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Vard has cut the first pieces of steel for Ponant’s electric hybrid polar expedition cruise ship at its yard in Tulcea, Romania. Named in honour of French explorer Jean-Baptiste Charcot, Le Commandant Charcot was jointly designed by Stirling Design International and icebreaker specialists Aker Arctic. The 135-room vessel is expected to be delivered in 2021. Le Commandant Charcot will meet Cleanship environmental standards and will have dual-fuel engines from Wärtsilä that will primarily run on LNG, as well as electric batteries that will enable her to operate without engines for two to three hours. ABB’s Azipod units will provide propulsion, while systems for energy optimisation, energy recovery and advanced wastewater treatment will help to reduce her environmental impact.

Three Asian groups are interested in acquiring two container terminals up for sale by Brazilian private port operator Wilson Sons, Brazilian newspaper Valor Economico reported. Singapore’s PSA, China’s Hutchison Port Holding and China Merchant Port Holdings have delivered non-binding proposals for terminals in Salvador, in the northeastern state of Bahia, and Rio Grande, in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, the paper said, without disclosing its source. Binding proposals for the terminals should be delivered as soon as year-end, the paper said. The potential bidders did not immediately comment.

Modification 3 of the Municipal Port Police Regulation, the Port Instructions and related forms come into force on the 12th of November 2018. The port and the social context in which it operates are in a constant state of flux. It is therefore essential for the Police Regulation to take account of the changing situation and requirements. In modification 3 of the Port Police Regulation various articles were modified, and various new provisions were added.

The Sture terminal and the Kollsnes plant resumed operations Thursday afternoon after being shut down in connection with the collision between the frigate KNM Helge Ingstad and the tanker Sola TS at the Sture terminal early Thursday morning. Also North Sea installations affected by the shut-down of the two onshore plants are gradually starting up again.

Shree Ram Group said Thursday the European Commission has audited its recycling yard at Alang in Gujarat for the inclusion in the EU list of approved ports. The facility is among the first Indian yards audited by the European Commission and its inclusion in the EU list could help accelerate the transformation underway in the ship recycling industry in India, the company said in a statement. The European Commission (EC) visited Alang to assess two of the 11 Indian yards which have applied to be included in the EU list of yards where EU-flagged vessels can be dismantled.

Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu port has received the Jin Tai Feng, a ship carrying 82,498 tons of corn. It is 235 meters long and draws 13.50 meters. It is the largest ship the port has ever received. This comes after development projects launched last year by the Saudi Ports Authority to strengthen the services at the Kingdom’s ports and to upgrade their capabilities and efficiency. The Yanbu commercial port handled 413,824 tons of various types of general cargo during July 2018 compared to 141,066 tons during July 2017 — an unprecedented increase of 193 percent. The Kingdom is working relentlessly to build a solid ground for the status of the Saudi Ports Authority as a leader in the ports sector which links the national economy with the international market.

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MSC Cruises on Nov. 7 revealed it has entered the final phase of construction on Ocean Cay, its private island in the Bahamas, located 23 miles south of Bimini. After delays, the Caribbean marine reserve is now scheduled to open in November 2019. The former site of an industrial sand extraction plant, Ocean Cay will feature eight beaches, a shallow-water lagoon, excursions to neighboring cays, a wedding chapel, and a number of bars and restaurants that will serve authentic Bahamian flavors. MSC has voiced its commitment to strengthening the Bahamian community by sourcing local materials and using local vendors when possible, and employing up to 140 Bahamians for permanent positions on Ocean Cay.

China has clinched a multi-billion-dollar deal to build a port at a strategic town along the coast of the Bay of Bengal in Myanmar, its third project in India’s neighbourhood after Sri Lanka and Pakistan. China and Myanmar signed an agreement to build the deep sea port project in Kyaukpyu town after negotiations dragged for years due to financing and other issues, state-run Global Times reported on Friday. China is also developing deepwater strategic Gwadar port in Pakistan in the Arabian Sea which faces the Mumbai coast. It has also acquired Sri Lanka’s Hambantota port on debt swap in the Indian Ocean.

The UK’s Port of Southampton has embarked on a £12 million (US$15.7 million) project to significantly increase capacity at its Ocean Cruise Terminal so it can handle larger ships and a greater volume of cruise traffic. Port operator ABP Southampton will work with UK-based construction firm Graham to renovate both the terminal building and the quayside, aiming to have work completed ahead of the arrival of P&O Cruises’ first-ever LNG-powered ship Iona in summer 2020. The 5,200-guest vessel will homeport at Southampton and will be joined by a yet-to-be-named sister ship in 2022. Graham will make several major modifications to improve passenger flow in the terminal building.

