This near-dock facility, located on port property, will replace FEC’s existing 12-acre intermodal yard which is currently located 2 miles from the port on Andrews Avenue in Fort Lauderdale.

“The Port Everglades ICTF allows us to build 9,000 foot unit trains within the facility without blocking any streets. The trains will then go to places such as Atlanta and Charlotte in two days, or Nashville and Memphis in three days. FEC’s connections to CSX NS allow for rail service to 70 percent of the U.S. population within four days. This is big benefit to customers that ship cargo into and out of Port Everglades,” said FEC President Jim Hertwig.

FEC’s new ICTF at Port Everglades adds increased capacity, efficiency and value to every party involved in the supply chain by providing transit times that match or are less than those of trucking or offloading at other ports at competitive costs, with reliability, and reduced air emissions.

“Our natural trade routes are North-South, where we are seeing tremendous growth in South America and Central America. With the expansion of the Panama Canal, Port Everglades will have the potential to see the North-South trade lanes intersect with the East-West trade routes. So there is great expectation for additional growth in our business which will be facilitated by the ICTF,” said Port Everglades Chief Executive & Port Director Steven Cernak.

This state-of-the-art facility include a marshaling area, rubber tire gantry cranes, and separate entrance gates to handle domestic and international containers simultaneously. New rail tracks will expand from two entrance tracks into six working tracks totaling approximately 18,000 linear feet to service trains up to 9,000 feet long.

Once completed, the ICTF is expected to reduce congestion on interstate highways and local roadways because loading and offloading cargo will take place within the port as opposed to offsite facilities. As a result, air emissions will be reduced by diverting an estimated 180,000 trucks from the roads by the year 2029.

Port Everglades contributed the land for the ICTF valued at $19 million. Construction costs are estimated to total $53 million, which will be paid through $18 million in grants from the Florida Department of Transportation’s (FDOT) Strategic Intermodal System program, a $30 million FDOT State Infrastructure Bank loan, and $5 million from FEC’s capital plan.

The first step towards building the ICTF was taken in July 2011 when FDOT broke ground for the Eller Drive Overpass, which will elevate I-595/Eller Drive to allow the trains to access the Port at ground level. The overpass is expected to be completed by late-2014 at a cost of $42.5 million.

Building the ICTF and the Eller Drive Overpass is expected to create 767 construction jobs.

Port Everglades is one of the nation’s leading container ports, handling nearly one million TEUs annually and serving as a gateway to Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe and Asia. Located in Greater Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood, Florida, Port Everglades is in the heart of one of the world’s largest consumer regions, including a constant flow of visitors and up to 110 million residents plus seasonal visitors within a 500-mile radius. Port Everglades has direct access to the interstate highway system and the FEC intermodal hub, and is closer to the Atlantic Shipping Lanes than any other Southeastern U.S. port. Ongoing capital improvements and expansion will ensure that Port Everglades can continue to handle future growth in container traffic. A world-class cargo handling facility, Port Everglades serves as an ideal point of entry and departure for products shipped around the world.

Registered in Hong Kong, the giant container ship is deployed on Cosco’s NE1 Asia – Europe service. With a length overall of 366 metres and a 153,666 deadweight tonnage, the Cosco England is the largest container ship in the Cosco fleet.

Speaking at a ceremony on board the vessel at Felixstowe’s Trinity Terminal, Clemence Cheng, Chief Executive Officer of the Port of Felixstowe, said:

“Our relationship with Cosco dates back to 1989 when their first vessel called at the Port of Felixstowe, and we are honoured that they continue to make Felixstowe their UK port of call. We are the major gateway for trade with China and the Cosco England is a magnificent testimony to the importance of the Europe – Asia trade.

“It is appropriate that this magnificent ship has been christened the Cosco England, reflecting the increasingly strong economic ties that link China and the largest part of the United Kingdom. We are proud of the role we play in facilitating this trade and committed to providing the facilities and level of service that these modern mega-vessels require.”

Simon Yang, Chief Executive of COSCO UK, said:

“The UK is absolutely one of the most important markets for Cosco Group, we have set up our bulk shipping, and logistics business in this country, plus a fleet of 7 container ships flying the red ensign. With the ever growing investment, trade, cultural exchanges between China and the United Kingdom, Cosco is trying to do more to cover the whole UK and Ireland market, to improve efficiency, definitely with help of our partners like Hutchison and our customers.”

The guest of honour at the event, His Excellency Liu Xiaoming, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China in the United Kingdom, added:

“Almost one and a half centuries ago, the Cutty Sark was travelling between China and Britain. Her predominant business was to carry tea from China. Today Cosco England has a new mission in China-Britain trade. Apart from tea, Cosco England will bring a multitude of items such as household consumer goods, mechanical and electronic appliances.

“In turn, Cosco England will carry to China not only wine, beer and whisky, but also vast quantities of aviation equipment, cars, machinery and medical instruments. Cosco England will become a symbol of China-Britain cooperation in the twenty first century, which is more extensive and substantial. More importantly, this cooperation is now based on equal-footing and mutually beneficial.”

