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The Port of Tacoma has announced: “With air quality returning to healthy levels, service at all terminals in Tacoma are expected to be up and running by 1 p.m.” Excerpts from a KING 5 article titled ‘Stay indoors: Air quality warning issued as Tacoma scrap fire burns’: An overnight fire at Simon Metals scrap yard in Tacoma weakened the surround air quality Monday morning, forcing the Port of Tacoma to put operations on hold. The fire began around 2 a.m. and by 10 a.m. air quality around downtown Tacoma fluctuated between moderate and unhealthy for sensitive groups.

Bunker operations at the port of Hong Kong was suspended Monday due to Typhoon Mangkhut, which made landfall on Sunday. While the Hong Kong Observatory has lowered the typhoon warning from strong winds signal T3 to standby signal T1 at 2:40 pm local time (0640 GMT), the wind was still strong, accompanied by high swells, market sources said. “We can deliver in-port location but terminal loadings are still suspended, and pilotage has not resumed,” a supplier said Monday. Terminal and barge congestion is expected when operations resume. “Loadings at the terminal will be jammed from Tuesday, barges are currently empty,” another supplier said, adding that operations were expected to resume on Tuesday. At 3 pm local time, Mangkhut was estimated to be about 720 km west-northwest of Hong Kong and was moving at about 20 kph, according to the observatory. It was expected to move across southern China and weaken gradually, it added. At the Asian close Friday, 380 CST bunker fuel for delivery at Hong Kong was assessed at $464/mt, down $3/mt from Thursday. Source: Platts

London, Sep 18 -- A press release, dated Sep 17, states: Investigations are ongoing to find the the cause of fire at the Lurssen Shipyard in Bremen, Germany. However, as of Sep 17, the cause of the incident as well as the extent of damage caused to the shipyard is still unknown.

The Coast Guard Captain of the Port of Hampton Roads has reopened the ports in Virginia, which saw limited impacts after Hurricane Florence made landfall as a category 1 storm on Friday morning. “Coast Guard Sector Hampton Roads is coordinating very closely with our port partners to ensure a quick and safe recovery from Hurricane Florence,” said Capt. Kevin Carroll, the commander of Sector Hampton Roads. “Our number one priority is saving lives and preventing life-endangering activities on our waterways. After that, restoring the free-flow of vessel traffic is a top priority, and we realize that our port and personnel could be critical in assisting areas that were more heavily impacted by the storm.”

Venezuela’s PDVSA expects to reopen its main port’s South dock by the end of September, easing strains on crude exports delayed due to a tanker collision last month, according to internal trade documents from the state-run oil firm seen by Reuters. The South American country’s crude exports have remained slow in recent weeks as few customers have accepted the 500,000-barrels-per-cargo maximum neighboring terminals can handle.Source: Reuters

AIDA Cruises, the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the City of Rostock and Rostock Port have agreed to jointly promote environmentally friendly and sustainable cruise shipping in Rostock, Germany. The ‘declaration of intent’ was signed on 11 September 2018 by Manuela Schwesig, Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania; Felix Eichhorn, president of AIDA; Roland Methling, Lord Mayor of Rostock; and Jens Aurel Scharner, the port's managing director. According to the agreement, the partners will work together to build a shore power plant for cruise ships at the port of Rostock, which is likely to be operational by 2020. Similar agreements have already been signed in the German cities of Hamburg and Kiel. Source: cruiseandferry.net

The cruise ship Aurora, part of the fleet of the English shipping company P&O Cruises, arrived early Tuesday morning for her first visit to the Kiel Fiord. The ship’s maiden call also marked the 150th visit to Kiel this year by a cruise ship. Nicole Claus, Cruise Shipping Director of the PORT OF KIEL said: “Actually it’s the very first time ever that we have registered 150 visits in a single season. The arrival of the Aurora is a milestone which underscores the development of Kiel into one of the leading cruise shipping ports in northern Europe.” The port expects a total of 165 visits by cruise ships up to the end of this year’s season in October and has already passed its previous record of 147 visits recorded in 2016.

