News

The PORT OF KIEL invests in cargo handling, environmental technology and the traffic shift from road to rail. Dr. Thilo Rohlfs, state secretary of the ministry for economy, transport, labour, technology and tourism for the country of Schleswig-Holstein, made use of a visit to the port of Kiel to inform himself about the current port investment projects that take place in the capital city of Kiel, the port's press release said. “The port of Kiel has grown significantly over the past years. With the support of the county of Schleswig-Holstein, the port has managed to realise some very important projects such as the expansion of the Ostuferhafen”, says state secretary Rohlfs. Today, the port of Kiel handles over 7 million tons of cargo per year and over 2 million passengers pass through the port annually. Thilo Rohlfs: “My impression that the Port of Kiel is very well-positioned and that it is capable of successfully holding its ground has been confirmed. The country of Schleswig-Holstein will continue to actively support this successful trajectory of the port of Kiel in future.” As part of a tour of the harbour, PORT OF KIEL’s managing director Dr. Dirk Claus informed the state secretary of the port’s current investment plans. Alongside the project to expand the pre-storage area for trucks at Kiel’s Ostuferhafen these plans include the creation of a third switching track at Kiel’s Schwedenkai terminal as well as the creation of an onshore power supply facility at Kiel’s Norwegenkai terminal.

In January-June 2018, port Hong Kong (China) handled 277.7 million tonnes of cargo (-0.6%, year-on-year). According to the port authority, container throughput of the port grew by 4.6% to 20.5 million TEUs. In 2017, the port of Shanghai handled 560.87 million tonnes, its container throughput totaled 40.23millionTEUs.

TUI Cruises have placed an order for two LNG powered cruise ships with Fincnatieri. Ships to be built on the Monfalcone yard. http://cruisedeck.de/tui-cruises-ordern-bei-fincantieri/

MSC Cruises is to build a new cruise terminal capable of accommodating its yet-to-be-launched 7,000-guest World Class cruise ships at PortMiami in Florida. Miami-Dade County and MSC Cruises, which uses PortMiami as its exclusive US homeport, signed a memorandum of understanding for the construction of the new Cruise Terminal AAA on 11 July. The facility is expected to be completed by October 2022. It will be MSC Cruises’ second dedicated terminal at PortMiami after it opened Terminal F as a homeport for MSC Divina and the 5,170-passenger flagship MSC Seaside in December 2017. “Investing in PortMiami's infrastructure positions Miami-Dade County as a global destination for visitors,” said Carlos Gimenez, Mayor of Miami-Dade County. Source: CruiseandFerry.net

A wave of stricter port restrictions in south China has left steel producers searching for alternative ports to allow them to berth vessels carrying their imported coking coal cargoes. A south China steel producer, which typically berths its vessels at Fangcheng port, has been prevented from doing so. An east China steel producer has been trying to get clearance to berth a cargo of Australian premium mid-volatile coking coal at Wenzhou port in Zhejiang province but has now been denied entry. Both steel producers are scrambling to find an alternative. Another south China steel producer might be barred from taking any more imported coal in the following months as port import quotas have nearly been reached, sources said.

Port of Le Havre has berthed six Saudi Arabian national shipping line vessels with a ro-ro service for containers, as well as conventional and heavy-lift cargo, since the beginning of June. The new bimonthly service, which links HAROPA to the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf, provides a more direct route for various export goods such as new vehicles, construction machinery and electric power generators, as well as railway and miscellaneous construction equipment. Six ships have been deployed as part of the service. Among them, the Bahri Tabuk, which opened the new sea link to the ro-ro terminal in Le Havre. These 225m-long vessels are equipped with an access ramp with a capacity of 250 tonnes and two cranes each lifting 120 tonnes. In Le Havre, Bahri are represented by Shipping Agency Service, a subsidiary of the Naxco group. Source: Arabian Industry

The CMA CGM JEAN MERMOZ, sister vessel of the CMA CGM ANTOINE DE SAINT EXUPERY, is today (July 4, 2018) operating at TTI Algeciras. This is the continuation of a generation of mega vessels that are currently the largest calling Spanish ports and have chosen the Port of Algeciras as its only port of call in our country. The CMA CGM JEAN MERMOZ, which arrives at the Port of Algeciras from Singapore, is making its maiden voyage within the FAL1 service (French Asia Line 1), an emblematic route of CMA CGM between Asia and Northern Europe which is also part of the services offered by The Ocean Alliance.

