Effective late July, CMA CGM is to add Marghera, an industrial port near Venice, to its Phoenician Express (#10) service between the Adriatic Sea and the Far East. The service is one of the four Mediterranean/Black Sea – Far East services that the French CMA CGM runs in partnership with Maersk Line. The Danish carrier, which markets this loop as its ‘AE12′, has so far not given any indication of its participation in the Venice-Marghera call. For the time being, the port will only be called by the CMA CGM vessels. full story: linervision.wordp...

Emirates LNG Company is looking to build an import gas terminal at Fujairah capable of handling 9m tonnes a year. The UAE has become a net gas importer over the last few years. Emirates LNG is studying the idea of building a floating storage and conversion unit and has been in touch with two Norwegian firms, Excelerate and Golar, over the proposal.

The Minister of Public Works and Transport Ghazi Aridi has intervened to try and resolve issues at the port of Beirut where containers are stacking up. The port has struggled to handle a sudden surge in volumes up from around 8,000 teu a day to 19,000 at the moment.