Supply Chain News

Over 1,650 Cadets Graduate from American Maritime Academies

The American Maritime Partnership (AMP) — the voice of the domestic maritime industry — congratulates the more than 1,650 young men and women who have graduated from the seven U.S. maritime academies this Spring. Applauding them for their dedication and commitment to pursuing a career that supports our nation  in times of both peace and war, AMP is proud to welcome a new generation to the workforce. Generations of retirement have created a shortage of mariners, making this and future classes of cadets all the more important.“A strong U.

World's Longest Wind Turbine Blade Debuts

The American supplier of rotor blades to the wind industry LM Wind Power, part of GE Renewable Energy, has displayed its first 107-meter blade, for GE’s Haliade-X 12 MW wind turbine, which has made its first trip outside its factory in Cherbourg, France.The LM 107.0 P is the first ever wind turbine blade to surpass 100 meters in length, said a press release from the wind turbine blades manufacturer.Final preparations for shipment of the blade are now underway.GE Renewable Energy…

CMA CGM Starts Weekly Service from Port Pipavav

The dedicated scheduled import train from Port Pipavav to Garhi Harsaru [NCR region] is operated by Gateway Rail Freight Ltd. (GRFL) for CMA CGM. The import train arrived at Garhi Harsaru on June 12th, 2019 and was received by Mr. Ugo Vincent, Managing Director CMA CGM India, and senior management from CMA CGM, Gateway Rail Freight Ltd. (GRFL) and APM Terminals Pipavav. The Import train which connects Pipavav to Garhi, Ludhiana & Piyala has a capacity of 180TEUs in a single run.The scheduled train service will provide reliable, safe and quick transport of commodities to the NCR region.

Samskip Readies Multimodal Network

Europe's largest multimodal transport group by freight volume Samskip said it is fully prepared for a North Sea container traffic surge, as attitudes harden in the run up to October's revised Brexit deadline.The global logistics company offering transport and related services by land, sea, rail and air said in a release that UK exporters and importers to start switching away from trailers and towards containerisation very soon, repeating a trend established in the run-up to the original deadline for Brexit.“We saw a significant push in container volumes up to March 2019…

Port of Oakland Concerned with China Trade War

Port of Oakland Executive Director Chris Lytle is sounding an alarm over the trade war with China. The veteran maritime leader this week warned that tariffs imposed by both sides threaten the U.S. economy. He added that trade barriers could dry up his customers’ access to a major export market.“We remain concerned about the impact that tariffs will have on the health of our economy,” the Executive Director wrote in a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. “To the extent that other countries are stepping in to provide goods that are exported by U.S.

“Cautious Optimism” for Goltens Dubai

The global downturn in offshore energy is well recorded, a downturn which has had impact on various arms of the energy and marine supply chain. While Goltens has felt the downturn like many other companies, it is reporting 'cautious optimism' in the Middle East premised on new international regulation and the need for shipowners to upgrade ships.Almost all the offshore vessels in Dubai are operating, and many have come in from Asia to do the same, but following the offshore crash in 2016, operators are delaying maintenance.

Maersk to Offer Customers Carbon-Neutral Transport

A new carbon neutral product - the first of its kind in the industry - is being piloted with select Maersk customers who are highly engaged in sustainable solutions for their supply chain. H&M Group is the first company to trial it as part of the shift towards carbon-neutral transportation.The biofuel in the pilot project is the same blend of used cooking oil and heavy which has been tested and successfully validated in a trial driven in collaboration with the Dutch Sustainability Growth Coalition (DSGC), and Shell his year.

Los Angeles Sets May Box Volume Record

The Port of Los Angeles moved 828,662 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in May, the busiest May in the Port’s 112-year history. The volumes reflect growth of 7.8 percent compared to last May. For the first five months of 2019, Port volumes have increased 5.2 percent compared to the same period last year. “I’m extremely pleased with another record month of throughput and grateful to our supply chain stakeholders, terminal operators and unparalleled labor force for their performance…

GAC Mulls Expansion

The shipping & logistics company GAC is tapping into the growing contract logistics business potential of the Asia Pacific, Indian Subcontinent and Middle East, with plans to further develop and expand in its operations in the regions.That was the message Lars Bergström, GAC’s Group Vice President for Asia Pacific & Indian Subcontinent, had for the Group’s Contract Logistics Solutions experts who gathered in Colombo, Sri Lanka, to chart GAC’s strategy to increase its share of the business in their regions.