Cosco owns 187 container vessels totalling over 840,000 TEUs which are deployed on over 100 routes, covering 140 principal ports in 44 countries and regions. As well as Felixstowe, the NE1 service also calls at Ningbo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Nansha, Algeciras, Hamburg, Rotterdam and Singapore.

The NUG conference has been initially endorsed by Contship Italia in 2001, following the decision of La Spezia Container Terminal to implement NAVIS (part of Cargotec Corporation) which is the global technology standard for managing the movement of cargo through terminals. Contship recently announced the decision to implement the suite Sparcs N4 in the 5 Group’s container terminals through an ambitious software migration plan that will be carried forward over the next two years. MCT will be the first terminal to adopt the new software platform that will optimize space and resources further improving productivity and process reliability.

“We are proud – said Domenico Bagalà, Managing Director of Medcenter Container Terminal (MCT) – to turn on a spot light to our terminal and the Calabrian Region which is today at the pick of the International Shipping Community’s attention. It is not a coincidence that Gioia Tauro, with its project to realize a Economic Special Zone, is playing as center of gravity between North European and Mediterranean Ports reflecting the hub’s strategic location”.

The conference started on Tuesday October 7th and will end today after 3 days of intensive work and debates. Navis’s customers will share operational requirements, technological innovations and any potential news supporting further process improvement. Navis, will benefit of a professional arena to collect inputs and customer requirements for the continuous suite improvement and development. The presence of Navis CEO, Bill Walsh, is further evidence of such complicity with its own customers.

“The concept of traditional Container Terminal is no longer valid” – told the event chairman and Data System Planning (DSP) General Manager, Marco Fehmer – because we are facing really true ecosystem where people and communication technology environment interact, mainly enabled by the information technology systems which support their daily work tasks”.

The event includes the important and strategic contributes offered by the sponsors e.g. Kalmar for container ports automation developments, Emerson for its energy savings tools and Motorola Solutions presenting the latest news on WiFi connectivity in open and complex areas.

Others Italian companies, like Altea and DBA Group presented important new tools on personnel management and Port Community System for non-container ports, such as  ferry boat facilities.

A 360 degree view on the ports encompassing a system of companies and skilled people which are able to excel for the success of terminal’s business and their hosting countries: in other words the magic world of logistics.

“Our deepwater ports provide vital support to our agricultural, forestry and manufacturing sectors,” said Georgia Governor Nathan Deal. “Because American-made goods are able to reach the global market efficiently through Georgia’s ports, these products are more competitive in international trade. That’s good for jobs in Georgia and across the Southeast.”

For the second year in a row, the Georgia Ports Authority achieved a record total for auto and machinery units with an 11.7 percent improvement in FY2013, moving 636,942 units – an increase of 66,958. Most of that business, or 622,702 units, moved over Colonel’s Island terminal in Brunswick.

“Brunswick has seen phenomenal growth this year as the automobile industry rebounds and sales increase,” said Curtis Foltz, GPA’s Executive Director. “As a result, the Port of Brunswick is the third busiest port in the U.S. for total roll-on/roll-off cargo, and the second busiest port for the import of such cargo.”

Volume improvements in FY2013 are thanks in part to business from new customers including Subaru and Toyota. Other factors include heavy machinery exports from companies like Caterpillar, contributing to a 127,830-ton increase in breakbulk tonnage (for a total of 1.2 million tons) at Colonel’s Island.

“Our facilities provide a regional transportation hub that is second-to-none in the United States,” said GPA Board Chairman Robert Jepson. “Working with our commercial partners, our port operation takes advantage of direct interstate access and two Class I rail services to move exports from inland factories more efficiently, as well as to move import cargo to destinations across the Southeast.”

At East River in Brunswick, biofuels including wood pellets helped drive the terminal to a 23 percent, or 151,896-ton, bulk cargo improvement over FY2012 to reach 815,337 tons of bulk cargo moved through East River Terminal alone. Colonel’s Island also saw a banner year in agribulk cargo, moving 148,712 tons of corn and 792,453 tons of soybean meal, for a total of 941,165 tons – nearly five times more than in FY2012, in which GPA moved 195,306 tons of agribulk products.

The GPA moved a combined 1.75 million tons of bulk cargo through Brunswick in FY2013, more than double the 858,747 tons in the previous fiscal year.

“The break in the drought resulted in greater farm yields,” Foltz said. “Additionally, increased overseas marketing for U.S.-produced agribulk boosted GPA volumes.”

Counting freight moved through Savannah and Brunswick, the GPA marked record volumes for fiscal year 2013 in total tonnage, bulk cargo, total auto-machinery units, and freight moved by intermodal rail.

In the year ending June 30, the GPA moved a record-setting 27.23 million tons of cargo across all terminals, for a 2.4 percent increase over FY2012.

 “Our overall tonnage increase has been fueled by the strength of U.S. exports and the GPA’s varied cargo spectrum,” Foltz said.