International ports

The port of Paranagua, Brazil’s second-largest in tonnage terms and third-largest in container traffic, could soon have another container terminal, although some remain skeptical about the Novo Porto project with a capacity of 1.5 million twenty-foot-equivalent units and cost of 4 billion reais ($1.1 billion).

Logistics providers out of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust are again reporting long truck lines and frequent gate closings at terminals in India’s busiest public container gateway, reminiscent of the gridlock in the second half of last year following labor disruptions that diverted some cargo to nearby private, or minor, ports.

Canada's largest port could run into a "brick wall" limiting maritime expansion in coming years, unless provincial rules restricting land use can modified and some local political ill-will overcome.

On the back of roaring chicken exports the rapidly growing Terminal de Conteineres de Paranagua will spend $310 million to boost its capacity 1 million 20-foot equivalent units to 2.5 million TEUs after receiving a concession running through 2048. The investment will also allow the port to handle ships with capacities of up to 12,000 TEUs.

The port of Antwerp’s container traffic increased 4.6 percent in the first quarter from a year ago, extending a growth trend that boosted volume to an all-time high in 2015, while its closest rivals, Rotterdam and Hamburg, posted declines.

Cross-border e-commerce and the continuing development of a new free trade zone are expected to be the primary drivers of growth in Tianjin’s port and logistics sector while aiding the recovery of the city’s economy following deadly explosions at the port last year.

India’s Ministry of Shipping has drawn up an ambitious list of nearly 140 public-private-partnership contracts involving a total investment of about Rs. 83,000 crore (approximately $13 billion) for awarding at a three-day investor conference scheduled to begin April 14 in Mumbai.

DP World Southampton will fit container-weighing equipment to its entire straddle carrier fleet to support the weighing service that the terminal will offer shippers from July 1, when the new SOLAS regulation will be enforced.

Drayage and inland infrastructure bottlenecks that have long been a drag on growth at state-owned Chennai Port continue to drive up demand for alternative port options on India’s east coast.

India’s ports sector continued its financial recovery in fiscal 2015-16 after its 12 major state-owned ports, known as major ports, booked an increase in operating profit of 19 percent.

African countries face the daunting challenge of securing continuous investment and project finance solutions to bring port infrastructure and supply chain networks up to par with those of the rest of the world.

Container Terminal St. Petersburg, one of three container terminals at the Big St. Petersburg seaport, has gained market share by reducing its pricing and offering cheaper customs inspections.

Longshoremen working for terminal operator Patrick at the Australian port of Fremantle have been on strike since Wednesday with another action planned for Sydney’s Autostrad Terminal April 13 to increase pressure on Patrick to reach an agreement on employment terms and conditions.

The Greek government today officially sold the country’s largest port, Piraeus, to China’s Cosco Group, prompting striking dockers to stage a protest march through downtown Athens.

Senior maritime and transport officials in Ghana identified piracy and corruption as central challenges in the development of an efficient port and supply chain network in West Africa.

Singapore-based carrier Continental Shipping Line has introduced a direct container service between Chennai, India, and Yangon, Myanmar, to capture expected trade growth on the route.

The volume of containers handled by Adani Hazira Container Terminal, a privately-operated alternative gateway on India’s west coast, nearly doubled in fiscal year 2015-16, which ended March 31, driven by new service additions.

Brazil’s passionate Ports Minister Helder Barbalho announced that the recently delayed second tranche of port privatizations valued at more than 2.8 billion reais ($763.3 million) would go forward on June 5 at the Sao Paulo bourse.

The already bleak situation facing the container terminals at Brazil’s port of Santos has become even more dire.

India’s major ports controlled by the union government recorded a 3 percent year-over-year increase in container throughput in fiscal year 2015-16, which ended March 31, according to the newest provisional port statistics collected by JOC.com.

