Three STS cranes, believed to be the second largest low-profile cranes built to date, are under delivery by ZPMC to Port Everglades in the US. In 2017, Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co Ltd (MES) delivered three low-profile units to Tokyo Port Terminal (TPT) with an outreach of 63m and a lift height of 40m under the spreader.
The surge in demand for container shipping in recent weeks, particularly on the transpacific, has led to US investors rushing to put money into companies viewed as having exposure to the market.
Finland’s Nurminen Logistics laid claim to being “the first in Europe to transport temperature-controlled foods by freight train to China” when it loaded a reefer container onto a train at Narvik in Norway for Chongqing in China this month. The cargo was frozen pork, mainly pig heads, from Finnish producer Atria.
Malta-based Motherwell Bridge, which is 80% owned by Hili Finance, and operates on a 15,000 m2 site at Hal Far Industrial park in Malta, is forecasting growth in FY 2020.
Continental Commercial Specialty Tyres (CST) is changing the name of its StraddleMaster+ port tyre to TerminalMaster V.ply. The name change is accompanied by a significant expansion of the tyre’s application recommendations.
Following the release of its RTG Command Flood for RTGs last year, US-based Phoenix Lighting has announced a new range of competitively priced lighting fixtures for STS cranes.
Gaussin has announced that it has commissioned the APM 75T HE electric tractors ordered earlier by the port terminal of Abidjan. These are believed to be the two machines that WorldCargo News reported had been ordered in June 2019, following tests with their LMP (Lithium Metal Phosphate) battery technology from Blue Solutions (a subsidiary of Bolloré Group) in PointeNoire, Congo.
South Africa’s Transnet Port Terminals is considering extensively refurbishing two STS cranes at Port Elizabeth. One was manufactured by Noell and the other by IMPSA.
Sweden’s Hammar Maskin has provided information on tests it performed with Martin Andreasson Transport AB in Gothenburg to quantify fuel savings that can be achieved by using sideloaders with lower tare weights. The data show that “significant gains, both in terms of fuel economy and environmental impact”, can be achieved through equipment weight reduction.
VolkerStevin has awarded KenzFigee a contract to deliver two Ram luffing cranes, destined for the NorthernAmmunition Jetty in Loch Long, Argyll, UK, on behalf of the UK’s Defence Infrastructure Organisation.
The US Department of Transportation is tackling a big challenge as it embarks on developing a ‘National Multimodal Freight Network’ for the country. Informing the network’s planning process is the National Freight Strategic Plan (NFSP), which has just been released.
Indian media have reported that the long-running order for four STS cranes placed by India Ports Global Limited (IPGL) for Chabahar Port in Iran has been cancelled. A fresh ten der for four 65t capacity cranes has been issued.
Russia’s Global Ports has been investing in new container handling equipment for its Multi-Link terminals in Finland. The Helsinki terminal has received a new STS crane from Konecranes.
The mayor of Auckland in New Zealand has announced an independent review of health and safety at Ports of Auckland (POAL) following the death of a stevedore after a fall on a vessel this month.
The Szczecin and Świnoujście Seaports Authority (ZMPSiŚ) is making progress on its plans to develop an offshore container terminal that will be capable of handling ULCV tonnage and give it a role as a regional hub in the Baltic Sea.
J Müller Group has commissioned two new sheds dedicated to handling forestry pulp at its facility on the Niedersachsenkai in Germany’s Port of Brake, on the Weser River. The sheds occupy 21,000 m2 and 7,000 m2 , and represent a total investment of €14M.
The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA), a division of the Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (FMMEU), is waging a campaign against further automation and ‘outsourcing’ at Port Botany in Sydney.
In August, the government of Montenegro announced a €2.5B plan to create a new deepwater container terminal, capable of accommodating and handling 22,000+ TEU ships, in the Port of Bar. The project would be funded by a public-private partnership or a private concession contract.
Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has put together a list of the country’s ports where it believes there is no internal competition for services. The list includes 16 harbours situated in the Arctic and Far East, including strategically important ports such as Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Korsakov and Kholmsk.
Gothenburg City Council, which owns the Port of Gothenburg, will provide SEK1.255B (€120M), with matching support from the Swedish Transport Administration as part of the national infrastructure plan, to deepen the fairway to Skandia container terminal from 13.5m to 17.5m maximum.
