By acquiring 37.5 pct. of the public company Global Ports, APM Terminals becomes an equal controlling partner in the leading operator of container terminals in Russia. Up until now, N-Trans has been the sole controlling shareholder of Global Ports with 75 pct. ownership.

The new partnership was made public today in London. The transaction values Global Ports approximately at USD 2.3 billion, making APM Terminals’ share acquisition the largest foreign direct investment in Russia’s transportation industry to date.

With this new partnership APM Terminals adds three container terminals in Russia, two container terminals in Finland, one inland container depot in the vicinity of St.  Petersburg and a major oil and oil products terminal to its global network. With this new partnership, APM Terminals will also be able to play a major role in expanding terminal capacity for future demand in Russia and neighboring countries when the right opportunities present themselves.

APM Terminals’ CEO Kim Fejfer believes that this strategic investment will offer value to APM Terminals’ shipping customers today and create further opportunities to accommodate their growth in the future. The Russian market showed impressive growth rates in the past with an average growth over 15 pct. a year in the past five years. The rapidly developing middle class, Russia’s integration with the global economy as evidenced by the recent WTO membership and the country’s wealth of natural resources will continue to fuel the growth in exports and imports in the long run.

“Russia will need world-class port infrastructure and operational excellence to serve global shipping lines and its own ambition of economic development. Today we are proud to announce that we found an excellent partner to expand our network to Russia. Global Ports has a well-diversified port network, a very experienced management team, a sound customer-focus, and a good eye to grow the business,” commented Kim Fejfer.

“This investment underpins our long term business development strategy of increasing presence in high-growth markets. The scale of entry in a market like Russia will further strengthen our diversified global portfolio. The partnership will also serve as our platform for future business development activities in this attractive part of the world,” added Francois-Xavier Delenclos, APM Terminals’ Vice President of Strategy and Business Development.

Nikita Mishin, Chairman of the Board of Directors in Global Ports, states “I am confident that by drawing on the expertise of a leading international player like APM Terminals and N-Trans’s significant experience in developing infrastructure in Russia, we will further strengthen Global Ports’ leadership in our markets. With the support of these shareholders we can look forward to the successful development and efficient deployment of new capacity and will be able to respond even more quickly to the opportunities for growth in our underlying markets to the benefit of all of our stakeholders.”

Global Ports reported revenues of USD 501m and an adjusted EBITDA of USD 282m for 2011. It has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since 2011.

Both APM Terminals and Global Ports have been nominated for the “Port Operator of The Year” award at the prestigious Lloyd’s List Global Awards event in London in September.

Completion of the transaction is expected to occur by the end of the year once all the relevant approvals have been obtained.

Over the past four months Cargotec has secured orders for three new mobile Siwertell ship unloaders for ports in Turkey, Denmark and Sweden, confirming its leading position as an advanced bulk-handling technology provider.

“Cargotec has delivered more than 300 Siwertell units worldwide, 100 of which are mobile systems,” says Jörgen Ojeda, Cargotec Sales Director. “Clients recognise our experience and the well-respected Siwertell mobile unloader technology.”

He adds: “The Siwertell road-mobile unloader is a perfect choice for clean, dust-free, handling of dry bulk material. Its unique design makes the Siwertell unloader one of the most environmentally-friendly shore-based ship unloading systems available. Dust-free handling, and low energy consumption, along with minimal exhaust and sound emissions also mean that it has the advantage of being able to be used in sensitive sites or those close to populated areas.” The first of these new orders has now been commissioned and sees a diesel-powered, trailer-based Siwertell 10 000 S unit with a dual bellows system and dust filters in operation for Muhammet Gümüstas, in Trabzon, Turkey. The new unit handles cement at a rated capacity of 300t/h.

“The mobile Siwertell unloader was originally designed for handling cement, so it is naturally perfect for the job. With its enclosed conveying line, this system is also environmentally-friendly as it ensures dust-free and high-capacity unloading operations,” explains Mr Ojeda.

 A similar unit is due to be commissioned for Aalborg Portland in Aalborg, Denmark. It will handle fly ash at a rated capacity of 250t/h.

“For this installation, a mechanical solution was preferred by the client as it had to be smoothly integrated into an existing mechanical receiving system at the jetty.”

He adds: “Low maintenance and operational costs of the mobile Siwertell unloader, combined with a high unloading capacity, will also ensure cost-efficient operations for Aalborg Portland for a long time to come.”

The third order is for an electrically-powered, gantry-based, ATEX-classified Siwertell 15 000 S unit. It will be commissioned by the end of next year for Fortum Värme, which is co-owned by the City of Stockholm, Sweden.

The unloader will be installed in Stockholm and has a rated capacity of 330t/h. It will handle biomass including olive kernels, wood pellets, and wood briquettes. It will also be equipped with tube sleeves and noise hoods to minimise noise pollution.

“For this contract, our focus is to deliver an unloader with the required capacity, minimal dust emissions and low noise generation.”

Fortum Värme is the Swedish part of Fortum Heat Scandinavia, which produces district heating, district cooling and electricity in combined heat and power plants. Fortum Värme is building a new fuel handling facility, Energihamnen, in Gothenburg, so that it will be able to increase the amount of biofuels in Värtaverket, Stockholm. “An important part of the company’s plan is to invest up to 15 billion SEK in new combined heat and power plants, as its goal is to provide resource and climate neutral district heating by 2030; our Siwertell units will be an integral part of this,” Mr Ojeda says.

The ports will work together in discussing best practices in environmental management to promote a sustainable future for the entire Gulf of Mexico. This is the second year of the summit which is to be an annual event.

This years event will coincide with the “Celebration for a Greener Tomorrow” ribbon cutting ceremony in which the port will inaugurate its newly repowered green locomotive.

The EVER LAMBENT is 334.80 metres long, with a width of 45.80 metres, and has 942 reefer connections and a maximum draft of 14.20 metres. The EVER LAMBENT is the first of a total of 30 new EVERGREEN containerships which as the L series have a slot capacity of 8,500 TEU. The newbuilding will be deployed on the CEM service operated jointly with the Korean shipping company HANJIN that comprises altogether ten vessels between 8,500 and 10,000 TEU sailing on the Far East – Northern Europe route. The port rotation on this service is Hamburg, Rotterdam, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Ningbo, Yantian, Hong Kong and Felixstowe.

Roger Huang, Managing Director EVERGREEN Shipping Agency (Germany), together with other representatives of EVERGREEN LINE, HHLA and Port of Hamburg Marketing welcomed the captain of the EVER LAMBENT, Chen-Li Wen, on this first call in Hamburg. As a welcome token from the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA), the master of the EVER LAMBENT was presented with a Hamburg Admiralty plaque by Uwe Harfenmeister of the Nautical Operations Centre.

In 2011 altogether 5.2 million TEU were carried on container services between the Port of Hamburg and Asia. “We sincerely hope for an early start to the deepening of the navigational channel on the Lower and Outer Elbe. Completion of this work will further boost Hamburg’s attractiveness as the European hub port for large containerships such as the EVER LAMBENT,” said Roger Huang