Shark fins hiding among dry fish 
One week ago, on 15 January 2024, Hong Kong Customs seized about 800 kg of suspected scheduled shark fins, with an estimated market value of about HKD 4 million (USD 500,000), at Hong Kong airport. Upon inspection of an air consignment, declared as dry fish arriving from... more
Bluetooth is watching you
Baku (Azerbaijan)-based Silk Way West Airlines has extended its longstanding strategic collaboration with unit load device (ULD) provider ACL Airshop. Under the new agreement, the partnership will now introduce Bluetooth technology for real-time ULD tracking. Vugar Mammadov... more
Red Sea tensions: a global impact
Missile attacks in the Red Sea – most recently on two commercial vessels, the 'Gibraltar Eagle' and the bulk carrier 'Zografia'- continue to disrupt global supply chains. Despite air and missile strikes by the USA, the UK, and their allies in Houthi-controlled Yemen, the... more
A new order on the horizon?
A new era of alliances is in the making. Hapag-Lloyd and A.P. Moller-Maersk have agreed to launch a new alliance, called the 'Gemini Cooperation', in February 2025. The break-up of 2M, an alliance between Maersk and MSC, was already announced in January 2023. Now Hapag-LLoyd... more
Qatar Airways: first flight to Medan, Indonesia
Qatar Airways’ inaugural flight from Doha to Medan touched down at Kualanamu International Airport on Monday, 15 January 2024, marking Medan as the airline’s third destination in Indonesia. The new direct service will complement the award-winning airline’s over 40 weekly flights... more
From California to the Middle East
Aramex, a Dubai-based provider of express delivery and logistics services to emerging economies, and Odys Aviation, a sustainable aviation company from Long Beach and manufacturer of hybrid-electric vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft, are partnering to develop cargo... more
ICS2 to come into force in June
The European Union is introducing a new process for goods entering its territory by maritime and inland waterways, road, and rail. The new customs pre-arrival safety and security system, called Import Control System 2 (ICS2), will require carriers to provide data on goods... more
Hapag-Lloyd: new head for ME business
Lars Sorensen assumed his new role as senior managing director region Middle East based in Dubai (UAE) on 1 January 2024. Sorensen joined Hapag-Lloyd five years ago as managing director area India. Sorensen replaces Dheeraj Bhatia, who will join the Hapag-Lloyd executive... more
Three new senior officers for ICS
The Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers, the professional body for the commercial shipping industry worldwide, officially welcomed the following fellows of the institute as its new senior officers at a controlling council meeting held in Athens, Greece. Luis Bernat, (second... more
Astral inks global sales partnership
Effective 1 January 2024, Euro Cargo Aviation and Take Off Aviation will promote Astral Aviation’s cargo services within the designated regions. Astral Aviation CEO, Sanjeev Gadhia: “We look forward to our partnership with Euro Cargo Aviation, which will act as an extension... more