Post Script – Page 4
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NewsReform hiatus
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.
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NewsWriting on the wall
COMMENT: The Spanish Government has passed a draft law which aims to achieve compliance with European Union regulations governing the hiring of port labour.
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NewsDriverless possibilities
COMMENT: It is no surprise that the PSA Singapore has signalled its intention to introduce ‘truck platooning’ for container transfer between its container terminals.
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NewsPerils of Mother Nature
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 ...
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NewsReal concession reform?
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.
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NewsHeavy turbulence
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.
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NewsBox or bust
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.
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NewsNo ‘strings’ please
COMMENT: This column has mentioned before the contradiction in terms associated with port and terminal privatisations where government wants to ‘keep a finger in the pie.’
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NewsTaking West Africa in
COMMENT: Dynamar’s latest container trade report on the West Africa Container Trades highlights the trends of increasing ship sizes and the recent fall in the number of carriers active in the West African trade lane, which has led to a reduction in the number of vessels deployed and in services, ...
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Not Melbourne’s finest hour
“It is the delicate alignment of public and private interests that determines the structure of port management and port development policy,” emphasises the World Bank Port Reform Tool Kit when looking at port management structures.
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NewsBig future ahead
It’s not often the terminal operating sector is presented with the opportunity to acquire a brand new terminal operating site, where all the hard work has been done in terms of infrastructure development, and which is basically ready to commence operations on takeover.
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NewsMombasa: process versus vested interest?
The completion of the first phase of the second container terminal in Mombasa, a new deep-water facility, is imminent. At the beginning of 2015 there were a lot of statements to the effect that the terminal would be open early for business – some suggested March 2015.
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ECSA under the microscope
A new review of the port system along the East Coast of South America sees it continued maturation.
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NewsPuerto Bahia up for sale
The next major phase of expansion of unit load traffic in the hub port of Cartagena will be at Puerto Bahia, the new dry cargo port. And the burning issue of the moment is which terminal operating company will oversee the forecast expansion.
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NewsMombasa operator hiatus
COMMENT: It was originally scheduled to be announced in July but now informed sources indicate the name of the new Mombasa container terminal operator will be announced in late September/early October.
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NewsHas Gdynia missed the boat?
Traditionally Gdynia has been Poland’s main container import/export gateway but slowly and surely this status has been eroded and the recent announcement by the G6 alliance that it intends to implement calls at the Deepwater Container Terminal (DCT) Gdansk can be seen as another way step in this process.
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NewsPlayground of the alliances
COMMENT: Over the past twelve months the container business has been turned on its head with shifting alliances, the arrival of the mega-ships and an ordering spree with enough capacity to make a grown man cry.
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Piraeus farce
The on-off nature of the concession plans for the port of Piraeus has become something of a joke since the Greek Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras and his coalition party took office In January.
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NewsTranshipment opportunity
COMMENT: Not all container transhipment takes place at the mega hubs such as Singapore, Tanjung Pelepas, Busan, Algeciras, Malta Freeport and so on. It can also take place as a healthy adjunct to gateway port operations – import and export activity – unless of course bureaucracy gets in the way.
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NewsA proposition with handcuffs
COMMENT: The Dock Workers Union, the union which represents the majority of workers at the port of Mombasa, Kenya, has stated that it now supports the idea of offering a concession to the private sector for the new 450,000 teu container terminal under development, but only if this first phase ...
