One Port News

The Iran war has threatened Gulf ports and disrupted global trade through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which roughly a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes.Iran's Revolutionary Guards have warned that ships passing through the narrow Strait will be targeted, after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on the country on February 28.Below is a list of reported attacks:MARCH 1A crew member was killed on board Marshall Islands-flagged crude tanker MKD VYOM after it was hit by a projectile as the vessel sailed off the Omani coast…

For Capt. Paul C. LaMarre III, the maritime industry isn’t a career choice as much as it is a family inheritance — and, in his words, “all I’ve known my entire life.” In a recent interview with Maritime Reporter TV, Captain LaMarre gives unique insights on the operating efficiently, effectively and safely on the Great Lakes system – the United States’ ‘Fourth Sea’ – and with passion, intellect and purpose advocates for a strong U.S. maritime industry.A third-generation Great Lakes mariner…

The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has threatened Gulf ports and disrupted global trade through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which roughly a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes. Iran's Revolutionary Guards have warned that any ship passing through the narrow Strait will be targeted.Below is a list of reported attacks since the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran started on February 28:MARCH 1A crew member was killed on board Marshall Islands-flagged crude tanker MKD VYOM after it was hit by a projectile as the vessel sailed off the Omani coast…

Yesterday, a new ISO standard was published to help port authorities, shipowners and operators navigate rules on how ships should be cleaned in an environmentally sound way. Hull cleaning is gaining traction among shipowners, while countries are increasingly introducing regulations—but many ports still lack practical guidance on how to manage it. “Biofouling on ships’ hulls can spread invasive aquatic species and damage ecosystems. It also increases drag, reducing a vessel’s efficiency and leading to higher fuel consumption and increased greenhouse gas emissions…

Explosive-laden Iranian boats appear to have attacked two fuel tankers in Iraqi waters, setting them ablaze and killing one crew member on Wednesday, after projectiles struck four vessels in Gulf waters, said port, maritime security and risk firms.The latest attacks on ships linked to the U.S. and Europe mark an escalation in the conflict between Iran and U.S.-Israeli forces, raising the number of ships struck in the region since fighting began to at least 16.Shipping in the Gulf and along the narrow Strait of Hormuz…

Contract talks covering 45,000 dockworkers on the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts are set to restart on Tuesday in a labor dispute that will help set the pace of automation at ports stretching from Maine to Texas.The International Longshoremen's Association wants to eliminate past labor contract concessions on automation - notably the use of semi-automated cranes that stack containers on docks - arguing they pose a threat to jobs.The United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) employer group…

At a recent seminar in London organized by the International Underwriting Association of London (IUA) and the Association of Average Adjusters (AAA), participants heard how ignoring or not fully understanding the concept of General Average (GA) when concluding charter-party contracts for offshore services could cause problems in the event of an incident or accident.Michiel Starmans, a Fellow of the AAA and Director Legal Department of the Spliethoff Group and Alf Inge Johannessen…

Like many ports, the Alaskan Port of Homer faces aging infrastructure and capital needs well beyond the local funding capacity. The port is a key link in the supply chain for 47 remote, rural, disadvantaged or Alaska Native communities served by Homer, making proposed port infrastructure upgrades critical for shipping statewide as well as for the local community.Enter the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This unprecedented…

Zero emission is a nice idea, but who’s going to pay for it? The U.S. EPA is readying big money for zero emission ports.The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is working on two high-profile port initiatives that it hopes will move the needle in a big way towards U.S. ports’ zero emissions (ZE) operations and clean air goals.The first initiative started last May when EPA published a request for information and comments that would help the Agency develop Guidance it could use to evaluate funding requests for projects for zero-emission vehicles, port equipment and related infrastructure.

The Port of Rotterdam has blazed a path for ports globally in terms of automation, digitalization and decarbonization. As he enters the final year of his tenure, Allard Castelein, CEO, Port of Rotterdam, says there is still much work to do.While many global organizations are adept at ‘talking the talk’, the Port of Rotterdam stands out as ‘walking the walk’ in regards to real investment and innovation in robotics, digitalization and infrastructure improvements to facilitate the efficient, effective transfer of ship’s cargo for distribution globally.

A study commissioned by trade association Interferry has revealed startling statistics on the far-reaching extent of the global ferry industry’s value to the world economy.Research into the latest pre-Covid full-year figures found that, in 2019, ferries carried 4.27 billion passengers – on a par with aviation – and 373 million vehicles across a worldwide fleet of 15,400 vessels. Among other findings, the industry provided 1.1 million jobs, contributed $60 billion to the world…

Estonian ferry operator Tallink will tap sustainability and efficiency gains enabled by ABB Ability Marine Advisory Systems – OCTOPUS for its new passenger and car ferry MyStar due for delivery from the Finnish Rauma Marine Constructions shipyard in 2022.The liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered MyStar will be deployed on the 80-kilometer trans-Baltic route between Tallinn, Estonia, and Helsinki, Finland, and the OCTOPUS optimization software will collect and transfer operational…

Marine shipping drives 90% of global trade, moving over 11 billion tonnes of containers, solid and liquid bulk cargo across the world’s seas annually. Almost all consumer products we buy — or the raw materials required to make them — arrive at Canadian ports via ship.Each year, Canadian port facilities handle about 340 million tonnes of goods, worth about $400 billion. Roughly 25% of Canadian exports and imports, by value, are transported by marine shipping.Despite their economic importance…

William P. Doyle is the incoming Executive Director of the Maryland Port Administration. A former U.S. Federal Maritime Commissioner, Doyle currently serves as CEO & Executive Director of the Dredging Contractors of America – and the group's member companies have recently made a series of announcements to build new dredges of several types and sizes. We caught up with the incoming Port of Baltimore head to discuss his initial goals for the new role. How do you feel about being selected the head of MPA and Executive Director of the Port of Baltimore?I feel terrific.

