Port Infrastructure News

Crowley and Teamsters Union Local 901 have reached a new labor agreement to extend their longtime partnership into its sixth decade serving the shipping and logistics needs of Puerto Rico.The agreement, recently ratified by union members, covers the 200 employees who work at Crowley’s Isla Grande Terminal in San Juan until 2029. Employees there serve as port equipment operators, truck drivers and support operations in various other roles important to safe and reliable operations.“We have successfully worked with the Teamsters Union to provide safe…

LDD, an Acteon company, has been awarded a contract by George Leslie to perform piling works on the Kennacraig Port's ferry terminal in Scotland.LDD, a marine foundations brand within Acteon, is supplying reverse circulation drilling (RCD) services to George Leslie to construct a new sheet pile quay wall at Kennacraig Port.The project is being undertaken in challenging ground conditions with hardness ranging from 90 to 150 MPa.Kennacraig is an existing operational ferry terminal, and the piling works will upgrade the port infrastructure to facilitate the use of new vessels.

Nigeria secured a $600 million investment in seaport infrastructure from Danish shipping company A.P. Moller-Maersk, the presidency said in a statement on Sunday.The investment was secured during a meeting between President Bola Tinubu and Moller-Maersk Chairman Robert Maersk Uggla on the sidelines of a World Economic Forum meeting in Saudi Arabia."We believe in Nigeria, and we will invest $600 million in existing facilities and make the ports accommodating for bigger ships," the Nigerian presidency quoted Uggla as saying during the meeting.Nigeria has promised to revamp its ports…

For 15 years the Maritime Risk Symposium (MRS), an annual three-day event, has brought together government and maritime industry leaders, port representatives, international and domestic researchers and solution providers to examine current and emerging threats to maritime security. World events highlight that maritime security is increasingly at risk during the current period of great-power competition and ongoing conflicts. The active competition between nations who are not…

With supply chain attacks on the rise, and nation-state attackers constantly looking for new ways to disrupt national security and economic stability, one of the most vulnerable areas is the security around our maritime operations. The Biden-Harris Administration's recent Executive Order to fortify the cybersecurity of U.S. ports underscores this concern, spotlighting the urgency of addressing vulnerabilities in a sector that drives over $5.4 trillion in economic activity annually.

The state of Great Lakes port infrastructure is one of the biggest issues facing the U.S. and Canadian maritime industries. According to the America Great Lakes Ports Association, “Due to years of inadequate funding, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been unable to maintain Great Lakes navigation infrastructure. Over the next five years Great Lakes navigation channels will require $540 million of dredging to maintain authorized channel dimensions. Breakwaters and other federal…

A project to transform the Port Talbot into a major hub for floating offshore wind (FLOW) and green energy development has come one step closer to securing a share of up to $200 million (£160 million) of UK Government funding.The UK Government has agreed to take forward the Future Port Talbot project and the Port of Cromarty Firth to undergo due diligence as part of the next stage of its Floating Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Scheme (FLOWMIS).The due diligence process…

Constant attacks on Ukrainian Black Sea ports by Russian drones and missiles are leading to a slowdown in Ukraine's maritime agricultural exports, brokers said on Wednesday.A key maritime hub in the southern Odesa region has been under almost daily attacks in recent weeks, but authorities have not reported any significant damage to port infrastructure."Active shelling of Ukraine, particularly in the south, by Russia last week led to interruptions in export shipments and a slowdown in waterborne exports…

One of the largest port-infrastructure companies Euroports and Spanish offshore wind developer BlueFloat Energy have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to foster cooperation in supply chain and ports infrastructure for the delivery of offshore wind in Europe.The strategic alliance marks a significant step forward in building capabilities and infrastructure critical to establish an offshore wind energy sector.Euroports, with its distinguished reputation as a premier offshore wind port operator…

A study commissioned by the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD), in collaboration with Lloyd’s Register and ARUP, has identified low port readiness as a major hurdle bottlenecking the adoption of onboard carbon capture and storage (OCCS) systems as a practicable decarbonization solution.Whilst the technologies required for offloading onboard captured CO2 exist at high levels of maturity, safe operationalisation of captured CO2 transfer by trained personnel has not been demonstrated.The report…

As dusk descends upon our nation's ports, casting shadows over the waterfront, another shadow looms in the digital landscape — the threat of cyber warfare. In an era where connectivity reigns supreme, our maritime infrastructure stands at a critical juncture, balancing vulnerability and resilience. The recent White House announcement of a Presidential Executive Order, and a hefty $20 billion in Inflation Reduction Act funding proposal to fortify our ports, underscores the gravity of the situation.It is a fact that at this time China has manufactured 80% of our nation’s ship-to-shore cranes…

Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA) has unveiled a concept for a first-of-its kind service operations vessel (SOV) that runs on liquid hydrogen.The French-headquartered company said it has been working alongside Norwegian naval architecture firm Salt Ship Design as well as main equipment suppliers, fuel providers, class and flag authorities, and others to produce the concept—with support from the European Commission.The groundbreaking SOV, currently in the concept design phase, would be able to operate 95% of the time with zero carbon emissions, only releasing water during standard operations.