APM Terminals-operated Gateway Terminals India resumed normal vessel operations Tuesday morning after outsourced workers handling rubber-tire gantry crane operations ended a four-day strike that shut down export gates at the terminal and slowed down cargo handling at India's busiest public port complex, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust.

Ocean containers are piling up at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, threatening to impact normal operations at India’s biggest public port complex, as a stoppage by unionized workers handling rubber-tire gantry crane operations entered its fourth day on Monday.

Labor problems associated with rubber-tire gantry crane operations that had been a key contributor to congestion and bottlenecks at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust last year have resurfaced, hours after JOC.com reported that stable industrial relations are imperative if India’s biggest public container handler intends to cope with the challenges ahead in this era of ever-larger mega ship calls and fierce competition from nearby private ports.

DP World-operated Nhava Sheva (India) Gateway Terminals at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust on Friday hosted the MSC Cristina, reportedly the largest container ship ever to call Indian shores.

All but one of Japan’s five biggest ports posted negative traffic results in 2015 amid growing economic uncertainty both at home and abroad, with only the Port of Kobe weathering the storm well enough to eke out growth.

Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust finished fiscal year 2015-16 with a new record in container lifts even as weaker global demand and other challenges, especially labor flare-ups and landside bottlenecks, hurt the pace of growth at India’s busiest pubic container gateway.

The exit of the PMDB party from Brazil’s ruling coalition casts fresh doubt on the ability of the government to adequately dredge the port of Santos in a timely manner as it clears the way for the minister of the Special Ports Ministry, a PMDB member, to leave his post.

The landside bottlenecks plaguing publicly-owned Chennai Port are seen as increasingly benefiting new, privately operated, minor cargo terminals on India’s southeastern coast.

Busan Port Authority, the operator of the port of Busan, the world’s sixth-largest container port, is planning to invest in overseas port and logistics facilities as a key strategy that will help define the future of the South Korean port.

Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, which has now moved into an era of mega-ship calls on the back of a deeper channel, is inching toward a new record in container lifts during the current fiscal year, which ends March 31.

In the nearly nine years since the Oct. 31, 2007, inauguration of container shipping services through Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Cosco has been the dominant carrier to the port that offers the fastest transit from Asia to the U.S. Midwest.

Japan’s government on Friday acquired a majority 50 percent stake in the company operating the ports of Yokohama and Kawasaki for 500 million yen ($4.4 million), allowing the terminal operator to jack up its capital investment.

The Panama Canal Authority said its new locks will be inaugurated June 26, more than two years after the original completion target.

NUTEP, a container terminal in the Novorossiysk seaport, will double its container capacity in the coming years through the building of a new modern berth for mega-ships with capacities of 10,000 twenty-foot-equivalent units, according to Alex Papusha, NUTEP’s director of operations.

Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust has entered a new era of mega-ship calls after India’s busiest public container handler completed a dredging project that deepened its fairway to 14 meters (46 feet).

Embraport, one of Brazil’s newest container terminals in the Port of Santos, is looking to bring in a new partner to spread the risk of running the operation against a background of falling box volumes in Brazil, sharp falls in profitable imports, and overcapacity at Santos.

A container storage penalty scheme at Jakarta International Container Terminal introduced as part of efforts to reduce cargo dwell time is being revised after shippers said the additional fees are too high and hurt business.

The Port of Kobe saw its container traffic rise 3.4 percent year-over-year to 2.7 million 20-foot equivalent units in 2015, the second highest on record and the highest since 1995, when the western Japanese port city was devastated by a powerful earthquake.

Some 4,000 dockworkers in Santos, Brazil, South America’s top port, carried out a wildcat and possibly illegal strike and picket Monday, slowing movement at four port terminals, including the two leading container facilities in the port.

The Conti Group, a U.S.-based global developer and builder of capital-intensive assets, has won a tender for the building of a deep-sea port on the Georgia Black Sea Coast at Anaklia, according to recent statements of Giorgi Kvirikashvili, Georgia’s prime minister.