Upgrade Infrastructure News

Lebanon has awarded France's CMA CGM CMACG.UL a contract to develop and operate the container terminal in Beirut port for 10 years, including plans to rebuild and expand infrastructure damaged in a massive chemical explosion in 2020.CMA CGM said it would invest $33 million, including $19 million over the first two years to upgrade infrastructure at the terminal and digitalize operations, and that it would target capacity of 1.4 million 20ft equivalent units (TEUs), up from 650,000 currently.The deal expands CMA CMG's presence in the eastern Mediterranean.

Eleven Chinese warships sailed into the East Indian Ocean this month, a Chinese news portal said, amid a constitutional crisis in the tiny tropical island chain of the Maldives now under a state of emergency. A fleet of destroyers and at least one frigate, a 30,000-tone amphibious transport dock and three support tankers entered the Indian Ocean, news portal Sina.com.cn said, without linking the deployment to the crisis in the Maldives or giving a reason. "If you look at warships and other equipment, the gap between the Indian and Chinese navy is not large," Sina.com.cn said on Sunday. It did not say when the fleet was deployed or for how long.

Piraeus Port, operator of Greece's biggest port and majority-owned by China's COSCO Shipping, has agreed to team up with the operator of Shanghai port, the world's largest container port, to promote container shipping traffic. Piraeus, COSCO Shipping and Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG) have agreed to cooperate in project planning, staff training and information exchange, Piraeus said in a statement on Monday. It said the agreement would create synergies to boost trade and create new business opportunities.

Louis Dreyfus Commodities and Cargill won an auction on Wednesday to operate a grains area at Santos Port, the first terminal to be leased by the government under a 2012 law meant to bring investment and upgrade infrastructure. Louis Dreyfus Commodities makes up 60 percent of the winning Consortium LDC Brasil BSL, while Cargill has 40 percent, the consortium said. It offered 303 million reais ($80 million), beating another proposal from Agrovia SA. The consortium is required to move 3.9 million tonnes by its third year of operation. Reporting by Priscila Jordão

The rise of alliances among shipping carriers and industry moves toward post-Panamax and ultra large cargo ships are pressuring many U.S. ports to address access restrictions. The widening of the Panama Canal, slated to open in 2016, will further intensify the need to accommodate larger ships. Some regional ports that serve secondary markets and are unable to process larger vessels risk losing some services or being skipped completely, Fitch Ratings says. The combined impact of the shift to larger vessels and carrier alliances is giving shippers significant negotiating leverage over ports.

Canada’s government has invested nearly $11 million to date for improvements and repairs to the Canadian Coast Guard College. The government of Canada is investing $8.6 million to replace the college’s roof, addition to $2.3 million already devoted to upgrading the emergency electrical system, announced transport minister Lisa Raitt on behalf of the fisheries and oceans minister Gail Shea. The investments aim to further reduce the college’s energy consumption while ensuring it maintains international standards for marine safety and environmental response training.

Irving Shipbuilding’s successful C$25 billion bid for the combatant portion of the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy (NSPS) illustrates the strength of Nova Scotia shipbuilding industry. Under the program, Irving Shipbuilding, Inc. (ISI) will build six to eight Arctic/Offshore Patrol Ships and 15 Canadian Surface Combatants for the Department of National Defense (DND) over the next 20-30 years. The NSPS contract is in addition to ISI’s contract to build nine mid-shore patrol vessels for the Canadian Coast Guard…