ASIAN countries cornered the bulk of growth
registered by the international shipping industry in the past
six years, according to Japanese Shipowners Association (JSA)
vice president Hiroo Ohno.
At the Philippine-Japan Manning Consultative Council conference
last week, Ohno said Asia grew the most from 1999 to 2005
compared to the idle industries in Europe and the United States.
From 1999 to 2002, the industry grew an average 3% although
growth was faster at 6% from 2002 to 2005 propelled by activity
in the Asian region.
“The growth was mainly in Asia as evident in the 116%
increase in bulk cargo in the past six years while growth
was flat in Europe and US,” Ohno said. “The trend
is expected to continue as carriers continue to invest in
bigger ships to connect Asia with the rest of the world.
“Philippine seafarers have also enjoyed the robust activity
in the international shipping as they comprise 43% of the
total population manning international-going vessels.”
Global shipbuilding volume, Ohno said, averaged 14% per year
from 2002 to 2005 mainly in Asia.
Japanese shipping companies NYK Lines, Mitsui OSK Lines, “K”
Line, Daiichi Chuo, Shinwa Kaiun are planning fleet expansions
to meet the increasing demand for global seaborne transportation.
The size of their combined fleet will grow from 2,138 to 2,537
ships by 2009, or an increase of 19%.
The Philippine government is meanwhile looking at giving incentives
to foreign companies, including JSA members, investing in
the country.
In particular, international firms are being lured to place
vessel orders from local shipbuilders and to sign up with
the local registry once amendments to shipowning rules are
approved.
THE Maritime Industry Authority (Marina)
is phasing out all vessels 30 years old and up to push the
government’s refleeting program and to ensure safety
in the local trade.
Marina is giving operators of such vessels a five-year transition
period, possibly starting this year, after which the vessels
will be decommissioned.
In a press briefing, Marina administrator Vicente Suazo, Jr
said the vessel upgrade program would provide a much-needed
shot in the arm for the shipbuilding industry, in the doldrums
for the past two decades.
Shipowners will also be offered incentives to upgrade their
ships, he said.
Under Republic Act 9295 or the Domestic Shipping Development
Act of 2004, Marina is required to prepare and implement a
mandatory vessel-retirement program for all unclassed vessels
that fail to meet the classification standards of a government-recognized
classification society.
All vessels which have attained the maximum vessel age as
stipulated by Marina’s mandatory vessel-retirement program
which do not carry a class certificate issued by a government-recognized
classification society shall not be allowed to operate in
the domestic trade and automatically delisted from the Philippine
registry.
Prior to this, Marina has already ordered the phase out by
end April of single-hull tankers carrying persistent oil in
the local trade. Operators that do not shift to double-hulled
tankers face cancellation of licenses, even removal from the
Philippine registry.
So far, eight local tankers carrying black oil are already
double-hulled.
Starting 2010, Marina will also phase out all other single-hull
vessels in the local trade.
Marina imposed the requirement as part of the Philippines’
commitment to the International Maritime Organization International
Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution (Marpol
73/78) and to prevent further oil spills.
The Marpol convention mandates the phaseout of single-hull
fuel tankers by 2008 and of refined petroleum tankers by 2010.
Late last month, Marina issued a Flag State Administration
Advisory informing all oil companies worldwide that effective
end-April 2008, no single-hull crude carriers shall be allowed
to enter Philippine waters to deliver oil to their depots.
The advisory was issued to avoid replication of a massive
oil spill caused by a 270,000-deadweight single-hulled tanker
in Korea last December.
Warehouse expansion to help 2GO hit 6% growth target
2GO, the logistics arm of the Aboitiz Transport
group, expects to complete its warehouse expansion program
within the year.
2GO president and chief executive officer Sabin Aboitiz in
an interview said the company has earmarked P2 million for
the expansion of its supply chain hub in Pasig which, by the
first half of the year, should be able to accommodate 21,000
pallets, and by end-2008, 30,000 pallets.
