Risk Management

Friday, May 17, 2013

   A group of investors and stakeholders from more than 115 organizations have banded together under the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility to ask global shippers to ensure the safety and welfare of their workers and to ferret out supply chain abuses.    The group has called on shippers around the world to implement International Labor Organization standards at all their facilities and to pay attention to the United Nation’s framework on human rights responsibilities in bus...

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

   After a year-long review of substance-impaired driving in the trucking industry, the National Transportation Safety Board has issued recommendations for reducing the legal alcohol driving limit; ramping up the use of interlock devices; and beefing up penalties for non-compliance.    According to a NTSB report, the new legal blood-alcohol limit for drivers should drop from .08 to .05.    While the American Trucking Associations commended the progress on these measure...

Monday, May 13, 2013

   Transportation Worker Identification Credentials, or TWIC cards, were described as a “joke” during hearings before the U.S. House of Representative’s Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee last week.    The hearings came as the Government Accountability Office issued a report that said  11 years after initiation of the program the Department of Homeland Security “has not demonstrated how, if at all, TWIC will improve maritime security.”    G...

Wednesday, May 01, 2013

   Raytheon, a major international defense and aerospace company, will pay $8 million in civil penalties and remedial expenditures to resolve hundreds of alleged violations of U.S. export regulations designed to protect sensitive technology from falling in the hands of enemies.    The State Department's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, which oversees exports of military goods, said Raytheon violated the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulatio...

Monday, April 29, 2013

   Cargo theft in North America stayed flat, year over year, in 2012 as European theft rates rose by 24 percent, according to FreightWatch International.    Cargo theft in Asia also increased.    According to the company, however, the greatest theft threats still exist in Brazil, Mexico and South Africa. Last year, about 6,800 thefts were reported in Sao Paulo, and more than 6,000 Mexican thefts occurred in 2012.    Pharmaceutical thefts are on the rise in Europe, ...

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

   Representatives from U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Federal Republic of Nigeria have signed a Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement (CMAA), which allows for better cooperation between the two nations when investigating and preventing customs offenses.    In addition to helping stop smuggling and prevent customs fraud, the agreement will help both parties accurately assess customs duties. U.S. Customs authorities, according to officials, will also be able to increase borde...

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

   Shipowners and seafarers' unions have joined forces to express concern at flag states’ failure to submit maritime casualty reports as required under international conventions.    The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), which represents 80 percent of the world merchant fleet, and the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), which represents seafarers’ unions worldwide, have made a joint submission to the International Maritime Organization commenting on the apparent f...

Friday, April 19, 2013

   A report released this month estimates the cost of Somalia Piracy was around $5.7 billion-$6.1 billion in 2012, despite notable gains achieved by private armed security guards and aggressive naval activity.    Some of this reduction appears to be coming as a result of shipowners deciding not to follow recommendations to speed ships up or reroute to avoid pirate attacks.    The report, The Economic Cost of Somali Piracy 2012 , which is from Oceans Beyond Piracy, ...

Friday, April 19, 2013

   The U.S. Export-Import Bank renewed a 90-percent guarantee of a $100 million supply-chain facility for Citibank to purchase invoices that are generated via the sales of goods and services by eligible U.S. suppliers to agriculture and construction equipment manufacturer CNH America (CNH).    The authorization, which is Ex-Im’s second renewal of the facility, will support small-business suppliers of CNH by increasing liquidity to fulfill new orders. The facility is being provided un...

Friday, April 19, 2013

   U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Thursday announced the opening of new Centers of Excellence and Expertise for base metals in Chicago, industrial and manufacturing materials in Buffalo, N.Y., and machinery in Laredo, Texas, giving those industries the opportunity for smoother customs processing of imports and uniform enforcement.    Also known as Industry Integration Centers, the virtual import processing centers are organized around specific industries and are designed ...

