Shipping Service

The slowdown in international trade has left the docks at the nation's biggest seaport complex quieter than they've been in years. Some workers, particularly non-union "casuals," at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports wait for shifts that never come....

A federally subsidized barge service that will shuttle cargo containers between the Port of Hampton Roads and Richmond on the James River was sold late Tuesday, less than a week before the barge's maiden voyage. T. Parker Host Inc., a longtime Norfolk...

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) _ Somali pirates have collected more than $150 million in ransoms over the past year, Kenya's foreign affairs minister said Friday, calling on ship owners not to pay when their vessels are hijacked. In the past two weeks Somalia's...

The Virginia Port Authority reported on Friday an operating loss of $3.7 million for the first quarter of its fiscal 2009, sending a clear signal that the world's deepening financial crisis is taking a toll on cargo movements. Operating revenues at...

A warmer planet could find itself more often at war. Earth's fast-changing climate has a range of serious thinkers - from military brass to geographers to diplomats - predicting a spate of armed conflicts driven by the weather. Shifting temperatures...

The Saudis chose to negotiate. The Indian navy opened fire. The U.S. navy said shipping companies should do more to protect their vessels, and the ship owners said governments should guard the high seas. But everyone wants the barely functioning...

For all of its 21st-century advancements, the shipping industry drags a lot of old technology around. Giant vessels are so sophisticated these days that they require only a handful of crew members. But the ships still burn a thick, dirty sludge called...

Delivery company DHL, hit by heavy losses and fierce competition, is significantly reducing its air and ground operations in the U.S. and cutting 9,500 American jobs, leaving rivals such as FedEx, UPS and the U.S. Postal Service to fight over the...

$589 WHEELING Visit Wheeling's West Virginia Festival of Lights Dec. 5-7. More than a half-million lights will illuminate the landscape and historic buildings. Includes guided tour of decorated Mansion Museum, Historical Greenhouse Complex, Garden...

BAJA Winter blues? Not here Party your way down to Cabo for a great price; Carnival's Elation makes a fun, affordable five-day trip. Itinerary: San Diego to Cabo San Lucas to Ensenada and back to San Diego. Info: Carnival Cruise Lines, Miami; (888)...

Shiver our timbers -- there be pirates afoot. Only today's pirates don't sport parrots on their shoulders or hooks in place of hands; they tend to be Al Qaeda-affiliated, drug-addled thieves and kidnappers who operate off the shores of a country that in...

With U.S. trade projected to double and containerized trade expected to triple by 2020, the Port of Virginia again is approaching a crossroads. Will it be able to position itself internationally as a port that can handle shippers' demands? Or will it...