Page 3 - Al-Rashed Newsletter June 19

SHIPPING WORLD
SHIPPING NEWS

BILLION-DOLLAR PHILADELPHIA COCAINE BUST LARGEST IN US
CUSTOMS HISTORY
A massive $1.1 billion cocaine bust at the Philadelphia seaport in mid of June was
the largest such seizure in the 230-history of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Authorities first spotted “anomalies” while examining seven shipping containers
aboard the MSC Gayane, a 1,030-foot Liberian-flagged vessel. Next day, officials
uncovered more than 17.5 tons of cocaine, including 15,582 bricks weighing more
than 35,000 pounds. If laid out, the bricks would span more than 2 miles, officials
said.
“There were doses enough for two million different individuals,” said James W.
Carroll Jr., director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. “This could have
killed thousands, and maybe millions, of people.”
The bust occurred at the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal Port on the Delaware
River in South Philadelphia. In addition to cocaine, containers were filled with wine,
paperboard, vegetable extracts and dried nuts from all over the world.
They were destined for Ireland, Nigeria, South Africa, Lebanon, India and Haiti,
officials said.

THE WORLD’S LARGEST SHIPPING FIRM HAS ALTERED ITS ROUTE
THROUGH THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ AMID RISING TENSIONS

A.P. Moller-Maersk has changed the route of its ships that sail through the world’s
busiest transit lane Strait of Hormuz for seaborne oil shipments, citing safety
concerns amid a rapid series of escalations between the U.S. and Iran. This is
considered as bid to protect the shipping giant's assets and workforce's safety.
The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow channel situated between the borders of Iran and
Oman, accounts for approximately 30% of the world’s seaborne oil traffic. It is seen
as one of the most important waterways in the world, linking crude producers in the
Middle East with key markets in the rest of the world.

AMAZON LOSES CONTRACT WITH FEDEX EXPRESS AS IT BUILDS OUT
COMPETING DELIVERY NETWORK
FedEx has decided not to renew one of its shipping contracts with Amazon amid
increased competition between the two companies, according to CNBC. The
contract in question is Amazon’s FedEx Express contract, which according to
Amazon is used for air transportation of packages and is not used for last-mile,
ground deliveries. Amazon Prime’s two-day deliveries are mostly handled by UPS,
and Amazon says its contracts with FedEx to handle any other logistics, including
filling the gaps not plugged by UPS, are still in place.

Source: Hellenic Shipping News, The Verge, NBC