Viewpoint

Since the rushed introduction of the International Ship and Port Facility Code back in 2004, ports have had a dogged focus on security of their facilities. Miles of perimeter fencing has been…

The sense of excitement on the US East Coast around the seemingly limitless benefits of the expansion of the Panama Canal is palpable. Ports from Miami to Boston are riding the post-expansion…

At various points this year you may have glimpsed a headline, or overhead a conversation in a bar about 3d printing that momentarily piqued your interest, but by the time you got…

The ‘big four’ still dominate the annual container terminal operator rankings, but could they be living on borrowed time?

Never let it be said that the European Commission gives up on a fight: liberalisation proposals for ports in the trading bloc have resurfaced once again, undaunted by the backlashes to the…

Successive years of hammering home the crewing ‘crisis’ message have firmly ingrained the matter on our minds: red alert, a dearth of qualified seafarers is about to bring the industry to its…

We’ve welcomed in a new year, but as an industry we are facing the same set of problems; even a seasoned optimist like me is struggling to see any positives any time…

As Navis’ Bill Walsh proudly proclaimed at Navis World last month, we are at automation two point zero. Announcements for Europes first automated STS crane orders certainly back him up, but how…

There is much fodder for this month’s viewpoint, with strikes hanging over the usually labour-stable US East coast and DP World’s departure from its Aden ambitions.

US east coast ports faced two very different threats this month: one the fault of Mother Nature and the other entirely manmade as Hurricane Isaac and longshoremen unions both knocked on port…

APM Terminals has boldly put its money where its mouth is in its commitment to North America and put in an unsolicited bid to take over operations at Virginia Port Authority’s terminals.

Melbourne finally has its sights set on the prize with Port minister Denis Napthine giving the ports long-awaited third container terminal the official go-ahead.

We are bombarded on a daily basis with spiralling unemployment figures. So dire is the job market in many countries that you would be forgiven for thinking that employees would put up…

The labour situation in New Zealand has gone from bad to worse: discontented port workers were about to enter their fourth month of strikes at Ports of Auckland as this issue went…

The International Transport Workers’ Federation’s threat to unceremoniously brand the Ports of Auckland as its first Port of Convenience sets a worrying precedent.

Falling volumes, bun fights for dredging works, misguided protestors disrupting operations – US ports are certainly having a tough time of it.

You certainly can’t accuse Virginia Port Authority of half measures. In July, it replaced all of its board members bar one in a sweeping move to kick-start growth.

US labour issues have once again stolen the headlines on the West Coast, with a timing bordering on perfection.

The scourge of modern day piracy has prompted shivers down the spine of many a hard-working ship owner. With one of the world’s key shipping arteries at the top of the Gulf…

As April ended and May started, ships that had called at Japanese ports post-radiation leaks finally found their way to European and US ports. And what greeted them was a disjointed mix…

Ports are the front line for any island nation; they are the gateway for both inbound goods and commodities and for potential revenue-earning exports. The series of recent natural disasters has put…