Port Authority News

Around midnight on February 23, Eulalio Bravo, a marine electrician, was dozing in his rack aboard the San Ramon, an oil tanker anchored off the coast of Venezuela.Suddenly, he heard footsteps pounding along the passageway outside. His captain, Jaime Herrera, cried for help."Be still!" an unfamiliar voice ordered.A gun fired.By the time Bravo and eight other shipmates emerged to see what had happened, the captain lay dead, a gunshot in the back of his head. Herrera's stateroom had been pillaged, drawers flung open, his bunk overturned.

Singapore is seeking proposals on the electrification of small vessels known as harbourcraft as the industry transitions towards a low-carbon future, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said in a joint statement on Wednesday.The MPA is working with the Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI) to seek proposals from industry participants and institutes of higher learning or research institutes to develop commercially ready fully-electric harbourcraft.They are also seeking…

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation has secured several major dredging awards totaling $118.8 million, the U.S.' largest dredging services provider announced on Wednesday.The awarded deepening, coastal protection, and maintenance dredging work includes projects in South Carolina, North Carolina, Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana and New York.The Post 45 Contract 4 Charleston Lower Harbor New Work Dredging Project (Capital, S.C., $52.9 million) consists of maintenance and new work dredging of material from the Charleston Lower Harbor to Hugh Leatherman Terminal.

Canadian grain shipments through the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway trade corridor are up 20% in response to continuing world demand for wheat and canola, the latest figures show.Year-to-date shipments of grain (from April 1 to August 31) totaled 5.2 million tonnes, as ships transported Prairie wheat and canola and Ontario wheat and soybeans for both domestic use and for export to markets around the world.The rush of grain, which is carry over from last year’s crops, has helped to offset continuing pandemic-related declines in other key cargoes such as iron ore (down 23%)…

New legislation introduced by U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.) will codify the U.S. Coast Guard’s icebreaking mission on the Great Lakes and increase the icebreaking capacity of the Great Lakes fleet.The Great Lakes Winter Commerce Act aims to increase Great lakes icebreaking capacity, which the lawmakers say will help the businesses and workers that rely on the maritime industry to transport their goods to market and grow the regional economy.“In recent years…

P&O Maritime Logistics (P&OML), the marine services arm of global port operator DP World, has taken delivery of a Sanmar Shipyards-built tug for the DP World managed Berbera Port on behalf of Somaliland Port Authority (SPA). The M JEEX (ex. Dogancay XXV) arrived Berbera Port under P&OML management and crew on September 10, 2020. The delivery follows a previous purchase from Sanmar, the EGAL (ex. Dogancay XXVI), delivered in the summer of 2018.Powered by a pair of Caterpillar 3212B diesel engines (two 1…

Pioneering Spirit, one of the world's largest vessels, reached Lerwick Harbour on Friday, August 28, carrying aboard the 14,200 tonne Ninian Northern Platform topside.Prior to the arrival in Lerwick, the giant catamaran had removed the Ninian Northern topsides in a single-lift from a jacket standing in 140 m water depth, at the Ninian oilfield around 100 miles (88 nautical miles) north-east of Shetland.Delivery of the Ninian Northern platform topside marked the inauguration of a new…

Royal IHC said it handed over the 3,000m³ trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD) Mont Mandara to Cameroon’s Port Authority of Douala (PAD) on August 20. The delivery completes the PAD fleet, following its acquisition of an IHC Beaver 50 cutter suction dredger and a DMC workboat in 2019.The new TSHD is an IHC Easydredge from IHC’s standardized range of dredging vessels suited for common maintenance and land reclamation projects. The Mont Mandara offers flexibility to PAD as it can be customized to adapt to its dedicated working environment.

The Connecticut Port Authority (CPA) approved the appointment of John Henshaw as its new executive director, effective September 8, 2020.Henshaw comes to the CPA after serving as the executive director of the Maine Port Authority for over 10 years and after serving as commissioner for the Board of Harbor Commissioners for the Port of Portland.He was selected for the position following an extensive search by the CPA board for a candidate with a specific set of skills and experience.

Fifteen Filipino seafarers aboard a Bahamas-flagged cargo ship have tested positive for COVID-19 in Singapore, local authorities said. Singapore's Ministry of Health reported the first positive case from the unnamed oceangoing vessel on August 12, followed by 14 additional confirmed cases from the same ship, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said.The 15 crew members were working on board a Bahamas-registered ship which arrived in Singapore from India on August 8 to conduct repairs and refuel.All crew members of the ship did not disembark.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said it launched eight new patrol vessels to help ensure navigational safety and enhance the protection of the marine environment in the Port of Singapore.Six new 17-meter vessels replace the existing fleet of patrol craft, which had been in service since 2012, plus two new 15-meter patrol launches have been acquired for flag and port state control inspections, to conduct checks on bunkering and private wharves activities, and…

The Port of Paranaguá, Brazil's second busiest for soybean and sugar cargoes, is gradually resuming grain export operations after a fire that affected conveyor belts at two terminals, according to a statement from the port authority on Wednesday.Operations remain halted at the two affected terminals, connected to berths 212, 213 and 214, which form part of an export corridor comprising 11 terminals, the authority said.The belts at the two terminals struck by the fire were idle at the time it broke out…

U.S. Great Lakes ports reported mixed results in June with aluminum, road salt and grain shipments holding strong despite the coronavirus pandemic, while shipments of commodities related to steel production and manufacturing have continued to slide.Additionally, the St. Lawrence Seaway reported that from April 1 to June 30, nearly 11.7 million metric tons of cargo was shipped via the bi-national trade corridor. While these volumes were down 8% compared to the same time period in 2019, cargo shipments improved in June narrowing the year-over-year decline.Craig H.

