Freight prices of Panama-size bulk carriers are on the rise, thus brightening the outlook for the industry's profitability this year, local shipping companies said yesterday.
The Baltic Panama Index, a measurement of global freight prices of Panama-sized carriers and routes, has climbed 190 points -- or 15.68 percent -- from 1,211 Dec. 23, the last trading day of 1999, to 1,401 points Jan. 10.
Panama-size bulk carriers, the most common bulk ship size worldwide, are considered medium-size in the industry and can carry between 50,000 and 70,000 tons of cargo.
An official at U-Ming Marine Transport Corp (
A senior executive at First Steamship Co Ltd (
"This year will be a better year for bulk carriers, as the global economy continues to stage a healthy recovery that will increase trade activities between countries and stimulate shipping demands," the executive said.
A peaceful Y2K changeover has encouraged traders to ship goods that had been delayed because of Y2K worries and the Christmas holidays.
For example, the charter hire of Panama-size bulk ships plying Trans-Pacific routes increased 27 percent from December 1999 to US$11,075, the First Steamship executive said.
In particular, the market has been talking up a rumor that Australia plans to ship 500,000 tons of wheat to Pakistan.
Because of rising freights, First Steamship is expected to start realizing profits this year, the executive said. Although the company has yet to finalize its 1999 financial report, the company is sure to post losses for the year, he added.
"In the past, we sometimes had to run a ship with a deficit. But now, we can make about US$3,000 from running it," the executive said.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique