Headline news... Tax-free Gwadar
The Pakistani government has declared PSA-operated Gwadar port a tax free zone for 10 years to woo investment to the planned Export Processing Zone (EPZ) in an effort to boost the country's external trade MoreNYK projects receive MLIT subsidy
Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) will support three NYK Line projects aimed at cutting CO2 emissions MoreDSV withdraws DFDS bid
Danish logistic group DSV has withdrawn its bid for DFDS shares MoreBiggest container call at Cardiff
Associated British Ports' (ABP) Port of Cardiff recently handled the largest ever container ship to call at the Cardiff Container Terminal at the port's Queen Alexandra Dock MoreBusan sale delayed
Busan Port Authority (BPA)'s bid to buy three berths at Busan New Port from Pusan Newport Co (PNC) has been bogged down in protracted talks. MoreShackles off Vic ports
Victoria's independent economic regulator, the Essential Services Commission (ESC), has recommended a scaling back in the regulation of Victorian commercial ports, but will keep certain Melbourne trades under scrutiny. MoreDP World chemical spill fine
A chemical spill at Melbourne's West Swanson Dock container terminal in 2007 has seen DP World Australia convicted under Victoria's Environmental Pollution Act for pollution of the atmosphere. MoreIberia Link launched
Spanish National Railways (Renfe) and Portuguese Railways (CP) have launched a new landbridge service connecting the Portuguese Atlantic ports with the Portuguese and Spanish rail networks. Trains, running under the Iberia Link branding, run three times/week in each direction, connecting Madrid, Zaragoza, Barcelona, Tarragona and Valencia with Lisbon, Porto, Setubal and Sines. MoreEagles land in EU
The European Commission (EC) has handed over the first of 12 Rapiscan Eagle M4500 series mobile X-ray systems to be deployed at different crossing points between the Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Russia and European Union (EU) countries. MoreBARIS gets heavy
A new specialist for heavy lift transport and project cargoes was recently established under the name BARIS Schifffahrtsgesellschaft mbH, based in Berlin. MoreAlmeria-Dunkirk reefer trial...
A pilot project for shipping fish exports by sea from Almeria in Southern Spain to Dunkirk, for onward distribution to markets in France, Great Britain, Benelux and Germany, has been launched by Bahia Almeriport and Andalusia Fresh Line, with the support of the Port of Almeria and the Andalusian Fisheries and Farms Association. Traditionally the fish is moved by reefer trucks all the way across Spain and France. More...sea-rail intermodal for Israeli produce
Fresh produce shipper Agrexco and Zim Integrated Shipping Services have come up with a bold intermodal solution for shipping produce from Israel to Holland, based on 45ft high cube reefer containers. MoreHalifax gets a stimulant
The Port of Halifax is to receive around C$100M in stimulus funds as part of Federal and provincial funding announced for the Atlantic Gateway initiative. Halifax is getting funding for two projects: berth extension at the Halterm container terminal by 100m to allow two post-Panamax vessels to berth simultaneously; expansion of the Richmond multi-purpose terminal. MoreNurnberg-Bologna shuttle train launch
Italcontainer SpA, part of FS Trenitalia, has launched a three pairs/week shuttle service between Nurnberg and Bologna, via the Brenner, in association with Transfracht International Gesellschaft fur den kombinierten Guterverkehr, which is part of DB Schenker. MoreFremantle berth works underway
Reconstruction of Berth 10 at Fremantle's North Quay is under way as part of a multi-million dollar infrastructure programme associated with planned deepening of the Inner Harbour. MoreHeavy lift council formed
A number of ocean carriers involved in the international transport of project and heavy lift cargoes have joined forces to form the International Council of Heavy Lift and Project Cargo Carriers, also referred to as the Heavy Lift Club (HLC). MoreToll adds in Asia
Australia's Toll Group has added further weight to its Asian expansion ambitions with key deals in India and China. MoreSavi settles with AeroScout
RFID solutions provider Savi Technology Inc, a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, has reached a settlement with AeroScout Inc that resolves a lawsuit between the two companies concerning Savi's patented low-frequency Radio RFID technology. Terms of the settlement, which was reached in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, were not disclosed. MoreCopper port for Chile
Minera Esperanza, the 70:30 joint venture of Antofagasta SA and Marubeni Corporation, has been awarded a concession to build a new port at Caleta Michilla in northern Chile to cater for its local copper production. More
Special Reports
Feature articles
Terminal tractors - diesel, electric or hybrid?
