AFI Sets Its Top 10 Films & TV Of 2024From supply chain bottlenecks and environmental regulations to overcapacity, the shipping sector is grappling with unprecedented challenges, forcing companies to rethink strategies and adapt to the uncertain, transformative future, some industry leaders shared recently. This discussion took place at the seventh edition of the Colombo International Maritime and Logistics Conference (CIMC) held on a rotational basis in South Asia among maritime nations. Supported by the Ministry of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the event took place from 27 to 29 November, with many international speakers and around 500 delegates taking part in this three-day conference. Discussing essential points from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) maritime report, Drewry Shipping Consultants Director Shailesh Garg said, “The global GDP outlook is looking stable, but somewhat flat. The downside risk is still there. Especially the China slowdown, geopolitical scenarios, supply chain disruptions, and weather extremes are adding more complexity.” Despite these challenges, the global throughput in 2024 was likely to grow to be 4.8%. While the first half of the year had been very strong with around 6% throughput, continuing from the momentum of the last quarter of 2023, this momentum had slowed in the second half. A significant challenge for growth was overcapacity that will affect the industry more in the future years. With a surge of new ships from the pandemic-era orders entering the market, the shipping industry was bracing for mounting challenges from overcapacity and plummeting freight rates. Yet, “despite concerns of overcapacity, ship-owners are aggressively ordering new vessels. This isn’t just about market competition, it’s about ensuring these vessels are ready for a decarbonised future,” Garg noted. He explained that the surge in new vessel orders reflected a proactive shift towards sustainability. Many of these new vessels were being designed with dual-fuel or alternative fuel capabilities to comply with stricter environmental regulations. However, this ambitious drive had not completely replaced older vessels; “ship-owners are holding onto older fleets as a hedge against market uncertainty.” According to Maersk Lanka Country Manager Biju Ravi, the capacity increase will not be uniform and will depend on how ship-owners managed the fleets. It depended on “how many ships are going to get scrapped.” He also mentioned the possibility of positioning ships in emerging markets, which may alter how and where they are deployed; “It depends on the ship-owners, on how they want to operate, or how they want to position these ships into merging smaller markets.” One of the key challenges for the shipping companies in the coming years will be how to manage fleet utilisation efficiently, Ravi added, stressing the need for companies to be agile and dynamic, adapting their operations using advanced technologies to predict and adjust fleet deployment. “We need to really look at predictive forecasts using advanced technologies today which we have like IoT or AI, and how agile you can be to move the ships strictly around to different port pairs or destinations.” Garg highlighted that the Red Sea Crisis and weather extremes like the Panama Canal disruptions were also compelling ship-owners to adapt swiftly. These factors have diverted major shipping routes and sustained the demand for additional vessel capacity. However, “these disruptions are not short-term hiccups. They’re reshaping the way we think about logistics and fleet management, potentially driving up freight rates even as fleet sizes expand,” he explained. He said that to mitigate overcapacity, some ship owners were turning to idling strategies. This approach had been effective in stabilising rates in the past, and was being considered again as fleets grew. Ship-owners were also aggressively securing building spots for new vessels, Garg noted. This trend and strategy was due to anticipated higher costs and reduced availability in coming years, prompting ship-owners to place orders to stay ahead of market dynamics. “This is a competitive game. Ship-owners are not just planning for today, they’re preparing for a future where sustainability and capacity are non-negotiable.” With all these transformations taking place in the global shipping industry, South Asia was emerging as a critical growth hub. According to Garg, with a projected compound annual growth rate of 5.7% over the next five years, the regions expanding trade volumes were creating significant opportunities for ship-owners and logistics providers. “South Asia’s growth trajectory is remarkable. It’s a region where investments in port infrastructure and logistics are urgently needed to keep pace with trade demands,” Garg noted. Talentbridge CEO Prabath Manimeldura also added that the region’s port sector would play a critical role in keeping shipping costs stable. He further emphasised that, with South Asia leading the way, there is an expected reduction in operational costs as port efficiencies improve in the next few years. “If you look at the possibilities of newcomers coming into the shipping industry, what we saw was a consolidation in the industry. This large number of ship owners became a smaller number of ship owners. There are some talks that some Asian superpower would eventually invest in ships, introducing a new shipping line or company,” Manimeldura noted. During the discussion, Colombo West International Terminal CEO Munish Kanwar brought attention to the importance of port operations in addressing the shipping industry’s challenges. He highlighted the need for ports like Colombo to focus on reducing inefficiencies and increasing productivity. Kanwar explained that operational and non-operational times during a vessel’s port stay were key areas for improvement. He said, “Worldwide, the operational time is around 60%, and the non-operational time is around 40%. This 40% is something manageable, which can be reduced.” Sharing strategies to enhance efficiency, he also stressed on the necessity of standardising operations, adopting automation, and improving training facilities for staff. Managing what cannot be measured could be impossible, and therefore, deploying a strategy which focused on tracking, evaluating and measuring all processes would increase efficiency, Kanwar advised. Additionally, explaining that reducing a vessel’s time in port had broader implications for costs and environmental impact, he said, “more time at sea would reduce your fuel consumption; you can reduce the speed and emissions.”wild cards aces high 。

