SINGAPORE-headquartered box line Neptune Orient Lines has continued to see a strong recovery in box volumes in the first part of this year, but average revenue per 40ft container was still down from the level seen in the early part of last year, writes Keith Wallis in Hong Kong.

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ENVIRONMENTAL campaigners have welcomed moves by Bangladesh to tighten shipbreaking standards, but warned that without decisive international regulatory action, the business could migrate to other developing countries, writes Brian Reyes .

THE French judicial authorities have opened a preliminary investigation into the circumstances of the grounding of an Eitzen product tanker on the remote French Pacific island of Clipperton, writes Andrew Spurrier .

SLOVENIA?S Luka Koper Group, which operates the country?s only container port at Koper, posted hefty losses of?53.4m ($72.3m) last year, compared with earnings of?17.2m in 2008. Operating revenues remained steady at?116.8m, writes John McLaughlin .

A HALVING of time charter equivalent revenues on its crude tanker fleet during 2009 saw full-year net profit for 2009 at Overseas Shipholding Group shrink to almost one-fifth of the previous year?s performance.