Port News

Never mind the fiscal cliff. For container shipping, the U.S. budget impasse has been upstaged by another year-end crisis: the threat of a Maine-to-Texas dockworkers’ strike.

Grain handlers Thursday delayed the possibility of a work disruption at six grain terminals in the Pacific Northwest by extending their final contract offer to the International Longshore and Warehouse Union until 5 p.m. Dec. 8.

Memphis-based heavy lift and heavy transportation company Barnhart Crane & Rigging recently opened three new branch offices in Charleston, S.C.; Owensboro, Ky., and Richland, Wash., continuing...

Striking office clerical workers continued to cripple the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach Thursday as 10 container terminals remained shut down.

A midnight Wednesday deadline for action by grain handlers and longshoremen in the Pacific Northwest came and went with no action taken.

The National Retail Federation seeks White House intervention in stalled contract talks between ILWU Local 63 and Los Angeles and Long Beach port management.

The clerical workers’ strike that shut down the APM terminal in Los Angeles Tuesday spread Wednesday afternoon to nine more terminals in the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex.

Members of the Manatee County Port Authority in Florida recently elected fellow member Carol Whitmore as 2013 chairman, succeeding Larry Bustle.

Employers in Southern California are bracing for a possible escalation of labor actions because International Longshore and Warehouse Union dockworkers refused to abide by an arbitrator’s decision late Tuesday to return to their jobs at the APM terminal in Los Angeles.

Port of Corpus Christi Commissioners recently promoted Frank Brogan, former deputy port director of engineering, finance and administration services, to the role of managing director, effective immediately.

The Port of Tacoma in Washington recently reported that total container volume in October was 165,173 20-foot-equivalent units, jumping 34 percent year-over-year.

ILWU dockworkers refused to cross a picket line formed by office clerical workers on Tuesday, shutting down the large APM terminal at the Port of Los Angeles.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union is urging the employers’ organization that represents six grain terminals in the Pacific Northwest to allow more time for contract negotiations and avoid a possible employer lockout or strike that could occur as soon as Thursday.

The Georgia Ports Authority today named George H. Hearn as senior director of trade development for carrier and non-container sales.

The Port of Galveston Wharves Board recently approved a $10,000 contribution to the American Association of Port Authorities Port Employee Relief Fund...

The Georgia Ports Authority board recently approved $2 million of project funding to increase capacity, efficiency and flexibility in heavy machinery exports.

A new Liebherr mobile harbor crane was recently delivered to the Cape Town Agri Roro Terminal, operated by Transnet Port Terminals, in South Africa, to be primarily used for container operations.

Port management company International Container Terminal Services recently appointed Guillaume Lucci as vice president and global infrastructure director, as part of the company’s organizational restructuring of its corporate engineering functions.

Container volumes at Port Botany were up 1 percent to 2.04 million 20-foot-equivalent units for the 2011-2012 fiscal year, the port’s 11th consecutive year of container trade growth, according to the Sydney Ports Corp.’s annual report.

Port of Rotterdam Authority recently reported that construction of Maasvlakte 2, an extension of the Port of Rotterdam’s Maasvlakte industrial area, is still on schedule to open in 2013, with the first phase close to completion.

Boskalis Westminster today made a 682 million euro ($887 million) offer for Dockwise.

The Oakland Board of Port Commissioners recently appointed Danny Wan as port attorney, effective Dec. 17.

Negotiators representing the Port of Portland and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 28 reached a tentative contract agreement over the weekend, averting a strike by 25 security guards.

The Port of Oakland was shut down Tuesday when members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union refused to cross pickets established at all of the marine terminals by striking members of the Service Employees International Union.

Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley today reported that in the first nine months of 2012, the Port of Baltimore handled 7.21 million tons of general cargo at its public marine terminals, a 10 percent jump from 2011.

Russia-based port operator PJSC Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port Group reported cargo turnover from January to October was 134.4 million tons, a 3.6 percent increase year-over-year.

The Port of Oakland reported the total of loaded containers in October was 207,627 20-foot-equivalent units, rising 8.4 percent from September and 5.3 percent from October 2011.

A key Senate committee appears key to taking a bipartisan approach to legislation authorizing major port and inland waterways projects, but a new Water Resources Development Act still could be more than a year away.

The container and ro-ro carrier stopped calls to the Portuguese port on its Angola Shuttle service after weeks of social movements that complicated operations.