News

Magellan Midstream Partners LP has begun talks with companies developing crude transportation assets in Freeport, Texas, as it considers building a U.S. crude export terminal there instead of its previously planned spot off Corpus Christi, an executive said.

With support from the European Union’s CEF Program, Port of Barcelona partners with energy suppliers, ship owner-operators, port equipment manufacturers and technological innovators to pilot and measure the efficiency of LNG on land and at sea as an alternative fuel source. The aim is to reduce NOx, SO2 and PM emissions using alternative fuels throughout the ports nautical and intermodal chains for cargo ships, ferries and cruise ships. The Port of Barcelona’s energy transition towards a more environment-friendly business model is gaining momentum, as it completes pilot operations using LNG and CNG as alternative fuels throughout its nautical and intermodal supply chains.

Taking into account the current ice situation, ice forecast and long period of temperatures below 15 centigrade degrees in the water area of port Vyborg (Leningrad Region) and at the approaches to it, restrictions on navigation in the port’s waters come into effect on 6 February 2019. According to the order signed by the Port Harbour Master Igor Malafeyev, navigation of ATB units and non-ice-class ships is not allowed in ice waters; vessels of Ice1 category are allowed to sail in ice waters only with the assistance of icebreakers; vessels of Ice2 category and above are allowed to sail independently or with the assistance of icebreakers.

On Monday, Jan. 10, 2019 the liquefied natural gas (LNG) feeder and bunker vessel “Kairos” starts its first reload operation in Klaipėda. Next to the German LNG supplier Nauticor one of the ship’s charterers is oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal operator Klaipėdos Nafta (KN). “Kairos” being the world’s largest LNG bunker vessel will enhance the LNG logistic chain for KN in the Baltic Sea region. Built at the “Hyundai Mipo” shipyard in South Korea, the ship has started its voyage to Europe in October 2018 and reached Klaipeda at the middle of December.

State-run PetroChina’s two subsidiaries on Wednesday signed contracts with state-owned Yantai Port Group to jointly build a new LNG receiving terminal and expand a crude oil terminal at Yantai port in eastern Shandong province, PetroChina said on its website Thursday. Kunlun Energy, a Hong Kong-listed subsidiary of PetroChina, and Yantai Port Group will jointly invest a total of around Yuan 7 billion ($1 billion) to build an LNG receiving terminal comprising four LNG storage tanks each 200,000 cu m in size, at the west Yantai port, and a dock capable of receiving 266,000 cu m LNG vessels, PetroChina noted.

The Port Authority today announced that the first all-electric straddle carrier in the United States is coming to the Port of New York and New Jersey by the end of this year, the agency’s most recent initiative to meet aggressive targets for greenhouse gas emissions reductions set forth in the Paris Climate Agreement. A straddle carrier is a piece of terminal yard handling equipment that is used to move cargo containers by first straddling the container and then lifting it up and driving over the back of a truck to place the container on the chassis, in contrast to loading a container on the back of a truck from the side. Under a partnership with the Port Authority, Maher Terminals has agreed to pilot test the all-electric straddle carrier for a year on its container terminal at the Elizabeth Port Authority Marine Terminal to determine its operational and environmental benefits. It will be the first test of an all-electric straddle carrier anywhere in a United States port.

Chinese company Huaneng Fuyun Port and Shipping (HFPS), which operates berths three and four at Port Qasim , Karachi, has paid five months salary (from July 18 to November 18) to Pakistani dock workers in the port through two cheques of a total amount of Rs20.547 million. Sources in the Ports and Shipping told The Nation on Sunday that a deal was brokered at a meeting on the weekend between representatives of Huaneng Fuyun Port and Shipping (HFPS) and representatives of 1,751 dockers, social workers, human rights activists and trade unionists that brought to end the 109-day workers’ agitation. Hundreds of dockers staged sit-in outside the Karachi Press Club following a protest rally staged a day earlier the agreement.