MAERSK Line is moving two 2M alliance service calls to Liverpool for 12 weeks as continuing problems at Felixstowe provide a boost to Peel Ports’ operation in the northwest of the UK. The first vessels diverting to Liverpool will be the 2006-built, 7,943 teu ARCHIMIDIS on the TA2 service and 2004-built, 2,556 teu CAP BEATRICE on the COEX service to Liverpool on July 22 and July 20 respectively. “Unfortunately, Felixstowe terminal is suffering from slow operations caused by IT system issues,” Maersk said in a statement. “In order to protect our service integrity, we will be moving our 2M TA2 and COEX services from Felixstowe to Liverpool for a duration of 12 weeks.” Felixstowe has been suffering from congestion following the implementation of a new terminal operating system last month. As Lloyd’s List reported yesterday, Felixstowe is continuing to struggle with performance issues, particularly with loading export containers.

A £2.7 million project to renew the outer lock gates and refurbish the middle lock gates at the Port of Newport has now been completed. Work was commissioned by port owner and operator ABP South Wales and took place between February and July 2018, the ABP said in its press release. This essential replacement and refurbishment of the Newport Dock outer and middle lock gates will ensure that they can continue to protect the dock impoundment and locking operation for at least the next 60 years. Newport is home to a busy deep sea shipping programme that sees regular trade between Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, the Baltic, Africa, Australia, North and South America and the Far East .. The port supports the import and export supply chains of a number important and local and national industrial customers handling a wide range of commodities including steel, timber, aggregates, metal scrap, animal feeds and fertiliser.

Japan’s Port of Yokohama is on track to open its new cruise terminal at Shinko Pier in mid-2019 after starting construction work in June. The port has now begun work to build the 17,400-square-metre terminal building and to extend the existing cruise pier to 340 metres in length. This, combined with the 9.5-metre depth, will enable the port to welcome cruise ships weighing up to 110,000gt.

On 3 July, the Port of Gdansk Authority signed a contract with NDI SA, the contractor for the expansion of the road and rail system in the Outer Port. The project is co-funded from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) and is yet another contract involving EU subsidies signed by the Port of Gdansk within recent months. The value of the contract amounts to nearly PLN 176 million.

Samskip Iceland is changing ports in the UK on 16 July, moving from Immingham to Hull, the company said in its press release. Samskip is the Port of Hull's largest customer, where transportation to and from Iceland and Samskip's logistics network in Europe will now meet. Each year Samskip transports over 100.000 container units through the Port of Hull, making it Samskip's second largest port, following Rotterdam. “The Port of Hull offers its clients excellent service and facilities, to our customers' benefit. The relocation means shortened stay in port for our ships, which translates to better services to our customers,” says Guðmundur Þór Gunnarsson, Samskip Iceland's COO of Operations. With the ports of Hull and Immingham being relatively near each other there will be no changes relating to Samskip's reception of general cargo. Samskip's warehouse placement is also unchanged.

Tilbury welcomes the VESPER floating bulk terminal to its new base at London Container Terminal Eureka Shipping, part of SMT Shipping and the CSL Group, has based its multipurpose floating bulk terminal VESPER at The Port of Tilbury under a four year agreement with London Container Terminal and Cemineral, the company said in its press release. The 125m long VESPER (see images) has a storage capacity of 10,000-tonnes across its four holds. The floating terminal is equipped to receive bulk powder from both self-discharging pneumatic cement carriers and from bulk vessels in a dust-free manner, store the material and then load directly to powder tanker trucks for delivery to customers. During the early part of 2018 the VESPER has undergone a complete upgrade at the NAUTA shipyard in Gdynia, Poland. The vessel’s cargo handling system is only 10 years old, however all its equipment and machinery has undergone a complete overhaul since the barge was purchased. Various modifications and installations have also been carried out.

