Once the planned work has been completed in the spring of 2017, Cuxport will have at its disposal another 290 metres of pier alongside water deep enough for sea-going vessels and about 85,000 square metres of space for port handling operations.

“The Lower Saxony state government is fully aware of the huge significance of the port industry for the economic development of our federal state. The construction of berth 4 at Cuxhaven will create the conditions for further growth in the port sector on the North Sea coast and therefore pave the way for new jobs,” said Olaf Lies, giving the reasons for the involvement of his government.

“We’re delighted by the decision taken by the Lower Saxony state government to expand this terminal with us; we urgently need more handling and storage space in order to continue developing the business site at Cuxhaven. Utilisation levels at the moment do not permit any further growth in terms of volumes,” Hans-Peter Zint emphasised.

The completion of berth 4 will enable Cuxport to meet the steady growth in demand for a wide variety of efficient logistics services in future too. At the same time, the investment will safeguard existing skilled jobs in the Lower Saxony port sector and lay the foundation for creating new ones.

“None of this would be possible without the expansion of the port infrastructure by the state of Lower Saxony. Based on the excellent development and forecasts for this business, particularly in the RoRo and offshore logistics sectors, we assume that the newly created capacity at our multi-purpose terminal will soon be put to full use,” says Hans-Peter Zint, looking to the future. Once the construction work has been completed, the area will be used for port handling and providing temporary storage for goods prior to their shipment by sea or distribution further inland.

The photo shows (from left to right) Dr. Andreas Schmidt, Managing Director of Cuxport, Olaf Lies, the Lower Saxony Minister for Economic Affairs, Labour and Transport, and Hans-Peter Zint, Managing Director of Cuxport, signing the memorandum of understanding. Copyright: Cuxport GmbH.

Construction on the $4.25 million project began in mid-2013 and was funded by the Port’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP). The contractor was NEWest Construction in San Diego. On Monday, February 24, 2014, a ribbon cutting ceremony was held at the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal, celebrating the completion of the Port of San Diego’s shore power project.

“The Port is proud to be a leader in environmental issues and continues to be a great steward of San Diego Bay,” said Bob Nelson, Chairman of the Board of Port Commissioners. “By offering shore power, we not only improve air quality for communities nearby, but we also reduce our impact on the planet.”

The installation of shore power has substantial environmental benefits:

·         Reduces greenhouse gas emissions by over 50% (more than 2,000 metric tons) per year. That’s equivalent to greenhouse gas emissions from about 1,500 cars per year

·         Reduces emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx; an air pollutant) by approximately 95% or 70 tons per year. That’s equivalent to NOx emissions from over 4,000 cars per year

Speakers at the ribbon cutting ceremony also included U.S. Congressman Scott Peters, City of San Diego Interim Mayor Todd Gloria, Dole Vice President Stuart Jablon and Environmental Health Coalition Executive Director Diane Takvorian.

The new shore power system will allow refrigerated cargo ships – including those from Dole Fresh Fruit – to “plug in” and use electrical power from SDG&E instead of relying on diesel fuel engines while at berth. This will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality around Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal, with the community of Barrio Logan being the closest impacted neighborhood.

This project fulfills a mandate set forth by the California Air Resources Board requiring California ports and terminals to provide shore power to container, passenger and refrigerated-cargo ships. The Port of San Diego is already equipped to provide shore power to cruise ships that berth at both its B Street Pier Cruise Ship Terminal and Broadway Pier.

Passing through the Bosphorus, for the first time she will also be calling at the Black Sea ports of Samsun (Turkey), Novorossiysk (Russia) and Constanta (Rumania). This makes FEMEX 1 the only container liner service between Northern Europe and the Black Sea.

Behind the extension of the liner service inaugurated in March 2013 is the increased demand for seaborne transport between Northern Europe and the Black Sea region. Imports and exports via Port of Hamburg for Turkey, focusing heavily on foreign trade, are steadily growing in importance. Based on a current assessment of different countries, Port of Hamburg Marketing (HHM) is reckoning with 38 percent growth in seaborne container traffic between Hamburg and ports in Turkey, corresponding to around 75,000 TEU (20-ft standard containers).  The addition of the Northern Turkish port of Samsun will improve the link between Turkey and Hamburg. The voyage from Hamburg to Samsun takes 19 days, with 22 days needed for the return trip. A total of seven liner services are currently operating between the Port of Hamburg and Turkey, including two multi-purpose/general cargo services. Bulk cargo transport is provided on tramp services when required.   

A total of six vessels with slot capacities of around 2,800 TEU are being deployed on FEMEX 1. A newcomer here is the CAMELLIA, a reinforcement expanding rotation to enable a weekly sailing frequency ex-Hamburg to be maintained. The service links these 19 ports: Hamburg, Antwerp, Southampton, Tangier, Marsaxlokk, Thessaloniki, Gebze, Istanbul-Ambarli (Avcilar), Istanbul-Haydarpasa, Samsun, Novorossisk, Constanta, Istanbul-Ambarli, Gebze, Gemlik, Aliaga, Marsaxlokk, Tangier and Casablanca, returning directly to Hamburg. The round voyage lasts 42 days.  

Built at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in Singapore in 2006, CMA CGM LAVENDER is 222 metres long and 30 metres wide, with a slot capacity of 2,800 TEU. Fully laden, her draft reaches up to 12 metres.  

It has been reported that both men, aged 44, were working aboard the Maersk Alabama as security contractors from the Virginia-based Trident Group, according to Seychelles Police. Trident employs former special operations personnel to provide shipping and port security to shipping lines.

“Their bodies were found in a cabin by a colleague who went to check on (his friend) at around 4.30pm,” according to a Police spokesman. “They were part of a ship crew of 24 members who arrived in Port Victoria on Sunday, 16 February, and were expecting to leave at Wednesday 19 February.”

“A post-mortem will be carried out this week in order to establish the cause of their sudden deaths while the police investigate the possible circumstances which lead to these incidents.”

A US State Department official said: “We can confirm that two deceased American citizens were found on the M/V Maersk Alabama, while moored in Seychelles. This incident is currently being investigated by the US Coast Guard.”