The heaviest single piece of equipment ever to move on Washington highways came through the Port of Longview recently and will require a trailer as long as a football field to move it to its destination in Central Washington. Portland-area heavy equipment mover Omega Morgan is partnering with the Washington State Patrol and Klickitat County Sheriff’s Office to move a windmill transformer that weighs nearly 1 million pounds from the town of Roosevelt to a wind farm in Goldendale. The transformer, weighing in at nearly 1 million pounds, was originally shipped on the cargo vessel Heino from South Korea into the Port of Longview, where it was loaded on a train and shipped to the Columbia River Gorge. The transformer is extremely heavy but not that long. To spread the weight out so it does’t damage roads or bridges, it is suspended from a trailer measuring 360 feet long and 21 feet high.

Time is fast running out on the Kolkata port, which has been grappling with disruptions ever since a bridge connecting the southwest of the city collapsed on 4 September. Because of restrictions imposed on movement of goods vehicles, cargo despatches have declined, and unless the police start to ease the flow of traffic, the port is staring at a container pile up, say key officials. In the immediate aftermath of the bridge collapse, container movement from the port fell sharply to around 900 a day compared with an average of around 1,700-2,000. Restrictions were imposed and goods vehicles were allowed to ply for only seven hours a day compared with 16 before the accident took place. Also, they were initially allowed to ply only at night, between 11pm and 6am. Restrictions have since been eased and goods vehicles are being allowed to ply for up to 10 hours at night and three hours during daytime, said a key official at the Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT), who asked not to be named. As a result, despatches are now down by only around 15%, or about 300 containers a day, but “this arrangement cannot be dragged out”, he said. The port and other related authorities, such as customs, are not geared to work 10 hours every night, he added. Source: Livemint

Tug services will be required in Timor Leste once a major new port is built in the nation in the next three years. Bolloré Ports has started construction of a greenfield deepwater port for dry cargo and containers in Timor Leste as part of a total investment of US$490M. This will open a new shipping gateway to the country and change trade dynamics in the region. It will take three years to build the Tibar port, during which time there will be requirements for marine services, towage and vessel assistance. Bolloré Ports expects the port to be opened in 2021, when it will require tug services for handling container ships of up to 7,500 TEU. Investment in the new port will involve construction of a 630 m wharf with a 15 m draught, dredging of access channels and creation of 27 hectares of yard space. Equipment will be installed at the port for cargo handling including two ship-to-shore cranes and five rubber-tired gantry cranes.

On Sep 14, 2018, at 2.37 a.m. a fire broke out aboard the 146-m-yacht "Sassi" in the building dock of the Lürssen-Yard in Bremen-Vegesack and spread over three decks of the ship and the building dock the roof of which was alight on a length of 130 meters. As the dock was complicated to access, the fire brigades had problems with the work to get the blaze under control. The more than 100 men and 35 units worked with ladders and a fire boat. The danger arose that the roof could get instable and collapse. The authoroties advised residents of the Fähr-Lobbendorf to keep their doors and windows closed due to the dense smoke. At 9 a.m. the volunteer forces from Bookholzberg, Lemwerder and Berne were transferred to the yard aboard a ferry to assist in fire fighting which was expected to last the weekend. The yacht had been due for delivery in 2020. German reports with photos and video: https://www.kreiszeitung.de/lokales/bremen/bremen-werft-baudock-brennt-luerssen-10239832.html https://www.kreiszeitung.de/lokales/bremen/fotos-feuer-luerssen-werft-bremen-10239889.html https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/niedersachsen/oldenburg_ostfriesland/Bremen-Baudock-auf-Luerssen-Werft-in-Flammen,luerssen110.html https://www.butenunbinnen.de/nachrichten/gesellschaft/feuer-luerssen-werft-bremen-vegesack-100.html https://www.hna.de/welt/grossbrand-in-bremer-luerssen-werft-mehr-als-100-feuerwehrleute-kaempfen-gegen-flammen-zr-10239878.html

