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Two airplanes cleared to utilize very same runway in Nashville near-collision, NTSB states
Airtraffic controllers cleared an Alaska Airlines jet last month to remove at Tennessee's Nashville International Airport on the very same runway where a Southwest Airlines plane had been cleared to cross, the National Transport Safety Board stated on Wednesday. The Sept. 12 event prompted Alaska Airlines Flight 369 , a Boeing 737 MAX 9 airplane with 176 people on board, to terminate takeoff to prevent an accident. The Alaska pilots quickly applied the brakes, blowing the plane's tires. The NTSB said a ground controller cleared the Southwest plane to cross Runway 13 just after 9:13 a.m. and 23 seconds later another controller cleared the Alaska aircraft to depart. The Federal Air travel Administration referred questions to the NTSB, which is leading the investigation. The FAA has actually a. separate examination into the event, where Southwest. Airlines Flight 2029 - a Boeing 737-700 with 141 people. onboard - was set up to depart for Jacksonville, Florida. Over the last 2 years, a series of near-miss incidents. have raised concerns about U.S. aviation security and the strain. on understaffed air-traffic-control operations. FAA. Administrator Mike Whitaker stated last month the variety of. serious runway-incursion incidents had fallen by over 50%. Tracking site Flightradar24 stated the Alaska airplane was. traveling at 104 knots (120 miles per hour, 193 km per hour) on the runway. before slowing. The FAA stated in April it would set up brand-new surface-awareness. innovation at four airports consisting of Nashville's by July. The. FAA previously declined to discuss whether the technology was. operating. In June, the NTSB discovered that incorrect assumptions by an air. traffic controller caused a February 2023 near-collision in between. a FedEx aircraft and a Southwest airplane in Austin, Texas. The 2 aircrafts came within about 170 feet
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Boeing made minor motions before ending talks, union arbitrator said
Boeing used improvements to its crucial production union before breaking off talks, however the modifications were small and not in important locations required to help fix a near monthold strike, a union negotiator told Reuters on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Boeing stated it withdrew its pay offer to around 33,000 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), saying the union had not considered its proposals seriously after 2 days of talks. The U.S. planemaker had said it made new and improved proposals to try and reach a compromise, including boosts in take-home pay. Union lead negotiator Jon Holden told Reuters in an interview that Boeing used some improvements connected to minimum guarantees for a yearly performance bonus but did not move on general demands for greater incomes. They're attempting to take credit for really minor, very weak motion that wasn't truly touching on the major concerns in a. manner in which we might even get that in front of our members, said. Holden, president of IAM District 751. The locations where they didn't make enhancements are. glaring. Holden stated that Boeing's removal of its offer is. important because some of his members wish to vote. He said the. union is concentrated on the strike, and has an extremely strong fund to. support spend for the blockage, however would not describe the state. of talks as being at a deadlock. Regrettably, the union did not seriously consider our. propositions, Boeing Commercial Airplanes head Stephanie Pope stated. in a note to the staff members on Tuesday, calling the union's. needs non-negotiable. More settlements do not make good sense at this moment, she. stated. The breakdown substances monetary and production problems at. Boeing, among the 2 primary worldwide commercial aircraft. makers. The business has actually been burning money in 2024 as it. battles to recuperate from a January mid-air panel blowout on a. new aircraft that exposed weak security protocols and stimulated U.S. regulators to curb its production. Earlier this year, Boeing changed its CEO Dave Calhoun with. Kelly Ortberg, who began in August with the want to pull. together a labor offer and shore up the company's track record with. customers and regulators. Up until now, none of that has actually occurred. Boeing is now examining choices to raise billions of dollars. to support its balance sheet. Reuters reported that it was. looking to offer stock and equity-like securities, with its. treasured investment grade credit rating at threat. The business has actually also presented temporary furloughs for. thousands of salaried employees, while the factories producing. its very popular 737 MAX and its 767 and 777 aircrafts are shut. Shares of the U.S. planemaker were down 1.7% in premarket. trading on Wednesday. The stock has actually lost more than 40% of its. value in 2024, with a 5% fall since the strike started on Sept. 13. Describing the 2 days of negotiations, Pope said, Our. team negotiated in excellent faith and made new and better proposals. to try to reach a compromise, including boosts in take-home. pay and retirement. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace. Employees union pushed back on those assertions, stating that. Boeing was determined on basing on the non-negotiated offer. proposed last month. They declined to propose any wage boosts, vacation/sick. leave accrual, progression, ratification benefit, or the 401k. Match/SCRC Contribution. They also would not reinstate the. specified benefit pension, it stated. The union, which represents factory employees on the west. coast, wants a 40% pay increase over 4 years and the repair. of a defined-benefit pension that was eliminated in the contract. a years ago. More than 90% of employees voted down an offer of a. 25% pay rise over four years before going on strike. Boeing made an improved deal last month that it explained. as its best and final, which would give workers a 30% raise. and bring back a performance bonus, but the union said a survey of. its members discovered that was inadequate.
