Port of Melbourne Welcomes Largest Ship Ever to Call at Victoria Container Terminal

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Port of Melbourne Welcomes Largest Ship Ever to Call at Victoria Container Terminal

October 14th, 2022 Port Technology International Team Leave a comment

The CMA CGM Group has deployed the largest vessel to ever call at the Port of Melbourne (PoMC).

With a nominal capacity of 10,926 TEU, the CMA CGM Estelle berthed at Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT) in Webb Dock.

The ship operates on the North Europe Mediterranean Oceania (NEMO) service.

The previous record was held by the CMA CGM Ural, with a handling capacity of 10,622 TEU.

“VICT would like to congratulate the CMA CGM Group on their continued drive for efficiencies through deploying larger vessels with clear environmental benefits in the Oceania trades to support the demand of the economy and utilise the ability to increase economies of scale,” said Tim Vancampen, VICT CEO.

“In partnership with PoMC in the Webb Dock Development, we are committed to supporting the Victorian shipping industry with our $235 million investment that will increase our ability to accommodate increasing vessel sizes.”

READ: CMA CGM launches new US-South America new service

“It’s really exciting to see this vessel arrive at Port of Melbourne,” added Saul Cannon, PoMC CEO.

“We are investing across the port to ensure we can accommodate the larger vessels that are calling at Melbourne.”

“The global shipping fleet is deploying larger vessels. Port of Melbourne is well positioned to meet global shipping trends to serve the growing freight needs of Victoria and south-eastern Australia now and into the future.”

The Port of Melbourne reported strong volumes in August amid peak season.

August 2022 saw total container throughput (full and empty) up 9.5 per cent over August 2021 with a total of 284,487 TEU.

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Guangzhou Splashes out $1 billion in new 500,000 TEU Berth at Nansha Port

October 11th, 2022 Port Technology International Team Leave a comment

The Guangzhou Port Group (GPG) has invested in a new berth in the Nansha port area to create an an annual additional capacity of half a million TEU.

The estimated investment stands at 7.472 billion yuan ($1 billion) and is still subject to approval by the company’s general meeting of shareholders.

The new berth will be able to accommodate six inland container barges at a time and process 15.5 million tonnes of bulk and general cargo per year.

The berth will add to the four berths that were opened in November 2021 and June 2022.

The company made the announcement in a filing submitted to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

READ: China ports volumes trend downwards as lockdowns make impact

The aim of the project is to bolster the economic and social development of the hinterland, speed up capacity building, improve the passing capacity of general and container terminals, and accelerate the development of the main port business.

The company has set up a wholly owned subsidiary with paid-up capital of around $210 million to invest in the construction and operation of the project.

The construction period of the project is expected to be three years.

In August, the Port of Nansha began operations of its fully automated terminal, the first of its kind in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macau Greater Bay Area.

According to GPG, this is part of the fourth phase of the modernisation project at the Port of Nansha, combining multimodal services related to sea, river, and railway transportation.

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Maersk Announces New Eco-solution for Reefer Exports

October 5th, 2022 Port Technology International Team Leave a comment

Sealand, Maersk’s intra-European logistics expert subsidiary, is launching a rail service from Spain to UK to ease supply chain bottlenecks.

The transport option is especially designed for temperature sensitive cargo like fruits and vegetables; the trains will also carry non-refrigerated cargo on their southbound journey from UK back to Spain.

The service will initially have three weekly departures from Valencia terminal to the Barking terminal in East London. Regular departures will start from the end of October.

“Our new product solves several challenges that our reefer customers in Spain are faced with when exporting,” said Diego Perdones Montero, Area Managing Director France, Iberia and Maghreb.

“Firstly, many large retailers want to reduce the carbon footprint of the products they sell. Secondly, we have a prevailing shortage of truck drivers, which means that currently cross-border road transport is often limited and unreliable. Thirdly, capacity and quality of the major roads are limited which leads to congestion.

“Our rail transport makes Spanish exporters independent from the driver shortage as well as road bottlenecks and offers more than 90 per cent lower CO2 emissions than a truck on the road.”

READ: German ports congestion unwinds matching European trend

Over 90 per cent of exports are going North resulting in up to 1,400 trucks daily crossing the northern Spanish border towards the main markets in UK, France, Benelux, Germany, and Scandinavia, according to Maersk.

