Maritime Business News

The Panama Canal is a strategic crossroads for maritime traffic, and is arguably one of the most important maritime developments in the past century. Here we take a deeper dive into the history behind that famous strip of waterway.The present canal, which saw its first vessel transits in 1914, along with possible alternatives through Nicaragua and Mexico, had actually been on the minds of merchants, explorers and military/political strategists since the Age of Exploration in early 1500’s.

Born and raised on the water by entrepreneurial parents, Basjan Faber knew from a young age that his future and fate was in maritime, specifically ship design. Today the CEO leads a vibrant, diverse and fast-growing naval architecture firm that he co-founded with partners in 2007. Headquartered in Amsterdam, C-Job has a unique approach to its business and is expanding its international footprint, as Maritime Reporter & Engineering News discovered when we visited with him in The Netherlands last month.“I have always been inspired by ships…

APM Terminals Barcelona has reached a new milestone in its history, breaking the record for movements during a call by registering 5,394 movements on the Millau Bridge ship, which belongs to The Alliance, the terminal's main service.It is the highest level of activity registered on a ship in the Catalan terminal since the arrival of the OOCL Brussels in 2017, when 5,323 movements were performed. A sustained productivity of 135.46 Berth Moves Per Hour was reached during the operation.Jordi Vidal…

“Driving the maritime transition”: In times of the global climate debate and the digital transformation, SMM 2020 will once again be the focal point for decision-makers in the maritime industry.Topics that are currently high on the industry's agenda are highlighted in the new issue of the SMM Maritime Industry Report: Shipping, shipbuilding and supplier companies are especially interested in alternative propulsion technologies and attractive niche markets.The year 2020 marks a major turning point in international shipping: On January 1…

The international container terminal operating company APM Terminals announced that its Barcelona unit has achieved a very high 150 BMPH (berth moves per hour) servicing a latest-generation vessel.The performance with new equipment confirms the increase in productivity and performance potential with 100% of its latest EUR 47 million investment now being operational, said a press note.With the latest investments implemented, APM Terminals Barcelona reinforces its position as a leader in the maritime business…

Lloyd’s Maritime Academy announced that people living and currently working in Hong Kong’s maritime sector can benefit from an 80% refund on nine of its courses as part of the Maritime and Aviation Training Fund (MATF) introduced by the Hong Kong Maritime and Port Board.The aim of the MATF is to build up a vibrant, diversified and competitive pool of professionals and technical personnel to support Hong Kong’s future development in both the maritime and aviation sectors. May 2019…

Wake Media appointed Andy Ford as Operations Director effective July 1, 2019.Ford will be responsible for enhancing, managing and driving the company’s future growth strategy and operational efficiencies, focusing primarily towards serving their customer’s needs. To achieve, concrete, effective and measurable results, he will also introduce and manage their strategic marketing development and planning program.Ford started his career as a mechanical design engineer, moving into sales and marketing functions in 2009.

The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) picked its port director, Lisa Wieland, to be its next Chief Executive Officer(CEO), bypassing the other finalist, a member of the city's power elite, for one of the most influential public-sector jobs in the state.Board of Directors voted to offer Wieland the position of CEO and Executive Director for a five-year term. Contract negotiations will occur at a later date.The search firm Isaacson, Miller sought a diverse candidate pool for the position and more than 100 applications were received.

The hard-fought passage of VIDA promises a simpler, more unified and logical set of environmental standards related to the discharge of myriad vessel streams. Industry wanted it, and now it is here. Will it deliver, and if so, when? That depends on who you talk to.As most commercial maritime operators know, US ballast water regulations made a sharp turn last December. That’s when President Trump signed the Frank LoBiondo Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2018.That legislation contained Title IX – the “Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (VIDA)…

A Liebherr LHM 420 Crane is at the heart of a rapidly expanding shortsea shipping success story. Reliability is the key for a port that’s turned the corner, with nowhere to go but ‘up.’Way back in January of 1996, I moved to Richmond, Virginia from Houston, Texas. Still very much in the maritime business as a cargo surveyor and ship expeditor, the Port of Richmond intrigued me, every time I drove past it on I-95. Eventually, I got a tour of the struggling port, courtesy of then port director and retired USCG Captain Marty Moynihan.

Southampton, United Kingdom: It has been quite a few years since I last touched down in the UK; longer still for a visit on a maritime business trip. And, I don’t cross 'the big pond' casually for one these events. This morning, Seawork 2019 in Southampton is not yet over but if the past two days have been any indication at all, then the entire event will be regarded as a rousing success for all involved.There is something for everyone here. I overheard one attendee refer to the event as the annual gathering of “the boys and their toys.” To be sure…

Maurizio Aponte, executive director for Europe of the group Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC)  is stepping down.He will be taking up new responsibilities within the MSC family, effective 1 May 2019, said a press note. Maurizio is a relative of Gianluigi Aponte, founder and executive chairman of the Helvetic shipowning group.Maurizio has for decades been one of the key pillars in the development of MSC and his immense contribution is widely appreciated.Moving forward, he has…

German-based global cargo container shipping line, Hapag-Lloyd AG Hapag-Lloyd set to implement XVELA’s collaboration services to increase transparency throughout the transportation supply chain and more efficiently employ assets and resources.A press release from XVELA, the world’s first maritime business network for ocean carriers and terminal operators, said that both companies plan to initiate the global rollout on one of Hapag Lloyd’s premier Latin American services and will continue to broaden throughout its terminal partners.

