News

Navis, a part of Cargotec Corporation and provider of operational technologies and services that unlock greater performance and efficiency for the world’s leading organizations across the shipping supply chain, announced that Tianjin Port Group has completed the cut over and go live of N4 across its six terminals in record time.

Construction work has started to build a new cruise terminal in Liverpool, UK after plans were approved in April this year . An overwater jack-up platform has started site investigations on the bedrock where the new facility will be built. The new permanent terminal, which will replace the current cruise facility, will enable the city to accommodate the world’s biggest cruise ships on the UNESCO World Heritage waterfront. “Liverpool is used to welcoming majestic vessels to the Mersey, like Cunard’s Queen Victoria the other day, but this unusual looking jack-up platform is arguably our most critical visitor this year given the importance of the work its carrying out,” said Joe Anderson, Mayor of Liverpool.

To better serve customers shipping from the Dominican Republic to South Florida, Crowley Maritime Corp.’s liner services group announced today that it has launched a new direct, weekly shipping service from Puerto Plata to Port Everglades, Fla. Crowley is the only ocean carrier that provides a direct shipping service connecting these two locations.

Aboard the Costa Mediterranea, the CEO of the Costa Group - the leading cruise line company in Europe - and the CEO of the Port of Marseille Fos (Marseille Fos Port Authority) today signed an agreement aimed at increasing their cooperation in three areas: • enhanced control of exhaust emissions through concerted action, notably in terms of deploying advanced exhaust gas cleaning systems (EGCS) and LNG propulsion in which the Costa Group is investing heavily • creation of a dedicated warehouse for the strategic equipment and spare parts needed for repair and refit operations in the Chantier Naval de Marseille (CNM) shipyard. This multiuser warehouse will be made available to all CNM customers, in particular the Costa Group and the Carnival fleet. In conjunction with the relevant government departments, the Marseille Fos Port Authority will provide support to CNM as regards introducing the most efficient processes and equipment • development of a training project for naval officers and engineers wishing to join the Costa Group's fleet, setting up a specific professional marine training course in Marseille.

On 15 May 2018, the readers of Asia Cargo News trade magazine acclaimed the Port of Hamburg as the ‘Best Global Seaport’. After two awards as ‘Best Seaport – Europe’ in 2015 and 2016 this is the third award to the Port of Hamburg. The ceremony was held at a commemorative event at the Wanda Reign Hotel, On the Bund, in Shanghai, in the presence of 230 international guests mainly from the transport and logistics field. The Port of Hamburg was represented by Dr Ding Ling from the Representative Office in Shanghai, who accepted the award on the port’s behalf. On the short-list, the Port of Hamburg held sway against the ports of Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore. The magazine’s readers submitted their nominations to Asia Cargo News. Important for them were reliability, customer management, innovation and consistent service quality. Among the criteria assessed were investments in the area of infrastructure, including meeting future market challenges. Added to this were a competitive, cost-friendly system of fees and a suitable infrastructure for handling container traffic. Further criteria targeted the overall port package, such as promoting adjacent services in the areas of logistics capacities, forwarding and transport. With more than 10,000 readers, Asia Cargo News is among the most important publications for the logistics, sea- & airfreight field in Asia.

Fincantieri has floated out Viking Cruises’ sixth ocean ship, Viking Jupiter, at its yard in Ancona, Italy. The float out was marked with a traditional coin ceremony, where Viking Jupiter’s godmother and Norwegian singer Sissel Kyrkjebø helped to weld a silver dollar to the top deck. The ceremony was also attended by Torstein Hagen, chairman of Viking, and Giovanni Stecconi, director of Fincantieri’s Ancona shipyard. Fincantieri will now start outfitting Viking Jupiter’s interiors and then commission her onboard equipment and systems, ahead of her sea trials and delivery in 2019.

Carnival Corporation and Dubai-based holding company Meraas have signed an agreement to develop the Dubai Cruise Terminal and transform the emirate into a maritime tourism hub for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Arabian Gulf region. The agreement was signed on 14 May by Carnival Corporation president and CEO Arnold Donald and group chairman of Meraas His Excellency Abdulla Al Habbai. It was approved by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Crown Prince of Dubai HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum also attended the event. “We welcome visitors from across the world and provide them with an exceptional tourism experiences,” said HH Sheikh Mohammed.

Holland America Line’s Volendam made history on 23 May 2018 when she brought the 25 millionth cruise passenger to the Port of Vancouver in Canada. To mark the milestone, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority hosted a celebration at Canada Place, which honoured both the 25 millionth passenger and the collaborative efforts companies in Vancouver’s cruise and tourism industries have made to grow cruise traffic. “We are thrilled this year to welcome the 25 millionth cruise passenger through the Port of Vancouver and to celebrate this achievement with our destination, cruise line and industry partners,” said Robin Silvester, president and CEO of Vancouver Fraser Port Authority.

