International ports

Container terminals at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, India’s biggest, public, container gateway, are gearing up to meet the July 1 implementation of new container weight rules set by the International Maritime Organization’s Safety of Life at Sea, or SOLAS, convention.

DP World Nhava Sheva, which last month fought a long battle to end slowdowns brought on by industrial unrest, has upgraded its automated gate systems, allowing much faster truck turnarounds at India’s biggest container gateway, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust.

The precipitous drop in Russia’s container traffic last year due to its slowing economy and Western sanctions has created a shortage of containers estimated at 400,000 for Moscow shipping companies, and it could continue to grow.

In an attempt to ease congestion at terminal gates and reduce wait times for drayage, customs authorities at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, India’s biggest, public, container gateway, have done away with the procedure requiring truckers to present gate-in permits issued electronically in hard copy form.

Container volume at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust edged up roughly 1 percent year-over-year in January as India’s biggest, public container handler looks to speed up operations following the end of prolonged industrial unrest at the DP World facility in the harbor.

The Suez Canal posted a year-over-year drop in throughput of containers and container ships in 2015. The number of containers shipped through the canal fell 2.3 percent compared with 2014, to 41.2 million 20-foot-equivalent units, and the number of container ships that transited the Canal fell 3 percent to 5,941, according to figures from the Suez Canal Authority.

The Port of Gothenburg’s container traffic declined by 2 percent in 2015 in contrast to a 3 percent increase in total freight handled by the largest Scandinavian cargo hub.

Authorities at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, India’s busiest, public container gateway, aim to comply with the new container weight verification rules that are set to take effect July 1 by establishing a system to weigh containers within its normal yard operations.

The main ports of China’s Yangtze River Delta will introduce compulsory emissions reduction requirements from April 1 this year with non-compliant ships potentially facing fines of up to $15,000 under national air pollution laws.

Container throughput at APM Terminals-operated Gujarat Pipavav Port fell 9.2 percent year-over-year in the third fiscal quarter, but was up by 21 percent from the prior quarter, according to a company filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Investment in India’s port infrastructure will reach $2.1 billion in fiscal 2015-16 and add 162 million tonnes (179 million tons) per annum of new capacity to the country’s 12 largest ports, according to the country’s Ministry of Shipping.

India’s largest container port, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), handled 4.48 million TEU in 2015, representing growth of just 0.1 percent, as the port struggled with labor and congestion issues for much of the year.

The Port of Liverpool has gained a new service, increasing shippers’ access to central and northern U.K., Ireland, Portugal, Morocco, Spain and the Canary Islands.

Localfrio Logistica, owner of the container storage facility at the Port of Santos where a fire recently broke out and temporarily closed a container terminal, has been hit with fines totaling 10.149 million reais ($2.51 million).

Hong Kong slid to fifth place in the global port rankings after another dismal year of declining volumes, with the east Chinese port of Ningbo-Zhoushan stepping into fourth spot.

International Container Transshipment Terminal, or Vallarpadam Terminal, at the Port of Cochin riding high since the addition of the intra-Asia Galex service last year, has upgraded its connectivity with a new, weekly intra-India feeder service.

Greek ports will be brought to a standstill by a 48-hour strike tomorrow, the second two day walkout in two weeks.

Colombo International Container Terminal more than doubled its container throughput in 2015 as investment in capability to handle the world’s largest container vessels appears to be paying off.

Two large chemical plants in Tianjin will be relocated at a cost of $4.4 billion this year after the conclusion of safety checks that began after deadly explosions tore through the north China port in August.

Jawaharal Nehru Port Trust, India’s biggest container handler, last week more than doubled its refrigerated cargo-handling capacity when it opened a new reefer site in the harbor.

The Panama Canal Authority is shooting to open its third set of larger locks that can handle post-Panamax ships in May, but it doesn’t expect the larger locks to attract new services for several months.

A month-long industrial unrest in Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, spearheaded by some employees at DP World-operated Nhava Sheva International Container Terminal over demands tied to wage increases and better working conditions, was settled over the weekend, allowing restoration of normal operations at India’s biggest container gateway.

The owner of a container terminal in Brazil plans to pick the top three bidders in the first week of February and request firm offers after receiving 10 non-binding proposals.

Throughput at China’s top container ports expanded in 2015 but figures show a trend of slowing growth amid softer global demand for Chinese-made goods and macroeconomic uncertainty.

The Panama Canal Authority is betting its future on more than a third set of massive new locks that can handle post-Panamax ships and attract more container services. It is counting on construction of a large new container terminal that will serve as a transshipment hub for North and South America and the creation of a new logistics zone along the canal that will attract assembly and light manufacturing activity.

The rate of container cargo traffic decline at Russian seaports is slowing but still remains high, with volume plummeting by 25.1 percent in the fourth quarter, according to the Russian Association of Commercial Seaports.

Gate operations at Nhava Sheva International Container Terminal, which took a hit due to the abrupt disruption earlier this week, have picked up speed over the past two days, according to the latest update from terminal operator DP World Nhava Sheva.

When the Panama Canal’s third set of larger locks open to commercial traffic this spring, the massive expansion project will be more than a year and a half behind the original target date of October 2014 and an estimated $150 million over the $5.25 billion budget set 10 years ago.

International Container Transshipment Terminal, or Vallarpadam, at India’s Port of Cochin expanded its intermodal freight access earlier this week when state-owned Container Corp. of India introduced a weekly train service connecting the DP World facility with Coimbatore, a major southern India inland point.

Greece has accepted a “significantly improved” offer from China’s Cosco Group for the state’s majority stake in the Piraeus Port Authority.

Dockworker unions at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust on Tuesday agreed to recall their previous notice calling for a stoppage on Jan. 20 over demands tied to medical benefits following an intervention by port management that averted disruptions that would have placed more pressure on shippers and ocean carriers using India’s biggest container handler.

Contship Italia’s container traffic declined in 2015 but it maintained its leading market position in Italy as four of its five domestic terminals posted higher volumes.

Greece’s privatization agency will today weigh an improved offer from China’s Cosco Pacific for a majority stake in the port of Piraeus.

Nhava Sheva International Container Terminal, a DP World facility at India’s Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, on Tuesday said operations have returned to “near normal speed” and all freight accesses are open, a day after the private operator was forced to close following blockades set up by striking employees at entry gates.

Chinese investors aren’t scaling back on freight projects in Russia even though both countries’ economies are suffering, according to Russia’s minister of Far East development.

The port of Antwerp has said that it expects the European Commission to clear it of a charge from logistics group Katoen Natie that it had been guilty of discrimination in its treatment of the port’s leading container terminal operators.

India has ousted China as the emerging market with the most growth potential, according to a global survey of more than 1,100 logistics and supply chain executives.

Shore handling charges at the key East Africa gateway ports of Mombasa and Dar es Salaam increased in 2015 while port dwell times for cargo continued to languish well below global standards.

After bottlenecks and delays in 2014, it was tempting to greet the lack of congestion in ports across Asia in 2015 with relief, but the open berthing windows and “come right in” signs were, in fact, an indicator of falling demand.

The opening of larger Panama Canal locks, already postponed several times by construction delays, has been pushed back again and now is expected early in the second quarter, a canal official said.