A newly built grain export terminal has opened for business at the Port of Vancouver on Canada’s West Coast, Canadian grain company G3 announced.G3 Terminal Vancouver is a a British Columbia limited partnership between G3 Global Holdings (a limited partnership between Bunge Canada and SALIC Canada Ltd) and Western Stevedoring Company Ltd.Construction on the facility began in March, 2017 at the site in North Vancouver and is now substantially complete as planned. The facility has…

The success of the first lines boat / utility vessel Dongara Marine built for Jetwave Marine led the Western Australian marine services provider to acquire a second.Jetwave Nelson Point is the latest addition to Jetwave Marine’s owned and operated fleet, which includes nearly 30 specialized commercial vessels including harbor tugs, barges, multi-cats, utility / crew boats, and port service craft. These cater to the requirements of clients in the oil and gas, and resource industries Australia-wide.Designed by Southerly Designs…

CorPower, a Swedish developer of wave energy converters, is establishing an R&D, Manufacturing & Service Centre for wave energy converters in Viana do Castelo, Portugal.The location has been chosen to support CorPower’s demonstration project HiWave-5, and for the long-term development of supply and service capacity for commercial wave energy farms. "Several factors have contributed to choosing Viana do Castelo for this investment. A strong competence pool of engineers from adjacent sectors such as offshore wind…

Port states benefit greatly from the vessels that call at their ports, loading and unloading cargoes with great efficiency and speed. The items manufactured in those states and sold overseas keep many of their citizens gainfully employed. The items imported supply stock for the stores of their nation and provide goods for their citizens. The physical ports utilized by the vessels are employment magnets, attracting a diverse array of industries.Yet, when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, those port states took swift actions against the very vessels that keep their economies in operation.

Brian E. Clark will take over as Executive Director of the North Carolina State Ports Authority following the retirement of Paul J. Cozza at the end of this year.Clark will continue to serve as North Carolina Ports' Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Executive Director, and Cozza as Executive Director, through December 31.Prior to joining NC Ports in June 2017, Clark served in various senior level positions throughout the maritime industry, including a role as Managing Director for APM Terminals at Port Elizabeth, N.J.

The Belgian port of Antwerp has quarantined a Maltese-flagged oil tanker until at least July 4 after more than half of its crew tested positive for COVID-19, the port authority said on Thursday.The Minerva Oceania was being held at the port's Leopold dock after 15 of its 26-person crew had returned positive tests, a port spokeswoman said in an emailed response.Two of the crew members who tested positive were in hospital but their condition was not serious, she said. The other crew were remaining on board and those with COVID-19 self-isolating in separate cabins.

Ultra-luxury cruise ship Europa 2 has had its cold ironing connection certified by classification society DNV GL following testing of the undisrupted use and compatibility of the shore-to-ship power system in the Port of Hamburg.While idled due to the coronavirus pandemic, Europa 2 has been using cold ironing at the Cruise Center Altona in Hamburg for the past 30 days, reportedly marking the first time a cruise ship has been using cold ironing for a long period of time.Europa 2, with a maximum of 500 passengers requires 2.2 megawatts (MW) of power per hour during its lay time.

Bureau Veritas Marine Singapore (BV), in collaboration with PSA Marine,  completed a remote marine survey for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual fuel harbor tug, PSA Aspen. Supported by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), the project marks the first time a harbor tug registered under the Singapore Registry of Ships has undergone a fully accredited annual survey conducted remotely, without a surveyor physically present onboard the vessel.Marine services provider…

The new chief executive of Trafigura's marine fuels joint venture TFG Marine will leave the business at the end of September, the company said on Monday without disclosing the reason for his departure.Anders Gronborg was appointed CEO in April after ending a 27-year career at World Fuel Services in 2018.The company and Gronborg have agreed to part in a "mutually agreed exit", a company spokeswoman said in an emailed statement, adding that his last day will be Sept. 30."The Board…

The State of Alabama and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers entered into the Project Partnership Agreement twio deepen and widen the Port of Mobile to 50 feet in late 2024 or early 2025.Colonel Sebastien P. Joly, Commander of the Mobile District, and John C. Driscoll, Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Alabama State Port Authority, signed the agreement, which allows the Corps of Engineers will move into contracting and construction phases of the approximately $365.7 million project…