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Rotterdam publishes McKinsey study The Port of Rotterdam has published the report it commissioned from McKinsey to support the time-scale of its Maasvlakte II container terminal development programme from 2014 onwards More Maersk enters Baltic with low-sulphur fuel Maersk Lines will this month become the first container carrier to comply with the Port of Gothenburg's new restrictions on sulphur emissions by switching to low-sulphur fuel More Forth Ports moves for TCS Otter Port Holdings Ltd, the owner of Forth Ports, has acquired from DP World and Associated British Ports (ABP) the 67% ownership of Tilbury Container Services (TCS) not already owned by Forth Ports. More DB Schenker offers new Italy-Poland route DB Schenker has begun offering semi-trailer slots on a new intermodal route between Italy and Poland More Transnet orders six Liebherr LHM 550s The order for six mobile harbour cranes from Liebherr is part of an overall spend of R438.3M (E42.5M) to beef up cargo handling capacity at Maydon Wharf, Durban More Long Beach approves "longest lease" for OOCL The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners has given preliminary approval to a 40-year, US$4.6B lease with Orient Overseas Container Line for the Middle Harbor property More ILA protests GCT's automation plans Members of the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) in New York and New Jersey recently held a lunchtime demonstration at Global Container Terminals in Bayonne, Port of NY/NJ More More automation progress in the US US container terminals are moving forward with their plans to introduce automated yard systems at new and redeveloped facilities. More Liebherr doubles up in Turkey Liebherr Container Cranes Ltd has booked an order for two double-sided STS container cranes, capable of working post-Panamax ships up to 18 rows across on deck on either side of a finger pier. More Mi-Jack/ Paceco in patent row An attempt by US-based Paceco Corp to enforce its patent rights and prevent Mi-Jack Products Inc selling vehicle telemetry systems has backfired, creating doubt over whether Paceco's patent would stand up in court if challenged. More OEMs move into India Several port, construction and mining equipment brands will in future be made in India for export as well as the growing domestic Indian market. More Flinders Ports in limbo Ownership control of South Australia's Flinders Ports is uncertain following the decision by Luxembourg-based funds manager Galaxy to quit its 35.7% stake. More Innovation Fund backing KALP Lloyd Fonds AG, a venture capital company based in Hamburg, recently launched a pr ivate placement, Lloyd Maritime Innovation Fund, to attract new investment in KALP GmbH. More OK for APMT Gothenburg deal The Competition Authority of Sweden has rubber stamped APM Terminals (APMT)'s deal to operate the Skandia Container Terminal in Gothenburg. More TagMaster for Durban Transnet Port Terminals has selected TagMaster of Sweden to supply RFID tags for an automatic vehicle Identification (AVI) project at Durban Container Terminal Pier 1 and Port Elizabeth. More Busan's new view on automation A recent demonstration of the automation system at Busan New Container Terminal (BNCT) in Korea is shaping up as an important launching point in Asia for yard automation involving a perpendicular yard layout and straddle carriers for the waterside interface. More as Auckland feels the heat The Maritime Union of New Zealand (MUNZ)'s refusal to accept a new employment package has cost Ports of Auckland Ltd (POAL) a key Maersk service representing about 12% of Auckland's container business. More Rust-free France-based Lasttec Sarl has won FLT chains FB Chain, the UK subsidiary of Sweden's Addtech AB, is offering a range of corrosion resistant leaf chain for materials handling applications that it claims will remain rust free for at least six years in typical applications. More Oz waterfront woes spread New labour agreements between the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) and Asciano's Patrick Container Ports were finally reached in mid-November but a breakdown in talks between the MUA and POAGS again brought ports to a standstill. More LMI from Load Systems Load Systems International Inc, based in Houston, Texas, has introduced a new load moment indicator (LMI) for hydraulic cranes. It features a pair of pressure transducers that read the rod and bore side pressures of the lift cylinders. Data from the transducers are transmitted wirelessly to the GS820 display. More Dakar box terminal expansion completed The expanded container terminal at the Port of Dakar in Senegal was officially opened at the end of last month by HE Abdoulaye Wade, President of Senegal, together with HE Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Chairman of DP World. More Demag reports Flinders deal Demag Cranes AG has supplied a Gottwald G HMK 6407 B mobile harbour crane to port operator Flinders Ports in South Australia. More Ultramar for Coquimbo Local port operator Ultramar, part of the Von Appen group, has been awarded the concession to develop and operate the multi-purpose facilities at Chile's Port of Coquimbo (see WorldCargo News September 2011, p11). More "Excellent year" for Stinis Netherlands-based spreader designer and manufacturer Stinis has reported an "excellent" 2011. Orders booked include 33 Long-Twin STS crane spreaders and Long-Twin straddle car r ier spreaders for ADPC, Khalifa (ZPMC STS cranes and Terex Noell Sprinter Carriers), and Long-Twin STS crane spreaders for Eurogate at JWP, Wilhelmshaven (eight cranes from ZPMC). More New heavy lift combi crane from Liebherr Liebherr is working on an order from Lukoil Kaliningradmorneft (Kaliningrad Sea Oil) for a new combined mobile harbour and offshore crane to be delivered by the end of 2012. More JNP to up capacity to 20M TEU India's Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNP) plans to increase annual container handling