The annual IIFA Golf Classic will take place on Thursday 14th May 2009 in Skerries Golf Club. Booking forms will be sent out in the next week. If you have any questiosn in the meantime contact the office on 01 845 5411.

IIFA President Finbarr Cleary pictured with Bell Transport & Logistics Managing Director John Dawson at the CILT Annual Dinner on 12th February 2009.

 

 Director of Shannon Airport Martin Moroney, Lynxs Group Executive Director Anthony Jackson and Cargo & Technical Traffic Development Manager Shannon Airport Joe Buckley

 

 

 

The Danish shipping company Maersk's latest newbuilding - the "Marit Maersk" - made its maiden call at the port of Hamburg (Germany), shortly after its completion and naming ceremony at the Odense shipyard (Denmark). The vessel's LOA is 367 m, and is the longest containership ever to call at Hamburg. According to information from the shipping company, the "Marit Maersk" is able to transport 7,000 teu and has 544 reefer plugs. However, the industry's information service Alphaliners said that the vessel has a capacity of approximately 10,000 teu. The call at Hamburg is unique. The vessel sailed from Hamburg to Southeast Asia via the Suez Canal, and docked in Singapore on 9 March. From there, the "Marit Maersk" took up service in the transpacific trade between Asia and North America.

 

 

Commission presents plan to streamline customs procedures for ships travelling from one EU port to another - moving towards a maritime space without barriers. For years, lorries and freight trains have enjoyed border-free travel in the EU. Not so for ships. Even if they sail directly from one EU country to another, ships still have to go through customs, a costly process that causes major delays.

 

Now the commission has put forth a plan to simplify the process. It includes several legislative measures to cut red tape and recommendations to reduce administrative fees.

 

Transport minister Antonio Tajani believes the plan will make maritime transport more competitive, in turn benefiting the overall economy. An important source of jobs and revenue for Europe, ships carry about 40% of the EU's internal trade and almost all external trade. Every year more than 400m passengers pass through EU ports and some 3.5bn tonnes of cargo are loaded and unloaded.

 

Shipping companies are subject to various checks for compliance with complex rules on taxes, health, safety, security, etc. The plan recommends that national governments simplify these border controls. More importantly, it includes a number of legislative proposals to streamline customs procedures. And it calls for measures in the future to reduce the paperwork for goods that stop at non-EU countries en route from one European port to another.

Alongside the plan, the commission published a policy paper setting out goals for the industry over the next 10 years. It explores the main challenges in sea transport and contains measures to help the industry through the economic slump.

 

Taking advantage of the boom in world trade, the European shipping sector has grown considerably in recent years, with companies investing heavily to renew and expand their fleets. But the industry faces many challenges, including fierce competition from companies that operate under lower safety and environmental standards. Volatile energy markets and the growing threat of piracy are also hurdles.

Unlike road and rail transport, shipping from one EU country to another is considered international trade because a country's territorial waters only extend 22 kilometres from shore. Beyond that distance, a ship enters international waters.

 

 

 

 

The Woodland Group has entered into a strategic partnership with TCB, a logistics provider from Belfast, as it seeks to expand its operations on both sides of the Irish border. Woodland Global Network, part of the UK-based Woodland Group, has teamed up with TCB, which will be responsible for marketing the group's full portfolio of logistics solutions from its base in Northern Ireland, with a particular focus on sea and airfreight services to and from the Far East, the Pacific Basin and the US.

 

 

IAM, is poised to celebrate its 20th birthday this year. The company has grown from 3 staff to become the core of a successful aviation services group handling airline exports and imports, linking Ireland with Europe by express trucking services, and offering training in aviation security.

IAM now represents 13 airlines, and still counts its original launch customer Air Canada among its client carriers.

 

The company's founder Sean McCool already has had a long and distinguished career in airfreight before conceiving and launching IAM in 1989, having held senior positions in Western Airlines, Brinks, Aer Lingus and Seaboard World (from the time when the latter commenced transatlantic services into Shannon Airport). Now IAM's Chairman and in semi-retirement, McCool has handed over the company's reins to son Ian, as Managing Director.

 

 

An air cargo facility at Los Angeles international airport has become the first to be approved under the US Transportation Security Administration's air cargo screening guidelines, making it an official Independent Cargo Screening Facility (ICSF). Mercury Air Cargo "will now be able to accept unscreened cargo from freight forwarders street-side, screen it in a secured environment and then transport it anywhere within the airport," according to a company statement.