Port infrastructure

It has taken many years, but tangible progress is finally being made in the engineering works to widen and deepen the Port of Hamburg’s key access waterway.

Altamira, Mexico’s fourth-largest port by cargo volume, is moving ahead with dredging work and a bridge repair project that port officials hope will attract larger cargo volumes.

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam unveiled an international trade plan to boost exports by 50 percent in the next 15 years, a key initiative since laden exports fell between January and August for the second consecutive year.

JAXPORT received a $20 million grant from the USDOT, which will fund a portion of the $238 million cost of expanding the Blount Island terminal in Jacksonville as part of a long-term plan to drive more traffic and larger containerships to the port.

The Port of Philadelphia is planning for an increase in rail cargo and refrigerated goods as it as it prepares to handle larger vessels when the dredging of the Delaware River is complete.

Vessels of up to 14,000 TEU could be calling at the Port of Mobile by 2024 if a $400 million dredging project approved three weeks ago by the US Army Corps of Engineers goes according to plan.

The state of Florida has appropriated $35.3 million dollars to deepen the Jacksonville Harbor to 47 feet along a 11-mile stretch to the Blount Island terminal by 2023.

The Port of Houston is looking for industry and public support as it tries to accelerate the pace of a project to widen the Houston Ship Channel amid growing cargo volumes.

It has taken many years, but finally dredging work on the crucial river access to Europe’s third-largest port has begun.

Private businesses that would benefit from a project to widen and deepen the Houston Ship Channel could speed its completion by helping fund the $1 billion project, officials said.

Non-container vessel operators and users say the increasing size of container ships, and the narrowness of the channel, means that other ships are sometimes restricted from using the channel because container ships are so large no other vessel can occupy the channel.

While the Port of Houston Authority ruled that only one container vessel larger than 9,500 TEU could traverse the port channel each week, the authority argues that enshrining the limit into law could have sweeping consequences that would damage the port economy.

Resin industry and other exporters are bracing for the impact of a new Port of Houston regulation limiting mega-ship transport on the port’s main channel to one a week.

The Port of New York and New Jersey is preparing for the future arrival of 18,000-TEU vessels by raising cranes, planning new dredging, and looking to improve the efficiency of ships through its main channel.

A $6.9 million federal grant will enable the Port of Baltimore to dredge to 50 feet a berth at its only container terminal, enabling the terminal to better handle growing cargo volumes by hosting two mega-ships at once.

Port of Hamburg marketing joint CEO Ingo Egloff said the vital infrastructure project was being blocked by objections from environmental pressure groups, which he said was unacceptable.

A deal between the port of Santos and pilots will allow more cargo to enter the port and provide carriers with more operational flexibility.

The biggest ship in CMA CGM's fleet called at Hamburg this week, but even though the port has the infrastructure to handle mega-ships, the delay in dredging the Elbe River access channel continues to hold back volume growth.

The depth of 55 feet would make Virginia the deepest harbor on the US East Coast.

The Port of Boston’s stance regarding its expansion is, “If you build it, they will come.” The port, which after its upgrade will be able to handle 14,000 TEU ships, also says it will be able to bring freight closer to customers than other US East Coast ports.

Channel-deepening projects at the ports of Savannah and Corpus Christi are included in the Trump administration’s US Army Corps of Engineers budget request; Congress has the final say regarding funding. Georgia's governor argued the Savannah project is the Southeast's most important infrastructure project.

Port CEO Eric Green called the start of dredging “a huge day for our city, our region, and our state.”

Port of Hamburg CEO Ingo Egloff had described the legal challenges as a “blockade”

Dredging at the port of Rio de Janeiro will enable it to handle ships of 10,000 to 12,000 TEU.

Bangladesh has revised it plans for the Payra port.

The $85.1 million dredging work will raise the outer bar of the Passur River.

The inability of mega-ships to enter and leave Hamburg fully loaded is affecting container throughput and could hurt the port's competitiveness.

The Charleston dredging project has proceeded quickly through a series of milestones since the corps recommended the deepening in 2010.

Port to advance funds to get project started more quickly.

The Brazilian government has established a working group to explore the privatization of dredging operations and set a 90-day deadline.

The new depth is still shy of the original draft.

The situation is so acute at Santos that it has grabbed the attention of the highest levels of the federal government in the capital of Brasilia.

Shipping lines and shippers are apoplectic.

The key Brazilian port of Santos’ efforts to bounce back from draft restrictions were set back this week.

Neither Codesp, nor CPSP could say when the full draft would be restored.

The draft restrictions are particularly problematic for Santos because of the seemingly ceaseless upsizing of tonnage taking place on the east coast of South America.

The port is in the midst of a $1 billion expansion and renovation program.

Bangladesh is set to start construction of a third seaport at Payra.

The Port of Philadelphia by the end of the year could be hosting ships of up to 14,400 TEU.

The deal follows the official adoption earlier this year of an ambitious development plan for the port.