Warehousing News

Over the past year, H2 Energy and DFDS have worked together on a project to analyze the feasibility of retrofitting large ferries with a hydrogen propulsion system.The project, supported by the Danish Maritime Fund, has led to the publication of a hydrogen propulsion feasibility study.With support from the Danish Maritime Fund, DFDS, H2 Energy and Lloyds set out to uncover the technical and operational feasibility of hydrogen propulsion systems by analyzing the main aspects of…

Austal USA has named Jim Blastos as vice president supply chain management, with responsibility for the company’s procurement, strategic sourcing, warehousing, logistics, material management and production control activities.Blastos has over 25 years of experience in developing strategic organizational transformation, collaborative solutions and operational processing. He has held leadership positions in supply chain and operations in the U.S. Navy and industry, including Overhead Door Corporation…

Monique Hezel-Reyntjens will retire effective December 31, 2023, having worked in and led what is now known as BeKa HGK GmbH for almost 42 years. Her parents, Franz Josef and Corrie Becker founded the dry shipping company in 1982. Monique Hezel-Reyntjenshas played a significant role in the success story at BeKa HGK; she worked in the chartering section from the outset and in the course of time became a shareholder and has been its managing director up to now. She will be succeeded by Florian Bleikamp (34)…

Maritime propulsion specialist Schottel said Tuesday it is expanding its thruster factory in Dörth, Germany, to include a logistics center with a capacity of around 4,000 square meters.A contract for the expansion has now been signed with general contractor Goldbeck from Koblenz.The new building will be annexed to the existing facility and will provide 2,634 square meters of industrial floor space and 1,326 square meters of offices. The groundbreaking ceremony for the 7.5-million-euro structure is to take place at the end of this year…

U.S. based shipping and logistics company Crowley announced it has acquired Tamarind Consolidated, a logistics services company serving the U.S. to the British Virgin Islands.The acquisition will transition Tamarind’s operations and services, including warehousing and non-vessel operating common carrier (NVOCC) services, to Crowley. According to Crowley, the expansion complements its existing maritime and logistics solutions and will expand solutions for customers in Virgin Gorda and surrounding BVI locations.

America’s marine economy contributed $432 billion in economic impact in 2021, making up nearly 2% of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP).That is according to the most recent statistics from the annual Marine Economy Satellite Account released by two Department of Commerce agencies —NOAA and the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). The marine economy statistics include activities in the US ocean, coasts and major water bodies such as the Great Lakes, Puget Sound and Chesapeake Bay.From 2020 to 2021…

U.S. marine terminal and logistics company Enstructure announced Monday that it has acquired Richardson Companies, a terminal and logistics company with primary operations in  Port Houston and the Port of Mobile.Richardson handles a diverse mix of breakbulk cargoes, including steel products, forest products, and project cargo. The company operates approximately one million square feet of industrial warehousing in Houston, Baytown, Freeport, and Mobile.Following the acquisition…

A public-private partnership between the state of Louisiana, the Port of New Orleans and two global maritime industry leaders will build a $1.8 billion container facility on the Lower Mississippi River, Gov. John Bel Edwards announced.The new Louisiana International Terminal (LIT) in St. Bernard Parish will be able to serve vessels of all sizes, increasing Louisiana’s import and export capacity and stimulating the creation of more than 17,000 new jobs statewide by 2050, Port NOLA estimates.New Jersey-based Ports America…

Global Port Services, owned by Global Energy Group alongside the Port of Nigg, has said it has secured multiple contracts to support its client Seagreen Wind Energy Limited (SWEL), with site enabling works for the pre-assembly construction of wind turbine components (WTGs) at its Port of Nigg facility. The news comes as the final turbine foundations for Seagreen arrive at Nigg to be prepared for installation at Seagreen offshore wind farm site, 27km off the coast of Angus.Seagreen…

Lockport, La. based Bollinger Shipyards announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Pascagoula, Miss. shipbuilder VT Halter Marine, Inc. and neighboring repair yard ST Engineering Halter Marine Offshore (STEHMO) from parent company ST Engineering North America, the U.S. subsidiary of Singaporean multinational technology, defense and engineering group ST Engineering.The transaction, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2022, is said to be worth $15 million, according to ST Engineering.

Satellite communications technology solutions provider Intellian announced a multimillion-dollar, multi-year partnership agreement with satellite communications service provider Speedcast, enabling the companies to collaborate in serving multiple markets with satellite connectivity, including the maritime and energy sectors.As part of the agreement, Intellian will continue to provide equipment to Speedcast as a preferred supplier, ensuring delivery to meet customer needs, despite volatile supply chain constraints.

