Manila International Container Terminal News

The port and terminal operator International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI) said that  its flagship Manila International Container Terminal (MICT)  recently took delivery of another new quay crane (QC) and eight new hybrid rubber tired gantries (RTGs).According to a press release, the terminal has the largest fleet of modern container-handling equipment in the Philippines today with 18 QCs and 58 RTGs.Manufactured by Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industry Co. Ltd. (ZPMC), the QC is part of the five from ICTSI’s 2018 USD80-million capacity improvement program package. With a reach of up to 16 rows across twin, the new QC can service the largest feeder vessels calling the Philippines.

The global port management company International Container Terminal Services Inc.(ICTSI) said yard utilization at its Manila port dropped 58 percent in June despite a series of holiday periods and low trucking activity.The Manila International Container Terminal (MICT), ICTSI flagship, recorded the drop in utilization rates despite recording its all-time highest throughput over a four-month period.Philippines-headquartered port and terminal operator said that this follows the 70 percent utilization rate recorded in April, down 20 percent from 90 percent in January after private sector partners and  the government signed a manifesto last March calling for the efficient utilization of container terminals.

International Container Terminal Services, Inc.'s (ICTSI) flagship Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) has received four of 16 new hybrid rubber-tired gantries (RTG) as part of the Company’s long-term investment in capacity enhancement and environmental efficiency."A first in Philippines and Manufactured by Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. (MES) of Japan, the Mitsui Li-ion Hybrid RTG is equipped with a 200kVA Li-ion battery and a smaller diesel engine that dramatically improves the carbon footprint of the terminal," said a press release from ICTSI.Once fully commissioned, the hybrid RTGs are expected to further boost MICT’s container yard productivity…

Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) informed that the cargo volume in the country has registered a modest hike in the first seven months of the year despite the sluggish performances from almost all aspects of local and foreign trade.Latest data from the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) showed that Philippine cargo traffic totaled 147.271 million metric tons (MMT) in the January to July 2018 period or a 2% hike compared to the 144.412 MMT handled in the same period last year.The data also showed that foreign cargo throughput handled is at 87.639 MMT or some 1.64% higher than the figure posted a year earlier wherein import volume handled is at 53.654 MMT and export traffic at 33.985 MMT.

The Manila International Container Terminal (MICT), International Container Terminal Services, Inc.’s (ICTSI) flagship operation and the Philippines’ largest container terminal, capped 2016 with a milestone as it reached its first year-to-date two millionth TEU move last December. The MICT has an annual capacity of 2.75 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU). The two millionth TEU container was offloaded from SITC Osaka, which is operated by Chinese megaliner SITC Container Lines. The container vessel originated from Ningbo in China. SITC is one of MICT’s longtime clients with regular vessel calls to the Port of Manila. MICT reached its first one million-TEU move back in December 2002. A ceremony held to commemorate the milestone was led by Christian R.

The Marshall Islands-flagged containership MV Cape Moreton caught fire while berthed at the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT)in Tondo,  in the Philippines on Saturday. Reports from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said smoke was first seen billowing from freight containers onboard MV Cape Moreton around 9:15 a.m. Photos from the scene show thick smoke billowing from the cargo area as firefighters battled the blaze. The PCG said around 20 fire trucks of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) were sent to put out the flames, with some responders also using tugboats to approach the vessel. BFP personnel boarded the vessel and assisted the ship's crew. The 27,786-gross ton cargo ship, owned by Cape Moreton Shipping Company Ltd., arrived at MICP at 7:48 p.m. last Friday.

The Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) in the Port of Manila has started implementing a vehicle appointment system called Terminal Appointment Booking System (TABS) for selected user groups. Largely seen as a proactive alternative to counterproductive truck bans, TABS is an electronic platform for booking containers in the two international ports of Manila. Designed to optimize the entry and exit of containerized cargo to and from MICT, TABS was developed in response to restrictive road policies that were introduced to combat the congestion of Manila ports in 2014 as a result of the truck ban imposed by the Manila City Government. “The implementation of TABS is a move in the right direction.

International Container Terminal Services, Inc.’s (ICTSI) dry port unit, Laguna Gateway Inland Container Terminal (LGICT), recently broke ground to start the expansion of new facilities which include extended and dedicated storage areas for loaded and empty containers, a runway for rubber tired gantries (RTG), container care facilities, weigh bridges at the gates and an upgraded access road, as it primes the Laguna dry port for the revival of intermodal freight transport in the Philippines. The expansion works, which is Phase 1 development of LGICT, commenced after groundbreaking and time capsule lowering ceremonies attended by officers and staff of ICTSI and LGICT, representatives from joint venture partners Transnational Diversified Group and Nippon Container Terminals Co.

Philippines head quartered International Container Terminal Services Inc. has expressed interest in a majority stake in Piraeus port in Greece, says a report in AFP. “Yes. We are now reviewing this opportunity,” ICTSI vice president and treasurer Rafael Consing Jr. said in a text message. Greece unblocked the sale of a 51 per cent stake in Piraeus port and has invited three short listed investors to submit binding bids by September. Chinese conglomerate COSCO and the Dutch company APM Terminals have also expressed interest on the privatization of Piraeus port and have until September to submit their offer. The Greek government is selling a 51-percent stake in the Piraeus port, the largest port in Greece, lower than the 67 percent stake it earlier offered.

