CMA CGM has reinforced its procedures for shipping protected species and suspended all timber exports from Gambia following suspicions of illicit rosewood trafficking. The highly sought-after rosewood is a protected species that is felled illegally in the region and then exported under various different guises, with this illicit trade heavily impac...

Container traffic increased by 0.4% at the Port of Antwerp in the first half of 2020, bucking the trend of reduced volumes at container ports since COVID-19 began affecting global trade. At the Belgian hub, container volumes increased in the first quarter of the year, but the effects of cancelled sailings were felt from April ...

The Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) has published standards for the digital exchange of operational vessel schedules (OVS), which can be implemented by vessel operators, their vessel sharing agreement (VSA) partners and operational service providers, to enable automatic sharing of service automation. The neutral, non-profit group, whi...

Shipping executives from across the sector have set out an industry roadmap to decarbonise shipping in a report published by Shell and Deloitte. Out of the 82 shipping executives asked, 95% view decarbonisation as important or a top-three priority and nearly 80% noted that its importance had increased significantly over the past three months. Huibe...

The National Cargo Bureau (NCB) has called for an urgent reform to stem the increasing number of container-related incidents caused by poorly stowed, undeclared or misdeclared dangerous cargoes. A recent inspection by the NCB has revealed an alarming number of containers carried by sea include misdeclared cargoes that represent a serious risk to cr...

APM Terminals (APMT) has introduced application programming interface (API) accessibility, allowing data to be transmitted in seconds from terminal operating systems (TOS) directly to customers’ transport management or logistics systems. Once a customer queries a container or multiple containers, they should instantly receive the latest status of t...

Ports could play a pivotal role in the world’s decarbonisation as total electricity generating capacity for industrial ports could increase more than tenfold by 2050, a study by DNV GL has found. Despite industrial production increasing almost 60% and cargo throughput growing 30% by 2050, energy efficiency measures and electrification could more th...

DP World has completed assembly of the world’s first container high bay store system (HBS) at Jebel Ali Port, with the pilot phase of operation set to begin before September 2020. The technology from BoxBay, a joint venture by DP World and German industrial engineering specialist SMS Group, could potentially dramatically change the way containers ....

Sims Metal Management has been able to increase its flexibility at the New York Harbour by deploying its Liebherr LHM 600 mobile harbour crane (MHC) on a barge. This has enabled Sims, one of the world’s leading metal recyclers, to move the floating MHC between its different terminals. The company operates two different terminals in ...

MSC has introduced an online instant quote function to its e-business platform myMSC, aiming to help its customers quickly and easily get shipping rates for container bookings. At present, the majority of the carrier’s bookings are carried out offline, meaning the process of completing a booking can be time consuming. In comparison, the instant quo...

Transnet has introduced a number of solutions at the Port of Cape Town designed to deal with operational backlogs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. To alleviate pressure at the terminals, 20 employees from the Durban Container Terminal (DCT) have volunteered to be deployed to the container and multi-purpose terminals at the Port of Cape Town. ...

Wallace Investments has gone live with Tideworks’ graphical planning solution, the Spinnaker Planning Management System, at the Port of Auckland. Although travel restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic prohibited Tideworks’ team from traveling to Wallace’s terminal for initial assessments, testing and deployment, they collaborated with Wa...

The Port of Oakland has curtailed its fiscal year 2021 spending plans having approved a budget for next year down 15.84% from 2020 due to coronavirus-related business declines. The US$432.5m set aside in operating and capital expenditures and debt service payments next year, reduced from last year’s US$513.6m, reflects anticipated declines in Oakla...

TÜV Nord has reconfirmed its rating of HHLA Container Terminal Altenwerder (CTA), meaning it remains the only certified climate-neutral terminal in the world. Hamburger Hafen und Logistik (HHLA) has set a target of halving its absolute carbon emissions by 2030 compared with 2018 and achieving climate neutrality in the group by 2040. Angela Titzrath...

Following the MSC ZOE accident in 2019, the Dutch Safety Board (OVV) has called for better risk management of container transport on the shopping routes on the North Sea north of the Wadden area. Approximately 270 containers, carrying cargo including chemicals, fell from the 19,000 teu container ship in January 2019 during a storm. In ...

A group of shipping industry players have launched the Maersk Mc-Kinney Møller Centre for Zero Carbon Shipping, aiming to develop new fuel types and technologies to decarbonise maritime transport. The founding company partners behind this initiative are ABS, A.P. Møller – Mærsk, Cargill, MAN Energy Solutions, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, NYK...

Seafarers union Nautilus International has called for Panama-flagged ships to be targeted for inspection by Port State Control and detained for breaching the Maritime Labour Convention when entering their country in response to its ‘inhumane’ extension of seafarer contracts. In June, the Panama Ship Registry issued a notice stating that...

A contract has been signed to dredge the south berth of Adriatic Gate Container Terminal at Croatia’s Port of Rijeka, providing an equal sea depth of 14.9 m across the 428 m quay. Nuova, the contractor, will carry out the HRK98bn (US$15m) project, in which 100 m along the coastal southern quay wall will be ...

New South Wales (NSW) Ports’ CEO has reflected on the impact COVID-19 has had on the operators’ facilities and how it has led to a greater understanding of the critical nature of ports, freight and supply chains. The operators’ facilities at Port Botany and Port Kembla have remained open throughout the disruption, operating 24/7 to ...

Inter European specialist, Containerships, has opened a direct link between Northern Spain and Portugal and the North West of England. The additional service has been adapted to Spain, UK and Ireland market needs and will operate a weekly loop bringing essential supplies closer to the North West market. The aim is to improve transit times ...