Original news was published 08 November, 2017

Savannah and Charleston have both reported golden October container traffic numbers.

Container trade at the Port of Savannah grew by 32% in October, with Garden City Terminal moving 410,000 TEU, an increase of nearly 100,000 TEU on October 2016. It was the first time in the port's history that it topped 400,000 TEU in a single month. For the fiscal year to date (July 1st-October 31st), the Port of Savannah has moved 1.42M TEU, up by 155,050 or 12.3%.

"Since the opening of the expanded Panama Canal, Garden City Terminal has experienced meteoric growth," said GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch. "We're now handling more ships, bigger vessels and larger cargo exchanges.

"By working more weekly vessel calls than any other East Coast port, and serving more neopanamax ships than any other port in the US Southeast, Savannah has strengthened its position as a vital gateway to the global marketplace."

South Carolina Ports Authority has reported its strongest October on record, with 184,804 TEU.

Fiscal year-to-date (July 1st-October 31st), TEU volume is up 5%, with 724,799 TEU handled. "Container growth in October was broad-based across multiple segments, with particular strength of export loaded containers," said Jim Newsome, SCPA president and CEO.

"All indicators are that the US port market will continue to grow, based on good performance of the global economy. We look forward to the addition of container volume from major manufacturing operations such as Volvo Cars, Samsung Electronics and Mercedes Vans going into 2018."

As measured in pier containers, or boxes handled, SCPA moved a record 105,208 containers across the docks of its two container terminals in October, surpassing the previous October record of 102,413 pier containers in 2004. Fiscal year to date, pier container volume is up 5.7% with 410,856 boxes handled July through October.

SCPA's Inland Port Greer also achieved its strongest October since the facility opened in November 2013, with 11,773 rail moves handled last month.

*NEWS SOURCE

New partners are going on to join Overseas Project Cargo Association from all around the world. Today we are happy to announce you that MAZIZA LOGISTIQUE SARL is our new member from SENEGAL.

Let's welcome our new agent on board of Overseas Project Cargo Association! Have a great cooperation together!

MAZIZA LOGISTIQUE SARL
ADDRESS: Lot N° 4, Ngor Almadies Route de l'aeroport, Dakar, Senegal
CONTACT: Moussa Beye / CEO
TEL: +221 33 864 98 98
FAX: +221 33 820 16 20
WEB: www.mazizalogistique.com

COMPANY PROFILE

Maziza Logistique Sarl was founded in 2008 as a customs broker and international freight forwarder. Their Integrated Information System allows them to offer a large number of services and to meet all the requested requirements.

Maziza Logistique Sarl offers the following professional services:

• Warehouse management: Reception, Storage, Preparation, Shipping.
• Transport management: Choice of transport, Chartering, EDI, Transportation labels, Pre-invoicing.
• Modules adapted to their customers' specificities: Hazardous materials, Billing services.

VISIT WEBSITE (CLICK HERE!) | VISIT OPCA PROFILE (CLICK HERE!)

Original news was published 06 November, 2017

KOREAN shipping giant Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) is reportedly ordering 20,000-TEU ships to boost competitiveness against its larger peers, according to a South Korean news site.

MTN claimed that the orders could be placed in March 2018 for delivery in 2021. By then, HMM's fleet would be increased from an aggregate of 350,000 TEU to 600,000 TEU.

A spokesman for HMM told London's IHS Fairplay that the company had yet to decide on ordering newbuildings, having already ordered five big oil tankers and two 11,000-TEU ships this year.

The biggest ships in the HMM fleet are 13,000 TEU. There is therefore concern that HMM could lag behind its competitors.

Mid-October, HMM sold shares to raise US$614 million for newbuilding plans and recently placed firm orders for five big crude carriers, with options for another five tankers, with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.

The company also ordered two 11,000-TEU ships from Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction.

MTN reported that the proceeds from the share sale are expected to be partly used to finance HMM new series of newbuildings.

