News

The Grimaldi Group has raised concerns about security and safety in Greece’s Ionian Sea port of Patras, after a young Afghan was killed during an affray among immigrants trying to find a passage to Italy.

Mitsui O.S.K Lines (MOL) announced the opening of the new Haiphong International Container Terminal (HICT) at Lach Huyen Port in Vietnam on May 13, 2018. HICT spans a total area of 45 hectares, and is the first terminal in northern Vietnam with a berth deep enough to allow calls by 14,000 TEU container ships. Featuring two berths around 750m, the terminal is expected to handing approximately 1.1 million TEU annually. The new terminal will meet demands for shorter transit times and lower transport costs in the region, while helping accelerate the economic growth in Northern Vietnam. Additionally, MOL participates in the tugboat business at Lach Huyen Port and will be able to meet expanding demand for HICT by supporting the large containerships that will call more frequently.https://www.porttechnology.org/news/mol_opens_haiphong_international_container_terminal_in_vietnam

(Bloomberg) — A federal judge struck down a local ban prohibiting companies from transporting coal though an Oakland, California, export terminal that U.S. miners see as a key link to overseas markets. The ban enacted by the city in 2014 violates a development agreement, U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria said Tuesday in a 37-page ruling. As demand for coal in the U.S. declines, miners depend increasingly on overseas markets. Yet Wyoming and Montana’s Powder River Basin, home to the nation’s largest reserves, is largely cut off from the world market without West Coast ports.

Three Turkish cruise ports operated by Global Ports Holding welcomed 26% more passengers in the first quarter of 2018, compared to the same period in 2017, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute. Highlights of Antalya Cruise Port’s 2018 season to date have included a call from Noble Caledonia’s Serenissima on 26 March and a visit from TUI Cruises’ Mein Schiff 1 on 30 March. On Turkey’s west coast, Ege Port – Kuşadası has already welcomed Serenissimia and Celestyal Cruises’ Celestyal Majesty and will host an inaugural call from Azamara Cruises’ Azamara Journey on 15 May. In addition, the port will handle return visits from both Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises later in the year. Meanwhile, Bodrum Cruise Port is set to receive several maiden calls in 2018, including Thomson Cruises` TUI Discovery 2 on 22 May and TUI Cruises’ Mein Schiff 4 and Ponant’s La Perouse in October.

VIKING JUPITER floated out at Fincantieri yard, Ancona...http://cruisedeck.de/viking-jupiter-ausgedockt/

Construction of the Matsonia began with a ceremonial first cut of steel at NASSCO’s San Diego shipyard, where the first ship in the two-ship series, Lurline, is 15 percent complete, the company said in a statement. Both ships will transport containers, automobiles and rolling stock between the U.S. West Coast and Hawaii. The ship’s design incorporates liquefied natural gas-capable main and auxiliary engines, which are compliant with Tier III emission requirements. The new vessels will also be able accommodate the future installation of a LNG fuel gas system on the 870-foot-long, 3,500 TEU platform combination container and roll-on/roll-off ships that allow rolling vehicles to be loaded using ramps instead of cranes.

LINDØ port of ODENSE A/S and a consortium of Jan de Nul from Belgium and Züblin A/S from Denmark have signed contract for a port extension at Lindø, Denmark, involving a 400,000 square meter industrial area and one kilometer new quay. The facilities will provide the much-needed space to extend port activities within bulk goods and maritime and offshore industries. https://www.maritime-executive.com/corporate/port-of-odense-to-be-expanded#gs.bQ3l55M

Aboard the Costa Mediterranea, the CEO of the Costa Group - the leading cruise line company in Europe - and the CEO of the Port of Marseille Fos (Marseille Fos Port Authority) today signed an agreement aimed at increasing their cooperation in three areas: • enhanced control of exhaust emissions through concerted action, notably in terms of deploying advanced exhaust gas cleaning systems (EGCS) and LNG propulsion in which the Costa Group is investing heavily • creation of a dedicated warehouse for the strategic equipment and spare parts needed for repair and refit operations in the Chantier Naval de Marseille (CNM) shipyard. This multiuser warehouse will be made available to all CNM customers, in particular the Costa Group and the Carnival fleet. In conjunction with the relevant government departments, the Marseille Fos Port Authority will provide support to CNM as regards introducing the most efficient processes and equipment • development of a training project for naval officers and engineers wishing to join the Costa Group's fleet, setting up a specific professional marine training course in Marseille.

On 15 May 2018, the readers of Asia Cargo News trade magazine acclaimed the Port of Hamburg as the ‘Best Global Seaport’. After two awards as ‘Best Seaport – Europe’ in 2015 and 2016 this is the third award to the Port of Hamburg. The ceremony was held at a commemorative event at the Wanda Reign Hotel, On the Bund, in Shanghai, in the presence of 230 international guests mainly from the transport and logistics field. The Port of Hamburg was represented by Dr Ding Ling from the Representative Office in Shanghai, who accepted the award on the port’s behalf. On the short-list, the Port of Hamburg held sway against the ports of Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore. The magazine’s readers submitted their nominations to Asia Cargo News. Important for them were reliability, customer management, innovation and consistent service quality. Among the criteria assessed were investments in the area of infrastructure, including meeting future market challenges. Added to this were a competitive, cost-friendly system of fees and a suitable infrastructure for handling container traffic. Further criteria targeted the overall port package, such as promoting adjacent services in the areas of logistics capacities, forwarding and transport. With more than 10,000 readers, Asia Cargo News is among the most important publications for the logistics, sea- & airfreight field in Asia.

