Landside Infrastructure News

On May 5, 2023, the White House announced that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was “taking the next step to invest $3 billion in its Clean Ports Program to fund zero-emission port equipment and technology and to help ports develop climate action plans to reduce air pollutants, improve air quality and public health in neighboring communities, and advance environmental justice.” That “next step” was the issuance of a Request for Information to inform EPA of the availability…

Leveraging its position as a Top 5 Container Port in the U.S., Port Houston will host its 2nd annual Houston International Maritime Conference (HIMC23) on October 30 – November 1, 2023. The conference will tackle broad maritime industry challenges and opportunities that will shape the entire global supply chain, with specific focus on Port Houston’s commitment to investment, growth and readiness for the future.“HIMC23 is designed to not only illustrate how Port Houston is in growth mode…

Sailing cargo ships are making a genuine comeback.Japanese bulk carrier MOL is operating a wind-assisted ship. American food giant Cargill is working with Olympic sailor Ben Ainslie to deploy WindWings on its routes. Swedish shipping company Wallenius is aiming for Oceanbird to cut emissions by up to 90%. The French start-up Zephyr & Borée has built the Canopée, which will transport parts of European Space Agency’s Ariane 6 rocket this year.I researched the decarbonisation of the shipping industry.

JAXPORT has promoted infrastructure development leader James Bennett, P.E., to the role of chief operating officer (COO). Bennett is a licensed professional engineer with more than three decades of transportation industry experience.Bennett joined JAXPORT in 2017 as senior director of engineering and construction, responsible for the port’s marine and landside infrastructure development and engineering and construction operations. In this role, he managed the completion of JAXPORT’s major growth projects…

The Port Commission of the Port of Houston Authority met in a special session and awarded two of the largest contracts in the organization’s history. The Commission approved the staff’s recommendation to award Weeks Marine and Curtin Maritime Corporation contracts totaling $430 million to complete the remaining Galveston Bay segments of the Houston Ship Channel expansion project.“It’s an exciting day for Port Houston and the entire region and the millions of people who rely on the Houston Ship Channel for their livelihood and to bring them essential goods,” Chairman Ric Campo said.

Global port congestion is set to continue until at least early 2023 and keep spot freight rates elevated, logistics executives said on Wednesday, urging charterers to switch to long-term contracts to manage shipping costs.The COVID-19 outbreak has lengthened ship delivery times since 2020, pushing up freight costs, while the Russia-Ukraine conflict and lockdowns in Shanghai have added to supply chain disruptions this year."We believe the current congestions, not only the ports but also the landside infrastructure…

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced the availability of $25 million in funding for the America’s Marine Highway Program (AMHP), which supports the development and expanded use of America’s navigable waterways and will help improve U.S. supply chains and the movement of goods throughout the country. These new resources represent the largest single appropriation of funding ever provided to the AMHP and were made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law…

Offshore wind caught a favorable gust with the 2020 election of Joe Biden, and the following breeze from the early 2021 reconfiguration of the U.S. Senate toward Democrats. Though widely touted as a growth engine for maritime businesses (as well as shoreside trades), the latter years of the Trump administration seemed to see delay after delay.The class society DNV has been involved in offshore wind since its outset in the early 1990s, and now has 2,000 energy experts working in its efforts supporting this power source.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) awarded $9.5 million in grants to eight marine highways projects across the Nation under the America’s Marine Highway Program. The funding supports the enhancement of navigable waterways and expands existing waterborne freight services in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, Tennessee, Washington and American Samoa.“This Federal assistance will provide additional options to reduce congestion on the roads and help the surrounding local communities’ and the regions’ economic recovery…

The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act was enacted in December 2015. The FAST Act required the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to develop a National Freight Strategic Plan to address multimodal freight transportation. In the Federal Register of December 27, 2019, DOT requested information from the public, including industry trade groups, to aid development of the National Freight Strategic Plan.This article summarizes certain of the comments that were submitted by Inland Rivers, Ports and Terminals, Inc. (IRPT) in response to DOT’s request.

India’s import and export container trade in Q3 2019 (July-September) remained flat as compared to global growth of 1.5%. The slowdown is aligned closely with the weaker domestic demand, as well as a reflection of the broad-based cyclical weakening of the economic environment in all the main global economies. The negative effects from escalating trade restrictions also weighed on trade growth in the quarter. The trade restrictions have reduced bilateral trade between the United States of America and China…

Some forecasts expect 10% of the global fleet to be powered by LNG by 2030, a proportion that could rise to just under a quarter of the fleet by 2050. Will your vessels be among them?The year-end sulfur cap on marine fuels and recent industry commitments to reduce its collective carbon footprint are behind a surge of interest in LNG as fuel; widespread adoption, however, still faces strong headwinds on several fronts.After a period where the costs of transitioning to LNG as fuel – at the operational and capital expenditure (Capex) levels – had appeared to constrain demand…

On Saturday, November 2nd, the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) received two new rubber-tired gantries (RTGs), increasing the number of RTGs at the Paul W. Conley Container Terminal to 16. Adding equipment is part of an $850 million investment to keep Conley Terminal competitive and efficient with truck turntimes averaging under 35 minutes. Another two RTGs were also delivered back in May. The Port of Boston contributes over $8 billion to the regional economy and supports more than 9,000 direct jobs.

