Razon personally inspected the continuing upgrade works in Berth 20, the existing facility in Umm Qasr’s North Port where ICTSI started operations in November 2014. He also inspected the piling works taking place opposite ICTSI’s existing terminal where ICTSI is investing in the development of an entirely new state-of-the-art container/multi-purpose facility. Overall, ICTSI is committed to invest US$130 million to upgrade terminal facilities and capacity in order to meet the latest requirements of port users in the port of Umm Qasr.

“We are proud to be present in the port of Umm Qasr to undertake the first foreign financed development of an entirely new port infrastructure and to contribute to the future growth and prosperity of the country. We would like to thank the Governor of Basra and General Company for the Ports of Iraq (GCPI) for working with us in this important endeavour,” said Razon during his visit, which included meetings with diverse stakeholders and BGT staff.

The first phase development of the new container/multi-purpose facility consists of a 250-meter berth and 13 hectares of storage area. Upon completion, the new facility will have a 600 meter berth and 55 hectares of yard / stacking area.

Investments at Berth 20, as well as in personnel training and back-up systems, are already paying off with container handling rates now averaging 24 moves per hour as compared to 10 moves per hour during the early days of terminal operation.

The port of Umm Qasr is Iraq’s premier maritime gateway with a hinterland that extends to the capital city of Baghdad. It also serves some of the world’s largest oilfields in southern Iraq. The multi-purpose capability of BGT is designed to meet high capacity container handling requirements, overspecialised facilities requirements, as well as the general cargo and project cargo requirements at adjacent facilities. The terminal also features a strong land bank for logistic and other activities.

BGT is a subsidiary of ICTSI, an international operator of common-user container terminals serving the global container shipping industry. ICTSI is the largest port operator in the Philippines and has a portfolio of 29 container terminal operations in 21 countries across six continents.

Last month Charleston handled 152,925 TEUs, a significant increase from 129,747 handled during the same month last year. Since the fiscal year began in July, the port’s TEU volume is 14.3 percent higher than the same period last fiscal year. As measured in pier containers, SCPA moved 86,258 boxes in February. SCPA has handled 700,630 boxes fiscal year to date and plans to surpass the 1 million container mark by the end of the period.

“February container volumes were particularly strong for a short month,” said SCPA president and CEO Jim Newsome. “Our import gains are reflective of a strengthening US economy and population growth across the Southeast, while manufacturing in our state and region bolsters our export business. Loaded box volumes last month were nearly completely balanced between imports and exports.”

The SCPA’s non-containerized business segments remain on-track to meet fiscal year financial plans. Georgetown handled 15,520 tons last month and is 5 percent ahead of plan fiscal year to date. In Charleston, breakbulk tonnage levels are on plan, with 58,685 tons handled in February.

Inland Port volumes also saw gains in February, with 4,631 rail moves completed during the month. Fiscal year to date, the facility has handled 35,126 rail moves and is nearly 50 percent ahead of plan.

The company will fit WAM’s GensetConnect GPS/GSM wireless telematics devices to 1,453 of its gensets in this initial install, including 881 clip-ons and 572 underslung units. Maersk also has the option to install the WAM technology across more of its 6,000+ strong North American genset fleet. The M2M devices capture real-time data on location, fuel levels, whether units are running or not and other key operating parameters. Information is fed to WAM’s M2Connect cloud-based asset management platform, which allows Maersk and Mark-It Services (MIS), its reefer service provider, to
actively monitor and control genset performance. The system also includes alarms for immediate, automated notification of unplanned genset shut-downs, low fuel and other critical conditions. WAM’s M2Connect platform enables remote management worldwide for reefer containers, gensets, chassis and other transport equipment moving by road, rail and sea.

The new technology will enable Maersk Line North America to track and manage its new genset fleet across the North American ports and intermodal transport network. Among key benefits, GensetConnect will enable the carrier to implement the Virtual Inspection Program (VI Program) developed and operated by MIS, WAM’s sister company and North America’s leading provider of reefer monitoring and protective services.

On a long-haul US rail trip, a reefer container and its genset typically require 4-6 manual inspections at rail ramps while in-transit, to ensure the integrity of refrigerated loads. This includes checking that the genset is working properly and has enough fuel. By remotely monitoring the condition of reefer boxes and gensets fitted with telemetry devices, the VI Program is proven to significantly reduce the number of manual inspections/services required, while maintaining high levels of cargo and equipment care. Since its launch in 2008, the VI Program has enabled MIS to reduce manual reefer box inspections per trip by up to 64%, and has saved the company’s shipping line clients millions of dollars in inspection fees and fuel bills

Fuel is a major operational expense when transporting reefers with gensets. By monitoring fuel levels throughout the journey, GensetConnect enables users to accurately match the volume of diesel in the tank to the needs of the reefer’s journey, improving fuel usage efficiency and minimizing costs. Having a hard record of the actual volume of fuel consumed during a journey can also be useful in disproving fraudulent claims of diesel usage and discouraging fuel theft.

“Maersk Line North America was looking for the newest generation of tracking technology and, after a structured bid process, selected WAM Technologies as its preferred supplier,” said Mark Heck, CEO of Mark-It Services. “We are delighted to continue our long-standing relationship to provide protective services for Maersk’s North American reefer shipments by rail, supported by the latest M2M technology to ensure the best operational, fuel and cost efficiencies.”