*NEWS SOURCE

Original news was published 03 November, 2017

Australia's Port Kembla has seen the delivery of some huge machinery in one of the port's biggest ever deliveries.

The massive equipment included three giant coal stackers, which load coal into stockpiles ready for shipping, and a huge reclaimer which loads these stockpiles onto ships.

The machinery was designed and constructed by thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions Australia in western Australia and loaded in a single lift onto the heavy lift ship Jumbo Kinetic for the journey to New South Wales.

The port claims that the reclaimer, weighing 1,490 tonnes, was the biggest piece of machinery ever loaded onto a ship in a single lift at the Australian Marine Complex south of Perth.

The machinery will form part of the Port Kembla Coal Terminal Restoration project which will replace the 30-year-old infrastructure currently in place at the terminal. When installed, the new machinery will be able to process 144,000 tonnes of coal per day.

Port Kembla Coal Terminal (PKCT) is a coal exporting facility that services the coalfields of New South Wales.

*NEWS SOURCE

Original news was published 01 November, 2017

The facility, located in Calvert City, joins Barnhart's branch in Owensboro and will focus on providing services to the chemical and power industries.

"While we have been providing crane and rigging services and heavy transportation in the Calvert City area for many years, we can better serve customers in western Kentucky, southern Indiana and southern Illinois from this new operation," said Clay Ellis, Barnhart's branch manager for Owensboro.

Customers will also have access to an inventory of local cranes ranging from a 60 to 600-ton (54.4 to 544-tonne) capacity, as well as specialised rigging equipment like cantilever beams, gantries, slide systems, self-propelled modular transporters (SPMT), and other larger project equipment.

In addition to Calvert City, Barnhart has more than 45 other branches in the USA, including locations in Tennessee and Illinois.

*NEWS SOURCE

Original news was published 30 October, 2017

The Board of Directors of COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation (CSET) has approved an investment in 14 new tankers, the company said in a regulatory filing.

As informed, Dalian Shipbuilding will be in charge of constructing four new ships of 32,000 dwt and three crude oil tankers of 160,000 dwt.

CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering (Group) Company Limited (COMEC), formerly Guangzhou Shipyard International Company Limited (GSI), would be entrusted with the construction of five 110,000 dwt oil tankers while China Shipbuilding International Trading would be in charge of building two 65,000 dwt oil tankers.

CSET said that the shipbuilding contracts for the newbuildings are yet to be signed. Details on the delivery dates have not yet been disclosed.

In order to finance the acquisition, the company will be raise funds worth RMB 5.4 bn (USD 814 mn) by issuing new shares.

Separately, COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation said that it would acquire 50% stake in four LNG vessels intended for the Yamal LNG Project from Japanese Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL).

The net profit from the continued operation of the oil and gas transportation business of the group for the nine months ended 30 September 2017 was RMB 1.248 billion, down by 16.2% on a year-on-year basis, mainly due to a year-on-year decrease of 40%-60% in the daily revenue level in the oil transportation market in the first three quarters of the year.

*NEWS SOURCE

Original news was published 27 October, 2017

The Port of Everett commission in the USA has authorised the second phase of the south terminal wharf modernisation project.

The capital improvement project and the double rail siding that is currently under construction will, according to the port, ensure its facilities are ready to support the next generation of over-dimensional cargo, including aerospace parts for the new Boeing 777X centre coming online in late-2018.

The first phase of the modernisation project strengthened 140 ft (42.6 m) of the dock structure in 2015. The USD36 million second phase will strengthen the remaining 560 ft (170.7 m) of the 700 ft (213.4 m) dock structure and make electrical upgrades at the wharf.

"This is the largest capital project the port has undertaken since the construction of Mount Baker Terminal in 2005. Staff have been doing a great job in thinking strategically to phase, finance and permit this project in a way that delivers this project by December 2019," explained Port of Everett ceo Les Reardanz.

