South Port News

International shipbroker Braemar announced on Monday that it has acquired Southport Maritime, one of the highest volume U.S.-based shipbroking tanker companies.With a particular focus on spot tanker fixtures, Southport’s 18-strong team will complement Braemar’s existing Tanker desks in London, Singapore, Madrid, Houston and Geneva.Braemar’s new offices in West Palm Beach and Winter Park Florida, will continue to be led by Michael Corey and Peter Tornaben, the co-founders of Southport Maritime.

Damen Shipyards Group said it has booked an order from South Port New Zealand for the delivery of a Damen Azimuth Tractor Tug (ATD) 2412. The vessel, with 65 tonnes bollard pull, will replace an older vessel with 35 tonnes bollard pull, bringing the port’s total bollard pull capability up to 105 tonnes.South Port has selected an ATD due to its ability to undertake indirect towage and for the vessel’s excellent maneuverability and power, according to Damen.Due to Damen’s practice of building standardized vessels in series and for stock…

Chembulk Tankers signed commercial management agreements for its entire fleet of owned and chartered stainless-steel chemical tankers to enter commercial pools managed by Womar Logistics. “Chembulk’s commercial shift to the Womar chemical pools places our quality vessels in an established and growing revenue sharing platform, providing commercial efficiencies, logistics flexibility and a seamless continuation of the performance our customers expect from Chembulk vessels," said Bart Kelleher, CEO, Chembulk. "All other ownership responsibilities will remain fully within Chembulk.”Together with several current Chembulk chartering and operations professionals, the fleet will transition to commercial management by Womar.

A seven-meter (23-foot) long, wind-powered unmanned surface vehicle (USV) called a saildrone has become the first unmanned system to circumnavigate Antarctica.The vehicle, known as SD 1020, was equipped with a suite of climate-grade sensors and collected data in previously unchartered waters, enabling new key insights into ocean and climate processes.The 196-day mission was launched from Southport in Bluff, New Zealand, on January 19, 2019, returning to the same port on August 3 after sailing over 22,000 km (13,670 miles) around Antarctica. During the mission, the vehicle survived freezing temperatures, 15-meter (50-foot) waves, 130 km/h (80 mph) winds…

Florida International Terminal (FIT) has successfully deployed the eModal Community Portal (eCP) PreGate appointment module to improve turn times and customer service.The port operator of a 41 acre marine terminal in the Southport area of Port Everglades is the first port terminal in South Florida to implement an appointment system.Advent Intermodal Solutions, provider of the eModal suite of applications that simplify and accelerate the flow of cargo across the landside supply chain, said that this is Phase One of FIT’s eModal implementation.In this first phase, truckers picking up import containers will now schedule a pick-up appointment via eModal.

The three governments of Sri Lanka, Japan and India have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) for the development of the East Container Terminal (ECT) located in the Colombo South Port."As a hub of the Indian Ocean, the development of Sri Lanka and openness of its ports are of great importance. Colombo Port is the leading Port in the region. This joint project reflects the longstanding good will and cooperation among the three countries," said a joint statement.Japan has provided cooperation for the development of the Jaya Container Terminal since the 1980’s. Around 70% of Colombo Port’s transshipment business is India-related.Sri Lanka…

The South Port Connector Road Project received environmental clearance from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Pharr District Office, advancing the project to the construction phase.The project is part of the Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority’s (CCRMA) East Loop Corridor plan. When complete, the South Port Connector Road will span two miles and will connect Ostos Road at the Port of Brownsville with State Highway 4.The project will enhance the port’s intermodal connectivity, further facilitating domestic and international trade throughout the Rio Grande Valley.“The Port of Brownsville is a valuable asset to the Texas economy and a major economic force in the region,” said John Reed, Brownsville Navigation District Chairman.

