use "of all necessary measures that are appropriate in Somalia, for the purpose of suppressing acts of piracy & armed robbery at sea."

***Chinese Navy Leaves China - 1st Time .... as a squadron of destroyers 169 Wuhan & 171 Haikou, and the supply ship 87 Weisanhu departed a naval base in southern China on Dec. 26 on the country's first-ever major overseas combat deployment and will join coalition forces on anti-piracy patrols off Somalia. Confirmation of the deployment came just days after the crew of the heavylift vessel M/V Zhenhua 4, owned by Shanghai Zhenhua Shipping, used Molotov cocktails & fire hoses to thwart a hijacking attempt. See the dramatic pictures.

***Failed Security ... as an attack by Somali pirates garnered a lot of attention Nov. 26, when private security contractors aboard chemical tanker MT Biscaglia were unable to thwart the attack by non-lethal means & jumped overboard in a hail of bullets to escape. The incident has raised questions about the credentials & security practices of Anti-Piracy Maritime Security Solutions (APMSS). The company was formed last July by a former British army pilot in response to the piracy menace. It has placed teams of ex-Royal Marines & Special Forces on a handful of commercial vessels so far. Among the tools used by APMSS on the Biscaglia was a long-range acoustical device (LRAD) that the company claimed can directly target an ear-piercing beam of sound towards a potential adversary to keep them at bay. But the LRAD manufacturer is defending the capability of its product when properly used. The security team's primary mistake was it only had one LRAD 500x mounted on the stern. The LRAD is very effective against people coming from a single direction, but the Somali pirates tend to swarm with more than one boat, according to shipping analysts. The hired force should have placed two LRAD 1000x units -- which are almost twice as loud as the 500x model -- on the port & starboard sides or used a portable version on a "scram cart" that can be moved about the ship, said San Diego-based American Technology Corp.

***CMA CGM Gears Up For Pirates ... as noting the risks faced by container ships transiting through the Gulf of Aden because of piracy, said it will begin to implement a surcharge of US$23 per TEU on all containers crossing the area at any point in the voyage. The French carrier said the surcharge comes in addition to any rate agreement, short term or long term, already concluded with customers or to be concluded. The charge is necessary, CMA CGM said, because of additional high costs such as increased insurance premiums. CMA CGM said it has taken all steps to ensure security of its vessels sailing through the Gulf of Aden. The vessels will cross the gulf at increased speeds & participate in convoys protected by coalition warships. CMA CGM said it has agreed to award hazard duty pay to crews transiting the pirate-infested waters. The bonus will be equal to their basic wage. The company said 65 of its vessels transit the Gulf of Aden each month, most on Asia-Europe routes.

***EU Will Mirror U.S.? ..... as plans to tighten container security through a scheme modeled on one already operational in the U.S. are falling behind schedule, partly because of the difficulty of obtaining uniformity across member states. Requirements to complete security clearance for containers 24 hours before vessel loading have been in place for U.S.-bound boxes for some time and have worked well, largely because of close co-operation between the authorities & shipping lines when the rules were being drafted. The Washington-based World Shipping Council, which represents most global carriers, now hopes to repeat that success story in Europe, where Brussels is working on a similar set of rules. China is also planning to bring in its own version of the 24-hour rule in Jan. Meanwhile, the U.S. will take its own container security regime one step further next month when the so-called 10+2 rule comes into force, whereby shippers must supply 10 data elements direct to U.S. Customs & Border Protection, with carriers providing another 2 data streams, covering vessel stowage plans & copies of container status messages.

***The Longer View ..... as U.S. Coast Guard has announced that operation of a Long Range Identification & Tracking System, mandated by the Int'l Maritime Organization, will begin Dec. 31. The Coast Guard will also start operating a U.S. National Data Center in Martinsburg, W.Va. on the same day, which will be responsible for the collection, dissemination & management of all LRIT data submitted by U.S.-flagged vessels subject to LRIT regulations. In addition, the data center will collect foreign-flagged vessel LRIT information from other data centers. Beginning Jan. 1, 2009, the Coast Guard will examine both foreign & U.S. flagged vessels subject to LRIT regulations to determine the status of compliance.

