Port Authority News

A record 400 tertiary students attended  annual Singapore Maritime Dialogue (SMD), organised by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).This is the first time MPA has teamed up with students from the National University of Singapore to engage and encourage their peers to participate in the SMD.Centred on the theme “Building a Future-Ready Maritime Singapore”, the panel comprising Guest-of-Honour, Senior Minister of State for Ministry of Transport and Health, Dr Lam Pin Min…

Great Lakes-St. Lawrence shipping continues to bounce back after a slow start. With strong tonnage numbers in July, particularly shipments of U.S. grain, liquid bulk and project cargo, the 2018 shipping season is right on par with the healthy statistics posted last year.Overall cargo shipments on the St. Lawrence Seaway between March 29 and July 31 totaled 16.5 million metric tons. Areas of strength included U.S. grain shipments totaling 888,000 metric tons, up 32 percent over last year. Liquid bulk shipments totaled 2.3 million metric tons, an increase of 25 percent.

The Japanese group MOL Chemical Tankers is coming to the port of Antwerp. Together with the port group SEA-Invest it is to invest some 300 to 400 million euros in construction of a tank storage terminal for liquid chemicals. This is yet more confirmation of the port's power of attraction for big investors.Mol Chemical Tankers, a member of the Japanese group Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, will team up with SEA-Invest to build a tank storage terminal in the port of Antwerp. The Sea-Mol joint venture has been set up for this purpose, for which it will invest some 300 to 400 million euros.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) conducted a ferry emergency exercise  to test the readiness of various agencies in responding to ferry mishaps in the Port of Singapore.More than 100 personnel from ten organisations (Annex) took part in the exercise at sea near Kukor Buoy. The exercise scenario involved the evacuation of 72 passengers on-board a domestic ferry after her grounding on a large underwater object.Passengers were then evacuated onto life rafts and a rescue ferry alongside the grounded vessel.

Nearly $5 million in grant funding awarded this week will help enhance existing marine highways serving ports in Louisiana, Virginia, New York and Connecticut, and support the development of new container-on-barge services in Kentucky and Rhode Island.On Wednesday, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao announced $4,872,000 in grants for six projects through the Maritime Administration’s (MARAD) Marine Highway program, works with public and private stakeholders to support the expanded use of navigable waterways to relieve landside congestion…

Scottish Government identifies Dales Voe in Lerwick in Shetland  as “preferred site” for an "ultra deep water" decommissioning port after UK-wide feasibility study.Scotland’s supply chain could be set to win more large scale decommissioning projects, after Dales Voe in Shetland has been identified as the optimal location for an ultra-deep water port.The Lerwick location was selected following a UK-wide feasibility study, conducted by Ernst and Young, has as the optimal and most…

The Port of Rotterdam Authority is to replace a section of the slopes stretching over more than 9 kilometres that have been contaminated by the Bow Jubail oil spill.The Port Authority announced earlier that the damage resulting from the oil spill is estimated at around 80 million euros. The Port Authority will recover this damage from Odfjell, owner of the leaking Bow Jubail.“We will do everything in our power to recover these damages. Society here cannot be left to pay for this…

Cosco Shipping Ports (CSP), one of the world’s largest container terminal operators, said despite the the US-China trade war, as it posted a 70.1 percent jump in adjusted profit for the first six months ended 30 June 2018."2018 is a year full of challenges. Sino-US trade frictions, the rise of trade protectionism, geopolitical uncertainties and the upward trend of interest rates have the potential to place serious pressure on the development of global trade. Despite all these uncertainties…

Thai shipbuilder Italthai Marine Limited in July hosted a keel laying ceremony for a new 32-meter tug that it is building for the Royal Thai Navy (RTN).The builder was awarded the construction contract for this second RAmparts 3200 tug earlier this year after delivering the first, Panyi 857, in 2016.Designed by Canadian naval architect and marine engineering firm Robert Allan Ltd., the tugs are built for handling large navy vessels and submarines coming in and out of port, as well as supporting oil recovery operations…

Port of Antwerp has reached a new milestone with the introduction of a fully automatic sounding boat that employs unique technology. The vessel, named the Echodrone, is a prototype that is currently being developed to supplement the other operational sounding boat, the Echo.Both of these carry out measurements of the water depth everywhere in the port so as to guarantee safe passage for shipping. The cloud-based technology – a first – has been developed in partnership between…

Sales of marine fuels in Singapore fell to a two-month low in August as fewer ships called for refueling at the world's largest bunkering hub, officialdata showed on Thursday.Marine fuel sales last month declined 9.2 percent from a year earlier and 1.8 percent from a month ago to 3.963 million metric tons, data from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) showed.The decline in marine refueling activity, also known as bunkering, was largely anticipated, four trade sources said…

Port of Antwerp reached a new milestone with the introduction of a fully automatic sounding boat that employs unique technology. The vessel, named the Echodrone, is a prototype that is currently being developed to supplement the other operational sounding boat, the Echo.Both of these carry out measurements of the water depth everywhere in the port so as to guarantee safe passage for shipping. The cloud-based technology – a first – has been developed in partnership between the…

