State Ports Authority News

Kuwait has suspended passenger transport by sea due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic but shipping operations continue, the Gulf Arab state's ports authority said on Tuesday.The Kuwait Ports Authority said in a Twitter post that the decision went into effect on Sunday.(Reporting by Alaa Swilam; Writing by Ghaida Ghantous; Editing by Edmund Blair)

The U.S. dredging fleet is growing. Presently on order and under construction is a raft of in-demand equipment that will help to keep America’s ports and waterways open, safeguard coastal communities and maintain the vital flow of maritime commerce to, from and through the U.S.In August, Eastern Shipbuilding Group cut first steel for a new trailing suction hopper dredge (TSHD) it is building for Weeks Marine, and the keel was laid the following month at the builder’s Allanton Shipyard in Panama City, Fla. The new 6,540 cubic meter capacity dredge R.B.

Eastern Shipbuilding Group conducted the keel laying for the new trailing suction hopper dredge (TSHD) it is building for Weeks Marine.This new U.S. flag dredge R.B. Weeks, ordered by Weeks Marine in April, is be constructed at Eastern’s Allanton Shipyard in Panama City, Fla., for scheduled delivery in early 2023. Steel cutting commenced on August 19.R.B. Weeks is the second TSHD Eastern is building for the Cranford, N.J.-based marine construction and dredging contractor, following the Magdalen delivered in December of 2017.The R.B. Weeks is named in honor of Richard B.

Manson Construction Co. signed a contract with Keppel AmFELS to build a new hopper dredge at the shipbuilder's facility in Brownsville, Texas, the Seattle-based marine contractor announced Monday. The new dredge is scheduled to be fully operational by spring 2023 and continues a dredge building boom currently underway in the U.S.The self-propelled trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD) Frederick Paup will be the largest in the United States, representing Manson’s single biggest investment in its 115 year history, the company said.

Brian E. Clark will take over as Executive Director of the North Carolina State Ports Authority following the retirement of Paul J. Cozza at the end of this year.Clark will continue to serve as North Carolina Ports' Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Executive Director, and Cozza as Executive Director, through December 31.Prior to joining NC Ports in June 2017, Clark served in various senior level positions throughout the maritime industry, including a role as Managing Director for APM Terminals at Port Elizabeth, N.J.

The Netherlands based Royal IHC said it has been awarded a contract to design and build a Jones Act compliant dredger for the North Carolina State Ports Authority (NCSPA) for delivery in 2021.The water injection dredger will be built at a partner shipyard in the U.S.“The construction, procurement of the main components, assembly and testing will be performed in the United States (following the Jones Act regulations) and is being managed by the local IHC operations team based in Houston,” said Projects & Services Director Rafael Vorcaro.

Preparations underway all along the Eastern Seaboard. As Hurricane Florence threatens a wide swath of the U.S. East Coast, the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard are taking no chances as the dangerous storm advances westward. As that happens, most Navy ships are departing ports in Virginia. As many as 30 vessels from Naval Station Norfolk and Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek on Monday. Following close behind, the Coast Guard’s medium endurance cutter Bear could also be seen heading for sea.As all Navy installations in the Hampton Roads area were making preparations for the storm’s possible arrival, further south in North Carolina, commercial ports were making similar arrangements.

The North Carolina State Ports Authority continues to closely monitor Hurricane Florence. The Port of Wilmington and the Port of Morehead City are currently at Condition Zulu and closed to all vessel traffic.NC State Ports Authority continues its Hurricane Preparation Plan and is taking all necessary steps to protect cargo, facilities and equipment.NC Ports' terminals in Wilmington and Morehead City are CLOSED to commercial truck traffic Wednesday, September 12, however, tenants have access to both Ports but must complete any storm preparations by 5:00 pm. Access will only be granted through Wilmington's South Gate (Container Gate).

The South Carolina Ports Authority, Lowcountry Open Land Trust, Coastal Conservation League and the Southern Environmental Law Center announced a milestone agreement for the Post-45 Harbor Deepening Project that includes a port contribution to land conservation efforts along the Cooper River Corridor. SC Ports Authority (SCPA) is partnering with Lowcountry Open Land Trust (LOLT), Coastal Conservation League (CCL) and the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) to form a new collaboration that invests in the conservation of the Cooper River Corridor and ensures the timely progress forward of harbor deepening. Pending final approval by the Joint Bond Review Committee later this month…

American Association of Port Authorities
 (AAPA) say that after evaluating 797 applications totaling requests for $9 billion for FY 2014 Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants, U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Secretary Anthony Foxx has announced 72 awards totaling $584 million will be distributed in the sixth round of this multimodal, discretionary grant program. Another $54,469,652 comprising five awards, which is equal to about 9 percent of the total funding, is going to what USDOT classifies as “freight rail” projects. Like freight rail, millions more are being awarded to various road and planning projects which aid in the movement of freight into and out of America’s seaports. On the U.S. DOT’s TIGER Grants web page, Sec.

Jeffrey Schechtman has been named Deputy Regional Business Manager for the Southeast region of Parsons Brinckerhoff, a global infrastructure strategic consulting, engineering and program/construction management organization. In his new position, Schechtman will work with managers in the nine states that comprise Parsons Brinckerhoff’s Southeast region to enhance relationships with key clients, expand business development opportunities, and invigorate marketing and pursuit efforts. He will work in the firm’s Atlanta office.

