Port of Durban to Triple Capacity, Compete with Suez Canal
Durban, South Africa's busiest port, has started a project to triple capacity and encourage vessels to skip the Suez Canal and sail around the Cape of Good Hope, Bloomberg reported today. The excavation project, which will increase the port's capacity from 2.7 million TEUs in 2014 to 9.5 million in 2040, began in 2012 and the first phase is scheduled for completion in 2025. "It's more cost effective to sail modern, large container vessel around the Cape than through the Suez Canal," Mark Gregg-MacDonald, an executive at state transport company Transnet OSC Ltd., told Bloomberg Friday.
Diesel Electric Propulsion – CAT Starts Brazil Genset Production
Caterpillar says their 3500C Diesel Electric Propulsion (DEP) generator sets have entered full production at the Piracicaba, Sao Paulo manufacturing facility, delivering on a commitment to offer superior Cat power solutions products to the burgeoning Brazilian offshore market. Within the past year, the company has achieved significant milestones in Brazil, most recently announcing the RBNA Classification Society Certification of the 3500C generator sets to meet local content regulations. “The demand for Cat power solutions in Brazil has paralleled the exponential growth in the Brazilian offshore market,” noted Gregg Macdonald, Brazil 3500 Program Manager. The 214,000 square-meter Piracicaba facility is Caterpillar’s second facility in Brazil and currently employs over 5,800 people.
Cat Power Solutions Certified to Meet Brazil's Standards
Caterpillar announced that the RBNA Classification Society has certified the Cat 3500C diesel electric propulsion generator set packages to meet local content regulations in Brazil. RBNA, a division of ANP, certified that the 3500C products meet in excess of sixty percent local content. As announced previously, Caterpillar expanded operations in Brazil in third quarter 2011 to package marine and oil and gas products in the Piracicaba, Sao Paulo, Brazil facility. “As we continue to expand our marine and petroleum operations in Brazil, a central strategic goal we have is to maximize our local content,” said Gregg Macdonald, Brazil 3500 Program Manager.
