Outer Harbor News

Officials dedicated two new Port of Long Beach fireboat stations that are enhancing the Long Beach Fire Department’s waterside and landside emergency response capabilities, better safeguarding visiting ships, cargo and waterfront workers.The facilities – Fireboat Station 15 and Fireboat Station 20 – are the products of a $109 million Port of Long Beach program to preserve business continuity, security and economic interests. With an anticipated lifespan of 50 years, both stations…

U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced more than $703 million to fund 41 projects in 22 states and one territory that designed to help improve port facilities through the Maritime Administration’s Port Infrastructure Development Program. Following is the full list of FY 2022 Port Infrastructure Development Grant Awards:ALASKANorth Extension Stabilization Step 1 Project ($68,700,000), Anchorage, AlaskaThe Project will reconfigure and realign the shoreline within the “North Extension” (the area north of the existing general cargo terminals) at the Port of Alaska in Anchorage, Alaska.

Europe's race to replace Russian gas supply has threatened Australia's plans for five gas import terminals as they compete for key infrastructure, raising the risk of a supply shortfall in Australia's populous southeast in the next two years.France, Germany, and the Netherlands among others will need to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) to replace pipelined gas from Russia, which has been hit by sanctions during the Ukraine conflict.European users are grabbing floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) needed to convert LNG to gas…

Michigan-based Ryba Marine Construction Company has secured a $991,500 contract from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Buffalo District to perform dredging of the federal navigation channel in Buffalo Harbor, ensuring accessible depths for large vessels, the continued flow of commodities across the Great Lakes and the economic viability of United States waterways.“In addition to the increase in recreational use along Western New York waterways, the Buffalo and Niagara…

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle District said it plans to conduct Grays Harbor maintenance dredging in the Outer Harbor beginning April 12.The USACE hopper dredge Yaquina is expected to start dredging in the outer harbor of Grays Harbor around April 12 and will dredge approximately 17 days.Another USACE hopper dredge Essayons is expected to start dredging in the outer harbor April 21 and will dredge approximately 23 days. Dredging work will be performed continuously…

Squadron Energy, the private company building Australia's first LNG import terminal, expects its Port Kembla facility in New South Wales to be ready to take its first gas shipment by the end of 2023, its commercial director said on Tuesday.Squadron Energy, owned by Australian mining billionaire Andrew Forrest, is vying against four other proposed LNG import projects looking to fill a shortfall in gas supplies expected in southeastern Australia from as early as 2024, and across eastern Australia from 2027.Earthworks at the Port Kembla site about 90 kilometers (56 miles) south of Sydney have bee

New England’s busiest port moves closer to welcoming larger containerships and growing the regional economy with the completion of the second phase of a three-part dredging program last month, nearly one year ahead of schedule.Cashman Dredging and JV partner The Dutra Group began Phase II of the U.S. Army Corps’ Boston Harbor Navigation Improvement Project in July of 2018. The recently completed phase, focused on deepening the main ship channels (the Outer Harbor Channel from 40 to 51 feet…

Three cruise ships will idle at the Port of Oakland without passengers while cruise operations are suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, the port said Friday. The .Two Norwegian Cruise Line vessels, Regatta and Norwegian Jewel, have tied up at Oakland’s Outer Harbor Terminal, which is currently not in use for the port’s container shipping business. Another, Seven Seas Mariner, is docked at Howard Terminal on the Oakland Estuary, no longer considered large enough for container operations.

