The GRI applies to all westbound cargo from the Indian sub-continent to North Europe, West/East Mediterranean (including Israel) and Black-Sea region. North Europe to Asia/Indian Sub-Continent Eastbound trade: $150 per TEU. The GRI applies to all Eastbound cargo from North Europe to Asia / Indian sub-continent trades. According to Zim these updates are necessary in order to maintain their current levels of service and high reliability.

It was also revealed that the landmark terminal, which will bring some of the world’s largest container ships to the Mersey, will be branded Liverpool 2 – and will be open for business in 2015, providing shippers and lines with a new and direct route to the heart of the UK

The new terminal will accommodate two vessels of up to 13,500 teu at a time.  It will allow shipping lines to connect to the UK’s major trade centres in the most cost efficient manner. 

It will also facilitate improved trans-shipment links to Ireland and Scotland through Liverpool’s existing services, allowing shipping lines to benefit from a lower cost, reduced transit time and higher frequency service whilst enabling an equalisation of equipment imbalances that exist around the British Isles.

Importers and exporters will also benefit as the terminal will enable a much cheaper route to market whilst simultaneously reducing the carbon footprint of the total journey.  These benefits arise from the significant reduction in land-based mileage that result from the container terminal being located in the centre of the British Isles.

This will be the largest boost to employment creation and the local economy since the development of the Liverpool ONE city centre retail complex, delivering over 5000 jobs.

Advertisements for the project were today published in the Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union – a statutory obligation for a contract of this size.

Liverpool 2, which will have an estimated overall cost in excess of £300m, is the key project in the Mersey Ports Master Plan, the 20-year vision for growth and future developments at the Port of Liverpool and on the Manchester Ship Canal – launched by Peel Ports last summer.

The development consists of the construction of a new deep water container terminal in the River Mersey, thus avoiding the vessel size restrictions of the current container terminal.

Liverpool 2 will connect directly to a number of port centric logistics hubs along the Manchester Ship Canal via barge –  resulting in the development of the UK’s first “green logistics hub” which will reduce costs, congestion and carbon footprint for businesses located in the North West of England, serving the North of the UK.

This will allow global shippers to access the UK’s major import centres via the most economic and lowest carbon route and provide Northern-based exporters with a more competitive route to market.

Peel Ports Mersey Managing Director Gary Hodgson said: “There is no doubt that this facility represents a transformational project for the business. It will bring jobs and economic prosperity to the Merseyside region along with the rest of the North West.  The scale of these benefits is recognised by the name Liverpool 2 – with the new terminal being the biggest boost to the area since the construction of the Liverpool ONE development in 2008. We believe it is an appropriate brand, and one that will become known throughout the world as our new container terminal brings customers to the North West from all points of the compass from South America to the Far East.

“By any standard it is a significant development and a major investment. By commencing the procurement process today, we have shown our commitment to the building of Liverpool 2.

“This is a clear message to the industry, to our stakeholders and to the community in the Merseyside Region and the greater North West that we are serious about the growth and investment we outlined in the Mersey Ports Master Plan consultation last year. It is great news for our customers and for the people of the North West of England, both of whom will see massive benefits from Liverpool 2.”  

Hodgson assured the local community that the impact of construction will be minimised whilst the benefit is maximised.  He said: “Where possible, we will source goods and services locally, however when we need to source goods over a longer distance, we will seek to transport construction materials by sea directly to the Port.”

The construction programme comprises of a new 854 metre quay wall, the in-filling of the newly created land-mass, the dredging of a new 16.5 metre deep berthing pocket adjacent to the quay wall, the installation of  ship to shore quay cranes and modern cantilever rail mounted gantry cranes (CRMGs) and associated supporting infrastructure works.

Specifically the advertisements issued today are for:

·         A contractor to act in the role of principal contractor for the development of the terminal.

·         A contractor to undertake a package of dredging, infilling and quay wall construction work.

Further packages of work will be advertised during the second quarter of 2012, which will include design and consultancy services.

The start of the procurement process follows the recent appointment of Douglas Coleman, one of the UK’s most experienced ports project directors, as Programme Director for the Liverpool 2 project.

Coleman said: “The commencement of the procurement process is a landmark stage in the development of the Liverpool 2 container terminal, and we anticipate massive interest from companies throughout the ports construction industry. This is a technically complex project, but eminently achievable.”

Coleman also explained the thinking behind the use of CRMGs instead of the more traditional straddle carriers. He said: “CRMGs are a highly-efficient use of space. We have given this great thought, and the adoption of CRMG technology also means that ships are going to be serviced very quickly. They are more modern than our current straddle carrier operation, and are a high-technology solution. This will be one of the UK’s most modern container terminals, and that includes the crane technology.”