Montero added that more destinations could follow in a bid to offer a more reliable landside distribution network via and help create faster, greener, and more efficient routes.

The Danish giant will also boost its supply chains with additional logistics services, ranging from customs brokerage or cold storage to Captain Peter – a technology ensuring full data transparency about cargo conditions.

Maersk recently signed leases for three new low-emissions distribution centers in Doncaster and Dublin.

The first lease comprises a 15-year lease for a new warehouse in Doncaster with multimodal connections – including road, rail, and air.

Archives, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily, Ocean Ports

Hutchison Ports, TIL to Develop 7 million TEU Mega-Terminal at Rotterdam

September 9th, 2022 Port Technology International Team Leave a comment

Hutchison Ports and Terminal Investment Limited Sàrl (TiL), the terminal investment company of Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), will build a new container terminal at the Port of Rotterdam.

The box terminal will be developed in the Europahaven, where the north side of the Hutchison Ports ECT Delta terminal and Hutchison Ports Delta II (the former APMT-R site) are located.

Both locations on the Delta peninsula are part of the new container terminal and will facilitate MSC’s ambitions for further growth.

The Port of Rotterdam Authority will redevelop the quay walls for this project.

The entire terminal will be developed and launched in phases and is expected to start the first phase of operation in 2027.

In the plan, the new terminal will consist of five deep-sea berths with a total length of 2.6 kilometres.

READ: Shell signs off on Rotterdam port hydrogen plant

After the redevelopment, the terminal’s expected capacity will be 6 to 7 million TEU.

Leo Ruijs, CEO of Hutchison Ports ECT Rotterdam and Hutchison Ports Delta II said: “We are looking forward to developing and operating the terminal together with TiL.

“We are delighted to strengthen further our presence in the region, with the goal of building an automated container terminal that offers high productivity levels and a sustainable working environment.”

Allard Castelein, CEO of the Port of Rotterdam Authority added: “We are delighted that world class player MSC is committed to this renewal and significant expansion of the container handling in Rotterdam.

“This is a substantial strengthening of our leading position as Europe’s largest container port and contributes to further improving the competitive position of both our customers and the port.”

Ammar Kanaan, CEO of TiL said: “We are committed to the development of this new state of the art mega terminal in Rotterdam.”

Kanaan added that shore power will be considered and further explored for users at the port.

“Sustainability is a top priority for TiL and MSC. As the world’s largest container shipping company, we have a crucial role in creating a sustainable future,” Kanaan said.

Earlier this year TiL announced a €700 million ($709 million) investment drive into the TPO/TNMSC container terminals at Le Havre.

In August Hutchison Ports inked two concession agreements worth $700 million with the Egyptian Government to operate the container terminals in Ain Sokhna Port and El Dekheila Port.

Archives, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily, Ocean Ports

NYK Tokyo Container Terminal begins Ops of Cutting-edge Transfer Cranes August 17, 2022

September 2nd, 2022 Port Technology International Team Leave a comment

Erenhot port, the largest land port on the China-Mongolia border, has logged over 1 million tons on China-Europe freight trains so far in 2022.

The figure came one month earlier compared with 2021, according to Erenhot Customs.

READ: China ports move 142 million TEU in H1 2022

As of 15 August 2022, the port handled a total of 750 inbound China-Europe freight trains – up approximately 12 per cent year-on-year – with 84,660 TEU of containers aboard.

The total value of the goods recorded during the period was around 3.1 billion yuan ($457 million), said the Erenhot Customs.

The imported goods were mainly sheet materials, paper pulp and kraft paper. Among them, over 800,000 tons were sheet materials, accounting for nearly 80 per cent of the total.

Earlier this month, the port of Erenhot reached the 10,000-mark in China-Europe freight trains handled since the cross-border railway service launched.

The 10,000th train passing through the port left for Malaszewicze, Poland at 12:30 pm local time on 6 August, fully loaded with 50 40-foot containers.

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Shanghai Bounces Back as the Covid Wave Shrinks

June 9th, 2022 Port Technology International Team Leave a comment

The Port of Shanghai has almost fully reinstated daily operations, although the ongoing backlog will likely continue to disrupt the supply chain and cause congestion well into the year.

As reported by Bloomberg, the daily container throughput at the Port of Shanghai has rebounded to 95.3 per cent of the normal level according to Ministry of Transport official Li Huaqiang.

