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This could only happen to a cat. A house cat that climbed unnoticed into an open box took a trip he wasn’t expecting. He was shipped 700 kilometers in the parcel across Germany but emerged from the journey unscathed. I guess the German parcel system handles their packages a little more...

CHICAGO -- Railway executive Matthew Rose stood before fellow industry leaders, pointing to a map meant to tell the future of the U.S. rail freight network. It was drenched in red -- east to west, north to south. The blotches illustrated areas where, by 2035, traffic jams could be so severe trains would grind to a halt for days with nowhere to go. "For those of you who've ever seen a good rail meltdown, this is what it looks like," Rose, CEO of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., said as the crowded hall shifted uncomfortably in their chairs. "It's literally...

US researchers say they have developed an effective way to kill unwanted plants and animals that hitch a ride in the ballast waters of cargo vessels. Tests showed that a continuous microwave system was able to remove all marine life within the water tanks. The UN lists "invasive species" dispersed by ballast water discharges as one of the four main threats to the world's marine ecosystems. The findings will appear in the journal Environmental Science and Technology. Shipping moves more than 80% of the world's commodities and transfers up to five billion tonnes of ballast water internationally each year, data...

Plans have been finalized by Mexico to develop Punta Colonet as a West Coast Mexican alternative to the U.S. ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach. The proposal includes a deep-water Pacific Ocean port on Mexico's Baja California peninsula about 150 miles south of Tijuana that could serve as a destination for the 30 million containers headed to North America from China and the Far East each year, according to a report published Tuesday in the Los Angeles Times. The on-again, off-again plan to develop Punta Colonet has been discussed before as the number of containers from China grows and...

Oil tankers and other merchant vessels will be assembled into convoys to sail under the protection of warships’ guns. The plans follow two serious confrontations between Iranian gunboats and British and US naval ships. Four of our frigates and destroyers are to be sent to the key Strait of Hormuz amid fears that commercial shipping will be targeted next. The narrow “chokepoint” carrying oil from the Persian Gulf is the most vulnerable area for attacks or suicide rammings. Three US ships almost opened fire there in January after being “buzzed” by Iranian boats. Advertisement The convoy plans have emerged from...

TEXAS CITY — A massive superhighway that Texans have protested at public hearings statewide drew heated opposition among Galveston County residents, who said they feared the toll road would cripple the local shipping industry and do nothing to improve insufficient hurricane evacuation routes. The Trans-Texas Corridor would wind from Laredo to Corpus Christi, wrap around the western edge of Greater Houston, parallel Interstate 59 through East Texas and leave the state in Texarkana. But residents at a public hearing Thursday night in Texas City questioned the real purpose for the road, which would also be part of a national Interstate...

U.N. Keeps Quiet on Suspect Boxes From North Korea By BENNY AVNI Staff Reporter of the Sun February 1, 2008 UNITED NATIONS — U.N. officials failed to inform New York or federal authorities about an illness suffered by two employees who had handled boxes shipped here from North Korea — boxes that might have been contaminated — U.N. sources said. The U.N. contractors suffered headaches and nausea and felt sick enough to report the incident and seek treatment. The U.N. security authorities were concerned enough to deploy their own hazardous-material team but failed to seal the site where the incident...

LONG BEACH - Days after port authorities approved a $35 environmental fee on containers shipped through Southern California's harbors, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Wednesday that he would support a similar fee at the state level. Schwarzenegger, who previously said container fees would hurt the economy, now considers them an option to help fund trade-related infrastructure and environmental programs. "I think fees are good; we just have to work it out with the various stakeholders," Schwarzenegger said during a visit with U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Jr. "It's extremely important that we find a way to create economic development and increase...