A Panama-flagged bulk carrier that was headed to a River Danube port to load grain has hit a mine in the Black Sea, the Ukrainian military said on Thursday.It was the latest incident of a civilian vessel hitting an explosive in the Black Sea in what Kyiv says is stepped-up Russian attacks on shipping and port infrastructure."A Panama-flagged civilian vessel was blown up on an enemy sea mine in the Black Sea...The vessel lost its course and control, and a fire broke out on the upper deck…

The government of Maine has selected a section of state-owned area on Sears Island as its preferred site for a port facility development that will support the floating offshore wind industry.The selection of the site, announced by the Governor of Maine Janet Mills, follows an extensive public stakeholder process led by the Maine Department of Transportation and Maine Port Authority to consider the state’s primary port development options, including multiple potential sites in the Port of Searsport…

A ship carrying tonnes of food for Gaza remained docked in a Cyprus port on Sunday as preparations were underway to launch a yet untested maritime aid route to the enclave, where the United Nations estimates a quarter of the population faces starvation.The Open Arms, a salvage vessel, plans to tow a barge with 200 tonnes of food, mostly funded by the UAE. The supplies were sourced by charity World Central Kitchen (WCK), which is working with Spanish non-governmental organisation Proactiva Open Arms.WCK said it has another 500 tonnes of supplies in Cyprus…

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) and the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) announced they are surveying port authorities and marine terminal operators to identify national port cargo handling needs over the next five to 10 years.In addition, through interviews with ports and U.S. manufacturers, this effort will assess the interest and capability of American and foreign manufacturers to produce cargo handling equipment and other relevant port equipment in the U.S.

A ship transporting almost 200 tons of food to Gaza left a port in Cyprus early on Tuesday in a pilot project to open a new sea route for aid to a population on the brink of famine.The charity ship Open Arms sailed out of Larnaca port in Cyprus, towing a barge containing flour, rice and protein.The 200-mile (320 km) voyage across the eastern Mediterranean to Gaza with a heavy tow barge could take up to 2 days, Cypriot officials have said.The mission, funded mostly by the United Arab Emirates, is organised by U.S.

Analysts and commentators are quick to point out that fossil fuels will power maritime equipment, and indeed dominate the fueling marketplace, well into the future. However, they will do so alongside new fuels, and new technologies, that will be introduced to the maritime sector in the coming years. In its September, 2023 report “Beyond the Horizon: View of the Emerging Energy Value Chains”, the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) explains that, “During the recent 80th meeting of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 80)…

As a part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) published a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for $500 million in Federal Fiscal Year 2024 funding through MARAD’s Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP).Investments made under the PIDP focus on modernizing the Nation’s coastal and inland waterway ports as well as strengthening its supply chains and economic security for generations to come.

There is no denying that 2023 was a challenging year for the U.S. offshore wind market. Citing macroeconomic factors including high inflation, rising interest rates, and supply chain bottlenecks, Ørsted announced on October 31 that they were ceasing the development of the Ocean Wind 1 and Ocean Wind 2 projects, which were scheduled for construction off the coast of New Jersey. Unfortunately, the troubling news has continued into the new year, with Equinor and BP announcing on…

China has called for an end to attacks on civilian vessels in the Red Sea that have dramatically widened the Hamas-Israel conflict and placed Beijing's commercial interests along the Suez Canal at risk.The Iran-backed Houthi militia from Yemen that seeks "Death to Israel" is challenging the ability of the world's biggest trading nation to defend billions in strategic investments in Egypt.Since President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi came to power in 2014, China has stepped up its investment and commercial activities along Egypt's Suez Canal…

John F. Kennedy’s famous locution, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but you can do for your country” remains the rallying call for civic action and public leadership. The message remains foundational to the success of the United States, particularly as we head into an election year that once again appears to be filled with divisiveness and vitriol. That said, before we flip the calendar, it is important to set JFK’s message aside for a moment and reflect upon what our political leadership in Washington…

President Biden on Wednesday signed an Executive Order aiming to strengthen cybersecurity at U.S. ports amid growing threats to America's vital maritime supply chains.The directive bolsters the Department of Homeland Security’s authority to address maritime cyber threats, including through the creation of new standards to ensure the security of networks and systems throughout the nation’s marine transportation system (MTS), which supports $5.4 trillion in economic activity each year."Most critical infrastructure owners and operators have a list of safety regulations they have to comply with…