Monday 13 October 08 - 13:07
 

Bevis Marks

  • Supreme Court extends liability limitation inland

    01 Dec 2004

    A recent case involving the Norfolk Southern Railway and no less than the US Supreme Court has struck a blow in favour of the maritime way - thereby benefiting terminal operators - by ruling on the validity of a Himalaya Clause for an inland carrier. Here an Australian manufacturer shipped cargo from Australia to Huntsville, Alabama, via Savannah, Georgia. The shipper contracted with a freight forwarder for the shipment and the bill of lading issued by the NVOCC included a Himalaya Clause extending the COGSA (Carriage of Goods by Sea Act) liability limitations to downstream parties. The freight forwarder contracted with a vessel operator for actual carriage of the cargo. 

Close-up Emanuel Schiffer

  • INVESTING WHERE IT MAKES SENSE

    01 Dec 2004

    Hamburg-Bremerhaven joint venture Eurogate will reach its target of 11.7mTEUs this year and remain focused on Europe, with no plans to go global. It will also continue a strategy for success which has seen its handling nearly double inside just six years. Eurogate Board chairman Emanuel Schiffer spoke to Tom Todd in an exclusive interview after a year in which the group again broke new ground with the creation of the dedicated, 50-50 joint venture terminal, MSC Gate. 

Container Handling Quayside Cranes

  • BIG CRANE BONANZA

    01 Dec 2004

    The global demand for outsized ship-to-shore container gantry cranes is still growing apace, with another record delivery due in 2004 and substantial orders already placed for 2005 completion. Andrew Foxcroft reports. 

Forest Products Trade Review

  • OPERATIONAL/STRATEGIC BENEFITS FACTORED INTO ROI

    01 Dec 2004

    Pan Pac's fibre supply manager Phil Hardie notes that the initial ROI on equipment purchases was calculated on the basis of both the overall price and previous exchange rate movements, although investment was expected to be recouped within ten years. 

  • LIFE CYCLE COSTS DRIVE INVESTMENT DECISIONS

    01 Dec 2004

    Alex Hughes talks to two of New Zealand's leading forest products companies about their approach to equipment procurement, performance and ROI considerations. 

Industry News

  • SLPA not to buy previous TMS

    01 Dec 2004

    Sri Lanka Port Authority (SLPA) chairman Dileepa Wijesundare pointed out that the previous administration planned to invest US$29m on what would have been an inferior Terminal Management System resulting in a waste of nearly US$15.5m. 

  • CCTL ORDERED TO REIMBURSE USERS

    01 Dec 2004

    India's Tariff Authority for Major Ports (TAMP) has directed Chennai Container Terminal Ltd to reimburse all special service request charges it levied on containers stored in its stacking yard during the strike earlier this year. 

Marine Engineering Linkspans

  • ROSAFE UPS THE STANDARD

    01 Dec 2004

    As highlighted above, although accidents have been relatively rare, passenger safety is of interest to everyone in the industry, and, with this in mind, a new safety device for ferry linkspans has been produced jointly by Royal Haskoning and Bosch Rexroth. 

  • NEW STANDARD ON ITS WAY

    01 Dec 2004

    A new design code for the design of ro-ro ramps, linkspans and walkways - British Standard 6349 Part 8 - is due to be published early next year, enabling ro-ro infrastructure to be planned, designed and built to an acceptable common set of rules, as explains. 

Navigation Long Range International Tracking

  • FROM QUAY TO QUAY LRIT ADDS NEW LAYERS TO PORT SECURITY

    01 Dec 2004

    With Vessel Traffic Systems (VTS) and Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) already playing an increasingly important role in port security, Long Range International Tracking (LRIT) of vessel movements could provide an additional layer of security, from well outside the confines of a port. David Foxwell investigates. 

  • LRIT - FOR EXISTING EQUIPMENT BY 2006

    01 Dec 2004

    Kim Fisher, Head of Navigation & Communications at the Maritime & Coast Guard Agency (MCA) says LRIT has been under discussion at the IMO for some time as part of an ongoing review of security requirements under the ISPS Code. 

