The duisport Group is expecting total handling volumes of approximately 130 m tonnes in 2011 for the Port of Duisburg including the private ports. Of this 64 m tonnes are attributable to duisport Group ports. “Even if this development cools slightly, during the course of this financial year we will realize the best result in the history of the Port of Duisburg,” said Erich Staake, Chief Executive Officer of  Duisburger Hafen AG.

This new facility will provide an extensive range of support services & equipment to the expanding offshore wind industry and associated supply chain in the area. With a large set down & storage area, quay side frontage & office facilities, this investment will compliment the broad range of products & services that Fendercare and other members of James Fisher & Sons plc can provide to the renewables industry.

“Many companies with vessels in the Southern North Sea are finding it difficult to locate suitable facilities to carry out both scheduled and emergency maintenance” explains Tim Smith, Fendercare’s Renewables Sales Manager “In some cases owners and operators are being forced to return their vessels to mainland Europe to complete these service requirements, resulting in reduced operational efficiency and project over-runs.  This is a situation that can only be exacerbated with the significant increase in vessels anticipated to service O&M requirements of existing installations, round 2 extensions and new round 3 projects. The investment in a second base with over 4,000 m2 of space in Yarmouth will provide a number of core services including: full mobilisation & de-mobilisation facilities (cranage up to 100T); maintenance & repair facilities; storage; fully equipped project management offices; as well as bunkering and fuelling services.”

This significant investment further underlines the commitment of Fendercare and James Fisher & Sons plc to the UK’s offshore renewables industry and in particular installations in the Southern North Sea.

“This base is part of Fendercare’s overall strategy to becoming more involved in the energy industry worldwide,” commented Eric Plane, Managing Director of Fendercare, “both in terms of the oil & gas industries as well as renewables. The facility will enable us to do what we do best: provide an excellent reliable service & it will act as a conduit to bring other James Fisher group companies services to the Southern North Sea area.”

James Fisher & Sons Ltd is a leading provider of marine services with extensive experience in the marine & offshore industries worldwide “The investment by Fendercare in this second facility gives us further opportunities to leverage the resources and capabilities of other group companies” commented Jim Hey, Group Business Development Director “Our presence in the renewables sector is expected to increase significantly through the ability of the group to deliver high value solutions to meet the needs of our customers. The specialist skills we possess in remote structural monitoring capability, mooring systems, cable installation, off-shore & sub-sea operations, personnel solutions, and marine services are successfully being applied in a number of development, deployment and O&M projects.”

“The Port of Savannah is an economic engine that benefits workers and businesses across the region,” said Secretary LaHood. “When we invest in our ports and waterways it allows us to move goods more quickly and efficiently, spur economic growth and help make America even more competitive in the global market.”

The Savannah Harbor Expansion Project is critical for the Port of Savannah – the fastest growing and fourth largest US container port – to efficiently handle larger vessels, making US cargo available to global markets.

“I would like to thank Secretary LaHood for taking the time to visit the Port of Savannah – the growing gateway for American commerce and a strong economic engine for the US economy,” said Governor Deal. “With 44% of the US population served by the Port of Savannah, it is critical that federal funding is approved for Savannah’s harbor deepening project. This project – one of the most important and productive civil works projects in the country – will maintain and create jobs and commerce throughout the region.”

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, a strong advocate for the port deepening, sees the harbor expansion as vital to the future of Georgia and the nation.

“Deepening of the Savannah port is consistent with the priorities of the nation and the president’s focus on increasing the export capability for the US,” Reed said. “Completion of the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project is crucial to achieving an ambitious goal of doubling US exports.”

GPA Board Chairman Alec L. Poitevint pointed out that the Port of Savannah’s export volume grew 12% in FY2011 and represented 53% of its overall volume.

“Export commodities translate into new jobs for our entire region,” Poitevint said. “Balanced trade at the Port of Savannah will continue to drive development and commerce throughout the Southeast.”

Under the Competitive Supply Chain Initiative, which is an important piece of the Obama Administration’s National Export Initiative, the Departments of Commerce and Transportation are working with freight system users and stakeholders to identify the critical elements of a comprehensive, holistic US freight policy. This initiative’s goal in developing such a policy is to achieve the seamless and facilitated goods movement across all transportation modes throughout the nation, which is needed to boost US export sales and US national competitiveness.

