This week's round up of news from the world of heavy lift and project forwarding.
We expect that many readers of the Friday Flyer will be watching developments in Zurich, where a vote on the Fifa presidency is set to take place today.
With nine Fifa officials arrested this week on charges of rampant corruption and a further ten being sought for questioning, world football's governing body has been left reeling and engulfed in scandal.
Why, you might ask, is a magazine that writes about the lift, transport and installation of heavy and over-dimensional cargoes introducing its latest newsletter with news on the Fifa scandal?
Simply, because it should act as a wake up call to all involved in this sector of the freight industry, as anyone who listened to Alexandra Wrage's presentation about meeting anti-bribery standards in the project cargo industry at the Breakbulk Europe conference will have noted.
Wrage, who is president of TRACE International, explained how failing to meet anti-bribery compliance standards can have devastating consequences, as many international companies involved in the movement of project cargoes have discovered in the past.
She emphasised that companies in all facets of the shipping industry must be particularly diligent with a raft of new transparency initiatives now in play around the world.
Anyone who has been following the Fifa debacle over the last few years might recall that Wrage is the prominent international anti-bribery expert who resigned in frustration from an independent panel that was supposed to be overseeing current Fifa president Sepp Blatter's much trumpeted "road map to reform". She will be writing for HLPFI on the subject of compliance in future issues.
In business
Panalpina is to acquire its long-standing Egyptian agent, Afifi.
S5 to acquire Jardine Shipping
S5 North Europe has reached an agreement to purchase 100 percent of the shares in Jardine Shipping Services from Jardine Pacific.
Beginning of new life for Toll
Toll Group today celebrates its first official day as part of Japan Post, after a USD5.1 billion takeover deal was agreed.
Palfinger adds Malaysian dealer
Palfinger has appointed Asia Group as its new distributor for Malaysia.
Crew safe after Purple Beach fire
The crew of MACS vessel Purple Beach has been evacuated after smoke was detected in the cargo hold of the multipurpose vessel on the evening of May 25.
Current and tidal turbines guidelines published
Bureau Veritas has published a set of guidelines, NI 603, intended to help the development of current and tidal turbines.
ACS responds to Nepalese tragedy
Following the devastating earthquake that struck Nepal on April 25, Air Charter Service (ACS) has completed over 50 charter flights into and out of Kathmandu.
Contractual obligations
SDV wins UK aerospace contract
Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group has selected SDV to provide domestic and international logistics services in the UK, based on a three-year contract.
Able looks to decommissioning market
Able UK has been awarded the contract for the disposal of four offshore structures from the Shell-operated Brent field.
Capacity developments
Micanti gets backing for Thorn-D antifouling
Micanti has closed an investment round with independent investment company Pindustry to finance the global roll-out of its antifouling technology, Thorn-D.
VT Halter Marine has begun construction on the second of two LNG-powered con-ro ships for Crowley Maritime Corporation's liner services group.
Bahri's ro-ro vessel Bahri Jazan has docked at the SCA Logistics terminal in the port of Rotterdam and taken onboard 200 trucks destined for the Middle East.
Mammoet completes Westermeerwind piling
The Van Oord/Mammoet joint venture has driven the last foundation pile into the bed of the IJsselmeer, completing foundation work for the Westermeerwind wind park.
Shipment of the week
The last of four new super post-Panamax wharf cranes for the Port of Houston's Barbours Cut Container Terminal have been offloaded from ZPMC's semi-submersible vessel Zhen Hua 13.
On the move
Ritchie Bros has appointed Sharon Driscoll as its new chief financial officer.
The DNV GL Group board of directors has appointed Remi Eriksen as the company's new group president and ceo.
Effective August 1, Nils Skeby will join Associated Danish Ports (ADP) as its new chief executive officer.
Network and association developments
The Global Project Logistics Network (GPLN) gained a new member in the Maldives: Total Transport Solution.
ITG Tidak Logistics was added to the XLProjects (XLP) network as a new representative in China.
The CLC Projects network welcomed TISA-HDM as a new member representing Russia.
All about Evie
Evie enjoyed listening to Alexandra Wrage breath some life into the dry old subject of bribery and corruption within the shipping industry at the recent Breakbulk Europe event in Antwerp.
Wrage's presentation left Evie more determined than ever to reject all those offers of exotic holidays and expensive shopping excursions and return all those delightful gifts that she receives on a regular basis (yeah, right - editor.)
It also leaves her wondering why the Fifa president, Sepp Blatter, weighed down by this week's wave of arrests and corruption allegations against senior Fifa officials, appeared unconcerned when, in 2013, Wrage resigned from the Independent Governance Committee - the group set up by Fifa to help it become more transparent following several scandals - in protest over her belief that key proposals to reform the organisation had been watered down.
Evie suggests there is a lesson for all of us in this sorry tale from Zurich.
