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Port Au Prince News

15 Mar 2024

CMA CGM to Halt Calls at Haiti's Port au Prince

© Yellow Boat / Adobe Stock

French shipping group CMA CGM said on Friday it was suspending its calls at Port au Prince due to the worsening security situation in the Haitian capital.The group, one of the world's largest container lines, will call at Lafito, 20 km from Port au Prince, as an alternative, while also continuing to call at Cap Haitien as usual, CMA CGM said in a customer advisory.(Reuters - Reporting by Gus Trompiz, Editing by Ingrid Melander)

14 Mar 2024

Royal Caribbean Suspends Cruise Visits to Haiti's Labadee

© NAN / Adobe Stock

Royal Caribbean Group has suspended cruise visits to Labadee, a secluded peninsula in Haiti, for the next seven days following months of escalating gang violence in the country, a senior company executive said in a Facebook post on Thursday.The company will continue the suspension as required with three days advance notice to guests sailing on impacted itineraries, Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley said.Violence by powerful armed gangs had gripped Haiti, causing thousands to flee their homes, after anti-government protests broke out early in February.The violent cl

08 Oct 2016

Hurricane Matthew Death Toll nears 900 in Haiti, Cholera takes lives

Hurricane Matthew's trail of destruction in Haiti stunned those emerging from the aftermath on Friday, with the number of dead soaring to 877, tens of thousands left homeless and outbreaks of cholera already claiming more lives. Information trickled in from remote areas that were cut off by the storm and it became clear that at least 175 people died in villages clustered among the hills and on the coast of Haiti's fertile western tip. Rural clinics overflowed with patients whose wounds including broken bones had not been treated since the storm hit on Tuesday. Food was scarce and at least seven people died of cholera, likely because of flood water mixing with sewage. The storm razed homes to their foundations.

02 Oct 2016

Evacuations in Guantanamo, Haiti as fierce Hurricane Matthew looms

The United States prepared to airlift hundreds of people from its Guantanamo Bay naval base as the most powerful cyclone to form over the Atlantic since Hurricane Felix in 2007 ground slowly towards Jamaica, Haiti and Cuba. Haiti also began evacuating residents by boat from outlying islands in preparation for Hurricane Matthew, which threatens to wreak widespread damage in the region with flash floods and winds at about 150 miles per hour (240 kph). Matthew is expected to make landfall as a major storm on Jamaica's southern coast, home to the capital, Kingston, and its only oil refinery. Stormy weather could begin on Sunday. Simultaneously…

06 Jul 2015

Port Lafito Officially Opens

GB Group, a diversified group of industrial and trading companies, has announced that Port Lafito, a world-class modern container port in Haiti, is open and operational. Port Lafito in Haiti officially opened on 2 July in a ceremony attended by the country’s president among other dignitaries. “Port Lafito will breathe new life into Haiti by creating new jobs, training for skilled labor, and encouraging foreign investment and development. This project will make a significant impact on the national economy and have a beneficial impact on the more than 10 million people that live here,” said Reuven Bigio, CEO of GB Group. “We are proud to announce that the day has come where we can help bring Haiti to the forefront of modern logistics,” he added.

13 Apr 2015

CMA CGM Upgrades Gulfbridge, Hispaniola Lines

Container shipping company CMA CGM Group announced its Gulfbridge service upgrade, and its Hispaniola feeder service optimization. To adapt the group’s offer to its clients’ demand, CMA CGM decided to improve its Gulfbridge service by decreasing its transit times to Colombia. The service first rotation will start on April 29, in New Orleans, with the vessel Frisia Loga. 2,500 TEUs capacity vessels will call ports in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea and East and West South American coast calls through its Kingston transshipment. To complete its regional coverage, the CMA CGM Group uses feeder services. Those services dispatch the containers transported on the main services via transshipment ports. Calls frequency will be increased. Transit times from Kingston will be reduced.

06 Apr 2011

Crowley Reestablishes Second Weekly Sailing to Haiti

To better meet the needs of customers shipping to Haiti from the Dominican Republic and South Florida, Crowley Maritime Corp. has enhanced its liner container shipping services by renewing its second fixed-day sailing to Port-au-Prince from Rio Haina and Port Everglades starting this week. After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Crowley reduced its twice-weekly service to Haiti to a single port call on Mondays due to infrastructure damage and resulting deterioration in the port's service capabilities. Now that the infrastructure has been repaired and those capabilities have been restored, customers once again will have the valuable option…

24 Aug 2010

American Salvage Association 10th Anniversary

vThe American Salvage Association (ASA) is celebrating the 10th year of its founding with a variety of special events to commemorate the occasion, including a lunch at its fall membership meeting on November 1 at MITAGS in Linthicum, Md. to be attended by a number of industry and government guests. ASA’s accomplishments have been noteworthy over the last decade. Among them, ASA members helped to evacuate people and debris from the devastation of the World Trade Center after 9-11. ASA came together during Hurricane Katrina and members were responsible for helping the Coast Guard achieve the prompt reopening of the Mississippi River and to accomplish salvage and wreck removal operations offshore and inland.