Thursday, April 18, 2013

   The transition period of new EU air security rules regarding known consignors ends April 29, and DHL is among the carriers that have been adding extra security programs to help shippers meet the new rules.    Shipments from parties not identified as known consignors by the EU have to submit to extra screening of their goods before shipment.    According to data released by DB Schenker last month, only a small number of air freight shippers the company works with have bee...

Thursday, April 18, 2013

   Three customers of Greenville, S.C.-based freight payment and audit services provider Trendset filed petitions this week against Trendset in federal bankruptcy court.    The customers - Husqvarna Professional Products, Legrand North America, DH Business Services – were among those affected by an embezzlement and fraud case that Trendset Chief Executive Officer Gary Selvaggio described in a letter to customers in late March .    The case, Selvaggio wrote, involved a “trus...

Thursday, April 18, 2013

   RedLine Solutions, a provider of inventory and supply chain traceability systems, has released a new white paper, “Beyond Traceability: The Benefits of the PTI” about the supply chain impacts of the Produce Traceability Initiative.    Written by one of the primary architects of the PTI, Gary Fleming, the white paper details crucial supply chain and operational efficiencies that companies can gain by implementing the PTI and its ancillary tools.    “Most companies fail to...

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

   The U.S. Commerce and State departments have proposed a number of amendments  to two export control guidelines, the Export Administration Regulations and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, to redefine the export of aircraft and associated munitions items as well as gas turbine engines.    This is the first set in a series of final rules redefining the regulation of commercial items with military application, according to a press release. The State Department pegs ...

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

   The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has asked for a budget of $4.7 billion to protect and promote the public health as part of the President Obama’s fiscal year 2014 budget, which was released last week.    The agency said industry user fees would fund 94 percent of the proposed budget increase, including new fees to support the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and strengthen the FDA’s ability to oversee imported food.    “The president’s budget proposes a fee to b...

Monday, April 15, 2013

   The Global Shippers’ Forum said it has begun a campaign to enhance safety in the maritime transport supply chain.    “While the vast majority of shippers comply with the rules, it is a regrettable fact that instances of mis-declaration and poor standards of loading and securing take place. Much of this is down to a lack of understanding of the rules and packing and securing know-how," GSF said.    The forum has launched a series of "hands on" and easy-to-u...

Tuesday, April 09, 2013

   The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has agreed to pay the Federal Aviation Administration $3.5 million for aircraft rescue and firefighting violations at JFK, LaGuardia, Newark and Teterboro airports spanning from December 2010 to June 2012.    The port authority has 30 days to pay the fine before incurring an additional $1.5 million fine and a daily fee of $27,500 for each violation.    The port authority has also agreed to create a dedicated team to perform a...

Friday, April 05, 2013

   Global ship operators face significant refinancing and default risks as a result of tightening bank funding, enormous industry overcapacity, and depressed global trading conditions, Standard & Poor's said.    A report published this week by the rating agency, Global Ship Operators Scramble For Liquidity To Stay Afloat , noted “ship charter rates have fallen in parallel with declining economic activity. High operating costs, particularly for fuel, are also eating into thei...

Thursday, April 04, 2013

   The news this week that freight payment and audit services provider Trendset has been beset by internal embezzlement and fraud comes at a particularly interesting point in the evolution of the freight payment and audit industry.    In March, the freight payment consultancy Quetica and law firm Balch & Bingham released a white paper that encourages shippers to perform due diligence when it comes to selecting an external freight payment and audit services provider.    I...

Wednesday, April 03, 2013

   The freight payment and audit services provider Trendset has alerted its clients to an internal fraud and embezzlement issue which could affect payments the provider was supposed to make on behalf of its shipper customers to their transportation carriers.    Trendset Chief Executive Officer Gary Selvaggio said in a letter to customers last week, which obtained by American Shipper, that a “trusted employee” engaged in a fraud and embezzled funds from the company’s bank account...