USD 51.86 billion (EUR 45.6 billion) or 6.2% of the added value of the Netherlands is due to the Port of Rotterdam. This emerged in ‘The Rotterdam effect - Impact of Mainport Rotterdam on the Dutch economy’ study conducted by Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR), commissioned by the Port Authority.Port of Rotterdam pointed out that it contributes twice as much to the gross domestic product than previously calculated. Traditionally, when determining the economic significance of the port, only direct employment and added value were measured, including the so-called backwards indirect effects.

Hamburg-based provider of shipping services Peter Döhle and Ernst Russ are selling ship management company Hammonia Reederei  to  Scandinavian investors, Ness Risan and Partners (NRP), a Norwegian investment fund and former owners of Containerships Group, Finland.With the transaction, Ernst Russ follows its strategy and further focuses on activities in asset investment and asset management in shipping and real estate, said a release from Ernst Russ AG, a listed asset and investment management company in Germany with a focus on maritime business.Prospectively…

The "Hong Kong Maritime Week 2018" (HKMW 2018), a major annual event of the maritime and port industries in Hong Kong, unveiled on Saturday (November 18) with the "Hong Kong orienteering race.According to a government press release, the  third edition of Hong Kong's Maritime Week oragnised by the Hong Kong Maritime and Port Board (HKMPB) with co-organisers, the Hong Kong Shipowners Association and the Hong Kong Maritime Museum, runs from 18 to 24 November and features over 50 events comprising both industry and outreach.Officiating at the opening ceremony of the HKMW 2018…

Norwegian offshore shipping company GC Rieber Shipping announced acting chief executive officer Einar Ytredal has appointed to the CEO role on a permanent basis. At the same time, Øystein Kvåle was named new chief financial officer (CFO) and Christoffer Knudsen was promoted to chief commercial officer (CCO).Ytredal was appointed acting CEO in mid-September 2018. He has been with the company since 2007, first as vice president finance and then as CFO since September 2011. Before joining GC Rieber Shipping, Ytredal worked at Deloitte.

Renolit Maritime coated one of a total of eleven new vessels ordered by the Danish State Pilot Service, DanPilot. The other 10 vessels were given a conventional anti-fouling paint coating. A series of tests will be performed in the coming months in which the pilot vessels will be compared to each other, particularly with regard to their fuel efficiency.The eleven identical vessels were built for DanPilot by the Baltic Workboat shipyard. In June 2018, RENOLIT presented its RENOLIT DOLPHIN S film solution to the technical directors of DanPilot.

UK shipping technology sector will grow to become a GBP 12.8 billion (USD 16.5 bln ) market by 2030 from the current level of  GBP 3.7 billion, revealed a study.A new report commissioned by UK venture fund and think-tank PUBLIC estimated the growth will be fuelled largely by digitalisation of the industry, with technologies such as big data, blockchain, and artificial intelligence creating a new market for digitally enabled maritime services.For the purposes of this report,  shipping…

One-on-one with Suzanne Beckstoffer, an accomplished engineering leader and business woman, the first woman president in SNAME’s 125 year history.As the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME) celebrates its 125th anniversary in 2018, it will celebrate another historical milestone at the start of 2019 when Suzanne M. Beckstoffer takes the helm of SNAME as president, the first woman to hold this position in the association’s history. We met recently with Beckstoffer to discuss her distinguished shipbuilding career…

Eastern Shipbuilding Group, a family-owned and operated shipbuilder that is involved in both government and commercial vessel construction and repair, resumed operations at both of its two main shipbuilding facilities just two weeks after Hurricane Michael devastated Panama City Florida and the surrounding communities.The most powerful storm to ever make landfall in the Florida Panhandle, Hurricane Michael currently stands as the third most powerful hurricane to make landfall in the United States…

New holographic technology is set to revolutionize training procedures, fleet management, ship performance and engineering maintenance in the maritime sectorHave you ever wished you could move around your fleet of ships, in full 3-D, without ever moving from your desk? Have you ever wanted to be able to delve into the complex inner workings of one of your vessels and inspect its internal structure while sitting in your office? Have you ever been performing maintenance work within…

Nigel Smith, inaugural International Registrar of the London-headquartered St Kitts & Nevis International Ship Registry (SKANReg), is retiring in May after 47 years in the shipping industry. Smith, 62, is a former seagoing engineer officer, technical superintendent, shipyard agent and marine consultant. He has also served on various bodies of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology, which includes being a member of the ruling Council since 2005. In the late 1990’s…