The US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) this month issued a statement saying it is “actively monitoring” the shipping market to gauge the effect of carriers blanking sailings on freight rates and transport service levels.
Russia’s Krylov State Research Centre (KSRC) in St Petersburg is testing a new hull design for container ships that could navigate the Northern Sea Route (NSR) independently of icebreaker support in 1.4m-1.7m-thick ice conditions, according to season (Arc7 ice-class).
After collaborating with agents for many years, VTG has taken direct control of its tank container activities in the Russian and Baltic markets. Businesses already in place at VTG Project Logistics’ offices in Moscow, St Petersburg and Klaipeda will now be used to handle VTG tanktainer orders.
As reported by WorldCargo News Online during August, the UK’s Rail Operations Group (ROG) is working on a bold scheme to move heavy freight by rail at truck-competitive speeds.
Kenya’s Departmental Committee on Transport, Public Works and Housing has released its report on its inquiry into the use of Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway (SGR).
This photograph of the Port of Linz on the Danube in Austria shows the start of the erection and assembly work of its second trimodal crane from Kuenz.
This month, Container Corporation of India (Concor) launched two new double-stack rail services between coastal ports and Khatuwas, a rail hub 90 km from New Delhi.
Canada’s CP Rail this month announced a new transloading facility in Vancouver, British Columbia, that it will build and operate in a joint venture with Maersk. The facility will be an expansion of CP’s existing Vancouver Intermodal Facility, which is located near Pitt Meadows outside Vancouver.
CP Rail officially opened a new transloading facility in Montreal this month at its Côte SaintLuc yard, which is in western Montreal and connected to the Port of Montreal Railway. CP will operate the facility with TYT Group, a Quebec-based freight transport services provider.
The Canadian National Railroad (CN) and Quebec-based Lion Electric Co have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for CN to acquire 50 zero-emission trucks as part of its fleet of trucks for intermodal use. “The trucks will be used in CN’s intermodal terminals in urban areas to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” the companies said in a statement.
4FOLD has announced that major global shipper Procter & Gamble (P&G) is to trial its folding container design this year as part of a sustainability initiative and partnership between the two companies.
The Institute of International Container Lessors (IICL) has released the findings of laboratory tests to compare the performance of coatings on the frame of reefer containers.
Netherlands-based IMT is expanding its telematics offering for the tank container industry with a new solar-powered tracking and monitoring device, designated CLT20-Ex (Communication and Location Terminal 20-Ex). According to the company, the device brings unlimited wireless data transfer to tank container telematics, allowing for optimal accuracy.
Under its Innovative Port Technology (IHATEC) programme, the federal German Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure(BMVI) has provided €2.6M towards Bremerhaven’s Isabella automobile logistics project.
Duisburger Hafen AG (Duisport) is working with the Port of Trieste authority (AdSPdMAO) and Friulia SpA, the finance holding company of the Friuli-VeneziaGiulia region, to invest in Interporto di Trieste SpA, part of the Trieste port community
The German federal government, the state of Mecklenburg Vorpommern and the European Union have clashed with the US over a sanctions threat made to the Port of Sassnitz (Mukran) on Germany’s Baltic island of Rügen, and other companies involved in the €10B Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project
As part of its ongoing plans to add value to its core liner shipping services in West and Central Africa, Maersk has opened a new storage and distribution centre in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.
In a separate but related development, the state of Illinois has allocated US$40M through its ‘Rebuild Illinois’ capital plan to build the new Alexander Cairo Port at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers.
According to US Class I railroad CSX, it has achieved a huge improvement in its intermodal trip plan performance levels since the company embarked on a “transformative journey” to restructure its operating model in 2017
Gdansk-based rail freight company Lotos Kolej is investing in a new electric-propelled locomotive and its own flatbed wagons in a move that it believes will save it costs and give it greater control over its existing operations.
Container leasing company Textainer said the box leasing market picked up significantly in Q2 2020, and the factory stockpiles of new containers held by leasing companies were almost entirely committed by mid-August.
Adriafer Srl, the train formation and haulage company controlled by the Port of Trieste, has approved an increase in its share capital of €300M, with a further €2M due next year, by capitalising profits from previous years.
