Del Monte News

Danielle Doggett, founder and CEO of SailCargo, updates the project to build  Ceiba, a true sailing cargo ship taking shape in the jungles of Costa Rica.Danielle Doggett and her co-founders have been on a mission since 2014 to prove the viability of truly emission-free shipping courtesy of the construction of its $4.2m flagship Ceiba, a three masted sailing cargo vessel being built in Costa Rica.“The name Ceiba comes from a type of tree, also called the kapok or silk tree and it is recognized by the Mayan people as a spiritual tree that connects this world with the next…

APM Terminals’ Moín Container Terminal (MCT) in Costa Rica has been granted permission by the National Council of Concessions (CNC) to start commercial operations at its first deep-sea berth. This is a key step for the terminal, which is on schedule to be fully operational in February 2019.The permit, which is subject to meeting all safety and service requirements, will enable the transfer of all commercial container ships currently serviced at Puerto Limón and Puerto Moín to the MCT. This will take place once APM Terminals delivers the dock´s first phase, which includes two berths and 40 hectares of artificial island due in February 2019.

Port Manatee says it has signed an agreement to keep Del Monte fruit coming into the Florida Gulf Coast port for as many as 20 more years. Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A. Inc., which has imported fruit into the deepwater Florida seaport since 1989, is now signed to a lease extension with Port Manatee through August 30, 2021, with options for three additional extensions of five years each. If all options are exercised, Del Monte will be doing business at Port Manatee until at least 2036.

The GT Nexus Shipper Council, a community group of supply chain executives representing large global enterprises, has recognized Hapag-Lloyd, one of the world's leading container liner shipping companies, as the winner of the 2016 Ocean Performance Award. The award was granted at Bridges 2016, the leading cloud supply chain industry event held July 10-13 in New York as part of Inforum. Hapag-Lloyd operates a fleet of 175 modern container ships and a total capacity of 955,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU). The company has approximately 9,400 employees at 361 sites in 118 countries. Hapag-Lloyd has a container fleet of 1.6 million TEU including one of the world's largest and most state-of-the-art reefer fleets.

The Port of Hueneme launched the second phase of its Grid-Connected Shore Power System, celebrating another next step forward in reducing air emissions and minimizing environmental impact. Among the community leaders attending the ribbon cutting were Congresswoman Julia Brownley, County Supervisor Kathy Long, Ms. Sabiha Khan with Senator Dianne Feinstein’s office, Port Hueneme Mayor Douglas Breeze, and VCTC chairman Keith Millhouse. By connecting to the Port’s Grid-Based Shore Power System, refrigerated cargo vessels calling the Port can shut down their auxiliary marine engines and operate on shore power in lieu of diesel fuel dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Port Manatee’s growth as a cargo gateway continues, with the Florida Gulf port reporting a 36 percent year-over-year increase in containerized cargo handled in the first half of its fiscal year. During the six-month period from Oct. 1, 2015, through March 31, 2016, Port Manatee docks saw moves of 12,653 twenty-foot-equivalent container units (TEU), up from 9,321 TEUs in the comparable year-earlier fiscal half. Import TEUs led the way, increasing 40 percent, to 7,398 TEUs from 5,291 TEUs.

Acting Maritime Administrator Paul “Chip” Jaenichen met today with Port of Hueneme officials and Port customers for an industry stakeholder meeting and tour of the Port of Hueneme and Navy Base Ventura County. BMW, Global Auto Processing Services, Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics, Chiquita, Del Monte, Yara, the ILWU and Port Stevedores participated in a strategic round table discussion focusing on partnership opportunities, marine highway trade and Port priorities moving forward. “America’s Ports truly are our economic gateway,” said Acting Maritime Administrator Paul “Chip” Jaenichen.

Port Officials and Del Monte Fresh produce have celebrated their 34-year partnership by executing a third modification of their 1995 contract. “34 years represents a lifetime in the maritime community. Del Monte arrived at the port in 1979, encouraged by a motivated and sustainable labor force. Having no refrigerated facilities in those days, bananas had to be unloaded box- by-box utilizing an elevated conveyor system connecting directly into the side of the ship. At each end of the conveyor, longshoremen handled 40- pound banana boxes from the ship onto a staged pallet alongside the wharf. Full pallets, consisting of 48 boxes would in turn be loaded by teamsters onto waiting trucks.

The Port of Hueneme held a Maritime Career Exploration Day at the Port on Wednesday. Attendees came to meet and talk with representatives of a half dozen companies doing business at the Port, groups that represented everything from a major shipping line to GAPS, an automobile processors. The event was held at the Port’s newly renovated Joint Operations and Security Center just outside the Port’s main entrance. In addition to the table displays, presentations were made by representatives of Del Monte, which imports fresh fruit through the Port, the Port administration and a recruiter for the National Maritime Academy at Kingspoint New York. The Career Exploration Day was the brainchild of Commissioner Jason Hodge.

Port leadership joined with Ports America to formally christen the stevedoring company’s newest heavy-lift addition to the Port of Hueneme, a Liebherr LHM 420 Litronic Mobile Harbor Crane. The new crane is the second Ports America crane to be put into action at the port. “This 376 ton mobile harbor crane greatly increases shore side productivity in tandem with our existing crane and increases our flexibility to work more than one ship at a time,” said Ports America’s site manager Kevin Beirne.

Philippines-based Keppel Cebu Shipyard, part of Singapore’s Keppel Offshore & Marine, has secured the drydocking and repair contract for Del Monte’s 7,079 dwt reefer Lerida Carrier. This vessel is managed by Cyprus-based Dobson Fleet Management. The reefer arrived at the shipyard at the beginning of this week after unloading a cargo from Japan. Repairs are expected to take eight days to complete Work on the NK-classed vessels includes propeller and tailshaft survey, overhauling of auxiliary engine governors (three units), ultrasonic cleaning of auxiliaries air coolers and drain coolers, renewal of main alternator shaft oil seals, renewal of engineroom pipe lines…

Keppel Corporation Limited (KCL) has appointed Tony Chew Leong-Chee and Dr. Lee Tsao Yuan to its Board. Both Chew and Dr. Lee are no strangers to the Keppel Group,as they were Directors of Keppel Capital Holdings before it was sold in August last year. Dr Lee still sits on the Board of Keppel FELS Energy & Infrastructure Ltd. Chew is an agronomist, having obtained his professional qualification through a plantation cadetship with Ko Rubber Plantations in Malaysia and participation in the Serdang Agricultural College (Malaysia) extension program. He also co-founded Asia Resource Corporation Pte Ltd and is now Executive Chairman of the company, and is Chairman of Del Monte Pacific Ltd, Macondray Corporation Pte Ltd and Representations International Pte Ltd. Dr.