Fuels and lubricants supplier Chevron Marine launched a suite of digital solutions offering ship owners and operators tools with which to analyze, manage and ultimately help to improve their operational performance.Chevron Marine Cloud Solutions, including the customer order management platform OnePort launched last year, were developed under Chevron’s Business Technology Innovation (BTI) initiative as part of an ongoing, multi-year digitization investment program. The solutions are designed to integrate with customers’ processes…

The final quarter of 2019 marked a massive decline of high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) sales, as the industry transitioned into compliance of the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) 2020 Sulphur Cap (IMO 2020). In Singapore, the world’s largest bunkering hub, the bunker sale landscape saw significant change as the sale of high-sulphur fuel oil dropped tremendously in a matter of months. In contrast, the sale of low-sulphur fuels skyrocketed in the final quarter.The first wave…

On September 26, the State University of New York Maritime College hosted a conference on the emerging east coast offshore wind industry. “Offshore Wind Power, Planning for America’s Ocean Energy” focused on four fundamental topics:• East Coast Wind Farm Overview – Status of the Industry.• Jobs and Supply Chain Technical Working Group.• Wind Farm Port Development.• Offshore Wind Maritime Operations.In some ways, actually clocking in for a day’s work on an offshore wind turbine is tantalizingly close. Ditto for power flowing from an offshore substation to a mainland interconnection.

The U.S. could see its crude oil exports nearly double by 2022, according to energy research firm Rystad Energy. US crude exports could grow from current levels of 2.9 million barrels per day (bpd) to nearly 6 million bpd by 2022.With US production expected to increase by 1.2 million bpd year-over-year (y/y) in 2020, and with domestic refineries already maxing out capacity to absorb shale growth, Rystad Energy expects exports to balloon and reach 4.7 million bpd by the end of 2020 and nearly 6 million bpd by the end of 2022.“Crude exports will grow on the back of new infrastructure coming online in Corpus Christi, Texas, and as international…

Key Middle East oil terminal bans open-loop scrubbersFujairah in the United Arab Emirates has become the latest major port to ban a type of fuel exhaust cleaning system to comply with a coming tightening in rules regarding global sulphur emissions, mirroring similar moves in Singapore and China.Under International Maritime Organization (IMO) rules that come into effect from 2020, ships will have to reduce the sulphur content in their fuel to less than 0.5 percent, compared with 3.5 percent now, forcing huge changes upon global shippers and also oil refiners.Fujairah's harbour master said in a faxed document seen by Reuters that the port "has decided to ban the use of open-loop scrubbers in its waters ...

India's Minister of State for Shipping Pon Radhakrishnan in informed that the Ministry of Shipping has given relaxation to foreign vessels for carriage of fertilizer from one port to another port within the country under section 407 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958. The foreign flag ships are now not required to obtain a license from the Director General of Shipping for engaging in coastal trade for carriage of fertilizer by sea.The relaxation is subject to the condition that the information as per the format prescribed in the relaxation order is submitted to the Director General of Shipping by email at least 24 hours prior to sail of ship from a port in India.The relaxation shall also be subject to the condition that Indian law enforcement agencies…

Port of Cleveland President & CEO and newly elected Board Chairman of the American Association of Port Authorities William Friedman weighs in this month on the Port of Cleveland and its role in the all important Great Lakes trades.When the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) announced the election of Port of Cleveland President and CEO, William D. Friedman, to serve as chairman for the 2018-19 year, beginning this October, it was perhaps a conscious decision to tap someone who has a broad range of experience and skills in myriad ports, large and small. That’s Friedman in a nutshell. AAPA represents 140 of the leading maritime port authorities in this hemisphere. If you’ve seen one port; well, you’ve seen one port.

Emerging spill response trends fit into two big categories: technology and a combination of economic and social forces. Both will shape what comes next.Florida’s stunning Tampa Bay stands out as exactly the kind of place where you have to think about hazardous materials emergencies. It was 25 years ago, on August 10, 1993, that a freighter collided with two barges near the entrance of Tampa Bay, causing a fire and spilling over 32,000 gallons of jet fuel, diesel, and gasoline and about 330,000 gallons of heavy fuel, devastating beaches, wildlife and habitat.

Qatar-based maritime transport and logistics conglomerate Milaha has announced the launch of a direct container feeder service between Qatar and Iraq. The new service, which will be an expansion of the existing Qatar-Kuwait service that the company launched last year, will follow a Hamad Port-Umm Qasr (Iraq)-Shuwaikh (Kuwait)-Hamad Port rotation, and will be initially served by one vessel with a 1,015 TEU capacity and 110 reefer plugs. The service will have a transit time of 2 days, making it particularly ideal for dry and refrigerated food stuff, consumer electronics, and construction materials, among other cargo. The first vessel will depart from Hamad Port on 7 May 2018 and reach at Umm Qasr Port on 9 May 2018. Commenting on the launch of the new service, Milaha’s President and CEO Mr.