The sheer scale of the Liverpool 2 project can be shown by the quantities of materials which are needed in the construction phase – with the quay wall requiring 30,000 metres3 of concrete, 15,000 metres of steel piles and 6100 metres of new crane rails. Dredging of the berthing pocket will remove around one million metres3 of material from the Mersey; and almost three million metres3 of infill material will be required to create the new container area.

Associated infrastructure will require the construction of 3500 metres of new road, 230,000 metres2 of surfacing and 2500 metres of fencing.

Also reported are Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) of US$281.4million, an increase of 14 percent over the US$247.7 million generated in 2010, and net income attributable to equity holders of US$130.5 million, up 33 percent over the US$98.3 million earned last year. 

The higher net income attributable to equity holders was mainly due to the upsurge in revenues, lower financing charges, lower effective tax rate and a one-time gain on sale of non-core assets.  Excluding the effect of non-recurring income and charges in both 2011 and 2010, net income attributable to equity holders in 2011 would have been US$124.4 million, 35 percent higher than the US$92.3 million in 2010.  In 2011, ICTSI sold its 16.79 percent ownership stake in Portek International Limited and booked a one-time equity tax charge imposed by the Colombian tax authorities on all legal entities and individuals in Colombia.  In 2010, on the other hand, ICTSI sold its 9.54 percent ownership stake in Subic Shipyard and Engineering, Inc. and 8.56 percent ownership stake in Consort Land, Inc., accelerated debt issuance cost related to the Company’s refinancing exercise, and wrote-down the carrying value of certain property assets related to the company’s greenfield project in Buenaventura, Colombia.  

ICTSI handled consolidated volume of 5,233,795 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) for the year ended December 31, 2011, 25 percent more than the 4,202,574 TEUs handled in 2010.  The increase in volume was mainly due to the continued upturn in international trade, particularly in markets where ICTSI’s ports are located, new shipping line customers and the consolidation of the Company’s new ports in Portland, Oregon, USA and Rijeka, Croatia.  Excluding the volume from the two latest port acquisitions, organic volume growth was at an impressive 18 percent.  Volume from the Group’s six key terminal operations in Manila, Brazil, Poland, Ecuador, Madagascar and China, which accounted for 74 percent of the Group’s consolidated volume for 2011, increased 18 percent from 3,266,133 TEUs to 3,867,407 TEUs.

Throughput from the Company’s container terminal operations in Asia increased 11 percent in 2011 from 2,652,328 TEUs to 2,956,433 TEUs.  The increase was due mainly from the exceptional volume increases from the Company’s operations in Yantai Rising Dragon International Container Terminal Ltd. (YRDICTL) in Yantai, China, Davao Integrated Port and Stevedoring Services Corp. (DIPSSCOR) in Davao, southern Philippines, and Mindanao International Container Terminal Services Inc. (MICTSI) in Cagayan de Oro, southern Philippines which registered 36 percent, 30 percent and 17 percent growths, respectively.  This segment accounted for 56 percent of consolidated volume in 2011 compared to 63 percent in 2010.

Volume from the Company’s container terminal operations in the Americas grew by 50 percent to 1,571,005 TEUs in 2011 compared to the 1,048,971TEUs handled in 2010.  Contecon Guayaquil S.A. (CGSA) in Ecuador and Tecon Suape S.A. (TSSA) in Brazil continued to deliver excellent volume growth with 35 percent and 28 percent increases, respectively.  This segment also benefited from the volume generated by the newly acquired terminal in Portland, Oregon, USA.  ICTSI Oregon, Inc.  (IOI), a subsidiary of ICTSI, took over the operations of the container terminal in Portland, Oregon, USA on February 12, 2011 and added 176,751 TEUs to the Group’s throughput for the year.   The contribution of container volume from the Americas increased from 25 percent in 2010 to 30 percent in 2011.

 Container terminal operations in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) handled 706,357 TEUs in 2011, 41 percent higher than the 501,275 TEUs handled in 2010.  Baltic Container Terminal (BCT) in Poland continued to perform well with an impressive 29 percent volume growth while Batumi International Container Terminal Ltd. (BICTL) nearly tripled the 16,318 TEUs it handled in 2010 to 45,442 TEUs in 2011.  In addition, the EMEA segment also benefited from the volume generated by the newly acquired terminal in Rijeka, Croatia.  The Company’s subsidiary, Adriatic Container Gate Terminal (AGCT), took over the operations of the container terminal in Rijeka, Croatia on April 15, 2011 and added 98,675 TEUs to the Group’s throughput for the year.  EMEA operations accounted for 13 percent of consolidated volume in 2011.Gross revenues from port operations for the year ended December 31, 2011 increased 26 percent to US$664.8 million from the US$527.1 million reported in 2010.  The increase in revenues for 2011 was mainly due to the strong double digit volume growth across all geographic segments of the Group, higher storage revenues and ancillary services, favorable volume mix, and the inclusion of the new terminals in Portland, Oregon USA and Rijeka, Croatia.  Excluding the revenues from the newly acquired terminals, organic revenue growth was still at an impressive 19 percent.  Revenue contribution from the Group’s six key terminal operations in Manila, Brazil, Poland, Ecuador, Madagascar and China, which accounted for 85 percent of the Group’s consolidated revenues in 2011, increased 19 percent from US$476.5 million to US$565.6 million.