Jaime Vieira dos Santos, president of Leixões Port Community, has publicly criticised the way the SEAL trade union has undertaken its recent struggles with port management. Speaking at the Portuguese Logistics Association’s ‘Shipping and Ports’ seminar, he noted that unions have persistently tried to close down ports and that their way of conducting business reflected a “medieval world of port work”.

Contecon Guayaquil SA (CGSA), the Ecuadorian subsidiary of International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI), welcomes the recent decision by the Guayaquil government to dredge and maintain the channel leading to the Port of Guayaquil. Through an international tender, the Technical Commission of the Municipality of Guayaquil last 5 October awarded a 25-year concession to the Luxembourg-based Jan De Nul Group, which will undertake the dredging and maintenance of the 95-km main access channel leading to the port. With dredging works expected to be completed within the first year of the concession, mega vessels will soon be able to enter the port even with a 12.5-meter draft at high tide, from the existing access channel depth of 9.6 meters.

Coal shipments from the Port of Gladstone in Australia rose to a 22-month high in October on a strong lift in exports bound for India and South Korea, data released by the Gladstone Ports Corporation on Tuesday showed. A total of 6.69 million mt of coal was shipped from the Queensland port in October, up 10% year on year and 16% from September, the data showed. About 70% of the coal handled at Gladstone is metallurgical coal, GPC said.

Cruise passenger numbers hit an all-time high at Port Canaveral in Florida, US this year, helping the port to generate more than US$103 million in total revenues for the 2018 financial year. The number of passenger movements at Port Canaveral rose by 7.7% from 2017 to reach 4,568,431 in 2018. The port’s operating revenues for 2018 reached US$101.72 million, an all-time high for multi-day cruise ship passengers at the port. The figures are US$8.44 million above last year’s reported revenues and a 120% jump from 2008.

Dubai cruise port has revealed it is on track to welcome one million cruise passengers by 2020. In the same year, the cruise port will see the opening of Dubai Harbour -- a brand-new waterfront facility featuring two cruise terminals that will accommodate up to three cruise ships at any one time -- taking Dubai's cruise ship capacity to eight. The new development is expected to accommodate up to 1.2 million cruise passengers annually. Dubai is already set for a record cruise season this year, with a 152 cruise calls planned -- a 37 percent increase year on year. https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/news/news.cfm?ID=8984

The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) is putting in stringent security measures to close all avenues used by persons who want to use the country’s sea ports to stowaway to Western countries. Security operatives at the Tema Port say stowaway is the major challenge faced by the GPHA as ‘one or two’ persons have been caught engaging in it this year. Mr Stevens Siaka-Anane, Deputy Harbour Master in-charge of operations, disclosed this on Thursday during the Second Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport-Ghana (CILT) Continuous Professional Development Programme at Tema.

the ships that are planned for the GAPOG port for November and December 2018 from CAP TOWN

Miami based Victory Cruises Lines will charter an X-bow expedition cruise ship from SunStone Ships. The cruise ship with the Ulstein designed bow will be built in China to be delivered in 2021. http://cruisedeck.de/x-bow-expeditionsschiff-fuer-victory-cruise-lines/

About 34 vessels expected at seaports across the country, particularly in Lagos, may be impeded by dockworkers’ strike.This was contained in the Shipping Position issued yesterday by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA). It revealed that many of the vessels are conveying Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise called petrol, Automated Gas Oil (AGO) or diesel, and general cargo goods, as well as sugar and wheat. The vessels, slated to arrive Lagos pilotage district from today to the end of the month might be in jeopardy, as dockworkers have endorsed the strike and are ready to shut the ports from business activities.However, four vessels that are waiting to be berthed and eight motor tankers that have already arrived the ports might be affected by the industrial action.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. opened Terminal A – the largest cruise terminal in the US – at PortMiami in Florida on 2 November. Designed by architecture firm Broadway Maylan, the 17,000-square-foot terminal was built on land leased by Miami-Dade County. The facility has been dubbed the ‘Crown of Miami’ because its structure evokes the points of Royal Caribbean’s crown and anchor logo when viewed from the water, as well as the ‘M’ of Miami when viewed from the east or western approaches, and waves rising or ships passing when seen from the terminal side. Terminal A was constructed in compliance with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards and is equipped with advanced technologies to enhance the waiting areas and expedite the boarding process. The terminal will serve as a homeport for Royal Caribbean International’s 5,400-guest Oasis-class ships, such as Allure of the Seas and the new Symphony of the Seas