Supply Chain News

Singapore Mega Port on Track for 2021

Singapore on Tuesday said its plans to build the world's biggest container terminal in a single location were on track, as it held a ceremony to mark a milestone in the initial construction phase of the mega-project.Tuas Terminal is set to open progressively from 2021, six years after work began, and it is expected to be capable of handling 65 million twenty-foot long shipping containers per annum when fully completed in 2040.Once completed, the terminal is slated to become the world's largest container terminal in a single location…

Nakilat Reports 9% Profit Jump in Q1

Qatar Gas Transport Company (Nakilat), a shipping and maritime company with the world's largest LNG shipping fleet, reported a 9 percent increase in profit for the first quarter of this year ended March 31, 2019.Nakilat reported a net profit of 236 million Qatari Riyals ($64.8 million) which compares to 217 million Qatari Riyals reported in the corresponding quarter in 2018."This increase was mainly due to the acquisitions of two Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) carriers and one Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) in 2018, and higher volume of projects at Nakilat’s ship repair facility.

Breakbulk Europe Returns to Bremen in 2020

Breakbulk Europe, the world’s largest event for the project cargo and breakbulk industry, will return to Bremen, Germany, for the third consecutive year in 2020 at Messe Bremen from 26-28 May.The official signing took place today at the Bremen Town Hall between Martin Günthner, Minister of Economic Affairs, Labour and Ports of the Federal State of Bremen, Germany, and Nick Davison, Portfolio Director for Breakbulk Events, ITE Group. Joining the two cosigners were Hans Peter Schneider…

CMA CGM Finalizes Ceva Logistics Tender

French shipping giant CMA CGM has completed its public tender offer to acquire CEVA Logistics.The French carrier has confirmed the acquisition of Ceva Logistics after announcing it holds 97.89 percent of the company’s stock and will therefore de-list it from the Zurich Stock Exchange after April 16."Merging CEVA's operations into the CMA CGM Group will strengthen its position as a worldwide leader in maritime transport and logistics. Present in 160 countries, the Group will be 110…

PSA Group Appoints Peter Voser as Chairman

PSA International, one of the world's largest port operators, announced that  Peter Voser, currently Deputy Chairman, is taking on the role of Group Chairman of the PSA Board.Fock Siew Wah stepped down as Group Chairman on 1 April 2019, and will assume the role of Special Advisor to PSA until his retirement on 31 July 2019.As one of PSA’s longest serving Chairmen, Fock has steered PSA with visionary leadership and strategic foresight since August 2005. With his astute guidance…

Cosco Intros Guangzhou Supply Chain Platform

The global ports operator Cosco Shipping Ports signed investment agreement of Cosco Shipping Ports Supply Chain Project with Guangzhou Nansha Economic and Technology Development Zone Commercial Bureau.The Cosco Group company said that it plans to develop phase I of terminal extended business in the land near Nansha Stevedoring Corporation Limited of Port of Guangzhou and Guangzhou South China Oceangate Container Terminal Company Limited, in order to develop port supply chain platform…

Dachser Reports Year of Growth

German-headquartered logistics provider Dachser posted 5.5 percent growth in 2018 on record shipment and tonnage figures, driven primarily by its European export business.The company reported increased consolidated net revenue of EUR 5.57 billion (USD 6.58 bn), with shipment numbers lifted 2.5 percent to 83.7 million and tonnage up 3 percent to 41.3 million metric tons.While the global logistics provider’s growth was boosted by economic conditions, it said certain challenges became increasingly apparent: the shortage of professional drivers and logistics operatives…

ECSA Workshop on IMO GHG Strategy

The European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA) organised a workshop on the practical implementation of measures to reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions, attended by representatives of the European Commission, the European Maritime Safety Agency, the Member States, as well as industry stakeholders and environmental organisations.The focus was on the opportunities and challenges of reducing the shipping industry’s carbon footprint. The speakers presented concrete initiatives in alternative propulsion technology…