Cargo throughput at major Chinese ports between up until 24 May was up 4.2 per cent from the same period in April, whilst sinking by almost 1 per cent compared to 2021, he said.

“Our efforts at facilitating logistics are gradually moving from opening up the main artery to smoothing out the fine details,” Li added.

“In the next step, the ministry will focus on improving logistical efficiencies, protecting people’s livelihoods, and reducing burdens. We will provide more support to maintain economic and social stability.”

CMA CGM has also confirmed in its latest customer advisory that pressure on Shanghai yard resources is easing, while the waiting time for ships in the Waigaoqiao port area has shortened as more port employees resume work.

An analysis from VesselsValue on 27 May further showed that Shanghai’s congestion is expected to remain high for the time of year.

Although average waiting times for containerships remain around 13 hours higher compared to last year’s levels, the waiting times at Shanghai are showing signs of recovery going down to 36 hours from a peak of 69 hours in late April.

According to VesselsValue, data shows a downward trend with levels expected to steadily normalise as the COVID-19 outbreak recedes.

While the lockdown of Shanghai is slowly being lifted, the effects on production and supply chains will likely be felt for months.

With the current trends in the market, carriers are expected to be flooded with an extraordinary amount of containers – with capacity booming on the two Transpacific lanes by a little over 10 per cent in each of the upcoming 12 weeks compared to the respective weeks in 2019.

3pls, Archives, Global Trade Daily, News, Ocean Ports

Ashdod Port Adds New STS Cranes

June 8th, 2022 Port Technology International Team Leave a comment

Ashdod Port has taken delivery of five semi-automatic Ship-to-shore (STS) cranes to reduce congestion at its facilities and increase the port’s competitivity in the supply chain.

The NIS 208 million ($62 million) cranes are equipped with advanced technology to assist in unloading and loading process and will be located in the new container terminal as part of the port’s investment in the renovation of pier 21.

The equipment was produced by Chinese manufacturer ZPMC and adapted to work with mega ships of up to 24,000 TEU capacity.

The cranes are 140.6 meters high with a marine arm length of 71 meters. They are adapted to work with 62-meter-wide ships that carry about 24 rows of containers.

The new STS equipment can lift loads with a total weight of up to 95 tons using a dedicated hook. Each of the cranes includes a TANDEM lifting device that allows for the removal of two full 40-foot containers with a total weight of 80 tons.

The camera and laser systems installed on the cranes allow for remote control, while a TOS system enables semi-automatic operations as well.

The cranes were shipped from China in early February and are expected to be fully operational by next September.

Shiko Janna, CEO of the Port of Ashdod, said the new equipment will help the port alleviate congestion resulted from the outbreak of the pandemic and promote technological improvements for a faster and more efficient management.

The Ashdod Port Company reported impressive financial results despite the ongoing COVID-19 crisis – posting an increase in operating profit of 142 per cent in 2021 and achieving record-breaking figures in container handling.

Archives, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily, News, Ocean Carriers

Maersk Turns the Tables on COSCO’s Container Liftings

June 6th, 2022 Port Technology International Team Leave a comment

Maersk has leapt above COSCO on container liftings in the final quarter of 2021 as numbers return to pre-COVID levels.

According to Alphaliner, the Asian carrier lost 13 per cent in container liftings year-on-year whilst Maersk has moved ahead after posting a much more modest fall at 4 per cent over the same period. The difference, however, remains marginal with 60,000 TEU only separating the two companies in the final three months of 2021.

Alphaliner has provided data for six other major carriers, which combined moved a total of 25.4 million TEU in loaded volumes during Q4 2021 – equivalent to an 8 per cent decline year-on-year.

As congestion issues continue to choke potential trade movements, published data show signs of a return to pre-COVID levels.

Total liftings for the eight carriers reached 103.6 million TEU in 2021, versus 100.8 million TEU in 2020 due to the impact of the pandemic.

No significant change in rankings has been reported for the other carriers alongside Maersk and COSCO.

CMA CGM showed a year-on-year drop in liftings in Q4 but enjoyed a 2 per cent lift since pre-COVID levels.

Hapag-Lloyd follows in fourth place, with liftings of 11.8 million TEU in 2021 – showing no oscillations from the same period the year prior, but a drop by 1 per cent compared to 2019.

