Worldwide Ship Agencies Association
One of the leading international ship agencies association chose Malta as the venue for their annual general meeting which was held at the Corinthia San Gorg on the 9th and 10th October.
This Association is made up of thirty five shipping agents who between them cover the USA, Europe, the Mediterranean, India, Pakistan and countries in Africa including Nigeria , Senegal and Djibouti. In Malta the associate member is Focal Maritime Services.
World Wide Shipagencies Assoication (WWSA) aims to present to shipowners, charterers and operators, a reliable network of unrelated, independent and highly professional multimodal agents in order to provide instant information and back-up to the shipping and transport world wherever required. Through this coverage, the owner is assured not only with the highest level of professional service, but also with credit worthiness of the service supplier. WWSA does not restrict itself to mere agency activities . some of its members specialise in logistics, some in chartering and some in other shipping activities. This makes the WWSA member network diverse and relevant to more than just the agency business.
The Association participates regularly in international maritime and logistics exhibitions and seminars .
Focal Air Staff attend DGR Course
Focal Maritime Services are pleased to advise that in recent weeks, Focal Air employees attended courses organized by Air Malta regarding IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations – the staff that was already qualified attended the refresher’s course whereas new staff attended the initial course. The company is striving to develop airfreight as another professional service to offer its clients. Such courses and qualifications are the company’s investment in this direction.
TMCL appoint new agent in Mexico
TMCL announced that they have appointed Agencias Universales Mexico (AGUNSA) as a TMCL agent in Mexico. TMCL believe that Agencias Universales S.A. (AGUNSA) Mexico will help to further strengthen TMCL’s network.
Focal Maritime Services are TMCL agents in Malta.
For further details, contact us on:
Tel: (00356) 21 657577
Fax: (00356) 21 657578
Email: fms@focal.com.mt
URL: www.focalmaritime.com
Training Sessions for Focal Maritime staff
Focal Maritime staff have recently undergone a number of courses to improve their abilities and gain new skills to keep giving the best possible service to their clients. In recent weeks there were 3 distinct courses in this respect namely:-
- Self organization and Time Management - aiming to improve productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness at work with effective organization skills. The course was targeted for the management staff.
- E-commerce & Web Marketing - guiding staff to become more aware about marketing tools, traits and resources, helping them to keep abreast with customers and business needs through the web.
- First Aid - guaranteeing health and safety cover among the employees.
Further training is planned for the rest of 2011.
Please keep in contact with us through:-
Tel: 356 21657577
Fax: 356 21657577
Email: fms@focal.com.mt
Website: http://www.focalmaritime.com/
Open Top Container
Delta Container Services, which is represented in Malta by Focal Maritime Services, has recently launched a small fleet of Open Top containers set on the Italy / Malta trade; catering for the carriage of Tiles, Marble, Glass sheets, Machinery, and construction related materials. Open top units are designed to allow loading through both the top opening and the rear doors and are consequently suitable for the carriage of awkward cargoes and those cargoes which are not separable into parts, whose handling and loading can only be performed with a crane or rolling bridge.
For further details please contact us on:
Email: fms@focal.com.mt or dcs@delta.com.mt
Website: http://www.focalmaritime.com or http://www.deltacontainers.eu/
Lufthansa Dangerous Goods Training Module
On the 7th of March 2011, Focal Maritime staff attended a training course regarding Dangerous Goods at the Westin Dragonara Resort, St. Julians. This course was organized by Lufthansa Cargo.
The Lufthansa Dangerous Goods Training Module focused mainly on the DGR 7 and 8 for BUP. The program gave an overview on many aspects as shown clearly below. Various organizations were involved in the airfreight sector, such as:
- The UN Committee of Experts
- The International Atomic Energy Agency
- The International Civil Aviation Organisation
In addition, the course gave a brief overview on the various implications regarding Dangerous Goods, which included:
- Undeclared (hidden) Dangerous Goods
- State Variations
- Operator Variations
- Characteristics of Hazard labels
- The different classes of Dangerous Goods mainly from Class 1 to Class 9
- Handling Labels
- Packing Groups
- Markings and Labeling
- Shipper’s Declaration
- Storage
- Loading Principles
- Notifications to Captain (NOTOC)
- Radioactive Material
- Consolidations
- ULD’s
The program covered a vast spectrum of the airfreight sector which will inevitably enhance the individuals’ knowledge and at the same time update on any new developments and procedures with regards to Dangerous Goods.
