Post Script – Page 3

  • Anaklia is pitched as complementing China’s BRI, but there has been no China investment to date. Credit: tashatuvango, 123rf
    News

    Anaklia doubts bubble up

    2018-08-30T10:16:00Z

    COMMENT: Georgia’s Anaklia deep-water port project proposal has been around for a number of years, but is it any further forward in real terms and will it clear the hurdle of receiving the private sector funding it needs to progress? The signs are not promising.

  • Valencia has projects in the pipeline to further disrupt the Spanish ports status quo. Credit: 123rf
    News

    Barcelona’s bragging rights?

    2018-08-06T21:07:00Z

    COMMENT: The Port of Barcelona may have claimed bragging rights for the best performance in 2017 but Valencia still leads in the container business and has claimed the No. 1 spot from Algeciras.

  • The word on the street is that Melbourne is big box ship ready
    News

    Melbourne ready for big box ships

    2018-04-12T13:02:00Z

    The port of Melbourne is about to open its doors to larger container vessels, according to local sources.

  • Is the writing on the wall for Croatia's latest terminal?
    News

    Zagreb Pier: White elephant?

    2018-03-29T12:08:00Z

    COMMENT: In 1970, Sonya Gandhi, former president of the Indian National Congress, presented two Indian elephants - Sony and Lanka - to former Yugoslavia President Josip Broz Tito at his Summer Residence on the Croatian island of Veliki Brujini. Sony sadly passed away in 2010 but it looks like Lanka ...

  • News

    Meaningful reform still absent

    2018-03-05T14:10:00Z

    COMMENT: In Spain''s ports, the wait goes on. The Spanish government is yet to unveil the detailed regulations that are intended to reflect the terms negotiated between port employers and dockworkers regarding the reform of Spain’s port labour arrangements, necessary to comply with EU legislation intended to make Europe’s ports ...

  • The threat of industrial action lingers in Spain
    News

    Storm clouds gather again over Spanish ports

    2018-01-30T11:32:00Z

    COMMENT: There are now rumblings of discontent among Spain’s stevedoring workforce regarding what they see as an ‘unjustified’ delay to the approval of the negotiated terms for the Royal Decree that is intended to achieve port sector reforms.

  • Governance: Nigeria is moving closer to creating a national ports authority. Credit: APM Terminals
    News

    Nigeria's new dawn

    2017-12-16T10:01:00Z

    COMMENT: Finally, after more than a decade of delays at Nigeria’s National Assembly, the Nigerian Ports and Harbours Bill is in the final stages of approval that will lead to its enactment.

  • Growth: International terminal operators are expected to increase their presence in the East and Southern Africa region
    News

    Growth potential

    2017-11-06T09:40:00Z

    COMMENT: Annual container trade capacity is up 8%, but there are fewer services calling at East and Southern Africa (ESAF) box ports. These are among the key findings from a new report from consultant Dynamar.

  • Growth: Barcelona’s BEST terminal won by taking the path of least resistance. Credit: BEST
    News

    Breaking ranks

    2017-10-09T15:04:00Z

    COMMENT: The European Union-mandated liberalisation of Spain''s port services, which generated a period of significant unrest in the sector earlier in the year, is progressively leaving in its wake a changed pattern of container handling along Spain’s Mediterranean coastline.

  • Agreement: Spain's ports are now one step closer to stevedore reform. Credit: Jorge Franganillo
    News

    A stacked deck

    2017-08-22T10:41:00Z

    COMMENT: The five-month long industrial relations conflict in Spain’s ports has ended, but has it ended in a satisfactory way?

  • News

    Round and round

    2017-06-03T21:21:00Z

    COMMENT: The circular economy is firmly on the agenda of the European Commission right now - it was in the final throes of agreeing seemingly contentious new waste and recycling laws at the time of writing, writes Carly Fields.

  • Sold: the most recent Greek port tender has some unexplained peculiarities. Credit: Maureen Barlin
    News

    The Thessaloniki saga

    2017-06-03T21:20:00Z

    COMMENT: Over 10 years on from the time of the first concession attempt for the northern Greek port of Thessaloniki the port has finally been privatised, but is the result the best one and did the process really live up to European Union standards of transparency or are the Greek ...

  • Try again: Spain is about to launch a second mediated attempt to secure port labour system reforms. Credit: Cat Collector
    News

    Spain: Second time lucky

    2017-05-05T08:54:00Z

    COMMENT: Spain is about to launch a second attempt to reform its stevedoring industry in order to put it on a more competitive footing and thereby achieve compliance with European Union (EU) requirements.

  • Struck out: Spain's port labour is in an uncompetitive position. Credit: Armando G Alonso
    News

    Reform hiatus

    2017-04-03T16:48:00Z

    COMMENT: In mid-March, Spain’s Parliament rejected voting into law the port labour reforms that are necessary to meet European Commission requirements. In effect, Spain, for the time being at least, remains out of step with the majority of EU countries.

  • Slow working and other measures are leading to vessel diversions and loss of earnings in Spanish ports
    News

    Writing on the wall

    2017-03-06T09:41:00Z

    COMMENT: The Spanish Government has passed a draft law which aims to achieve compliance with European Union regulations governing the hiring of port labour.

  • Hands off: driverless trucks offer the potential of significant cost savings at ports
    News

    Driverless possibilities

    2017-02-03T09:16:00Z

    COMMENT: It is no surprise that the PSA Singapore has signalled its intention to introduce ‘truck platooning’ for container transfer between its container terminals.

  • Wind tunnel: inclement weather can quickly cripple a port. Credit: NOAA Photo Library
    News

    Perils of Mother Nature

    2016-12-05T10:58:00Z

    COMMENT: Never underestimate the power of Mother Nature. This is a reality that many seafarers fully appreciate, but not one that that is always grasped by those of us with our feet on terra firma. That is until an event occurs like the one in Brisbane on November 13 and ...

  • First move: India’s concession agreement reforms are a step in the right direction. Credit: Karthik Chandran, Velachery, Chennai, India
    News

    Real concession reform?

    2016-10-30T20:24:00Z

    COMMENT: India has released details of a proposed new model concession agreement which is designed to reform its terminal bidding process and attract more private sector investment.

  • Choppy waters: Hanjin's collapse has shaken the industry. Credit: Travis Wise
    News

    Heavy turbulence

    2016-10-03T09:42:00Z

    COMMENT: The best guestimate is that there are up to half a million containers in ‘nowhere land’ thanks to the collapse of Hanjin Shipping. Not all of the containers are on ships either; many are inland.

  • Downcast: will global container throughput be as low as 0.3% this year? Credit: John Bugg
    News

    Box or bust

    2016-09-05T09:44:00Z

    COMMENT: Industry analyst Alphaliner has come up with the stunning statistic that global container traffic will grow by just 0.3% this year, the second slowest growth rate since 2009 when volume shrank by -8.3% following the global financial crisis.