Moffatt News

The Port of Long Beach, one of the greenest ports in the world, has selected HDR to perform the final design as it moves ahead with its $870 million effort to streamline rail operations and reduce bottlenecks at the second-busiest container port in the U.S.The Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility Project will expand the port’s capability for loading shipping containers directly on rail cars instead of being loaded on trucks for short-haul trips. The expansion and reconfiguration of the existing Pier B railyard will create a staging area for loading freight trains nearly 2 miles long…

Newly published research shows that U.K. ports and terminals have an estimated £1.7 billion ($2.36 billion) of port infrastructure investment in the development pipeline. The research is part of the British Ports Association’s ‘Port Futures’ program and was undertaken by infrastructure advisory firm Moffatt & Nichol. It captures significant schemes all over the U.K. and highlights how ports in all parts of the U.K. are investing in new facilities to foster growth in the U.K. market. “Ports are doing their bit but we rely on government to ensure that road and rail connections from the port gate are fit for purpose. The terrestrial and marine planning and consenting process is also cumbersome and costly and often holds back or even prevents some sustainable port development.

Setting out to increase fairness, equality and inclusion within the maritime sector, Maritime UK has established a Women in Maritime Taskforce, a move welcomed by the U.K.’s new Maritime Minister, Nusrat Ghani MP. “I am delighted to see Maritime UK taking action to attract more women into our maritime industries, and I welcome this taskforce as an important first step,” said Ghani, who is only the second woman to hold the Department for Transport portfolio for the U.K.’s £40 billion maritime sector.

On June 2-3, 2016,  the Ferry Safety and Technology Conference will be held in downtown Manhattan. Throughout the world, the quickening pace of technological advances is impacting all sectors of the maritime business; ferries are no exception. The conference, now in its second year, will feature practical and affordable technologies already deployed in passenger transportation, or soon to be. Topics to be discussed will include Vessel Design; Landings – with a focus on their resiliency and Maritime Weather – with fresh information on timely fine scale marine weather detection. Information management and Communication applications will be center stage.

Survitec Group, one of the world’s leading marine safety companies, is now working in partnership with Ocenco to replace thousands of M-20.2 Emergency Escape Breathing Devices (EEBDs) that are reaching the end of their service life. When SOLAS amendment regulations II-2/13.3.4 and 13.4.3 came into force on 1 July 2002, all vessels had to be equipped with EEBDs. At the time, one of the most popular choices was the maintenance-free Ocenco M-20.2 EEBD. The 15-year service life on the first wave of products purchased to satisfy SOLAS is approaching, and many will expire in 2017. To help meet the high demand for replacement units, Survitec and Ocenco have agreed to work together.

Brian Yoder has joined Moffatt & Nichol as Chief Software Architect at its Long Beach, Calif. office to help manage the software product development of FlexTerm, a simulation and emulation tool developed mainly for the container terminal planning, the terminal operating system testing, the logistic system modeling and optimization in ports and terminals. The software allows for better analysis of dynamic processes and visualization of operational processes through 3D animations.

The Georgia and South Carolina Ports Authorities have signed a new joint venture agreement that provides framework for the two states to work cooperatively toward the development of the Jasper Ocean Terminal (JOT), which will be jointly owned and operated by both port authorities. The updated agreement governs the permitting and planning process for the JOT, including the development of terminal design and supporting infrastructure, plans for financing, and execution of the operational decisions required during the permitting process. The JOT Joint Project Office was first established under an intergovernmental agreement signed in 2008 by the previous Governors of Georgia and South Carolina. This new agreement takes effect immediately and continues the work of the JOT.

Texas LNG appoints BNP Paribas as financial adviser for Brownsville LNG project, progresses FERC pre-filing process and completes over 60 percent of front end engineering and Design for facility. Texas LNG Brownsville LLC announced that BNP Paribas has been appointed as financial adviser for the Brownsville project. BNP Paribas will assist Texas LNG in the raising of equity and debt financing for the total capital requirements of the Project, including the execution of definitive transaction documents for achieving final investment decision (FID) and project construction.

