Maersk charters two new 13,100-TEU ships from Rickmers
Two newly christened 13,100-TEU containerships owned by Rickmers Group will be chartered to Denmark's Maersk Line.
Built by Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan, Korea, the two new vessels belong to a series of eight containerships at the same size for 10-year charters to Maersk. Four similarly sized sister vessels were delivered last summer.
With the latest delivery the Rickmers Group fleet is now at 116 vessels.
Maersk says its next generation mega-ships to cut emissions in half
Maersk Line's next generation "Triple E" fleet of 18,000-TEU containership will emit 50 percent less emissions compared to the industry average in the Asia-Europe trade, the world's largest container-shipping line said.
The reduced level of CO2 would equate to about 2.5 tons per container on a one-way trip between Shanghai and Rotterdam, Maersk said.
Twenty percent less emissions per container would be moved compared to the current mega-ship, the Emma Maersk, the company said.
The Maersk fleet would also consume 35 percent less fuel per container compared to the many other ships on order for competitors, Maersk said.
The new ships will use smaller engines, a waste heat recovery system that will reportedly reduce fuel consumption by 9 percent, and engines that will cut energy use by 8 percent.
Maersk has stated its goal is to cut CO2 emissions per container 25 percent by 2020.
Maersk is building the initial order of 10 new ships at Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering at a pricetag of $190 million per vessel, with an option for an additional 20.
Delivery of the Triple-Class mega-ships is scheduled between 2013 and 2015.
To view the video of Maersk's next generation shipping fleet: www.youtube.com
Containership oil leak off Norway leads to hundreds of coated birds being shot
The Norwegian government has green-lighted hundreds of sea birds being shot after there were coated in oil that leaked from the grounded containership off Norway last week according to several reports out of the region.
It has been reported that at least 250 birds were counted as being oil covered on Sunday with concerns that many more birds are suffering.
The birds that are reportedly the most affected by the oil are "Eider" ducks and gulls.
The containership Godafoss ran aground in the Ytre Hvaler National Park, a marine park reserve in Europe's largest inshore reef.
Iranian warships pass through Suez
For the first time in over 30 years, Iranian warships were reportedly passing through the Suez Canal on Tuesday en route to Syria.
Israel has stated allowing the warships through the Canal would be considered a provocation.
Libyan ports reportedly shut down
Cargo operations at Libya's ports of Benghazi, Tripoli and Misurata on the Mediterranean are closed due to the level of protests against the government there, according to reports out of the region.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
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Georgia and S.C. at odds over bi-state port project’s timing
The South Carolina State Ports Authority announced last week that it would be putting its involvement in the proposed bi-state Jasper County deepwater port on hold while it sorts out harbor deepening funding issues, prompting an alarmed response from its partner in the project – the Georgia Ports Authority.
According to a news report in the Savannah Morning News, Bill Stern, chairman of the SCSPA sent a letter to his counterpart at the GPA, Alec Poitevint, saying Jasper port plans would be placed on hold while his port deals with issues involving harbor deepening in Charleston.
The response by Georgia ports officials, as reported by the Morning News, included the charge by one port board member that the SCSPA was trying to hold up the project in order to stall the GPA’s own embattled harbor deepening process.
"Unfortunately there are those elements in South Carolina willing to hold Jasper hostage in an effort to delay the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project," said GPA board member Steve Green in the article.
Meanwhile, South Carolina’s U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham told a local Rotary Club gathering that the $400 million needed to do a dredging study for Charleston’s proposed harbor deepening down to 50 feet was needed or else “we’re going to kill the engine of economic growth in South Carolina,” as reported in the Greenville (S.C.) News.
President Obama's $3.73 trillion FY 2012 budget didn’t include those feasibility study funds.
Savannah, the second busiest box port on the East Coast, says it needs $588 million to dredge 6 feet from the Savannah River along 35 miles between the ocean and the city's port, as was recently reported here in the Cargo Business Newswire.
In the middle of the two competitive ports is the Jasper County port project. An agreement was signed by Georgia and South Carolina in 2007 to provide oversight management of the proposed container terminal project that is located on South Carolina’s side of the river.
Maersk earns record $5 bil profit
Denmark’s shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk announced it posted record after tax profits of $5 billion in 2010 thanks in large part to a big turnaround in the shipping economy.
Maersk lost $1 billion in 2009 due to the global shipping recession.
Maersk’s previous record for profit was $4.7 billion, in 2004 when the global shipping business was running on all cylinders, including heated U.S. import trade from China.
Puerto Rico Ports Authority draws criticism over proposed container inspection regulation
The Puerto Rico Ports Authority has drawn some criticism over its proposed regulation requiring all inbound cargo containers be scanned for contraband.
“If implemented, the regulation would result in a significant new expense for U.S. companies shipping to Puerto Rico,” said Douglas J. Heffner, a partner in the customs and trade practice of the Washington DC-based law firm Drinker, Biddle & Reath LLP.
“It would likely also cause significant supply chain delays and open up the possibility that other states may adopt similar regulations that burden interstate commerce to raise revenue for the state,” Heffner said.
The proposed PRPA regulation would require scanning fees that reportedly range from $58 to $70 per container, based on the container’s size.
“The PRPA asserts that the proposed 100 percent scanning requirement is necessary to protect the health and safety of its citizens,” said Heffner.
