Summary for July 7 - July 11, 2008:
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Monday, July 7, 2008
Maersk Line orders 16 new box ships The vessels have individual capacities of 7,450 TEUs and are equipped with reefer plugs enabling them to carry 1,700 refrigerated containers each, the highest number ever carried on a container vessel, the company said. The ships are designed to meet “the highest demands for safe and economic transportation of goods in the trade to and from the East Coast of South America,” according to the news release. In addition, each vessel is equipped with a waste heat recovery system, which reuses excess heat from the exhaust to generate energy for propulsion of the vessel or on-board electricity consumption. The reduction in fuel consumption results in a corresponding reduction of emissions. Maersk Line expects to deploy the 16 vessels in the trades between the East Coast of South America and Asia and Europe. “We expect a continued strong growth in these markets,” said Michel Deleuran, head of network & product in Maersk Line. Website: Maersk Line http://www.maerskline.comPanama Canal extends bid deadlineTHE PANAMA CANAL Authority (ACP) July 3 announced it is providing an extension of the deadline for bidding on the new set of locks design-build, resulting in “better bids for the contract for the new locks under the Panama Canal’s Expansion Program.” The four global consortia in the running for the contract will now have until Dec. 10 to submit their bids for what will be the largest and most important project under the $5.25 billion expansion, the canal authority said. The ACP received requests from the consortia to extend the proposal due date and “has listened to their needs.” Additional time given to the consortia will result in more fully developed bids on both the technical and price proposals, ultimately benefiting the expansion project, the ACP said. “The extension falls within our Expansion Program execution timeline, which has a projected completion date of 2014,” said Jorge L. Quijano, ACP executive vice president of engineering and program management. Website: Panama Canal Authority http://www.pancanal.comWartsila acquires global ship design groupWARTSILA, a Finnish manufacturer of marine diesel engines, has acquired the global ship design group Vik-Sandvik, a leading independent group providing design and engineering services to ship owners and the ship-building industry worldwide, Wartsila announced July 3. The value of the acquisition is 132 million euros, with “an additional maximum sum of 38 million euros to be paid based on the performance of the business over the next three years,” the company said. This acquisition is a major step in Wartsila’s strategy to strengthen its position as a total solutions provider and to become a “leader in ship design,” according to the company. The role of ship design is becoming more and more important due to higher performance requirements, more sophisticated systems and increased integration onboard most vessels. Also, the environmental and emission regulations regarding NOx and CO2 are becoming increasingly stringent., Wartsila said. “We strongly believe that this new and innovative way of combining ship design know-how and equipment solutions will make us a stronger partner when working together with other ship designers,” said Jaakko Eskola, group vice president, Wartsila Ship Power. Website: Wartsila http://www.wartsila.comTuesday, July 8, 2008 Ronald Widdows new NOL president, CEOWiddows is currently the CEO of NOL’s container shipping business APL and has held this position since 2003. “The Board of Directors feels that this is the right time for a change in the stewardship of the NOL Group, as it positions to grow in container shipping amidst the challenges of a cyclical industry sector, a slowing world economy and a tougher cost environment,” said NOL chairman Cheng Wai Keung. “Ron Widdows is the right person to lead the company forward at this time,” Cheng added. Widdows, 55, has been with the APL organization for 28 years and has more than 37 years experience in the shipping industry. He has held a range of senior executive roles across Asia, the United States and Canada, with a particular focus on operations, NOL said. Some analysts said the unexpected move was in anticipation of a possible $7 billion bid for Hapag-Lloyd, the shipping arm of Germany’s TUI. Website: Neptune Orient Lines $35 million clean trucks order by POLBTHE PORT OF LONG BEACH July 7 said it has placed a $35 million order for 300 heavy-duty trucks to jumpstart its landmark Clean Trucks Program. “We want to bring as many clean trucks to Long Beach as soon as we can, and especially replacements for the 1988 and older trucks that will not be allowed to work here beginning Oct. 1,” said Richard Steinke, port executive director. Beginning Oct. 1, 2008, the Clean Trucks Program will bar 1988 and older trucks from entering port shipping terminals. By 2012, all 2006 and older trucks will be banned from the port and replaced by a new fleet, reducing truck-related pollution by 80 percent, the port said. To help truckers quickly replace the old polluting vehicles, the port is providing truckers with financial assistance to acquire new clean trucks. Truckers who wish to apply for a grant or lease should call (888) KLN-TRUX or (888) 556-8789, the port said. Website: Port of Long Beach http://www.polb.comChula Vista comment period extendedTHE PORT OF SAN DIEGO July 7 announced that it has extended for 30 days the public review