Among the smaller carriers, ZIM and Wan Hai Lines showed the most growth. Wan Hai recorded loaded volumes of 4.9 million TEU in 2021, up more than 10 per cent compared to 2019.

ZIM posted 3.4 million TEU in liftings for 2021, a sharp jump on the 2.8 million TEU posted for both 2019 and 2020.

Average rates per TEU rose for all carriers in the final quarter of 2021.

A majority of carriers earned over USD 2,500 per TEU in the period, with ZIM breaching the USD 3,500 per TEU mark for the first time. On average, revenue per TEU rose 13 per cent compared to the previous quarter as the rate momentum continued.

Alphaliner reported that early indications by carriers such as OOCL suggest another quarter-on-quarter increase in rates per TEU in the first three months of 2022.

3pls, Archives, Global Trade Daily, News

CMA CGM Launches New Early Container Return Incentive Program

June 2nd, 2022 Port Technology International Team Leave a comment

The CMA CGM Group has implemented its new Early Container Return Incentive Program at several of its terminals in the US to accelerate the return of empty containers and improve supply chain velocity.

The program started today [16 May] and will continue until 15 June at the Fenix Marine Services (FMS) terminal in the Port of Los Angeles and all CMA CGM return locations in Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City and Memphis.

CMA CGM has launched the new 60-day incentive program to counteract the ongoing congestion crisis throughout North America’s supply chain.

According to the group, the program will result in approximately 43,000 dry containers being put back into circulation within 4 days of pickup.

The incentives include a $300 credit per dry container returned to eligible locations during calendar days 1–4; calculation of incentive credits on a weekly basis with a credit memo issued every 14 days to each applicable importer of record; and utilization of EDI transaction data to assess credit, thus no additional documentation required from customers.

“CMA CGM is committed to doing everything we can to increase the fluidity and velocity of America’s supply chain,” said Ed Aldridge, President of CMA CGM and APL North America.

“Our new program will result in an incentive credit for our importers, improve equipment availability for our exporters and expedite the flow of goods into and out of America’s heartland. It’s truly a win-win for everyone.”

Throughout the crisis, CMA CGM has already frozen spot rates and implemented other programs to accelerate the flow of goods – resulting in a 73 per cent decrease of dwell of the group’s containers over nine days in South California.

Resulting from record demand and supply chain capacity challenges, CMA CGM is amongst the top performers of 2021.

Last year, the group saw its shipping revenue rise by 88.5 per cent compared to the previous year, reaching $45.3 billion.

3pls, Archives, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily, Ocean Ports

Private Equity Firm Takes Over $1.4 Billion Panama Canal Port Terminal Project

May 30th, 2022 Port Technology International Team Leave a comment

Notarc Management Group (NMG) has announced its acquisition and finalisation of plans to complete the Panama Canal Container Port (PCCP).

The project was previously valued at $1.4 billion and is already 40 per cent complete. Construction is slated to resume by Q4 2022.

NMG is partnering with Terminal Investment Limited (TIL), an affiliate of Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), to manage and oversee operations of the new facility that is expected to handle 2.5 million TEU in its first few years and eventually to grow to a capacity of 5 million TEU.

“NMG’s core mission is to align with strategic capital partners, investors, and leading multinational firms in supporting and expanding innovation, technology, infrastructure, and sustainable initiatives across Latin America and the Caribbean,” said Leslie C. Bethel, CEO of NMG.

“This is our first major port initiative in Panama and sets the stage for other key investment opportunities we are pursuing across the region.”

Ammar Kannan, CEO of TIL, added: “We are delighted to be here for this special occasion and to commit to the partnership with Notarc, the Panamanian Government and, most importantly, the people of Panama. We are no strangers to Panama and our undertakings today cement our further belief that The Americas will continue to grow and prosper through the advent of trade and logistics.

“The pandemic has evidenced that our business is essential. Our Shareholders are committed to this industry for the long term. We are also grateful to Notarc for allowing us to bring our global operational expertise to this development as we continue to expand our footprint in the America.”

Dion L. Bowe, newly appointed CEO of PCCP, also commented: “Panama is an ideal gateway hub in the Americas and the World.

“This acquisition is a strategic opportunity for us to further develop and integrate a regional logistics platform while investing in assets which are synergistic to our investment model and where innovation and location offer an incomparable business footprint in the region.”

Port of Melbourne Welcomes Largest Ship Ever to Call at Victoria Container Terminal

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