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The central city of Da Nang has officially put into operation the second stage of Tien Sa port after two years of construction, bringing its total capacity to 12 million tonnes of cargo per year. General Director of Da Nang Port Joint Stock Company Nguyen Huu Sia said that the second stage at Tien Sa Port had cost more than 1 trillion VND (44.2 million USD), of which 36 percent was funded by the company. He said the second stage, which included two piers, would allow access to 70,000DWT (deadweight tonnage) ships, 4,000TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) container ships, and 150GT (gross tonnage) cruise ships. Sia said the port was a key hub in central Vietnam and met international logistics standards in the region connecting the East-West Economic Corridor that links Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and Vietnam. According to the latest report, the Tien Sa port, 10km from the city centre, handled four million tonnes of cargo in the first six months this year, a 6.14 percent increase in comparison with the same period last year.

To signify its first day of operations at Damen Shipyards Mangalia in Romania, Damen held a modest ceremony at the yard on Monday, July 23rd. The celebrations mark Damen’s successful completion of the transaction with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) for the Mangalia shipyard, formerly known as Daewoo Mangalia Heavy Industries (DMHI).

Last week Medcenter Container Terminal (MCT), Contship Italia Group’s flagship transshipment hub in the port of Gioia Tauro, witnessed the arrival of two ultra large container ships (ULCS), operated by 2M partners MSC and Maersk Line – MSC Maya and Mayview Maersk. The MSC Maya is an ‘Oscar’ class ship, one of the biggest in the MSC fleet, with a capacity of 19,224 teus and a LOA of 395.4m. The Mayview Maersk is a famous Triple-E class and is the first time such a ship has called MCT, having a capacity of 18,270 teus and a LOA of 399m.

Adventure travel operator Lindblad Expeditions has revealed plans to order a second purpose-built polar expedition cruise ship, which is expected to be delivered in 2021. Prompted by growing customer demand for “high quality and authentic expedition travel”, the ship will be the latest in a line of newbuilds for Lindblad. They include coastal vessels National Geographic Quest (launched in June 2017), National Geographic Venture (to debut December 2018) and Lindblad's first new purpose-built polar expedition ship , the 126-guest National Geographic Endurance. The latter, which was designed by Norway’s Ulstein Design & Solutions, is currently being built to Polar Class 5 standards at Crist Shipyard in Poland and will be delivered in early 2020. Once she starts service, the yet-to-be-named newbuild will joins National Geographic Endurance to become the fourth polar vessel in the Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic fleet.

Royal Caribbean's new cruise terminal in PortMiami is under construction, and we have a look at the progress being made. Royal Caribbean Blog reader Lovetocruise2002 took photos of the new Terminal A building while sailing away on a cruise over the weekend. https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2018/07/23/new-royal-caribbean-cruise-terminal-portmiami-photo-report

Princess Cruises and Fincantieri have agreed about the newbuilding of two further cruise ships to be built on the Monfalcone yard. http://cruisedeck.de/neu-bestellungen-von-princess-cruises-bei-fincantieri/

Consent has been granted to dredge Whangārei Harbour clearing the way for fully laden super-sized fuel tankers to visit the Marsden Point oil refinery. The "Suezmax" tankers already visit the refinery regularly but could only do so 90 per cent full because of the channel depth. Refining NZ sought the consent on the basis a deeper, straighter channel to allow greater oil shipments would mean ultimately, fewer tanker visits would be needed - with less impact or danger to the environment This week, a panel of three independent commissioners granted a raft of resource consents to deepen and realign theh Whangārei Harbour entrance and approaches.

The first of 60 new Konecranes rail-mounted gantry cranes (RMGs) have arrived at Norfolk International Terminals (NIT) as the Port of Virginia begins its $375 million expansion project. NIT will put the cranes into service by the end of September, when the first three of its 30 new container stacks will be ready to use. Once all 60 RMGs are operational, Port of Virginia expects NITs annual capacity to increase by 400,000 TEU by mid-2020. In November 2016, the port finalized a $217 million contract with Konecranes to build and deliver 86 RMGs - the largest one-time RMG order ever.

Romania has finalized the transaction with Dutch group Damen Shipyards which made it majority shareholder in Daewoo Mangalia Heavy Industries (DMHI), the Romanian economy ministry said. With extensive experience in shipbuilding and shipyard management, Damen will take over operational control, the economy ministry said in a statement.

