“The Port of Savannah offers a logistically friendly location with two on-terminal rail providers and immediate access to two interstate highways, which helps us attract additional cargo.” The service first called on Garden City Terminal on February 23, 2011. The Spondylus service deploys four vessels with 1,700-TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) capacity and is expected to bring about 22,000 TEUs annually through Savannah. Port rotation includes: Savannah, Miami, Manzanillo, Balboa, Esmeraldas, Paita, Guayaquil, New York/New Jersey and Philadelphia. Georgia exporters have a great opportunity to ship woodpulp and paperboard directly from Savannah to Ecuador and Peru to make cartons for fruit shipments. This packaging is then used to carry fruits and vegetable products on the Spondylus service to Savannah, the established gateway for refrigerated container cargo in the South Atlantic. The primary import commodities from the region in addition to fruits and vegetables are lumber, plywood, fish and foodstuffs. “As the second largest port on the U.S. East Coast, the Port of Savannah is quickly expanding its Latin American reach with nine services,” said GPA’s Chief Commercial Officer Clifford R. Pyron.

OceanflORE
The parties cooperating under the name “OceanflORE” (ORE stands for Ocean Reserve Extraction) will cater to meet the increasing demand for both expertise and exploitation techniques in the field of deep-sea mining. The joint venture between IHC Merwede and DEME is a logical step. Deep- sea mining is an important industry for IHC Merwede. The company has many years of experience and knowledge in the field of dredging, excavation techniques and deep-sea mining technology. DEME is a leading global player in the dredging and offshore market, and has highly specialised experience in the application of complex offshore hydraulic engineering technologies, even in extremely deep waters. Tideway, an OceanflORE group company, has high-tech equipment which can be deployed accurately even at depths required for mining. Another important advantage offered by the OceanflORE group is its extensive experience in the entire processing of mined material on a mining vessel before transportation to the mainland. These activities include both the integral processing of the extracted raw materials, and the washing and separation of materials. OceanflORE aspires to become the preferred partner of mine owners throughout the world for completing feasibility studies and deep-sea mining operations.

Scarcity
The demand for raw materials is expected to double during the coming decades. Existing sources on land will not be adequate to meet this demand. At the same time, the field of deep-sea mining techniques is developing increasingly rapidly and the technical feasibility is becoming evident. These trends have led to a growing interest in the possibilities offered by deep-sea mining throughout the world. Additionally, capital markets are more often willing to finance projects due to the increased certainties involved.

Total solution
The OceanflORE joint venture will be in a position to take advantage of these developments. Combining the knowledge of IHC Merwede and DEME, feasibility studies carried out by OceanflORE will subsequently enable every important aspect of deep-sea mining to be developed, manned and operated. These aspects include underwater excavation, vertical transportation to the surface, processing on board the mining vessel and transportation to the harbour. This enables OceanflORE to provide a unique complete solution for deep-sea mining, including all aspects related to the financing of projects, plus comprehensive project management through the deployment of crew and ships, mining equipment and a processing plant.

The System is intended to monitor and regulate the maritime traffic flow in order to improve safety conditions in the area. High traffic density justifies the choice of sophisticated software able to improve port’s efficiency. Complementary to Transas worldwide proven traffic monitoring solution Navi-Monitor, the Lomé Port VTMS is equipped with a set of hardware components – a radar, an operator workstation, AIS and VHF equipment. In addition, Transas Marine specialists carried out a comprehensive operational and maintenance training for operators and technicians. This project continues the range of successful VTMS installations conducted by Transas on African continent. “Rising safety and security concerns have made a significant shift in minds over the last few years. Ports are becoming even more conscious and take deliberate decisions in choosing suppliers of critically important safety systems. Transas is proud to be the VTMS supplier of choice for Libya, Morocco and Ivory Coast”, says Christopher Loizou, Shore-Based Systems Business Unit Director, Transas Marine.

India-based SEW Trident Global Pte Limited has signed an MoU with Surya Kapenjen, an Indonesia-based firm, to develop an 84-km long road and a port with a minimum of 10 million tonne cargo handling capacity on a BOT basis. Feasibility studies are being undertaken and SEW would decide how much to invest in the project once they get the necessary approvals. This is company’s first overseas project. According to the MoU, the company will build the road and jetty and collect the toll for a specified period of time. SEW Infra is exploring further opportunities to invest in mines and infrastructure into Indonesia.