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ICTSI Honduran unit speeds up vessel operations in Puerto Cortés

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OPC’s move to fast track the loading and unloading of containers successfully eliminated vessel downtimes and improved the overall efficiency of dock operations. Port users happily welcomed the improvement, which significantly reduced transport times as well as operational costs.

 

“We are glad with how port stakeholders in Honduras and the Caribbean received the new systems and processes we implemented in Puerto Cortes to improve customer service. We envision our ICTSI Puerto Cortes terminal not only to become a major terminal in the Group, but a key port in the Caribbean serving Central American trade,” said Marcelo Suarez, Senior Vice President and Head of the Americas Region.

A new vessel segregation system based on destination, size and weight had been set in place together with a new “window docking” scheme that enables ships arriving at a predefined time to dock immediately upon arrival. The mechanism greatly reduces the logistics costs for port users, unlike in the past when ships had to wait for hours at the bay, sometimes even up to days before docking.

The window docking system allows precise planning and better resource management of resources and personnel, as well as maintenance of machinery and spaces within the port. Vessels can unload their containers immediately within 24 hours provided that requirements and full documentation are accomplished in advance.

Port users now have access to OPC’s free web portal for the processing of export entries, eliminating the need for manual data retrieval. This technology-based component was specifically designed to help users adapt to the changes and streamline processes at the port.

OPC has managed to keep operations running normally despite of the guideline issued by the Honduran Executive Directorate of Revenue, which require Customs to empty containers for inspection. Recognising the policy’s security implications to the port and businesses in general, OPC increased the number of its workers from 30 to 150 to offset the added processing time brought about by the new inspection routine.

Puerto Cortés is one of the El Salvadoran exporters’ main gateways to the Carribbean. OPC won a 30-year concession to manage and operate the Specialised Container and General Cargo Terminal back in February 2013. The ICTSI subsidiary is expected to invest USD624 million for the first 10 years of concession in an attempt to sustain the region’s development and growth.

OPC aims to re-position Puerto Cortés as a regional key player in Latin America, highlighting the port’s importance not only as a business gateway but also as key contributor to the Honduran economy.

Record freight volumes at Dover

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As the Port handles UK£89 billion worth of trade each year, traffic is expected to maintain the present rate of increase between now and the end of the year, meaning 2014 will be a record breaking 12 months for the Port with a total in excess of 2.4 million freight vehicles.

In 2007, Dover recorded record freight traffic volumes with 2,363,583 vehicles using Europe’s busiest 24/7 roll-on-roll-off ferry port. This year has already seen more freight than 2007, is predicted to see at least 2% more traffic than the previous record and on any one day the Port of Dover now handles up to 160km of freight.

With major construction works completed in the Eastern Docks and the Dover Western Docks Revival project commencing in 2015, this new volume of freight shows how important the Port is to the local, regional and national economy.

“This record number of freight vehicles using the Port of Dover in 2014 proves that it is a port with a recognised operational expertise, reliable schedules and an infrastructure to support high volumes of freight traffic. There is no gateway closer to Europe and no port in the UK that can offer a faster ro-ro service to the European mainland,” said Tim Waggott, Chief Executive, Port of Dover.

“With our major project to regenerate the Western Docks due to start next year, we have no doubt that the Port of Dover will continue to be the mainstay of European freight traffic crossing the Channel. This is a tremendous endorsement of our operational expertise and staff putting the Port at the top of the Freight Chart this year, proving that most customers still prefer the ferry experience!”

APM Terminals Moin receives Environmental License; Construction Start Order

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The formal approval of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) is another major milestone in the development of the new Terminal de Contenedores de Moín (TCM) project, for which a 33-year concession for the design, financing, construction, operation and maintenance of the facility was endorsed in 2012. The first phase of development, originally scheduled for completion in 2016, calls for the access channel and turning?basin to be dredged to 16m, a new 1.5km breakwater to be constructed with a 40 hectare container yard, 600m of quay and 2 berths equipped with 6 post?Panamax cranes. Upon the completion of the final phase, the TCM will have an area of 80 hectares, with 1500m of quay, 5 berths, a 2.2km breakwater and an access channel 18m deep, serving as a shipping hub for the Caribbean and Central America. The TCM project represents an overall investment of approximately USD1 billion.

“APM Terminals is well aware of Costa Rica´s dedication to environmental protection, and consistent with our own corporate sustainability standards, we have complied with, or exceeded all environmental requirements, mindful of the local community in Limon and the people of Costa Rica” stated APM Terminals Costa Rica Managing Director Captain Paul J Gallie.

The ESIA was completed by Centro Científico Tropical (Tropical Scientific Center), well-known and highly regarded pioneer natural conservation group, with a track record of more than five decades of study, research and conservation of natural resources in Costa Rica and throughout Latin America.

The Environmental License was issued yesterday and is valid for the life of the project. The Construction Start Order was also issued by the National Concession Council and states that construction must start within 30 days of January 19, 2015. The first steps in the construction phase will be the construction of a new breakwater, followed by dredging.

Costa Rica, bordering Panama to the South and Nicaragua to the North in Central America, is currently the world’s largest exporter of pineapples, and the 4th-largest exporter of bananas. Sugar and coffee are also major export products, with high-technology an increasingly important trade component.

The Puerto Limón/Moín port complex is the largest in Costa Rica, handling 1.05 million TEU in 2013. The current port is limited to vessels of up to 2,500 TEU capacity. The deep-water TCM will increase the port’s annual throughput capacity by 1.3 million TEU at opening, with a potential build-out of 2.7 million TEU. APM Terminals Moin is designed for fully-cellular container ships under JAPDEVA’s master plan. Containers carried on conventional ships can continue to be handled in JAPDEVA’s existing Moin facility.

ECT and Port of Rotterdam look to the future

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As a consequence ECT will not appeal in the lawsuit against the Port of Rotterdam Authority. ECT and the Port Authority have signed an agreement, which marks not only the end to the lawsuit, but also the beginning of jointly addressing the challenges the container sector is facing in the years to come. The cooperation focuses on strengthening the competitive position and on social and logistics issues of container-handling operations in Rotterdam.