Limon News

APM Terminals Inland Services in Costa Rica has worked closely with one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of tropical fruit.The Hague-based international container terminal operating company  said in a press release that among other things, the solution has helped optimize the flow of containers to fruit plantations on the Caribbean coast, increase efficiency and lower reefer inventory.With a large number of refrigerated containers (reefers) being shipped to global markets by Costa Rican tropical fruit exporters, the challenge is finding a cost-effective way of getting them back to the farmer to start their cycle again.Many of the reefer containers are shipped back as non-operating reefers (NORs).

With this latest delivery of cranes, the APM Terminals Moin remains on schedule for completion in February 2019, when it is expected to raise commerce in Costa Rica by 23% according to Qbis Socioeconomic Impact Study. This second delivery of Ship-to-Shore and Electric Rubber-Tire Gantry Cranes (ERTGs) to APM Terminals Moin, Costa Rica brings the total on site to six and 23 respectively. The commissioning of the equipment was completed this week. “APM Terminals Moin is proud to celebrate this milestone, which puts Costa Rica on the logistics map and sends the right signal to stakeholders about our commitment to the country´s trade,” said Kenneth Waugh, Managing Director of APM Terminals Moin. “These cranes represent a significant improvement in the competitiveness of the nation.

Marvel Falcon, a liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier owned by NYK, offered humanitarian assistance to four sailors requesting rescue on on May 13, said a press release from the company.   The LNG carrier had been sailing from the port of Balboa, Panama, to the Sabine Pass LNG terminal in the U.S. state of Louisiana when the small boat was spotted.   The rescued sailors had departed from Port Limon, Costa Rica, on May 7 to deliver fuel to another boat, but they experienced engine trouble on May 8 and had drifted at sea for the next few days.    The four sailors were in good health, and on May 18 they disembarked from Marvel Falcon at Sabine Pass to be processed by relevant authorities.

The Meyer's Group has ordered two Damen ASD 2913 Tugs to operate in the newly expanded Panama Canal. At an official signing ceremony at the Panama Maritime XIII World Conference, Michel Mittelmeyer, Chief Executive Officer said the Meyer’s Group was awarded a contract last year to offer towage support in the new Panama Canal locks. These new tugs fulfill the requirements of the Panama Canal Authority as more powerful vessels, of at least 80 metric tons bollard pull, are needed given the ever-increasing size of vessels, added Mittelmeyer.

CMA CGM’s European Caribbean Service is to begin calling at DP World London Gateway Port following enhancements to the rotation. It means that this particular service will be calling in the UK for the first time on Friday, January 6. Dedicated to reefer transport, the service will provide one of the shortest transit times on the market between Central America and North Europe. It also enables the UK to connect with the whole of the Caribbean region through CMA CGM’s strategic hub in Kingston, Jamaica. The new ECS rotation will be: Puerto Limon, Kingston, Rotterdam, DP World London Gateway, Hamburg, Antwerp, Le Havre, Caucedo, Kingston, Santo Tomas de Castilla, Puerto Cortes and Puerto Limon.

CMA CGM is pleased to announce an improved service offer directly connecting North Europe with Central America. The enhanced ECS service will provide one of the shortest transit times on the market, linking Rotterdam from Costa Rica in only 14 days and adding London as a port of call in 15 days. This offer is dedicated to reefer transport from Central America and the Caribbean to North Europe and allows to connect the United Kingdom with all of the Caribbean through CMA CGM’s strategic hub in Kingston, Jamaica, one of the most modern ports in the area. Offered in cooperation with Hapag–Lloyd, the service will be run by five state of the art CMA CGM vessels with 2300 TEUs and 550 reefer plugs and one Hapag–Lloyd vessel.

Crowley Maritime Corporation announced that it is launching a new weekly fixed-day container shipping service between Jacksonville and Costa Rica. The service’s two containerships will call at the Jacksonville Port Authority’s Talleyrand Terminal, making port calls in Jacksonville on Thursdays, Port Everglades, Fla., on Fridays, and arrive in Puerto Limon, Costa Rica, on Wednesdays. “We are confident this service enhancement will add a new dimension to our portfolio of Latin America services and bring increased efficiency and savings to our customers…