News

  • Ports breath sigh of relief

    01 Dec 2004

    New Zealand port companies will retain title to reclaimed land required for infrastructure development through the controversial Foreshore and Seabed Act introduced last week. 

News Americas

  • TUBARAO'S CONTAINER DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL

    01 Dec 2004

     

  • Italian investors

    01 Dec 2004

     

  • DREDGING FIASCO AT BARRANQUILLA

    01 Dec 2004

    After having spent approximately US$1.5m over eight years on studies to justify dredging to 40 feet the access channel at the port of Barranquilla, it now seems that the Colombian government is to restrict work to allow a draught of just 36 feet. 

  • Brazil to shift agricultural exports to northeast

    01 Dec 2004

    The main strategy adopted by the Brazilian transport ministry as a means of easing bottlenecks at ports in the south and southeast of the country is to shift agricultural exports from the centre and west of the country to ports in the northeast. 

  • Los Angeles/Long Beach congestion eases

    01 Dec 2004

    The five-month struggle with congestion and labour shortages at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach appears to be easing. 

  • Bolivia seeks alternative access to sea

    01 Dec 2004

    Bolivia and Peru have signed an international agreement which should improve access to the Pacific coast of Bolivia and lessen its dependency on the Chilean terminal of Arica which is being privatised. The agreement, which might eventually see Peru ceding a part of its coastline to Bolivia, will also improve access to the Peruvian ports of Matarani and Callao to Bolivian exports. 

News Asia, Australasia, Africa & Middle East

  • FASTER CARGO CLEARANCE AT MOMBASA

    01 Dec 2004

    Mombasa has been able to speed up cargo clearance through the establishment of a one-stop documentation centre, whilst at the same time eliminating security agents from the overall clearing process. The port has also abandoned its policy of checking all transit containers while the number of agencies handling and stamping port release documents has been reduced. It is now possible to clear cargo in less than four days although the eventual target remains one day. 

  • Vietnam to build transhipment hub

    01 Dec 2004

    The government of Vietnam has approved the US$3.6 billion Van Phong port project which it hopes will eventually rival that of Singapore's in terms of movement of transhipment containers. 

  • BAHRAIN TENDER ATTRACTS NINE

    01 Dec 2004

    Nine companies had submitted bids by the October deadline for the contract to manage both Mina Salman and Mina Khalifa ports in Bahrain. The latter is still under construction although should be operational by the end of 2006 when it will become the main port for the kingdom. Three companies will go through to a second phase and will have to have submitted their final bids by the end of the current year. 

  • GULFTAINER ACTS FOR KUWAIT

    01 Dec 2004

    Kuwait Port Authority (KPA) is to modernise its container terminals at Shuweikh and Shuwaiba and Gulftainer has been appointed its official consultant. It is the intention to construct a 1200 metre long new terminal with four berths and alongside draught of 14.5 metres at Shuweikh. 

  • KCT phase 1 underway in Sharjah

    01 Dec 2004

    Work on phase 1 of the new development at Khorfakkan Container Terminal has commenced consisting of a 400 metre berth with alongside draught of 16 metres. The 120,000 sq metre storage area will be laid out with five linear roadways running the full length of the berth for RTG operations. 

  • KPA INVITE TENDERS

    01 Dec 2004

     

  • UAE TO BUILD NEW MOROCCAN PORT

    01 Dec 2004

     

  • ODA loan agreement

    01 Dec 2004

    The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) has signed an ODA loan agreement totalling US$42m with the Royal Government of Cambodia for the Sihanoukville Port Urgent Expansion Project. 

  • DPI Grabs CSXWT for US$1.4 billion

    01 Dec 2004

    Quite literally at time of going to press we learned that Dubai Ports International (DPI) has secured the global assets of CSX World Terminals for US$1.4billion. DPI was a late runner and there will be those who are surprised to see them paying such a price. Clearly, DPI was determined to leap into the big time with this one and was determined not to miss out - at any price. It will indeed be interesting to monitor their competitors' reaction to what certainly represents an interesting benchmark. 

