Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing linked Hutchison Port Holdings Trust has acquired Asia Container Terminals Holdings, a container terminal operator in Hong Kong, for about US$408 million. In a filing to the Singapore Exchange, Hutchison Port said the acquisition would increase its handling capacity of container terminals in Hong Kong, reported Dow Jones Newswires. Asia Container Terminals owns and operates Container Terminal 8 West, located at Kwai Chung, Hong Kong, under a lease from the Hong Kong government for a term expiring on June 30, 2047. The throughput from the terminal was one million TEUs last year.

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch and Coastal Flood Watch for Boston and surrounding towns from Friday morning (March 7) through Saturday afternoon.

Both new big locks and one small (old) lock in Brunsbuettel in the Kiel Canal are closed since yesterday evening(March, 6) until further notice. For at least two weeks, only vessels with a maximum LOA of 125m, beam of 20.50m and freshwater draft of 6.50m, depending on the tide, will be able to transit the Canal. One of the big locks could be reopened in 14 days.

Beide großen Schleusen und eine kleine Schleuse in Brunsbüttel ab sofort bis auf weiteres außer Betrieb! Aufgrund der aktuellen Schäden an den Toren der großen Schleusen (Tor 1/ Nordkammer und Tor 6/Südkammer) werden beide großen Schleusenkammern in Brunsbüttel ab sofort außer Betrieb genommen. Zusätzlich muss wegen eines Hydraulikschadens die Südkammer der kleinen Schleuse ebenfalls ab sofort außer Betrieb genommen werden. Quelle: WSA Brunsbüttel

The dredging of Tauranga Harbour is likely to start by the year's end. Conservation Minister Nick Smith has given final approval to dredge but says he is disappointed the process has taken so long. His resource consent sign-off, announced yesterday, will allow the port to widen and deepen its shipping channel, making the port accessible to much larger ships. Port chief executive Mark Cairns said he was pleased and dredging would likely start by the year's end. The first stage of dredging will cost $40 million to $50 million and be finished in between six months and a year, Mr Cairns said. The second stage will allow the port to accommodate container ships carrying 8200 TEU's (twenty-foot equivalent units) and cruise ships of up to 347 metres in length. www.bayofplentyti...

Due to the bad weather, the National Civil Protection System (SINAPROC, Spanish acronym) has not been able to rescue two seamen who are on a ship that washed ashore at Colon City, Panama. The local authorities roped off the area around first street to keep people away from the spilled fuel from the grounded ships. So far, six ships have washed ashore onto the beach in front of first street and the Juventud Park in Colon from the strong winds on March, 4, 2013. SINAPROC and the Red Cross had rescued 5 seamen from other ships. The govenor of Colon Province, Pedro Rios, confirmed that the upper (eastern) and lower (western) coastal areas of Colon have been hard hit by a cold front that brought strong winds and 5 meter waves causing flooded rivers, high tides, and roofs being blown off of houses.The govenor has asked people to stay away from the shore and remain in their houses until the bad weather passes.

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For technical reasons, the Big North Lock at Brunsbuttel is completely out of service (day and night) until further notice. The Big South Lock Chamber and both Small Locks remain in service. Source: Sartori & Berger

Construction has started on a $96 million oil terminal in Moin, a port on Costa Rica's Caribbean coast, the government said. The new oil dock will be able to handle tankers in the 40,000 ton to 80,000 ton class. President Laura Chinchilla laid the cornerstone for the terminal during a ceremony this week in Moin, which is in Limon province. The oil dock is expected to begin operating by the end of 2014, officials said. The oil terminal's expansion is being funded by state-owned Refinadora Costarricense de Petroleo, or Recope, and the dock is being constructed by Mexican-Costa Rican consortium MECO, which won the bidding for the project. Tankers arriving at the new terminal will be able to unload their oil 24 hours a day. Costa Rica's oil tab totaled $2.175 billion in 2012 and $2.172 billion 2011, Recope said. Source: EFE

DP World London Gateway, Britain’s new deep-sea container port, will take delivery of three giant quay cranes in early March when the vessel Zhen Hua 26 floats up the Thames on the final leg of the cranes’ three month voyage from China. The biggest ever to be delivered to the UK, the cranes are 138 metres tall – two and a half times the height of Nelson’s column – and are upright on the ship. Weighing 2,000 tonnes, it would be possible to roll the London Eye under the lifting arm. These will be just the first quay cranes destined for London Gateway. A further 21 will be delivered once construction on the six main berths is completed. The quay itself – where the cranes will sit – will be over 2.5 km in length once the port is fully operational. Source: DP World London Gateway