The Port of Charleston closed 2010 with a nearly 17 percent increase in container volume, capping a year marked by new shipping services, statewide business initiatives and the arrival of the biggest ships on the East Coast. December marked the twelfth consecutive month of year-over-year growth for the South Carolina State Ports Authority (SCSPA), according to results released at today’s regular SCSPA Board meeting.

25.3 million tonnes of goods (gross) were handled via the various port facilities in Rostock in the year 2010; 2.3 million tonnes or 10 percent more than in 2009. 23.7 million tonnes of freight were loaded or unloaded at Rostock seaport. According to the port and shipping authority another 1.6 million tonnes were handled at the cargo and fishing port, the chemical port and other port facilities.

In early January 2011 Konecranes acquired Gruas Koman Limitada, the former licensee of Konecranes in Recoleta, Santiago, Chile. The acquisition also includes the Peruvian start-up subsidiary, Koman Gruas Peru S.R.L. The companies specialize in providing advanced overhead lifting solutions and maintenance services in Chile, Peru, and Bolivia. The company has an installed base of almost 500 cranes, a majority of these built on Konecranes’ technology.

Mitsui O.S.K Lines Ltd (MOL)'s MOL PRECISION made its first call at Tan Cang-Cai Mep International Terminal (TCIT) in Vietnam on January 15, where a welcoming ceremony was held in commemoration of the event. Attended by approximately 200 people, including government officials, this marked the start of a direct service from Vietnam to North Europe introduced by The New World Alliance (TNWA).

Q Port Holdings (QPH) announced today that it had appointed Russell Smith as Chief Executive Officer of Port of Brisbane Pty Ltd (PBPL).

Russell has extensive port engineering, development and leadership experience both in Australia and internationally.

The Port of Cork Company, Ireland, has announced a tender for hydrographic survey services. The company is responsible for the maintenance of depths in the fairway and berths in the Port of Cork. Regular dredging operations are carried out to ensure that design depths are available at all times.

Global marine terminal operator DP World has been awarded AEO (Authorised Economic Operator) certification in supply chain security management at its Constanta South Container Terminal (CSCT) on the Black Sea. Further to DP World Constanta’s ISO 28000:2007-certification achieved in March 2009, the AEO certification further enhances the terminal’s leading security status in the Black Sea. DP World regards security as a core service to its customers.

China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd (CHEC) has been awarded a USD880 million contract for the construction of the foundations and breakwater of the new Doha Sea Port in Mesaieed by Mesaieed Port Authority, Qatar. The new 2 million TEU port will be the one of the largest in the Middle East.

This article was published in the December 2010 issue of World Port Development. To receive a pdf of the article in its original format including charts and pictures please send an email to archive@worldportdevelopment.com

Port of Miami Wharf Strengthening for Channel Deepening

In 2014, the Panama Canal widening and deepening project will be completed and with it an increase in the size of vessels calling on Ports along the east coast of the United States. Many Ports and Port Authorities are anticipating an influx of traffic and are taking action with channel widening and deepening projects.

This article was published in the December 2010 issue of World Port Development. To receive a pdf of the article in its original format including charts and pictures please send an email to archive@worldportdevelopment.com

In Focus – Robin Silvester

Robin Silvester, President & CEO of Port Metro Vancouver talks to Ray Dykes

1. You have recently returned from a four-country Asian trade mission from British Columbia. What do you feel it achieved?

Yes, we visited Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and China. I also went on to Taiwan and two of our port officials joined a federal government trade mission to Vietnam. The primary thing this sort of trade mission brings is that you tangibly deliver your message face-to-face. With the BC Government, the railways and the port together we were able to show the customers & potential customers we met in Asia that we have a unique level of collaboration – we were all sitting down at the table together and all with the same Pacific Gateway message.

2. The mission was all about promoting the Asia Pacific Gateway, but then several West Coast ports in North America claim to have that same gateway. How is British Columbia unique?

We are unique and it all comes back to collaboration. We didn't just put our names together in a trade publication. We have created the Pacific Gateway vision, we are all investing in that strategy, and we are working together to optimize the supply chain. This is a much, much deeper collaboration model and there is no substitute for going to see our Asian customers to talk through that message face to face, it is such a dynamic area of the world.

3. Did Port Metro Vancouver win any new business on that trip?

Pacific International Lines has already announced it will be calling on Vancouver. If you ask was our message well received, do people in Asia recognize that we have a very capable supply chain, and are they bringing new business here? The answer is yes, yes, and yes.

4. Port Metro Vancouver looks like having a much stronger year for total tonnage in 2010. How will the year finish and what have been the keys to recovery?

October was a record month for containers and coal is heading for a record year. We are expecting to finish with total tonnage at 116 million tonnes and that will be up 14% overall.

The key pleasing aspect is that it has been an across the board recovery. Metallurgical coal is a leading indicator and that – the single largest volume of our port – was up 28.9%; potash is bouncing back after a lean year in 2009 and jumped nearly 140% to the end of October. Overall tonnage is up 17.2% and there isn't a commodity category that isn't higher overall than this time last year, even auto imports are up.

5. What are your projections for 2011?

We are expecting further good growth but at a more modest level. We are much more tied to the Canadian economy than we are to the struggling US economy and that is good.

6. You are at the helm of Canada's largest and busiest port, what have been your major achievements since you took over in 2009?

Well, it's almost been two years. I was lucky to inherit a great business with a great group of people. What I am proud of most is the way we have moved the collaborative approach to a much higher level to really start delivering greater capacity and efficiency to the Gateway. Our Asian customers see rail reliability through Vancouver.

7.  Over $750 million in infrastructure projects is underway or scheduled for Port Metro Vancouver and its environs. How will these projects help?

It all comes back to our collaborative strategy. We are creating extra capacity for the next 20 or 30 years in the critical corridors to the waterfront through road and rail debottlenecking. Projects are underway which will deliver this greater capacity along with better efficiency and benefits for the communities through reduced noise and fewer at grade level crossings for the railways.

8. After your trade mission, you're used to listing the advantages of Port Metro Vancouver, but what exactly are they again?

Port Metro Vancouver has both scale and diversity. We are the fourth largest port in North America and the most diverse. And as I keep saying, we have a collaborative model for the Pacific Gateway that is so much more than skin deep.

9. Ports today like to list how they are "going green." What has been your port's progress so far in this area?

I am very proud of our efforts. We have worked on our truck fleet so that as of April 1, 2011, trucks 2006 and older not already licensed at the Port, will be prohibited. We have seen co-operation between the Federal Government, the BC Government, Port Metro Vancouver, Holland America Lines, Princess Cruises and BC Hydro which has delivered shore power for cruise ships visiting our Canada Place Terminal. Five different private operators now have "green locomotives." We have our Blue Circle Awards for shipping lines that commit to the highest level of emission control and seven or eight have already qualified by using cleaner burning fuels or environmentally beneficial technology. In our own right we have won international recognition through the Globe Awards and in being chosen as runner up in a top Clean Air Program award in London recently.