09 Jun 2010

Rickmers-Linie New Breakbulk Service

Bright State is one of the four vessels utilised in the new NCS Service of Rickmers-Linie.” Photo: Phil Gilston

Rickmers-Linie, breakbulk, heavylift and project cargo specialist headquartered in Hamburg, has launched a new service linking North Asia with South America and the US East Coast. Four vessels, each capable of lifting 120-tonne indivisible loads and featuring stern ramps for rolling cargo, will maintain the monthly schedule. • Savannah, Charleston and Philadelphia on the US East Coast. Additional ports can be called on inducement. In Asia, for example, the schedule permits calls in Northern China (Shanghai – Dalian range) and in South Korea.

06 Apr 2010

Maersk Ships Rice to Haiti for Free

Maersk Line, part of the Danish group A.P. Moller - Maersk, will provide free ocean freight for 147 containers (3,525 metric tons) of rice donated by the Government of Thailand to Haiti through the World Food Program. The rice will be split and shipped across four sailings, from Laem Chabang, Thailand to Caucedo, Dominican Republic, before being trucked into Haiti. The first shipment set sail on 15 March 2010, on Maersk Line vessel Maersk Kendal, and is expected to arrive six weeks later towards the end of April. Thomas L. Sorensen, Managing Director of the Maersk Line (Thailand) Co., Ltd, shares, “Maersk Line has a long history of providing disaster relief aid and is pleased to be able to continue in our efforts and support the World Food Programme.

25 Mar 2010

Expansion Plan at Haiti’s Terminal Varreux

Photo courtesy Kreps DeMaria Public Relations & Marketing

Haiti-based WIN Group and South Fla.-based Santé Holding announced having reached an agreement to re-develop Terminal Varreux, S.A. in Port-Au-Prince, the largest privately-owned shipping terminal and port facility in Haiti. The fourth generation WIN Group is a Caribbean conglomerates, with stakes in multiple industries. Santé Holding is headed by Charles Towsley, former director of the Port of Miami. Santé’s team is partnering with the Rovirosa family, marine port operators, who currently operate terminals in the Port of Miami and Port Everglades, Fla.

19 Mar 2010

Titan Completes Crane Removal, Port-au-Prince

The collapsed Washington Gantry crane in Port-au-Prince (Photos courtesy of USTRANSCOM)

Titan Salvage has safely removed the partially submerged Washington Gantry crane and other navigational hazards from Port-au-Prince, Haiti for the U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM). The company's work helped to re-establish port infrastructure and significantly increase the volume of marine cargo into Haiti following the devastating earthquake in January. The largest and most hazardous obstruction removed was a 300-metric ton gantry crane, which was partially submerged and listing towards the harbor at approximately 15 degrees, blocking access to the northern dock.

12 Mar 2010

USNS Comfort Completes Haiti Mission

Photo courtesy U.S. Navy

Hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) has completed its mission departed the Joint Task Force-Haiti area of operations. Over the course of seven weeks, the ship's U.S military and civilian medical personnel treated 871 patients, receiving at the height of the recovery effort one patient every six to nine minutes. But now, thanks to more field hospitals ashore and fewer patients in need of specialized care, the ship has not had patients on board for more than a week. Comfort departed its homeport in Baltimore Jan.

05 Mar 2010

New Weekly Ocean Service to Haiti

A New Weekly Ocean Service to Haiti, operated by America Cargo Transport Corp., has been established with U.S. flag vessels and crews. The service loads every Friday/Saturday in Jacksonville, Fla. to Port-au-Prince, and/or Cap Haitien, Haiti. The service is accepting cargo booking requests for commerical cargoes, NGOs and Non-Profits. The service is accepting cargo bookings on a space available basis for ro-ro, containers (20-ft or 40-ft), breakbulk cargoes, high/wide/heavy on-deck and below deck space available. No reefers at this time. Shipper Owned Containers (SOC) TEUs 20-ft containers (with fork-pockets) are recommend to easy cargo handling and ground transport in Haiti, and to also provide cargo storage and security. America Cargo Transport Corp.