Rotterdam Port Expands Inland Shipping

Netherlands-based Port of Rotterdam, the largest port in Europe, has signed a partnership with the North Brabant region, the region of Eindhoven, north of Belgium, to realise increased container transport via inland shipping.In 2018, over 8.6 million containers were transhipped in the Port of Rotterdam (14.5 million TEU). With over 1 million containers, North Brabant is one of Rotterdam’s most important hinterland regions, but with a relatively high share of road transport is…

Containershipping: Restoring Balance

The repositioning of empty containers costs the liner industry an estimated $15-20billion every year according to Boston Consulting Group (BCG), as containers sit idle at a depot or are repositioned to a different loading point while empty. This is time spent not earning revenue, whil incurring additional costs, and is estimated by BCG to account for 5-8% of total operating costs for an average container liner. These expenses can include inland repositioning by rail or road onto a different port or terminal…

Navis Rolls-out Smart Tech

The terminal operating systems provider unveiled its new offering, ‘Navis Smart,’ providing new ways for container terminals and carriers alike to capture and process the abundance of available industry data to optimize planning, visibility and asset utilization.Navis, a part of Cargotec Corporation, and the provider of operational technologies and services that unlock greater performance and efficiency for the world’s leading organizations across the shipping supply chain, said that Navis Smart is a layer of technology that will enable and connect Navis solutions…

New COSCO Service Between UK, Europe, Russia

Chinese state-owned shipping and logistics services supplier company COSCO Shipping Lines announced a new COSCO feeder service from St Petersburg, Russia will begin calling at DP World Southampton."COSCO is to introduce a new weekly call at DP World Southampton, as part of a rotation including St Petersburg, Russia; Kotka, Finland; Southampton, UK; and Rotterdam, Netherlands," said a press release.The news comes after COSCO confirmed in February that DP World Southampton will be a permanent call on its feeder service.

GAC Sri Lanka Taps Edirisinghe as Director

Business veteran Ravi Edirisinghe has been appointed Director/Chief Executive Officer of GAC Group of companies in Sri Lanka.He brings to his new role 27 years of knowledge and experience in strategic planning, business development and re-engineering, supply chain management, logistics and project management in diverse industries to this role. He is responsible for the strategic growth and business direction of the Group comprising GAC Shipping Ltd, GAC Marine Services Pvt Ltd and GAC Logistics Ltd.

PSA, Partners Jointly Acquire Gdańsk

Singapore-based port operator PSA International, Poland’s sovereign wealth fund PFR, and IFM Global Infrastructure Fund (GIF), have agreed a deal with Australian infrastructure firm Macquarie to buy Poland’s largest container port DCT Gdansk.DCT Gdańsk is situated at the crossroads of the Baltic deep-sea trading routes and holds a strategic position as a major gateway into Poland and Central-Eastern European markets.Construction of the Port began in 2005 with the outgoing shareholders…

Hapag-Lloyd Collaborates with XVELA

German-based global cargo container shipping line, Hapag-Lloyd AG Hapag-Lloyd set to implement XVELA’s collaboration services to increase transparency throughout the transportation supply chain and more efficiently employ assets and resources.A press release from XVELA, the world’s first maritime business network for ocean carriers and terminal operators, said that both companies plan to initiate the global rollout on one of Hapag Lloyd’s premier Latin American services and will continue to broaden throughout its terminal partners.

Crowley Promotes Douglas

Crowley Maritime Corp. has promoted Ira Douglas to vice president, labor relations, to lead the company’s relationships, operating agreements and partnerships with unions representing seafarers, terminal stevedores and truck drivers.Douglas, formerly director of labor relations, will continue to be based in the company’s Jacksonville office and report to Bill Pennella, vice chairman and executive vice president.Crowley works with seven unions throughout the country that support safe and reliable working environments for employees and quality…

LR Chalks Out Energy Growth Strategy

Lloyd’s Register (LR), which ranks as one of the world’s largest providers of professional services for the engineering and technology sectors, has chalked out a new strategy for future growth in the energy market.The firm, which started out in 1760 as a marine classification society and now has more than 7,000 staff globally, said that the first phase of its new global strategy for its energy business to reposition the professional services portfolio for growth through the energy transition…