Experts from across the goods movement industry spoke at the 11th annual “Pulse of the Ports: Peak Season Forecast,” an event hosted by the Port of Long Beach that drew 600 people to the Long Beach Convention Center’s Pacific Ballroom to hear how current trends will affect trade throughout the rest of the year. While the annual event explores the cargo forecast, this year’s session also discussed the recent challenges of cargo movement and how the supply chain is evolving to cope with demands for higher efficiency and improved reliability.

The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners continued to fill key positions in Harbor Department leadership ranks this week with four additional appointments of experienced executives to oversee Port of Long Beach operations. The four professionals all have long and valuable experience in their fields of engineering, maintenance and finance, and come from outside the Port of Long Beach. Two of the positions are newly created and two were vacated earlier this year. Duane Kenagy has been appointed to the newly created position of Capital Programs Executive to oversee the Port’s capital improvement program and will report directly to the Chief Executive.

The 14th Annual California Maritime Leadership Symposium, slated to take place February 19-20 at the Sacramento Convention Center, attracts key members from California’s State Legislature and representatives from California’s ports and the maritime industry. The symposium aims to encourage productive dialogue among maritime industry leaders and communicate port needs to California decision makers. The symposium is hosted by a broad-based coalition of the maritime industry, headed up by the California Association of Port Authorities…

Sponsored by the American Association of Port Authorities and hosted by the Unified Port of San Diego, a workshop examining port-related economic development programs, analyzing solutions to development/funding challenges and quantifying results will be held Feb. 20-21, 2014 (Day 1, 8:00 a.m. -5:00 p.m.; Day 2, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 noon) at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront, 1 Park Boulevard, San Diego, Calif. Among the key topics on the minds of Western Hemisphere port development…

The SHIPPINGInsight conference producers have finalized the agenda and confirmed speaker list for the 2013 Fleet Optimization Conference, scheduled for Oct. 22-24 at the Sheraton Stamford Hotel in Stamford, Conn. “The theme for this year’s conference is ‘Connect and Engage,’” said conference co-producer Frank Soccoli. “We are bringing together an impressive lineup of speakers, moderators, panelists, sponsors, exhibitors and delegates representing all segments of the shipping industry. New for 2013 is an extra LNG Workshop, which will take the form of a roundtable discussion of experts to consider the barriers, challenges, solutions and best practices for achieving widespread adoption of LNG as a marine fuel. The workshop is free for all registered delegates.

The practical challenges of using Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as a marine fuel will be a major theme of the 2013 SHIPPINGInsight Fleet Optimization Conference, Oct. 22-24 at the Sheraton Stamford Hotel in Stamford, Conn. “A number of major shipping companies are placing orders for new LNG-powered ships and others are considering converting their existing ships to run on LNG,” said Frank Soccoli, coproducer, SHIPPINGInsight. Given the intense industry focus on the potential benefits of converting to LNG, a dedicated LNG workshop is being added this year.

The assumption that trade conditions and infrastructure will drive future transportation changes will be the overriding theme at the sixth annual American Association of Port Authorities’ (AAPA) “Shifting International Trade Routes” workshop in Tampa, Fla., Jan. 24-25, 2013. The 1½-day program, which is being cosponsored by the U.S. Maritime Administration and hosted by the Tampa Port Authority, will address the range of issues related to dynamic, global and hemispheric trade.

Moffatt & Nichol announced that it has recently signed a contract with the Bulgarian Ports and Infrastructure Company for detailed design of two new container terminals at the Black Sea ports of Varna and Bourgas in the Republic of Bulgaria. In a joint venture with Japanese consulting firm Oriental Consultants, Moffatt & Nichol will be responsible for the detailed design, tender assistance, and construction supervision for the two new container terminals. This project will be managed through the firm’s London office. The project, which has been financed by a $410m loan provided by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), is expected to last 80 months. Local engineering and design support will be provided by Bulgarian sub-consultants.