HII Appoints Director of Enterprise Transformation

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) has announced that Cullen Glass has been named corporate director of enterprise transformation. He will report directly to Scott Stabler, executive vice president and chief transformation officer.As the director of enterprise transformation, Glass is responsible for working with corporate and division leadership to co-implement improvements in core business processes. His role will span multiple value streams, including supply chain, information technology/analytics and manufacturing.Glass spent the last 18 years of his career at Honeywell…

Maersk Unveils its First Cold Store in Russia

Danish international container shipping company A.P. Møller – Mærsk A/S (Maersk) has launched the construction of its new cold store facility in St. Petersburg to address the needs of a high-demand Russian market.The 3-chamber warehouse will offer specialised solutions extending the life cycle of perishable goods, said a press release from the business conglomerate with activities in the transport, logistics and energy sectors.On June 5th, 2019, the ground-breaking ceremony for the new warehouse took place in St.

ABS Plots Course to Low Carbon Shipping

ABS has launched its Low Carbon Shipping Outlook to help the maritime sector evaluate potential pathways to low carbon shipping.The Outlook defines ship technologies, operational efficiencies and alternative fuels and energy sources needed to reach 2030 and 2050 targets, noting specifically:2030 targets can be met through operational measures and efficiencies driven by connectivity and data analytics and energy efficient designs.Fuels are in focus to get to 2050. The conceptual…

Hutchison Ports, CN Rail to Build Terminal in Canada

Canadian Québec Port Authority (QPA) has signed a long-term commercial agreement with Hong Kong's Hutchison Ports and Canadian National Railway (CN) to build and operate a new container terminal, known as project Laurentia.The agreement increases Hutchison Ports' global network to 52 ports spanning 27 countries including the United Kingdom, Spain, Poland, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Australia, China, Pakistan, Egypt, Argentina, Mexico and Panama, said a press release.Hutchison…

Long Beach Port Awards Scholarships

The U.S. gateway for trans-Pacific trade Port of Long Beach announced $100,000 in scholarships for 77 local college and high school students as part of a dramatically expanded and acclaimed education outreach effort. The students receiving the scholarships were recognized at the Port’s sixth-annual “Celebrating Education” event, along with the Port’s 25 incoming high school summer interns, and the 22 local teachers who were trained in engineering education earlier this year as part of the Port's externship program.

AAPA to Co-Host Workforce Summit

To assist maritime and supply-chain logistics industries to better compete for job applicants, the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) will co-host its first-ever Workforce Development Summit in Long Beach, Calif., June 25-27, in conjunction with the Port of Long Beach, Long Beach City College and TransPORTS, the official national industry intermediary chosen by the U.S. Department of Labor to expand registered apprenticeship in ports and the multi-modal transportation…

INSIGHTS: Transportation Industry Outlook 2019

The driver shortage will once again shape the trucking industry in the coming year. For ocean shipping, that’s a real problem. Any transport mode is only as good as the one that immediately follows or precedes it in the intermodal supply chain.For trucking, the outlook hasn’t changed much in the last two years: Too much freight and not enough drivers to haul it. It’s both the best and worst of times all at once. True, this means the U.S. economy is still very healthy. But, it also means that carriers struggle to recruit and retain quality drivers – and that can be frustrating.

Interview: Sebastiaan Bleuanus, Wärtsilä

The May 2019 edition of Maritime Reporter & Engineering News features a 10-page feature section on "Thought Leadership" in the marine power sector. Here we extract and present the interview with Sebastiaan Bleuanus, GM for research coordination and funding, Wärtsilä.Please put in perspective and discuss the current environment and pressure to reduce emissions in the maritime industry.The last 15 years have seen a shift in legislative focus in two main areas; a tightening of the…

More Shippers Join Maersk's Blockchain Solution

Two of the world's biggest shipping groups will join a Maersk led blockchain platform aimed at boosting efficiency and limiting the enormous paper trail of global container shipping.With Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) and CMA CGM, the second- and fourth-largest container shipping companies, joining the platform, nearly half of all cargo being shipped by sea - which accounts for 90% of traded goods worldwide - will be tracked using it.More than 100 companies, ports or authorities, such as Procter & Gamble and U.S.