Unwrap the latest AI features with Amazon Fire TabletsA LOCAL charity is set for a year-long boost as the Sarsfield Credit Union They are Limerick Suicide Watch, BlueBox and Blood Bikes Mid West. Members of the Credit Union have been voting for one of these three groups. LIMERICK Suicide Watch (LSW) is fully funded through public donations, and PRO Audrey Ellis said it would be brilliant for them to win the prize from Sarsfield Credit Union as they could update equipment and afford more training for volunteers. “The more money we have, the more we're able to go out, and offer the public.” Audrey said they're updating their equipment at the moment. “We have a thermal camera and all that, but it has to be updated... For each person to go out at night, it costs them by the time they're all equipped, their training, and everything costs about €650.” A lot of their funding goes towards riverside training and child protection training. “We all have to be certified in all courses to be prepared for anything that could happen,” stated Audrey. The charity was formed in May 2016 with limited volunteers and has grown to a 55-strong team of volunteers since then. Audrey explained that LSW keep an eye on people that are showing signs of distress or that could be contemplating suicide by patrolling the bridges and the area along the River Shannon in the city centre. “We patrol four nights a week for a minimum of four hours. We don't do less than that, some nights we could be out six, seven hours.” LSW depends on donations and fundraising events to help fund its day-to-day operation. The voluntary group is seeking a new base as they have to leave their current base at the rear of the Tate Centre next year. Audrey said they're trying to secure a permanent base but haven't found anywhere suitable yet. Meanwhile, Blue Box Creative Learning Centre would be thrilled to partner with Sarsfield Credit Union. CEO Bryan Gough said this would represent a wonderful opportunity for them to further their shared goal of community empowerment. “This recognition highlights the available intervention that our therapists provide to children.” Blue Box aim to support children and young people who are experiencing, emotional, behavioural, trauma or psychological challenges to realise their full potential through Play or Creative Art Therapies. They apply a trauma informed nondirective approach to support the children and families. They provide free therapy support to children in eleven DEIS schools in Limerick and also provide on-site services. READ MORE: Leading Limerick soprano to take on job of business group's president Bryan explained: “We work closely with statutory services like TUSLA and the HSE to provide much needed services to children who experience trauma, emotional, behavioural, or psychological challenges to realise their full potential.” If BlueBox was chosen as the charity partner, Bryan said the money would go towards providing free therapies to, children in the local community. “It would be an amazing opportunity to lift the profile of Blue Box and for the local community to understand what options are out there for children who are in need of psychological intervention.” He concluded: “The schools that we provide service to all say that it's an invaluable service and it should be expanded.” It's the only charity that provides free support and therapy to children in Limerick. BLOOD Bikes Mid West Ireland which provides free transport to the HSE, private hospitals, clinics and hospices celebrated a decade in operation last year and is continuing its delivery of effective healthcare. Volunteer with the charity, Brendan Caffrey said winning the credit union prize would help them sustain their fleet because all their funding is going towards fuel and insurance. He added that the prize would also go towards servicing tyres and kitting out the vehicles for the coming year. The charity is dependant on donations as it doesn't receive government or HSE funding. “We fundraise around the shopping centres throughout the year in Limerick and in Shannon and we primarily rely on donors and the fundraising at those events to pretty much keep the service going,” explained Brendan. Blood Bikes Mid West was set up in 2013 to provide an out of hours service to the local hospitals and to patients in their own homes. It then progressed to a 24/7 365 days of the year service. They collect medical records, scans, blood samples, medical equipment, breast milk and chemotherapy drugs and transport them around the Munster region to and from hospitals and people in their own homes. “We link up with other groups in Cork, in Galway, in Dublin, and Athlone to deliver stuff across the country,” said Brendan. One very important additional service is the transportation of breast milk. The Human Milk Bank is located in Fermanagh and regular trips are required to ensure the Maternity Hospital Limerick is kept stocked in order to help support premature babies and their mothers. The organisation was set up in response to the need for an out of hours service providing the transport of essential items to relieve emergency situations.TFSA: 4 Canadian Stocks to Buy Now and Hold Forever

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US News Today Live Updates on November 26, 2024 : Donald Trump’s Border Czar Tom Homan praised as 'the right guy in charge' to secure the US-Mexico borderAKRON, Ohio (AP) — Nate Johnson had 18 points in Akron's 92-84 victory against Omaha on Saturday night. Johnson added five assists for the Zips (3-2). Isaiah Gray scored 16 points while going 6 of 10 from the floor, including 2 for 3 from 3-point range, and 2 for 4 from the line. Amani Lyles had 15 points and shot 6 for 9, including 3 for 6 from beyond the arc. Marquel Sutton led the way for the Mavericks (2-5) with 26 points and six rebounds. Lance Waddles added 19 points, 10 rebounds and four assists for Omaha. JJ White also had 16 points. Akron led 40-36 at halftime, with Gray racking up 12 points. Tavari Johnson scored a team-high 12 points for Akron after intermission. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar . For copyright information, check with the distributor of this item, Data Skrive. Get local news delivered to your inbox!

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The No. 12 Clemson Tigers and the No. 14 South Carolina Gamecocks face off in the Palmetto Bowl. If you are looking to find Tigers vs. Gamecocks tickets, information is available below. Clemson vs. South Carolina game info How to buy Clemson vs. South Carolina tickets for college football Week 14 You can purchase tickets to see the Tigers square off against the Gamecocks from multiple sources. Clemson vs. South Carolina betting odds, lines, spreads Odds courtesy of BetMGM Clemson Tigers schedule Clemson Tigers stats South Carolina Gamecocks schedule South Carolina Gamecocks stats This content was created for Gannett using technology provided by Data Skrive.

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