“The GPA exported 12.5% of all US containerised exports in fiscal year 2011, which means one out of every eight of our nation’s export containers departed from Savannah,” said GPA’s Executive Director Curtis J. Foltz. “As larger vessels continue to call on the Port of Savannah, the increased global demand for exports through our terminals necessitates the efficiency and additional capacity of a deeper harbor.”

The study found that, by 2020, an average of 151.5 million tonnes of annual CO2 reductions are estimated from the introduction of the measures, a figure that by 2030, will increase to an average of 330 million tonnes annually. CO2 reduction measures will result in a significant reduction in fuel consumption, leading to a significant saving in fuel costs to the shipping industry.

The study, Assessment of IMO mandated energy efficiency measures for international shipping, was launched on Monday (14 November) ahead of the forthcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference, to be held in  Durban, South Africa, from 28 November to 9 December, 2011.

IMO will report to that Conference on the breakthrough adoption, in July 2011 at IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), of mandatory technical and operational measures to reduce GHG emissions from international shipping. Amendments to the International Convention on the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), Annex VI Regulations for the prevention of air pollution from ships, add a new chapter on Regulations on energy efficiency for ships. The regulations will apply to all ships of 400 gross tonnage and above and are expected to enter into force on 1 January 2013.

This new chapter makes mandatory the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) for new ships, which, in essence, requires new ships to be designed to be more energy efficient (and thereby release less greenhouse gases). The regulations are non-prescriptive: as long as the required energy-efficiency level is attained, ship designers and builders are free to use the most cost-efficient solution or solutions for each particular ship.

The new regulations also make mandatory a Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) for all ships. This is a plan which sets out, for an individual ship, how energy savings can be made. There are a variety of options to improve efficiency – speed optimisation, weather routing and hull maintenance, for example – and the best package of measures for a ship to improve efficiency differs to a great extent depending upon ship type, cargo, route and other factors. The new regulations make such a ship-specific plan mandatory thereby encouraging the shipping industry to review its practices in a systematic way to find the best balance.

Amongst the key findings, the report (undertaken by Lloyd’s Register (LR) in partnership with Det Norske Veritas (DNV)) found that:
– By 2020, an average of 151.5 million tonnes of annual CO2 reductions are estimated from the introduction of the EEDI for new ships and the SEEMP for all ships in operation, a figure that by 2030, will increase to an average of 330 million tonnes annually.
– Compared with Business as Usual (BAU), the average annual reductions in CO2 emissions and fuel consumed are estimated between 13% and 23% by 2020 and 2030 respectively.
– CO2 reduction measures will result in a significant reduction in fuel consumption, leading to a significant saving in fuel costs to the shipping industry, although these savings require deeper investments in more efficient ships and more sophisticated technologies, as well as new practices.
– Significant reduction of CO2 emissions from ships due to EEDI and SEEMP regulations is foreseen to 2050 with emission reduction due to SEEMP likely to be realised more rapidly than that for EEDI, as the effect of EEDI will occur only as and when older, less efficient, tonnage is replaced by new, more efficient tonnage.
– The estimated reductions in CO2 emissions, for combined EEDI and SEEMP, from the world fleet translate into a significant annual fuel cost saving of about USD50 billion in 2020 and about USD200 billion by 2030; using fuel rice increase scenarios that take into account the switch to low-sulphur fuel in 2020.
– Mandatory application of EEDI will drive more energy-efficient ship design and realise the CO2 emission reduction potential associated with technical innovation and the use of lower or no carbon fuels.
– The mandatory use of SEEMP based on current IMO regulations will provide a procedural framework for shipping companies to recognise the importance of the operational energy- saving activities. It will significantly boost the level of awareness and, if implemented properly, will lead to a positive cultural change.
– Investigations show that ship hydrodynamic and main engine optimization will bring about energy-saving opportunities of up to around 10% with no ignificant additional cost of shipbuilding.

The IMO regulations represent the first-ever mandatory energy efficiency measures for an international transport sector and their adoption followed several years of work on the matter. Work is now progressing on market-based measures, with intensive work to review a number of different proposals, submitted by Governments and observer organizations.

Further work will be carried out on market-based measures in 2012. Such measures would place a price on greenhouse gas emissions, thereby providing both an economic incentive for the maritime industry to invest in more fuel-efficient ships and technologies and to operate ships in a more energy-efficient manner and a mechanism to offset growing ship emissions in other sectors. In addition, these measures can generate funds that could be used, for example, for projects to mitigate climate change in developing countries.