New Zealand-based transport and logistics group, MOVE Logistics Group Limited has set up its first trans-Tasman shipping line, scheduled for Q4 2022, as part of its new Oceans business.In line with this, MOVE has entered an agreement to acquire a vessel, the Atlas Wind, out of Europe. It is expected that the acquisition will be settled in October 2022. The Atlas Wind can carry 350 containers or the equivalent of 5,000 tonnes of bulk cargo. With two cranes on board, the vessel has the ability to call into ports that historically may not have been able to accept containerised and bulk cargoes, the company said.The maiden journey will be the first of a regular monthly voyage that will see goods shipped between regional New Zealand ports…

Shipping group Maersk expects global container demand to fall this year as sales of durable goods come to a "standstill", leaving flat-screen TVs and furniture piling up in warehouses, the company said on Wednesday.A surge in consumer demand and pandemic-related logjams holding up containers in key ports had boosted freight rates and profits in the shipping industry in recent quarters, yet the cost of living crisis has reversed that trend.Maersk, one of the world's biggest container shippers with a market share of around 17%…

The project to deepen 11 miles of the federal shipping channel from the sea buoy to JAXPORT’s Blount Island Marine Terminal to a depth of 47 feet from its previous depth of 40 feet has been completed. Federal, state, and local leaders joined JAXPORT and the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Jacksonville District to celebrate the project's completion.The 47-foot harbor provides the channel depth needed for larger ships to call Blount Island to and from destinations worldwide and allows existing ships calling Jacksonville to carry more cargo on board.

While those in the Beltway continue to struggle to offer solutions to U.S. supply chain capacity issues, it seems apparent that policymakers have at least found their scapegoat for these issues in the form of the maritime industry. A specific talking point during the State of Union Address, a White House-endorsed agreement between the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) and Department of Justice (DOJ), multiple pieces of legislation, and a vigorous hearing before the Senate Committee on Commerce…

Danish shipper Maersk said the Shanghai lockdown will severely hurt trucking services and increase transport costs, as China's intensifying efforts to fight the spread of COVID-19 further rattles global supply chains.The Chinese coastal city, home to some of the world's busiest sea and airports, began locking down half of the city on Monday and intends to do the same to the other half for four days starting Friday in a two-stage testing exercise.While it has kept its airports and deepwater port open…

Vallianz Holdings Limited entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Royal IHC to design and build a next generation service operation vessel (SOV) to support offshore wind farms.Designed by Royal IHC, the battery hybrid SOV will house advanced levels of integration and autonomy, designed to be ready for true zero emission operations by using full battery offshore charging system and alternative fuels for propulsion.The SOV will have a dynamic positioning system, a motion compensated gangway and crane, an elevator tower as well as a daughter craft with step-less boat landing.

Indiana Cargo Crossroads is a working partnership of Ports of Indiana and Superior River Terminals Indiana (SRTI). The new general cargo operator began work in Jeffersonville Jan. 1 providing stevedoring and distribution services to customers. It will grow and diversify cargoes, make investments into facility expansions and drive projects that create significant economic benefits for the regional economy.The port’s general cargo terminal consists of a 10-acre parcel of land adjacent to the Ohio River…

The Federal Maritime Commission met in both open and closed session today to be briefed on efforts to address detention and demurrage, improve supply chain data transparency, and an ongoing investigation of Canadian government regulations that affect U.S. flag Great Lakes shipping. The Commission was also advised of the work its Area Representatives are doing at locations key to shipping around the Nation.Lucille Marvin, the Commission’s Managing Director is leading both the Vessel-Operating Common Carrier (VOCC) Audit Program and VOCC Audit Team…

One of America's top seaports is set to launch an interagency effort to provide relief to agricultural exporters who are facing shortages of export capacity and skyrocketing logistics costsThe Port of Oakland announced Monday it is launching a program that involves the use of additional yard space and equipment, restored export ship calls and assistance to agricultural export users.The port will open and operate a 25-acre off-terminal, paved container yard equipped to move containers off chassis and store them for rapid pick-up.

Shipping giants are heading for port, but not in the traditional sense. Companies like Denmark’s A.P. Moller-Maersk and Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd are riding a record valuation wave thanks to a year of sky-high container rates. Gobbling up land-based logistics rivals would be one use for the cash burning a hole in their pockets. It would also serve as a handy buffer against future supply-chain crunches.Pandemic upheaval has benefitted the shipping industry. Government support, such as checks mailed out to U.S. households, fueled a consumer spending spree. Freight rates have soared.

Container shipping giant Maersk on Wednesday agreed to buy Hong Kong-based LF Logistics for $3.6 billion in an all-cash deal, as it seeks to expand beyond its core ocean freight business.The deal is one of the group's largest takeovers to date and follows a series of acquisitions including e-commerce firms, a freight forwarder specializing in air freight and its smaller rival Hamburg Sud."The acquisition will further strengthen Maersk's capabilities as an integrated container logistics company…

The Biden Administration’s struggles to alleviate supply chain capacity issues appear to be continuing with no end in sight. Part of the issue arises from the Administration’s limited focus on ports and another part arises from Congressional stalemates. Could the much-needed beltway leadership on these issues come in the form of the newly-tapped Maritime Administrator?Biden focuses on ports to address larger issuesThroughout October the President and his Supply Chain Disruptions…