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Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL) has ordered a sixth Oasis-class cruise ship from French shipbuilder Chantiers de l'Atlantique. Set to be delivered in autumn 2023, the newbuild will join the Oasis class alongside Oasis of the Seas, Allure of the Seas, Harmony of the Seas, Symphony of the Seas and a fifth ship which has yet to be named. “It is such a pleasure to announce the order of another Oasis-class ship,” said Richard Fain, chairman and CEO of RCL.

The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) pays more attention to its users best interest, and has recently taken steps towards being the safest, most secure, most reliable and most competitive compared to other routes. Considering the new changes in the global shipping market, and world economy; and in line with the SCA flexible marketing policies, the SCA has decided that circular no. 3/2018 concerning the rebate granted to (Laden/Ballast) Dry Bulk Vessels; operating between Americas’ ports and Asian ports, shall remain in force till the end of 2019 (the last permissible sailing date from origin port is 31 December 2019) :

Based on the present and projected level of Gatun Lake for the following weeks, effective February 27, 2019, the maximum authorized draft for vessels transiting the Neopanamax Locks will be 14.63m (48.0 feet) Tropical Fresh Water (TFW). Vessels arriving with drafts over 14.63 m (48.0 feet) TFW may be allowed to transit past February 27, 2019, depending on the actual level of Gatun Lake at the time of transit. Otherwise, they will be required to trim or off-load cargo in order to be allowed to transit. Draft adjustments will be announced in 12 inch (30.5 cm) decrements, generally with at least four weeks advance notice.

“Seven Seas Splendor” was launched today at the Ancona shipyard., She is the second super luxury cruise ship that Fincantieri is building for Regent Seven Seas Cruises, brand of the Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH). The delivery is scheduled for 2020, the company said in its release.

(Bloomberg) — A small port city near Hamburg is the leading choice of Angela Merkel’s government for the first liquefied natural gas terminal in Germany, according to people familiar with the thinking of senior ministers. The town on the Elbe River, Brunsbuettel, is competing with rival bids from the city of Stade and the North Sea port of Wilhelmshaven for federal aid that’s key to unlocking investment in the terminal. The Economy and Energy Ministry in Berlin is backing the bid of Brunsbuettel partly due to its proximity to Hamburg, said two people familiar with the government’s thinking.

Since September 2016 Jan De Nul Group, as part of the Joint Venture Sas van Vreeswijk, has been working on the construction of the third Princess Beatrix lock near Utrecht in the Netherlands, the company said in its release. On 6 February 2019 the Dutch Princess Beatrix officially inaugurated the lock in the presence of the Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management, Cora van Nieuwenhuizen. The Princess rang a ship’s bell, giving the go-ahead for the first official passage of ships through the new lock. The official opening of the lock closes a construction period of 2.5 years. The two lock heads are each 30 x 60 meters. Each lock head contains two lock gates, each weighing 490,000 kilos and measuring 28 meters wide, 14 meters high and 6.25 meters thick. In total, 44,875 m³ of concrete and 17,900 tons of reinforcement were used to build this new lock. Sas van Vreeswijk was also responsible for the excavation of 2 million m³ in order to widen the access to the locks.

The Freeport of Riga says it held a ceremony at the beginning of the year to commission two piers, ZO-1 and ZO-2, after the redevelopment, which took almost two years. The project included extension of both piers. ZO-1 received two newly built mooring posts and new lighting. For the extension of the ZO-2 pier, a new underwater sheet pile was built and dredging to 12 m depth mark was done. For the needs of the new extended pier, soil excavation was performed in the area of 3,710 m2 and about 7,746 m2 of the water area were dredged. Storm sewer with local water treatment units and output to the water area was built.

ICTSI inaugurates the expansion of its Batumi International Container Terminal International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) formally inaugurated the expansion of its Batumi International Container Terminal (BICT) in Georgia, the company said in its release. The expansion encompasses both the waterside and landside areas of the multipurpose terminal, intended to optimize the processing of existing cargo flows and install additional capacity to accommodate new business.

(Reuters) – The Finnish Seafarers’ Union threatened on Thursday, Feb.14 it would call its members out on strike from March 1, stopping all Finnish passenger and cargo vessels, including ice-breakers, if its pay demands are not met.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, inaugurated in Rabigh on Monday the King Abdullah Port during his visit to King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), reported the Saudi Press Agency. The port features state-of-the-art facilities including 18-meter water berths, which are the deepest in the world, and the world’s largest and most advanced cranes, which employ the latest technology and feature a 65-ton lifting capacity as well as a handling capacity of 25 containers. Such facilities enable the port to serve giant container vessels now and in the future.

More than US$300m in infrastructure improvements is being considered as part of a drive to grow international marine cargo to the Port of Seattle. To prepare for ever-larger container vessels, the port commissions of Seattle and Tacoma met at the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) managing member meeting to discuss recommendations for significant new investments, which also include a new tenant at Seattle’s Terminal 5. “With the largest marine cargo vessels entering the trans-Pacific trade, our Terminal 5 investments are critical for Washington state exports to Asian markets, in addition to growing cargo volumes and maritime jobs in the Puget Sound region,” said the NWSA.