In its efforts to limit peaks of trucks around the port area and balance their flow on city roads, International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) will be implementing a Container Booking System that will manage the arrivals and departures of trucks at its flagship, Manila International Container Terminal. The system shall ensure truckers of the smoothest flow possible to and from the ports while limiting the impact of trade movement on the environment and the surrounding communities. By having predictability on the arrival of trucks and a flattening of peaks historically brought about by multiple, uncoordinated truck restrictions, unplanned volume surges in and out of the terminals will be reduced dramatically.

Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) stated that utilization rate at the port of Manila is back to normal after the disruption of operations during the visit of Pope Francis to the country last month. The state-run PPA said in a statement that container yard utilization and vessel waiting time were normalizing as early as the second week of January and continues to improve. PPA general manager Juan Sta. Ana reported that utilization at the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) of International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) and the Manila South Harbor of Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI) continues to improve to normal levels.

Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) says that the country's major seaports, except the Manila South Harbor, will remain open during Pope Francis' visit to the country from January 15 to 19. PPA general manager Juan Sta. Ana said it is “business as usual” for the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT), North Port, Harbour Centre Port Terminals Inc., and the Tacloban baseport. The clarifications come after reports in the local media that the Manila Port will be closed prompting PPA to suspend operations. However, PPA said in a statement it had advised stakeholders to take additional measures to reduce the commercial impact of the slowdown in operations to give way to the security measures being put in place for the Pope’s safety.

Expecting worse congestion at the Ports of Manila to worsen with the arrival of Pope Francis on January 15, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) has urged shippers to clear out their cargo from the port by the weekend. The Philippine Ports Authority says that the next seven days will be crucial in government’s efforts to decongest the ports in Manila, ahead of Pope Francis’ visit as it will further disrupt cargo movements in and out of the congested port. The government has urged shippers to clear out their cargo from the port by the weekend. PPA said in a statement if yard utilization at the two Manila ports remained at current level during the next seven days, it could easily bring back the ports to congestion level after the five-day papal visit on Jan.

Kalmar, part of Cargotec, is delivering four of its latest generation Gloria reachstackers to  International Container Terminal Services Inc Group (ICTSI). The 45 tonne capacity units are the first operational in the Asia-Pacific territory, following their launch in Shanghai in August 2014. They will be undertaking container handling in two of ITCSI's terminals, Manila and Subic in the Philippines. The order was signed into Cargotec's third quarter 2014 intake. Two of the units were delivered in December and the next two will be delivered in January 2015. ICTSI, a long standing customer of Kalmar, has experienced consistent growth in container throughput at its key locations and has been investing in extending its container handling infrastructure.

Manila's International Container Terminal Services Inc's (ICTSI), troubled venture in Portland, Oregon, faces more difficulties as its big customer, Hanjin Shipping, is pondering whether to leave the port for either Tacoma or Seattle, according to the 'China Logistics Portal'. Portland has been plagued with labour problems, resulting in on-again off-again work slowdowns, which came from conflicting undertakings given to two unions over which union would supply reefer box monitors. The Portland Port Authority contracted the work to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, while the employers' Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) had guaranteed all waterfront work to the ILWU.

International Container Terminal Services, Inc. ("ICTSI") and PSA International Pte. Ltd. ("PSA"), through their  subsidiaries, have signed an agreement to jointly develop, construct and operate the container port terminal and ancillary facilities located in the Peninsula of Aguadulce, Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca, Colombia. The agreement involves PSA´s investment in Sociedad Puerto Industrial Aguadulce S.A., an indirect subsidiary of ICTSI, which holds the 30-year concession for the Aguadulce Port Project granted by the Agencia Nacional de Infraestructura of Colombia.

A new $200-million port facility in Manila inaugurated by President Benigno S. The President poured champagne on the marker of Berth 6 of the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) to signal its formal opening. The port facility, operated by International Container Terminal Services Incorporated (ICTSI), has increased annual capacity of 1.9 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) to 2.5 million TEUs. The berth, whose construction started two years ago, can now accommodate up to seven ships at one time. The President did not deliver any speech during the event and instead was given a briefing about the new port terminal by ICTSI officials led by its chairman and president Enrique Razon Jr. who sited a 6.4 percent economic expansion in the first quarter of the year.

Operations resumed at the Manila International Container Terminal after striking workers cleared barricades preventing entry to the port, a senior Philippine official said. National Labor Relations Commission chief said the government asked the 90 striking workers of the International Container Terminal Services to clear the barricades on Thursday night and return to work because of the negative effect of the closure of the MICT on the economy. The MICT handles 70 percent of international container cargo traffic in Manila. "The strikers complied...so NLRC now has to determine the officers who should represent the union to the ICTSI management for collective bargaining," he said.

One worker was killed in a violent strike that forced a major international container port in Manila to halt operations on Thursday. "One of our workers was stabbed in the neck and died," a spokeswoman at the International Container Terminal Services Inc said. "Because of that we have to stop operations because the lives of those still working are being endangered," she said. ITSCI is the operator of the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) that handles 70 percent of the international container traffic in Manila. Shares of ICTSI had fallen 3.26 percent to 89 centavos. ICTSI said approximately 90 workers began an "illegal strike" on Wednesday, barricading the entrance of the MICT to demand collective bargaining with management.