An ocean liner barred from returning to port in San Francisco due to a coronavirus outbreak on board will dock briefly at a nearby terminal in Oakland, where passengers will be unloaded and sent on to medical and quarantine sites elsewhere, officials said on Sunday.The cruise ship Grand Princess, whose guests have been largely confined to their staterooms since Thursday, is due to arrive at the Port of Oakland on Monday to begin immediately disgorging its 2,400 passengers, California Governor Gavin Newsom told a news conference.Nearly all 1…

The second of the three platforms for the WindFloat Atlantic project has left the Port of Ferrol for its final destination 20 kilometers offshore Viana do Castelo, Portugal.Upon arrival to the project site, it will be installed next to the first floating platform, which has the exact same dimensions: 30 meters in height and with a 50-meter distance between each column. The third and final platform, once it arrives to the site, will complete the first floating offshore wind farm in Continental Europe.Transportation of the three WindFloat Atlantic floating structures is a milestone in itself, as it sidesteps the need for towing craft designed specifically for this process and makes it possible for the project to be replicated in other geographies.The structure…

Coastal flooding disasters have occurred periodically through history often followed by construction of flood defenses to help ensure it does not happen again. One of the most well known was the 1953 North Sea Flood in the Netherlands when a storm surge occurred on top of astronomical high tides causing thousands of deaths, property and economic damages. The Dutch and UK reacted and increased construction of sea defenses including storm surge barriers, such as the Delta Works and River Thames barriers.

Essar Ports, India's second-largest, private-sector port and terminal company by capacity and throughput, posted a record 20 per cent cargo growth in April-September period of the ongoing financial year (ending March 31, 2020) with a throughput of 27.29 MT.The Essar Group company, h operates four terminals on the east and west coasts of India, said in a press note that the growth has been driven by a 183.21% increase in third-party cargo compared to that in the corresponding period in the previous financial year. Cargo from captive customers grew by 6%.Rajiv Agarwal, MD & CEO, Essar Ports Ltd, said: “Significant boost in third-party business has been the key driver for our growth in overall volumes.

The Port of Los Angeles has announced a development opportunity for an Outer Harbor Cruise Terminal at Berths 46 and 50, with plans to release a Request for Proposal (RFP) later this fall.The proposal is intended for cruise lines, terminal operators, and real estate developers interested in creating a new state-of-the-art cruise terminal in a prime location for expansion of west coast cruise travel at America’s busiest port. Located on the south end of an extensive LA Waterfront development, the proposed 13-acre site offers unique panoramic views of the coastline and Catalina Island. The area is currently used as a concert venue, special event site, and temporary berth location for cruise ships.

Bulk shipping operations could soon return to the San Francisco Bay's Port of Oakland for the first time in 20 years. The Port said  it’s negotiating with a Canadian building materials shipper to transport sand and gravel here.The Port’s governing Board yesterday authorized talks with Vancouver-based Eagle Rock Aggregates. The firm seeks a vessel berth along with 20 acres of adjacent land at the Port’s Outer Harbor Terminal.Eagle Rock would use the property as a base for distributing sand and gravel for Bay Area construction sites. The firm said it wants a 15-year lease for one berth on Outer Harbor. Eagle Rock would ship sand and gravel from British Columbia to produce concrete for Bay Area builders.Oakland is one of the busiest container seaports in the U.S.

Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. (Boskalis) won a contract for the widening of the Port Adelaide Outer Harbor shipping channel in Australia. The project was awarded by port owner and operator Flinders Ports, and the contract is worth approximately $45m.Boskalis will widen the shipping channel by 40 meters to 170 meters and extend the turning basin to accommodate the larger and more efficient Post Panamax container ships which are increasingly dominating global containerized cargo transport. The expanded channel will also accommodate larger cruise ships.An estimated amount of 1.5 million cubic meters of mainly sand and clay material will be removed with a trailing suction hopper dredger and a large backhoe dredger. The project will be executed in the second half of 2019.

From high-traffic ports to bustling boatyards, and busy shipyards to expanding marinas, marine professionals operate in a challenging environment. They work on land, on or around water, and are exposed to all kinds of weather. And the challenges won’t ease up any time soon. Our nation’s ports continue to expand as trade surges. Add in increased commercial vessel traffic and recreational boating, and it’s clear that marine businesses have to be in shipshape condition. It means that the marine insurance industry has to stay on its toes too…

As infrastructure expands to handle new business, the Port of Savannah moved more than 350,000 twenty-foot equivalent container units in December. Nine of the Georgia Ports Authority's 10 busiest months were in 2018. The Port of Savannah moved 4.35 million twenty-foot equivalent container units in Calendar Year 2018, its highest annual volume ever, and a 7.5 percent increase over 2017, according to a report from Georgia Ports Authority Executive Director Griff Lynch to the GPA Board Tuesday.