“Although protecting the safety of its citizens is a laudable goal of all governments, the PRPA's purported safety rationale for scanning 100 percent of all inbound containers - even from other states and regardless of the security profile of the shipper - is suspect because it requires the third party scanning company to pay the PRPA $10 per container scanned, which could result in millions of dollars of additional revenue for Puerto Rico.”
Nike opens its largest distribution complex in Asia
Nike Inc. announced the grand opening of its largest distribution center in Asia, the 656,000 square-foot China Logistics Center in Taicang, Jiangsu China.
The Oregon-based athletic footwear and apparel company said the new facility is on target to be the first LEED accredited warehouse complex in China.
Construction of the facility generated 1,800 jobs and is expected to provide up to 1,500 permanent jobs by 2015, the company said.
The China Logistics Center will handle all in-bound and out-bound Nike products including apparel, footwear, equipment and Nike Golf for mainland China.
Marine del Ray, Seattle yachters killed by Somali pirates
Two couples who were on a round-the-world trip aboard a 58-foot yacht delivering bibles were reportedly found shot to death by Somali pirates when U.S. forces boarded their hijacked vessel at approximately 1 a.m. Tuesday off the coast of Oman.
American military forces responded after a rocket-propelled grenade was fired at a U.S. Navy ship that roughly 600 yards away.
Negotiations to release the American hostages had reportedly been taking place with involvement by the FBI.
Two pirates were reportedly found dead on board the yacht Quest, and U.S. forces killed two others, one with a knife, according to U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Mark Fox.
Fifteen pirates are currently in U.S. custody, Fox said.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
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Port of Anchorage dock replacement needs another $900 mil
The Port of Anchorage needs more than $900 million on top of the $279 million it has mostly used to complete a huge dock replacement project.
Former Alaska governor and current port director, Bill Sheffield, went before the state’s Senate Finance Committee this week to plead for $320 million – the biggest single capital request the legislature there has been faced with, according to a story in the Tacoma News Tribune.
The new structure is to include a new dock face and backfilling of land.
The project is supposed to be completed in 2021, and is reportedly over-budget, has experienced product quality control issues, and is behind the initial schedule laid out in 2005.
Sheffield said he’s unsure how much federal money will come the project’s way in the next few years as state-funded measures appear to be the approach needed.
Seattle-based logistics company Expeditors International reported its fourth quarter revenue of $1.58 billion was up 27 percent with net income of $96.5 million.
Expeditors’ total revenue for the year ended up at $5.97 billion, up 43 percent from 2009.
WWL beefs up North America-Oceania service
Roll-on roll-off shipping company Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL), announced it has increased the frequency of its North America-Oceania trade to a total of four sailings per month.
The shipping line said it has added a monthly call at the ports of Baltimore, Savannah, Panama, Auckland, Brisbane, Port Kembla, Melbourne and Fremantle.
In addition, WWL said that this spring its new Mark V ro-ro vessel will enter service with more than 50,000 square meters of deck area and a 12-meter-wide ramp.
UPS expands LCL ocean freight services in Asia
United Parcel Service announced it is expanding its UPS Preferred LCL ocean freight service to another 10 l Asian ports.
The freight giant claims the Preferred LCL service provides up to 40 percent faster port-to-door delivery to the U.S.
The service to the U.S. has originated from the ports of Shanghai, Shenzhen, Ningbo and Xiamen, China.
The service will expand with service out of Busan, South Korea, and Taipei in March of this year and to Bangkok, Thailand; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Singapore, and Hong Kong in April, UPS said.
Coast Guard says clean up of Long Beach oil spill almost complete
The U.S. Coast Guard has reported cleanup operations at the Port of Long Beach are almost completed after approximately 700 gallons of oil spilled into the Harbor after a fueling procedure went awry from the tanker Al Jalaa.
The Coast Guard said about 95 percent of the oil had been contained as of Wednesday.
Expeditors Q4 revenue up 27 percent
Seattle-based logistics company Expeditors International reported its fourth quarter revenue of $1.58 billion was up 27 percent with net income of $96.5 million.
Expeditors’ total revenue for the year ended up at $5.97 billion, up 43 percent from 2009.
WWL beefs up North America-Oceania service
Roll-on roll-off shipping company Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL), announced it has increased the frequency of its North America-Oceania trade to a total of four sailings per month.
The shipping line said it has added a monthly call at the ports of Baltimore, Savannah, Panama, Auckland, Brisbane, Port Kembla, Melbourne and Fremantle.
In addition, WWL said that this spring its new Mark V ro-ro vessel will enter service with more than 50,000 square meters of deck area and a 12-meter-wide ramp.
UPS expands LCL ocean freight services in Asia
United Parcel Service announced it is expanding its UPS Preferred LCL ocean freight service to another 10 l Asian ports.
The freight giant claims the Preferred LCL service provides up to 40 percent faster port-to-door delivery to the U.S.
The service to the U.S. has originated from the ports of Shanghai, Shenzhen, Ningbo and Xiamen, China.
The service will expand with service out of Busan, South Korea, and Taipei in March of this year and to Bangkok, Thailand; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Singapore, and Hong Kong in April, UPS said.
Coast Guard says clean up of Long Beach oil spill almost complete
The U.S. Coast Guard has reported cleanup operations at the Port of Long Beach are almost completed after approximately 700 gallons of oil spilled into the Harbor after a fueling procedure went awry from the tanker Al Jalaa.
The Coast Guard said about 95 percent of the oil had been contained as of Wednesday.
