Heilongjiang Lighthouse International Logistics Co., Ltd.

A seafarer has lost his life in the inferno of the newly built container ship Maersk Frankfurt, as firefighters continue to battle the flames three days after the fire broke out on 19 July.

The Panama-flagged 5,920 TEU Maersk Frankfurt, delivered to Japanese tonnage provider Tokei Kaiun from Imabari Shipbuilding in June, is on a three-year time charter to Maersk Line. Bernhard Schulte provides technical management to the ship.

Manned by 21 seafarers, Maersk Frankfurt sent a distress call while it was in the Arabian Sea, 50 nautical miles off Karwar, India, while sailing from Mundra to Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Panama Maritime Authority said in a statement, “The ship's operator reports a body in the lashing bridge, but it is impossible to reach it because of the flames. The Indian authorities are focusing their efforts to fight the fire and guarantee the safety of the ship and the crew.”

Indian officials said they suspect a short circuit could have caused the fire, although other media reports speculated that dangerous goods could have been the reason.

Maersk Frankfurt is assigned to the Danish carrier’s Far East Asia-Indian Subcontinent service, on which Ocean Network Express (ONE) is a co-loader. EconDB shows that just two days before the fire, Maersk Frankfurt departed India's Mundra port for Colombo, expecting to arrive 21 July.

A spokesperson for Maersk told Container News: “It is with deep regret that the ship managers have confirmed the passing of one of the crew members following the fire incident. The rest of the crew members are safe and accounted for. The vessel owner and ship managers are in touch with the crew and are ensuring all possible support is extended to them.”

She stressed that the cause of the fire is not known yet, adding that putting out the blaze is the current priority.

In June, the volume and turnover of rail freight transportation in China reached historic highs, maintaining the top position in the world. This is evidenced by data released on Sunday.

According to the China State Railway Corporation, which is the operator of passenger and freight rail transport in the country, China's railroads carried 332 million tons of freight in June, and freight turnover totaled 266.5 billion ton-km, up 6.1 percent and 5.3 percent year-on-year respectively.

Last month, rail transportation of containers, automobiles and cold chain cargoes rose 18 percent, 12.1 percent and 21.2 percent respectively, reaching record highs.

Previously released data showed that the number of passenger trips on China's railroads also reached a record high in the first half of 2024, totaling about 2.1 billion and up 18.4 percent year-on-year.

China State Railway Corporation said the cross-border freight transportation sector has also seen rapid growth, which ensures the stability of international supply chains and gives new impetus to the development of China's foreign trade and high-level opening up.

China-Nepal customs cooperation is expected to deepen further after the conclusion of a week-long meeting of customs officials from the two countries, which ended Monday in Lhasa, the administrative center of Xizang Autonomous Region in southwest China.

A delegation of seven Nepalese customs officials, deputy head of the customs department of Nepal's Ministry of Finance, began their visit to the PRC on July 2. The event was the 33rd such reciprocal visit.

Under the Belt and Road Initiative and a joint statement issued by the two countries, the two sides will promote cooperation in optimizing the business climate at the checkpoints and strengthening food import and export safety supervision, among other areas.

China is an important trading partner of Nepal, noting that it accounts for 17 percent of the country's total foreign trade.

As of 2023, China's foreign trade with Nepal reached 12.69 billion yuan /about $1.78 billion/, up 15.6 percent. It increased by 15.6 percent year-on-year. By breakdown, the trade volume between Xizang and Nepal amounted to 2.77 billion yuan, exceeding one-fifth of the total trade volume between the two nations.

Federal Express Corporation /FedEx/, a global express delivery giant, recently launched two new flights to the United States from two coastal East China cities - Qingdao (Shandong Province) and Xiamen (Xiamen Province). Shandong, and Xiamen, Fujian. Fujian.

According to a press release issued by FedEx China, the company also plans to establish international checkpoints in Qingdao and Xiamen to improve operational efficiency and cargo clearance to meet the growing business and trade needs of local customers.

Initially, each flight will operate once a week. The flight departing from Qingdao connects major U.S. hubs via Osaka /Japan/, reducing the delivery time of parcels and cargo from Shandong Province to North America by one day.

The flight departing from Xiamen stops in Incheon /Republic of Korea/ and then lands in Anchorage /State of Alaska, United States/.

"The launch of these two new cargo flights is a proactive step by FedEx to meet the growing demand in China's foreign trade and deepen cooperation with overseas market," said Xu Baoyan, vice president of FedEx's China operations.

"The new flights will significantly improve connectivity between China's major second- and third-line cities and markets in Asia-Pacific and North America, allowing local businesses to better connect to the global market," it said.

Xiamen Iport Group, operator of Xiamen's Gaoqi International Airport and FedEx's partner in launching the new cargo route, said the new route will significantly increase the capacity of Xiamen airport and improve the efficiency of cargo transit.

According to Xiamen Iport Group, it will also provide more convenient and efficient logistics services for cross-border e-commerce businesses, while reducing the delivery time of outbound parcels and cargo from Fujian Province to North America. Fujian to North America.

FedEx currently operates more than 300 weekly flights to and from mainland China.

Russia has supplied the maximum amount of rice from China since December 2023. Exports in May reached 4 thousand tons. This is the maximum since December last year. About it wrote RIA Novosti.

Recall, the ban on exports of rice and rice groats from Russia introduced on June 1, 2022, when in the Kuban at the Fedorovsky junction there was an accident. This measure was taken to eliminate the risk of shortages and ensure stable prices for finished products. Since then, the ban has been extended more than once. The last time - until June 30 this year.

In April rice exports from China amounted to 2 thousand tons, in May supplies doubled.

Russia is among the top 10 largest consumers of Chinese rice. The Russian Federation accounted for 3% of all exports in May. Mozambique bought the most rice from China. The African country accounted for a fifth of all supplies.

Among the main buyers of rice from China are Cameroon (18%) and Puerto Rico (14%).

In total, China sold 151.6 thousand tons of rice in May.