Building Materials News

A 300-acre property along the Mississippi River in Herculaneum, Missouri recently received Port District zoning making way for redevelopment as an intermodal transportation hub and industrial park.Located on the shipping lanes of the Mississippi River, the site has been utilized since the 1700s as a port. With its easy access for barge loading and offloading and the site’s proximity to early lead mines in adjacent Washington County, under early French ownership the port was utilized to ship lead cannonballs and shot to Europe to support Napolean’s army.

The United States’ vast network of navigable inland rivers is vital to the nation’s economy, serving as an aquatic superhighway for the efficient shipment of critical commodities like agricultural goods, energy products, building materials and industrial chemicals to destinations within the U.S. and to deepwater ports for export. The Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI), which advocates for a modern, efficient and well-maintained inland waterways, often describes the network as “the…

A barge carrying three trucks and 2,000 empty cooking gas cylinders lies stranded on the vast sand banks of a diminished Rio Negro river after running aground last month, highlighting the plight of river transport in the Amazon region hit by severe drought.Officials warned that low river levels risk disrupting grains exports from nearby farm states. On the Madeira, they said barge routes used by grain firms such as Cargill, Bunge and Amaggi, are open but loads are being reduced as a precaution.Shipping and logistics group A.P.

Draft revised Guidelines for the reduction of underwater noise from commercial shipping to address adverse impacts on marine life have been agreed by the IMO Sub-Committee on Ship Design and Construction (SDC 9), which met January 23-27, 2023.The draft guidelines recognize that commercial shipping is one of the main contributors to underwater radiated noise (URN) which has adverse effects on critical life functions for a wide range of marine life, including marine mammals, fish and invertebrate species…

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) awarded nearly $39 million in grants to 12 marine highway projects across the Nation under the America’s Marine Highway Program (AMHP). The funding will help expand marine highway services on the United States’ navigable waterways to reduce congestion, alleviate supply chain bottlenecks, and move goods more quickly from ships to shelves.“At a time of record demand for goods, it’s more important than ever to…

The United States on Friday sanctioned companies in Iran, China and the United Arab Emirates for doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines and on three Iranian entities over conventional arms proliferation.They are the latest in a series of measures aimed at stepping up pressure on Tehran in the waning days of President Donald Trump's administration, which ends on January 20.U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington had sanctioned seven companies, including Chinese-based Jiangyin Mascot Special Steel Co.

U.S.-based marine data acquisition services company TDI-Brooks said it recently mapped the Liberty Ship George Vancouver off Freeport, Texas while out on a seabed survey project with the R/V Brooks McCall. The multiple multi-phase geophysical and geotechnical site surveys program consisted of pipeline routing and subsea structures to facilitate route and project design for offshore developers.Equipment used to map the ship was a Teledyne Reson SeaBat T-20 multibeam sonar with integrated Applanix POSMV for Motion.

All summer long, a crimson and white boat moves back and forth through the waters near the Port of Alaska collecting silt, sand and gravel off the seafloor to allow vessels to navigate the harbor in Anchorage. The boat is a dredging vessel called the Westport, operated by Manson Construction of Seattle, Wash., which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Alaska District contracted to maintain the mooring areas for the past three years.An estimated 2,400 to 2,600 cargo containers arrive…

Surgical masks and other items have been found washing up onto Australian beaches Tuesday after the Singapore-flagged APL England lost at least 40 containers overboard in heavy seas off the coast of Sydney.The medical supplies have been found on shores between Magenta Beach and The Entrance, according to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), which said the locations and contents are consistent with its debris drift models and items listed on the ship’s cargo manifest.

British building materials company Tarmac has partnered with London’s fastest growing port, the Port of Tilbury, to create the UK’s largest construction materials aggregates terminal at Tilbury2, the new port being constructed on the north bank of the River Thames.The work will see the creation of new aggregate processing and manufacturing facilities, including an asphalt and ready mix concrete plant, at the new port terminal, supported by the terminal’s deep sea capacity for vessels up to 100,000 metric tonnes. Its riverside location will enable the easy import of raw materials and facilitate the use of the River Thames as a delivery route for processed construction materials into Central London.Martin Riley…

On October 3, 2019, Damen Shipyards Galati hosted a celebration marking the keel-laying of a Damen Marine Aggregate Dredger (MAD) 3500 for Hanson UK. The event was well attended by representatives of both Damen Shipyards Group and Hanson UK.The keel of the new MAD 3500 was laid at the Romanian yard a few days prior to the celebration, on September 20th. At this event, tradition was observed with the inclusion of four coins in the keel – a Romanian lei, a British pound, a Dutch guilder and a euro.The MAD is a new design from Damen that can dredge material at depths of up to -55 meters.

With thousands of miles under her keel ferrying passengers from Woods Hole, Mass., to the private island of Naushon, part of the Elizabethan Island chain south of Woods Hole, the Comorant just underwent a four-month refit at Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, which built the vessel in 1979. Pret Gladding, a co-founder of the Somerset, Mass.-based shipyard, designed the 56 ft., 49 passenger ferry for the Naushon Island Trust. The Cormorant is the year-round lifeline to this small island community…

Iran's Khorramshahr Port registered a growth of 59% in general cargo loading operation during the last four months."More than 738,483 tons of non-oil goods were loaded in the port of Khorramshahr, which shows an increase of 59% compared to the same period last year," said Nourollah Asadi, Managing Director of Khorramshahr Port and Maritime.Referring to the major export commodities from Khorramshahr Port, he said that Metals, Building Materials, Minerals, Animal Products, Household Appliances, Fertilizers and Chemical Pesticides are major commodities being exported from Khorramshahr Port to Persian Gulf Countries.Asadi pointed out that more than 4,000 non-containerized vessels have been loaded and unloaded in Khorramshahr port over the course of the four months.