Sudan's military rulers on Tuesday suspended a contract with Philippine port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc pending its cancellation, the country's Transitional Military Council said in a statement.Workers at Port Sudan's southern container terminal went on strike in February to protest against a 20-year concession signed in January to operate, manage and develop the South Port Container Terminal at Port Sudan.Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz

Mr. Cernak was AAPA’s immediate past Chairman and its 2019 Cruise Award recipient.Port Everglades Chief Executive and Director Steven M. Cernak passed away over the weekend, following a long, valiant battle with cancer. He was the immediate past Chairman of the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) and immediate past Chairman of the Florida Ports Council.Upon learning of Mr. Cernak’s passing, AAPA President and CEO Kurt Nagle said: “Today we mourn the loss of one of the greatest champions of the port industry…

The Coast Guard medevaced a man suffering severe abdominal pains from Bald Head Island, North Carolina, Monday.Coast Guard Station Oak Island watchstanders received a report of the 49-year old man's condition and the request for a medevac from medical personnel with the Bald Head Island Public Safety Department.Station Oak Island launched a 29-foot Response Boat-Small boat crew, who embarked the man and two medical personnel at Bald Head Island, and transported them to awaiting EMS personnel at Deep Point Marina in Southport.The two medical personnel were returned to Bald Head Island."It's imperative we continue to work hand-in-hand with our local partners on Bald Head Island," said Senior Chief Petty Officer Josh Meyer, officer-in-charge at Station Oak Island.

Philippines-based International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) said it has been chosen by the government of Sudan to handle the operations and management of the South Port Container Terminal (SPCT). In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, ICTSI said the state-run Sea Ports Corp. of Sudan (SPC) has confirmed it as the preferred bidder to operate and manage the SPCT under a 20-year concession. ICTSI, controlled by gaming and ports tycoon Enrique Razon Jr., said that SPC is the independent state corporation of the Republic of the Sudan that governs, constructs and maintains the country’s ports, harbors and lighthouses.

Broward County’s Port Everglades reports that it is progressing with manufacturing the first three new Super Post-Panamax container-handling gantry cranes being built by Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. Inc. (ZPMC) of China. The design phase is nearing completion, and today Port Everglades Chief Executive Steven Cernak issued a second notice to proceed to begin manufacturing the cranes valued at $13.8 million each.“This is a significant step towards the delivery and installation of the first three Super Post-Panamax cranes later next year,” Cernak said.

Chembulk Tankers named Steve Laino its Chief Commercial Officer, based out of the Southport office and responsible for all facets of our commercial strategy worldwide, including chartering, projects and client relations. Laino comes to Chembulk with more than two decades of diverse experience in the maritime transportation industry, with experience in the chemical tanker sector. Laino has held roles in operations both at sea and ashore, in commercial capacities as a tanker broker, projects broker and shipowner. Most recently, Laino held the role of Chief Operating Officer of Chemical Transportation Group (CTG), which he founded together with two partners and a group of investors in 2014.

Broward County's Port Everglades said it is purchasing three low-profile Super Post Panamax container-handling gantry cranes at $13.8 million each to meet demands from current customers and new services anticipated from the port's multi-million-dollar expansion program. The Broward County Board of County Commissioners approved the $41.4 million crane purchase today, with an option for the seaport to purchase an additional three cranes anytime within five years of placing the order for the first three cranes. "Cargo ships are getting larger and several shipping lines already coming to Port Everglades from Europe and South America need Super Post-Panamax cranes now.

Cape Fear Pilots Association of Southport, N.C. has taken delivery of its second St. John’s Class pilot boat from Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation. This vessel marks the Somerset, Mass. shipyard’s 400th boat built since its founding 1955. The new all-aluminum launch, an updated version of the pilot’s first St. John’s Class delivered in 2001, features a deep-V hull designed by C. Raymond Hunt Associates. It measures 52 feet overall, with a 17-foot beam and a 4.8-foot draft. It is powered by twin Caterpillar C-18 diesel engines, each producing 479 Bhp at 1,800 rpm.