Alberto Alemán Zubieta, immediate past commissioner of the Panama Canal Authority accepts award, looks to canal future. Mr. Alemán spoke as he accepted the Containerization and Intermodal Institute's 'Connie Award' at the annual luncheon at the Newark Club. A construction engineer who assumed the helm of the PCA in 1998, Aleman has overseen the design and present $5.25 billion expansion until his retirement in September. He noted that the present expansion "will not be the last." As the project continues, he noted, the increasing size of new vessels will mandate yet another expansion.

The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA), a trade group representing port authorities throughout the Western Hemisphere, has selected 22 seaports to be recognized for exemplary projects, programs and initiatives at its annual awards event later this summer. The awards, for achievements in facilities engineering, environmental improvement, information technology and communications, will be presented to winning ports at a Sept. 14 luncheon in conjunction with AAPA's 100th Annual Convention in Seattle (https://www.aapa2011.org/main.aspx), which runs Sept. 11-15. * the Port of Long Beach, winner of the 2011 Dan Maynard Communications Award for Overall Excellence, which is bestowed on the port earning the most award points in AAPA's Communications Awards Program competition.

Charleston, SC – Container shipping volume through the Port of Charleston increased nearly 12 percent in the first three quarters of the fiscal year, and the state’s breakbulk tonnage increased 48 percent, even as the pace of volume gains has slowed. In the July to March period, container traffic increased 11.6 percent to 1,033,062 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), up from 925,837 TEUs in the same period last year. March volume alone was 120,265 TEUs, up 5.7 percent from March 2010.

Panama Canal Authority (ACP) Administrator/CEO Alberto Alemán Zubieta welcomed officials from South Carolina, including state legislative and port representatives. The delegation, which visited the Panama Canal and the Pacific side expansion site, arrived in Panama September 22. The initial meeting, included South Carolina State Ports Authority (SCSPA) Board of Directors Chairman Bill Stern; South Carolina State Senator Larry Grooms; Rockefeller Group Development Corporation Executive Vice President, Development, Leslie E. Smith, Jr.; and Mr. Alemán Zubieta.

The Containerization & Intermodal Institute (CII) will present the 2010 East Coast-based Connie Awards to J. Russell Bruner, Chairman and CEO of Maersk Inc. and James I. Newsome III, President and CEO of the South Carolina State Ports Authority. The evening event on Tuesday, December 7 at The Newark Club will also commemorate the 50th anniversary of CII. The Newark Club event is in addition to the West Coast-based Connie Awards on September 30 in Long Beach, CA, honoring Ron Widdows and Jon Hemingway. CII holds two Connie events each year to accommodate industry leaders on both coasts. Each recipient is being honored for his significant influence in containerization in worldwide trade and transportation, according to Allen Clifford, CII President.

According to the EPA, the federal government is providing nearly $2 million in stimulus funds to control diesel pollution at the Port of Charleston. The grant is intended to provide jobs and help the state Ports Authority retrofit cargo handling and other diesel equipment at the port, the EPA said. Federal officials said the award includes support to clean up the engines on 36 pieces of cargo-handling machinery as well as improvements for two tugboats and a dredge.

According to a May 20 report from The Post and Courier, a recent uptick in a few categories of exports was not enough to offset falling demand for most other goods that come through the Port of Charleston, the latest figures show. The State Ports Authority said at a board meeting on May 19 that the number of containers that crossed its piers during the first 10 months of its fiscal year was down by about 127,000, or 16 percent, as of April 30. (Source: The Post and Courier)

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The U.S. Supreme Court is set to review the case of South Carolina State Ports Authority v Federal Maritime Commission. The case concerns the issue of whether the FMC has jurisdiction to conduct a privately initiated administrative adjudication against a state-run marine terminal operator. Source: Maritime Advocate

J. Ron Brinson, former port director and now special projects coordinator of the Port of New Orleans, was elected chairman of the National Waterways Conference, Inc., at the organization?s annual meeting. Brinson succeeds Craig E. Philip of Nashville, president and chief executive officer of Ingram Barge Co., who had served as chairman for the last two years. Brinson, who served as president and chief executive officer of the Port of New Orleans from 1986, now heads the millennium port and other special projects. He previously served seven years as president of the American Association of Port Authorities. He also worked for the South Carolina State Ports Authority and as a reporter and later associate editor of The Charleston News and Courier.

The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) and the South Carolina State Ports Authority (SCSPA), which owns and operates the , have formally renewed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for a three-year term. The reaffirmed alliance will help the two entities better meet their short- and long-term goals and benefit shipping through increased cooperation and information sharing. The renewal of the MOU with the SCSPA further solidifies the ACP’s commitment to international trade and serves as a model of progress and opportunity. The agreement was first initiated in July 2003. The area within 60 miles of the of is set to gain more than 20 million square feet of industrial distribution and manufacturing capacity, plus a 1,300-acre logistics center in .

Members of the bi-state board leading the development of a deepwater port in Jasper County unanimously elected William L. Bethea Jr. of Hilton Head, South Carolina, to chair the Jasper Ocean Terminal Joint Project Office (JPO) on Feb. The chairman serves a one-year term and alternates between the two states. James S. Balloun of Georgia served as JPO chairman in 2008 and was elected vice chairman at the meeting. Bethea served for 12 years on the South Carolina State Ports Authority (SCSPA) Board, four of those years as chairman, and has served on the South Carolina Coordinating Council for Economic Development. “This project is vitally important to the economic future of our region and the state of South Carolina,” said Bethea.