***U.S. Container Volume Dwon 1.2 Million TEU ..... as year-over-year cargo volume at the nation's major retail container ports fell for the 16th straight month in Nov. Now 2008 is on track to be the slowest year since 2004 as the U.S. economic downturn continues, according to the monthly Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation & IHS Global Insight. Volume is projected to total 15.3 million TEUs for the year, 7.1% less than the 16.5 million TEUs handled at the same ports in 2007 -- lowest total since 2004, when 14 million TEUs moved through the ports.

***Containership Charter Rate Crisis ..... as there is a plunge over the past year, according to a report from Dutch maritime consultant Dynamar. The report said for a geared 2,500-TEU vessel the per-day rate went from roughly US$20,800 in Nov. 2007 to US$7,700 in Nov. 2008, a drop of 63%. A 1,100-TEU ship has seen charter rates drop from US$12,000 per day to US$6,400 in the same time, a 47% drop. Operators of 4,500-TEU ships, the largest vessel category noted in the study, watched charter rates dip 36%, from US$27,800 per day in Nov. 2007 to US$17,600 per day in Nov. 2008.   

***Shipbuilding Feels The Crisis ..... as orders will fall by 60% next year & newbuild prices will drop by 30% from their peak by 2010, according to a Dec. 9, statement by the China Shipbuilding Economy Research Center in Beijing. There will be a further fall in 2010.

***Neptune Orient Line Volume Falls ..... as its container line APL moved 169,700 40-ft equivalent units in the 4 weeks ending Nov 14, down 12% from the same period in 2007. That reflects the deteriorating market for container shipping. For the year, APL volumes have been up 9% to 2.45 million FEUs.

***Maersk Lays Up ..... as it will be laying up 8 of it's 6,500 TEU container vessels claiming it is more economical to lay the vessels up now rather than re-deploy them in a market offering too low freight rates.The vessels will be laid up for 6 months. Layups now equal to 3.5% of world container fleet. There has been a surge in layups in the past 2 weeks as several Far East-Europe loops have been suspended or closed. About 165 containerships, with capacity of 430,000 TEUs, are idle.

***Maersk Says Goodbye, Charleston ..... as it will leave & return its dedicated terminal at the port by the time its contract ends Dec. 31, 2010. Maersk, which represents about 25% of the Charleston's cargo, reportedly is not meeting minimum volumes commitments under a contract with the port & is paying a shortfall fee. The action comes at a time when container volumes at the port are down 4% in the 1st 5 months of the fiscal year (July-Nov.), on top of a 10% decline the prior fiscal year.

***Battle of Long Beach Continues .... as on Dec. 17, 2008, the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) announced it would delay implementation of the Port Fee Services Agreement in the ports of Los Angeles & Long Beach for at least 45 days, pending receipt of more information from the parties to the agreement. Officials at the Port of Long Beach took little time to respond to the FMC decision. "This is extremely disappointing," said the port's executive director. "This truck financing fee is a critical, long-planned part of our program to protect the public health and improve air quality & security." The FMC has filed a lawsuit to block portions of the Clean Trucks Program as anti-competitive. Earlier this month, U.S. District Court Judge Richard J. Leon said he would not rule on the FMC's request for a preliminary injunction until later in 2009. Many shippers & interest groups object to the "concession" clause of the program at the Port of Los Angeles for eliminating owner-operators from the drayage fleet. At the same time, the ports of Long Beach & Los Angeles are counting on the electronic gate access system to improve security, and the PortCheck online system to collect the fee to raise about US$1M a day or about US$1Bn over the next few years to finance the replacement of nearly 17,000 trucks that are a leading source of air pollution in So. Cal. FMC Release. FMC Release

***Taking The Night Off .... as the volume drop in the ports of Los Angeles & Long Beach this year has persuaded terminal operators in the ports to suspend off-peak shifts on Saturdays to reduce operational costs. The ports have felt the impact of a 19 % drop in container volume in Oct. & Nov. So PierPASS, the program introduced in 2005 to add weekday night & Saturday shifts to container terminals in So Cal, will be suspended beginning Jan. 17, with the last Sat. shift on Jan. 10. Port of Los Angeles officials, predicting a dramatic 20% to 30% decline in shipments during the 1st quarter of 2009, have slashed more than more than US$20M from their current spending budget.