Moffatt & Nichol announced that David C. Sanborn has joined the firm as Senior Port Consultant. Sanborn brings more than 35 years experience in the shipping, ports and transport sectors of the maritime industry to the firm. Throughout his career he has managed numerous container ports and has been involved in concept and design processes for logistics facilities in several key areas of the world. He has had extensive international experience in all aspects of general management within the transportation industry, having held senior positions during his career in the United States, Brazil, Europe, Hong Kong, the Dominican Republic, Singapore and Dubai.

Moffatt & Nichol announced that it has been selected by the Montreal Port Authority to prepare the detailed development plan, complete preliminary engineering and develop contracting strategies for the construction of the new Hochelaga-Viau container terminal, and re-development of the Laurier-Tarte break-bulk terminal. This mandate is related to Phase two of the Port of Montreal’s Vision 2020 strategic plan. Moffatt & Nichol, through its Vancouver office, completed the Port’s Ten Year Master Plan in 2007 and concept plans for the Hochelaga-Viau container terminal in 2008. This new four phase contract will comprise developing and expanding concept plans into a comprehensive integrated master plan…

Moffatt & Nichol announced that the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority (PRPA) has selected the firm to perform a strategic assessment of the Port’s facilities by identifying, evaluating and prioritizing the Port’s capital improvement needs. Work on the study will be performed by Moffatt & Nichol’s Baltimore and New York offices. The objective of this study is to perform a condition inspection of the facilities owned by the PRPA to determine whether these facilities need to be rehabilitated, reconstructed or replaced over the next 10 years. The study will establish a program of phased capital improvements geared to meet both system preservation and market driven needs.

Moffatt & Nichol has begun Program Management services on the initial development stages of planning for the Jasper Ocean Terminal proposed to be located on the Savannah River. The project is a cooperative development between the states of Georgia and South Carolina. Program Management services started in January 2009, with initial efforts focused on a two-year schedule of completing the preliminary terminal planning, preparing for the overall permitting process for the development and completion of documents to support design and construction of the terminal elements. Early progress has been made with the completion of economic analyses efforts related to container forecasts…

Members of the bi-state board leading the development of a deepwater port in Jasper County unanimously elected William L. Bethea Jr. of Hilton Head, South Carolina, to chair the Jasper Ocean Terminal Joint Project Office (JPO) on Feb. The chairman serves a one-year term and alternates between the two states. James S. Balloun of Georgia served as JPO chairman in 2008 and was elected vice chairman at the meeting. Bethea served for 12 years on the South Carolina State Ports Authority (SCSPA) Board, four of those years as chairman, and has served on the South Carolina Coordinating Council for Economic Development. “This project is vitally important to the economic future of our region and the state of South Carolina,” said Bethea.

TOC Events Worldwide announced the addition of more industry executives as speakers at the upcoming 8th TOC Americas Conference and Exhibition, taking place November 18-20 at the Long Beach Convention Centre, CA, USA. Dave Sanborn, Senior Vice President and Managing Director Americas Region for DP World, will share the global terminal operator’s views on terminal investment and development against the backdrop of the world financial crisis, including a perspective on investment frameworks and public-private sector relations. Mr. Sanborn joined DP World in May 2005 following senior management positions with CMA CGM, American President Lines and Sea-Land Service, Inc. Mr.

The National Waterways Foundation elected new officers and trustees at its recent meeting on October 3, 2007 in Houston, TX. Newly elected Foundation officers are Peter Stephaich, Chairman, Campbell Transportation Co., Chairman, succeeding Joe Pyne, President/CEO, Kirby Corporation, and Terry Becker, President, Riverway Co., Treasurer. R. Barry Palmer, WCI, President and CEO, was re-elected as Secretary. Re-elected as Foundation trustees were Craig E. Philip, President and Chief Executive Officer, Ingram Barge Company; H. Merritt Lane, III, President and Chief Executive Officer, Canal Barge Company; Howard H. Brent, Peter Stephaich and R. Barry Palmer.