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Russian missile attack on Ukraine's Odesa port area kills six, guv states
A Russian ballistic rocket attack on Wednesday on the port infrastructure of Ukraine's southern Odesa area eliminated 6 individuals and injured 8, Odesa Regional Governor Oleh Kiper said. The injured were all Ukrainian nationals, Kiper composed on the Telegram messaging app. Four remained in major condition. Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba stated a. Panamanian-flagged container ship, the Shui Spirit, sustained. damage in the attack. An insidious opponent is trying to disrupt the work of the. Ukrainian grain passage, killing civilians and damaging. infrastructure, Kiper composed in his post. The attack on the port of Chornomorsk was the 3rd in the. area in the previous 4 days. Ukrainian officials stated a Russian missile struck a. Palau-flagged vessel in Odesa port on Monday, eliminating one. Ukrainian national and injuring 5 foreign nationals. And on Sunday, a Russian rocket damaged a civilian Saint. Kitts and Nevis-flagged vessel loaded with corn in the port of. Pivdennyi. Under an offer brokered by Turkey not long after Russia's February. 2022 intrusion of Ukraine, ships bring cargoes from Ukrainian. ports operated without obstacle for about a year before Russia. took out of the arrangement. Vessels have because been utilizing an alternative route, hugging. Ukraine's southwestern Black Sea coast through Romanian waters. and on to Turkey.
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Air travel industry prompts steps to prevent unapproved parts from airplane use
A report provided by an aviation industry coalition on Wednesday called for new actions to help prevent future unapproved parts from going into the aviation supply chain. The report from the Air travel Supply Chain Stability Coalition that was produced in February called for reinforcing supplier accreditation, digitizing documents and enhancing part traceability. It likewise proposed adopting best practices for receiving and checking parts and scrapping and ruining non-usable product. In 2023, jet engine maker CFM International, co-owned by GE Aerospace and France's Safran, said thousands of engine parts may have been sold with created documentation by British supplier AOG Technics. In December, British police made an arrest and launched a probe into claims that the London-based firm had actually distributed fake parts for aircraft engines. These recommendations will close holes and include new layers of safety to reinforce the integrity of the supply chain, said previous National Transportation Security Board chair Robert Sumwalt, among the group's co-chairs. We were able to stop a rogue star and quarantine the parts last year thanks to swift action from the air travel industry, however more is required to stop anybody who tries to take a. faster way in the future. GE Aerospace led the development of the Air travel Supply. Chain group that consists of Boeing, Airbus, Safran. , American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and. United Airlines. The report said that less than 1% of CFM engines in service. were impacted by the concern however said the occurrence showed more. needed to be done. The concern impacted a small number of CFM56. models, the world's most-sold guest jet engine.
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Gas line connection to Exxon's FPSOs in Guyana completed, executive says
A pipeline that would allow Guyana to bring natural gas produced by an Exxon Mobilled consortium to coast has actually been connected to 2 of the job's. drifting production platforms, Exxon's head for Guyana was. reported as stating on Wednesday. The Gas-to-Energy project by Guyana's government aims to. feed a 300-megawatts power plant and a gas liquids (NGL). facility with gas produced at 2 Floating Production Storage. and Offloading (FPSO) facilities that become part of Exxon's. Stabroek block. The 200-kilometer (124.3-mile) pipeline could be in service. by year end, Exxon Guyana chief Alistair Routledge informed regional. reporters, according to Newsroom Guyana. The task, expected to assist lower electricity costs. and decrease emissions as soon as finished next year, will be the first. to make the most of associated gas produced in the nation. Guyana has up until now invested some $400 million in the. development. The Exxon consortium, likewise incorporated by China's CNOOC. and U.S. Hess, briefly stopped crude and. gas output at the platforms in the third quarter to allow the. pipeline connection. Risers have actually now been successfully connected to the. pipeline, and we have been carrying out numerous tests and. de-watering exercises to guarantee whatever is working. properly, Routledge said.