***Throughput >>> Port of Hong Kong saw volumes in Nov. fall to 1.8 million teu, a drop of 13.2% compared to the same month in 2007 and for the year, throughput declined by 4.6%. >>> Port of Singapore registered a 1.5% decline in volumes in November to 2.3 million TEU, but volume for the year is still 10.1% higher than in 2007, the title of "the world`s biggest container port 2008" may well go to Shanghai .   

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

1814 - Destruction of schooner Carolina, the last of a make-shift fleet that fought a series of delaying actions that contributed to Andrew Jackson's victory at the Battle of New Orleans.

1821 - Lt. Robert F. Stockton & Dr. Eli Ayers, a Naval surgeon and member of the American Colonizing Society, induce a local African king to sell territory for a colony, which eventually became the Republic of Liberia.

1870 - After a month at sea in a 22-foot boat, Coxswain William Halford, lone survivor out of a crew of 5, reaches Hawaii to seek help for the crew of USS Saginaw, wrecked near Midway Island. Rescuers reach the 88 Saginaw survivors on Jan. 4, 1871.

1907 - The Great White Fleet departs Hampton Roads, Va., to circumnavigate the world.   

1941 - Adm. Chester W. Nimitz is named commander in chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet, relieving Adm. Husband Kimmel who lost the fleet.

***Italian Adventurer Comes Close ..... as Alex Bellini who spent 10 months rowing his 25-foot (7.5 mt) more than 9,500 nautical miles across the Pacific has been rescued a mere 65 nautical miles short of his goal &emdash; Australia &emdash; after rough weather sapped him of his final shreds of energy. The 30-year old began his voyage off Peru in Feb. See the video.                          

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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 OCT. 2008: ""Pirate Attack On M/V Zhen Hua 4"

See our continuing feature for Dec. 2008: "THANKS, BUT NO TANKS" .... biggest pirate stories of the 21st Century -- the taking of M/V Faina & M/T Sirius Star!

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

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>>>>>>

2008 Cargo Security Report .... resource for anyone involved in securing the supply chain

All I Really Need to Know (About Logistics) I Learned From Rudolph: A Holiday Demand Story

Assn. of Southeast Asian Nations ......... new agreements to promote trade -- Dec. 2008

Food & Drug Administration Food Protection Plan ......... for both domestic & imported products

Fork Lift Frenzy ........ free transport game

How to Negotiate Ocean Carrier Contracts

New LAX Design ......modernization project to begin ..... see the dramatic design

U.S. Airport Tracker

National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System

NATO Shipping Center

New Rules Japanese of Arbitration

Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) ........ enforcement program has commenced in various U.S. locations

Trucking Industry & Freight Related Search Engine

The Int'l Maritime Human Element

U.S. Cargo Systems Messaging Service ........ searchable database & email service

U.S. Customs Quota Information Issued For The Trade Community

U.S. National Weather Service

PRODUCTS>>>>>>>>>

Sky Patrol Fleet Tracking

Ship Simulator 2008

Tele Atlas

EVENTS>>>>>>>>>

Transport Events

Trade Shows, Exhibitions, Conferences & Business Events Worldwide

World Trade Organization Events

Cargo Claims Handling, Loss Prevention & Security Seminar - Law Offices of Countryman & McDaniel - The Asia Business Forum...... Feb. 9-10 2009, JW Mariott Hotel, Singapore. COME JOIN US!!

Cargo Claims Handling, Loss Prevention & Security Seminar - Law Offices of Countryman & McDaniel - The Asia Business Forum ...... Feb. 11-12 200, Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia. COME JOIN US!!

JAXPORT 2009 Logistics and Intermodal Conference ...... March 17, 2009, Amelia Island Plantation, Florida.

