Geographical proximity to Russia and a number of other countries with poor/ no sea access which will be the main growth engines in Europe, opens unlimited possibilities of development for Poland and for DCT Gdansk in particular.

The container sector needs coherent and complete policy which will lead it to the position of unquestioned leader in this part of the world. To meet requirements of the sector DCT Gdansk engaged an authority in corporate affairs and strategy. Adam Zolnowski, previously Director in PricewaterhouseCoopers leading Inward Investment practice, joined senior management team of the biggest and most modern container terminal in Poland as Chief Strategy & Corporate Affairs Officer.

Adam gained his wide experience also as Director General of the Polish Competition Authority and President of Polish Information & Foreign Investment Agency. In his professional career he worked with large international companies like LG, Samsung, Sharp, TRW and others to assist them to locate in Poland and Central-Eastern Europe. He was a member of Polish Securities and Exchange Commission and an adviser of Uzbekistan government. More recently Adam was in charge of developing strategies for the Pomerania Region in Poland, where DCT is located. He is an author of several publications in the area of foreign investment and competition.

Adam graduated Gdansk University and University of Sussex. He completed controller’s application of Supreme Chamber of Control and Executive Management Program by Swedish Institute.

“Involving Adam in strategy and corporate affairs of DCT Gdansk is a part of a plan to increase DCT competitiveness” says Boris Wenzel, CEO of DCT Gdansk. “As the Polish port industry is facing strong competition of Northern European ports such as Hamburg and Rotterdam which were traditionally used as main hub ports for Central and Eastern Europe it needs strategic vision and leadership engaging Polish authorities to conduct reforms and implement policies that will strengthen the whole container sector in Poland. I am convinced that Adam with his experience is the right person to lead the process of creating such strategy initiated by DCT in 2011” adds Boris Wenzel.

“China is our second largest agricultural trade partner and the ban was negatively impacting both Virginia’s exporters and our valued customers in China,” said Gov. Bob McDonnell as he announced the pilot program. “My administration will continue working with all involved parties to see that this pilot program is successful and eventually leads to full open market access.”

While technical details are still being finalized, Virginia logs will be allowed to re-enter China beginning June 1 via certain designated ports and with enhanced pest treatment and testing protocols under the terms of the pilot program.

In April 2011, China banned both hardwood and softwood log exports from Virginia and South Carolina, citing pest interceptions on logs exported from the United States. For the past year, the governor and the secretaries from the Commonwealth’s departments of Agriculture & Forestry and Agriculture and Consumer Services have worked to resolve the issue.

During a trade mission to Asia in May 2011, McDonnell met with Chinese commerce and agricultural officials to discuss possible solutions to the ban. At that meeting he invited technical experts from China to visit Virginia to see first-hand how logs are harvested, inventoried, and undergo treatment or testing to prevent the unintended transport of pest organisms.

In April, a delegation from China’s Inspection and Quarantine Bureau arrived in Virginia to examine the quality, safety and security of log exports from Virginia. Working together with staff from USDA, the Virginia Port Authority and members of private industry, the Commonwealth demonstrated the effectiveness of treatment, tracking and inspection protocols in place to guard against unwanted pests being transported in log shipments.

“It was a pretty quick turnaround from the time the Chinese delegation was here to the time we got the answer,” said VPA Executive Director Jerry A. Bridges. “We have all the necessary processes in place for safe export of this cargo. If it goes well for six months, as we suspect it will, we will start to recapture this business.”

In 2011 the value of Virginia’s log exports was estimated at nearly $57 million, down $10 million from 2010. Prior to the ban, Virginia was a major East Coast supplier of logs to China, the world’s largest log importer.

The decision comes after only a month reaching a legal settlement that cleared the way for the controversial USD2 billion PortMiami expansion plan.

A tender for the project will be put out for bids this summer with construction expected to begin in early 2013.

Port expansion advocates argue the deeper depth will allow PortMiami to be more competitive by accommodating larger vessels that are expected to make use of the new and wider Panama Canal when that project is completed next year.

Dredgers will follow protocols set by the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, which means all hard coral colonies greater than 25 centimeters and up to 1,300 hard coral colonies between 10 and 25 centimeters will be relocated, 16.6 acres of new sea grass beds will be created, and more than nine acres of artificial reef will be built.

Last month, environmentalists who had spent two years arguing that blasting and digging in the port’s main channel would leave Biscayne Bay scarred, agreed to drop an administrative challenge after Miami-Dade County said it would spend USD2.3 million on restoration and to monitor the project.

The MTS allows the transportation of more containers in a single haul compared to the traditional single-trailer system. ICTSI now deploys short MTS (two or three trailers in a set) at the MICT Berth 5 for short-distance trips to and from Berth 6. 

An MTS is composed of one tractor unit and several trailers.  One MAFI tractor can handle multiple trailer sets in “ship-to-stack” mode.  Meanwhile, an MTS made up of three trailers can transport containers to and from the wharf during vessel operation.  In this mode, one tractor can haul a maximum of three 40-foot containers or six twenty-foot equivalent units in a single travel.

MICT first received 16 units of Houcon Holland custom-made trailer for the MTS which arrived on the ER Freemantle. After two weeks of intensive training, 14 select MICT prime move operators passed the Basic MAFI Tractor Product training.  

A multi-trailer system (MTS), the newest and one of the most advanced equipment at the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) can simultaneously carry three forty-foot containers.