Barcelona Port receives 27,200 passengers in only one day with seven cruise ships It is the second busiest day of the year for cruise ships after August 20th, when nine ships with 31,000 passengers are expected. Barcelona is the first European and Mediterranean cruise port and fourth in the world, after three Florida ports.

Yangon - International cruise ship operators are slowly rediscovering Myanmar, with nine ships expected to dock at Yangon in 2011-12, up from six the previous year, the Myanmar Times reported on Sunday. Tourism boycotts and economic sanctions aimed at a repressive military government had hobbled the tourism in the past, but industry officials expressed optimism about the future, particularly in the cruise ship category. 'Passenger numbers will rise to some extent but we are expecting one mega cruise liner with somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000 passengers and crew members. Their eyes and mouths will act to promote a positive image of Myanmar to other travelers,' U Thet Lwin Toh, managing director of Myanmar Voyages Travel and Tour Company, was quoted as saying.

An oil tanker has sunken at Chittagong Port, causing oil spill into the water. Port officials said the tanker, 'OT Moon', sank with 180 tonnes of oil around 11:30pm on Saturday while uploading the oil at Dolphin jetty. The ship supplies fuel oil to large ships at the port's outer anchorage.

Hong Kong dockers demand a daily pay rise by 27% Dockers are threatening to go on strike over pay. The Union of Hong Kong Dockers is demanding a daily pay rise of HK$300 - a rise of 27 percent, Rthk.hk reports. It says dockers at the container port are working long hours in tough conditions. It also says they have to do a lot of overtime work due to staff shortages. A spokesman for the union, Stanley Ho, said over 500 workers could go on strike if their demands are not met.Source: PortNews

A cargo vessel 'MV Chowpatlal' used to transport iron ore from Goa ran aground off the Calangute beach after a heavy squall lashed the shores across the state, officials said Saturday. The vessel, anchored at the Mormugao port, is in the process of being towed away, district administration and ports officials said. "The vessel got caught in the squall and came close to the Calangute shore, from where it was parked near the port area. The crew was aboard the vessel but could not do much to navigate the ship," Deputy Collector D.M. Redkar told IANS, adding that the vessel had fortunately not run hard aground. "The vessel is being towed away right now. There is no crisis. It struck the shore around 9 Friday night. There is no reason to worry," Deputy Captain of Ports James Braganza said.

Emergency services are investigating an explosion and fire at an oil refinery in west Wales. The Welsh ambulance service confirmed some people had been injured in the blast at the Pembroke Chevron plant but had not been able to confirm how many. There are unconfirmed reports that two people were killed when two petrol tankers collided inside the refinery. Milford Haven Port Authority said it was aware of the incident but it was not affecting any ship movements on the waterway. It said it had two pilot boats on standby if needed but their assistance had not been requested. Milford Haven coastguards reported a "blast large enough to shake the windows" with "black smoke in the air".

Having hit the State's iron ore miners with higher royalties, the WA Government could now be about to slug BHP Billiton, Fortescue Metals and other users of Port Hedland with bigger shipping charges. Transport Minister Troy Buswell said yesterday he was supportive of the miners paying more to ship their product through Port Hedland, the world's biggest export port. Mr Buswell and officials of the Port Hedland Port Authority were quizzed by a parliamentary estimates committee over the financial performance of the agency overseeing the port. While the vast majority of port infrastructure at Port Hedland is owned by the iron ore companies, the State, through PHPA owns the channel through which the giant ore carriers pass. The authority levies tonnage charges of about 20¢ a tonne on Cape-size carriers. au.news.yahoo.com...

The blaze at the sullage plant on the Western Arm of the North Mole was successfully extinguished at 5am yesterday morning, after 14 hours of intense and courageous effort by Gibraltarian and Spanish fire fighting teams. A multi-agency investigation is now underway to analyse every aspect of the incident. “Investigations will now focus on the causes of the fire,” the Gibraltar Government said in a statement. “In addition, the Gibraltar Port Authority will carry out a full analysis and review of the incident to assess port operational aspects of the matter, and whether there is need for changes to be made.” More at www.chronicle.gi/...

India's Adani group has submitted an expression of interest to build two new coal terminals in Australia's Queensland region, next to its Abbot Point Coal Terminal, a senior executive said on Wednesda, Reuters reports. "We are looking to build greenfield ports next to Abbott Point, because there is huge demand for ports in Queensland," B Ravi, chief financial officer at Mundra Port and Special Economic Zone , the group's port operating arm, told Reuters, PortNews reports. Mundra expects to make some progress for the new terminals in the next six months, Ravi said. He did not disclose the investment involved. Earlier this month, Mundra acquired the Abbot Point Coal Terminal in Australia for about $1.9 billion in an all cash deal.[ID:nL3E7G302H] The company is now in talks with banks to refinance the debt taken on for the deal, Ravi said.

The port of Rio de Janeiro’s two main container terminals are to be expanded as the country gears up for the anticipated growth in cargo in the run-up to the FIFA soccer world cup in 2014 and the Olympic Games in 2016.