Roman barge under Cologne to reveal shipping history Posted : Sun, 09 Dec 2007 02:08:05 GMT Cologne, Germany - Excited archaeologists are raising part of a Roman barge that sank near the wharf nearly 2,000 years ago in the German riverside city of Cologne. Cologne, which derives its modern name from the town's Latin name, Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium, is full of Roman remains including a largely intact aqueduct. But the oaken boat, found 12 metres below the surface during excavations a few days ago for an underground mass-transit line, is something special, offering scientists a new window into life...

HONG KONG - Ships belching toxic fumes from diesel fuel contribute to the deaths of tens of thousands of people in Europe, Asia and the United States each year, claims a U.S. report released this week. As many as 60,000 people living in coastal communities along major shipping routes died from lung and heart complaints as a result of high sulfate emissions from ships in 2002, according to the study released Wednesday by the American Chemical Society. With international maritime trade on the rise and little regulation of ship emissions, that death toll could rise to as many as 82,000...

Cargo containers crammed with foreign-made goods that were supposed to set a record in August at major U.S. ports took an unexpected turn, with imports sinking 1.4% in another sign of the slowing of the economy. Imports of items as diverse as toys and tiles could also be lower in September and October, when retailers will be stocking shelves for the holidays, because shell-shocked shoppers are expected to continue to pull back. Entry point click to enlarge Graphic Is trade boom over? click to enlargeThe falloff "reflects the consumer-demand-driven weakness in the U.S. economy," said Paul Bingham, an economist with...

SAN FRANCISCO, Sep. 21, 2007 (KGO) - An East Bay company is hoping to harness wind power in a way that could change cargo shipping forever. It's a new twist on a very old technology. The first sailing ship came into San Francisco Bay through the Golden Gate in 1775. There's nothing new about wind power. But there is something very new about the big plans to harness much more of that power. A huge kite was on the Bay last weekend helping pull a 140 ton workboat from the Golden Gate Bridge to Alameda. KiteShip Corporation of Alameda put...

<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S.-led forces have warned shippers to cooperate with maritime searches for al Qaeda fighters fleeing Afghanistan by sea or risk being sunk, defense officials said on Friday.</p> <p>The U.S. Fifth Fleet and coalition forces are monitoring commercial vessels in the North Arabian Sea, ``particularly those operating off the Pakistani coast'' in the hunt for Saudi-born extremist Osama bin Laden and members of his al Qaeda network, as well as fighters of the collapsing Taliban militia that formerly ruled Afghanistan, a defense official said.</p>

The locations of the 23 vessels are unknown. Hundreds of ships carrying tens of thousands of containers arrive every day at U.S. ports, where they are subjected to only minimal spot checks. "The ease with which a terrorist could smuggle chemical, biological or even nuclear weapons in a container, without detection, is, in a word, hair-raising," said Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn. At best, only one out of 10 of such containers is actually checked by U.S. Customs inspectors, who have no radiation detection equipment to check an entire ship. " There is no magical shield that would let you know, ...

Arctic ice has shrunk to the lowest level on record, new satellite images show, raising the possibility that the Northwest Passage that eluded famous explorers will become an open shipping lane. ADVERTISEMENT The European Space Agency said nearly 200 satellite photos this month taken together showed an ice-free passage along northern Canada, Alaska and Greenland, and ice retreating to its lowest level since such images were first taken in 1978. The waters are exposing unexplored resources, and vessels could trim thousands of miles from Europe to Asia by bypassing the Panama Canal. The seasonal ebb and flow of ice levels...

Arctic ice has shrunk to the lowest level on record, new satellite images show, raising the possibility that the Northwest Passage that eluded famous explorers will become an open shipping lane... A waterway long blocked by ice, the Arctic's Northwest Passage, is now open. A satellite image above from the European Space Agency shows an open route in orange and a partially open one in blue.

The Interstate 69 corridor, a Mexico-to-Canada concept discussed since 1991, has received government recognition as a "corridor of the future," a designation that immediately means $800,000 in federal money for studies. Local officials say it could mean more trade in South Texas. The corridor -- a 2,680-mile international trade route from Mexico to Canada also known as the Trans-Texas Corridor-69 -- was one of two designated Tuesday as corridors of the future. Interstate 10 from California to Florida also received recognition. Hailed as a route that would facilitate trade resulting from the North American Free Trade Agreement, I-69's Texas portion...

