Fracht Australia News - July 2019
1/7/2019
“Change your thoughts and you change your world!”
Norman Vincent Peale
AROUND THE WORLD
- GULF OF OMAN: The International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) called for increased Navy protection after two tanker vessels were attacked near the Strait of Hormuz. The USA blamed Iran for the incidents but Iran has issued a full denial.
- IRAN: The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) prohibiting US-registered aircraft from operating over the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. This is in response to the escalating tensions between Iran and the USA. This is expected to have major cargo implications for European and Asian carriers as well. Qantas will re-route flight paths to avoid parts of Iran.
- SRI LANKA: ISPM 15 Wood Packaging Compliance is now mandatory for all imports into Sri Lanka and Customs are enforcing this rule. Cargo may be delayed and additional costs incurred at shippers’ expense if the ISPM 15 requirements are not adhered to.
- VIETNAM: Vietnam’s two largest airports Saigon and Hanoi are already classified as “level 3” or the most congested airports in IATA’s 2019 Worldwide Slot Guidelines congestion reports. In addition to a recent expansion approval of Saigon, plans to accommodate the construction of the new Long Thanh Airport near Ho Chi Minh have now also been approved. Subject to the final approval of the feasibility study construction could begin already in early 2020. Vietnam profits from increasing labour costs in China and the China / USA trade war. In the first quarter of 2019 US imports from Vietnam have increased 40.2%.
AIRFREIGHT NEWS
- QANTAS PLANS TO LAUNCH DIRECT FLIGHTS FROM BRISBANE TO CHICAGO AND SAN FRANCISCO. The new routes are expected to commence in April 2020 with a total of 14 weekly services between Brisbane and the USA.
- MASCARGO WILL RE-LAUNCH A NON-STOP FULL FREIGHTER BETWEEN KUALA LUMPUR AND GUANGZHOU. There will be two A330-200F flights twice a week from 4 June until December 2019.
- QATAR AIRWAYS PLANS TO PURCHASE FIVE ADDITIONAL B777F FULL FREIGHTERS FROM BOEING. This year the carrier will boost its transpacific routes using B777F equipment. The new routes will include Hanoi to Dallas, Chicago to Singapore and Singapore to Mexico via Los Angeles. Qatar Airways has also introduced new daily B787 Dreamliner services between Doha and Lisbon.
- JAPAN AIRLINES AND MALAYSIAN AIRLINES SIGNED A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING to establish a joint business agreement for airfreight as well as passengers to provide better efficiencies and a more comprehensive network. JAL currently operates daily B787-9 flights between Tokyo Narita and Kuala Lumpur while Malaysian provides 12 weekly A350-900 services from Kuala Lumpur. Malaysian also flies daily A350-900 to Osaka.
- SILKAIR EXPANDED ITS DIRECT SERVICES FROM CAIRNS TO SINGAPORE and now offers daily flights instead of five times per week.
- THE LATEST IATA FIGURES REVEAL THAT THE UNDERWHELMING PERFORMANCE of international airfreight continued in April. Year to date for the first four months of 2019 international airfreight dropped 3.4% and the Asia Pacific region fared even worse with -7.7%.
SEAFREIGHT NEWS
- THE ALLIANCE HAS RE-LAUNCHED ITS NORTH SEA BALTIC EXPRESS SERVICE to boost service reliability and improve transit time into Russia and Finland. Hapag Lloyd and ONE are Alliance members. The service will deploy four 2,500 TEU (twenty foot equivalent unit) feeder vessels with a port rotation of Antwerp - Rotterdam – St Petersburg - Helsinki – Antwerp – Rotterdam – Helsinki – Kotka – Antwerp.
- MSC HAS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED THE HAZARDOUS WASTE ADDITIONAL SURCHARGE due to the considerable extra costs involved in handling this type of cargo. The increased surcharge is USD 460.00 per TEU.
- SHIPPING LINES FROM NORTH EAST ASIA TO AUSTRALIA HAVE ANNOUNCED ANOTHER USD 300 PER TEU INCREASE for July but it’s unlikely that they’ll be able to enforce this in the current market.
AUSTRALIAN CUSTOMS AND QUARANTINE
- AUSTRALIAN TRUSTED TRADER IMPORTERS BENEFIT FROM ORIGIN WAIVER. Effective 28 June Australian Trusted Traders are no longer required to provide origin certification documents to claim preferential duty rates under certain Free Trade Agreements eg: Australia – Chile FTA, Japan – Australia Economic Partnership, Korea – Australia FTA, Malaysia – Australia FTA, Singapore – Australia FTA and Thailand – Australia FTA. Trusted Trader importers must still keep evidence for minimum five years that imported goods comply with the relevant rules of origin.
- EFFECTIVE 1 JULY 2019 ALL TOBACCO RELATED PRODUCTS IMPORTED INTO AUSTRALIA WILL REQUIRE AN IMPORT PERMIT. The permit must be issued by the Department of Home Affairs BEFORE importation. Failure to comply will result in the goods being seized and destroyed.
- AFTER THE FEDERAL ELECTION the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources was renamed the “Department of Agriculture”. The packing declaration templates on the department’s website will be updated to reflect the new name and logo. Until further notice packing declarations with the old name and logo will be accepted.
NEW WESTERN SYDNEY AIRPORT
Sydney’s in-development second airport signed a memorandum of Understanding with Qantas Group and Virgin Australia. While the opening of Western Sydney Airport is still years away, the two carriers will take an active role in the planning stages of the airport for passengers as well as cargo operations. Qantas and Virgin will cooperate with the airport on the development of airfreight facilities. According to planning documents the airport will have infrastructure allowing for the handling of 220,000 tonnes of cargo per year. The first stage of the airport is not expected to open before 2026 and the carriers are still evaluating their cargo needs at Western Sydney Airport.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
If you would like further information about any of the above items, please contact one of our friendly Fracht Team members at fracht@frachtsyd.com.au
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