All major US terminal tractor manufacturers will soon have a hybrid product in their range, but not everyone is convinced about the claimed performance and environmental benefits. MoreMore North Africa ro-ro links
Grimaldi Group has launched what it claims is the first dedicated freight ro-ro service linking Genoa directly with the buoyant Tunis and Tripoli markets. MoreContainer security to be tightened further
Following the introduction of new US legislation in late 2008 requiring all US-bound import containers to be fitted with a high-strength mechanical seal, global transport security is set to be further tightened up and the way cleared for the future deployment of electronic seals. MoreBig trucks in a flat market
Sales are down and costs are being cut, but product development is continuing. MoreMaintenance shed doors - an open and shut case
Traditionally access to mobile plant maintenance and service sheds in ports is via steel roller/shutter doors, but these standard industry products are far from ideal in typical port environments exposed to strong winds and corrosive, saline air. MoreSealock spins out Rotobloc seal
In reaction to the new, tougher US container security regime, Sealock Security Systems of Miami has added a highstrength bolt seal - known as Rotobloc - to its more established range of bracket and combination cable/bolt seals. MoreTank lessor gains slip away in tough market
Although hard-won improvements in lease and fleet utilisation rates are slipping away, the quick reaction by tank lessors to the downturn in world trade should stand them in good stead in the longer run. MoreCan't see the wood for the trees
The forestry sector felt the downturn from the slow down in US housing construction before the credit crunch hit late last year. Forest product volumes were particularly weak in the East and Gulf Coast markets in 2008 as the Florida housing market was one of the worst hit. The Port of Beaumont, Texas saw volumes drop 43% to 107,000t and Port Arthur suffered a 15% decline from 341,000t to 291,000t. MorePost reform growth targets set out by French ports
Targets of the 5-year strategic plans (2009-2013) of three of France's Grands Ports Maritimes (GPMs), Marseille, Le Havre and Dunkirk, have been drawn up in accordance with the July 2008 ports reform law, following approval by their respective Supervisory Boards, and the highlights have been made available to Worldcargo News. MoreCar traffic takes a hammering in North America
The headline news on the North American ro ro market makes grim reading as ports feel the impact of tumbling automotive markets and the wider economic recession. MoreTough times for Spain's container ports
External and internal competition and the effects of the economic downturn pose challenges for what has been among the country's most dynamic industries. MoreSawn timber takes to the box
In the face of the global economic crisis, which has had a big impact on Russia's economy and freight transport sector, domestic transport operators are trying to introduce new supply routes and logistics. MoreTAIM Weser reports new business
TAIM Weser SA (formerly TAIMTFG SA) has been awarded a contract to install conveyor belts and a ship loader for phosphate at the future Bayovar port in Peru. This is a project of Miski Mayo, a Peruvian subsidiary of Brazilian company Vale (Vale Do Rio Doce). The ship loader is rated at 3500 tph. More14,000 TEU, 366m loa ships in Antwerp
As reported online on 6 April (search under "14,000 TEU Beatrice"), MSC's 14,000 TEU leviathan was not only the first ship of such a declared size to call Northern Europe (Maersk has never confirmed that th 397m long EMMA MAERSK has a capacity of 15,000 TEU), but could be a massive leap for the Port of Antwerp. MoreFar from all gloom and doom in the heavy lift market
Project cargo and heavy lift shipping, by nature of the long planning, design and construction lead times for their cargoes, enter a downward cycle after other freight shipping sectors. MoreDoes recession spell the end of the box repair business?
Container depots are enjoying a welcome upswing in storage revenues as thousands of boxes are taken out of service. But customer pressure to reduce rates, as well as repair holds, restrictions on credit and a softening second-hand sales market, present challenges to depot operators and are causing a shift in business strategy. The depot industry is likely to look a lot different when it emerges from the current recession and global financial crisis. MoreProving the green credentials of tanks
The tank container industry promotes its units as the greenest way of moving liquids, powders and gases. The application of a new methodology will reveal how true that claim is. MoreEurogate adopts ViTO
Eurogate IT Services has purchased a simulation-based "planning and emulation tool" called ViTO (Virtual Terminal Optimisation) developed by the Institute for Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) in Bremen. MoreDownturn hits decal suppliers
Although the majority have other business activities to help fill the gap, the loss of substantial container-related production has had a sizeable impact on decal suppliers. MoreNew cable for high speed cranes
Today's ASCs and other high speed RMGs demand a new type of cable, says one cable specialist. Otherwise crane operators are running a big risk. More
