The MOL Performance arrived ahead of schedule, having called at Odessa, Constanza, Istanbul and Ashdod. She will continue her sailing back out to the Far East, calling at Singapore, Ningbo, Shanghai, Shekou and Hong Kong.

With 18 Cranes, 2,400 metres of quay and a year round draft capability of 15 metres, SCCT is the largest Terminal in the East Med, handling over 3 million TEU’s in 2011; an increase of over 13% compared to 2010. The capacity of the terminal has been designed to handle over 5 million TEU’s and is expected to reach this figure by 2015.

Photo Caption:    Suez Canal Container Terminal (SCCT) receives the first East Bound Call of the G6 ABX Service.

The award winning UK ports business achieved the ISO 14001 accreditation, guided and advised by international environmental consultancy ENVIRON, who provided support throughout the implementation process, starting with a gap analysis, drafting procedures, training employees and undertaking legal compliance evaluations.

Russ McCallion, PD Ports’ Human Resources Director, added: “For about 18 months we have been working hard on achieving formal accreditation for our Environmental System to ISO 14001 standards.  This is an outstanding achievement for PD Ports, and huge credit goes to our team of Environmental Champions who have all done an excellent job in making this objective real and deliverable.

“This, of course, is only the start of our programme to achieve and maintain excellence in the management of our environmental obligations.”

Emma Goodchild, Manager at ENVIRON, said: “Our approach built on PD Ports’ earlier work in conservancy and its existing Health and Safety Management system. It focused on empowering staff to successfully implement the EMS within their areas of responsibility. This means that the Group now has an extremely strong and capable team of Environmental Champions, which was particularly commented upon by the scheme’s external auditors SGS.”

SGS also commented on the low number of minor non conformances found across the Group during the external auditing process, they said it was unusual to find so few in businesses as large and diverse as PD Ports at the initial accreditation stage.

“Now that the ISO 14001 certification has been achieved, the plan is to move towards achieving cost savings and reducing carbon emissions through better energy and resource efficiency,” concluded Russ.

“We are very pleased to welcome China Shipping as a new customer of APM Terminals in Mobile, Jacksonville and Miami, and look forward to further strengthening our relationship with this important global carrier” said APM Terminals Americas region, Chief Commercial Officer Jonathan Goldner.

Shanghai-based China Shipping Container Line Company currently operates 149 vessels, with a combined total capacity of approximately 560,000 TEUs, ranking 8th globally by this measure. This new China Shipping service which has been named the AAE2 will be made available through a slot charter agreement with French-based CMA-CGM. Ports of call on the AAE2 include Xiamen, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Busan, in the Far East, and Manzanillo, Panama, in addition to the US ports of Houston, Mobile, Miami and Jacksonville. Vessels range in size from 3,398 TEU to 5,096 TEU capacity.

APM Terminals Mobile, which opened in 2008, and features a 45 foot depth and cranes with an 18-container row reach, saw container volume grow by 45% in 2011, while throughput at SFCT, in which APM Terminals holds a 49% share, expanded by 13.5%.

The International Chamber of Shipping has sent a strongly worded letter to the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) describing plans to increase tolls by up to 15% as ‘simply unacceptable’.

ICS calls for the plans to be withdrawn and for future increases to be given with at least six months’ notice to enable shipping companies to plan properly and fully assess the impact of the proposed changes.

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) is the principal international trade association for shipowners, with member national associations from 36 countries representing all sectors and trades and over 80% of the world merchant fleet.

The ACP published plans to increase its tolls last month, despite assuring industry clients in January there would only be one small adjustment to tolls before completion of the expansion project in 2014. Toll increases could come into effect as early as 1 July if agreed at a public hearing at the end of this month.

ICS Secretary General, Peter Hinchliffe, said there was ‘no pressing need’ for the increases given that ‘canal revenues are currently very healthy’.

Mr Hinchliffe pointed out that while the Panama Canal is an important national asset to Panama, it also remains an essential part of international public infrastructure crucial to the smooth operation of the global supply chain and should ‘take this important public role into account when setting tolls’.

“While the ACP proposal analyses the impact of the toll rises on the competitiveness of commodity trades, no account is taken of the impact on shipping companies themselves…..many of whom are still forced to run ships at a loss in order to remain in the market,” he said.

“We therefore request that the ACP rescind the current plans for increases in the next two years and concentrate on developing a toll structure that can be to the benefit of all parties to be introduced in late 2014.”