This is a record call in number of container movements at the port of Le Havre. With the call of the MSC Rachele (capacity of 8,238 TEU) at the ‘ quai du Havre’, the new MSC terminal at Port 2000 carries out a full-scale operation which prefigures the mega-calls planned within the scope of the re-structuring of the services of the shipping company.

Pelican Island is located in Corpus Christi Bay along the south side of the Corpus Christi Ship Channel between Port Aransas and the former Naval Station Ingleside. Pelican Island is owned by the PCCA and is approximately 200 acres in size. It is a significant nesting site for a wide variety of protected, threatened and endangered colonial water birds. Erosion from natural and man-made factors has caused a significant loss of nesting habitat.

An earlier project (Phase I), completed in October 2009, provided shoreline protection for 1,332 feet of the most heavily impacted area. The Phase 1 project cost of $1,246,615 was funded with $1,000,000 of Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP) funds and $246,615 of PCCA funds. In 2011, the Texas General Land Office approved a second CIAP grant, again in the amount of $1,000,000, to allow the PCCA to continue its efforts to protect this area from further erosion. This grant will be used for Phase 2 of the PCCA’s shoreline protection project. This Phase 2 project is included in the 2012 budget with $1,000,000 in grant funds and $500,000 in PCCA funds. The scope of work for Phase 2 consists of extending the stone breakwater that was constructed in 2009 during

Phase 1. “As the Port continues experiencing an economic growth, we continue the efforts of doing so on a sustainable matter protecting the environmental footprint. We are pleased we can move forward with the second phase of the Pelican Island’s restoration,.” said Mike Carrell, Chairman Port Commission.

RLB Contracting Inc is located in Port Lavaca, Texas. RLB Contracting Inc. has performed other work in this area and was the contractor for the federal construction of Dredge Material Placement Area 14, which is located on the PCCA’s La Quinta property.

One of the first decisions taken by  Libra was to use the HTS OCR (Optical Character Recognition) solutions in all the gates of cargo access and trucks in the ports of Santos and Rio de Janeiro.

The decision was driven, among other factors, by the mandated Brazilian requirement to implement automated scanning of containers in Brazilian Ports.  By December 2012, all port terminals in Brazil must be equipped to scan 100 percent of containers, using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for the automatic recognition and identification of containers and trucks, on arrival and on departure, without human intervention. Those terminals that fail to comply with these requirements will not be able to operate without penalty.  

 However, Port automation has become crucial in Brazil, and experts have said that even if the legislation had not been forced, the ports would have needed to introduce automation to remain competitive in the marketplace.

HTS Brazil, the national arm of HTS, an Israeli company which is the world leader in port automation, was the company chosen by Libra to provide the solution. HTS’s system automatically recognizes the license plate of the truck and the container number and then automatically transmits the information onwards to the terminal operating system.

 “Over 10 alternatives were evaluated before deciding on HTS, and HTS was chosen for its effectiveness not only for the  legal compliance to the new regulations but for its ability to provide efficiency gains for Libra”, stated Diogo Vasconcellos, Manger, IT of Libra Terminals Business Unit.

 “We are very satisfied with the receptiveness that HTS has had in the Brazilian Market,” said Maxwell Rodrigues, vice-president of HTS Brazil. From a management viewpoint, the Brazilian terminals don’t want to simply be compliant with the  legal demands to automate, they also seek to raise  their competitive edge.

Rix Shipping will continue to use the Port of Hull for its timber imports via alternative facilities in the wider port.

To pave the way for this business and future customer relocations from Alexandra Dock, ABP has repositioned three portal cranes which will increase capacity and open up a further common user berth at King George Dock.

Matt Jukes, ABP Port Director Hull & Goole, said: “Over the years ABP has built an excellent relationship with Rix Shipping and we are pleased that it is set to continue well into the future.

“Rix Shipping’s move from Alexandra Dock to King George Dock will also clear an area of land strategically important for the development of Green Port Hull, which demonstrates ABP’s commitment to this project and our focus on delivering it to the demanding timetable required.”

Tim Rix, Director of Rix Shipping, said: “This is a positive move which will allow us greater flexibility in our day-to-day operations. ABP has been extremely helpful and flexible in assisting Rix with this move which now allows us to discharge cargo closer to land owned by the J.R. Rix & Sons group. The cranes, kindly relocated by ABP as part of our agreement, enable us to discharge our ships in King George Dock meaning there will be no disruption to our customers during the move or at any point in the future.”