The world’s largest listed crude-tanker operator Euronav is planning to buy 18 tankers for around $1.2 billion in one of the biggest deals involving oil carriers this year, reports WSJ. The reports says that Euronav is in advanced discussions with Greece’s Metrostar to buy eight very large crude carriers, The deal to buy four of the VLCCs, plus an option for another four, will be signed as early as next week. Euronav also is in the market to buy 10 smaller Suezmax tankers from Southport, Conn.-based Principal Maritime Tankers Corp. However, Euronav stated that company policy is no to comment on market speculation but it can confirm that it is in advanced discussions to acquire four VLCCs and if concluded…

Coast Guard Oak Island crew members and a Brunswick County paramedic came to the aid of an ailing man Wednesday aboard a charter fishing vessel approximately 15 miles southeast of the Cape Fear River entrance. Personnel at Coast Guard Sector North Carolina received notification from the 25-foot charter vessel with five people on board Wednesday about noon stating a 35-year-old male passenger with heart problems was in and out of consciousness approximately 28 miles southeast of the Cape Fear River entrance. A 47-foot Motor Lifeboat (MLB) crew from Station Oak Island launched first and a 29-foot Response Boat-Small (RBS) from Station Oak Island later launched after taking aboard a Brunswick County paramedic.

C. Raymond Hunt Associates, a boat design firm that continues to expand on the legacy of its founder, C. Raymond Hunt, to produce innovative boats with rugged seaworthiness, is now celebrating its 50th year. “Ray Hunt was a genius, able to intuitively know how boats work and with the courage to experiment,” said C. Raymond Hunt Associates President, Winn Willard. “We have taken Ray's ideas and applied them, honing our expertise and knowledge from the days of the early deep-v hulls. Now we have an 11-meter RIB on virtually every large ship in the U.S.

Weeks Marine’s new self-propelled hopper dredge, Magdalen, was delivered by Eastern Shipbuilding on December 22 following sea trials and regulatory inspections. The newbuild is one of the two newest, and among the largest hopper dredges in the U.S., and will bring formidable pumping power to offload beach quality sand or other materials for land reclamation. On December 28, the new dredger sailed from Eastern's Allanton facility in Panama City, Fla. on her maiden voyage to the East Coast.

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono has visited the port of Colombo in Sri Lanka. Kono was briefed by Sri Lankan government officials about a project under consideration to expand the port. The Japanese Foreign Minister  also visited the newly built control tower and the Colombo Port Expansion Project currently known as the Colombo south Port. Colombo is the largest port in Sri Lanka, which is a strategically important point in Indian Ocean sea lanes. Taro Kono was briefed by the Chairman of Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Dr. Parakrama Dissanayake about the project, the consideration to expand the facility and the ‘Three Year Plan’ that has currently been initiated to develop the Port of Colombo. The Japanese government has been involved in building port facilities there for many years.

The American Maritime Partnership (AMP), the voice of the domestic maritime industry, has highlighted the U.S. dredging industry’s commitment to build and maintain safe, efficient and cost-effective navigation channels in the nation’s inland waterways and ports. The recent deliveries of four state-of-the-art vessels, constructed by nearly 700 American workers in U.S. shipyards, are a reflection of the U.S. dredging industry’s continued investment in building dredges with increased…

Shipping rates in New Zealand waters have become "unsustainably low" in the wake of supply chain agreements such as between Kotahi and Port of Tauranga,  NBR reports as South Port New Zealand chairman Rex Chapman saying. The company's strategy is to maintain good working relationships with other ports, to take advantage of the "inevitable changes in the port sector. Chapman said that just as Tauranga has now reached into the South Island through Timaru, it is expected that other ports will be seeking to enter into working relationships with one another in order to capture regional cargo outside of their immediate catchment area. Meanwhile, diversifying business streams was paying dividends while plans for an inland port facility in Invercargill were also advancing, Rex Chapman said.

Broward County's Port Everglades exceeded one-million TEUs (20-foot equivalent units, the industry's standard container measurement), for the third consecutive year, reporting a total of almost 1.04 million TEUs and maintaining its status as Florida's number one container port, according to preliminary data for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2016. Compared to the prior fiscal year 2015, total TEUs were down by 2 percent from 1.06 million, which Port officials attribute to market fluctuations. However, Port Everglades posted its best September ever with 90,641 TEUs compared to 80,550 TEUs in 2015. Looking at growth over the past five years, TEU throughput is up almost 18 percent from FY2011 to FY2016.