  • SRI LANKA FACES SHORTAGE OF DRIVERS

    01 Dec 2004

     

  • Auckland commences major development

    01 Dec 2004

    Ports of Auckland has commenced a US$39m project to both extend the Axis Fergusson container terminal to handle future volume and deepen Rangitoto Channel to widen the tidal window for larger containerships. 

  • SOUTH AFRICA TO BOOST SPENDING ON PORTS

    01 Dec 2004

    South Africa's transport authority, Transnet, is to implement a US$6.3 billion investment programme over the next five years to expand existing port and rail infrastructure. 

  • Corruption at Chittagong costs US$130m annually

    01 Dec 2004

    Importers and exporters working at Bangladesh's leading seaport of Chittagong pay an estimated US$130m in bribes every year, claims a report by the Berlin-based anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International which reviewed transactions in the port between July 2003 and June 2004. There are 37 separate points where bribes are habitually made, notes the report, although illegal payments to Customs officials for goods clearance alone accounts for US$112 million. 

News Europe

  • MERSEY DOCKS IN £1BN TAKEOVER APPROACH

    01 Dec 2004

    CVC Capital Partners, the private equity house, has made an approach to Mersey Docks and Harbour Company which could result in a £1billion takeover of the Liverpool-based ports group. Mersey Docks was forced by the Takeover Panel to reveal that it had received a "preliminary approach" from an unnamed private equity group "that may or may not lead to an offer for the company". 

  • New deal at Fos Distriport

    01 Dec 2004

    Half the available plots at Fos Distriport - the Port of Marseilles' logistics zone being developed alongside the existing Fos container terminal - have now been taken following the sale of 9.5 hectares for the construction of a 47,000 square metre warehouse due to open in 2006. 

  • BOULOGNE AT AXIS OF NEW HIGH SPEED SHORTSEA RO-RO SERVICE

    01 Dec 2004

    Boulogne is to launch a high-speed freight service connecting it north and south to Oslo and Vigo. 

  • Marseilles approves Fos 2XL terms with MSC

    01 Dec 2004

    The Port of Marseilles Authority (PMA) has approved the terms of the agreement under which MSC is to operate one of two new facilities within the port's Fos 2XL container terminal development. The MSC concession covers 700 metres of quay and 54 ha shoreside. 

  • NEW HAZ-MAT TERMINAL IN GERMANY

    01 Dec 2004

    Chemion Logistik has inaugurated a new container terminal at Bayer Chemiepark in the city of Leverkusen. 

  • New deepwater berth

    01 Dec 2004

    British MP Gwyneth Dunwoody has opened a new deepwater berth at Felixstowe's Trinity container terminal, Trinity lll.2. 

  • LE HAVRE SIGNS FIRST NEW BOX TERMINAL CONCESSION

    01 Dec 2004

     

  • BCT clinches US$36m loan

    01 Dec 2004

    Baltic Container Terminal (BCT) in Gdynia has concluded arrangements with Bank Austria Creditanstalt AG (BA-CA) and Bank BPH (BPH), both members of the HVB Group, for a US$36m term loan facility to be used in conjunction with the initial phases of BCT's capacity expansion programme. The loan facility will help realise capacity expansion, now underway, from a level of 350,000 to 600,000TEUs/yr. 

  • SETUBAL AWARDS MULTI-PURPOSE TERMINAL CONCESSION

    01 Dec 2004

     

  • Adsteam rolls out 3-man crewing

    01 Dec 2004

    Harbour towage contractor Adsteam UK has completed the first phase of its national roll-out of 3-person crewing, agreed with the UK's Transport & General Workers Union. Operations at Liverpool, Southampton, Medway, Hull and Felixstowe have now implemented the new working system. 

  • Cosco buys into Antwerp Gateway

    01 Dec 2004

    COSCO Pacific Limited is buying a 25% shareholding in P&O Ports' new container terminal, Antwerp Gateway. 