MARAD Approved Maritime Security Awareness Classes

Maritime Vietnam 2009 ......... 25-27 Feb. 2009, Saigon Exhibition & Convention Center

ProMat 2009 ....... Jan. 12-15, 2009, Chicago's McCormick Place

Tackling Piracy at Sea Conference .... 18 - 19 March 2009, London, UK

Terminal Operations Conference & Exhibition for Asia ......March 3-5 2009, Shenzhen

U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Updated information On "Lacey Act"

U.S. Exports Conference ......Feb. 4&endash;5, New York City

Washington Union Station's Centennial Celebration

Free Wesbcast>>>>>>>>>

U.S. Importer Security Filing (10+2) ......presented by Avalon Risk Management

GENERAL INTEREST>>>>>>>>>

Airport Tycoon ........ free game -- operate your own LHR

Cunard's RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 Farewell Party & Video of Career

European Research Icebreaker M/V Aurora Borealis

More

For Sale - Ocean Breeze - Saddam's Yacht

More

More

JibJab Year In Review

John Lennon's New Commercial

Luggage Forward ..... door to door for luggage & skis

SS Norway Engine Room Tour

The Barack Obama Inauguration Cruise

Tokyo Designers Week 2008....... custom installations inside ocean containers.

Welcome To Hong Kong 1938 ...... video

UPS Regifter

U.S. Naval History & Heritage Command

Wacky

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

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

Wong v. Bush

U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals

542 F.3d 732, Sept. 5, 2008)

Security Zone Preventing Blockade Draws Lawsuit -- The plaintiffs in this case opposed the operation of the Hawaii Superferry's (HSF) at Nawiliwili Harbor in Kauaui, Hawaii, and wanted to stage protests to stop it from landing there. The Coast Guard established a security zone at the landing site to avoid interruptions with the ferry's operation, and the zone thwarted the protestors' plans. The protesters filed suit, alleging that the security zone violated their First Amendment free speech rights, and was done in disregard of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by failing to consider secondary environmental effects of the security zone.

The District Court (D. Hawaii) entered judgment for the government, and the protesters appealed. The Court of Appeals first held that the case was not moot because the issue at hand was capable of repetition, yet evading review. The Court then held that the protesters had standing to make their First Amendment claim because many of the plaintiffs planned on protesting in the waters of the harbor if the HSF returned.

The Court held that the government did not violate the protesters First Amendment rights. If the protester's blockade of the harbor was viewed as symbolic speech, the establishment of the security zone was reasonable, content-neutral and narrowly tailored to achieve a government interest. If the blockade was not symbolic speech, it was also not protected speech.

The protesters had standing to bring the NEPA claim as recreational users of the harbor with an interest in its environmental protection. The claim that the government did not comply with NEPA's "no action" alternative requirement was rejected on the ground that the government relied upon a categorical exclusion for the security zone, and that reliance was neither arbitrary or capricious. The government did not need to consider the environmental effects of the HSF, because the rule establishing the security zone was not so intertwined with HSF as to constitute one action.

Last, the government was within its statutory authority to establish the security zone, as a measure to safeguard vessels & waterfront facilities in the U.S. against loss or injury from sabotage or other causes of similar nature.

The 9th Circuit affirmed the judgment of the District Court.

Consub Delaware LLC v. Schahin Engenharia Limitada

U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals

543 F.3d 104, Sept. 23, 2008

Funds in Transit Electronically Are Subject to Maritime Attachment -- In 2003, Consub alleged that Schahin had not paid it for maritime services rendered, and brought proceedings in a London court in accordance with both forum selection clauses. Schahin filed various applications in Brazilian courts, claiming it was not properly served in the London action, and Consub considered this an attempt to delay the proceedings. Accordingly, Consub brought suit in the U.S.District Court (S.D. N.Y.) and obtained an ex parte attachment order under Maritime Rules to secure almost US$6M. Schahin later sought to transfer over US$4M from Brazil to Switzerland in an unrelated transaction. This transfer was routed through two intermediary banks in the U.S., one of which had been served with the ex parte attachment order. That bank froze the funds. Schahin then filed a motion to vacate the attachment and the District Court denied.

On appeal the 2nd Circuit held that during an EFT, funds remain the property of the originator and thus may be subject to attachment when in the hands of an intermediary bank. Further, the Court held that New York state law did not apply, but maritime law did because maritime attachment is a federal issue.

The Court also held that the forum selection clauses found in the agreements did not bar Consub from seeking relief in the District Court. The forum selection clauses spoke to the "agreement" being subject to jurisdiction in England, but not "attachments."

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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)

Maria Payne (Countryman & McDaniel)

Christoph Whaner, Esq. (Countryman & McDaniel)

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