WASHINGTON: The specter of a nuclear bomb, hidden in a cargo container, detonating in an American port has prompted Congress to require 100 percent screening of U.S.-bound ships at their more than 600 foreign starting points. The Bush administration and shippers maintain the technology for scanning 11 million containers each year does not exist and say the requirement could disrupt trade. Current procedures including manifest inspections at foreign ports and radiation monitoring in U.S. ports are working well, they contend. Nonetheless, President George W. Bush signed the measure into law this month and praised its transfer of domestic money to...

Lost in Transit by: Bethany Stotts, July 25, 2007 With the recent revelation that the Department of Defense cannot locate more than 50,000 containers, concerns about the government's ability to equip soldiers on the battlefield prompted Senators Daniel Akaka (D-HI) and George Voinovich (R-OH) to call the fourth senate hearing on DoD supply-chain management since 2005. Many of the containers lost in transit are owned privately, and have simply disappeared. When asked if the containers were empty or full when they were lost, or if they made it to their destination, General Schwartz, Commander of the U.S. Transportation Command, replied...

CUSTOMERS of the internet auction site eBay are being defrauded by unscrupulous dealers who secretly bid up the price of items on sale to boost profits. An investigation by The Sunday Times has indicated that the practice of artificially driving up prices — known as shill bidding — is widespread across the site. Last week one of the UK’s biggest eBay sellers admitted in a taped conversation with an undercover reporter that he was prepared to use business associates to bid on his goods for him. Our inquiries found evidence that a number of businesses — ranging from overseas property...

The article, from one of the world's leading newspapers, touches on what a blessing saying "hasta la vista" to socialism really can be - not to mention future prospects! Ask the people who live in the hottest city of Europe - and they don't speak "cockney" or french with a Paris accent. The fall of Communism in Russia and China in combination with the orientation towards pro-capitalism of Scandinavia has already lead to a explosion of trade between the world's 14th biggest economy, Russia, the world's 4th biggest economy, China and the 8th biggest one, the Scandinavian countries (Source: IMF...

This thread is an attempt to keep a handy record of companies that Freepers might contact, who will ship to APO or FPO addresses. Perhaps later, when there are a lot of companies, a link to a list of them can be done on the front page. My reason for this is that it might make it immensely easier for a Freeper to contact a company which can ship a product, instead of the Freeper having to buy the produce, pack it, fill out a customs form, and then ship it. It will still cost the same, but it should...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28, 2006 – The Iranian government is behind shipping components used to make improvised explosive devices to Iraqi insurgents, a senior intelligence official in Iraq said yesterday. Labels on weapons stocks seized inside and outside Iraq point to Iranian government complicity in arming Shiite militias in Iraq, Army Maj. Gen. Richard Zahner, the deputy chief of staff for intelligence with Multinational Force Iraq, said at a news roundtable. U.S. officials have said in the past that Iran is fomenting instability in Iraq. In August, Army Brig. Gen. Michael Barbero said that the Iranian government is training many members...

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - California is on the verge of blazing a new environmental path with the toughest restrictions in the nation on exotic clams, crabs and other nonnative aquatic species that harm river and bay environments, threaten water supplies and clog water pipes. State lawmakers last week sent the governor a bill to require ships entering California ports to treat their ballast water to kill the aquatic species that hitchhike from port to port around the world. "If this becomes law, it's likely to spur national and international attention to standards for ballast water," said Andrew Cohen, a scientist...