News Manpower & Training

  • MEL-ERASMUS PRIZES

    01 Dec 2004

    Eight students representing 21 countries have obtained their Master of Science degree in Maritime Economics and Logistics (MEL) at Erasmus University, Rotterdam. The course includes modules on Port Economics focusing on issues such as privatisation and finance, whilst the Maritime Logistics module aims at delivering operational knowledge on terminal design, processes and productivity with a strong emphasis on container terminals. 

  • EC's proposed Port Services Directive slammed - again

    01 Dec 2004

    The dockers' and seafarers' sections of the of both the International and European Transport Workers' Federations (ITF and ETF) are expressing their "deep regret and grave concern" at the European Commission's retabling of the revised version of the Port Services Directive. 

  • MARSEILLES TO ASSIST COTONOU'S DEVELOPMENT

    01 Dec 2004

     

News Products & Systems

  • Norcontrol IT launches new AIS software

    01 Dec 2004

    Norcontrol IT has developed its third generation of AIS network infrastructure software with new functionality integrated into the previous version to provide AIS operators with more access and greater control of the data transmitted via the AIS network. 

  • Bromma wins record Korean order

    01 Dec 2004

    Bromma has won the single largest spreader order in its history - from Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction for 59 Bromma Marathon YTR45 twin-lift spreaders to be mounted under Doosan cranes headed to Pusan Newport Company (PNC). Also included in the contract is an order for two Bromma HSM6 Overheights and 2 EH9 rotators. The order follows an earlier one this year, from the same operator for 24 STS45 separating twin-lift ship-toshore spreaders fitted onto ZPMC STS cranes. 

  • Liebherr's portal solves space problems

    01 Dec 2004

    Liebherr-Werk Nenzing has responded to what it sees as a market niche for MHCs (LHMs in Liebherr's nomenclature) to operate in confined spaces. "Various ports don't have the spacious preconditions or they are characterised by a logistics system which simply requests a portal solution (e. g. due to an existing conveyor belt), " says the company which was confronted with such a scenario when Nuh-Cement was looking for a solution for its multi-purpose cargo terminal in Hereke near Istanbul some years ago. The narrowness of its terminal as well as an existing conveyor belt argued against a conventional MHC. 

  • New VHF communication solution for shore-based systems

    01 Dec 2004

    Transas Group has developed a new VHF communication system incorporating a radio-station remote control capability and based on the advantages of SPRadio's (Denmark) 4000 series transceivers. 

  • Breakthrough thermal imaging camera emerges in workboat market

    01 Dec 2004

    EMX Inc. has launched its new EMX MidWatch Marine Thermal Imaging Camera claiming dramatic improvements at an affordable price. The camera is the result of EMX incorporating Raytheon's (just acquired by L3) newest sensor core within a durable housing to withstand the harsh marine environment. 

News Safety & Security

  • Terrorist warning from underwriter

    01 Dec 2004

    A leading British underwriter has warned that global super ports represent an attractive target to terrorists. Justin Priestley, head of the special risks and terrorism team at Aon Corp says transport infrastructure is a favourite terrorist target because of the severe economic disruption it would cause. 

  • CSS SELECTED

    01 Dec 2004

     

  • TWIC goes to prototype

    01 Dec 2004

    US Transportation Security Administration officials have entered a new phase of testing the Transportation Worker Identity Credential (TWIC) programme at Long Beach Container Terminal. The credential programme is in the prototype phase and will eventually include 34 sites in six states. For the next seven months, about 200,000 people will participate in the programme. 

  • MUSC WINS €7MVENICE PORT SECURITY CONTRACT

    01 Dec 2004

     

  • Warning on EU security proposal

    01 Dec 2004

    New EU proposals to enhance port security could have far reaching implications for operators and passengers of ro-ro vessels. If passed as legislation, one of the proposed measures of the EU directive would be to require security checks on the contents of all cars and goods vehicles waiting to board vessels. This would be in addition to the enforced assessment and implementation of many new port security measures. 

  • Surviving the storm: TT Club reflects on the challenges for port operators after the Atlantic hurricane season

    01 Dec 2004

    The pictures and soundbites flashed across the world on television news programmes are vivid, and with each passing hour become more dramatic as nature's forces increase in intensity. Windows are boarded up with wary smiles, the fearful fill the highways heading to higher ground and shelter, traffic lights swing wildly above rainlashed, deserted streets, enormous waves crash down on exposed shorelines. 

