Port Systems News

The advancement of the recently announced America’s Maritime Action Plan (MAP) is embraced by the ports in the bi-state St. Louis region as a unique opportunity to play a role in this comprehensive federal framework. The MAP is a blueprint for rebuilding the nation’s maritime strength, increasing the use of technology, enhancing supply chain resilience and expanding domestic industrial capacity. It is estimated that only one percent of all new vessels are currently built in the United States.

The 34-year-old livestock carrier ship Blue Ocean A, flying the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis, has been detained at the Italian Port of Cagliari after a port state control inspection found 54 irregularities, 30 of which were considered serious.The vessel nearly ran aground on January 29 off San Pietro Island due to a main engine failure while carrying 33 crew members.The inspection revealed problems with firefighting and life-saving equipment, bridge systems, crew emergency training…

On October 28, 2025 U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation’s Subcommittee on Coast Guard, Maritime, and Fisheries, convened the Senate hearing “Sea Change: Reviving Commercial Shipbuilding”. This hearing examined how to modernize and accelerate U.S. commercial shipbuilding while strengthening a larger maritime industrial base.Senator Sullivan opened with a statement that included: “Our nation faces a critical strategic challenge as foreign competitors…

Washington comes to grips with the reality that the domestic intermodal equation includes four modes. One of them is by water. It’s about time.One of the great things about spending five years in retirement (I mean, aside from being blissfully idle while you toiled) is that, when you do come back to work, you enjoy a truly fresh perspective in all aspects of your job. Not only does this provide new energy, more importantly, a half decade of change is much easier to discern. Nowhere…

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation on Thursday announced the receipt of five dredging contracts totaling $173.7 million. The projects are in Texas, New Jersey, Florida and Louisiana.The Sabine-Neches Waterway Channel Improvement Project-Phase 1 (Capital, Texas, $62.8 million) includes dredging for channel deepening along the Sabine-Neches Waterway from Sabine Bank Channel to Sabine Pass Channel. The construction of the Sabine-Neches Waterway will generate widespread economic benefits for Southeast Texas…

Wilhelmsen and Thyssenkrupp announced on September 29 their joint venture company, Pelagus 3D, marking the entry of a new player into global maritime and offshore services market."Pelagus 3D envisions to be the largest one-stop, on-demand digital manufacturing partner for the maritime and offshore industries. It uses Additive Manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing to deliver maritime spare parts more efficiently in terms of time and cost, allowing customers to ensure their vessels’ seaworthiness and keep their operations moving on schedule…

When compared to other major river navigation routes around the world, the St. Lawrence River is a favored waterway.It flows from the mouth of Lake Ontario, at an altitude of 250 meters. From its source to the Gulf, the river travels 1,197 kilometers, and is fed by several tributaries including the Ottawa, Richelieu, Saint-François and Saguenay rivers.But the effects of climate change are being felt. The marine industry is adapting. It is currently embarking on a shift towards…

WTW has launched CyNav for Ports and Terminals, a cyber solution specifically designed to help address the escalating cyber risks faced by owners and operators in this strategically vital sector of the global maritime supply chain. The release of CyNav for Ports and Terminals is a direct response to growing calls from operators for a bespoke product that addresses the specific risks faced by their high-value asset class and closes the gaps found in the standard cyber policies of today’s insurance market.Due to the outsized role its practitioners play in supporting the global economy…

Cyber-attacks on the maritime industry’s operational technology (OT) systems have increased by 900% over the last three years with the number of reported incidents set to reach record volumes by year end.Addressing port and terminal operators during an online forum last week, Robert Rizika, Naval Dome’s Boston-based Head of North American Operations, explained that in 2017 there were 50 significant OT hacks reported, increasing to 120 in 2018 and more than 310 last year. He said this year is looking like it will end with more than 500 major cyber security breaches…

Missouri Port Authorities Team Up To Advance Plan For Statewide Initiative That Focuses On Innovative Inland Waterway Container-On-Vessel Freight Service.Missouri Governor Michael Parson visited the Mississippi River town of Herculaneum on August 12 to find out more about statewide efforts to deliver a new option to transport freight along the inland waterways and what role an innovative waterway vessel could play in moving larger volumes of goods and commodities along both the Mississippi River and Missouri River and their tributaries.

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 technology is defined as the technology that can be applied to make maritime trade processes more efficient and reduce bottlenecks in the flow of goods around the world. For the purposes of market-sizing, this means digital and IT spend (though not exclusively).

Resilience planning, Info Sharing Take Spotlight“Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.” That old chestnut gets turned on its head when it comes to port cyber security. It’s more like “Oh what a tangled web we’ve woven, so much harder to stop data stolen.”Ports today have the physical aspect of security pretty well nailed shut - gates, locks, fencing, alarms, cameras, drones, etc. As Chris Mason, Rajant Corp.’s director of sales for EMEA, notes, “Every…

The world of dredging is defined by the vast diversity of each assignment that contractors perform on any given day. Fortunately, DSC’s standard lineup of dredge equipment can be modified and customized to meet just about any job that needs doing. It wasn’t too long ago that retired U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Jim Loy told me, “If you’ve seen one port, well, you’ve seen one port.” That now-famous declaration was made in reference to port security in a post-9/11 world, but the quip is as valid now as it was when he said it during his tenure as Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard. Similarly, it can also be said that if you’ve seen one dredging operation, well, then you’ve seen one dredging operation.