SIERRA VISTA — Seized with sorrow as she said goodbye to her four small children, Army Sgt. Alberta Cole resorted to a time-honored trick employed by parents everywhere. "The kids said, 'Mommy, you're crying.' And I said 'No, my eyes are just watering,' " said Cole, a 30-year-old single mom who left for Iraq on Tuesday, her youngest child's first birthday. Hundreds of loved ones waved and wept as members of Fort Huachuca's 86th Signal Battalion boarded a plane bound for Baghdad. Cole is one of 340 Southern Arizona soldiers scheduled to spend a year overseas. A neighbor is watching...

Excerpt - Bomb squads are responding to Terminal 18 on Seattle's waterfront after a canine bomb team found possible explosives in a container, the Coast Guard said this afternoon. ~ snip ~

A four-man salvage team was able to access and survey the Cougar Ace yesterday, determining that at least some cargo remains in place and that the vessel remains stable. However, while conducting the survey, one of the team members fell and died from injuries sustained in the fall. ....... snip ...... The team determined that the cargo on the number one deck, the highest deck, remains in place. Cargo on the ninth deck has also remained in place. The engine room is intact and there is no sign of water. There are a total of fourteen car cargo decks on...

To understand the trade deficit, residents of Sandison Street do not need the help of world-class economists. They can just glance across the street at the mountain of faded brown cargo containers blocking the Wilmington sky. The equation is simple. As the deficit grows, the mountain gets higher. "It's getting taller; it's spreading out," said resident Maria Lopez, eyeing the pile that stretches for two blocks. Tens of thousands of containers sit empty today in Wilmington — stark testimony that America buys more from other countries than it sends overseas to sell. Millions of the 40-foot-long steel containers arrive in...

I am telling you guys, Dr. Jerome Corsi (co-author of "Unfit for Command" and "Minutemen") is NOT going to let this issue die. We owe it to OURSELVES to start paying attention. Mexican Trucks with cheap Mexican truck drivers will mean THE END of the American Patriot Trucker as we know it. (incidentally I come from a family of truck drivers so it also personal for me). Our own transport companies will set up mexican companies and run operations out of Mexico in order to "cut costs". Those "cuts" are OUR jobs! Sound familiar??? Please Read this. Please keep this...

<p>TEHRAN (AP)--Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned Sunday that Iran would disrupt energy shipments from the Gulf region should the country come under attack from the U.S..</p> <p>Khamenei also asserted that Iran won't give up its right to produce nuclear fuel.</p>

Under intense pressure from shipping companies concerned about costly delays, the Coast Guard is tipping off some large commercial ships about security searches that had been a surprise, high-ranking Coast Guard officials have said. The searches began after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks as part of a major revamping of the Coast Guard and its new anti-terrorism mission. But shipping companies say the surprise boardings at sea cause unnecessary delays, costing up to $40,000 an hour. “We're trying to facilitate commerce and keep the port secure – and sometimes the two conflict,” said Capt. Paul Wiedenhoeft, who is in...

Shipping and now aquaculture tycoon John Fredriksen is one of the wealthiest men in the world, but no longer Norway's richest. He has turned his back on his homeland and taken Cypriot citizenship. Fredriksen has felt ill-treated by Norwegian authorities, and the final straw was probably the introduction of a rule limiting the amount of time in Norway to no more than an average of 90 days a year over three years in order not to be taxed by Norway. Friend and fellow shipping businessman Herbjørn Hansson told Aftenposten that the reason behind Fredriksen's move - his resentment of treatment...

UPS's purchase of Mail Boxes Etc. looked great on paper. Then came the culture clash. By RICHARD GIBSON May 8, 2006; Page R13 When United Parcel Service Inc. announced it was acquiring the Mail Boxes Etc. shipping chain five years ago, franchisee Dana Houser thought his entrepreneurial dreams were finally coming true. UPS was one of the biggest names in the business, known for prompt, reliable service. Mr. Houser figured the company's reputation would send customers surging into his Mail Boxes Etc. store in Lincoln, Neb. UPS, he recalls, told him that outlets would see so much more volume they...

