Having lost much of its trans-Pacific shipping business when in 2004, container carriers Hyundai Merchant Marine and K Line stopped calling at Oregon, the port is on the brink of experiencing a revival from a Taiwanese shipping company, and quite possibly, an Israeli deal

DP World’s offer to purchase P&O was voted through by shareholders yesterday. The deal will now be finalised on March 2 after a UK High Court stamp on 28 February, and will create the second largest global ports and container group in terms of traffic, to rival Singapore’s PSA International. (The largest being Hong Kong’s Hutchinson Port Holdings)

Hutchinson Whampoa Ltd has announced that it is to acquire a stake in New Zealand’s largest coal-shipment facility.

The Port of Belfast has just completed the second-busiest year in its 400 year history.

Workers at the port of Chittagong, Bangladesh, have called off the strike after ‘successful talks’ with the port authorities.

Work has finally begun on the Brazilian port of Imbituba, which will see capacity increased from 150,000 teu per year to 400,000 teu. Increased container capacity has been hotly anticipated for a couple of years now.

The first containership financial securitisation has taken place for container operator CMA CGN. The proceeds of the US$253m triple-A rated financial stamp, issued by UK-based XL Capital Assurance, will be used to buy 12 boxships which will be used as security for the deal.

Maersk Line’s rebranding launch, as it dropped ‘Sealand’ from its main container shipping division, had been planned to take place this weekend amidst much pomp and glory. But following Muslim protests about cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed as a suicide-bomber, which had first been printed in a Danish newspaper, senior management muted the a...

Following the bowing-out of the bidding battle by PSA International on Friday 10 February, DP World looks set to become the world’s third largest terminal operator with its acquisition of P&O, about which shareholders will convene at Wembley Stadium, London, today.

Islanders on the small Dutch island of Terschelling have seen Barbie dolls and sportsgear being washed up on their coastline, as a result of dozens of containers lost in windy weather off the P&O Nedlloyd Mondrian.

P&O has acknowledged PSA's bowing out from the bidding war. P&O Chairman Sir John parker said "We would like to thank Chairman Fock, CEO Eddie Teh and their colleagues for their professionalism and courtesy throughout the process."

In an unprecedented move, the Los Angeles Board of Harbour Commissioners has ratified a new leasing policy for the Port of Los Angeles which, in addition to formalising the standard criteria for selecting port tenants, has specifically addressed stringent environmental standards tenants must meet.

The controversial EU services directive has struck out the clauses pertaining to ports in order to avoid the controversy which resulted in violent protests by dockers in January.

Chinese shipping company Cosco’s subsidiary in Greece, Cosco Hellas, is considering acquiring a stake in the Greek port of Piraeus. The announcement is one of several flowing from Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis’ visit to China last month.

Containerised cargo freight rates for shipping between Asia and Europe have sunk by 40% since the autumn of 2005.

Despite only opening two months ago, the deepwater port of Yangshan, China, has already handled 410,000 teu. The port is certainly operating at its full capacity, and on January 28th hit a record high of 13, 350 teu on that day alone.

In a deal reputedly worth EUR 425,000 ( US$ 509,072.00 ) the Port of Goteborg, Sweden’s largest port, has concluded a deal with Carmen Systems AB for a system which will enable the port to handle increased volumes of freight without engaging more staff.

In a statement released early this morning (GMT) regarding the proposed takeover of P&O, PSA announced that it will no longer be partaking in the bidding.

The possibility of a port being built in Brunswick, North Carolina, moved a step closer to reality today, when N.C. politicians committed US$30m to buying land for an international port there.

The Port of New Orleans is preparing itself for a busy steel import year. Although the port is still experiencing modest growth in the steel business due to the Hurricane Katrina, in whose wake construction has not yet resumed as much as it is soon expected to, Gary LaGrange, president and CEO of the port is adamant that this will change. “The firs...

The Port of London Authority’s Board (PLA) will be joined by Dr. Peter Matthews, an expert on water and environmental quality and management.

Thanks to heavy investment in an intensive dredging and deepening programme over the last few years, the US Port of Baltimore was able to receive one of the world’s largest container ships on February 1 2006 when Mediterranean Shipping Company’s (MSC) mv ‘Tokyo’ called at the port en route from Charleston, Louisiana to Antwerp in Belgium.

Port officials at the port of Corpus Christi met with their Cuban counterparts and industry officials in Mexico City over the weekend of 4-5 February 2006 to discuss the opportunities which will be presented if and when the US embargo on Cuba is lifted.