The United States has started to import small batches of Colombia's Puerto Bahia heavy crude, an unusual development that underscores at least a temporary shift in the type of heavy oil flowing into U.S. refineries. Typically, U.S. refineries have received their heavy oil from Canada, Venezuela and Mexico. But shipments of those grades have been limited by Canada wildfires, and slipping output in Mexico and Venezuela. The first shipment of the Colombian heavy crude arrived at Lake Charles, Louisiana in February co-loaded with Vasconia crude for refiner Phillips 66, followed by a 260,000-barrel cargo in March for the same customer, according to sources and data available from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Bahamas' Prime Minister Christie has met with Global Shipping Giant Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), in Geneva. Principal and founder of MSC, Gianluigi Aponte and his senior management team met with Prime Minister at MSCs headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland for two days of deliberations. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss about matters relating to the expiring concessions under the Hawksbill Creek Agreement and growth of MSCs investments in The Bahamas. Meanwhile, Permanent Representative to the International Maritime Organization, H.E. Eldred Bethel and Executive Director of The Bahamas Maritime Authority London, Cmdr. Davy Rolle presented Bahamas’ contribution to Secretary General Kitack Limon Tuesday, February 16th at IMO Headquarters.

Svitzer has entered a 30-year terminal towage contract to provide marine services for the new APMT Moin Container Terminal in Costa Rica, starting from the third quarter of 2017. In addition to supplying marine service, Svitzer will provide three 70TBP ASD tugs (two with FiFi 1), one pilot vessel and a maintenance barge for the Moin Container Terminal. Svitzer will also invest in local crew to train pilots and tug masters in its new training center in the Bahamas for the Moin Container Terminal. “The agreement with APMT was the result of a lengthy process where Svitzer assisted in all phases of the marine solution including simulations of the towage operations, determining size and layout of the turning basin and defining the optimal specifications of the tugboats.

APM Terminals is preparing an expansion of the Moin Terminal in Costa Rica's cooling export facilities. Six new STS cranes and 29 RTG cranes to operate the deep water port of Moin Container Terminal, which opens in 2018. The Port of Moin is 18 meters deep docks. Larger container ships with increased cooling capacity can then enter Costa Rica directly. Costa Rica's Port Limon-Moin is ranked as the 13th largest in Latin America and fourth in Central America with a container volume of 1.09 million TEUs in 2014. Over the next 15 years is expected reefer container shipments from Costa Rica to increase from approximately 300,000 to 600.000 TEU. APM Terminals Moin will allocate 60-70 percent of the terminal's capacity of cold storage to cope with the expected growth.

In response to continuing high customer demand, Crowley Maritime Corporation’s liner services group has placed orders for additional equipment, including hundreds of new chassis and containers for use in the company’s U.S., Puerto Rico, Caribbean and Central America trade lanes. This latest equipment acquisition includes nearly 400 gensets – both nosemounts and underslungs – which will begin arriving in Jacksonville between July and September. Also scheduled to arrive in Jacksonville are 700…

At 2:10 a.m. Jan. 3, 2015, while en route to Oranjestad, Aruba, Holland America Line’s ms Zuiderdam answered a distress call from the Bahamian inter-island vessel Excalibur that was sinking with eight crewmembers onboard. Zuiderdam was approximately 15 miles away and the closest ship in the area. Zuiderdam altered course and was able to successfully execute a nighttime rescue of all eight crewmembers at 3:01 a.m. The ship brought them onboard and provided food and accommodations. The rescued crewmembers debarked in Aruba on Jan. “Congratulations to the officers and crew onboard Zuiderdam for their quick response that saved the lives of eight people,” said Orlando Ashford, president of Holland America Line.

Hamburg Süd shipping line has awarded the contract for handling its new EMCS – Europe-Mexico/Caribbean Service to EUROGATE Container Terminal Hamburg. The first ship will berth at the terminal on 13 November 2014. The regular service links Northern Europe with Central America and is scheduled to call at Hamburg on a weekly basis. Hamburg Süd is operating the service with six container vessels each with a nominal capacity of 2,500 TEUs. The Hamburg Süd ships will call at eight ports along their route. A round trip from Marin/Pontevedra (Spain) via Antwerp, London and Hamburg to Altamira, Veracruz, Puerto Limon, Cartagena (Colombia) and back takes 42 days. “A reliable transport chain is of the utmost importance to us in ensuring our customers receive their goods speedily and punctually.

As Britain’s new hub port celebrates its first birthday DP World London Gateway has expanded its network of shipping links and destinations, attracting a series of new deep-sea container shipping services. Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has confirmed that from next month (December), its service from South Africa to UK/Northwest Europe will make a direct London Gateway call, switching from the Port of Felixstowe. The new rotation will offer the best possible UK port coverage, MSC has told shippers.

The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the Costa Rican Government and APM Terminals in an appeal filed by the port workers union against the 33-year concession contract for the new Moin Container Terminal (TCM) in Limon on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. "The TCM will be a world class, modern, safe and efficient terminal operating under international standards and procedures, designed to boost Costa Rica´s international trade by taking full advantage of the economy of scale provided by the new-Panamax container vessels of up to 13,500 containers, vessels of up to five times larger than those which can be serviced in the country today," Gallie said.

