New Pier News

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) has ordered eight new ships, the most comprehensive newbuild order in its history.The order represents nearly 25,000 additional berths, with new classes of ships for each of its three brands and the construction of a multi-ship pier at Great Stirrup Cay, the company’s private island destination in the Bahamas.The new ships are scheduled for delivery over a 10-year period, between 2026 and 2036. Following the delivery of four Prima-Plus class ships from 2025 through 2028…

The first of three new oceanographic research vessels dedicated to advancing marine science along U.S. coasts was successfully launched Thursday.The ship, R/V Taani, is being constructed as part of a project, led by Oregon State University (OSU) and funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), to provide scientists with valuable new tools to study critical issues such as rapidly changing ocean conditions and human impacts on the marine environment.The Regional Class Research Vessel project…

With the rise of China and her global ambitions, the military importance of Guam in the Indo-Pacific theater has become apparent. The force levels on the island had drawn down from a peak of about 26,000 at the height of the Vietnam War to a tenth of that—just 2,500 people in the early 2000s. Today, that's changing. Guam's defense posture is growing.Guam's proximity to major population centers in East Asia underscores its strategic importance. The island is just 1,400 miles from Tokyo, Manilla or Port Moresby. All of the armed services have a presence on Guam.

Austal USA celebrated the opening of its new San Diego waterfront ship repair facility.The shipyard, located adjacent to Naval Base San Diego, will provide full-service repair, maintenance and modernization services for small surface combatants, unmanned and autonomous vessels, and auxiliary ships.Since finalizing an agreement for the property over a year ago, Austal USA has invested more than $100 million in facility upgrades and a new floating dry dock to transform the facility. The 15-acre site now provides 678 ft. of improved San Diego Bay shoreline, 80,000 sq. ft.

The U.S. Army Corps’ Norfolk District seeks contractors for the 3rd Port Improvements Project at Ft. Eustis, Va. Total award could be between $10 million and $25 million. The Corps will use responses from companies to “determine an acquisition strategy.” Go to SAM.gov and use ID W9123622B2017 to search. Responses are due March 28.As envisioned now, this would be a firm-fixed-price contract for the construction of improvements at 3rd Port, JBLE–Eustis (Joint Base Langley-Eustis, in Newport News).

The Port of Gdynia Authority (PGA) in Poland has recently launched a formal procedure to select a private partner for the construction of the outer port in the Port of Gdynia.The project is a strategic investment of the Port of Gdynia Authority S.A., and is enlisted in the Polish government’s Seaports Development Program. The outer port development project, which is being prepared as a public-private partnership, consists of the construction of a new deep-water container terminal with an annual transshipment capacity of 2.5 million TEU.

NOAA has awarded a lease to Massa Industries, LLC for office space in Middletown, R.I., that will temporarily house a new marine operations support facility for Rhode Island-based NOAA ships Henry B. Bigelow and Okeanos Explorer.The Middletown facility will also support NOAA personnel engaged in the design and construction of a new pier for the two ships and a permanent NOAA marine operations support facility at Naval Station Newport. NOAA expects to occupy the interim facility in the fall of 2020 and relocate it to the naval station in 2023.“With an expanded presence in Rhode Island…

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a SEK 445 million ($45.6 million) loan agreement with the Municipality of Ystad to expand harbor facilities so that new, larger liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels on the Swinoujscie-Ystad line can access the harbor.The port in the southern-Swedish town is a busy connection point to the Polish Port of Swinoujscie and the Danish island of Bornholm. The project aims at increasing the capacity and upgrading the Port of Ystad facilities in order to accommodate larger ro-pax vessels over 240 meters in length…

Cruise port operator Global Ports Holding (GPH) has signed a 30-year concession agreement with the government of Antigua and Barbuda for cruise port operations in Antigua on an exclusive basis.The concession also includes certain retail outlets in the project area. This concession marks GPH’s second step in its expansion into the Americas, after the signing of Havana in 2018.Under the terms of the concession agreement, the Group will use its global expertise and operating model to manage the cruise port operations in Antigua.In addition, GPH will finance the completion of the ongoing construction of a new pier which will allow the port…

Crowley Maritime Corp. appointed four industry veterans to oversee the consolidated lines of business under the recently formed Crowley Shipping group, which provides petroleum and chemical transportation, commercial ship management, offshore energy support and ship assist and tanker escort services in the U.S. and international markets. Crowley said the new business unit structure better aligns vessel operations and services with customers, positioning the company for greater growth and efficiency under Rob Grune, senior vice president and general manager.

Crowley Maritime Corp. said it has retrofitted two of its heavy lift, flat-deck barges, 455-3 and Marty J, to provide additional capacity to customers shipping cargo between the U.S. mainland and Puerto Rico. With the 455-3 sailing early Tuesday morning from the Port of Jacksonville, Crowley has now expanded its fleet from nine to 16 vessels, further increasing U.S. flag capacity to transport commercial and relief supplies to support the island’s recovery after Hurricane Maria in late September.

The almost 100-year old firm has many specialties, including the ability to construct innovative, complicated tonnage for its own purposes. The slowdown in barge construction in some sectors hasn’t dampened the need for specialty barges in other areas. In many cases, these mission requirements can involve the repurposing of existing tonnage using sometimes innovative and unusual design parameters. Such was the case when Cranford, NJ-based Weeks Marine (WMI) completed the conversion of an existing ABS deck barge into a loadline compliant, semi-submersible, all self-contained unit. Its first assignment involved transit to Canada for the launching of concrete caissons in Halifax, Nova Scotia for a new pier.