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Airbus confirms deliveries fell to 50 jets in September
Jet deliveries fell 9% in September to 50 airplane, compared to the exact same month last year, the European planemaker stated on Wednesday. The figure, which verifies a current Reuters report, brings deliveries up until now this year to 497 jetliners, up 2% from 488 at the nine-month phase a year back. Plane is targeting 770 deliveries for the complete year after decreasing its goal from 800 jets in July, citing lacks of engines and other parts as the aerospace industry's supply chain struggles to recuperate from the pandemic. Reuters, pricing quote industry sources, reported on Friday that Airbus had actually provided 50 jets in September, leaving it facing a. sprint towards the goal in the typically hectic fourth. quarter. Plane has said it is on track to satisfy its yearly target of. around 770 jets. The figures suggest that Plane would have to deliver 273. aircraft in the 4th quarter to meet its heading target. figure, up 11% from the same quarter last year. Airplane and Boeing supplier Elder stated on. Tuesday it was cutting headcount in response to obstacles in. commercial aerospace manufacturing, sending its shares tumbling. Senior said it was turning to both furloughs and task cuts. in response to a continuous strike at Boeing's business airplane. operations and supply chain problems dealing with Plane.
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Siemens files claim in Texas against Citgo Petroleum parent
Siemens Energy Inc. has actually submitted a lawsuit in a Texas court versus Citgo Petroleum's. parent, PDV Holding, looking for to recover about $200 million from a. promissory note defaulted by Venezuela, according to a court. file seen on Wednesday. Lenders that belong to an auction of Citgo parent's. shares in a Delaware court to pay billions of dollars for. expropriations and debt defaults in Venezuela have begun turning. to other U.S. courts to impose their claims, a technique to acquire. concern when the auction's proceeds are paid. The auction's 2nd bidding round was completed last month. with the choice of an affiliate of Elliott Financial investment. Management as the winner. If the judge ratifies the $7.3 billion. deal, there might not suffice cash to pay more than a. handful of the $21 billion in financial institution claims before the court. Citgo and PDV Holding are U.S. subsidiaries of. Caracas-headquartered state oil company PDVSA. The. dispute between PDVSA and Siemens originates from a deal under. which engineering firm Dresser-Rand Company, acquired by Siemens. Energy, was entitled to get some $166 million pursuant to a. promissory note. SEI got a judgment versus PDVSA from the Southern. District of New York and now seeks to hold PDV Holding responsible as. PDVSA's alter ego for the total of the judgment, which now. surpasses $200 million, the file filed by Siemens said. Gramercy Distressed Opportunity Fund and 2 related. companies have submitted similar lawsuits in Texas and New York City. courts this year, threatening to derail the auction in Delaware,. which is arranged to be completed in the coming months. A court officer designated to supervise the auction has. requested U.S. Judge Leonard Stark block the creditors from. resorting to other courts to pursue the exact same properties. His. decision is pending.
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Rainy roads slow arrivals of cocoa at Ivory Coast ports
Exporters and buyers say that the damage caused by heavy rains in Ivory Coast’s west, southwest, and coastal regions hampers harvesting, drying, and transporting cocoa beans from ports. Six exporters, six buyers and five cooperatives said that cocoa arrivals in ports have decreased and the quality has deteriorated. Hamed Coulibaly who purchases cocoa from the regions of Duekoue Guiglo and Man said, "Since last week, we've noticed a return of heavy rains which have blocked roads and rendered village tracks completely impassable." He claimed that he had not been able yet to recover the 60 metric tonnes of the commodity his middlemen had already collected in different villages. Seydou Koate, a buyer from Guiglo, said: "I have two cocoa trucks that have been stuck in the tracks toward Blolequin since six days... We can't do anything." Exporter figures estimate that cocoa bean arrivals at ports will be 13,000 tons between October 1 and 6, 2024. This compares to 50,000 tons the previous year. Rain has caused plantations to flood and roads to be cut off in the western Ivory Coast towns of Man and Danane. Geyo Yabayo Buyo in Ivory Coast's main cocoa-producing region have also suffered similar conditions. Lack of sunlight and poor storage conditions have also caused damage to cocoa beans. They turn black and ferment when stored in bad conditions. The quality of the beans arriving is what concerns us most, said an exporter in San Pedro port. He has received 55 tons so far compared with 300 tons at the same time last year. Exporter in Abidjan, who received 45% less cocoa this season than last year, said: "We're receiving very poor-quality products. They are poorly fermented and dried. And they are too humid." The Ivory Coast Coffee and Cocoa Council, however, blamed a delayed seed stock for the reduction in cocoa that has been available this season. Unnamed CCC officials said: "We need to put things in perspective. There is less chocolate in the ports right now because there is less cacao at the moment. It is not due to the condition of the roads." Another CCC official stated that "normally, September's stock is what supplies the first week of October. This year, this has not been the case." "There is no cocoa yet, but we have to be patient." (Reporting and editing by Portia Crowe and Christina Fincher; Ange Aboa, Reporter)
US port strike shines light on union's biggest enemy: automation
The dockworkers' strike on the U.S. East Coast, Gulf Coast and the Caribbean ended on Thursday. However, the key issue that was causing labor unrest on the continent -- the increasing use of automation -- remained unresolved.
