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An overview of articles in this issue grouped by subject
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Diving for pearls MARINE When a ship is involved in an accident at sea, many different agencies will gather. What do they all want? What are they all doing? Who’s in charge? A new book offers the wisdom of a highly experienced team to help the unfortunate seafarer chart a course through the confusion |
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Striving for safety PROFILE Responding to a regional need for support and information, Asia-focused tank container trade group @tco is rapidly expanding its depot audit scheme and adding to its membership. |
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Big tank of trouble CHLORINE Of all the common products handled in bulk, chlorine is probably the most safety-critical. David Clugg* of Midland Manufacturing explains what the risks are and how technology is helping keep this toxic gas in the tank |
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Breakeven or bust FLEETS As bunker price hikes, bankruptcy and buy-outs beset the chemical tanker market, operators are finding it tough. Some have already given it up as a bad job |
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Flavour of the month LPG Optimism is returning to the shipping industry and the gas tanker sector is among the first to be getting back on track. The past month has seen three major newbuilding orders and there look to be more in the pipeline |
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Payback time FLEETS Last month witnesses a spate of restructuring as chemical and product tanker owners attempt to stay the course. For many, a mis-match between capital expenditure and freight income has put a strain on their balance sheets |
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Take it gently MARKETS Analysts agree that things are looking better than they have for some time. Most shipping sectors, though, are still treading carefully, being all too mindful of the pain of the last few years |
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Chemicals A to B CONFERENCE REPORT Times are hard for chemical tanker operators, as the fourth annual Chemical & Product Tanker conference discussed, but the opportunities are there for the taking |
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Drill baby, drill MANUFACTURING Producers of specialised tank containers are seeing notable demand for cryogenic tanks for offshore drilling applications. This is just one area where the tank container is finding new business |
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Oil be back PREVIEW The fifth biennial Oil&NonOil Show will be held in Modena, Italy, in May. It promises to give a great overview of the Italian road tanker market |
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Ready for lift off MIDDLE EAST A recently unveiled market assessment examining equipment demand in the Middle East equates to good news for the tank container industry |
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Tanks to the rescue CRUDE OIL Tank containers are going to be used to move crude oil in Indonesia as Pertamina tightens its oversight of the transport sector. David Hayes talks to BWP Meruap about how the business is going to be organised |
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Looking for no 1 CONTAINMENT The market for LNG containment systems is dominated by GTT. However, with the company now up for sale, shipyards looking to enter the business and the orderbook growing rapidly, things may be about to change. Julian Macqueen investigates |
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It’s all in the pipeline FINANCIALS Eelco Hoekstra, CEO and chairman of the Executive Board of Vopak, speaks to HCB about his perspective on the Group’s 2011 financial figures, and his outlook for the future |
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Shanghai showcase PREVIEW With at least 24 exhibiting companies, the International Tank Container Organisation’s presence at this year’s Transport Logistic China trade show will be one of the group’s largest so far |
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Down to the River CHINA The Yangtze has an important role to play in the transport of chemicals in China. But as a recent conference in Shanghai heard, there are a number of issues that need to be overcome if it is to fulfil its potential
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Get with the program GHS The US has now come into line with GHS by updating its Hazard Communications Standard. Domestic operators are going to have to learn to do things rather differently from now on. Louise Bernstein and James Lee of 3E Company take a look at some of the major changes and how companies should respond |
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Slips and drips RAIL The RID experts followed their WP15 colleagues in rejecting some of the recent changes adopted at the joint meeting. However, their agenda was overflowing with rail-specific amendments, many of which have been agreed for entry into force next year |
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Joint decisions MULTIMODAL Europe’s surface transport regulators are closing in on the texts that will come into force next year. However, those texts are not yet set in stone and there may be some surprises to come before final decisions are made |
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Back to normal JAPAN A year on from the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that devastated large parts of eastern Japan, the chemical industry and its logistics partners are slowly getting back to normal. David Hayes talks to Mitsubishi Chemical Logistics about its response |
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Problem solved MANUFACTURING US-based Skolnik Industries may not be the largest steel drum maker in the world, but its customer-orientated approach to problem solving and attention to quality marks it out as a leader in its field |
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A bigger basket EXPANSION Univar has increased its geographical reach with the establishment of a new arm in Romania while also enhancing its product offerings to the pharmaceutical and personal care industries |
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Rings around the world FINANCIALS The world economy may still be somewhat fragile but for Brenntag at least things are looking good, with the company enjoying healthy growth across all regions of the globe |
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Can I have an ‘E’ please, Bob? REACH/CLP The ‘E’ in REACH stands for ‘Evaluation’ but as implementation proceeds there is also a need for ‘Enforcement’. A conference held by the European Commission last month aimed to give industry an idea of where this is all going |
