Shipbuilder Vinashin has been criticized for investing in many businesses unrelated to its core operations. The Ministry of Finance plans to halve the amount of capital that state-owned enterprises can use to invest in non-core activities. State companies will be allowed to earmark only 15 percent of their capital for businesses beyond their main functions, news website VnExpress said in a report Saturday. The current ratio is 30 percent. The ministry will also introduce new regulations to ensure efficient use of state capital and help state-owned enterprises detect their weaknesses as soon as possible. According to the ministry, most of these companies were investing less than 30 percent of their capital in secondary businesses. However, many had ventured in risky sectors including securities, real estate, insurance and banking. www.lookatvietnam...

From today on ships with capacity of more than 60,000 gross tonnes can once again use the port of Beira, Mozambique, following dredging work that cost 43 million euros, Worldmaritimenews reports.. The newspaper Notícias reported that such vessels were unable to dock in the port for 28 years due to silting of the access channel. The work was financed by the Mozambican government via the European Investment Bank, the Netherlands based on the ORET Fund, resources of Mozambique’s CFM port and railways company and the Dutch company Van Oord Dredging and Marine Contractors. The project to dredge a length of 27.5 km enabled re-establishment of the planned 11-metre depth and 230-metre width for the Beira port’s access channel.

Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. (Boskalis) has won a contract for the construction of a new port terminal TX2 at Superporto do Açu, Dredging today reports. The Açu Superport industrial complex in the north of Rio de Janeiro state is the largest port-industry enterprise in Latin America and is expected to become one of the largest port complexes in the world. TX2 will accommodate the largest shipyard of Latin America and will be constructed by OSX Construção Naval S.A.. More info at www.dredgingtoday...

The Board of Trustees of the V.O.Chidambaranar Port Trust (formerly Tuticorin Port Trust) has approved to qualify the RFQ bidders satisfying the qualification criteria for the second stage of bidding process (RFP stage) for the PPP project entailing conversion of the Port’s 8th berth to a container terminal on BOT basis, Dredging today reports. The Port handled about 25.73 million tonnes of cargo, including 4,67,752 TEUs of containers, during the last financial year 2010-11, registering a growth rate of 8.16 per cent. The Port’s Berth No. 8, constructed by the management, is currently being used for handling general and bulk cargo. In order to cater to the ever increasing requirement of containers, the Port management decided to convert the 8th berth to a container terminal, thus facilitating the development of a second container terminal at the Port. The project was estimated at an outlay of Rs 335 crore. More at www.dredgingtoday...

Tropical storm Nock-Ten weakened into a tropical low pressure after pounding northern central provinces in Viet Nam on Saturday night, and authorities are still on high alert as floods are expected in various areas due to ongoing torrential rain. The National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting has issued a warning on potential flooding of rivers from Thanh Hoa to Ha Tinh province in the central region. The storm also damaged at least four fishing vessels, and caused one from Quang Ngai Province to sink near the Truong Sa (Spratlys) Archipelago. Twelve fishermen on board were expected to arrive home after being saved by Filipinos. To cope with the storm, localities in the northern and central coastal provinces evacuated more than 44,000 people in the most vulnerable areas. Border guards and local authorities also helped over 32,000 fishing ships with nearly 127,000 crew to anchor in safe areas. more at: www.vietnamnews.c...

A fishing vessel goes fishing on the sea in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province, Aug. 1, 2011. Fishing vessels started operations after the South China Sea fishing ban, which started on May 16, ended on Monday. With pictures, more at: news.xinhuanet.co...

PEEL Ports has been told it has to provide more information regarding its proposal to create a new ‘Port Wirral’ on the Manchester Ship Canal. According to Peel’s Masterplan, the new scheme will be implemented in phases over the next 20 years, during which new facilities will be built at Eastham Locks in Wirral to replace those at Ellesmere Port and Runcorn. The scheme will also see the phased transfer of port activity from Ellesmere Port Docks and Runcorn Docks to the new location. The canal was opened in 1894 as the company’s own direct route to the sea which avoids the Port of Liverpool. Read more at www.runcornandwid...

A railroad company is looking at Port of Grays Harbor terminal in Hoquiam for a terminal to ship coal to China. RailAmerica Vice Predident Gary Lewis told The Daily World of Aberdeen the idea will require a lot of study and the project is two or three years away. RailAmerica owns the Puget Sound and Pacific Railroad that serves Grays Harbor. The coal export terminal, located on a former log yard, could bring another 75 ship calls a year to Grays Harbor.

Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs, Lui Tuck Yew, officially commissioned the new Port Operations Control Centre - Changi (POCC-Changi), equipped with a state-of-the-art Vessel Traffic Information System (VTIS). The new VTIS at POCC-Changi has the ability to handle up to 10,000 vessel tracks at any one time, twice the capacity of the existing system. Read more at www.futuregov.asi...

An Iran-bound cargo launch was totally gutted in a fire at the Port Rashid, Bur Dubai, on Sunday night. “After the launch was filled with cargo, it tilted to one side, causing water logging. Staff tried to pump out water and that is when the fire started. It could have been started from the motor pump,” said a source, which was present at the site of the accident. The fire caused panic around the port last night. “We could see huge plumes of smoke and flames emerging from the launch. Three Civil Defence units reached the spot and the fire was brought under control after more than two hours of fire-fighting,” said one eye witness. No casualties have been reported so far, according to the source familiar with the incident.