IN D U ST RY N EW S Industry conferences confirmed FIDI is exhibiting at IAMs 61st Annual Meeting at Torontos Metro Convention between October 9-12. To arrange a meeting please contact Lydia Cope at lydia.cope@fidi.org Meanwhile FEDEMAC has announced that next years meeting and Young Movers Conference will take place in Mlaga, Spain, between 23 and 28 April. And, the OMNI 2024 Conference will take place at the Carton House hotel in Dublin, Ireland, from 17-21 May 2024. This will follow the FIDI conference in Edinburgh, UK, from 12-15 May 2024. New shipping service launched Cosco Shipping has announced a new service, ESE2, which will connect northern Europe and the Mediterranean with the east coast of South America. It will provide a transit time of 12 days between Algeciras, Spain, and Santos, Brazil. Italy associations announce merger Italys two moving organisations, the Association of Italian Moving Companies and the Association of Professional Movers, have merged their activities to create a single organisation, the Federation of Italian Movers. It will represent 286 moving businesses and have the power to influence industry law and regulations. Doree Bonner opens partner portal Doree Bonner International has launched a preferred partner programme to help its clients find service providers in several industries, from accountancy and tax to law and estate agency. The programme is based on an online portal that gives customers access to recommended partners in the UK and overseas. Affiliate joins OMNI FIDI Affiliate Overseas Packers & Shippers, in Brisbane run by Paul and Penni McCluskey has joined OMNI. OMNI examines COVID shipping impact OMNI has run an online discussion on the effect of the pandemic on container shipping. The World Series event for its membership featured Rob van Steensel, Commercial Director for the Overseas Shippers Association; Philip Damas, Head of Drewry Supply Chain Advisors; and Cameron Bowie, Managing Director of Hapag-Lloyd UK and Ireland. According to Damas, the market is returning to pre-COVID rates in most regions, with traffic volumes expected to see only marginal growth this year before returning to normal levels next year. While port operations are now normal, there is significant over-capacity in the market, which he said would result in more cancelled sailings. Damas added that he expected longer transit times to become the norm to keep costs lower in response to new CO2 emissions regulations and taxes. Bowie said Hapag-Lloyd is aiming to be carbon neutral by 2045 and is one of several lines examining how to make its operations more sustainable when it comes to fuel choices. The company is offering customers the option of shipments being 100 per cent, 50 per cent or 25 per cent emission free by purchasing bio-fuels and attaching that purchase to their shipment. Van Steensel said that, year on year, HHG shipment volumes have remained stable, and challenged the shipping lines on their lack of reliability. He added that fewer than 50 per cent of vessels arrived on time and customers wanted service levels to rise in response to the high profits made by shipping lines recently. He asked lines to improve their customer service and have more customer-facing staff available to help solve problems when they occur. Biddulphs remembers family hero Ryan Biddulph, of South African mover Biddulphs International, attended a V-Day ceremony in Le Folgot, France, to mark the 80th year since his great uncle was shot down in the region during World War II. Frederick Brian Biddulph (known as Brian) was the son of the founder of the Biddulphs business, and one of three Royal Air Force (RAF) pilots, and two Luftwaffe pilots, who lost their lives at Le Folgot during an air battle on 15 August 1943. The French Veterans Association, members of the Royal British Legion, and family members of the fallen RAF pilots attended the event. Wreaths were laid in matching colours to their squadron and country, and permission was given for Brian Biddulphs name to be put on the war memorial as a thank you for his service. He was also awarded the Medaille Communal freedom of the city by the towns mayor. MSC may face charges Shipping business MSC may be prosecuted for alleged violation of the US Shipping Act, after a Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) probe into more than US$2m of extra demurrage and detention (D&D) charges. It follows an FMC audit of MSCs 2021 D&D charges, with claims it issued the same daily rate for operating and non-operating reefers (NORs). The FMC said: On at least 925 occasions, MSCs customers disputed the operating reefer detention or demurrage, resulting in refunds totalling $1.2m. In 2021, 1,704 NOR overcharges went undisputed, resulting in MSC retaining approximately $857,944 in additional revenue, and MSC took no action to correct the operating reefer versus NOR detention or demurrage or per diem overcharges. 18 FF311 Sept-Nov 23 pp12-19 News.indd 18 14/09/2023 15:47