Port News

International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR) meets this week (18-22 February) at IMO headquarters.According to the UN body, the meeting will focus on finalizing draft Guidelines on consistent implementation of the 0.50% sulphur limit under MARPOL Annex VI. The aim of the Guidelines is to assist in the preparations for and uniform implementation of the lower limit for sulphur content in ships’ fuel oil, which will take effect…

Handling 135.1 million tons of seaborne cargoes (down one percent), Germany’s largest universal port can report a respectable result for 2018.Hamburg successfully asserted itself in a difficult environment, achieving a distinct advance on railborne seaport-hinterland transport. In 2018, this category accounted for totals of 46.8 million tons – up 2.7 percent – and 2.44 million TEU – up 4.7 percent.More than 60,000 cargo trains with around 1.6 million freight cars were handled during 2018 on the Port Railway network alone.

The ferry business, unlike more industrial parts of the shipping business, touches wide swaths of the world’s population across continents. The membership of Interferry, the leading trade group for the industry, with non-Governmental organization (NGO) status at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) includes 200+ members from all parts of the ferry spectrum. These include passenger ferries (including fast ferries), Ro/Pax and cruise ferries operating globally. In selecting “the best” we looked beyond the league tables of “the most” (passengers) and “the biggest” (fleet size).

Thousands of people travel Alaska on mega-cruise ships each year, but only a handful get to cruise Alaskan waters on the immaculate M/V LISERON. Built in Seattle in 1952 by the US Navy as a minesweeper she was sold to France, but returned to Seattle in 1990 after being lovingly converted to yacht-class in Florida.The late Michael Allan McIntosh, philanthropist and environmentalist, founded The Boat Company in 1979, initially as a program of The McIntosh Foundation. The LISERON joined The Boat Company’s first vessel…

The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has extended discounts concerning dry bulk vessels operating between American and Asian ports after considering “new changes in the global shipping market and the world economy”."SCA pays more attention to its users best interest, and has recently taken steps towards being the safest, most secure, most reliable and most competitive compared to other routes," said a press release.It said that the rebate granted to (Laden/Ballast) Dry Bulk Vessels operating between Americas' ports and Asian ports…

The first ever ship-to-ship (STS) transfer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) was completed in The Bahamas by Excelerate Energy and Equinor Energy AS.According to Excelerate, which provides transportation and marketing of LNG, its floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) Exemplar and Equinor’s LNG carrier Arctic Voyager were used for the LNG transfer."A full LNG cargo was transferred using the double-banked LNG transfer system while moored at Equinor’s South Riding Point storage and transshipment terminal which is strategically located for storage and transshipment of crude…

The world’s first LNG-fueled icebreaker, Polaris, received liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel in January from the Pori LNG import terminal and in February from the Manga LNG terminal located in the Röyttä Harbor in Tornio, Finland. The commercial use of the Tornio import terminal begins this year, said a press release from Nordic gas company Gasum.The gas and fuel market of Northern Finland will diversify as the commercial use of the Tornio import terminal begins this year. Access…

The major maritime hub in Northern Ireland Belfast Harbour handled a record 24.6 million tonnes of cargo in 2018, up 3.8% on the previous year thanks to a major increase in the number of freight vehicles passing through the port, which rose to a high of 532,000, latest figures show."Growth was led by a strong increase in freight vehicle carryings on Stena Line’s services to Great Britain, rising by 3% to a record 532,000 freight vehicles and for the second consecutive year more than 1.5m passengers passed through the Port…

Piraeus Port Authority S.A welcomed newly built cruise ship of Norwegian Viking Ocean Cruises' Viking Jupiter and handed an honorary plaque to the Cruise Director Mark Andrew Brignone and books for the ship's library.However, the Norwegian cruiser got into a minor accident while docking at a pier in the port.According to media reports, the cruiser with 607 passengers and 483 crew members on board was at the process of arrival when it crashed with the right side due to the stormy winds.Stormy winds were the cause of the cruise accident…

The Dutch tank storage company Royal Vopak,  Groningen Seaports and Whitehelm Capital announce their intention to jointly invest in a 27 MW solar park. The solar photovoltaic field will be one of the largest currently in the Netherlands.The new solar park will be situated on 19 ha of land adjacent to Vopak Terminal Eemshaven, land which is currently already leased by the terminal. The produced green electricity will be made available for local use in Groningen and Vopak terminals.Based on the available energy infrastructure…

Maritime law enforcement officials from Kenya are taking part in a two week training course on best practices for visit, board, search and seizure of vessels, in Mombasa, Kenya (11-22 February).The multi-agency course brings together 30 officials to learn skills for effective coordination in combating maritime crimes and procedures used to successfully board and search a vessel of interest.The training is part of International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s support for implementing the Jeddah Amendment to Djibouti Code of Conduct 2017…

A Coast Guard crew assisted a 72-foot towing vessel taking on water near Port Arthur, Texas, Thursday evening.Sector Houston-Galveston watchstanders received a report that the towing vessel, Antietam, was taking on water and in need of assistance. Antietam, who was pushing two barges, intentionally grounded near Taylor Bayou to avoid sinking.A Station Sabine Pass 29-foot Response Boat-Small boat crew was launched. Once on scene, the crew of the RB-S assisted in dewatering the vessel.There are no reports of pollution at this time.Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Port Arthur personnel are scheduled to assess the vessel at first light, Friday.