Globally, the cost to ship cargo or freight by a shipping container from the United States to Apapa (Nigeria) is about the highest in the world. This is according to moverdb.com in a 2018 Overseas Cargo and Freight Costs template showing freight costs from United States (Los Angeles & New York) to different port destinations of the world. The rates which are as accurate as of early 2017 shows that the Apapa port from New York is the most expensive destination among the countries included in the template. It costs about $4,982 to ship a 20 feet container from New York to Apapa which is about twice the amount to ship a container of the same size to Cape Town (South Africa) – $2,542. Shipping a 40 feet container from New York to Apapa has a freight cost of about $7,436 almost double the cost of shipping a container of an exact size to Cape Town ($3,795). Although shipping costs from Los Angeles to Apapa is a bit cheaper, the freight costs to Nigeria is the second highest globally which is about $3,027, a little behind the most expensive freight cost of $3,573 to Saudi Arabia for a 20 feet container. https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/apapa-ports-are-most-expensive-globally/

Carnival Corporation has ordered two additional dual-fuel cruise ships, which will join its Princess Cruises brand in late 2023 and spring 2025. The 175,000gt ships will accommodate around 4,300 guests and will be primarily fuelled by LNG to significantly reduce harmful emissions and environmental impact. The new ships, which will offer various onboard innovations, will be the largest by capacity in the Princess Cruises fleet. “This revolutionary platform for next-generation, LNG-powered cruise ships will introduce innovative design and leisure experiences driven by the future holiday and lifestyle trends of our guests – further evolving the already best-in-class Princess Cruises experience we deliver today,” said Jan Swartz, president of Princess Cruises. “We look forward to collaborating with Fincantieri to bring our vision for this next-generation premium cruise ship into service.” Both newbuilds will be constructed by Fincantieri at its yard in Monfalcone.

Naming ceremony of the new MEIN SCHIFF 2 will take place at Lisboa on 6th February 2019. http://cruisedeck.de/neue-mein-schiff-2-kommt-frueher-historisches-treffen/

INGAPORE's APL, now a unit of French shipping giant CMA CGM, announced that its Gulf Asia Express 2 (GA2) service will soon be calling at the Port of Umm Qasr in an effort to continuously provide market connectivity between the Far East and Middle East. Hong Kong's Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL), also announced direct calls to the Port of Umm Qasr in its Middle East Service 4 (ME4) service, starting on August 6 with the first sailing in Shanghai.

Singapore — Rotterdam-based Royal Vopak has acquired a 29% share in Elengy Terminal Pakistan, whose subsidiary Engro Elengy Terminal owns a floating LNG import facility anchored at Port Qasim in Pakistan, the companies said in a joint statement Friday. Register Now The deal gives Vopak, the world's largest independent petroleum storage company, a foothold in Asia's expanding market for LNG infrastructure, driven by growing adoption of LNG as a fuel source. It also underscores how traditional oil-focused companies are diversifying to natural gas in line with oil major strategy. "This new step in our cooperation gives Vopak an excellent entry in the growing Pakistan LNG market. This fits very well with our ambitions to grow and diversify our service offering in LNG," Vopak's chairman and chief executive Eelco Hoekstra, said. As of end-April, Vopak operated 66 terminals globally with a storage capacity of 35.9 million cu m, but gas products accounted for only 3-5% of its total portfolio, while the bulk was oil products at 40-45% and the remaining were chemical facilities, industrial terminals and vegetable oils storage. Even most of Vopak's growth projects under development for 3.1 million cu m of capacity are for oil products, chemicals and LPG. Vopak has said it continues to look for opportunities in the LNG infrastructure market and the FSRU market on a project-to-project basis through joint ventures or acquisitions The share purchase agreement between Vopak and Engro, who already operate the Engro Vopak chemical terminal jointly near Port Qasim, is for Pakistan's first LNG import facility that started operations in 2015, and supplies gas to state-owned Sui Southern Gas Engro holds a 15-year time charter for the FSRU and the project has long- term LNG supply contracts for feeding power generation, industrial use and as feedstock for fertilizers in Pakistan, which is a market of more than 200 million people and growing energy demand. The deal is subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals, and expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2018. After the deal, the LNG terminal's shareholders will be Engro, Vopak and the International Finance Corporation. Source : Platts