Wednesday, April 03, 2013

   The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service today announced recent results of the agency's efforts to support exports of U.S. agricultural products, and they’re expected help increase exports of U.S. cattle, poultry products, and pears by over $85 million a year.    APHIS noted the opening of export markets to Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia for U.S. day-old chicks and hatching eggs, increasing U.S. exports by an estimated $25 million a year. &nb...

Wednesday, April 03, 2013

   Ceres Marine Terminals has appointed Douglas Wolfe to vice president.    He was formerly port manager in the Port of Baltimore and is a veteran of Ceres Marine Terminals in Baltimore for more than 25 years. Wolfe started in the maritime industry in 1976 and worked for Moore McCormack/U.S. Lines until 1987 when he was hired by Ceres as a terminal superintendent.    The maritime security firm AdvanFort Co. has named Dimitrios Angelopoulos, a retired Hellenic Navy submarine ...

Monday, April 01, 2013

   SAI Global Ltd. has acquired the Steritech Group’s supply chain certification services, giving SAI more marketshare in the food safety assurance arena.    Steritech’s services include auditing, training and other programs aimed at improving food safety.     "We believe that our clients' supply chain certification needs will be better served by an organization with global reach and a broader service offering,” Steritech’s Chief Executive Officer Mark Jarvis...

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

   Verisk Crime Analytics has linked up with the Transportation Intermediaries Association to help collect and analyze cases of cargo and identity theft, offering its CargoNet program to members.    The program uses a national database to share information among crime analysts. The company also offers recovery and deterrence measures, while promoting communication between victims and law enforcements.     "Since its launch in 2010, CargoNet has made huge strides in hel...

Thursday, March 21, 2013

   Some members of the European Parliament see commercial concerns outweighing safe working conditions in the European Aviation Safety Agency’s proposed rules on flight and duty time limitations and rest requirements and have left open the door for a veto of the program.    The Parliament recently asked European Commission Aviation Director Matthew Baldwin for further clarification about the new rules regarding stand-by, turnaround and on-call times. They also pointed out that U.S. ru...

Friday, March 08, 2013

   The National Transportation Safety Board has scheduled a forum and hearing in April to look into the viability of lithium ion batteries in airplanes.    The agency also released an interim report of its ongoing investigation into the battery fire aboard a Japan Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner flight.    NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman said the report provides a “window” into the agency’s ongoing investigation, which is being held concurrently with redesign and re-certi...

Friday, March 08, 2013

   U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach on Tuesday stopped a shipment containing 445 counterfeit “Beats by Dr. Dre” headphones and 28 all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) that violated Environmental Protection Agency rules.     The seized merchandise was valued at $171,499.    "This seizure demonstrates the vigilance of CBP officers and partner agencies working together at the Commercial Targeting and Analysis Center (CTAC)...

Thursday, March 07, 2013

   This Sunday emergency response agencies around the port of Los Angeles and Long Beach port complex will conduct a full-scale exercise that will provide a “vivid depiction of a unified command working together on a simulated incident” inside the Alameda Corridor.    The drill, which will take place between 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., will include the L.A. Fire Department, L.A. County Fire Department, Vernon Fire Department, Compton Fire Department, L.A. Police Department, L.A. ...

Wednesday, March 06, 2013

   The European Commission has delayed implementation of its known consignor rule, a new security law for shippers using air cargo out of Europe, from March 25 to April 29.    Once the rule takes effect, only companies listed as known consignors can designate their air freight as secure.    Status can be achieved by training employees about security in the supply chain and by enhancing other security practices. Firms that don’t submit to the new guidelines will see the...

Wednesday, March 06, 2013

   The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has named eight new industry members to sit on the Commercial Operations Advisory Committee, including two experts from the air cargo sector.    The 13th COAC convenes today in Washington for the first meeting of its new term.    COAC provides policy-making advice about commercial operations to the secretaries of DHS and Treasury, but primarily works with U.S. Customs and Border Protection within DHS.    DHS ad...