The technology group Wärtsilä has again been selected by the Netherlands-based shipbuilding company Damen Shipyards Group to provide the main propulsion solutions for a large Marine Aggregate Dredger (MAD). The dredger is being built for the U.K. company Hanson Aggregates, a leading supplier of heavy building materials for the construction industry. The order with Wärtsilä was signed in May 2019.An identically designed vessel from Damen, which is expected to begin operations within the coming few months, is also fitted with the same Wärtsilä solutions.

North American brownfield redevelopment firm Commercial Development Co. Inc. (CDC) has announced an expanded port operations agreement at the Brayton Point Commerce Center, a former Massachusetts coal plant being redeveloped into an offshore wind hub. The port operations agreement further builds upon CDC’s vision to transform the former coal-fired power plant site into a world-class logistics port, manufacturing hub, and support center for the offshore wind energy sector.The Brayton Point Commerce Center is equipped with a 34-ft deep water port capable of berthing large trans-Atlantic merchant vessels – once used to import coal, the port will now be used for bulk cargo…

Damen Shipyards Group and UK-based Hanson Aggregates Marine have signed a contract for the construction of a Marine Aggregate Dredger (MAD) 3500 vessel. Damen’s shipyard in Galaţi, Romania is selected to build the innovative new vessel, which is  scheduled for delivery in early 2021. The ship will be used to extract aggregates offshore up to depths of 55 metres, for use in the onshore construction industry.The dredge equipment and screening installation will be constructed by Damen Dredging Equipment (DDE) in Nijkerk, The Netherlands, said a press release.Hanson UK is a leading supplier of heavy building materials to the construction industry, and produces aggregates (crushed rock, sand and gravel), ready-mixed concrete, asphalt, cement and cement-related materials.

Bulk shipping operations could soon return to the San Francisco Bay's Port of Oakland for the first time in 20 years. The Port said  it’s negotiating with a Canadian building materials shipper to transport sand and gravel here.The Port’s governing Board yesterday authorized talks with Vancouver-based Eagle Rock Aggregates. The firm seeks a vessel berth along with 20 acres of adjacent land at the Port’s Outer Harbor Terminal.Eagle Rock would use the property as a base for distributing sand and gravel for Bay Area construction sites. The firm said it wants a 15-year lease for one berth on Outer Harbor. Eagle Rock would ship sand and gravel from British Columbia to produce concrete for Bay Area builders.Oakland is one of the busiest container seaports in the U.S.

Last July 6, Major General Manuel Quevedo joined his wife, a Catholic priest and a gathering of oil workers in prayer in a conference room at the headquarters of Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA.The career military officer, who for the past year has been boss at the troubled state-owned oil company, was at no ordinary mass. The gathering, rather, was a ceremony at which he and other senior oil ministry officials asked God to boost oil output."This place of peace and spirituality…

The longest drought in decades is drying out rivers in the usually wet Netherlands, hitting cargo traffic and threatening a shortage of bulk supplies ranging from hops for beer brewers to cement for the construction sector.The summer of 2018 looks set to overtake 1976 as the driest one on record in the Netherlands, with almost no rain for two months and currently not expected until well into August.An enduring heat wave is expected to take temperatures to above 35 degrees Celsius later this week…

An agreement to jointly construct a new ‘Traders Market’ at DP World’s flagship Jebel Ali Port and Free Zone in Dubai on a total build up area of three million square metres has been signed between the global trade enabler and the Zhejiang China Commodities City Group, providing further impetus to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.DP World will be building the ‘Traders Market’ within the Jebel Ali Free Zone Area located in Jafza South next to the Dubai Expo 2020 site.The market will include clusters of traders from all over the world, offering a wide range of products at one site. They will be divided by sector, ranging from household goods…

Slipstream, a 60-m Burgess motor yacht, and her crew were presented with the annual Yachts de Coeur humanitarian prize in Cannes in June 2018. The award was presented to recognize their efforts to aid the Caribbean islands and people affected by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in Autumn 2017. The award was presented on the 11th June by Commandant Oliver Troy of the French Royal Navy, and depicts Ceres, the Roman goddess of nature and charity.The award was presented to Captains Phil Stevens and Steve Osborne and the crew of Slipstream, who in November 2017 joined forces with Eco-Mer and YachtAid Global to help collect disaster aid, including building materials, and transport them across the Atlantic to the islands that were most severely damaged by the storms.

Wärtsilä said it bagged a contract in March to provide the engines, propellers and control system for a new, large-size hopper dredger being built by the Netherlands-based shipbuilding company Damen Shipyards Group. The vessel has been ordered by Cemex UK, supplier of building materials.Wärtsilä will prepare the engines ready for use with selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology to reduce emissions, making the vessel compliant with the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Tier III regulations.

SMT Shipping  and The CSL Group announced they have entered into an agreement for CSL to acquire 50% of Eureka Shipping, SMT's pneumatic cement vessel business. The new joint venture will allow Eureka and CSL to combine expertise, resources and innovative technologies to expand services to customers in the seaborne cement powder and fly ash transportation markets around the world. CSL's Australian cement shipping business is not included in the joint venture. "The joint venture represents an important step in CSL's strategy to increase its presence in the global construction material sector," said Louis Martel, President and CEO of The CSL Group. "SMT Shipping is honored to partner with CSL in Eureka," said Mark Voorham, CEO of SMT Shipping.