Tag: Thailand

After being stranded in northern Thailand following a deadly cargo ship attack Dozens of Chinese seafarers returned home Sunday under the escort of a Chinese patrol ship after being stranded in northern Thailand following a deadly cargo ship attack last week.A total of 11 cargo boats with 78 seafarers on board began sailing into the Guanlei Port in the Dai Autonomous Prefecture of Xishuangbanna in the southwestern province of Yunnan at around 3:40 p.m.They were greeted by crowds of anxious people, including their relatives, colleagues, local officials and residents.Firecrackers were set off in celebration, and banners reading "Welcome home!" and "Welcome back to the motherland!" were displayed along with national flags.They embraced their relatives tightly in tears as soon as they stepped on the Chinese soil."We were very scared when we heard that our compatriots had been killed, and we did not dare to come back home by waterway at first," said a sailor surnamed Wu from the boat Jinshui 12."We are back at last! Thank the nation! Thank the government!" he said."The news photos showing the sailors' bodies floating on the river had frightened me a lot. I had been very worried that similar incidents would happen again," said ...

On Oct 5, 12 Chinese sailors were murdered after two cargo ships were hijacked on the Mekong River China on Thursday demanded swift action from three Southeast Asian countries as they investigate an attack on the Mekong River that claimed the lives of 12 Chinese sailors near the Thai-Myanmar border. One sailor remains missing.In a related development, a Chinese patrol ship will escort 164 sailors and family members, who have been stranded on the Mekong since the attack, home on Friday.The 12 victims were crew members of two cargo ships attacked earlier this month where the borders of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos meet.A probe into the attack has reportedly stalled due to chaotic border management and lax security measures in the region.Vice-Foreign Minister Song Tao summoned envoys from the three countries and urged their authorities to "step up their investigations, get to the bottom of the matter as soon as possible, report their findings to China in a timely manner and ... severely punish the culprits."The Chinese government values the life and safety of every Chinese citizen and demands a thorough probe of what happened," Song said.The government is shocked and deeply saddened by the incident and strongly condemns the ...

11 Chinese were killed and two remain missing after their boats were attacked in the Mekong River China's Foreign Ministry confirmed Sunday that 11 Chinese were killed and two remain missing after their boats were attacked in the Mekong River four days ago.Two cargo ships, the Hua Ping and Yu Xing 8, were attacked in the golden triangle area of the Mekong River on Oct. 5, the ministry said in a statement on its website.Among the six Chinese on the Hua Ping, five were found dead and one was missing. Among the seven Chinese on the Yu Xing 8, six were killed and one was missing, according to the statement.The ministry said it has asked Chinese embassy in Thailand and consulate general in Chiang Mai to investigate the incident immediately and spare no efforts to search for the missing.It has also asked "relevant countries" to take effective measures to improve the protection of Chinese ships and sailors in the Mekong River, according to the statement.The ministry said leaders of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council are paying close attention to the matter.The ministry urged the "relevant countries" to immediately to look into the incident, determine ...

We continue to expect risks to all three core shipping sectors Globally, we continue to expect risks to all three core shipping sectors (container, dry and liquid bulk), with overcapacity and a drop in demand continually threatening to reduce rates and impinge on profits.As austerity measures take hold in Europe and the US continues to have high unemployment and recover sluggishly from the downturn, shipping levels may slow their growth considerably.We currently project that Thailand´s ports will grow susbstantially over the medium term, outpacing our current total trade real growth forecast. This will be aided by planned expansions among the country´s shipping lines.Headline Industry Data- 2011 Port of Bangkok tonnage throughput growth forecast 5.4%, and to average 4.4% per annum to 2015. - 2011 Port of Laem Chabang tonnage throughput growth forecast 8.1%, and to average 6.6% per annum to 2015. - 2011 Port of Laem Chabang container throughput growth forecast 8%, and to average 6.6% per annum to 2015. - 2011 total trade real growth forecast 2.7%, and to average 5% over the medium term. Key Industry TrendsRCL Introduces And Expands Its servicesThailand-based shipping company Regional Container Lines (RCL) introduced a new Asian container shipping service on March 1 ...