capacity to 20M TEU over the next eight to 10 years from 4.5M TEU per year now, chairman L Radhakrishnan said. More  Special Reports China Logistics Development Report 2010 The China Logistics Development Report 2010, produced by China Intelligence Online, contains data, information and analysis essential for a thorough understanding of the world's most dynamic logistics market. For further information click here. WorldCargo News readers will benefit from a 20% discount from the full price. To order please contact wcn@chinaintelligenceonline.com Container Terminal Planning - A Theoretical Approach A major study by Dr Itsuro Watanabe (Container System Technology). This comprehensive 245 page study is an in-depth analysis of capacity constraints, productivity, selectivity and flexibility of different container handling systems in terminals of different types and sizes: common-users or dedicated; hub centre (transshipment and/or relay) or import/export vocation; gateway or feeder port; intermodal rail or truck distribution inland; with or without CFS, etc. Click here for details...  Feature articles LED lighting for cranes US-based Phoenix Products has launched a range of LED light fixtures designed for applications such as STS container cranes. More US chassis - someone else's headache In the United States, shipping companies have historically taken responsibility for supplying chassis for moving containers back and forth between marine terminals and cargo delivery or loading locations, either a railhead or shipper site. In contrast to most other parts of the world, where chassis are typically provided by motor carriers, terminals or shippers, in the US ocean carriers supply and cover the cost of chassis. More Electric atmosphere for terminal tractors Last year California-based heavy d u t y e l e c t r i c ve h i c l e d eve l o p e r Balqon Corporation announced that it had signed a European licence with terminal tractor and special vehicles manufacturer MOL Transport Solut ions Cy NV, ba s ed in Be lg ium (WorldCargo News, July 2010, p2). More Nansha's hub ambitions China's southern Nansha port is booming and with 20 of the world's top 500 companies having bases there and important infrastructure projects afoot, the port is expected to become a logistics hub in Asia, Xinhua news agency said. More ZPMC outlines future steps ZPMC is responding to requests for lower weight, energy-saving cranes, but this is not easy to balance against requirements for bigger cranes with higher productivity. More Making shipboard cranes safer As reported on line earlier this month, Lloyd's Register (LR) has published a new pocket guide to help ship owners and operators understand the importance of professional maintenance and survey preparation for marine lifting appliances. More Cargo focus at IUMI conference T he official investigation into the beaching of the MSC NAPOLI off the UK south coast in January 2007 reported many discrepancies concerning on-deck containers. More Reefer output hits new high Global reefer production is heading for another all-time high this year. Existing factories are struggling to cope, however, and reefer prices have been rising as well. More Flexitank market shows no sign of flagging Rather than reducing demand, the current economic conditions are boosting the flexitank market as more shippers wake up to the advantages of moving goods in bulk. More Dry freight box building ups and downs The dry freight container manufacturing industry has enjoyed more than a year of strong demand and high pricing, but production has fallen significantly since mid-year, causing prices, and profits, to nosedive. More Reshaping Europe's core transport axes Container ports in the north, south and east are vying to retain, or win, main gateway status. More Xiamen investing for the future China's Xiamen Port Authority (XPA) plans to invest Yuan14B (US$2.2B) over the next five years to upgrade infrastructure and expand handling capacity in order to attract more international companies to invest in the city's ports. More US intermodal gathers pace North American Class One railroads are investing in new and existing intermodal terminals as the sector continues to win market share from highway trucking. More Oz rail freight bonanza still being held back A new study has found that greater use of intermodal rail could produce significant economic, environmental and community benefits for Australia - if only some key hurdles can be overcome. More Port of Switzerland riding out the storm Despite a decline in cargo throughput in 2011, the Port of Switzerland has been able to strengthen its market position as a result of investments by terminal operators and shippers. Ursula Schmeling reports. More Brazilian ports on target for 5M TEU Ports in Brazil will handle 5M TEU in 2011, up 10% over 2010, according to a forecast from Sergio Salomao, president of the Brazilian Association of Public Use Container Terminals (Abratec). More Cutting the cost of wireless networks More terminals are opting for beamforming wireless access points to lower the cost of wireless infrastructure. More Economic slowdown casts a long shadow Problems in the eurozone and the US economies, coupled with a slowdown in China's growth, do not make good reading for the CEOs of heavy lift and project cargo shipping companies. More Diversification reduces risks The dredging industry showed remarkable resilience to the global financial crisis, but it could never be totally immune. More OCR starts to take off in Brazil The market for gate and crane OCR systems is currently booming and demand is particularly strong in Brazil. APS Technology Group has recently announced projects to implement systems at Tecon Suape SA in Recife, MultiRio in Rio de Janeiro and Santos Brasil SA in Santos. In Santos's case APS is supplying its system through Navis as part of its Star Technology Alliance. More All contents © WCN Publishing, Northbank House, 5 Bridge Street, Leatherhead, Surrey KT22 8BL, England.