Panama City (Port)
Latest news
Coast Guard Closes Ports as Hurricane Nears Florida
Tropical Storm Hermine, which has already disrupted activity at a dozen oil and gas facilities in the Gulf of Mexico, has been upgraded to a category 1 hurricane as it approaches Florida. It is set to be the first hurricane to make landfall in the state in 11 years. In a statement Thursday afternoon the National Hurricane Center said that a hurricane warning was now in effect from Suwannee River, Florida to Mexico Beach, with "life-threatening surge" of up to eight feet and flooding rains expected for the northeast Gulf Coast. Hurricane Hermine was 75 nm off the coast making about 12 knots on a northeasterly heading as of 1700 hours local time Thursday. It is expected to make landfall late Thursday night. In Panama City, Florida, to the west of the storm's predicted path, the captain of the port has banned all incoming and outgoing vessel traffic and has ordered the removal of Coast Guard patrol boats from the water or their transfer into safe harbor. Local air units will be grounded until after the storm; the USCG reminded mariners that the SAR response "becomes increasingly degraded as Hermine approaches," and said that operations would resume when safe after the storm had passed. Coast Guard units have been relocated to Florida from Mobile, Alabama in order to augment the response force after the storm has passed. More at http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/coast-guard-closes-ports-as-hurricane-nears-florida
Equipment fire at Port of Panama City causes huge plume of smoke and damage
PANAMA CITY, Fla. A fire breaks out at the Port of Panama City Monday afternoon. The blaze led to huge pummels of smoke that could be seen for miles. The Panama City Fire Department responded within minutes putting out the fire within 30 minutes after their arrival. Wayne Stubbs, Executive Director, says there was a fire on the ship loading equipment used by the Stevedoring Company to load wood pellets. No one was injured. The ship loader was damaged significantly. http://www.mypanhandle.com/news/equipment-fire-at-port-of-panama-city-causes-huge-plume-of-smoke-and-damage
Port Panama City breaks tonnage record; service to Veracruz added
Port Panama City handled a record 2.03 million tons of cargo during the 2015 fiscal year, trumping its previous high set before the Great Recession. “We did, for the first time in the history of this port, exceed 2 million tons of cargo,” Port Director Wayne Stubbs reported during a board meeting Thursday. “It’s been a goal, a milestone.” The record haul, which exceeded 1.8 million tons set back in 2006, was driven by increases in almost all of the port’s imports and exports year over year, with the exception of container cargo, which declined by about 20 percent. However, port officials are optimistic container cargo will see a strong boost this fall as Panama City shipping company Linea Peninsular announced a new weekly service to Veracruz, Mexico, beginning Nov. 1. The service will complement Linea’s existing service between Panama City and Progreso, Mexico, and accommodate various types of container cargo, also opening up access to larger cities in Mexico. “Veracruz serves the Mexico City market, which is 20 million people as well as an industrial and an agricultural area,” Stubbs said. One of the largest tonnage increases in 2015 came from steel plate imports, which surged from about 84,000 tons last year to 348,000 tons in 2015, a reflection of record-breaking orders for one of the port’s major tenants, Berg Steel Pipe Corp. Berg received its largest order in company history last year and is now close to completing the project, which called for the production of 600 miles, or 480,000 net tons, of large-diameter pipe. To complete the project, along with other major orders secured last year, Berg hired about 140 new employees and increased operations in Panama City from one shift to two. The company imports steel plates to its plant primarily by ship from shareholders in Germany and ships its finished product to customers via the Bay Line Railroad. Berg sales director Jonathan Kirkland attributed the company’s recent success to continued support from the port, the company’s local vendors and its dedicated employees. “The activity at both Berg and the port will remain strong as we are booked well into 2016 on a two-shift operation,” Kirkland said. “We have a positive outlook on the large-diameter pipe market and continue to see interest in natural gas pipeline projects as far out as 2017 and 2018.” Berg is one of three major tenants at the port, along with Oceaneering, which manufactures steel umbilicals used in oil and gas drilling, and Enviva, formerly Green Circle, which exports wood pellets produced at its plant near Cottondale. The port’s bulk cargo exports of wood pellets also increased last year, rising from 720,000 tons to 783,000 tons. Additionally, Port Panama City saw a revival in copper shipments this year, one of its largest imports, after a slow year in 2014. Copper imports grew from 252,000 tons last year to 348,000 tons in 2015, rebounding to trump 2013 copper imports, which came in at 335,000 tons. Source: Panama City News Herald
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