Port Construction News

U.S. President Joe Biden's plan to build a floating U.S. military port to speed up aid to Gaza could take up to 60 days to become a reality and involve more than 1,000 American troops, the Pentagon said on Friday.The Pentagon offered the timeline a day after Biden announced the initiative in his State of the Union speech, as he seeks to cool anger in his Democratic Party over his staunch support for Israel's offensive in Gaza since Oct. 7.The United Nations has warned that widespread famine in the Gaza Strip is "almost inevitable" without urgent action.

Ports have long been integral to Africa’s connectivity with the rest of the world. Yet over the last 15 years, a new stage in maritime infrastructure planning and development has begun. Between 2004 and 2019, over US$50 billion was spent on this infrastructure – roughly 13 times more than was spent between 1990 and 2004.Ports reflect more than simple economic imperatives. They are crucial in creating and reinforcing social, political, and cultural systems. Infrastructure can be…

Protests were temporarily called off at Adani's Vizhinjam seaport in the southern Indian state of Kerala after more than four months of agitation, a protest leader said on Tuesday, but demands to halt port construction were not met.Work by the Adani Group had been paused at the port because of objections from a mostly Christian fishing community, led by Catholic priests, who said the port would cause coastal erosion and undermine locals' livelihoods, calling for a complete halt to the construction.The Adani conglomerate…

The Port of South Louisiana officially dedicated and named its two Konecranes Gottwald Model 6 Portal Harbor Cranes for its public facility, the Globalplex Intermodal Terminal Dock along the Mississippi River. These cranes have increased the Port’s capacity for handling bulk materials and will allow for the handling of containers and project cargo.As the nation’s leading grain exporter and one of the Western Hemisphere’s largest tonnage ports, the Port of South Louisiana is a sea gateway for international trade and commerce.

No, that’s not the clarinet and saxophone sections in the band. New Jersey’s Economic Development Authority (EDA) released an RFP (request for proposals) on January 7 seeking a “qualified entity to conduct a feasibility study for a world-class, flagship offshore wind research and development (R&D) testing facility as part of the Authority’s strategy to accelerate innovation for the offshore wind industry.” EDA lists three goals for the proposed Institute:Establish NJ as a leader in offshore wind technology research and innovation…

The government of Santa Fe province in Argentina late on Wednesday ordered port workers to suspend a day-old strike that had blocked grains shipments at the country's main agricultural export hub and mandated wage negotiations be resumed.Protests by port construction workers in Argentina's key grains hub Rosario had snarled exports, with roads blocked at some of the area's key export terminals, an industry official told Reuters earlier on Wednesday.The protest began late on Tuesday and on Wednesday spread to the districts of Puerto General San Martin and Timbues…

China’s Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday it would extend a waiver on port construction fees for imported and exported cargoes until the end of 2020 from June 30.The ministry will also extend a reduction in fees paid to the compensation fund for ship pollution until the end of this year.The move is part of Beijing’s efforts to help business resume amid the coronavirus pandemic and to shore up its export industry.(Reporting by Muyu Xu and Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)

Unifeeder containership SCA Tunadal on Wednesday claimed the maiden call at Sweden’s newest freight port, Stockholm Norvik Port, following the completion of a long port construction project.The container terminal is now open, both for vessel calls and for shore-based business operations at the port. The 32 hectare container terminal is run by Hutchison Ports, one of the world’s largest container terminal operators, with 52 ports in 27 countries.Nine goods in 10 arrive in Sweden by sea, and the Stockholm region accounts for half of Sweden’s entire consumption.

The reasons for that are many and these realities cater to regulatory, commercial and regional needs.The U.S. dredging market is complex and relies on the diverse fleet of private dredging companies to get the job done. In addition to design and technical capabilities, environmental restrictions and regulations often dictate whether a trailing suction hopper dredge, cutter suction dredge, or mechanical dredge can respond to the coastal protection, wetland restoration, port deepening, and channel maintenance needs of the Nation.

Iran's Chabahar port expects 20% increase in cargo handling operations in the current year.The Director General of the ports and maritime of Sistan and Baluchistan, Behrouz Aghaei,  announced the economic, marine, technical, and maintenance priorities of the ports of the province in 2019-2020.Mentioning the economic, marine, technical, and maintenance priorities of the ports of Sistan and Baluchistan province, Behrouz Aghaei stated that dredging of the canal of Shahid Kalantari port and providing full radio coverage in the coastal waters of the Sistan and Baluchestan are the priorities of the General Directorate of Ports and Marine Affairs of this province.He continued: "In the port and economic section, the conclusion of a contract with 5000 billion Rials worth of investment in the Chabah

Marking the opening of a new China-Europe freight train route a freight train left Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, heading for Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan.According to a report in Xinhua, the train consists of 42 containers loaded with laptops, LED panels, green tea and other products manufactured in Hunan province.With this service, Zhuzhou has become the third city in Hunan Province to open international freight train route to Europe after Changsha and Huaihua.The train will leave China through the Horgos Pass in Xinjiang and pass Kazakhstan before reaching its destination.The whole trip will take seven days…

Now that the United States finally can envision steady winds blowing from the Atlantic Seaboard due to a pipeline of offshore wind farms on the horizon, the maritime industry can finally step up and earn some of the benefits. This includes shipbuilding, port construction, and worker training. This article reviews the key developments and forecasts the growth in maritime jobs.The federal and state governments share responsibility for developing offshore wind farms and bringing the wind into the power grid and…

The state-of-the-art DPS i-Series Differential Positioning System has won the ‘Innovative Dredging Technology of the Year’ category at the Dredging and Port Construction Awards 2018.The judges highlighted the unique system as a powerful tool for dredging contractors who can now leverage the same abilities for high-precision applications as offshore operators; using sensor technology combined with satellite positioning systems to improve not just the position of dredging vessels but also their efficiency.Ines Nastali, the editor of Dredging and Port Construction, a tightly focused business and technical journal for the dredging industry celebrating its 50th anniversary this year…

On November 10, Royal IHC successfully launched the Spartacus, a 44,180kW self-propelled cutter suction dredger (CSD) designed and built for DEME. The ceremony took place at IHC's shipyard in Krimpen aan den IJssel, The Netherlands. It was performed by Mrs Fabienne Ackermans, the spouse of Mr Luc Bertrand (chairman of the Board of Directors of Ackermans & van Haaren, owner of DEME).Spartacus is reportedly the world’s largest CSD and the first to be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG). The four main engines can run on LNG, marine diesel oil (MDO) and heavy fuel oil (HFO).