Port of Oakland’s container terminal operator, TraPac, concluded a USD 67 million waterfront expansion in January 2019 as it opened a new vessel berth to arriving container ships.The milestone signals completion of a two-year project at Oakland’s second-largest terminal that has nearly doubled TraPac’s footprint from 66 to 123 acres; boosted its fleet of ship-to-shore cranes from four to seven; and added a third 1,400-foot-long dock for berthing mega containerships.“We are grateful to dockworkers, truckers, carriers, cargo owners and all of our stakeholders for working with us during this buildout,” said TraPac Operations Vice President Brian Bauer.

Booming U.S. oil exports have set off a scramble to build Gulf Coast ports to handle more than 3 million barrels per day in new supplies expected over the next five years.Of seven proposed oil-export projects, nowhere is the opportunity greater or the competition more fierce than in Corpus Christi, Texas, where three firms are vying to open the state's first deepwater port.Commodities trader Trafigura has taken an early lead with a planned offshore facility that has an easier…

Georgia Ports Authority Executive Director Griff Lynch outlined a plan that will double container handling capacity to 10 million TEUs at Garden City Terminal within 10 years. "Georgia is home to both the single largest container and roll-on/roll-off facilities in North America," Lynch said. Lynch provided an overview of GPA's 2028 Plan that calls for 42 ship-to-shore cranes, 200 yard cranes, new RTG lanes and significant intermodal expansion in Savannah. The GPA will soon open its second inland terminal in Northwest Georgia and break ground on the Mason Mega Rail project at Garden City Terminal. Combined, both intermodal projects will open new markets while significantly reducing rail crossings and over the road freight through Savannah, Atlanta and beyond.

Governor Nathan Deal, Port of Savannah officials and the maritime community were on hand to welcome the COSCO Development, the largest containership to ever call on the U.S. East Coast as it handled 5,500 containers, a record for Georgia’s ports. “This is another example of how the Port of Savannah is the gateway not just for the U.S. Southeast, but for America’s East Coast,” said Georgia Governor Nathan Deal. During the ship’s 30 hours at dock, up to six cranes moved 10,000 TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent container Units) on and off the vessel, which translated into more than 50 percent of the vessel’s entire volume for its maiden voyage to the U.S. East Coast. With a capacity of 13,092 twenty-foot equivalent container units, the Development measures 1,201 feet long and 158 feet wide.

Work could begin next month to nearly double the size of the Port of Oakland’s second-largest marine terminal. TraPac LLC said today it’s ready to begin construction on a 57-acre expansion at the Port’s Outer Harbor. The Board of Port Commissioners approved the project at a meeting Oct. 27. TraPac has signed a new 14-year lease with the Port to grow from 66 to 123 acres. It will add two vessel berths to the two it already operates. The terminal operator said a larger footprint will help it absorb additional cargo volume. “With this expansion, we’re making a long-term commitment to our customers and to the Port of Oakland,” said TraPac Oakland General Manager Mike Porte. TraPac is growing into property adjacent to its existing terminal.

Hanjin Shipping's and Outer Harbor Terminal's (OHT) bankruptcies this year have raised questions about the legal separation of joint venture terminal operators that are often lease counterparties for U.S. ports, Fitch Ratings says. These events highlight potential risks that must be balanced against the benefits of ports signing lease or concession agreements. Global carrier Hanjin's bankruptcy has exposed the possibility that terminal operating companies, which are often structured as joint ventures (JVs) between shipping counterparties or private equity firms…