Saudi Crown Prince, Deputy Premier and Defence Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud inaugurated the King Abdullah Port in Rabigh.The Saudi Arabia’s State News Agency (SPA) reported that Saudi Arabia moved one step closer to its goal of becoming a global logistics hub with launch of the King Abdullah Port.The port, part of King Abdullah Economic City, will make the Kingdom “a linking point of three continents, Asia, Europe and Africa,” the crown prince said at the launch.Minister of Transport Nabil Al Amoudi said the port…

Maritime research consultancy Drewry believes that the industry’s supply-demand balance will benefit from a reduced appetite for Ultra Large Container Vessels (ULCVs) among the major carriers, some of which now have their eyes fixed on a bigger prize of becoming global logistics integrators."Aside from feeder ship replenishment, there has been no reaction from other lines to HMM’s mega-ship order and as such we have greatly reduced our projected new orders for 2020 onwards,” said Simon Heaney…

Europe's largest port, the Port of Rotterdam ended 2018 with a total container throughput at 469.0 million tonnes (MT) which slightly higher than in 2017,  which was itself a record year (467.4 MT).Container transhipment was the engine of growth again, with a 4.5% increase in tonnage. Measured in TEUs, the standard unit for containers, the increase was 5.7% and the annual total was 14.5 million TEUs – also a record.This strengthens the position of Europe’s largest container port in this strategically important market segment.

The European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) welcomes the agreement reached on 7 February between the Parliament and the Council on the new regulation establishing a European Maritime Single Window environment (EMSWe).It said that with the new framework, which will repeal the current Reporting Formalities Directive, important steps are made towards reducing administrative burden and increasing the attractiveness of maritime transport. It provides for the creation of a EMSWe dataset…

Dallas-based oil and gas company Sentinel Midstream is planning to develop a deepwater crude oil export terminal, located near Freeport, Texas. The completed facility will be capable of fully loading Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) vessels.Texas GulfLink will include an onshore terminal with up to 18 million barrels of storage, an offshore 42-in. pipeline, and a manned offshore platform to facilitate port operations with two  Catenary Anchor Leg Mooring (CALM) Single Point Mooring (SPM) buoys.

MAN Energy Solutions won the contract to supply the engines for a new harbor tug in Spain, unique in that it is reportedly the first IMO Tier III compliant tug operating in the Mediterranean.P&O Reyser will operate the 27-m, 75T bollard-pull-rated Asymmetric Tractor Tug (ATT) in the Port of Barcelona, which is expected to enter service from mid-2020.The tug will feature 2 × MAN 12V175D MM, IMO Tier III engines, each rated at 2,220 kWm. The engines will be connected to FPP azimuth thrusters for propulsion…

Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) said that a small supply and personnel vessel with three Indonesian crew memebers had capsized and sunk in its territorial waters, near where a similar incident occurred a month ago.All three crew members aboard the Ocean Cooper 2 are safe and no injuries or oil pollution were reported, the MPA said in a statement, adding that the incident is being investigated.The MPA said it received a report at 7:15 a.m. on Thursday (2315 GMT on Wednesday) that a Dominica-flagged supply vessel had capsized and sunk in the westbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme, about 3 nautical miles from Pedra Branca.The incident happened in one of the world's busiest shipping lanes…

Twin City Liner is a  39m low wash, high-speed catamaran ferry for operation by Twin City Liner on the Danube River between Vienna and Bratislava. The vessel was built by Wight Shipyard, with local support from Incat Crowther Europe.Operating on the Danube takes many interesting design specifications, and to this end the ferry features a low draft of 0.8m, minimal wake / wash, low air draft and a hull form designed for restricted waters where high current and debris are encountered. A retractable mast facilitates navigation and radar functions whilst fitting under low bridges.

Russia's second-biggest bank VTB is buying one of the biggest grain terminals at the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk, in a surprise move that gives the state lender more control over the country's main deep-sea grain export hub.VTB, which already owns a stake in another grain terminal at the port, said on Thursday that it was buying 100 percent of Novorossiysk Grain Terminal from Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port (NSCP).Its deal to buy the terminal from NSCP, which is controlled…

Philippines-based port operator International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) has inaugurated the newly-expanded Batumi International Container Terminal (BICT) in Georgia.The expansion encompasses both the waterside and landside areas of the multipurpose terminal, intended to optimize the processing of existing cargo flows and install additional capacity to accommodate new business.Marking the importance of the occasion, the inauguration was attended by Giorgi Kobulia…

Designer Tomas Tillberg’s quest for freedom breaks down barriers and expands to China, where his team builds China’s first expedition cruise ships putting Antarctica - and the most remote, mysterious parts of the world - within reach.All for freedom. Freedom for all. Tomas Tillberg could be Harley Davidson’s new poster boy. As he views the open road from behind his handle bars, he’s filled with an amazing feeling of personal freedom.With formal training from Royal Academy of Arts in Stockholm, Tillberg’s artistry expresses his aspiration for independence.