The Ports of Indiana handled nearly 3.9 million tons of cargo during the fourth quarter of 2016, the highest quarterly shipment total in the organization's 55-year history. The total surpassed the ports' previous quarterly record set in the second quarter of 2015 by 300,000 tons. The state's three ports' shipped nearly 11.3 million tons in 2016, the second highest volume in history and the third consecutive year the ports exceeded 10 million tons annually. Since 2014, the Ports of Indiana has handled 34 million tons of cargo, the highest three-year total since Indiana's ports opened. Major cargoes included coal, steel, grain, fertilizer and limestone.

The Minister of Shipping and Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari has said that the efficiency of Indian ports has improved greatly over the last two years and the performance of government ports in the country has been better than private ports this year. He said, the Ministry has taken various steps to improve the efficiency of ports. Old rules have been weeded out, port mechanization and modernization is being done on war footing and projects for improving connectivity of ports are being implemented in right earnest. He further stressed upon the importance of e governance for ensuring good governance The Minister released a report titled “Next Generation Port Infrastructure - Technology Transformation for Integrated Port Operations” in New Delhi.

Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) introduced a new port security system valued at more than $53 million to safeguard customer cargo, port users, as well as Transnet’s own port assets, staff and contractors. Phumuzi Sigasa, head of TNPA’s Port Security Portfolio added: “In conformance with regulations and our own Integrated Security Management Systems - Security Strategy Plan, we are rolling out an upgraded security system across our eight South African commercial ports and our head office in Johannesburg.

The Ports of Indiana handled over 10.4 million tons of cargo in 2014, up nearly 26 percent from the previous year. This was the first time annual shipments exceeded 10 million tons in the port authority's 53-year history. The 2014 total was nearly 800,000 tons higher than the previous record set in 1994. Shipments of coal, agricultural products and steel helped drive significant increases in annual cargo volumes at the state's ports. Steel shipments more than doubled while grain shipments were up nearly 72 percent from 2013. Ethanol and dried distillers grains (DDGs) increased 54 percent and 51 percent, respectively, while salt shipments nearly tripled over the previous year.

Inlecom Systems Ltd (Inlecom) has launched i-Ship, an innovative software application, enabling ship representatives to fulfil their reporting obligations to European and International maritime and custom authorities with greater speed and efficiency. Developed as part of the part EU-funded FP7 eMAR project, i-Ship has been designed specifically to automate reporting formalities in a timely and correct manner taking into account the type of ship and/or voyage and is fully compliant with Directive 2010/65/EU.

ABS and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) today to promote maritime research and development (R&D) and innovation. Over the next five years, ABS and MPA will collaborate on maritime R&D in the areas of alternative/clean fuel and developing resilient, next-generation port systems. Both parties will also commit to promote and share maritime thought leadership on technology. "For more than 50 years, ABS has been committed to working alongside the MPA…

Practical results from the SUPPORT (Security UPgrade for PORTS) project, coordinated by BMT Group Ltd. and part-funded by the European Commission’s FP7 Security Research Program will be demonstrated to key stakeholders at Stena Line’s ferry terminals starting at Masthuggskajen in the Port of Gothenburg on May 7-8, 2014. Comprising a collaboration of 21 European organizations, SUPPORT integrates legacy port systems with new surveillance and information management systems. It efficiently supports the complexity of a real port environment through a more integrated, holistic approach.

Commercial seaborne shipping is regulated by international, EU and national authorities and is subject to a number of commercially oriented constraints. The long history and large number of organizations associated with regulation has led to a high level of complexity in managing the development of regulations, their implementation by transport operators, and their enforcement by authorities. The complexity of the situation is further aggravated by the long lifetime of ships, the different phases of ship operations…

The Ports of Indiana has named Scott Stewart as port director for the Port of Indiana-Jeffersonville. A native of nearby New Albany, Ind., Stewart spent 24 years in positions of increasing responsibility with the Procter & Gamble Company before retiring in 2008 and moving back to Indiana. Upon his return, he served as a senior policy director for Governor Mitch Daniels and most recently as Director of Strategy for the Indiana Department of Transportation on the Ohio River Bridges project. "We're very excited to have someone of Scott's caliber join our team," said Rich Cooper, CEO for the Ports of Indiana. "Scott's management and leadership roles with one of the world's top corporations…

The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) and the Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG) signed an historic agreement recently that will allow both port systems to jointly promote all-water shipping routes between Asia and the Port of Savannah. "China's economy continues to fuel world trade among all nations and in doing so is growing a new domestic market of its own for the world economies to service via exports to China," said Doug J. Marchand, GPA's Executive Director. The agreement provides for both parties to promote a strong working relationship and exchange information and expertise in the areas of marketing, communications, management, training and safety.