Also promoted were Rafael D. Consing Jr., from Vice President and Treasurer to Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; and Jose Joel M. Sebastian, from Vice President and Controller to Senior Vice President, Finance. The promotions aim to further strengthen the Company’s oversight and to ensure maximized shareholder returns, both of which are key priorities for ICTSI.

Reporting directly to Enrique K. Razon Jr., ICTSI Chairman and President, O’Neil’s responsibilities cover Global Corporate Finance, Controllership, Human Resources, and Corporate Affairs and Governance (Legal). He is also responsible for improving the efficiency of the Group’s non-operational spending and capital investment programs globally, working closely with Audit and Controls.

“Martin has had a longstanding relationship with ICTSI and has demonstrated a unique ability to quickly distinguish himself through his leadership, strong financial management and commercial acumen. His efforts have contributed significantly to the growth, development and expansion of ICTSI worldwide,” said Razon.

Prior to ICTSI, O’Neil was Managing Director of JP Morgan & Co. for 17 years, actively engaged in a wide range of investment banking activities such as project finance, capital markets and mergers and acquisitions in Hong Kong, London and New York. For seven years, he was Director of JP Morgan Capital Corp., the private equity investment arm of JP Morgan. He was also a Founding Member and Head of the London office of Telegraph Hill Communications Partners from 2001 to 2003.

Consing was appointed ICTSI Vice President and Treasurer in April 2007. He began his professional career in 1989 at the Multinational Investment Bancorporation. He was also with HSBC from 1999 to 2007, assuming various roles including Director and Head of Debt Capital Markets for the Philippines and eventually for South East Asia, and as Managing Director and the Head of Financing Solutions Group for Asia Pacific. He also held positions in Bankers Trust NY/Deutsche Bank and ING Barings. Consing was the Vice President and Treasurer of Aboitiz & Company, Inc and Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. from 1993 to 1995.

Consing will oversee the continuous development and execution of a “best-in-class” financial and operational strategy and associated metrics directly linked to the Company’s business goals and objectives. He will also have direct management responsibility for Global Corporate Treasury, Investor Relations and Corporate Insurance.

Sebastian joined ICTSI in September 2008 as Vice President and Controller. A Certified Public Accountant, he began his career in 1984 at SGV & Co. He specialises in financial audits of publicly listed firms in the telecommunications, port services, shipping, real estate, retail, power generation and distribution, manufacturing, media and entertainment industries.

As Senior Vice President and Controller, Sebastian will be responsible for Global Corporate Controllership including financial planning and budget analysis, consolidated financial reporting, corporate accounting and financial systems and associated policies.

The cranes originally set off from Shanghai in August passing south-east Asia, India, the Arabian Peninsula and Africa via the Cape of Good Hope en route to Liverpool in a journey of over 30,000km.

The super-structures were produced by Chinese company, Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co (ZPMC), the largest heavy duty equipment manufacturer in the world, as part of a contract with Peel Ports worth over 100 million UK Pounds. A total of eight ship-to-shore megamax cranes and 22 cantilever rail-mounted gantry cranes are being supplied to Peel Ports as part of the company’s 300 million UK Pounds investment programme to expand and develop the existing Port of Liverpool.

Each crane measures 92m high to the top of the frame, approximately the same as Liverpool’s iconic Liver building, and 132m high when the boom is raised. Each crane weighs around 1600 tonnes.

Liverpool2 is the UK’s largest transatlantic deep-sea port and container terminal and the investment in facilities will allow it to accommodate the majority of the world’s current container fleet, including vessels up to 20,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) or two 13,500 TEU vessels simultaneously.

Mark Whitworth, chief executive of Peel Ports, said: “This is a truly unique day in Liverpool’s long maritime history. The spectacular sight of these cranes sailing up the Mersey to the L2 site is unprecedented. Our investment in leading-edge infrastructure and technology will allow Liverpool to offer the quickest and most cost-effective route to market, not just for goods destined for the north of England, but also for Scotland, Ireland, North Wales, opening up new logistics routes estimated at four million TEU every year and increasing potential import and export trade.”

The cranes will have the ability to operate at speeds in excess of 30 moves per hour and will facilitate an anticipated 1,500 moves in each tidal window. They will be capable of twin-pick and outreach of 24 containers up to 10 high on deck, and safe working loads of up to 85 tonnes. They will also have the ability to operate in wind speeds of up to 55 miles per hour (88kmph).

The fleet of STS and CRMG cranes is supported by a multi-million pound investment in state-of-the-art quayside facilities and support technology, including a fully-integrated Navis N4 terminal operating system, AutoGates and ABB equipment controls.

The combination of infrastructure and technology will reduce the time taken to transfer containers from port to road or rail, helping the Port of Liverpool to achieve targets of 65% of haulage turned round in 30 minutes and 95% of haulage turned in 60 minutes.

Peel Ports’ investment in Liverpool 2 will strengthen the growing infrastructure of the Northern Powerhouse to create a gateway into the north of the country which Chancellor George Osborne referred to on his recent visit to China, citing the area’s important trading links and outstanding pedigree in food and drink, fashion, automotive and aerospace.

Notably, within the last week, two feeder services have also started to call at CMIT to connect both the local Vietnamese export cargo and the international export cargo from Thailand and Cambodia, all transshipped through CMIT. “This operation fits well into the vision of CMIT to be the first container hub port for domestic and international transshipment. The transshipment operation is also supported by the Vietnamese Government, as Vietnam positions itself within the Cai Mep deep-water container port group to best serve the Europe-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement which was agreed to in September”, said Robert Hambleton, General Director, CMIT.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Transport, Vinamarine and the VMS have all played a crucial role in making this ULCV port call happen by funding the Cai Mep channel maintenance dredging. This recent work has brought the channel depth down to 13.2 metres at low water, in time to receive the CSCL Star. “Collectively, the Ministry of Transport, Vinamarine and CMIT have created a new and distinctive advantage for the Cai Mep deep water port group, now capable of handling the 14,000 TEU ULCV; a capability previously reserved for the ASEAN hubs in Singapore and Malaysia,” Nguyen Xuan Ky, CMIT Deputy General Director, commented.

A welcome event to mark the port call was organized by CMIT and attended by senior officials of the Ministry of Transport, Vinamarine and the Local Province, together with the Danish Ambassador.