The U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) has released updated information about China’s Zika disinfection requirements for exports from the U.S. Note that this is not official USDA guidance; FAS recommends that exporters verify import requirements with their Chinese customers before shipping any goods. On Sept. 2, China’s...
News
Houston Ship Channel was reopened after bunker fuel spill
Houston Ship Channel was reopened after the fire and bunker fuel spill from the crude oil tanker Aframax River. The vessel was empty during the accident and fire was extinguished, but in the breached fuel tanks had more than 2,500 tons of low sulfur diesel, most of which leaked into...
Houston Ship Channel Closure
The Houston Ship Channel is closed from Cargill Facility outbound to Buoy 121A for a pollution incident. Presently, USCG cannot confirm how long channel will be closed as they are presently assessing the situation in regards to clean up. The channel could be closed up to midnight tonight or longer...
Tanker Fire, Oil Spill Shut Down Houston Ship Channel
DEER PARK, TEXAS – The U.S. Coast Guard says a mile of the Houston Ship Channel is closed after an early-morning tanker fire and fuel spill. The Coast Guard says the tanker, The Aframax River, may have hit a submerged sewer line. This caused a rupture in the hull, leading to a fire....
Indian Unions Reject Government’s Appeal To Drop Friday Strike
Indian trade unions are mobilizing against industrial reforms that would impact the country’s ports and railways, as well as other industries. Last-minute government concessions Tuesday were not enough to dissuade Indian trade unions from going ahead with a 24-hour nationwide general strike Friday, setting the stage for potential supply chain...
China’s Zika Rules Not So Complicated
The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China (AQSIQ) announced earlier this year new requirements to prevent the spread of the ZIka virus for cargo coming from certain countries. The United States was recently added to the list. If the requirements cannot be...
California Wildfire Cuts Off Highway, Intermodal Rail Route
A wildfire northeast of Los Angeles has closed the main highway connecting Los Angeles and Las Vegas and threatens rail traffic in the region, state officials said Wednesday. That means disruption, detours and delays for shippers moving goods through the region, at the edge of the Inland Empire, a major...
China details anti-Zika prep for US exporters, but questions remain
Chinese authorities have provided some guidance on how U.S. exporters need to show that they have made their shipments mosquito-free, or risk having their cargo turned away because of concerns over the the Zika virus, but questions remain. Container shipments to China shall hold a valid mosquito eradication certificate, which...
U.S. West Coast Longshoremen To Begin Contract Extension Talks With Employers
Delegates from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) who met in San Francisco last week for a caucus, voted Thursday to have the union enter into discussions with representatives of the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) to discuss a contract extension. A majority of the more than 100 ILWU delegates...
Chinese anti-Zika prevention efforts
Efforts by Chinese authorities seeking to prevent the spread of Zika by placing demands on the way containerized goods enter China have sparked concerns among U.S. exporters about added costs and delays, a trade group said Wednesday. Shipping companies have alerted members of the Agriculture Transportation Coalition, which represents agriculture...