02 Mar 2010

New U.S. Transportation Command Contract

Crowley Liner Services, Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., has been awarded a sole-source letter contract to obtain emergency port related services in Haiti. The contract has a not-to-exceed amount of $22,000,000. The contract is for services required to restore cargo delivery capability and support Haiti port operations at Port-au-Prince. Services include surveying damaged ports and beaches; establishment of beach landing operations; cargo lightering operations to establish a link between deep draft cargo vessels and beach landing facilities; warehousing; cargo consolidation; trucking; placement of docking barges with cranes to function as temporary piers and removal of various obstructions in the water, to include a large gantry crane.

23 Feb 2010

CMA CGM Service Resumes Through Haiti

Having been involved in the relief effort since the earthquake struck Haiti, the CMA CGM Group announced that it has resumed a regular service between Port-au-Prince and Kingston in Jamaica. On February 7th, a 516 teu capacity CMA CGM feeder vessel made a call to Port-au-Prince as an extension of its Europe-Caribbean Service (ECS). A second call was made on February 15th thanks to the 400-ft long floating dock that has recently been installed at the Haiti Terminal. On February 11th CMA CGM was also back in business with the reopening of the VITAL Agency, its Port-au-Prince representative. This regular service via Kingston, a major Caribbean transhipment hub, offers an alternative solution for all commodities coming from and going to Port-au-Prince.

16 Feb 2010

Titan to Improve Port-au-Prince Navigation

Photo courtesy Crowley Corporation

A Titan Salvage team is working in Haiti to remove navigational hazards, including the collapsed Washington gantry crane, in Port-au-Prince for the U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), in an effort to increase the cargo throughput in the heavily damaged port. Titan’s team, led by Salvage Master Roy Dodgen and Project Manager Leo McDonough, is using Resolve Marine Services' 142-ft crane barge RMG300 to help clear debris and other navigational hazards. Additionally, Titan has…

26 Jan 2010

WIN Group, Seacor Work on Haiti's Fuel Terminal

WIN Group, the Haitian conglomerate that owns and operates Terminal Varreux in Port-au-Prince, situated just five miles from the epicenter of the January 12 earthquake, and Seacor Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CKH) have launched an emergency response project to enable the crucial marine terminal to resume receiving bulk fuel and containerized cargoes thereby replenishing the stricken country’s rapidly dwindling supplies of gasoline, diesel fuel, fuel oil, propane gas and edible oils used for cooking. Terminal Varreux receives and stores in excess of 70% of Haiti’s fuel oil used for power plants, gasoline and diesel used for land-based fueling stations, propane used for multiple applications and edible oils used for cooking.

28 Jan 2010

Fuel Logistics Enable U.S. Haiti Relief Effort

The United States Government Defense Energy Support Center (DESC) provides fueling services to Department of Defense, federal civilian and government agencies. In the wake of the Haiti disaster, both the access to and convenience of obtaining necessary fuels for aviation and maritime support efforts became a matter of clear necessity. Beginning on Tuesday evening, January 12 – the night of the initial earthquake – support representatives from Multi Service, the exclusive contractor for the DESC AIR Card and SEA Card Programs, mobilized in support of Defense Logistics and DESC Haiti disaster relief actions to ensure that U.S. support aircrafts and vessels would have access to the fuel required for completing their missions.

28 Jan 2010

Coast Guard Photo: Haiti

Hundreds of Haitians pile into a ferry headed away from Port-au-Prince, Jan. 20, 2010. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Brandon Blackwell)

01 Feb 2010

Crowley Completes Cargo Lightering in Haiti

Photo courtesy Crowley

Crowley Maritime Corporation, working under contract with the U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), successfully discharged 202 20-foot containers of relief supplies across a beach in Port-au-Prince, Haiti yesterday marking the largest post-disaster lightering operation to date. This successful, larger scale operation follows a trial shipment of 12 containers last week. In addition to the two sailings of the Marcajama directly into Port-au-Prince, the ship also made a call in Rio Haina as did the Crowley Americas.

03 Feb 2010

Photo: Haiti Relief

The U.S. flag barge American Trader in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, south pier, back loading empty 545 TEUS on Feb. 3, 2010. (Photo courtesy America Cargo Transport Corp.)

09 Feb 2010

Fuel Ops Resume at Haiti’s Main Terminal

On Feb. 9, WIN Group, the Haitian enterprise that owns and operates Terminal Varreux in Port-au-Prince, and Seacor Holdings Inc. announced that emergency repairs have enabled tanker shipments of fuel to resume to Haiti. Restoration of Terminal Varreux's marine operations included the installation of an interim vessel mooring system, the repair and testing of critical piping systems and the revision of terminal operating procedures. Additional emergency construction at Terminal Varreux is also providing the capability to receive containerized cargoes, furthering recovery efforts. The first tanker began discharging its initial load of fuel at the restored berth on Friday, February 5.