  • US SIGNS WITH BELGIUM

    01 Dec 2004

    Belgium and the US have agreed to co-ordinate security at Belgian ports to detect illicit trafficking in nuclear and radioactive material. The US government will invest €11.25m in the next three years. Belgium will initially waive €1.02m in taxes for port contractors and invest in personnel and equipment maintenance. 

Port Profile Karachi

  • A TALE OF TWO TERMINALS

    01 Dec 2004

    Alex Hughes reports on how Karachi's two rival container terminals are gearing up for further capacity and volume growth. 

Terminal Performance Cable Reels For Container Cranes

  • INVESTMENT IN QUALITY PAYS OFF

    01 Dec 2004

    Gantry motion reels have not changed much in the last few years so I will focus primarily on trolley mounted cable reels servicing the trolley to headblock/spreader electrical connections. 

  • THE PRODUCTIVITY GIVE THE CUSTOMER HE REQUIRES

    01 Dec 2004

    Motorized cable reels provide the crane with the ability to deliver faster spreader bar hoisting speeds. The cable reel system can be made to have properly sized motors that enable the spreader bar cables to be coiled onto or off a reel at the same speeds as the hoisting system that make use of bigger and faster motors. 

  • RELIABILITY AND SPEED

    01 Dec 2004

    To draw a range of opinion on this topic PS invited the comments of one German and two American specialist engineers. 

Terminal Performance Change Management

  • UNDERSTAND IT EMBRACE IT

    01 Dec 2004

    As the demands of their customers and the expectations of their owners have changed, ports throughout the world have undergone profound structural change. 

Terminal Performance Crane Cabs

  • ARE YOU SITTING COMFORTABLY?

    01 Dec 2004

    Ergonomics: the science of fitting the workplace to the worker, not the worker to the workplace. Nick Elliott looks at how to make the crane operator's life more comfortable and improve performance in the process. 

Terminal Performance Lighting

  • AN TOPIC ILLUMINATING

    01 Dec 2004

    The way we light ports and terminals has become something of an issue in recent years as public enquiries linked to new port construction have sought to curb what is seen as unwanted additional illumination of the night-time sky. Furthermore, with operational margins under pressure, operators are seeking ways of cutting costs, albeit by not compromising either operating efficiency or security. Alex Hughes investigates. 

  • DO TERMINAL OPERATORS KNOW EXACTLY HOW MUCH THEY ARE PAYING FOR THEIR LIGHTING?

    01 Dec 2004

    While operational factors obviously dictate the distribution of lighting within a terminal, do operators have a clear idea of exactly how much their bills come to? 

  • NEW TECHNOLOGY TO THE RESCUE!

    01 Dec 2004

    Hepworth nevertheless reports that Schneider Electric is soon to trial a new lighting control system 'Lubio' in the UK that has been in use on the Continent for three years and which will hopefully be suitable for network control. "The claim, " he explains, "is that this will ultimately be able to reduce the amount of energy consumption of luminaires, thereby cutting energy bills. Clearly, I am awaiting feedback from these trial projects with great interest!" 

The Economist

  • CONGESTION HERE TO STAY OR A FLEETING PROBLEM?

    01 Dec 2004

    The world economy's outlook has deteriorated in recent weeks as a result of the release of much weaker-than expected third quarter economic growth numbers for the Eurozone and Japan. Yet at a time of hesitant world growth in economic terms, container terminals have been suffering congestion. Ben Hackett asks why. 

Viewpoint

  • The Supply Chain Blues

    01 Dec 2004

    There's no getting away from the Big Issue. Port congestion, in many parts of the world, is becoming endemic, but how did we get caught out and what's to be done about it? Ben Hackett, in a new column for PS on page 18, points to the absence of a coordinated action plan within the industry to prepare for the advent of the bigger containerships, let alone the China factor and double-digit trade growth. Significantly, he goes on to suggest that much of the problem lies in the lack of planning between stack and gate. 

Motorship