period for the Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan and Port Master Plan Amendment revised Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The extended public review period will conclude at 5 p.m., Aug. 7, 2008. Written comments stating specific environmental concerns with the revised Draft/EIR will be accepted until this time and should be addressed to: San Diego Unified Port District, Land Use Planning Dept., P.O. Box 120488, San Diego, CA 92112-0488. The Draft EIR for the Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan was revised and recirculated for public review on May 23, 2008. The report addresses possible environmental effects from the proposed development including traffic, aesthetics, water and air quality, noise, biological resources and other factors. A joint planning effort of the Port of San Diego, the City of Chula Vista and Pacifica Companies, the Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan will guide the development of the Chula Vista bayfront over an approximately 24-year period, the port said. Website: Port of San Diego http://www.portofsandiego.orgWednesday, July 9, 2008 New joint venture terminal at MiamiCMA CGM Group, through its subsidiary Terminal Link (Miami) LLC, and APM Terminals North America July 9 announced that the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners has unanimously approved a resolution authorizing a joint venture for marine terminal operations at the Port of Miami. The terminal will be operated by a joint venture company, South Florida Container Terminal, in which Terminal Link will hold a 51% stake and APMT will hold 49%. The terminal will operate on the 71-acre site formerly held by APMT and is renewable for two five-year periods. “Miami is an integral part of our network, and this endeavor continues to confirm our commitment to the U.S.,” said Farid T. Salem, CMA CGM group chief executive vice president. Initially, the South Florida Container Terminal will service CMA CGM, which currently has five liner services calling at Miami, and Maersk Line, whose services account for the second highest throughput of all cargo carriers at the port, according to the news release. The approved agreement represents a minimum total investment of $25 million toward terminal infrastructure upgrades and improvements. Websites: CMA CGM Group APM Terminals http://www.apmterminals.com
$5.5 million for Seattle Port mobility projectPORT OF SEATTLE Commissioners July 8 approved a $5.5 million investment in the completion of State Route 519. The project will provide “a crucial connection between the port’s Terminal 46 facility and the freeway system, giving trucks an efficient way to move cargo to and from the port and pedestrians a safe route to sports stadiums and local shops,” port authorities announced. The project, currently in its second phase, has three major components, including widening the roadway along S. Atlantic St. east of 1st Ave. S. and construction of a new west-bound off-ramp from I-90 and I-5 to the current S. Atlantic St. overpass. A new elevated crossing for pedestrians and local traffic over the BNSF rail tracks on S. Royal Brougham Way is also part of the plan. The project is part of FAST Corridor, transportation projects designed to improve freight mobility along rail corridors in King and Pierce counties. Total cost for SR 519 Phase 2 is expected to be $74.4 million. Construction is slated to begin in the fall. Website: Port of Seattle
CN welcomes added call at Prince RupertCANADIAN NATIONAL RAILWAY Co. (CN) July 8 “welcomed the arrival of a second weekly steamship alliance vessel” at British Columbia’s Port of Prince Rupert. The COSCO/“K” Line/Yang Ming/Hanjin (CKYH) alliance will now ship Hong Kong, South China, East China and North China cargoes, as well as those from Yokohama, to North America via Prince Rupert. “Together, we have created a new, highly competitive gateway for goods entering North America and transiting CN’s network to the U.S. Midwest and Central Canada,” Foote added. “CN is consistently delivering fifth morning availability of containers in Chicago and sixth morning availability in Memphis, a leading U.S. distribution hub.” Website: Canadian National Railway Co. http://www.cn.caThursday, July 10, 2008 B. Navi sentenced on pollution chargesTHE U.S. JUSTICE Dept.’s Environmental Crimes Section announced that Italian shipping company B. Navi Ship Management Services was sentenced July 9 to pay $1.5 million and serve three years probation in connection with pollution charges. The company was charged with the illegal dumping of oily sludge, bilge wastes and oil-contaminated ballast water from the M/V Windsor Castle, a 27,000 gross-ton bulk carrier vessel. U.S. law prohibits the discharge of waste oil without treatment by a device known as an Oil Water Separator. The law also requires that all of the oil transferred onto, off of or between tanks within a ship be recorded in an oil record book so all the oil on a ship can be accounted for when the ship is inspected by the U.S. Coast Guard. B. Navi pleaded guilty on Feb. 7, 2008, to a two-count criminal information charging it with violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) and making materially false statements to the U.S. Coast Guard. B. Navi is subject to a three-year term of probation during which it must implement and follow a stringent environmental compliance program that includes a court-appointed monitor and auditing of B. Navi ships for compliance with environmental laws. Website: U.S. Justice Dept.
