The new service will operate 6 vessels on a weekly basis with the following rotation:

Tarragona – Valencia – Algeciras – Tangier (Morocco) – Dakar – Lagos (Tin Can Island) – Tema – Abidjan –Tarragona.

The new MAF line represents great improvement in service moving to weekly basis from the previous fortnightly service. MAF line offers an excellent, fast connection between West Africa and Europe. The service allows frequent and reliable access to the ports of Tangier in Morocco and Dakar in Senegal.

The new service is part of our ongoing efforts to improve port coverage and customer service to our customers.

Hard Rock Construction was the lowest of eight bidders.

The 12-acre project will result in a modern and efficient intermodal container transfer terminal to facilitate the movement of marine and rail cargo, while enhancing safety and reducing the carbon footprint of the regional and national transportation system.

“We are thrilled to see this project moving forward,” said Port President and CEO Gary LaGrange. “New Orleans is the only U.S. seaport with all six U.S. Class One railroads with 132,000 miles of connecting rail tracks. I want to again thank the entire Louisiana Congressional delegation for their support of this project, without which we would not be at this point today.”

The Port received a $16.7 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant in 2012 for the project. U.S. Sens. Mary Landrieu and David Vitter; U.S. Reps. Cedric Richmond, Steve Scalise, John Fleming, Bill Cassidy, Charles Boustany and former U.S. Rep. Rodney Alexander all voiced support for the project to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The current project includes constructing a rail yard with 10,000 linear feet of track and five-acres of heavy-duty paving to be used for the efficient transfer of containers. The scope of the contract includes electrical, drainage and utility work, along with the installation of new water feeds to additional hydrants.

Existing rail lines currently moving cargo will be removed upon completion of the new tracks so intermodal service at the Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal will not be interrupted.

With the addition of new terminal equipment estimated at $3.5 million and engineering and project management services rendered by AECOM, the total project is estimated to be $21.013 million with completion expected in February of 2016.

The Port and the Louisiana Port Construction and Development Priority Program matched a portion of the federal grant to build an adjacent four-acre container marshalling yard at the upriver end of the Louisiana Avenue Terminal. The $4.1 million project was completed earlier this year. Combined, the $25.1 million investment is expected to create 100 permanent marine and cargo handling jobs.

His remarks came in an engaging speech delivered at the Rail Projects GCC Exhibition & Summit 2014, in which he said ongoing expansion and growth make SOHAR an obvious choice for a new terminal.

“This is an exciting time for the Middle East rail industry, and even more so here in Oman. Around US$250 billion has been committed to building a 67,000 kilometre network in the Gulf, and work has also begun on the first phase of Oman’s 2,244 kilometre freight and passenger infrastructure,” Mr. Lammers remarked.

“As one of the world’s largest port development sites and the cornerstone of Oman’s global trade ambitions, we have seen steady growth in the demand for distribution and freight services. Connecting SOHAR to rail networks therefore becomes an obvious choice from a customer service perspective, and will allow us to capitalise on rising trade volumes and drive down the cost of doing business in Oman,” he said.

Having sustained double-digit growth for more than a decade following the establishment of a joint venture with world top 10 port – Port of Rotterdam 2002, Mr. Lammers spoke of the need for efficient rail services and highlighted the unique potential to harness global expertise on offer at Europe’s leading logistics hub.

“SOHAR has grown at a tremendous rate, and we owe much of that success to the vision of the government in Oman. We have also benefitted from access to global best practices in Rotterdam, which have guided our progress. I am confident that this relationship will prove valuable once more, as Oman seeks to tap into a global rail freight industry that was valued at around US$210 billion only last year,” Mr. Lammers said.

“More than 250 freight trains start and finish in Rotterdam every week and are expanding the port’s reach, creating new cargo flows and revenue streams. But a modern rail network takes more than the physical infrastructure and must be accompanied by customer-focused and efficient rail services and well thought out coordination planning. This is where experience will be most important in the Gulf,” he concluded.

SOHAR’s presence at the Summit comes as it applies the finishing touches to the relocation of commercial traffic from Muscat – which will see the number of containers passing through the port more than double. Two-hundred thousand tonnes of freight cargo and 70,000 cars will also make the move from the capital, and Mr. Lammers discussed the wider benefits of rail transport for local roads and the environment.

“Beyond the economic value of being able to transport great volumes at quicker and more reliable speeds, rail transportation has the additional benefit of reducing road traffic and pressure on the environment.”

The crane has a maximum lifting capacity of 79 t and a maximum radius of 46 m. It has a portal with a track gauge of 10.5 m, which is the standard in Russia, and a portal clearance height of 6 m. Due to the low permissible rail loading it is fitted with a total of 32 wheels – eight at each corner of the crane. The G HSK 3432 is the fourth Terex® Gottwald portal harbour crane in Vladivostok and the twelfth of this type in Russia.

The Terex Gottwald G HSK 3432 harbour crane in Vladivostok mainly handles containers with vehicle parts for the local works of the Russian automobile manufacturer Sollers, as Sergey Dorozhkin, CEO of Pacific Logistic, explains: “Sollers has been making vehicles for a number of international manufacturers here since 2012 and, for the long-term supply of the works with vehicle parts, a crane had to be obtained quickly which could unload the vessels reliably and efficiently.” The G HSK 3432 harbour crane satisfied these criteria and the local infrastructural conditions best: It is not only fitted with its own on-board diesel generator, but also with equipment for connecting to an external power supply, to offer the operator the required power supply redundancy. Use of the external power from the terminal’s electricity supply also increases the efficiency of the crane, while at the same time reducing noise emissions in the terminal.