Package Deal UPS's purchase of Mail Boxes Etc. looked great on paper. Then came the culture clash. When United Parcel Service Inc. announced it was acquiring the Mail Boxes Etc. shipping chain five years ago, franchisee Dana Houser thought his entrepreneurial dreams were finally coming true.

California's smog-fighting agency on Thursday approved a sweeping plan to reduce air pollution caused by the ports, rail lines and roadways that move goods around the state. The Air Resources Board's plan sets out long-term goals and strategies to roll back air pollution levels from cargo movement to what they were five years ago. Diesel-related pollution alone would be reduced 85 percent. With the amount of goods entering California ports expected to triple in 15 years, "now is the time to take action," board Chairman Robert F. Sawyer said during a public meeting. "This problem did not occur overnight and...

The 950' container ship New Delhi Express has grounded at the entrance to Port Elizabeth in NY harbor. She is listing heavily to her starboard and her draft has increased from 35' to 44' since striking the edge of the ship channel at Bergen Point. No news organizations covering this yet.

22 smuggled Chinese arrested at the Seattle seaportICE launches probe into human smuggling scheme SEATTLE - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are continuing to piece together the details this morning of a human smuggling scheme that resulted in the arrest of 22 Chinese nationals at the Seattle seaport overnight. Several of the Chinese were initially spotted by private port security personnel wandering in a cargo area at around 1:00 a.m. today. The port personnel contacted the Department of Homeland Security and ICE agents and officers from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) responded. This morning, ICE agents...

NEW YORK (Bloomberg)- The cost of insuring ships may rise following a series of accidents in the past week, according to Marsh & McLennan Cos. and Aon Corp., the worlds largest insurance brokerages. A fire on the HYUNDAI FORTUNE may have damaged one-third of the 5,000 containers, costing insurers $100 million, shipping newspaper Lloyd's list reported.

The recent uproar over the Bush administration's plan to allow a Dubai company to run terminal operations at some major U.S. ports was an eye-opener for many Americans: It was the first time they learned just how few U.S. companies are involved in running ports and shipping lines. It wasn't the first — and likely won't be the last — time Congress has revolted against the idea of allowing a foreign government-owned firm take over parts of America's infrastructure that could make the country more vulnerable to a terrorist attack. Some lawmakers now are offering legislation that puts stronger restrictions...

DULUTH, Minn. — Warm weather and power plants hungry for coal have led to an early start to the Twin Ports shipping season. The 1,004-foot James R. Barker set off from Superior, Wis., on Tuesday night, loaded with 58,000 tons of coal destined for Taconite Harbor up the North Shore of Lake Superior, logging the earliest departure in the Twin Ports' recent history, the Duluth News Tribune reported. The ship left around 8:45 p.m. after loading at the Midwest Energy Resources Co. dock in Superior. Midwest President Fred Shusterich said the previous early mark was set in 2000, when a...

Global warming isn't necessarily the catastrophe it's made out to be -- at least not for multinational oil companies. Shrinking ice caps would reveal the Arctic's Imassive energy sources and shorten tanker routes by thousands of miles. Ice-cap melting may be bad news for the polar bears in Manitoba, Canada, but it is great news for Pat Broe of Denver. When the ice melts in the Arctic, the polar predators have to search for new hunting grounds or starve -- but Broe doesn't mind. He figures global warming will make him around $100 million a year. His friends laughed at...

Myth: Only a small number of the containers that come into the seaports are inspected. Summary of Reality: CBP uses intelligence to screen information on 100% of cargo entering our seaports, and all cargo that presents a risk to our country is inspected using large x-ray and radiation detection equipment. Following 9/11, the Administration developed and implemented a smarter strategy to identify, target, and inspect cargo containers before they reach U.S. ports. Anyone can secure a nation by closing its borders and inspect everything and everybody that enters. Closing the borders is not an option. None of the security measures...