Automation is seen by companies as a way to increase profits, while it's viewed negatively by unions. Dockworkers in North America who are fighting automation may find a solution through the port worker contracts of Europe.
After reaching a tentative wage agreement, 45,000 port workers of the International Longshoremen's Association ended their three-day strike on Thursday. The strike had caused ocean shipping to be shut down from Maine to Texas.
While talks continued, the port operators and workers agreed to extend the contract until Jan. 15, 2025. Automation is a key issue in negotiations for a six-year contract.
Harold Daggett told a group workers outside the Maher terminal, in Elizabeth, New Jersey during the strike, while they held signs that read "Machines do not feed families" or "Fight Automation, Save Jobs."
The union says the use of an automatic gate system in a port at Mobile, Alabama is a violation of their contract.
APM Terminals of Netherlands is the port's operator. APM Terminals is a member employer group United States Maritime Alliance. According to ILA, the auto gate system is able to process trucks that enter and leave the port without unionized labor.
APM Terminals is owned by A.P. Moller-Maersk has confirmed that the auto-gate was installed at the terminal since it opened in 2008. It is in compliance with the ILA/USMX Master Contract.
USMX has declined to comment.
CANADA FIGHT
The automation has also been a factor in port labor disputes that have affected global trade from Los Angeles to Vancouver.
The British Columbia Maritime Employers Association, which covers seaports throughout the Canadian province, made a final offer to the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 in Canada in June. 99% of its members rejected it.
The union was angry in part because Dubai Ports World Canada, a logistics company, had notified the labor group that it would introduce automation unilaterally at a major rail yard within the Port of Vancouver.
A spokesperson for the ILWU Coast Longshore Division said that on Tuesday, "Workers are fighting automation because they understand the negative effects of disappearing jobs on our families and community."
Since November 2022, the BCMEA has been negotiating with ILWU Local 514 on a sector-wide basis.
More than 7,300 workers in Vancouver went on strike last year as automation was a major issue with the BCMEA. The ILWU wanted to include in contracts language about training workers on how to repair new equipment introduced at ports.
When negotiations reached the 13-month mark, the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents terminal operators in California, Washington and beyond, claimed that union workers would "effectively" shut down terminals in Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Oakland, California, in 2023.
According to a report sponsored by the ILWU, which represents dockworkers on the West Coast, in 2020 and 2021 the Long Beach terminal would have 392 fewer positions if it had not been automated.
In a report that was commissioned by PMA, it was found that the number of paid hours in Los Angeles ports has increased by 31.5% ever since automation started in 2016. The authors refused to give figures for Long Beach only.
The union and PMA have agreed to a new six-year agreement that will establish a minimum level of staffing for terminals that implement automated equipment, and also discuss technological advances.
EUROPEAN CONTRACTS
Berardina Thomasi, policy officer for the European Transport Workers' Federation of dockworkers, said that port workers' unions in Europe have already negotiated against automation after Europe Container Terminals opened Rotterdam's world's very first automated container terminal.
Niek Stam is the secretary of FNV Havens - the largest Dutch dockworkers union.
The Dutch union is composed of more than 6,000 workers in three ports, including Rotterdam which is regarded as one of the world's most technologically advanced ports. Stam stated that the clause has been in their contracts for years.
The union, however, is concerned about the future of its members' careers as automation will reduce the number less intensive roles in ports.
Stam stated that workers cannot work at the most labor intensive jobs until they are 67 years old.
According to union officials in Europe and the United States, dockworkers can tolerate a certain level of automation.
"We are not against bringing in new technology that will make us more efficient," said Shaheem, a 41-year-old crane operator from New Jersey and ILA strike leader.
When you try to make something, it's going take away our job. That's where we run into trouble.
(source: Reuters)