Drewry Benchmarking Club Reaches Milestone

Drewry  has welcome one of the world’s leading automotive and energy companies to its exclusive, online ocean freight cost comparison service, Benchmarking Club.With this latest addition, Drewry Benchmarking Club now counts more than 10% of its members in the S&P 100 and Nasdaq 100.Launched in 2014, Drewry Benchmarking Club is a closed user group designed exclusively for shippers and is one of a number of ocean freight procurement support services from Drewry’s logistics consultancy arm…

Imports at Annual Low on Seasonal Lull, Tariff Worries

With the retail industry in its annual lull between seasons and plans for a tariff increase on hold, imports at the nation’s major retail container ports are expected to drop to their lowest level in almost a year this month, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.“Now that the holiday season is over and summer has yet to crank up, this is the quiet time of year for retail supply chains,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said.

Vancouver Port Cargo Volumes Hit Record in 2018

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority has released the 2018 year-end statistics for cargo through the Port of Vancouver. The second consecutive year of record cargo volumes reflects Canada’s growing trade, said a press release.Overall cargo volume through Canada’s largest port reached a record high of 147 million tonnes, up 3.5 per cent from 2017, it said."One of the port’s biggest strengths continues to be the ability to accommodate the most diversified range of cargo of any port in North America.

Cargotec Reorganizes Kalmar

Finnish cargo-handling machinery manufacturer Cargotec said it has reorganized the businesses under its Kalmar brand and has appointed Stefan Lampa as President of Kalmar Mobile Solutions, in a move aimed at enhancing Kalmar's growth opportunities.Kalmar, a provider of cargo handling solutions and services to ports, terminals, distribution centers and heavy industry, will be reorganized into three strategic business units: Kalmar Mobile Solutions, Kalmar Automation Solutions and Navis, effective April 1, 2019.

Securing, Enhancing America’s Ports & Supply Chain

The American Association of Port Authorities and its membership recently looked ahead at the challenges and opportunities facing the Port Security Grant Program.In its annual “State of Freight” series, AAPA has highlighted the transportation infrastructure needs of U.S. ports, state transportation agencies and multimodal projects. In this final report in the State of Freight series, AAPA turns to the vital role that security infrastructure plays in moving goods.In 2002, Congress…

Inland Port Development: Take the train

The intermodal equation for any deep draft port is incomplete without its inland component.It’s definitely a work in progress.There are inland ports in the truest sense: major lakefront and riverfront cities such as Chicago and St. Louis, including even Duluth and Tulsa, with vast distribution areas, wildly varying cargo, roads, trains and waterways to serve them.And, then, there are inland ports, dry ports that have vast distribution areas, containerized cargo delivered from true oceanfront ports…

Oil, Gas Majors Join Blockchain Consortium

A group of seven major oil and gas companies, including ExxonMobil Corp., Chevron Corp. and ConocoPhillips, announced a partnership to establish the first industry blockchain consortium in the United States.With several use cases across the industry value chain, the consortium intends to conduct proofs of concept with this emerging technology in 2019, said a press release from OOC Oil & Gas Blockchain Consortium.The OOC Oil & Gas Blockchain Consortium was founded to advance industry blockchain technology learnings for the purpose of driving industry standards…

Inside Cruising’s LNG Plunge

Back when most owners were still debating how to handle the 2020 sulfur cap, or whether the deadline would even stick, Carnival forged ahead with a massive bet on LNG for cruise-ship propulsion. That early move is now starting to pay off.AIDAnova, the first cruise ship to ever be powered at sea by LNG, set sail on its maiden voyage from Tenerife in the Canary Islands on December 19, 2018. Speaking with Maritime Logistics Professional six weeks later, Carnival Corporation senior vice-president of maritime affairs Tom Strang gave his early verdict: LNG works.“It’s good news.

WiseTech Global Acquires Containerchain

Logistics software company WiseTech Global has announced its acquisition of Singaporean supply chain tracking and management software firm Containerchain.Based in Singapore, Containerchain provides optimization services such as real-time tracking, operational planning and automation to logistics communities in Europe, the US and the Asia-Pacific region.Containerchain serves the container community of empty container depots, road transporters, container terminals, warehouses, shipping lines and cargo owners.