Ports Network News

Year after year, America’s shipyards that make up the defense industrial base get their hopes up that the annual federal government funding process will produce stable and predictable budgets for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard acquisition programs. Every year, the yards are disappointed as the U.S. Government bounces from spending crisis to spending crisis.At the same time, the yards look favorably upon the shipbuilding plans that significantly grow our Nation’s fleet beyond today’s 296 ships. However, to meet the increased demands that these plans would require, U.S.

Hong Kong's Hutchison Ports has acquired a 50% shareholding in Amsterdam-headquartered terminal and logistics operator TMA Logistics. TMA has a variety of general cargo terminal operations together with warehousing, shipping, logistics and project cargo activities at three sites in Amsterdam and one in Antwerp as well as at Hutchison Ports Amsterdam (former known as Amsterdam Container Terminal). Commenting on the acquisition, Clemence Cheng, Executive Director, Hutchison Ports, said: “The acquisition of a 50% stake in TMA Logistics complements both our existing operations in Amsterdam and the activities of Hutchison Logistics. We have developed a good working relationship with TMA over the last three years which has brought a range of operations to ACT.

With the aim to dominate maritime industry China has been acquiring overseas ports with huge investments which crossed USD 20 bln last year, Financial Times reported. Beijing has spent billions expanding its ports network to secure sea lanes and establish itself as a maritime power, says the report. China is aggressively pushing its  “One Belt One Road”, a grand scheme to win diplomatic allies and open markets in around 65 countries between Asia and Europe. It is pushing ahead with plans to open new shipping routes through the Arctic circle, the report said. The report quoted a study by Grisons Peak, a London-based investment bank, found that Chinese companies have announced plans to buy or invest in nine overseas ports in the year to June in projects valued at a total of $20.1bn.

China Merchants Holdings (International) Company Limited, has announced that it has signed a share subscription agreement with Dalian Port (PDA) Co., under which Dalian Port will issue 1.1bn new shares to China Merchants for HK$4.3bn ($554m). Upon completion of the transaction, China Merchants will hold a 21.05% equity stake of Dalian Port, becoming the second largest shareholder. China Merchants Holdings, which will become Dalian Port's second-largest shareholder after the purchase, said the deal allows it to strengthen its ports network within China and enhance its port-service network. China Merchant said it has been striving to further strengthen its ports network within China…

Chevron Marine Lubricants’ 100BN cylinder oil, Taro Special HT 100 has received approval for its use in another engine range – products made by Winterthur Gas & Diesel Ltd. (formerly Wärtsilä Switzerland Ltd.). Following the completion of a 4,000-hour shipboard testing program on a Wärtsilä 8RT-flex82T engine conducted by Chevron and reviewed by the OEM, as well as and analysis of the engine and samples of the lubricating oil, Winterthur Gas & Diesel Ltd has now issued a full No Objection Letter (NOL) covering the use of the lubricant, Chevron announced today. The approval allows the use of Taro Special HT 100 oil in Wärtsilä RTA, RT-flex and W-X engines as well as in Sulzer two-stroke engines operating on fuels with sulphur contents in the range of 2 to 3.5 percent on a continuous basis.

Indonesia is seeking US$7 billion in foreign investment to upgrade its ports as part of a five-year plan to improve its ports network, Finance Asia said. The plan involves modernizing existing ports and building new ones in the country, which is Southeast Asia’s largest economy and the largest archipelago in the world. Indonesia’s ports are in need of upgrade, the report said; Indonesia ranks only 53rd on the World Bank logistics performance index, below Thailand and Vietnam. The expansion of Indonesia's ports is extremely important, not just for the connectivity of Indonesia's islands but also to bring down logistical costs and raise competitiveness, says Sarvesh Suri, Indonesia country head for International Finance Corp, the private equity arm of the World Bank.

Woods Hole Group will be working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services for the operation and maintenance of Physical Oceanographic Real Time System along the East Coast of the USA, and along the Gulf of Mexico coast in Texas and Louisiana. NOAA PORTS® is a network of sensors in ports and harbors providing access to information improving maritime commerce and safety. * Houston-Galveston, TX (http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/ports/index.html?port=hg) Woods Hole Group also was awarded the five year Operation and Maintenance Contract to support four NOAA National Water Level Observation Network (NWLON) stations in Texas.

The European Union will support with €750,000 from the TEN-T Program a project aimed at exploring the feasibility of connecting by rail a series of maritime and fluvial ports in north-eastern Greece and Bulgaria to create a multimodal freight corridor serving the Aegean Sea, the Black Sea and the Danube river. The project, which is called “Sea2Sea” and was selected for funding under the 2011 TEN-T Annual Call, will develop the concept of a “Sea2Sea” corridor by linking Greek ports on the Aegean Sea with Bulgarian ones on Black Sea via a rail link and provide an alternative route to the congested Bosphorus Strait. Furthermore, the connection to fluvial ports on the Danube river will also be analyzed.

ExxonMobil Marine Fuels (EMMF) is expanding and further enhancing its services in the Mediterranean region. An additional chartered barge at Suez, ex-pipe capability at Fos and improved product availability at Augusta are the impetus behind this drive. Charles Amyot, EMMF's recently appointed Regional Manager for Southern Europe, says: "Vessels bunkering in the Mediterranean benefit from EMMF's facilities, which operate in a unique ports network. The strength of this network is built on the ExxonMobil pillars of service - safety, reliability and product quality."