Us East Coast Port News

Singapore has held onto its status as the world's top maritime hub for the ninth consecutive year, according to a recent index report.The Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Centre Development Index Report, jointly published annually by Chinese state news agency, Xinhua, and global maritime data provider, the Baltic Exchange, has ranked Singapore as the global leading maritime center every year since the report's inception.The city state scored 94.88 out of a possible 100 points, while second on the list was maritime professional services stronghold, London, with 83.04 points.

Eagle LNG marked a series of firsts when it fueled the 7,500-car carrier SIEM Aristotle from its Talleyrand LNG Bunker Station at the Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT) in Jacksonville, Fla. It was the first time SIEM has refueled the vessel from a landside bunkering facility and the first ship that Eagle LNG refueled of that size from the bunkering facility.SIEM Aristotle is the first deep-sea pure car, truck carrier (PCTC) equipped with dual-fuel engines, designed to operate on LNG and marine gas oil (MGO).

China is paying a high price for its unofficial ban on coal imports from Australia, with the cost of domestic and alternative foreign supplies rising for both thermal and coking grades of the fuel.China, the world’s biggest importer, producer and consumer of coal, has effectively ended imports from Australia, the biggest shipper of coking coal used to make steel and number two in thermal coal used to produce electricity, as part of an ongoing political dispute between the two nations.The restrictions on imports from Australia came into effect in the second half of last year…

As the Panama Canal’s newly operational expanded lane helps set monthly tonnage records, the project’s impacts are being felt along the U.S. East Coast. Effects of the canal’s expansion are reverberating well-beyond Panama’s shores, as ports around the world are in varying stages of work to deepen and widen their channels to accommodate the growing number of Neopanamax vessels that can now transit the canal. Now nearly one year on from the first vessel transit through the expanded waterway, many ports are benefitting, particularly those along the U.S. East Coast.

The first of a new class of “Neo-Panamax” shipping vessels called the Port of Philadelphia to begin a new phase of transport along the Delaware River. The MSC Sofia Celeste, an 8,800 TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) vessel operated by the Mediterranean Shipping Company, docked at the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal in South Philadelphia for the first time, making it the largest ship to ever call the Port of Philadelphia. “This new service comes as a direct result of the opening of the Panama Canal Expansion,” said David Whene, President of Greenwich Terminals LLC, operator of the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal. The MSC Sofia Celeste was completed in 2014 and has an on-board capacity of 8…

Possible ports shutdown at the end of September to be addressed at upcoming Inland Port Logistics Conference informs UBM Global Trade. Current longshore labor negotiations are a hot issue being closely followed by the shipping industry in the U.S. and globally. The Journal of Commerce announce that it will add a session to the agenda of its Inland Port Logistics Conference, Sept 5-6, in Oak Brook, IL, covering this volatile and unpredictable negotiation that impacts everyone from railroads to third-party logistics providers to beneficial cargo owners. Responding to the recent breakdown in talks between the International Longshoremen's Association and United States Maritime Alliance…

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett announces signature of third Delaware River dredging contract. Governor Tom Corbett was joined by the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority and other dignitaries to announce signature of the third Delaware River dredging contract needed to continue deepening the channel from just south of the Philadelphia International Airport to the Walt Whitman Bridge. "This continuation will allow the Port of Philadelphia to compete with deep-water ports up and down the East Coast," said Corbett. The third contract was awarded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for $14.55 million and was signed on July 31. Approximately $1 million of commonwealth funds along with $13.55 million of federal funds were used to make this award.

Stalled contract negotiations between the International Longshoremen's Association and United States Maritime Alliance are scheduled to resume this week, but many shippers are preparing for the worst this fall, according to an online poll by 'The Journal of Commerce'. More than 75 percent of respondents consider labor disruption at East and Gulf Coast ports likely, and 68.1 percent have contingency plans in place to divert cargo. The ILA has not had a coastwide strike since 1977, but many shippers became concerned after a heated panel discussion between ILA President Harold Daggett and USMX president James Capo at The Journal of Commerce's TPM conference in March. Apprehension has increased over the last few months as both sides released statements about ongoing negotiation difficulties.

CMA CGM improves the US East Coast port coverage of its CAGEMA service. The CMA CGM Group is pleased to announce the reshuffling of its CAGEMA Main Liner service, linking the United States East Coast and the Caribbean, effective 9th September 2011. *The addition of two direct calls to New York and Jacksonville, enhancing port coverage of the US East Coast. Goods to and from Castries will be carried on the CAGEMA Inter Island feeder service, via Vieux Fort. El Guamache’s port will be served by the Caribraz service (linking the Caribbean to Brazil), while goods to Oranjestad will be transported on the Venezuela Feeder, via Cartagena. “In addition to wider coverage of the US East Coast…

Georgia Ports Authority’s (GPA) Executive Director Curtis J. Foltz announced that a new set of electrified refrigerated container racks were completed and came online in Container Berth Five (CB-5) last week. With the ten new racks, Garden City Terminal now has a total of 44 racks, which accommodate 1,056 containers. “The completion of these refrigerated container racks reduces diesel consumption and increases our capacity for cold-storage exports,” said Foltz. As the leading U.S. East Coast port for refrigerated containerized export cargo, the GPA has more than doubled its refrigerated cargo volume in last six years with an increase of 120 percent. In the past two years alone, volume has increased 19.8 percent.

Gulf Africa Line (GAL) will begin U.S. East Coast port calls in Jacksonville, effective with Blue Master voyage 0504 (northbound) and 1204 (southbound). "In our ongoing effort to create greater value for customers, we have identified significant opportunities in Jacksonville for a large portion of the range of cargoes we regularly carry," said David Groves, GAL Owner's Representative, located in Houston, TX. In order to maintain schedule integrity, the Port of Savannah will no longer be served as of the same Blue Master voyages. Vessels will call Talleyrand Terminal in Jacksonville, offering additional benefits to the service, including modern dry…