CMA CGM and MSC to Join TradeLens

Global container carriers CMA CGM and MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has announced they will join TradeLens, a blockchain-enabled digital shipping platform, jointly developed by A.P. Moller - Maersk and IBM.With CMA CGM, MSC, Maersk, and other carriers committed to the platform, data for nearly half of the world’s ocean container cargo will be available on TradeLens. The addition of CMA CGM and MSC will provide a significant boost to the TradeLens vision of greater trust, transparency, and collaboration across supply chains to help promote global trade.

DP World UAE Wins Sustainability Award

The global port operator DP World's UAE Region has been recognised for its efforts to create a more efficient and sustainable supply chain when it was awarded the Supply Chain Sustainability Award at this year’s Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA) Supply Chain Conference.Mohammed Sulaiman, Business Development Manager of DP World, UAE Region, received the award on behalf of the company at a ceremony held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Dubai’s Festival City,…

ChartCo Names Edwards Head of Procurement

Tom Edwards has been named as ChartCo’s new Head of Procurement, and takes on the responsibility for global purchasing on behalf of ChartCo and its associated offices in this newly created role.Edwards has a strong procurement, purchasing and project management background both within consultancy and industry with Rolls Royce and the BT Group. He will help deliver traceability and responsible sourcing while working in partnership with suppliers to reduce costs, mitigate risks, drive innovation and growth…

Tyne Port Attracts Offshore Wind Players

The Port of Tyne, which comprises the commercial docks in and around the River Tyne in Tyne and Wear in the northeast of England, is increasing their offer to potential offshore wind manufacturers.Offshore wind could provide 30% of Britain's electricity generation by 2030, and the Port of Tyne is perfectly placed to support this growing renewable sector.Announcing that the ‘Tyne is right’ to utilise its location, within 100 nautical miles of Dogger Bank, Hornsea, Seagreen and Sofia…

CargoX's Blockchain B/L Test Successful

The new dry bulk shipping company G2 Ocean and emerging markets specialists Manuchar have announced the successful trial of CargoX’s blockchain-based Smart Bill of Lading (B/L) Solution, and in doing said the traditional bill of lading is “ready for retirement."According to a statement form G2 Ocean, a joint venture of two of breakbulk and bulk shipping companies - Gearbulk and Grieg Star, the two companies concluded their test of the blockchain-based B/L system in April.“Paper Bills of Lading are already considered a historic artefact.

CONTAINER PORTS: Boxed in or Busting Out?

Benchmarking the Nation’s top container ports in 2018 and looking ahead to what comes next.The nation’s major ports finished 2018 and began 2019 setting monthly and yearly container volume records, but agitated trade activity in the White House raised questions about what corrections would be permanent and which would not.President Donald Trump said on Febuary 24 he is delaying the scheduled March 1 increase in the tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports. The president said on Twitter he wants to give negotiators more time to reach a comprehensive trade deal with Beijing.

Interview: Edmonds Brown, Cummins, Inc.

The May 2019 edition of Maritime Reporter & Engineering News features a eight-page feature section on "Thought Leadership" in the marine power sector. Here we extract and present the interview with Edmonds Brown, Cummins, Inc., Commercial Marine Segment Leader.Please put in perspective and discuss the current environment and pressure to reduce emissions in the maritime industry.When I started in the marine industry, my primary focus was working to achieve certification of Cummins’ marine engines for U.S.

PSA, SATS Mull Multimodal Transport Hub in Singapore

Port and terminal operator PSA International and ground handler and in-flight caterer  SATS have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate in seamlessly connecting their sea and air transport services, with the goal of improving supply chain efficiency and boosting Singapore’s status as a multimodal transport hub.Under the MoU, PSA and SATS will work together on initiatives such as “yard-to-port” data linkages, network extensions between both companies, and enhanced track-and-trace capabilities.