A 4.6 magnitude earthquake shook the capital on Saturday and the Caribbean coast of Venezuela, without preliminary damage or casualties were reported. The epicenter was 25 kilometers northeast of the town of El Limon in the state of Aragua, and 67 miles west of Caracas, said the United States Geological Survey (USGS for its acronym in English). "So far we have not seen any injury to persons or wounded this product trembling," said the governor of Aragua, Tarek El Aissami, by a local television station. Local media said that so far had no reported damage. The quake was also felt in the state of Carabobo, Aragua neighbor and Civil Protection reported no affectations.

Costa Rica's refining company Recope has launched a tender to buy two 90,000-100,000 barrel cargos of fuel oil for delivery from September to December at Port Caldera, according to a document seen by Reuters on Friday. Previously this month, Recope bought three 25,000 barrel cargoes of MTBE, a component to oxygenate gasoline. The company, which operates the 25,000 barrel per day (bpd) Puerto Limon refinery, supplies most fuel for the Costa Rican domestic market. For this offer, the company is requesting fuel oil with maximum 1.8 percent sulfur. It will accept bids until August 25 and they must refer to fuel oil number 6 prices from the U.S. Gulf Coast. (Reporting by Marianna Parraga; Editing by Anna Driver)

State-run Petroperu has launched a tender to buy a 360,000 barrel cargo of a Latin American or West African crude to be received at Conchan and Talara ports on September 26-30, according to a document seen by Reuters on Tuesday. The Peruvian company has been buying 1-2 monthly cargoes of crude on the open market so far this year and it has also recently tendered to purchase fuel oil, naphtha, ultra low-sulfur diesel (ULSD) and biodiesel. For this tender, the company will accept offers of Ecuadorian Napo or Oriente crudes; Colombian Vasconia, Castilla, South Blend or Cano Limon; Venezuelan Lagotreco, Mesa 30, Santa Barbara or Leona 24; Argentine Escalante, Canadon Seco or Roncador 28; and Brazilian Bijupira or Marlim. It will also accept offers of any West African crude.

Canada-listed oil firm Pacific Rubiales launched a tender to sell two cargoes of Colombian Castilla crude and a cargo of Vasconia crude for delivery during September at Covenas port, according to an invitation seen by Reuters on Monday. The first cargo containing 1 million barrels of Castilla heavy crude will be loaded on Sept. 7-11 and the second one with 1.5 million barrels of the same grade will be loaded on Sept. 18-23. A 500,000 barrel cargo of Vasconia medium crude will also be loaded at Covenas on Sept. 18-23. Sellers of these cargoes will include any combination of Pacific's subsidiaries. The company will receive bids until August 6 and they must be indexed to West Texas Intermediate or Brent crudes front month prices. Pacific Rubiales, Colombia's No.

In April 2014, a contract between JAPDEVA (Costa Rica) and Damen Shipyards Group for a Damen Stan Tender 1504 was approved by the Controller General of the Central-American country. The contract is the conclusion of a thorough tender process that started in 2013. With this contract JAPDEVA, the autonomous government body that manages the ports in Puerto Limon on the Atlantic side of Costa Rica, will expand its fleet of Damen-designed and -built vessels to five ships: the new Damen STe 1504, one other Damen Stan Tender and three Damen Stan Tugs.

(Reuters) - Costa Rica's refining company Recope launched a tender to buy three 165,000 cargos of fuel oil to be received from mid-April to October at Port Moin, according to an invitation seen by Reuters on Monday. The state-run company has increased imports of fuels since 2013, while planning the upgrade of its 25,000 barrel per day (bpd) refinery in Moin, next to Port Limon in the Caribbean. In recent months, it awarded a contract to U.S. Valero Energy to import up to 14.25 million barrels of fuels during 2014 and it also bought on the open market 1.53 million barrels of liquified petroleum gas (LPG) and several cargos of MTBE, a component to oxygenate gasoline. The cargos being sought this time must contain fuel oil with 2.2 percent or 3 percent sulfur, the company said.

Crowley Maritime Corporation’s liner services group and Seaboard Marine Ltd. announced a new vessel sharing agreement (VSA) that will provide customers of both companies with reliable, weekly service on larger ships between South Fla., Costa Rica and Panama. By sharing vessel space, Crowley and Seaboard will increase total capacity in the trade by using two 2,500-TEU-capacity vessels, resulting in a continued high level of service, a more efficient operation and reduced carbon emissions in the trade lane.