Retail box traffic climbs slowlyYear-to-year numbers are expected to deteriorate less during the second half of this year than they did during the first half. Traffic for January-June 2008 was down 6% from the same period in 2007, but June-November 2008 is expected to be down only 0.6% from June-November 2007. U.S. ports surveyed handled 1.3 million TEUs of container traffic in May, the most recent month for which actual numbers are available. That’s up 3.4% from April but down 5% from May 2007. June was estimated at 1.34 million TEUs, down 7.8% from a year ago, and July is forecast at 1.4 million TEUs, down 3.1%. August is forecast at 1.45 million TEUs, down 0.8%; September at 1.42 million TEUs, down 3.6%; and October at 1.47 million TEUs, up 1.7%. The October figure would represent the first year-to-year rise since July 2007. Website: Port Tracker http:// www.nrf.com/PortTracker
Foss receives highest CG honorsFoss Maritime President Gary Faber and other top company officials were in San Diego, Calif., to receive the Benkert award from Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen. “The Benkert award recognizes outstanding achievements in maritime environmental protection that go beyond mere compliance with industrial and regulatory standards,” said Susan Hayman, vice president of health, quality, safety and environment for Foss Maritime. It is Foss’ second major “green” award in less than a month. In early June, Foss won the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Air Excellence Award for development of the world’s first low emissions “Green Dolphin” hybrid tug, the first time a maritime operating company has ever received the EPA’s honor. Other examples of Foss environmental initiatives recognized by the Coast Guard with the Benkert award include voluntarily switching its entire fleet to ultra-low sulfur diesel; minimizing waste streams on harbor tugs by using a vacuum truck service for their oily waste removal; and completing an energy audit and developing an energy management plan to manage Foss vessels. Website: Foss Maritime Co. http://www.foss.comFriday, July 11, 2008 NOAA soot emissions study releasedTUGBOATS PUFF OUT more soot for the amount of fuel used than other commercial vessels, and large cargoships emit more than twice as much soot as previously estimated, according to the first extensive study of commercial vessel soot emissions. Scientists from NOAA and the University of Colorado conducted the study and present their findings in the July 11 issue of the journal Geophysical Research Letters. “Commercial shipping emissions have been one of the least studied areas of all combustion emissions,” said lead author Daniel Lack, of NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory and the NOAA-CU Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences. “The two previous studies of soot emissions examined a total of three ships. We reviewed plumes from 96 different vessels,” Lack continued. Tugs emit nearly a gram of soot per kilogram of fuel burned — twice as much as any other vessel type, the authors found. Oceangoing tankers and containerships emit half a gram per kilogram of fuel burned when at dock and slightly less when traveling, according to the study. That’s more than twice as much as previously estimated. Website: NOAA
LA/LB ports launch fuel incentivesTHE PORTS of Long Beach and Los Angeles July 10 announced that 13 carriers at the two ports were enrolled by the first day of a new fuel incentive program aimed at accelerating the use of cleaner-burning fuel by ocean vessel operators when transiting within 40 nautical miles of the San Pedro Bay and while at berth in either port. The 13 carriers have enrolled a total of 123 vessels that are scheduled to make 260 port calls during each quarter or three-month period. Under the program, the ports will pay the difference between the price of bunker fuel and the more costly low-sulfur fuel — marine gas oil with no more than 0.2% sulfur. To expand fuel availability, both ports have taken preliminary steps to amend their tariffs and also allow the use of marine diesel oil with no more than 0.2% sulfur. Websites: Port of Long Beach Port of Los Angeles http://www.portoflosangeles.org
POLA partners on craft apprentice programTHE PORT OF LOS ANGELES July 7 announced that it has embarked on a first-of-its-kind collaboration with the Los Angeles and Orange County Building Trade Councils to create a Craft Apprentice Program that will result in the placement of craftspersons in permanent jobs at the port. The city’s personnel department, as well as the individual craft unions, are also involved in the Craft Apprentice Program “and will be integral to its success,” port officials said. The port expects to hire 10 electrical craftspersons through this program in the first year and more apprentices in different fields as the program develops. “Over the years, the port has had a challenge training and retaining a qualified trade-oriented workforce to keep up with our demands,” said Geraldine Knatz, port executive director. “Our old ways of recruiting and hiring were not working, so we needed to break the mold and come up with a better solution,” Knatz added. “With our focus on plugging ships into electrical power and electrifying other port operations, more electricians are a necessity.” The port, a department of the city of Los Angeles, has traditionally filled trade vacancies through the civil service process. The new program was created to augment that system to target and train the types of craftspersons specifically needed by the port. Website: Port of Los Angeles
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