The port commission will be accepting construction bids in November 2017, with construction anticipated to begin in April 2018 and last until December 2019.

*NEWS SOURCE

Original news was published 26 October, 2017

National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri) has taken delivery of Shaden, a very large crude carrier (VLCC), from South Korean Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries (HSHI) shipyard.

The 300,000 dwt ship is the fifth VLCC to join the Bahri fleet this year, following the deliveries of Amjad, Maharah, Aslaf and Rimthan.

Flying the flag of Saudi Arabia, Shaden features a length of 330 meters and a width of 60 meters.

Currently, the newbuilding has a market value of USD 81.39 million, according to data provided by VesselsValue.

The newly received vessel is one of the five VLCCs financed by Riyad Bank, Bahri said.

The commercial operation of Shaden is expected to begin in December 2017.

Bahri’s fleet currently comprises 88 vessels including 41 VLCCs, 36 chemical/product tankers, six multipurpose vessels and five dry bulk carriers. In addition, the company has five VLCCs on order.

The delivery of Shaden comes only days after Bahri released its financial results for the third quarter of this year which show that the company’s profit for the period dropped by 80.8 percent to SAR 60.5 million from SAR 315.3 million seen in the same quarter a year earlier.

*NEWS SOURCE

Original news was published 24 October, 2017

The Port of Antwerp closed the first three quarters of this year with a freight volume of 167.1 million tons, an increase of 3.3% compared to the same period a year earlier.

As informed, strong growth has been recorded in almost all sectors until the end of September.

“In the last quarter too we are managing to maintain the same high pace of expansion as in the previous nine months. In fact this trend is holding steady from past years,” Jacques Vandermeiren, CEO Port Authority, commented.

“Antwerp has been performing extremely well for quite a time now in a market that is otherwise characterised by volatility and fluctuations. If in such a situation you manage to not only maintain but also grow your market share, that gives you confidence in the future,” he added.

The container volume rose by 3.7% in tonnage to 91.9 million tons or by 3.2% in TEU to 7.8 million TEU during the first nine months. The port said it handled 4.6% more full containers, while the number of empties fell by 4.4%.

The port explained that the growth in containers is partly due to the sailing schedules of the new alliances which choose Antwerp as a port of call. For the other part, new liner services have been launched which have opted resolutely for Antwerp. The result has been a sharp growth in container freight – over the past nine months, the second quarter was the best ever for Antwerp with 2.66 million TEU, followed closely by the third quarter with 2.65 million TEU.

Additionally, RoRo freight is experiencing strong growth this year – so far it is up 10.7%, standing at 3.75 million tons. At the end of September, the volume stood at 7.82 million tons, an increase of 7.7%.

What is more, the volume of liquid bulk increased by 2.4% to 54.46 million tons at the end of the nine-month period. The rise of 11.4% in exports of liquid fuels stands in contract with the decline of 12.8% in imports during the same period, so that the total volume is practically the same at 30.81 million ton, according to the port.

On the other hand, the volume of dry bulk cargo handled during the first three quarters declined by 0.8% to 9.20 million tons.

*NEWS SOURCE

Original news was published 20 October, 2017

NORTH China port operator Qinghuangdao port saw overall throughput at its three terminals grow by 30 per cent in the first nine months of the year to 290.7 million tonnes, compared to the same period in 2016.

Container throughput over the reporting period was up 12 per cent year on year to 903,225 TEU, reported Seatrade Maritime News of Colchester, UK.

Out of the three ports the group operates, Qinghuangdao port performed the best, with cargo volume rising 42 per cent year on year to 177.3 million tonnes, followed by Huanghua port with volume up 15 per cent to 51.8 million TEU, while at Caofeidian port throughput increased by 12 per cent to 61.6 million tonnes.

Dry bulk volumes grew the most and among them coal volume grew the fastest, up 30 per cent and 43 per cent to 270.6 million tonnes and 176.9 million tonnes respectively, the port operator said in a stock market filing.

*NEWS SOURCE