Marine Highways Gain Traction in the Intermodal Supply Chain.In the United States, landside infrastructure is at a crisis point. Congestion at the big hub ports, exacerbated by imperfect intermodal interfaces with surface transport serving cargo hinterlands is at the heart of the matter. As politicians bicker over a possible infrastructure package, the Highway Trust Fund, funded by taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel, has continued its downward journey towards further deficits (now $144 billion). And, where countless U.S.

The explosive growth of international boxships is challenging not only the physical infrastructure of North American ports, but also the very nature of the existing supply chains that they impact. The recent dialogue on container shipping has been all about so-called “mega-ships;” those vessels that with larger capacity than those that are already in service at any point in time. In the container trades, as in tanker and drybulk arenas, ocean-going vessels are one link, albeit an important component, within broader supply chains.

The Georgia Ports Authority and the Virginia Port Authority filed on Friday, Feb. The agreement encourages voluntary cooperation in the areas of operational and supply chain efficiencies, safety, communications and customer service. “The U.S. East Coast continues to see larger vessels and cargo exchanges since the opening of the expanded Panama Canal last year,” VPA CEO and Executive Director John Reinhart and GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch said in a joint statement. “Increasingly, our customers are seeking gateway ports on the East Coast that can leverage sufficient landside infrastructure to ensure the free flow of cargo. The states of Georgia and Virginia have made the necessary investments to prepare for this new era in global trade.

The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) said today it is encouraged by the potential of significant gains for landside freight transportation programs in President Obama’s fiscal 2017 budget, bit is disappointed, however, in the proposed funding levels for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers coastal navigation programs, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) grants, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Port Security Grant program.

The rise of alliances among shipping carriers and industry moves toward post-Panamax and ultra large cargo ships are pressuring many U.S. ports to address access restrictions. The widening of the Panama Canal, slated to open in 2016, will further intensify the need to accommodate larger ships. Some regional ports that serve secondary markets and are unable to process larger vessels risk losing some services or being skipped completely, Fitch Ratings says. The combined impact of the shift to larger vessels and carrier alliances is giving shippers significant negotiating leverage over ports.

'Move America Act of 2015' would help fund landside improvements to U.S. The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA)—the unified and recognized voice of seaports in the Americas—publicly voiced support for the bi-partisan Move America Act of 2015 infrastructure bonding and credits legislation introduced today in Congress by Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Senator John Hoeven (R-N. Dak.). The Move America proposal would provide more tax-exempt financing for public-private partnerships…

U.S. Today in Washington, DC, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works Review Board (CWRB) unanimously approved the Final Integrated Feasibility Report and Environmental Impact Statement for the Charleston Post-45 Harbor Deepening project, a significant step in the federal process that ensures the project is on schedule to receive its Chief's Report this September. "Today's approval by the Civil Works Review Board allows our harbor deepening project to progress without delay," said Jim Newsome, SCPA president and CEO. "Once deepening to 52 feet is realized, Charleston will offer the deepest harbor on the East Coast with the capability to serve fully-loaded post-Panamax vessels 24 hours a day.

The U.S. commercial maritime industry is enjoying its most robust period in a generation, with a spate of newbuild activities spurred largely by a resurgent energy production market in the U.S. as well as new rules of vessel emissions which has forced owner to invest in new tonnage. For insight and perspective on the market Maritime Reporter & Engineering News visits with Matthew Paxton, who was selected to be the President of the Shipbuilders Council of America in 2007. In this capacity he advocates for a robust and expanding U.S. shipyard industrial base.

Maersk Line is ranked as the most reliable container shipping carriers last year, according to new research released this morning by industry analyst SeaIntel. Maersk and Hamburg Sud again topped the liner shipping reliability rankings in a year during which 19 of the 20 largest container shipping lines saw their schedule reliability decline, compared with 2013. The only carrier to buck the trend was CSAV, with 77.8% of its vessels arriving “on time”, compared with 77% in 2013, the result of its limited exposure to the main east-west trades where liner operators encountered most of their scheduling problems. Maersk and Hamburg Sud had a reliability score of 83.7% and 82.2% respectively.

Broward County's Port Everglades has partnered with public and private entities on several multimillion-dollar landside infrastructure improvements designed to improve connections with South Florida's major highway and railroad systems. "Landside congestion plagues many seaports, but Port Everglades is fortunate to have direct interstate highway access and a strong partnership with the Florida East Coast Railway and the State of Florida that keeps commerce on the move," said Port Everglades Chief Executive and Port Director Steven M.