TURKISHMARITIME, Turkish, Straits, Ship, Shipyard, Shipbuilding, Pirates

CEVA quarterly profit plunges GLOBAL non-asset based supply management company, CEVA Group, says its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in the first quarter of 2013 plunged 53 per cent.		Maersk posts 30pc loss DENMARK's AP Moller-Maersk group posted a 30 per cent drop in first quarter profits to US$790 million year on year with Maersk Line, its container shipping unit, reporting a profit of $204 million against a year-on-year loss of $599 million.

Revenues up to US$6.17bln GERMANY's Hamburg Sud, the world's 12th biggest container shipping line, has declared a 2012 revenue increase of 16 per cent year on year to EUR4.8 billion (US$6.17 billion), but declined to reveal profit or loss figures.		ICTSI quarterly profit up 15pc MANILA's International Container Terminal Services Inc (ICTSI) has posted a 15 per cent year on year first quarter net profit increase to US$40.7 million, drawn on revenues of $173.8 million, up 20 per cent.

LoA for Tungsten Explorer Vantage Drilling Company reported a net loss for the three months ended March 31, 2013 of $24.9 million or ($0.08) per diluted share excluding approximately $98.3 million.		Hanjin sees better days ahead KOREA's Hanjin Shipping, the world's eighth biggest container line, narrowed its year-on-year quarterly loss 883 per cent to KRW34.7 billion (US$31.1 million) drawn on revenues of KRW2.49 trillion, up 10 per cent.

Transatlantic carriers struggle DESPITE growth in the economy of the United States, US imports from North Europe continued to decline in January and February, making it difficult for ocean carriers to get westbound freight rates back up, reports London's Drewry Maritime Research.		TransContainer profit up 33pc RUSSIAN intermodal operator, JSC Transcontainer has posted a full-year pretax profit increase of 33.6 per cent to RUR6.7 billion (US$214 million), drawn on revenues of RUR36.4 billion, up 17.9 per cent.

Revenues increase 5.2pc JAPAN's largest carrier MOL posted a widening net loss of JPY178.8 billion (US$1.9 billion) in fiscal 2012 from a loss of JPY26 billion - a 588 per cent drop from the year before - while revenues increased 5.2 per cent to JPY1.51 trillion.		Net loss of US$324 million CHINA COSCO Holdings Co Ltd, the flagship of the country's biggest shipping conglomerate, suffered a net loss of CNY2 billion (US$324 million) in the first quarter.

Show signs of falsification AN investigation is needed to find out why the port and foreign trade figures do not match, says Ministry of Commerce researcher Li Jian, who has been joined by other experts who say China's trade statistics are too be good to be true.		OECD data shows slow change THE latest global freight statistics collected by the International Transport Forum at the OECD through December 2012 show that freight volumes indicate macroeconomic stagnation.

Spot market weakens MAERSK Line and other ocean carriers have postponed planned Asia-Europe general rate increases that were due to take effect on April 15 after a slide in the spot market, according to Lloyd's Loading List.		MOL re-listed on ESG/RI Index MITSUI OSK Lines (MOL) has once again been included in the Environment, Society and Corporate Governance/Responsible Investment (ESG/RI) index that is part of the FTSE4Good Index Series.

Kuehne + Nagel profit increases SWITZERLAND-based Kuehne + Nagel has posted a 97 per cent first quarter net profit increase to CHF134 million (US$144 million), drawn on revenues of CHF5.1 billion, up 5.4 per cent.		Kuehne + Nagel profit falls KUEHNE + NAGEL Group (K+N), the Swiss forwarding giant, has posted an 18.6 per cent year-on-year decline in net profit to CHF493 million (US$529 million) in 2012 while revenues increased 5.6 per cent to CHF17.1 billion.

China's GDP growing 9pc AN economist with DBS Bank (previously known as the Development Bank of Singapore) says China's trade with Africa and Latin America will significantly boost China's economy and forecasts a nine per cent GDP growth this year.		Asia-USWC spot rates up SPOT rates on the Asia-US west coast trade rose 1.7 per cent last week to US$2,302 per FEU, while east coast rates edged up 1.3 per cent to $3,454 per FEU, according to the latest Shanghai Containerised Freight Index (SCFI).

Supply and demand imbalance THE westbound cargo volumes on the Asia-North Europe trade lane continue to disappoint with an increase of 8.7 per cent between December 2012 and January 2013 attributed to seasonal uplift.		PSA 2012 net profit US$1.02 bln SINGAPORE's global port operator PSA International and its subsidiaries have achieved a net profit of S$1.25 billion (US$1.016 billion) for the year ending December 31, 2012, representing an increase of 10.7 per cent compared to the previous year.