Gujarat may offer an additional 50% stake in Gujarat State Petroleum Corp. (GSPC) LNG Ltd to Adani Group, which already holds a 25% stake in the company, after Indian Oil Corp. Ltd decided to opt out of the race, said three state government officials close to the development, requesting anonymity. The Gujarat government, which owns 50% in GSPC LNG, had been looking to induct a third partner for the remaining 25% stake. It may now allow the Adani Group to pick up the 25%, and offload up to 25% of its own stake in the company.

FRANKFURT, Jan 25 (Reuters) – German utility Uniper on Friday said ExxonMobil had signed a preliminary deal to take a substantial share of the regasification capacity at a liquefied natural gas (LNG) floating terminal planned for Wilhelmshaven. “The heads of agreement (a non-binding draft) is an important step towards the realisation of the Wilhelmshaven floating storage and regasification (FSRU) project,” said Keith Martin, Uniper’s chief commercial officer. “The FSRU will provide LNG companies from the United States, but also other countries from around the world, with the opportunity to deliver LNG into the German and European markets,” he said. LNG is seen helping the German government diversify away from pipeline gas arriving from Russia, Norway and the Netherlands.

Restrictions on navigation in the port of Arkhangelsk coming into effect on 15 February 2019 are applicable to vessels covered by icebreaker assistance. According to the order signed by the Port Harbour Master Dmitry Sarapunin, icebreaker assistance will be only provided to vessels with ice class Ice3 and above; vessels with ice class Arc4 and above can sail independently within the water area of port Arkhangelsk, along the canal fairway; vessels of Ice2 category and above are allowed to sail along the canal with the assistance of icebreakers between Chizhovsky anchorage and Rosneft berths and up to the berths higher off the Krasnoflotsky bridge.

APM Terminals Poti and Poti New Terminals Consortium have submitted a conceptual design for a first stage construction permit for the expansion of the Poti Sea Port, Georgia. The plans were received by the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia. The project plan entails a 14.5-meter water depth at the 700-meter quay wall and 25 hectares of dedicated land for the bulk operation for yard and covered storage facilities for various cargo types, including grain, ore, and minerals.

Listed Asian Terminals Inc. deployed additional modern equipment at the Batangas Container Terminal as it continuously expands the port’s role as trade facilitator and smart logistics option for Calabarzon. BCT recently welcomed two new ship-to-shore cranes and four more rubber-tired gantry cranes, manufactured by Shanghai-based ZPMC, effectively doubling the port’s STS and RTG fleet to four and eight, respectively. The new STS cranes can reach up to 16 container rows, lift two 20-foot containers simultaneously and handle loads of up to 70 tons. The RTGs, meanwhile, can stack up to six containers high.

The Norwegian shipping company Color Line operates the additional freight ferry “Color Carrier“ on the route Kiel – Oslo as of 11th January to increase its freight-carrying capability. On the occasion of its inaugural call, the Lord Mayor of Kiel, Dr Ulf Kämpfer, PORT OF KIEL Managing Director Dr Dirk Claus and the Executive Manager of Sartori & Berger, Jens Broder Knudsen, welcomed the captain of the “Color Carrier”, Nils Sivertsen”, to the capital city of Schleswig-Holstein and handed over the traditional inaugural plaques during the onboard reception. Lord Mayor Kämpfer: “I am very happy about Color Line expanding its capacity on the only direct ferry route between Germany and Norway. It strengthens Kiel as a port location and also facilitates the eco-friendly hinterland transport by rail.” As of now, the additional freight ferry offers three roundtrips a week complementing the daily departures of the large passenger ferries. Hence, there are 10 departures per week and direction to choose from on this route. Jens Broder Knudsen: “Color Line expands the eco-friendly cargo transport between Germany and Norway. Shifting traffic from road to sea is considered a high priority in Norway as well as in the EU.”