Last week, former Secretary of State Alexander Haig suggested on national television that I should be "jailed for perjury" for criticizing U.S. government plans to permit a company controlled by the Chinese military to operate a strategic port facility in Long Beach, Calif.Gen. Haig has always been something of an authoritarian control freak. No one conscious at the time President Reagan was shot will ever forget his chilling "I'm in control here" statement from the White House. But his offhand call to jail a journalist exercising his First Amendment rights raises other questions. Haig is proudly listed in official publications...

Dubai Ports – Strategic Implications Author David J. Jonsson© 2006 The Strategic Implications The goal of Islamists, following in the footsteps of Muhammad is to create the Islamic kingdom of God on earth. The strategy to obtain this goal in our lifetime includes the control of the world's energy infrastructure, the transportation systems, currency, media, elections, immigration and education. The control of the port facilities is hence a critical element. Foreign ownership, in and of itself, although important, is not as significant as the strategy and goals of the owner. In the case of DP World ownership, my hypothesis is...

The general manager of a shipping company based in the United Arab Emirates has made an extraordinary claim at the oil-for-food inquiry. The executive said the British embassy, US Navy and the Royal Navy were all aware of kickbacks to Saddam Hussein in 2001. The statement from Michael Wallbanks, the general manager of P&O Nedlloyd only arrived at the commission this morning. He said that when he arrived in Dubai in 2000, he became aware that Iraq imposed a 10 per cent tax on all goods shipped to the country. The commission was told that most exporters chose to...

Dubai Ports International to Acquire CSX Corporation’s International Terminal Business Dubai, Hong Kong, Jacksonville, FL, 9 December 2004 - Dubai Ports International (“DPI”), one of the world’s leading port operators, announces that it has signed a definitive agreement with CSX Corporation (NYSE: CSX) to acquire the international terminal business conducted by CSX World Terminals (“the Company”) and other related interests for a cash consideration of US$1.15 billion, subject to customary adjustments. The transaction will be financed from a committed facility arranged and underwritten by Deutsche Bank. Completion of the transaction is expected to take place in the first quarter of...

President Discusses Port Management and National Security The South Lawn 3:50 P.M. EST THE PRESIDENT: I've just come back from a really good trip to the Midwest and the West talking about our need to change how we use energy -- very encouraged by the technology that I saw and inspired by the scientists and engineers that are working on these new technologies. And I also want to address another issue I just talked to the press about on Air Force One, and that is this issue of a company out of the UAE purchasing the right to manage some...

A team from Dubai's DP World is expected to start meetings on Tuesday with groups which have expressed concerns about its takeover of P&O Ports' US operations as it seeks to head off political opposition to the deal. The company, owned by the Emirate of Dubai's Ports, Customs and Freezones Authority, is set to meet representatives of some of the five US port authorities where P&O has operations, and national politicians who oppose the deal. The team is thought to include some of the many US citizens who work for DP World, including Ted Bilkey, chief operating officer, who has...

THE Bush administration has failed to put adequate security conditions on a deal for a state-owned Dubai company to manage major U.S. ports, and it should not go forward pending a full investigation, a key Republican congressman said overnight. Lawmakers from both parties joined in criticising the deal, and one called the administration "tone deaf" for approving it. Republican Peter King, chairman of the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee, said that before the administration approved the sale of British firm P&O, which manages six U.S. ports, to Dubai Ports World of the United Arab Emirates, it failed to determine...

Feb. 14--The Bush administration was urged yesterday to take another look at a deal that would turn over operation of two marquee New York Harbor ports to Dubai, a nation with ties to the 9/11 hijackers. The emirate-owned Dubai Ports World finalized a $6.8 billion deal yesterday to buy the English firm P&O Ports, which now runs Manhattan's cruise-ship terminal on the West Side and the Port Authority's Newark Container Port, as well as ports in New Orleans, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Miami. "If a terrorist organization decided to infiltrate this company... what would stop them?" asked Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)....