Since 1971, Contship has served in La Spezia as a conduit for Italian markets and is now increasingly extending its reach as a gateway to Switzerland, Southern Europe and beyond. 

Weighing in at precisely 242,331.60 displacement tonnes, the 399 m LOA containership berthed at Fornelli East with two tugs at 12.43 hours, where operations started soon after, at 13.02 hours.

MSC London comfortably exceeds all other ship sizes that regularly call in La Spezia, the largest of which are typically 366 m in length and 52 m in breadth. LSCT usually operate without any restrictions on ships of 20 rows across, whereas with a breadth of 54 m, the outer seaside row was planned to be avoided on this occasion. With this exception, the terminal is able respond to the needs of the operations. From the second half of 2015, 2 x 23 row new cranes will be in service on Fornelli East and all future new crane order’s will be capable of reaching at least 23 rows ensuring that LSCT is well positioned for the future.

Capt Leszek and his 22-member crew were welcomed to Vancouver by Chris Cummins, agent representing Pacific Northwest Ship & Cargo; Jenny Baker, Superintendent for Kinder Morgan Bulk Terminals; Kent Cash, Port of Vancouver Chief Operations Officer; Ken Mishler, Port of Vancouver Terminal Manager; Steve Mickelson, Port of Vancouver Sales Director; and Deb Taylor, Port of Vancouver Inside Sales Representative.

The August Oldendorff is a bulk carrier built in Japan and launched on January 7, 2015. She is owned by Buchanan Maritime Corp and operated by Oldendorff Carriers & Co KG.

The vessel is 198m long and has a deadweight capacity of 60,915 metric tonnes. She boasts five holds/hatches and four cranes to help load a variety of bulk and steel cargos.

Before calling the Port of Vancouver, the August Oldendorff stopped in Vancouver BC to load copper concentrate. Now that she’s berthed in Vancouver USA, the vessel will load an additional 21,000 metric tons of copper concentrate.

The August Oldendorff is the first in a new series of Panamax vessels to be delivered from Japan in 2014/2015.

The vessel departed from the Port of Vancouver on February 3, 2015. Her destinations on her maiden voyage are Korea and China.

The ceremony took place on Friday, 6th February and was attended by Jamal Majid Bin Thaniah, Non-Executive Director and Vice Chairman for DP World, Mohammed Sharaf, DP World Group Chief Executive, and Hamid R Moghadam, Chairman and Chief Executive for Prologis.

The new single-sided 15m high distribution centre, which has been designed to offer flexible distribution space, will have a 55m yard and space for expansion.

Located next to DP World London Gateway Port, the UK’s most advanced deep-water container terminal, the new distribution centre will benefit from tri-modal infrastructure via sea, rail and road.

The development, which also comprises more than 10,000 sq ft of office space, is being built on Europe’s largest logistics park, which provides 9.25million sq ft of development space. The facility, which has been designed to achieve BREEAM ‘very good’ accreditation and the best possible Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) for its size, is being constructed by Buckingham Group.

The unit is scheduled to be ready for occupation by the third quarter of 2015 and has the potential to bring approximately 100 full-time jobs.

Jamal Majid Bin Thaniah, Non-Executive Director and Vice Chairman for DP World, said: “Marking the start of work on our joint venture with Prologis is an important milestone for DP World and I am pleased to see this new development at London Gateway Logistics Park.”

Mohammed Sharaf, DP World Group Chief Executive, said: “We were delighted to welcome the global chief executive of Prologis to break ground, which is a significant step in creating more efficient supply chains for the UK.”

Hamid Moghadam, Prologis Chairman and CEO, said: “With its multimodal connectivity and location close to one of Europe’s most vibrant cities, the London Gateway Logistics Park represents the future of the logistics industry.

“Demand has been strong in this market and this property, which is next to the first deep-water port built in the UK for over a generation, will cater to customers who want efficient, state-of-the-art distribution facilities.”

Simon Moore, Chief Executive Officer, DP World London Gateway, said: “The start of construction on the joint venture development is a very important moment for the team. We are engaged in discussions with potential occupiers and we are seeing a high level of interest in the new facility.”