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines has announced that its joint venture company Haiphong International Container Terminal held an opening ceremony for the new Haiphong International Container Terminal (HICT) at Lach Huyen Port, Vietnam on May 13. HICT is the first terminal in Northern Vietnam with a berth deep enough to allow calls by 14,000TEU containerships. It will meet customer demands for shorter transit times and lower transport costs, while contributing to economic growth in Northern Vietnam, including Haiphong industrial park, since large-size container vessels, which offer direct links to Asia and North America/Europe, can call at the port.

Abu Dhabi Ports has signed a 30-year concession agreement with Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) to build a new container terminal at its Khalifa Port.Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has spent billions developing the port, which opened in 2012, as part of ongoing efforts to diversify its oil-rich economy.Khalifa Port is on a man-made island roughly half-way between the centres of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and about 60 kilometres (37 miles) south from Dubai’s huge Jebel Ali port.Construction of the new terminal will include deepening berths to make Khalifa Port capable o

Turkey’s Oyak Group - owner of the country’s biggest steel producer, Erdemir Group - is to invest in a car logistics terminal in Yarimca port near Istanbul  in partnership with Japan’s Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK Line). According to a Reuters report, the investment will be $110 million. According to NYK press release, Süleyman Savaş Erdem, general manager of OYAK, and Koichi Chikaraishi, NYK representative director and senior managing corporate officer, were on hand for the signing ceremony held in Istanbul on April 5. NYK will participate in the port's construction, and the new terminal will be the first large terminal that is located in the suburbs of Istanbul and dedicated to finished cars.

The President of Ecuador Lenín Moreno and DP World Group Chairman and CEO, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem today performed a ground-breaking ceremony to mark the start of construction of the greenfield multi-purpose port project at Posorja, Ecuador. The ceremony follows the 50-year concession the company won last year from the Government of Ecuador to build a facility with 750,000 TEU (twenty-foot container equivalent) of capacity to fuel the country’s economic growth and connect it with international markets. The $500 million initial investment (Phase 1) includes the purchase of land, dredging of a new access channel, a 20-kilometre access road and a 400-metre berth equipped to handle containers and other cargo.

The growing worldwide demand for marine technologies, port construction and shipbuilding is generating new export opportunities for U.S. companies. As more firms look to boost their bottom line by maximizing their reach to the more than 95 percent of world consumers who live outside of the United States, many are taking advantage of numerous export resources along the way. At the same time, many other businesses have yet to export. International Trade Specialist Maryanne Burke leads the U.S. Commercial Service’s Marine Technology Team, and is based at the Boston U.S.

The planned freight port, the Stockholm Norvik Port, just north of Nynäshamn, is extremely important for the establishment of an efficient, eco-friendly supply of goods to the Stockholm region. In accordance with the Swedish Environmental Code, construction and operation of the port requires a legal ruling. Today the Swedish Supreme Court issued a positive ruling by deciding not to allow permission for an appeal to be heard. This means that construction of the port can begin during the year. “We are very pleased about the Supreme Court’s decision. After a long process in this important project for the Stockholm region, the Supreme Court has issued its final ruling and we can at last begin to build the Stockholm Norvik Port,” says Johan Castwall, Ports of Stockholm Managing Director.

As the maritime industry continues to evolve, the need for developing well-trained, knowledgeable and tech-savvy port leaders of the future has never been greater. Last April, the Port of Los Angeles announced its first-ever Fellows Program, an educational initiative focused on developing the next generation of maritime and port leadership. The one-year, on-the-job experience for graduate students officially kicked off in June with the selection of three fellows from some of the region’s top universities. “What students learn from a book or in their classes is just one part of the equation,” said Doane Liu, deputy executive director at the Port of Los Angeles.

In April 2016 Zumaia Offshore, S.L., leading workboat owner and operator based in the Basque Country, took delivery of the Cummins-powered MPP workboat “Aitana B” from Neptune Shipyards in the Netherlands. At 27 by 12-meters with a three-meter draft it is one of the largest models of Neptune’s Eurocarrier series of workboats, which are specifically designed for dredging assistance, port construction & maintenance, dive & ROV support, sea renewables, Geotechnical survey and general offshore support in shallow waters. The range of equipment built into the rectangular platform is remarkable. An accommodation and wheelhouse block set on the port side provides six staterooms, mess and galley for up to 12 people. In addition there is another 150 square meters of clear working deck.

On November 10, DEME and Royal IHC have been awarded a DPC Innovation Award for the world’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered Trailing Suction Hopper Dredgers (TSHD). The DPC Innovation Awards consisted of 13 categories looking at the most innovative and forward-thinking projects that the dredging and port construction industry has to offer. DEME and Royal IHC won the award in the “Innovation in Dredger Design” category. Since a few years, DEME has embarked on a comprehensive fleet expansion programme and a number of vessels are currently being built to significantly increase efficiency, both in terms of productivity and environmental performance.