Revenue contribution from container terminal operations in Asia increased 11 percent in 2011 from US$273.6 million to U$302.6 million.  The terminals in Davao and Cagayan de Oro in southern Philippines and in Yantai, China, registered exceptional revenue growths of 50 percent, 22 percent and 38 percent, respectively.  Port operations in Asia accounted for 46 percent of consolidated gross revenues.

 Container terminal operations in the Americas generated revenues US$284.1 million in 2011, 48 percent more than the US$192.1 million in 2010.  The increase in revenues in this segment was due to the revenues generated by the newly acquired terminal in Portland, Oregon, USA and the robust 30 percent and 34 percent revenue growth in the Company’s Brazil and Ecuador operations, respectively.  Revenues from the Company’s ports in the Americas contributed 43 percent to ICTSI’s 2011 consolidated gross revenues.

The Group’s EMEA operations, which accounted for 12 percent of the Company’s revenue in 2011, registered strong growth of 27 percent from US$61.5 million in 2010 to US$78.1 million in 2011.  The increase in revenues in EMEA was mainly due to the Company’s terminals in Poland and Georgia, which posted 17 percent and 117 percent higher revenues, respectively, and the revenues from the new terminal operations in Croatia.

Total consolidated cash operating expenses for 2011 grew 43 percent to US$289.3 million from US$203.0 million in 2010.  The increase was mainly driven by the higher labor and contracted services, overtime, fuel and power cost and consumption, repairs and maintenance, higher variable concession fees in TSSA and start-up and operating expenses of IOI and AGCT.  Excluding the new terminals, total cash operating expenses would have increased by only 22 percent. 

Consolidated EBITDA for the 2011 increased by 14 percent to US$281.4 million from US$247.7 million in 2010 mainly due to the double-digit volume growth across all geographic segments of the Group and stronger revenues from storage and ancillary services.  Consolidated EBITDA margin, however, declined in 2011 by five percentage points to 42 percent from 47 percent in 2010 due to higher variable concession fees in TSSA, higher business development and start-up expenses and higher labor, equipment and facilities-related expenses.  Excluding the new terminals, EBITDA margin would have only been marginally down to 46 percent. 

For 2011, consolidated financing charges and other expenses decreased four  percent to US$46.4 million compared to the previous year¹s US$48.5 million.   The reduction was primarily a result
of higher capitalized borrowing costs in 2011 and the acceleration of the debt issue cost incurred in the Company’s refinancing exercise in 2010. 

The effective tax rate in 2011 decreased to 24 percent compared with 29 percent in 2010.  The decrease was mainly attributable to lower operating losses at terminals with no tax benefits and additional income tax incentives at TSSA.

ICTSI’s capital expenditure in 2011 in the amount of US$227.8 million was spent mainly for the civil works and major equipment at its existing terminals in Manila, Ecuador and Brazil and port development projects in Argentina and Mexico.  For 2012, the total estimated consolidated capital expenditure is approximately US$550 million, US$345 million of which is for the greenfield projects in Argentina, Mexico and Colombia, and the balance mainly for civil works, systems improvement, and purchase of major cargo handling equipment at its port operations in Manila (MICT), Croatia (AGCT), Brazil (TSSA) and Ecuador (CGSA). 

ICTSI a leading port management company involved in the operations and development of 22 marine terminals and port projects in 17 countries worldwide.

Covering all ports in Malta, the new team is drawn from large international shipping agencies and their experience encompasses all vessel and cargo types.

The newly appointed ISS Country Manager is Mr Ray Turban who joins ISS from a local agency firm.  With 25 years industry experience, Ray Turban’s expertise extends to all agency activities, covering all cargo commodity types, ship husbandry matters, crew logistic services, ship to ship, cruise, Liner and vessel repairs.  ISS Malta will continue to be supported by ISS Greece, which is headquartered in Piraeus.

Christos Makrialeas, Managing Director ISS Greece said: “Geographical expansion  in the Mediterranean and beyond is a key strategic objective of ISS. The opening of ISS Malta, which closely follows the opening of ISS Algeciras earlier this year, is further evidence of our commitment to provide world-class maritime and cargo services to our customers.

“We are confident that ISS Malta will be a success and the same model will be followed in other countries in the Mediterranean Area.”