Construction of P&O's 5,200 passenger cruise ship started on Meyer Werft Papenburg. The name of the ship was revealed, too...http://cruisedeck.de/brennstart-fuer-die-neue-iona-fuer-po/

Canada’s Port of Baie-Comeau is to welcome 18,875 passengers and crew during 21 calls from a record 11 cruise ships in 2018. For the fifth consecutive year, Baie-Comeau’s cruise season will open with a call from Pearl Sea Cruises’ Pearl Mist, this time on 27 May. The port will welcome maiden calls from CTMA Cruises’ CTMA Vacancier on 19 September, Cruise and Maritime Voyages’ Marco Polo on 23 September, Disney Cruise Line’s Disney Magic on 25 September, Silversea’s Silver Wind on 7 October and Silver Spiritt on 9 October. The latter three ships will also make return calls during the 2018 season.

NSW Ports has announced that it is the first Australian port organization to introduce an environmental incentive to apply to vessel-related charges at its facilities. Levied by NSW Ports at Port Botany and Port Kembla, the initiative will reward higher standards of environmental performance. NSW Ports will develop the details of the program, with an aim to implement it by January 1, 2019, by consulting the relevant shipping lines. The incentive is consistent with international approaches at 53 ports globally, including the Port of Rotterdam, Netherlands; the Port of Los Angeles, USA; and the Port of New York and New Jersey, USA. NSW Ports’ incentives apply to vessels registered with the Environmental Ship Index (ESI). The ESI is a scoring system that gives a numerical representation of the environmental performance of seagoing ships regarding air pollutants.

The port of Dover has selected Konecranes to supply two Gottwald Model 5 Mobile Habour Cranes to equip the newest cargo facilities as part of the Dover Wester Docks Revival project

Carnival Corporation has secured preferential berthing rights at the Port of Brisbane’s new AUS$158 million international cruise terminal after the companies’ agreement was approved by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). According to the agreement, Carnival will pay a fixed annual amount to the Port of Brisbane for 15 years in return for preferential berthing rights at the new terminal. This gives the cruise corporation first choice of 100 days at the terminal each year, up to a maximum of four days a week.

Silversea Cruise, Monaco based luxury cruise company, has placed a new order with Fincantieri for a further Muse class cruise ship. http://cruisedeck.de/silversea-ordern-weiteres-schiff-der-muse-klasse-bei-fincantieri/

Norwegian Cruise Line’s 4,000-passenger Norwegian Bliss made her maiden call at the Port of Los Angeles in California, US on 25 May becoming the largest cruise ship to visit to date. The 168,000gt Norwegian Bliss was too large to use the port’s main turning basin so she reversed down the main channel before docking at the World Cruise Centre. Norwegian Bliss departed for Seattle, where she will begin her Alaska season. Norwegian Bliss will make seven more calls in Los Angeles this year and eight in 2019.

Finnlines is reshuffling its services between Denmark and Finland and provides as of 28 May, 2018 direct service between Helsinki and Aarhus, the company said in its press release. There will also be a direct connection between Aarhus and Uusikaupunki, which offers new possibilities for cargoes between Denmark and Western Finland. Turku will be available via transhipment in Travemünde The new weekly service between Travemünde and Aarhus is especially suitable for all kinds of rolling cargo, particularly for high and heavy cargo unable to cross the Kiel Canal bridge due to weight limitations. The transit times will be shorter with direct departures, please see attached schedule.

The Grimaldi Group has raised concerns about security and safety in Greece’s Ionian Sea port of Patras, after a young Afghan was killed during an affray among immigrants trying to find a passage to Italy.

Mitsui O.S.K Lines (MOL) announced the opening of the new Haiphong International Container Terminal (HICT) at Lach Huyen Port in Vietnam on May 13, 2018. HICT spans a total area of 45 hectares, and is the first terminal in northern Vietnam with a berth deep enough to allow calls by 14,000 TEU container ships. Featuring two berths around 750m, the terminal is expected to handing approximately 1.1 million TEU annually. The new terminal will meet demands for shorter transit times and lower transport costs in the region, while helping accelerate the economic growth in Northern Vietnam. Additionally, MOL participates in the tugboat business at Lach Huyen Port and will be able to meet expanding demand for HICT by supporting the large containerships that will call more frequently.https://www.porttechnology.org/news/mol_opens_haiphong_international_container_terminal_in_vietnam

(Bloomberg) — A federal judge struck down a local ban prohibiting companies from transporting coal though an Oakland, California, export terminal that U.S. miners see as a key link to overseas markets. The ban enacted by the city in 2014 violates a development agreement, U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria said Tuesday in a 37-page ruling. As demand for coal in the U.S. declines, miners depend increasingly on overseas markets. Yet Wyoming and Montana’s Powder River Basin, home to the nation’s largest reserves, is largely cut off from the world market without West Coast ports.

Three Turkish cruise ports operated by Global Ports Holding welcomed 26% more passengers in the first quarter of 2018, compared to the same period in 2017, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute. Highlights of Antalya Cruise Port’s 2018 season to date have included a call from Noble Caledonia’s Serenissima on 26 March and a visit from TUI Cruises’ Mein Schiff 1 on 30 March. On Turkey’s west coast, Ege Port – Kuşadası has already welcomed Serenissimia and Celestyal Cruises’ Celestyal Majesty and will host an inaugural call from Azamara Cruises’ Azamara Journey on 15 May. In addition, the port will handle return visits from both Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises later in the year. Meanwhile, Bodrum Cruise Port is set to receive several maiden calls in 2018, including Thomson Cruises` TUI Discovery 2 on 22 May and TUI Cruises’ Mein Schiff 4 and Ponant’s La Perouse in October.