Thursday, February 28, 2013

   Across-the-board funding cuts mandated to take effect on Friday would cut deeply into U.S. Customs and Border Protection operations, potentially doubling wait times from two to four or five hours for travelers and commercial trucks at air, land, and sea ports, agency leaders reiterated to industry trade associations in a conference call on Friday, according to one of the groups.    In testimony on Capitol Hill earlier this month, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said t...

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

   The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will start inspecting cantaloupe packinghouses, specifically targeting Listeria, during the 2013 growing season to assess current industry practices and identify unsanitary conditions that may result in consumer health risks.    The agency will also continue to target imported cantaloupes at the border for sampling and may “engage in other surveillance and inspection activities as circumstances warrant” to protect public health.  &nb...

Friday, February 22, 2013

   Members of European Parliament want to move forward aggressively with a trade deal between Europe and the United States, but see hard bargaining and tough choices ahead.    While parliament members on the International Trade Committee said they were happy to be starting a dialogue, many of them pointed out significant differences in viewpoint between the European Union and United States that would need to be overcome. Public support, on both sides of the Atlantic, is...

Thursday, February 21, 2013

   Secure Shipper, a new Web-based exchange of U.S. Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism and Europe's Authorized Economic Operator compliant logistics companies, is striving to double its worldwide membership in 2013.    Last month, Secure Shipper  added Rotterdam-based Broekman Group to its membership, and it’s now hoping for at least 13 additional new members in 2013.    The relatively new organization serves as a clearinghouse for overseas partners, giving U....

Thursday, February 21, 2013

   The Scientific Commission for the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) recommended Wednesday that the United States' risk classification for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or “mad cow” disease, be upgraded to “negligible risk.”    "This is a significant achievement for the United States, American beef producers and businesses, and federal and state partners who work in coordination to maintain a system of three interlocking safeguards against BSE that protect our pu...

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

   Brink's issued a statement today confirming that an armed gang attacked a Swiss-bound Helvetic Airways plane at Brussels Airport on Feb. 18, stealing an unknown amount of diamonds.    The Antwerp World Diamond Centre has put the value of the goods — both rough and polished stones — at $50 million. Brink's employees were loading the plane when the robbers struck, but no injuries were reported.    Brink's had been shipping a portion of the diamonds that were stolen, but th...

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

   The global trade management solutions provider Amber Road said Tuesday the semiconductor manufacturer Vishay Intertechnology has deployed its system to manage compliance risk.    Specifically, Vishay is using Amber Road’s Restricted Party Screening (RPS) On-Demand solution, integrated with its SAP enterprise resource planning system (ERP).    The RPS On-Demand solution allows Vishay to screen thousands of customers and vendors across the Americas, Eur...

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

   At 11 p.m. on Feb. 16, 30 armed men forced their way into a warehouse in the Sao Paulo-based industrial park Centro Logistico Brasil, stealing an unknown number of tablet computers and smartphones, according to FreightWatch International.    Analysts are calling it one of the largest thefts in Brazil.     The suspects, who gained access to the building by masquerading as security guards, used nine cars and six trucks to make off with the goods. Intruders, who we...

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

   The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is preparing for the worst with the blunt tool of across-the-board spending cuts known as sequestration, which is scheduled to kick in March 1 unless Congress acts to replace it with a more measured deficit-reduction package.    In testimony last Thursday before the Senate Appropriations Committee, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said the automatic budget cuts resulting from the 2011 debt-ceiling agreement would diminish border ...

Thursday, February 14, 2013

   The Independent Pilots Association has found that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration overstated the costs associated with applying its new pilot-fatigue rules to cargo carriers by at least $175 million.    The FAA made a decision to not include cargo pilots in its pilot-fatigue ruling due to a perceived extreme cost. Not wanting to rely on the FAA’s cost benefit analysis, the IPA, which is the union for UPS pilots, hired a cost analysis expert who found the FAA’s benefit-cos...