China Communications Construction Co has won a $398 million contract to build a new oil terminal at Kenya’s main port of Mombasa, the acting head of the Kenya Ports Authority said on Thursday. Daniel Manduku said the new terminal, whose construction will take 18 months, will raise the port’s oil handling capacity to 100,000 dead weight tonnes from the current facility’s 20,000-tonne capacity. Source: Reuters

Denmark-headquartered shipping company DFDS is offering a new connection between Sweden and Turkey following its recent acquisition of Turkish company UN Ro-Ro. Through the Sweden – Turkey intermodal connection now in effect, the carrier offers connections from Gothenburg in Sweden to Trieste in Italy, Patras in Greece and Pendik, Ambarli and Mersin in Turkey. By connecting the existing DFDS network in northern Europe with the new routes in southern Europe and the Mediterranean Sea, DFDS is capable of offering transportation of cargo from North to South and back. All routes and terminals in this connection are in DFDS ownership and control. Source: MLP

Keel laying Ceremony for Genting's first Global Class ship to be built by MV Werften took place at Warnemünde on 11th September 2018 http://cruisedeck.de/kiellegung-fuer-global-class-schiff/

Kinder Morgan Inc reopened fuel terminals in South Carolina on Sunday after Tropical Storm Florence passed through the area, a spokeswoman said in a statement. “Kinder Morgan’s recovery and start up efforts have begun,” said spokeswoman Katherine Hill. The company is working with authorities to re-enter its facilities in Wilmington, North Carolina, on Monday. Additionally, construction activities at the Elba Island liquefied natural gas terminal are expected to resume on Monday, she said. Source: Reuters

Ferry KM FUNGKA PERMATA V on Sep 14 caught fire, burned out and sank in position 02 00S 123 22E south of Banggai island, east of Central Sulawesi, Banda sea, while en route from Baubau, southeast Sulawesi, to North Maluku island. 126 people including 11 crew were rescued, at least 10 died, 8 still missing. There’s a confusion as to total number of people on board – it is said, that there were 146 passengers and 12 crew, but only 91 passengers are listed in manifest.

UK – Teesport has become the first port facility to actively address the problem of plastics polluting the country's waterways, with operator PD Ports signing up to the Operation Clean Sweep® (OCS) initiative. The project, which has already seen freight group XPO Logistics come on board, is run in the UK by the British Plastics Federation (BPF), and aims to ensure that the plastic pellets, flakes and powders that pass through manufacturing facilities in the UK are handled with the care they deserve and do not end up in rivers or the ocean.

Germany’s Uniper on Tuesday said it favours a for liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at the Wilhelmshaven deep sea port on the North Sea coast, less than a week after peer RWE said it secured access to capacity should a rival project at Brunsbuettel go ahead. “Wilhelmshaven in particular can be a suitable location, there are many arguments in favour of it,” spokesman Leif Erichsen said in a written statement.He cited the port’s ability to offer infrastructure for LNG vessels of all sizes and its proximity to the German long-distance gas pipeline grids and underground storage caverns in the northern state of Lower Saxony where most gas is produced. “The integration into the gas industry system would be very cost-efficient,” Erichsen said. Source: Reuters

The Japanese group MOL Chemical Tankers is coming to the port of Antwerp. Together with the port group SEA-Invest it is to invest some 300 to 400 million euros in construction of a tank storage terminal for liquid chemicals. This is yet more confirmation of the port’s power of attraction for big investors.

Scottish Government identifies Dales Voe in Lerwick in Shetland as “preferred site” for an "ultra deep water" decommissioning port after UK-wide feasibility study. Scotland’s supply chain could be set to win more large scale decommissioning projects, after Dales Voe in Shetland has been identified as the optimal location for an ultra-deep water port. The Lerwick location was selected following a UK-wide feasibility study, conducted by Ernst and Young, has as the optimal and most cost effective location for decommissioning work. The announcement has been made as key figures from oil and gas operators, service companies and other key stakeholders gather on Shetland for an Oil & Gas Authority roundtable event to understand the challenges and opportunities ahead.