Freighters and belly cargo conference 2013

This year's Freighters and belly cargo Conference will be held at the Park Hyatt Hotel on Sadiyaat Island, Abu Dhabi from 29 September to 1 October 2013.

This is the 13th consecutive year we have held the Freighters World Conference – and this year we have included topics on belly cargo.

This two-day conference presents fantastic opportunities to network and socialise. Attended by delegates and speakers who can make things happen, make a difference and make change, you will not be disappointed.

Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi Hotel in the United Arab Emirates is an exclusive sanctuary for the discerning business and leisure traveller, located on a nine-kilometre stretch of environmentally protected beach on Saadiyat Island. The resort is adjacent to the famous Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, minutes from the city’s prime business district, the Abu Dhabi Corniche, and 25 minutes from Abu Dhabi International Airport. The island is only a 40 minute taxi journey from the business district of Dubai.

Source: http://www.aircargonews.net/events/book-event-form.html

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Three new container freight stations mooted

VISAKHAPATNAM: Three new Container Freight Stations (CFS) are expected to be set up in the Port City around the end of the year. Currently, the Container Corporation of India (Concor), Sravan Shipping Services Private Limited, Gateway East India Private Limited and CWC-SICAL have one CFS each in Visakhapatnam.

According to sources, Concor and Sravan Shipping Services plan to set up one more CFS each in the near future. The central government too plans to set up one CFS in Vizag to cater to the increasing demand for container services. "The Balmer Laurie CFS is being undertaken as a joint venture between the central government and Visakhapatnam Port Trust (VPT). "We are finalising the joint venture," said the senior port official. The proposal was made three years ago but could not be implemented because of land related issues. "The handling capacity details will be released once the formalities are completed," said the official.

Phase 1 and 2 of the Concor CFS is expected to come up across 80 acres and is likely to handle around half-a-million TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units), according to a senior port official."The new (phase 1) Concor facility will be built with a terminal built across 55 acres adjacent the Aiyappa temple. We have transferred the land and it will be operational by October," said the official.

Sravan Shipping chief executive G Sambasiva Rao said the firm aims to handle 10,000 TEUs per month with a CFC built across 30 acres from December. "Container cargo is the future. More than 70% of the commodities in the developed world are switching to container cargo. In some places, even iron ore and coal are being transported through containers. Though container cargo in vizag is just 5% of total cargo handled, it is expected to increase provided there is improved infrastructure in place," he said.

"People are looking at better viability. Earlier, lorries used to be used to transport marble slabs from Rajasthan which was expensive. However, now with domestic and exim (export import) facility available at the ports, businesses are looking at container traffic," said a source.

VPT handled 45.54 lakh tonnes of container traffic in terms of tonnage and 2.48 lakh tonnes in terms of TEUs in 2012-13 as compared to 42.14 lakh tonnes and 2.34 lakh tonnes respectively in 2011-12.

source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/visakhapatnam/Three-new-container-freight-stations-mooted/articleshow/21436552.cms

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UPS buying fire-resistant cargo containers after Dubai crash linked to lithium batteries

New containers will resist fires of up to 1,200 degrees for up to 4 hours

UPS plans to add fire-resistant air cargo containers to its fleet by next year, the delivery company announced this week as officials blamed the fatal crash of a UPS plane three years ago on a shipment of hundreds of lithium batteries that caught fire.

The battery fire moved quickly inside the plane and set off a “catastrophic” chain reaction of flames and smoke that filled the cockpit, bringing the Boeing 747 down in the desert outside Dubai, according to a report released Wednesday by United Arab Emirates officials.

UPS, which has its main air hub and airline headquarters in Louisville, said it ordered 1,821 of the new shipping containers, which are built of fiber-reinforced plastic similar to ballistic body armor. Delivery of the new containers will begin in September and is expected to be completed by early 2014 and the company will replace existing containers as they wear out with the new ones.

UPS spokesman Malcolm Berkley said the new containers will resist fires of up to 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit for up to four hours.

Brian Gaudet, spokesman for Independent Pilots Association, the union representing UPS pilots, said the fire-resistant containers need to undergo additional testing and that a foam spray currently being tested is necessary for the cargo containers to function adequately.

Berkley said the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety board have not yet certified the foam spray. Calls to the FAA and NTSB seeking comment were not returned.

“We have tested these containers in the laboratory and in live operations,” UPS Airlines President Mitch Nichols said in a statement. “They will enhance safety and increase durability,” he said, adding that the lighter containers would be more fuel efficient.

The 322-page investigation into the crash, which killed both pilots including Capt. Doug Lampe of Prospect, backed up preliminary probes pointing to the lithium batteries as the possible cause of the blaze and drew further attention to the potential risks of the batteries in aviation.

Source: http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20130724/BUSINESS/307240063/UPS-buying-fire-resistant-cargo-containers-after-Dubai-crash-linked-lithium-batteries?nclick_check=1

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