The facility could only previously handle 6,500 pallets, of
which 1,200 are for airconditioned storage.
Aboitiz said the expansion puts the company on track to meet
its 6% growth target despite such negative factors as fuel
price increases, the strong local currency, and noisy local
politics.
“Fuel, forex and politics will continue to be concerns
this year, but we continue to expand our supply chain facilities
as we believe that there is so much growth opportunity in
the supply chain particularly here in the Philippines,”
he stressed.
“Our main focus now is to further develop our supply
chain management nationwide as this has already made 2GO a
complete logistics solutions provider,” Aboitiz said.
The Pasig facility houses products of multinationals Wrigley’s,
the makers of juicy fruit and double mint chewing gums; Nestle
water; baby food manufacturer Gerber; and Mead Johnson infant
products. Soon it will also accommodate J&J Vision Care
products.
The facility is used as a single-stocking point for distribution
to other areas. The products are distributed to at least 400
Mercury Drug stores nationwide.
It is equipped with the SAP warehouse management system that
operates radio frequency and barcode pallet management as
well as provides for sales order entry, credit check, product
discount management, inventory management, inventory management
forecasting, procurement, financial trade management, transport
route planning, returns management and document tracking.
K-Line fleet upgrade aims to address future growth
DESPITE expecting flat growth in international
shipping this year, K-Line Philippines is expanding its fleet
to achieve greater efficiencies and growth.
K-Line country president Octavio Katigbak in an interview
said the company will accept delivery of at least three container
vessels this year as part of its mother company’s refleeting
program.
He said the new vessels coming into the Philippines will be
used for a new service that will take advantage of the booming
Chinese economy, as well as for other services offering more
connections to the US, Europe and the rest of Asia.
“The trend is really containerized shipping. We are
upgrading our fleet to be more efficient and eventually increase
reach and growth,” Katigbak explained.
“Although we expect that like last year growth will
be flat this year, the upgrading will be for the future,”
Katigbak, who is also president of the Association of International
Shipping Lines, added.
K-Line, one of the world’s leading shipping firms, is
increasing its fleet by 8% this year from 460 to 500 vessels
and by another 52% from 2009 to 2010.
The 500 vessels in operation this year include 90 containerships,
90 car carriers, 185 bulk carriers, 48 liquefied natural gas
tankers, and 31 oil tankers.
The company said the refleeting program is a counter measure
against its competitors to get a larger chunk of the international
freight market until 2011.
E-Konek likely first to secure Phase II accreditation under VASP program
THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) is finalizing
the implementation of Phase II of its electronic-to-mobile
(E2M) project to meet the deadline for the full completion
of the project within the first half of the year.
Customs deputy commissioner Alexander Arevalo told PortCalls
E-Konek Pilipinas, one of the BOC’s value-added service
providers (VASP), will likely be the first VASP to service
BOC clients for Phase II this month.
He said E-Konek needs to work on one minor technical error
before getting BOC accreditation.
“It will be green and go for Phase II this month. (We
will) probably start Phase III or the export sector automation
also within March or April,” Arevalo, who also chairs
the VASP accreditation committee, explained.
“We are facilitating the implementation of the E2M project
to also beat the deadline for the live exchange of data between
the Philippines, Thailand and probably Korea for the implementation
of the Single-Window Transaction in the second half of the
year,” he added.
“However, as of now, we are concentrating on the inward
foreign manifest requirement and the lodgment of entries and
will finish these in the early part of the month,” Arevalo
said.
Phase II includes the client profile registration system,
electronic license and clearance system, electronic payment
system and online release system, and Phase III the export
automatic lodgment, raw material liquidation, bonds management
system among others.
Apart from E-Konek, the two other accredited VASPs —
InterCommerce Network Service and Cargo Data Exchange Center
— are in the preliminary testing of their system but
also expect Phase II accreditation shortly.
A fourth VASP applicant, Crimson Logic Philippines, has passed
technical evaluation under Phase I and will soon be issued
accreditation by the VASP accreditation secretariat.