Friday, February 08, 2013

   To make air cargo more secure, stakeholders need to achieve closer cooperation and current governmental regulations must be harmonized to prevent redundancies, according to the International Air Transport Association’s Chief Executive Officer Tony Tyler.    In a speech during the organization’s Secure Freight Forum in Geneva, Tyler, who was pushing the organization’s Secure Freight program, also called for cooperation between nations and a long-term commitment among all ...

Monday, February 04, 2013

   The Japanese government is considering allowing foreign security contractors aboard Japanese-flagged vessels to carry firearms to combat piracy in the waters off East Africa, according to a report Monday in the Japan Times .    Under the bill, drafted by the nation’s Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry, armed guards would be permitted to fire warning shots to deter pirates. Currently, vessels registered in Japan are prohibited from carrying such armed guards.  ...

Thursday, January 31, 2013

   United Fresh, a large trade group representing shippers of fresh fruits and vegetables, will host a series of stakeholder meetings in conjunction with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s public hearings on the proposed Produce Safety Rule and the Preventive Controls for Human Foods Rule.    The first meeting will be on Feb. 27 in Washington, prior to FDA’s public meeting on Feb. 28 – March 1. United Fresh's meetings will provide opportunities for fresh produce industry stakeho...

Monday, January 28, 2013

   The U.S. and Japanese governments today have agreed on new terms and conditions which open the door for expanded exports of U.S. beef and beef products to Japan.    Under these new terms, effective Feb. 1, Japan will permit the import of beef from cattle less than 30 months of age, compared to the previous limit of 20 months, among other steps. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said “these important changes will result in hundreds of millions of dollars in exports o...

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

   Cargo security firm Freightwatch International said a suspect hijacked a last-mile courier load of pharmaceutical products at gunpoint outside of a pharmacy in Detroit on Monday morning.    The load was being monitored by a FreightWatch covert GPS tracking device as well as an on-person panic device that was with the driver.    During the hijacking, the thief took the panic device before the driver was able to activate it and commandeered the courier van contai...

Monday, January 21, 2013

   APM Terminals said its  operation in Callao, Peru, will use radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to improve safety .    Operators of heavy equipment, such as reach stackers and forklifts, will receive automatic alerts if pedestrians or other personnel are close to the machinery and at risk. APM Terminals noted these terminal workhorse vehicles are known to have certain “blind spots” in which the operators cannot easily see nearby activity.    All yard pe...

Friday, January 18, 2013

   Researchers at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi’s Conrad Blucher Institute (CBI) have designed a new mobile application to provide ship captains and pilots with real-time predictions of ocean water levels and currents along the Houston Ship Channel, which services the second-largest port in the United States, the ports of Houston and Galveston.    The app is based on information from sophisticated models that map and chart the channel’s topographic features several times a d...

Friday, January 18, 2013

   Insurer TT Club is highlighting the dangers to dockworkers from accidents involving heavy equipment in a recent publication.    For example, it said lift trucks were involved in 30 percent of the bodily injury claims analyzed, mainly the result of trucks reversing into people. The installation of anti-collision devices could potentially have saved $30 million and prevented 51 workers from being killed or suffering serious injury over the last six years.    The insurer no...

Thursday, January 17, 2013

   Piracy on the world's seas has reached a five-year low, with 297 ships attacked in 2012, compared with 439 in 2011 , the International Chamber of Commerce's International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said Wednesday.    Worldwide figures were brought down by a huge reduction in Somali piracy, though East and West Africa remain the worst hit areas, with 150 attacks in 2012.    Globally, 174 ships were boarded by pirates last year, while 28 were hijacked and 28 were fired on....

Thursday, January 10, 2013

   The cargo division of Verisk Crime Analytics has entered into an alliance with insurance brokerage and risk management firm Integro Insurance Brokers to support the cargo theft prevention efforts of Integro's domestic property broker and forwarder clients.    Under the agreement, Integro will provide complementary membership to Verisk’s CargoNet system for all of its logistics liability program clients.    CargoNet is centered on a national database and information-sharin...