The Port of Felixstowe has started to recover from the delays experienced in early July 2018, caused by the failure of its terminal operating system (TOS). The Hutchison Ports facility’s increased throughput has come after the port made key upgrades to the TOS over the course of last week. It handled 74,000 TEU in the week ending 22 July, a rise of 70,000 TEU from the previous week, although this is still lower than throughput handled in July 2017. Hutchison Ports reported that it had handled 11,600 rail containers during the week commencing June 16, including a 15% increase in the number of containers loaded to trains. https://www.porttechnology.org/news/port_of_felixstowe_starts_recovery

New automated cranes and vehicles are on trial at the Pasir Panjang Terminal and can boost productivity substantially, potentially bolstering Singapore’s status as a port hub. Port and terminal operator, PSA Singapore, introduced details of the automated machines to Minister for Transport Khaw Boon Wan and the media during a briefing at Pasir Panjang Terminal Building 3 on Monday (July 23). Under the new Automated Quay Crane system, part of the process of moving containers, from a vessel to a prime mover for example, can be done automatically. But a worker still needs to use a joystick to load and unload containers onto the vessels and vehicles for now, though engineers are working to make the whole process automated with only minimal human supervision needed. Mr Eddy Ng, managing director of Singapore Terminals 2, which includes the Pasir Panjang Terminals, said: “Technology has revolutionised and transformed PSA and the broader maritime and ports industry. What used to be a lot more labour-intensive has now been refreshed by automation and digital capabilities and new technologies.”

The difficulties experienced by operators in Douala port constitute a roadblock to wood exports in Congo, Gabon, and Cameroon. This is revealed by the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) in its sectoral report on the international wood market covering the period from July 1 to 15, 2018. “Much of the efforts of producers and exporters is focused on trying to overcome shipping problems caused by congestion, limited access for vessels (Ed. Note: due to the congestion of the channel which is yet to be dredged) and loading difficulties at the port of Douala”, the ITTO informs in its report. It also adds that “the knock-on effect of the port congestion has been a temporary decline in shipments of some products notably okoume sawnwood from Gabon and logs from Republic of Congo”. This situation coincides with an increase in the demand for Okoumé and tropical sawn wood on the international market. Therefore, to cash in this situation and benefit from the price increase projected by the ITTO, the exporters are striving to send their products. For instance, according to credible sources, some exporters sent their woods via Kribi deepwater port commissioned in March 2018 in South Cameroon. Our source also reveals that Société d’exploitation des parcs à bois du Cameroun (SEPBC), the concessionaire of Douala port’s log yard was granted about 23,000 metric cube storage area in Kribi port. According to the ITTO, from there, SEPBC will intensify its containerized exports with the support of a Chinese ship-owner. Source: BusinessInCameroon

Chantiers de l'Atlantique (formerly STX France) has cut the first piece of steel for Celebrity Cruises’ second Edge-class ship at its yard in Saint-Nazaire, France. To be named Celebrity Apex, the newbuild is set to join the Celebrity fleet in spring 2020 and will offer many of the innovative features and venues that will debut onboard Celebrity Edge this year. “Welcoming Celebrity Apex into our family with the leadership team was a very special moment, especially when we all signed the ship silhouette cut from the first piece of steel,” said Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, president and CEO of Celebrity Cruises, at the ceremony. “We are so grateful for our partnership with Chantiers de l'Atlantique and are thrilled to work on another very special ship together. The success and momentum for Celebrity Edge has been incredible, and with Celebrity Apex we will yet again show how we are taking our brand to the next level.

Meyer Turku are expecting to deliver the new MEIN SCHIFF 2 earlier than scheduled. http://cruisedeck.de/neue-mein-schiff-2-kommt-frueher-historisches-treffen/

Thieves have stolen 114 tonnes of cobalt from a secure warehouse in Rotterdam’s port area, local broadcaster RTV Rijnmond reported on Friday. The haul has a value of some €7m and must have been removed by lorry but it is unclear as yet how the thieves were able to do this, RTV Rijnmond said. Cobalt is a rare mineral used largely for the production of batteries and pigments.