The Chinese government has instructed China post to sanitize every mail delivered to, or in transit via, Wuhan, the vicinity of the coronavirus epidemic.

To deliver packages to Hubei Province (including postal codes; 430000-449999), China post will speak with the receivers via phone prior delivery and ask about delivery preferences, letting customers choose from a host of options with no face-to-face dealings, including interim storage at the postal points or delivery to a smart locker.

China Post further added that international mail processing and delivery would meet delays, and to provide a written proof of delivery would not be a guarantee.
The Wuhan Tianhe International Airport will be shut for the major flights.

Other delivery players such as DHL Express also have suspended their operations to and from Wuhan indefinitely. The company’s service points in Wuhan Province remain shut. Further, DHL is either returning the parcels in transit, or have them held in Wuhan and Hong Kong airport.

The director of the US’ Center for Disease Control’s Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Dr Nancy Messonnier stated that the coronavirus can be spread between people, but chances of the virus transmitting via imported deliveries is highly low, even if the courier or parcel had been processed in China by someone tainted with the virus.

Source: CNN International

Waymo is collaborating with UPS for a delivery service using its self driving vehicle–Chryster Pacifica Minivan. Phoenix has been chosen as the area of operations, and the alliance of the two is a part of a broader partnership with the shipping and logistic firms.

On Wednesday, both the companies confirmed that Waymo will initiate pilot autonomous van collection in Phoenix– it is the same place where the self-driving vehicles of the company are already in operation. The lap will start from the minivans lifting boxes from UPS store location and dropping them to a local UPS facility for processing. However, the pilot trial will exclude package delivery to consumers.

This project is pilot, however, both companies are working with a goal that jointly develop a “long-term plan for how the companies can work together.” The COO of Waymo, Tekedra Mawakan conveyed that this association will make way for them to carry on developing the methods for Waymo Driver can assist pickups.

It is not the first time that self-driving technology company UPS has come together. An autonomous trucking company, TuSimple, daily runs a couple of trips for UPS between El Paso and Phoenix. UPS also publicized in 2019, that it took a minority state in TuSimple, which happened just after the two companies stated testing the use of self-driving trucks in Arizona.

The sum invested by UPS was not revealed.

After the discovery of twenty four thousand undelivered postal items found in the home of a former postal worker in Kanagawa. This has lead the authorities impose charges on him.

As per the local news agencies, the discovered items date back to 2003.

After the issue was brought to light and referred to prosecutors, last year, the Japan post immediately fired the sixty year old man. And if convicted, he will face a jail sentence under three years, or bear a fine of 500,000 yen (approximately GBP 3,400).

The motive, the man reportedly disclosed that it was “too much bother” to deliver the items, and that he wish not to be perceived as second to his younger colleagues.

Japan post tendered and apology and assured to deliver all items to their respective addresses.

Source: The Guardian

Image Courtesy: Kentaro Toma

As per the papers published by the University of London’s maritime research division and the Getting to Zero Coalition, in the span of next 3 decades, the shipping industry could spend up to $1.4 trillion to achieve the International Maritime Organization’s 2050 emissions target.

From the baseline of 2008, the current target to reduce the carbon is set to 70 percent and dated to be achieved by 2050. And, if reports are to be believed, the price for meeting zero emissions by the allocated dated would be $1.9 trillion.

If we put the amount into context, globally, in 2018 the spent on energy investment alone was $1.85 trillion.

With a yearly cost of $50 – 70 billion onward 2030, the major part of the investment will be used on land projects rather than on vessels. It also includes the price for alternate options, meeting low-carbon fuel production and the storage, development and infrastructure of its supply.

The costs, which will be related to vessels would reduce to only 13 percent. It will also include the storage facility for the new fuel, machinery, and other improvements concerning to energy efficiency.

The blocked out planned to help finance these investments by the report states a levy on ship’s carbon production–which would start at $10 per ton, and will rise to $50-75 per ton by 2030.

Source: The Loadstar

In the past week, Amazon withdrew its ban on FedEx Ground service for deliveries of Prime Amazon orders by its third-party sellers.

In the lead-in to the Christmas season, the busiest time of year for shipment delivery, Amazon had put a temporary ban on the FedEx’s ground service, “until the delivery performance of these ship methods improves”.

In the meanwhile, merchants had to opt for other options like UPS or the pricey variant of the FedEx Express—or they were pushed to take out the Prime label from their product.

The decision made many unhappy, as FedEx Ground was the best choice for merchants to operate at economical costs for delivery while still qualifying for, and gaining the benefits of, high-visibility Prime labeling.

Everything took place against a background of a deteriorating association between the two companies, especially in the wake of the FedEx’s decision not to renew some of its Amazon contracts last year.

Alas, Amazon scraped the FedEx Ground ban on January 14th 2020, after deciding that the company was again content with the carrier’s performance.

Source: The Verge

Over the UK government’s decision that reads the bail out of airlines Flybe, the rivals to British Airways, IAG (the British Airways Owner), has lodged a complaint with the European Commission.