Tuesday, January 08, 2013

   The insurance company Allianz said 106 ships were lost worldwide in the 12-month period ending Nov. 25 2012, up from 91 ships the previous year but a 27 percent decrease on the 10-year average of 146 ships per annum.    Releasing its annual  Safety and Shipping Review   marine insurer Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) said despite a downward trend in losses "driven by technology, training and regulation and a proactive response from the shipping i...

Monday, January 07, 2013

   The shipping consultancy SeaIntel Maritime Analysis has partnered with Appropriate Communications, a public relations agency focusing on maritime and logistics in emerging markets, to start a new portal that gives status updates on ports in Africa.     Port Overview was launched Monday after two months of live operation, the two companies said in a statement. The portal shows, in map form, status reports on Africa’s 50 most important container terminals and related logis...

Monday, January 07, 2013

   The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday proposed two new food safety rules to help prevent the spread of foodborne illnesses.    The proposed rules specifically implement the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and are available for public comment for the next 120 days.    The rules, when implemented, will build on steps taken during the Obama administration, including the first egg safety rule protecting consumers from Salmonella and ste...

Friday, January 04, 2013

   A new report from the Security for Business Innovation Council has highlighted the growing threats to critical information from what it dubbed “disruptive innovations” like cloud computing, social media technologies, enterprise mobility and big data analytics.    The report “ Information Security Shake-Up: Disruptive Innovations to Test Security's Mettle in 2013 ," drew from opinions of the security chiefs at 19 major multinational firms on how to tackle the security concerns ...

Thursday, January 03, 2013

   A team of five salvage experts boarded the grounded drilling unit Kulluk earlier Wednesday to conduct a structural assessment to be used to finalize salvage plans.    The rig went aground on Sitkalidak Island on New Year's Eve after towing lines broke during heavy seas. Kulluk    The salvage team was lowered to the Kulluk by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter and stayed for about three hours.    Smit Salvage is heading up the operation. Smit has assisted in hundreds ...

Thursday, December 27, 2012

   An analysis of cargo and container "incidents," such as leakages, explosions, fires, and stuctural failures of flexitanks or valves, finds more than two-thirds involved dangerous goods, half including leakages and 21 percent misdeclared, said the insurer TT Club .    The company recently undertook an analysis of data collected through the  Cargo Incident Notification System (CINS) of the Container Owners’ Association, a group whose members account for 52 percent of c...

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

   The United States and Russia have agreed to an Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Action Plan to improve IPR protection and enforcement.    The IPR Action Plan addresses priority areas including combating IPR infringement over the Internet and strengthening IPR enforcement.     “Agreement on the IPR Action Plan represents a significant step at a historic time in our bilateral economic relationship,” said U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk in a statement Friday. “With...

Friday, December 21, 2012

   The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday released its final rule establishing general regulations to improve the traceability of livestock moving interstate.    "With the final rule announced today, the United States now has a flexible, effective animal disease traceability system for livestock moving interstate, without undue burdens for ranchers and U.S. livestock businesses," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in a statement.    "The final rule meets th...

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

   The United States and Canada on Friday released progress reports listing steps the two governments have taken in their one-year-old effort to make the norther border more efficient and simplify regulations.    Many of the accomplishments under the Beyond the Border and Regulatory Cooperation Council initiatives have been widely publicized as they occur, but the reports summarize in one place all the work undertaken so far.    Beyond the Border is a bilateral strategy...

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

   A senior Commerce Department official helping to oversee the overhaul of the country’s antiquated export control regulations said the Obama administration is committed to following through on concluding these reforms in its second term.     “Given last month’s election results, we have time to finish the largest part of the reform effort—the transfer to the Commerce Control List of defense articles that do not warrant control on the U.S. Munitions List—and also to make ot...