Europe

Opened just three years ago at a cost of €20m ($29m), the container terminal at the north-western Spanish port of Vilagarcía is showing visible signs of sinking.

Global Ports Investments (GPI) share’s started trading 15% above their expected price after their release onto the London Stock Exchange.

The UK government’s rhetoric about ‘localism’ covers a massive drop in funding and the hope that business will pick up the pieces. But a recent meeting made it plain that business had…

Security-related bureaucracy is turning access to some ports “into a bit of a money machine”, International Shipsuppliers and Services Association president Jens Olsen has claimed, pledging to tackle the issue head on…

There has been a dangerous ‘knee jerk’ reaction in the last year that has seen around 20% of the UK’s workforce to decrease training budgets according to statistics from the Chartered Institute…

The Port of Dover, after finding it wasn’t easily gaining ground in the argument about ending the port’s Trust status and going for privatisation, is trying to win hearts and minds with…

It may not be the ports themselves that create the emissions, but if they work together, they can exert pressure on the supply chain to green-up, points out new research from the…

The supply chain is sensitive to growing security issues, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). But forcing ports to screen all freight isn’t the answer – and the checks may be…

Strong performance from Milford Haven’s gas and oil activities in 2010 is to drive new plans to attract renewable energy and biomass businesses, alongside continued development of existing port infrastructure and services.

Since the downturn has left many ports with space to spare, some are looking at port-centric logistics and developing specialised clusters in a move to up the volumes and improve revenue.

Marine Spatial Planning, or MSP, is “both a threat and an opportunity” says Paul Holthus of the World Ocean Council, and its an issue that may leave some ocean industries behind.

Maersk Line has issued a “wake-up call” to the port and terminal sector, challenging it to get involved in an industry-wide debate on future-proofing the business.

The downturn has given some countries further justification for transport infrastructure privatisation, but care needs to be taken that funds are directed to the projects with the largest long-run social benefits.

“Investment is a difficult question for those managers sitting in a European port,” says Richard A Butcher, group marketing and sales director of IMS UK.

Southern European ports need to focus on the move to feeder roles and value-add solutions to survive. John Bensalhia reports

The Port of Sheerness has signed an option agreement with Vestas which would see 70 hectares of port land handed over for a wind turbine manufacturing and installation facility.

National agreements on French port reforms will come into force at Marseilles-Fos from May, with the transfer of some 400 port authority personnel to private or part-private stevedoring companies.

Poti is to benefit from a promised $100m of investment after Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority (Rakia) sold an 80% stake in the port to APM Terminals.