Kalmar, part of Cargotec, has signed an agreement with Exolgan S.A. to supply a total of four rubber-tyred gantry cranes (RTGs) with hybrid drivelines for its container terminal in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Port operators have begun shipping out empty containers clogging the Manila International Container Port (MICP) and the Port of Manila (POM), Bureau of Customs (BOC) Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero disclosed. Guerrero, a former military chief, said the Asian Terminals Incorporated (ATI), which operates POM, has already transferred empty containers from Manila to Batangas Port last January 14. The shipping lines are also set to send their sweeper vessels to move out empty containers to the Ports of Batangas and Subic to free up space at the two Manila ports.

CMA CGM Short Sea Lines Med announced the deployment of a new Intra Med service in which CMA CGM will operate 1 vessel. This new service called Med Pendulum Service (MPS) will have the following features: Rotation and terminals: Salerno (Amoruso Container Terminal) - La Spezia (Terminal del Golfo) - Genoa (San Giorgio Terminal) - Algeciras (TTI) - Casablanca (Somaport) - Leixoes (TCL) - Setubal (Sadoport) - Marseille (Mourepiane) - Genoa (San Giorgio Terminal) - La Spezia (Terminal del Golfo) - Salerno (Amoruso Container Terminal) - Piraeus (Piraeus Container Terminal) - Mersin (Mersin International Port) - Lattakia (Lattakia Terminal) - Beirut (Beirut Container Terminal) - Alexandria (Old Port) - Salerno (Amoruso Container Terminal) Duration: 40 days Frequency: 10 days Vessels: 4 vessels of 1,700 TEU (1 provided by CMA CGM) Starting date: January 29th, 2019 in Salerno (WB)

DCT Gdansk says it is expanding its fleet of STS and RTG cranes. Five new fully electric RTG cranes, which came by sea to DCT Gdansk terminal at the beginning of December, are being assembled on the yards. One of them has already reached vertical dimension. Five RTGs were bought as part of T2b project. They will be started and tested in the second half of February 2019. A the beginning of May they will be fully operational. From then on DCT Gdansk will have forty RTG cranes to handle containers at the yard of the terminal. Twenty eRTG cranes for T2 yards and 20 RTG cranes for T1 yards. Two new STS cranes which are already at T2 berth are being tested. The tests should last around two weeks.

As MPs restarted the Brexit debate, Secretary of State for International Trade Dr Liam Fox claims Southampton could benefit majorly from new trade agreements. Dr Fox said that when the UK leaves the EU on March 29, it will begin to negotiate new deals with the US, Australia, New Zealand and could also do a deal with countries in the Pacific Rim. He said that UK was considering joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which covers 11 countries around the Pacific Rim, including Australia, Canada and Japan, as well as some of the world’s fastest growing economies like Malaysia and Vietnam. Trade with the US, Australia, New Zealand and the 11 CPTPP countries was worth more than £7 billion to Hampshire and the Isle of Wight last year, with more than £20 billion worth of goods passing through the Solent in 2017, 13 per cent of the UK’s total trade with these countries. In recent years Southampton has become the UK’s main port for car exports and vehicles to the 14 priority markets was worth just under £6bn in 2017.

CMA CGM Marco Polo vessel yesterday docked at Cai Mep International Terminal (CMIT) in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, becoming the biggest container ship ever to dock in Vietnam. It is a container ship owned by the CMA CGM group with a designed weight of 187,000 tons and loading capacity of 17,000 TEUs which directly transport Vietnam’s import and export goods to the Northern European market. On the occasion, the Cai Mep International Terminal has officially exploited as well as received weekly the other container ships as CMA CGM Marco Polo. Cai Mep – Thi Vai deep-water port is one of the biggest sized terminals in the Southeast Asian region and is considered as a cargo transit hub.

International Container Terminal Services, Inc.’s (ICTSI) flagship Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) recently received four of 16 new hybrid rubber-tired gantries (RTG) as part of the Company’s long-term investment in capacity enhancement and environmental efficiency. A first in the country and Manufactured by Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. (MES) of Japan, the Mitsui Li-ion Hybrid RTG is equipped with a 200kVA Li-ion battery and a smaller diesel engine that dramatically improves the carbon footprint of the terminal.