Seven ports have now elevated the Paris Agreement Climate Goal to the top of their agendas to keep global warming well below 2°C.With their World Ports Climate Action Program announced, the port authorities of Hamburg, Barcelona, Antwerp, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Vancouver and Rotterdam will collaborate in refining and developing tools to facilitate reduction of CO2 emissions from maritime transport.The Port Authority organisations call upon the shipping industry and other ports…

Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp. was named “Provider of the Year” on 18th July, 2018 by Target Corporation, the second-largest department store retailer and importer of containerized freight in the United States.Yang Ming was also accredited with the “Environmental Ship Index Award 2017” by Marseille Fos Port Authority, said a company statement.The “Provider of the Year” award distinguishes the provider who has demonstrated exceptional operational performance in cooperation with Target Corporation.Yang Ming achieved a score of 99.9% against stated performance goals.

Innovative waterway concept vessel could deliver transportation savings for shippers on the Mississippi River. Plans to transport freight via innovative waterway vessels that backers say will revolutionize the inland waterway system and provide significant transportation cost savings for shippers, especially those accessing the Midwest by utilizing the Mississippi River and its tributaries, are underway, according to Sal Litrico, CEO for American Patriot Container Transport, a…

As shareholders in the Port of Rotterdam Authority, the Municipality of Rotterdam and the Ministry of Finance have approved the participation in the Port of Pecém, a rapidly growing port in Northeast Brazil.The participation involves an investment of some 75 million euros and, in addition to holding 30% of the shares, the Port of Rotterdam Authority will have joint control of strategic decisions and positions at Executive Board, Supervisory Board and management level.The Port of Rotterdam Authority and Ceará State are expected to sign the decision next month…

Tough new rules on marine fuel are forcing shipowners to explore liquefied natural gas as a cleaner alternative and ports such as Gibraltar are preparing to offer upgraded refueling facilities in the shipping industry's biggest shake-up in decades.From 2020, International Maritime Organization rules will ban ships from using fuels with a sulphur content above 0.5 percent, compared with 3.5 percent now, unless they are equipped to clean up sulphur emissions. This will be enforced…

Keppel Offshore & Marine’s shipbuilding arm Keppel Singmarine has delivered its second dual-fuel tug capable of running on liquefied natural gas (LNG). The new vessel, named named Maju Loyalty, was built for Maju Maritime (which is merged operationally with Keppel Smit Towage).Abu Bakar, managing director, gas and specialized vessels, of Keppel O&M, said, "Leveraging our newbuild experience and capabilities in LNG, we were able to ensure the smooth execution and timely delivery of this project. This is the second dual-fuel tug built by Keppel O&M, and furthers our track record in the design and construction of cost and energy efficient LNG-fueled vessels.

Singapore’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunker barge scheduled to begin construction in January 2019. The 7,500 cubic meter capacity barge will be owned and operated by a joint venture between Shell and Keppel Offshore & Marine, FueLNG Pte Ltd, who selected ABS to class the vessel.To help spur the project, Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) recently granted up to $3 million to FueLNG Pte Ltd to build the barge. The vessel will be based in the Port of Singapore and will supply LNG fuel to large oceangoing vessels throughout the region.“This project is an important milestone for the region and is a key component of Singapore’s strategy to become the world’s largest bunkering port,” said ABS Vice President Global Gas Solutions, Patrick Janssens.

Contaminated marine fuel that clogs and damages ship engines has been found in Singapore, the world's largest ship refuelling hub, according to sources and an alert sent to clients by a marine fuel surveying company.Singapore-based marine fuel surveyor and consulting firm Maritec Pte Ltd warned clients this week that six samples of ship fuel sold in Singapore had "resulted in severe sludging at centrifuges, clogged pipelines, overwhelmed fuel filters".The Singapore findings follow reports of more than 100 vessels that loaded similarly contaminated fuel in the U.S.

The UK is the third-largest maritime trading partner for the port of Antwerp. In order to be fully prepared for Brexit the Port Authority is taking various initiatives including the appointment of a new representative for the UK and Ireland. Justin Atkin has assumed this role as of 1 September 2018.With an annual freight volume of around 15 million tonnes the UK is the port of Antwerp's largest maritime trading partner after the USA and Russia. Antwerp is also ideally situated as an investment location close to the European centres of decision-making…

During the first six months of this year, container volumes at the Port of Gothenburg rose by 19 per cent, from 318,000 to 378,000 TEUs.The number of cars and intra-European ro-ro units shipped increased by ten and four per cent respectively, whilst the energy segment fell by three per cent. The figures are taken from the Port of Gothenburg’s recently published mid-year volume report.The vast majority of Swedish foreign trade takes place by sea. In the case of trade with countries outside Europe…

The Georgia Port Authority (GPA) has unveiled a $2.5 billion plan to expand the capacity at the Port of Savannah to 8 million TEUs by 2028.GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch at the Savannah State of the Port detailed GPA’s 10-year,  $2.5 billion plan to expand the capacity of the nation’s fastest growing and single largest container terminal from 5.5 million twenty-foot equivalent unit containers (TEUs) to 8 million, said a press release.“We’re preparing to redefine the Port of Savannah as not simply the load center for the Southeastern U.S.…