During 2018-2021, “Production and Commercial Company “Bratya” (Rostov-on-Don), the part of the US corporation Cargill, plans to invest RUB 600-660 million in reconstruction of grain terminal, reports UkrAgroConsult. The upgrade will help to increase the capacity of the existing terminal by 50% to 1 MMT per year. It is planned to extend the quay wall from existing 142 to 314 linear meters and build a 20 KMT silo. This year, it is planned to prepare a feasibility study for the project and undergo an examination. The beginning of the construction work is scheduled for 2019. Ukraine. Grain terminal of M.V. Cargo 80% complete The grain terminal, constructed by M.V.Cargo in Yuzhny port, is 80% ready. The company reported that in spring it implemented the first phase, which included the construction of railcars unloading station, trucks unloading station, a warehouse for 80 KMT of grain and supporting infrastructure. Currently, the second line of silos and the berth #25 are being built. Two lines of vertical storage silos will be able to receive grain already in October 2018.

As of mid-September, CLdN will further expand its offering to the Iberian peninsula with a twice weekly Zeebrugge-Santander ro-ro service.

YILPORT Holding recently submitted its offer for Taranto Container Terminal concession in Italy. Ionian Sea Port Authority (AdSP), the managing institution of Port of Taranto has officially received the request of YILPORT Holding to operate the entire set of multi purpose port facilities in the Port of Taranto. These terminals in Southern Italy handle container traffic, bulk cargo and serve ro-ro traffic. Well located as a relay hub for the Mediterranean Sea, the terminals are integrated to intermodal networks, connecting Southern Italy to Northern Italy and finally to the center of Europe.

P&O Cruises’ new LNG-powered cruise ship Iona is to feature the line’s first-ever three-deck-high glass Grand Atrium, its first British gastropub venue, a ‘foodie’ market and a top deck glass SkyDome entertainment venue when she launches in May 2020. Currently under construction at Meyer Werft’s shipyard in Germany, Iona will be designed to meet the tastes of British guests and will offer multiple innovations and new venues. One highlight will be the glazed Grand Atrium created by architecture and interior design practice Jestico + Whiles, the creators of London’s W Hotel, Aqua Shard restaurant in The Shard, and The Yas Hotel in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Source: CruiseandFerry.net

Navis, a part of Cargotec Corporation and provider of operational technologies and services that unlock greater performance and efficiency for the world’s leading organizations across the shipping supply chain, announced that ICTSI – Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) has upgraded to N4 3.4. Transitioning to the newer version of the TOS is part of ICTSI’s plan to continuously invest in state-of-the-art infrastructure and equipment and strengthen its foothold as one of the most technologically advanced terminals serving the intra-Asia trade. MICT, located in the Philippines, is the busiest, largest and most modern container terminal in Manila, with an annual throughput of 2.28 million TEU. Under ICTSI’s management, MICT has more than tripled its annual capacity and throughput, expanded its cargo handling fleet and converted a manual control system to an integrated, real-time IT terminal control system. As a result of hitting the two million TEU mark last year, a company milestone, ICTSI announced an $80 million improvement project to further expand and modernize MICT. Part of the modernization project included implementing a TOS to meet the terminal’s needs as it continues to grow and service larger vessels carrying rising cargo volumes. N4 and its proven track record create a competitive advantage for MICT, enabling better and more efficient gate, yard, and vessel operations.

Some major Chinese ports delayed clearing goods from the United States on Friday, four sources said, potentially disrupting imports worth billions of dollars as the world’s top two economies head towards an outright trade war. News of the hold-ups came as Washington imposed tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese imports from 0401 GMT on Friday. Beijing had said it would retaliate with punitive measures on U.S. products worth a similar amount, including soybeans, pork and cotton, but it had not officially confirmed on Friday that they had taken effect. The port of Shanghai had put on hold clearing some U.S. imports through customs, said an official at a company in the coastal city, which handles customs clearance for importers. He had spoken to customs officials. There did not appear to be any direct guidance to hold up cargoes, but some customs departments were waiting until they had received official instructions from the central government on whether to start collecting the hefty new import tariffs on hundreds of products, the sources said.

MSC has announced the opening of a new freight rail service between Bordeaux and major ports and France. The Bordeaux Rail Shuttle will start on 9 July 2018, facilitating connections for goods being moved between Bordeaux and Le Havre in the north of France and Fos-sur-Mer in the south of the country. The service will operate daily, offering cargo shippers improved transit times and access to international markets.