Fincantieri has floated out Viking Cruises’ sixth ocean ship, Viking Jupiter, at its yard in Ancona, Italy. The float out was marked with a traditional coin ceremony, where Viking Jupiter’s godmother and Norwegian singer Sissel Kyrkjebø helped to weld a silver dollar to the top deck. The ceremony was also attended by Torstein Hagen, chairman of Viking, and Giovanni Stecconi, director of Fincantieri’s Ancona shipyard. Fincantieri will now start outfitting Viking Jupiter’s interiors and then commission her onboard equipment and systems, ahead of her sea trials and delivery in 2019.

Carnival Corporation and Dubai-based holding company Meraas have signed an agreement to develop the Dubai Cruise Terminal and transform the emirate into a maritime tourism hub for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Arabian Gulf region. The agreement was signed on 14 May by Carnival Corporation president and CEO Arnold Donald and group chairman of Meraas His Excellency Abdulla Al Habbai. It was approved by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Crown Prince of Dubai HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum also attended the event. “We welcome visitors from across the world and provide them with an exceptional tourism experiences,” said HH Sheikh Mohammed.

ALF POLLAK, the first of two identical 4,076-lanemetre freight ro-ros under construction for the Siem Group and to be long-term bareboat chartered to Onorato Armatori’s Tirrenia brand, was launched from Flensburger Shipyard’s covered newbuilding hall earlier on 3 May.

or decades, agricultural-related products like gypsum from Mexico have been the Port of Stockton’s primary cargo. And last year the port set a new all-time shipping record. “We had our best year ever with about $56 million in revenue,” said Pete Grossgart from the Port of Stockton. In 2017, more than six million tons of cargo came through the port. That’s 300,000 tons more than the year before and nearly double the amount in 2010. Now the port is trying to diversify the kinds of cargo coming through. “Particularly biofuels and renewable energy,” Grossgart said. The Port of Stockton is also working to attract a wood-pellet manufacturing plant that could ship the fuel to Japan.

In January, China released its first Arctic Policy. In the U.S., fearful headlines greeted the document, from The Wall Street Journal’s suspicion of whether a “new Cold War” was on the way to Foreign Policy’s proclamation that “China’s ready to cash in on a melting Arctic.” But beyond the headlines, what’s actually going on on the ground in China? What are the actual places driving China’s northern push, and what’s going on there? To find out, earlier this week, I traveled to Qingdao, a city of nine million people located southeast of Beijing on the Yellow Sea. I was hosted by Peiqing Guo, an expert in Arctic international law and Chinese interests in the Arctic and professor at the Ocean University of China (OUC), one of the country’s leading institutes on the region. The university is especially strong in Arctic social sciences, which is unusual in a country that places more emphasis on the natural and physical sciences at the poles. About thirty students and faculty focus on the Arctic, and I met with several of them. Overwhelmingly, they sought peaceful relations with the United States and were worried about the negative, fearful reactions that China’s Arctic Policy had generated. Further reading at https://www.maritime-executive.com/editorials/qingdao-china-s-iron-gateway-to-the-arctic#gs.v0LC_z0

NSW Ports has announced that it is the first Australian port organization to introduce an environmental incentive to apply to vessel-related charges at its facilities. Levied by NSW Ports at Port Botany and Port Kembla, the initiative will reward higher standards of environmental performance. NSW Ports will develop the details of the program, with an aim to implement it by January 1, 2019, by consulting the relevant shipping lines. The incentive is consistent with international approaches at 53 ports globally, including the Port of Rotterdam, Netherlands; the Port of Los Angeles, USA; and the Port of New York and New Jersey, USA. NSW Ports’ incentives apply to vessels registered with the Environmental Ship Index (ESI). The ESI is a scoring system that gives a numerical representation of the environmental performance of seagoing ships regarding air pollutants.

The port of Dover has selected Konecranes to supply two Gottwald Model 5 Mobile Habour Cranes to equip the newest cargo facilities as part of the Dover Wester Docks Revival project

Carnival Corporation has secured preferential berthing rights at the Port of Brisbane’s new AUS$158 million international cruise terminal after the companies’ agreement was approved by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). According to the agreement, Carnival will pay a fixed annual amount to the Port of Brisbane for 15 years in return for preferential berthing rights at the new terminal. This gives the cruise corporation first choice of 100 days at the terminal each year, up to a maximum of four days a week.

Silversea Cruise, Monaco based luxury cruise company, has placed a new order with Fincantieri for a further Muse class cruise ship. http://cruisedeck.de/silversea-ordern-weiteres-schiff-der-muse-klasse-bei-fincantieri/

DFDS has signed a long-term sub-concession agreement and partnership with the Port of Ghent’s Mercatordock concessionaire, the Belgian group Sea-Invest – a privately-owned company and one of the largest stevedores in Belgium and Africa.

COSCO Shipping is considering selling OOCL’s terminal in Long Beach in order to clear the ocean liner deal, The Wall Street Journal reported. The sale would be a divestment to appease the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment, which has expressed concerns over a Chinese state-owned enterprise taking control of one of the country’s most important container terminals. Neither COSCO nor U.S. regulators have confirmed the action, but shipping line executives have said they expect to complete the OOCL takeover by June, and U.S. concerns are posing a challenge. China is spending up to $8 trillion to create a modern silk road — deemed “One Belt, One Road” — that will revolutionize trade in at least 65 countries. The U.S., it seems, is finally catching on and doing what it can to stop China from exerting too much power in the country.