THE release of revised rules on warehousing
will be delayed yet again pending resolution of technology
and database issues.
“We are still talking to the private sector. We are
planning to come out with a single consolidated regulation
with search engines for better efficiency and transparency,”
Customs deputy commissioner Reynaldo Nicolas said in an interview.
In addition, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) is awaiting Phase
II accreditation of its value-added service providers (VASPs)
before implementing the new warehousing rules.
The filing of warehousing entries via the BOC-accredited VASPs
is part of Phase III of the VASP electronic-to-mobile system.
Based on the BOC schedule, this facility should be live in
four to five weeks.
The BOC is revising both warehousing rules and the guidelines
for Customs Bonded Warehouses (CBWs). The former, the bureau
said, is obsolete and not at par with international standards
(current warehousing rates are still based on standards promulgated
in 1991) while the latter needs more stringent measures to
ensure CBWs are not used in smuggling activities.
“Rates play a vital role in the competitiveness of Philippine
products on the global market that is why we will concentrate
more on how to benchmark these to world standards,”
Nicolas said.
Delayed for almost two years now, the release of the revised
warehousing rules was originally expected by the second quarter
of the year.
THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) recently filed
five criminal cases before the Department of Justice involving
contraband. Named respondents were six officers of private
businesses, four licensed customs brokers and one customs
representative.
The first case involves unlawful importation of cellular phones
and accessories valued at P16,371,618.97. The respondents
are Joselito Buatis, proprietor/owner of Golden Armour Enterprise;
Baltazar Pulta, licensed customs broker; and Herminio Apolinario,
customs representative of Pulta.
The second case involves the unlawful importation of onions
valued at P4,243,514.95. Francisca Gatmaitan, proprietor/owner
of Silver Rance Trading; and Gerald Villarosa, licensed customs
broker were named respondents.
The third involves unlawful importation of used clothing,
used shoes, used hats, used bags and used stuff toys, otherwise
known as “ukay-ukay”, valued at P395,659.19. The
sole respondent is Anacleto A. Duhaylungsod, proprietor/owner
of 2CT General Merchandise.
The fourth and fifth cases refer to submission of fake Mayor’s
Business Permits relative to the application for importer’s
accreditation.
Susanna Ines T. Bayles, applicant and president of FFE International,
Inc; and Teodora R. Lasaleta, licensed customs broker, who
processed the application for accreditation, were named respondents
in the fourth case.
The fifth case has Florentino L. Martinez, applicant and president
of Metrawatt Power Corp; Fe R. Martinez, treasurer and attorney-in-fact;
and Maximo D. Cabrera, customs broker as respondents.
The filing of these cases brings to 65 the total number of
cases filed under the BOC’s Run After The Smugglers
(RATS) Program involving 276 respondents.
Twenty-four of these cases were filed in various courts and
22 have been submitted for resolution by the DOJ. The rest
are pending preliminary investigation.
Last month, the BOC missed its January target collection of
P15.84 billion by P15.52 billion. The figure is, however,
32% higher than what was posted in January 2007.
TNT Express Philippines recently appointed
Roberto Paterno de Guzman as vice president for Sales and
Marketing.
With ten years of experience in sales, marketing and customer
service under his belt, de Guzman takes charge of the management
and development of the Netherlands-based company’s local
sales force in the Philippines, as well as the company strategies
to directly contribute to the profitability of the country
office.
Prior to his posting as VP for Sales for TNT Philippines,
he served as the Country Sales Director for the Power Tools
Division of Robert Bosch Philippines, Inc.
TNT’s express division is one of the world’s leading
business to business express delivery services providers.
It delivers 4.4 million parcels, documents and pieces of freight
a week to over 200 countries using its network of over 2,331
depots, hubs and sorting centers. The division operates over
26,760 road vehicles and 47 aircraft and has the biggest door-to-door
air and road express delivery infrastructure in Europe.