In the beginning of this week, the government declared a rescue offer that comprises a GBP 100 million loan and rescheduling of Flyby’s tax bill. IAG complaint states that the deal is a simple “misuse of public funds” which is a breach of state aid rules.

IAG, also adds that a direct competitor of British Airways and Aer Lingus is getting a direct subsidize by the deal, further benefiting another rival Virgin Atlantic; the company which has the biggest shares in Flybe. US airline Delta is 49 percent own Virgin Atlantic.

“As with all member states, we stand ready to discuss with the UK the compatibility and proposed public measures with the EU state aid rules,” said a European commission spokesperson.

“Any state aid intervention needs to be designed so that competition is not distorted and a level playing field is maintained.”

However, the UK government and said that they have no given Flybe state aid.

Source: The Guardian

Many US based air cargo companies, including names such as Atlas Air and FedEx, are seeking an exemption on the ban imposed by the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) on flying in selected areas of the Middle East.

Arguing FedEx said that the Notice to Airmen (NOTAM), the institute that bars US civil aviation from operating in or over Iraq, Iran, the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, has hugely impacted air cargo operations from the USA to Qatar and Bahrain.

Apart from FedEx, other companies that joined the argument in includes Atlas Air and its subsidiary Southern Air –these are used by Amazon for international transfers, while Kalitta Air operates to air cargo for DHL.

In the wake of the US’ assassination of the Iran’s General Qasem Soleimani and following Iran’s missile attacks; also including an apparently mistaken attack on Ukrainian passenger plane with 176 passengers on board.

Source: CNN, Air Cargo World

In the wake of the Taal Volcano eruption in south of Manila, on 13th January, Manila International Airport stays partially shut and public services were suspended.

The evacuation process has helped tens of thousand to leave the surrounding area, with more hundreds of thousands getting ready to follow.

While encouraging the private sector to shelve their activities, the Philippines’ National Disaster Risk Reduction & Management Council (NDRRMC) withdraws all public services in the region Central Luzon, Calabarzon (Region IV-A), the National Capital Region due to ashfall.

The shutting of the airport has led to cancellation 240 flights, having effect on airlines such as Air China, Air Asia, Malaysia Airlines & Delta Airlines, however the airport was partially re-opened on Monday.

The volcano Taal is among the smallest volcanos on the earth, however, there are a dozens of active volcanos in the Philippines that form part of the Pacific Ring of Fire.

Source: Business Traveller, Sky News

Last week, fire broke by an undeclared lithium-ion batteries, on the container ship COSCO Pacific, declared by the company.

The event took place while the vessel past the Arabian Sea en route from Malaysia to India. The crew member of the ship curbs the fire with Carbon-Di-Oxide, however, they were forced to inform at the Port of Colombo in Srilanka, where the vessel remains disembark. And no injuries were reported.

It has been reported that the owner of the cargo is a Taiwanese shipping company named Wan Hai Lines. It had listed the cargo contents as “spare parts and accessories”, breaching the regulations pertaining to the declaration of hazardous or dangerous goods.

Due to its flammable nature and corrosive in nature Lithium-ion batteries fall under the hazardous category. They are highly dangerous in high pressures, particularly when they are transported by the aircraft in the cargo hold, however, container shipping has also gone through veer of dangerous fires on container ships in recent time.

Generally, when a fire happens aboard a container ship,each cargo owner is expected to pay a “general average”; it is a proportionate amount of any losses due to the event–if they want delivery to be done, however, it is up to businesses discretion to decide if it is worth or not the to retrieve the cargo.

Many organizations such as FIATA(the International Federation of Freight Forwarder Associations), TIACA (The International Cargo Association), and the IATA (the international Air Transport Association), have collaborated forces to clear-out on mischievous shippers by advancing real-time even reporting, which could be share across the industry.

Source: The Maritime Executive, Port Technology

Finding that the sea freight operations in downtown Auckland are no longer feasible, the coalition of government of New Zealand has affirmed that the functions are to be withdrawn and moved elsewhere.

The government accepted that the sea port, which majorly deal with imports, and automobiles, has turned into a hugely unworkable for its location, its lack of water depth and the requirements of domestic urban development.

As per the survey conducted by the Upper North Island Supply Strategy Working Group, suggested that the seaport creates low value business and economic returns, on the other hand it occupies cream waterfront space. At the same time, the report also stated that, an amalgamation of a growing urban population and freight vehicles is creating problems with local traffic jamming.

The report also establishes that searching the harbor to house larger vessels was not workable in terms of environmental impact.

Further, the management of Ports of Auckland said that transferring the port would will call for huge road and rail links back to the city, where most the commodities would still be utilized, amplify emission by 700 percent.

Presently, Ports of Auckland cannot be obliged to transfer and is unlikely to create a deal with the alternative ports of Northport and Taurangsa, which are run or majorly owned by adversary holding companies.

Putting forward a solution, the reports marked that the government gives the port companies a deadline for achieving a commercial agreement, or else bring up a new legislation to accomplish the job.

Source: WorldCargoNews