For further details please contact us on:
Tel : (+356) 2165 8293
Fax : (+356) 2165 7578
Email: airfreight@focal.com.mt
Website: http://www.focalmaritime.com
Groupage service to Libya
Due to the current situation in Libya, all export services to the four main ports, namely Tripoli, Benghazi, El Khoms, and Misurata, have seized, as the situation in Libya continues to escalate. At the moment, Libya has been declared as a war zone and thus all export cargo will be seized in the ports of Libya. Another crucial factor is that none of the ports are operational at the moment. We are continuously monitoring the situation and will update once the service is back on track.
For further details and rates please contact us on:
Tel : (+356) 2165 8293
Fax : (+356) 2165 7578
Email: groupage@focal.com.mt
Website: http://www.focalmaritime.com
Malta Independent reports on the ISO 9001-2008 certification for Focal Maritime Services Co Ltd
On 13th February 2011, the Malta Independent published the following article on the ISO 9001-2008 certification for Focal Maritime Services.
"Focal Maritime Services were recently presented with the official certification of ISO 9001 - 2008 covering all the services that the company offers in ship agency, freight forwarding, liner representation and airfreight.
During a brief ceremony organized for the purpose, Mr. Xerri, Managing Director Of Focal Maritime, together with all the team of Focal Maritime Services received the company’s quality statement from Mr. JFX Zahra on behalf of MISCO who were the consultants assisting Focal Maritime Services whereas Mr Silvan Fleri, the Quality Manager of Focal maritime received the ISO certificate from Mr. Peter Spiteri Gonzi on behalf of Bureau Veritas Certification who were the appointed external auditors. Mr. Xerri stated that “This certification is our commitment to our principals, clients and stake holders to provide an even more professional and efficient service.”
Focal Maritime Services offer a range of maritime services including representation of container liner services, ship agency, ship husbandry, groupage services, freight-forwarding, airfreight and ship broking amongst others. The company is also affiliated to international shipping organisations such as BIMCO and FIATA."
For a direct access to the article, please click on the following link:
Paperless Airfreight
In February Emirates organized a course about using their Skycargo online system for paperless airfreight, for which course FocalAir staff was present.
E-freight is in line with our aim to be more efficient in processing our airfreight bookings and eliminating paperwork, hence reducing our carbon footprint to contribute towards a greener environment.
For further details and rates please contact us on:
Tel : (+356) 2165 8293
Fax : (+356) 2165 7578
Email: airfreight@focal.com.mt
Website: http://www.focalmaritime.com
International fairs in Spain for waste management
The Enterprise Europe Network at Malta Enterprise invited parties that operate in waste management, water treatment, recycling and other associated technologies and services to visit ECOFIRA and attend various expert-led seminars. ECOFIRA is the international fair in Spain for waste management, with focus on water, land, air and residues, services and technologies. ECOFIRA aspires to be amongst the leading fairs for the environment industry.
The Valencia Chamber of Commerce also organized another event on the same theme. The second edition of the TECHNOLOGICAL AND BUSINESS COOPERATION EVENT was held during the joint International Trade Fairs. It consisted of an international platform that allows companies and organizations from the sectors of energy, water and wastes, to meet each other in order to share innovative technology proposals, seek solutions for technological challenges and begin business co-operations.
Focal Maritime Services and Combined Maritime Services participated in these networking and business contact forums. They had the opportunity to make new international business contacts and to discuss co-operation in the above mentioned sectors with other companies coming from Austria, Bulgaria, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom. These events were held in Valencia from 15th to 17th February 2011.
This was a good opportunity for Focal Maritime Services and Combined Maritime Services to meet with importers of waste who may be interested to receive waste from Malta and Libya, and to offer them transport and logistical services.
For further details please contact us on:
Email: fms@focal.com.mt
Website: http://www.focalmaritime.com