Feb 9 (Reuters) – The British government has terminated a contract with Seaborne Freight to provide extra ferries in the event of a no-deal Brexit that would see Britain leave the European Union on March 29 without a transition period to minimise economic disruption. The government’s decision to award the 14 million pound ($18.1 million) contract in December even though Seaborne Freight did not have any ships had been heavily criticised by opposition politicians and others. A Department for Transport spokeswoman said on Saturday the contract was terminated after Seaborne Freight’s backer, Irish firm Arklow Shipping, decided to step back from the deal.

Port of Brisbane Pty Ltd (PBPL) has announced the principal contractors for its $158 million Brisbane International Cruise Terminal, paving the way for construction to begin in the coming months. Wharf construction will be undertaken by Brady Marine & Civil, a specialist marine infrastructure and engineering contractor headquartered in Brisbane, the company said in its release. The civil works and terminal building will be delivered by Hindmarsh, a leading Australian construction company.

Skids, jacks, booms and a big helping of smart thinking from some of the best minds in the crane upgrades business – that’s been the recipe for success at MSC Terminal Valencia. When the terminal was planning an ambitious project to upgrade all eight of its ship-to-shore (STS) cranes ready for handling today’s new generation of super-sized vessels, there was only one partner who could deliver the goods.

At 469.0 million tonnes, the port of Rotterdam’s total throughput volume ended up slightly higher in 2018 than in 2017, which was itself a record year (467.4 million tonnes). Container transhipment was the engine of growth again, with a 4.5% increase in tonnage. Measured in TEUs, the standard unit for containers, the increase was 5.7% and the annual total was 14.5 million TEUs – also a record. This strengthens the position of Europe’s largest container port in this strategically important market segment. Significant underlying shifts were observable in the goods segments. Whereas container transhipment continued to grow at a healthy pace, that of crude oil, mineral oil products and agribulk fell. Throughput of LNG (+163.6%) and biomass (+31.6%) saw a further spectacular rises last year.

Kalmar, part of Cargotec, has signed a deal to supply six Kalmar Zero Emission Rubber-tired Gantry cranes (RTGs) to South Florida Container Terminal, LLC. The cranes will be equipped with a busbar energy system and operator assist features like auto steering and container stack profiling.

German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said on Tuesday he was optimistic that Germany would build two terminals in the foreseeable future to import liquefied natural gas (LNG). As Germany phases out nuclear power and coal, it is increasingly turning to gas to compliment renewable energy sources. It is under pressure, especially from the United States, to cut its dependence on Russian gas and buy in LNG. Altmaier told a meeting with German and U.S. energy officials and industry lobbyists that Germany was weighing up the extent of state subsidies and regulations before private investors build the terminals needed for LNG imports. Of three sites under consideration – Brunsbuettel, Stade and Wilhelmshaven – Altmaier was confident terminals would be built at two in the foreseeable future.

According to preliminary unaudited figures, Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) increased its Group revenue by 3 percent to € 1.29 billion in the 2018 financial year (previous year: € 1.25 billion). The Group’s operating result (EBIT) of € 204 million (previous year: € 173 million) represents an increase of 18 percent. The listed Port Logistics subgroup generated revenue of € 1.26 billion (previous year: € 1.22 billion) and an operating result (EBIT) of € 188 million (previous year: € 157 million, that include one-off expenses of approximately € 25 million for organisational restructuring and for the harmonisation of the existing pension schemes). In total, 7.3 million standard containers (TEU) were handled at HHLA’s container terminals in the 2018 financial year. Compared to 7.2 million TEU in the previous year, this equates to an increase of 1.9 percent. Container throughput at the three container terminals in Hamburg remained at the high level achieved in the previous year, while throughput at the international HHLA container terminals in Odessa (Ukraine) and Tallinn (Estonia) increased. Estonia’s largest terminal operator, TK Estonia, has been successfully integrated into the HHLA Group following its acquisition last year.

Global Ports Holdings (GPH) is to manage all cruise port operations in Antigua for the next 30 years after signing a concession agreement with the Government of Antigua and Barbuda. As part of the contract, GPH will be responsible for running the cruise operations at the island’s main cruise port in capital St John’s, as well as ships that anchor near Falmouth Harbour.

Chairwoman of the Executive Board of Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA), Angela Titzrath, comments on the company’s preliminary unaudited fig-ures for the 2018 financial year: “HHLA has performed very successfully over the past financial year, despite the deterioration of the market environment in the second half. The challenging targets we set for ourselves one year ago have been achieved and partially exceeded. These results confirm our strategy of strengthening the creative power and future viability of HHLA. We will continue to follow this path going forward. HHLA aims to be the gateway to the future.” According to preliminary unaudited figures, Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) increased its Group revenue by 3 percent to € 1.29 billion in the 2018 financial year (previous year: € 1.25 billion). The Group’s operating result (EBIT) of € 204 million (previous year: € 173 million) represents an increase of 18 percent. The listed Port Logistics subgroup generated revenue of € 1.26 billion (previous year: € 1.22 billion) and an operating result (EBIT) of € 188 million (previous year: € 157 million, that include one-off expenses of approximately € 25 million for organisational restructuring and for the harmoni-sation of the existing pension schemes).