Cargo handlers and importers are up in arms over delays to allocate berths and the shortage of loaders at the port of Mombasa, Dredging today reports. Shipping agents said vessels were now diverting to Dar es Salaam, causing importers inconveniences and huge losses. According to one importer, they were supposed to have received their cargo by August 27, but the ship had to skip Mombasa due to the delays. On Monday, there were 10 ships waiting to dock at the port. More to read at www.dredgingtoday...

South Africa’s port in Durban charges more than any other major dock in the world, forcing up costs for companies such as Sappi and Mondi and undermining government attempts to boost exports and create jobs. State-owned Transnet charges an average container vessel $182 151 (R1.3 million) to dock in Durban, according to the Ports Regulator of South Africa. That’s more than double a global average of $86 251 and the highest of 100 top harbours. Things may get worse next year with Transnet’s application to increase fees for port services and facilities by 18 percent. Combined with the rand’s strength and rising labour and energy costs, such charges were limiting profits at exporters including Sappi, the world’s largest maker of glossy paper, rival Mondi and ArcelorMittal, Africa’s biggest steelmaker, said Mohamed Kharva, an analyst at Nedbank.

The multi billion port project in Lamu is set to begin in December this year amid strong opposition from lobby groups and a section of residents, allAfrica.com reports. Lamu District Commissioner Stephen Ikua said yesterday the project would begin hand in hand with the Mokoe Minjila road that will be tarmac to ease transport. President Mwai Kibaki is expected to officially commission the project that has already been allocated Sh500 million. He revealed that feasibility studies were complete and results turned out to be positive. "The port project will start this year and no one can stop it because everything is in order and those who are opposing it do not have the clear picture," he said. He said there will be no more delay. He added that the port area has been identified in Hindi Magononi and work will begin with between 22 to 25 berths.

The complex will have a 2,500-person processing area and a 1,100-seat waiting area, and will be able to simultaneously load and unload passengers. It also includes a new pier, gangway and parking garage with a covered walkway to the terminal. It is one of several projects underway at the port, which recently approved construction of a $16.6 million welcome and entertainment center.

Regular international container services will partially resume next month at the most important port in the northeastern Japanese region of Tohoku, the Journal of Commerce JOC reports. The Port of Sendai-Shiogama in Miyagi Prefecture will reopen the China-South Korea Route on Sept. 26 with the arrival of the first container ship operated by South Korea-based Namsung Shipping Line, the Miyagi prefectural government said. The China-South Korea connects Miyagi Prefecture with such cities as Busan, South Korea, and Dalian and Qingdao in China. The Miyagi prefectural government did not say, however, when the Port of Sendai-Shiogama will be able to restart its two other regular international container shipping routes: the East Asia route and the North America West Coast-Southeast Asia route, which includes Los Angeles and Oakland. Container services resumed at the Port of Sendai-Shiogama on June 8. But the port has not yet been fully restored, and container services there have so far been limited to domestic feeder ships

Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) has ordered two super post-panamax gantry cranes for its Kaohsiung Container Terminal at the southern tip of Taiwan, Shippingazette reports. The order is part of a project to expand capacity at the terminal, which already operates six post-panamax cranes. The new cranes are expected to be operational by July 2012. Two of the old cranes will be replaced by new cranes, which can reach across 22 rows of containers and will enable the terminal to handle two 10,000-TEU vessels at the same time. OOCL said it estimates the new cranes will increase the terminal's productivity by eight to 10 per cent, helping to shorten vessel-berthing time for bunker savings and reduce carbon emissions. The expansion project will also involve extending the berth from 680 metres to 755 metres.

APM Terminals, the port operating arm of Danish shipping and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk (MAERSKb.CO), has agreed to sell a 25 percent stake in Xiamen Songyu Container Terminal, the company told Reuters on Tuesday. The terminal is a joint venture between APM Terminals and Xiamen Port Holding Group, whose Hong Kong-listed division is Xiamen International Port Co Ltd . APM Terminals currently owns 50 percent of the container terminal venture, and said it would retain a 25 percent stake, but did not give any financial details of the deal.

BHP Billiton has approved a further US$367 million (BHP Billiton share) investment for the third stage of development of the Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group’s (NCIG) coal handling facility in Newcastle, Australia. BHP Billiton’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Hunter Valley Energy Coal Pty Ltd, is a 35.5 per cent shareholder in the holding company of the NCIG. The port expansion project will increase total capacity at the coal terminal from 53 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to 66mtpa. The first coal on the new ship loader is scheduled to occur in the 2014 financial year, with the terminal expected to operate at full capacity within the following 12 months. www.dredgingtoday...

The Costa Rican government signed a $1 billion concession with the Dutch company APM Terminals to construct a new port terminal in the Caribbean town of Moín on Tuesday. It was the largest concession contract ever signed in Costa Rican history. Construction on the new terminal will begin in 2013, with an expected completion date of 2016. The terminal will be used primarily to ship and receive large containers. It will be equipped with 13 cranes and a six-slip platform large enough to dock Post-Panamax ships carrying 5,000-12,000 containers. APM will conduct land surveys and design building plans during the next 18 months.

Mike Britt and his wife, Jennifer, devoted seven months to restoring a boat into a floating restaurant. They named their new venture Mallory, after Mallory Square, one of Britt's favorite spots to watch the sunsets in Key West, Fla., and they moored their craft at Richmond's Intermediate Terminal. The city's newest dining experience, a floating eatery that can accommodate about 90 people and had 17 tables on an outdoor upper deck and another 13 in an enclosed cabin below, was to have opened today. Then came Irene. More at www2.timesdispatc...