An important milestone has been reached at the Port of Kapellskär, now that all five quay-berths are in operation at this state-of-the-art port. The Port of Kapellskär has been expanded and now has two piers and a total of five modern quay-berths. The new 245 metre-long pier has been in operation since summer 2016. The original pier has been extensively renovated and is now ready for traffic. “An important milestone has been reached now that we have all of our five modern quay-berths in operation,” says Peter Lundman, Technical Operations Manager at the Port of Kapellskär. The dredging work has been completed, the concrete has been repaired and the pier has been equipped with erosion protection, fenders, bollards, safety barriers and new lighting.

Liebherr Maritime Cranes recently delivered a new mobile harbor crane, type LHM 550, to the Port of Helsingborg. In addition, Container Terminal St. Petersburg got two machines of the same type. All three machines are equipped with electric prime movers. At the end of August, a new Liebherr mobile harbor crane, type LHM 550, the latest investment by Port of Helsingborg arrived at the Västhamnen. The crane was shipped fully assembled by barge from the Liebherr facility in the Port of Rostock. “The crane was ready for operation immediately after rolling off from the barge onto our new quay.

Highlighting the economic impact under the Jones Act of its $500 million investment in the trade between the U.S. mainland and Puerto Rico, Crowley Maritime Corporation’s liner services group reached new milestones in its construction of two new, Commitment Class ConRo (combination container and Roll/On-Roll/Off) ships that will be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), and in its terminal construction in San Juan. The bow of El Coquí was recently set as shipbuilders at VT Halter Marine in Pascagoula…

Ports of Stockholm has expanded Stockholm by 85000 square metres, and built a new pier and passenger terminal. Värtahamnen has been under reconstruction since 2013. The rebuilding is part of the development of a completely new city district in Stockholm, the Stockholm Royal Seaport. Ports of Stockholm has built a new pier and passenger terminal, which the ferry operations at Värtahamnen have now moved to. The concentration of port operations to the pier has freed-up 85 000 square meters of land for urban development, making space for 12 000 new homes and 35 000 workplaces. At the same time a new landmark has been created in Stockholm. The Värta Terminal, which has been designed by architect firm C.F.

The Port of Kapellskär, Sweden, is being rebuilt to be able to accommodate larger vessels and meet market demands for current and future freight volumes. Now that the new 245 metre-long pier is completed, the port has two new modern quay-berths. The new pier has been operational from yesterday (13th June). The entire port is expected to be completed before the end of 2016, following three years of construction work. “It feels really good now that the new pier is ready and we can see the results of what we have worked on for so many years,” says Tobias Kednert, Project Manager for the Port of Kapellskär Development Project. “As vessel sizes are increasing, we decided to install some of Europe’s biggest ramps on the pier, to be able to welcome even the next generation of vessels.

Pre-Commissioning Unit Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) completed its turn ship evolution June 11. This is a major milestone that brings the country's newest nuclear powered aircraft carrier another step closer to delivery and commissioning later this year. "Turning the ship is an opportunity for the crew to demonstrate for the first time all the procedures required to get the ship underway safely," said Commanding Officer Capt. Richard McCormack. This operation marks the first time Ford has moved from its pier since coming out of dry dock in November 2013. The ship's stern now faces the James River. One of the most important accomplishments of the Turn Ship evolution was a "Sally Test".

Four structures at the Port of Long Beach’s newest marine terminal recently earned the coveted “gold” status in the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, which encourages the use of Earth-friendly features that save energy, conserve water and use recycled materials. Located at Long Beach Container Terminal’s new Pier E facility at Middle Harbor, the four buildings function as administrative offices and meeting space, an information technology center, and maintenance and operations structures. They range in size from 10,000 square feet to 50,000 square feet and were completed last year in preparation for this spring’s opening of the new terminal. The LEED awards are for the first phase of the new terminal.

Further reinforcing its commitment to the Puerto Rico market, Crowley Maritime Corp. is enhancing its total suite of shipping and logistics solutions for consumers and businesses with the consolidation of its Caribbean logistics services into a single new facility in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. “By consolidating our non-vessel-operator-common-carrier (NVOCC) and less-than-container load (LCL) operations into a single logistics services center, we will be able to serve our customers more efficiently and handle increased cargo throughput…

Crowley Puerto Rico Services announced an additional $21 million construction contract for improvements and upgrades at its Isla Grande port terminal in San Juan. The contract was awarded to Del Valle Group, S.P. of Toa Baja, Puerto Rico, and includes expanding the terminal’s capacity for handling refrigerated containers; paving 15 acres to accommodate container stacking; installing a new electrical substation to provide power for three new ship-to-shore gantry cranes; constructing…

Lerwick’s Holmsgarth North project reached a major milestone at the weekend with completion of the sheet pile walls of the new pier.   Early completion of the piling is a splendid achievement by contractor Tulloch Developments and very timeous before the weather broke with autumn gales.  The new jetty is already providing a significant shelter improvement.  The overall project is due for completion one year from now.  John Coutts took the excellent photograph giving a good impression of the 805 metres (half an imperial mile) of quay walls that are now installed.

Crowley Puerto Rico Services, Inc. has broken ground on a $48.5-million construction project for a new pier at its Isla Grande Terminal in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the company announced. The project includes the development of a new 900-foot-long, 114-foot-wide concrete pier and all associated dredging needed to accommodate Crowley’s two new liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered, Commitment Class ships, which are scheduled for delivery in 2017. Crowley’s terminal expansion also includes the installation of three new ship-to-shore container gantry cranes…