Prony Port is fully owned and operated by Vale New Caledonia (Vale NC) and handles the company’s import of raw materials and supplies for its nearby nickel oxide plant, as well as the export of nickel hydroxide cake, nickel sinter and cobalt carbonate.

“Vale NC is a great fit for Tideworks’ growth model,” said Michael Schwank, president of Tideworks. “Tideworks is able to offer tremendous value to small- and medium-sized terminals looking to enhance their technology position. Vale NC represents Tideworks’ second customer in New Caledonia and reinforces Tideworks’ presence in the region.”

With approximately 30,000 container moves projected for 2012, Vale NC expects this segment of its business to continue to grow and will take full advantage of Tideworks’ deployment of its Spinnaker Planning Management System®, Traffic Control™, and Digital Bridge™ to manage the port’s containerized operations. Tideworks will provide all associated implementation services, including:  project management, software configuration and installation, user training and go-live assistance. Post go-live, Tideworks will provide its platinum maintenance and support services, which include 24/7 technical support and all software upgrades. Under an Infrastructure Services Agreement, Tideworks will also provide Vale NC with full EDI services, remote administration of the application and database servers, OS and database patches, and monitoring of system availability and performance. Go-live is set for the first half of 2012.

“With Tideworks we have chosen the best possible partner to help us meet our growing needs,” said Jerome Ventage, Vale NC project manager. “The implementation of our new TOS systems will give us significant enhancements in efficiency and provide us a huge leap in terms of operational visibility and inventory control. In addition to Tideworks’ innovative technology, they continue to provide us tremendous technical support and assistance as we head toward go-live.”

On May 2, 2012 APS discharged 976 imported Hyundai units and loaded back 179 Ford exports to Eukor Car Carriers’ M/V Ryujin.

The two major car carriers at this facility are Eukor Car Carriers Inc and Glovis. Additionally, K Line and MOL have occasional space charters. Current auto makers include Hyundai for imports, with an estimated annual volume of 80,000 units, and Ford for export, with other possible export manufacturers to come. Average units per arrival are 1,500.

APS Stevedoring is in charge of the terminal receiving, using ILWU clerks, and the vessel stevedoring at Berth 601. In June, APS will be taking over the terminal side of operations at Berth 607 for Honda, who leases that terminal from the port. APS has appointed Ben Thamert as manager for its Portland operations.

APS Stevedoring already has operations in Richmond, Calif., servicing Subaru, Honda, MOL, Act Maritime, K Line and NYK.  The company plans to expand throughout the U.S. West Coast as opportunities present themselves.

APS has extended capabilities and services though its relationship with AWC, North America’s largest auto processing company with operations at 22 port, plant and rail locations in the U.S. and Canada.

Konecranes has previously delivered three Konecranes STS cranes and one RMG crane to Muuga CT. The straddle carriers will be delivered in 2012 and the RTGs in 2013. The parties have agreed not to disclose the value of the order.

Muuga CT is a multifunctional container terminal, handling both containers and Ro-Ro cargo in the port of Muuga. Muuga CT is 100 % owned by Transiidikeskuse AS, who also operates in other parts of the Muuga Port free zone. By the end of May Muuga CT will be merged with Transiidikeskuse AS. The container terminal has an annual capacity of 450,000 TEU and plans to expand it.

“We selected Konecranes as equipment supplier due to our good experience with the previous deliveries of quay cranes and the RMG crane that we already have in our terminal”, says Erik Laidvee, Chairman of the Board, Transiidikeskuse A.S. “The local service has been excellent, and we are very happy with the fast response time whenever we have needed assistance from Konecranes.”

“We are very pleased about this order. The ordered equipment is modern and efficient incorporating latest technology and design,” says Erkki Salminen, Konecranes’ Sales Director, Port cranes. “Our local service branch will continue playing an important role in our good cooperation with Muuga CT. It will make sure that the equipment runs in an optimum way to help the customer reach their capacity expansion targets.”

The RTG cranes are equipped with the latest technology, including the Autosteering feature, which keeps the crane on a pre-programmed straight driving path, thus improving safety and increasing productivity. Container handling efficiency is further increased by the Autostop feature, which assists the driver by automatically stopping the crane in the correct position for the target container or slot.

The CMS Remote Station crane monitoring system provides reports on crane failures and also provides the container terminal control room with the same information. The eco-efficient, fuel-saving system, also included, significantly reduces fuel consumption by eliminating high-speed idling, as well as reduces noise and emissions.

The BOXRUNNER straddle carriers are of 1-over-1 diesel electric design. The BOXRUNNER has a speed of 30 km/h, and four wheels out of six are driven.

Both the RTGs and the BOXRUNNERs are equipped with Konecranes’ latest design operator’s cabin, where special attention has been paid to ergonomics and superb visibility. The improved cabin has 60 % more glass than conventional cabin designs.

The 45 employees of EDC – members of Unite, the country’s largest union – will be staging the 48-hour strike from 6.00am on Monday, 21 May. This follows the initial 24-hour strike on 7-8 May – the first strike by dockers at Tilbury in Essex since 1989.
 
Unite regional officer, Jane Jeffery said: “The EDC’s intransigent management have not moved in this dispute, since the first strike earlier this month.

“Our members are again taking action in a bid to get the company to enter into meaningful talks – if they don’t, the strikes will continue into the summer.

“Our members are not prepared to lose, on average, £2,500-a-year because the company has decided to arbitrarily introduce new contracts which are very detrimental to their living standards.”

The workers will be picketing outside the main gate of Tilbury docks in the dispute which centres on the company’s decision to introduce a ‘follow the ship’ contract. This means that staff work when the ships are ready for unloading, and not to set shift patterns.

EDC deals with the unloading and distribution of paper reels.