Arctic Ocean Could Be Ice-free In Summer By 2030s, Scientists Say
The Arctic Ocean could be ice-free in summer by the 2030s, even if we do a good job of reducing emissions between now and then. That’s the worrying conclusion of a new study in Nature Communications.Predictions of an ice-free Arctic Ocean have a long and complicated history, and the 2030s is sooner than most scientists had thought possible (though it is later than some had wrongly forecast). What we know for sure is the disappearance of sea ice at the top of the world would not only be an emblematic sign of climate breakdown…
Marseille Port Completes Blockchain Trial
The Port of Marseille Fos (Grand Port Maritime de Marseille; GPMM) has just completed a blockchain pilot scheme to enhanced efficiencies at France’s largest seaport.The focus of the project for freight transportation on the Mediterranean-Rhone-Saone (MeRS) corridor is to run a trial to evaluate the security of the digital transport chain. It will involve applying blockchain technology to supply chain logistics and freight forwarding, particularly where goods are transported in multiple ways such as sea and road.Results from trials held over recent months have now been reviewed at a meeting hosted by the port and demonstrated that harmonization of the digital transport chain improved fluidity…
TORM Takes Delivery of 2 MR Newbuildings
TORM, a Denmark-based shipping company that owns and operates product tankers, announced that it took delivery of two medium range (MR) newbuildings during the second quarter of 2019.The carrier of refined oil products said in a stock exchange announcement that it during the second quarter of 2019, TORM has purchased four modern 2011-built MR vessels for a total consideration of USD 83m. The vessels are expected to be delivered during August 2019.TORM has sold the MR vessel TORM Gunhild (built in 1999) for a consideration of USD 6 million and repaid debt of USD 4m in connection with the vessel sale. The vessel has been delivered to the new owners."After the quarter ended on 30 June 2019…
Marseille Fos Accelerates Air Emissions Cuts
Among a string of new eco-friendly initiatives, the Marseille Fos port authority is to spend $22 million over the next six years to extend shoreside electrical connections for berthed vessels to every ferry, cruiseship and repair quay within the Marseille eastern harbor.Already available on the Corsica ferry quays, the network will be expanded in two phases to cover North Africa ferry quays and the shiprepair hub by 2022 and the cruise terminal between 2022 and 2025. The zero…
New CEO Showcases Marseilles Fos Initiatives
Christine Cabau Woehrel has taken up her new role as CEO of the Marseilles Fos port authority after two years heading the Port of Dunkirk. She succeeds Jean-Claude Terrier following a French transport ministry nomination that was backed by the port’s supervisory board in February and has now been confirmed by government decree. Her move marks a return to the headquarters city of CMA GGM, France’s biggest and the world’s third largest container carrier, where she worked from 1987-2011.
Marseilles Confirms Development Link
A development partnership including the Port of Marseilles Authority (PMA) has outlined plans for further expansion of inland waterways traffic following 60% growth in five years. The latest objectives, focusing on container and dry bulk trades for the period 2008-2012, maintain a co-operation agreement signed in 2002 by the port, waterways authority Voies Navigables de France and the Compagnie Nationale du Rhone (CNR) covering 550km of waterways in the Rhone-Saone corridor. In the first five years of the initiative, total cargo volumes for containers, oil products and dry/liquid bulks rose from 1.8 to 2.7million tonnes, giving the waterways a 5.34% share of hinterland traffic compared with 3.65% in 2002.
Port of Marseilles Authority Names New Director-General
Guy Janin has been named the new director-general of the Port of Marseilles Authority. Janin, 58, has been head of the inland waterways authority Voies Navigables de France (VNF) since 2004. His nomination by the French minister of transport and maritime affairs was approved at a port board meeting on November 24 and is due to be formally ratified at a government cabinet meeting. Predecessor Eric Brassart, 56, stepped down in October following a sympathy strike by the port’s CGT union members opposing plans to privatize State ferry operator SNCM. The government marked his departure with praise for the port’s growth during his eight-year tenure and stressed that he is to be assigned to new tasks.
