Abu Dhabi Ports, Etisalat Annouce Partnership

Abu Dhabi Ports and Emirates Telecommunication Group Company(Etisalat) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) focused on advancing technological capabilities and business opportunities in support of Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030.The partnership focuses on building shared electronic projects and networks, exchanging knowledge, simplifying procedures, securing fixed and wireless telecommunications coverage, and managing operational risk.Etisalat will also help Abu Dhabi Ports to adapt to the latest telecommunications technologies, business models, and customer behaviours.

U.S. Coast Guard's Maritime Commerce Strategic Outlook released

U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Karl L. Schultz has issued the Coast Guard's 40-paged document that outlines their "VISION for Enabling Maritime Commerce." He introduces the new paper in an open letter to industry, as shown below:America is a maritime Nation. It is a Nation shaped by seafarers who recognized the tremendous economic potential derived from unrestricted access to the oceans, internal waterways, deep-water ports and protected straits and bays. This geostrategic advantage favorably shapes our Nation’s security…

Long Beach Moves 8 Mln TEUs in Fiscal Year

The Port of Long Beach closed out the 2018 fiscal year having handled 8,000,929 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) during the previous 12 months, the most ever, representing a 10.7 percent increase over fiscal year 2017. The port's fiscal year is October 1 to September 30.“We are poised to break our calendar year record at the end of December,” said Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero. “Despite the tariffs imposed by Washington and Beijing, international trade is showing resilience…

New Mental Wellbeing Guide for Seafarers

In a joint initiative, the American Club and Seamen's Church Institute (SCI) have cooperated to produce a new guide, Caring for Seafarers’ Mental Wellbeing, due for release on October 10 in recognition of World Mental Health Day, 2018.The document provides guidance on responding to both routine and extreme stressors impacting the quality of life and safety of seafarers both ashore and afloat, and seeks to promote awareness generally of the importance of seafarer mental well being.Numerous…

Maersk Launches Startup Accelerator

AP Moller - Maersk has launched India-focused OceanPro, a 120-day accelerator program to give shipping and logistics startups an opportunity to partner with Maersk to bring innovative technology solutions to ease the global supply chain for customers and further accelerate global digital transformation.“We recognize the immense potential of India’s technology and digital talent and are looking to capitalize on these capabilities to help the logistics industry worldwide, to reinvent itself,” said Søren Skou, CEO, A.P.

APM Terminals Starts Direct Rail Connection with Venlo

APM Terminals Maasvlakte II has set up a new rail shuttle to the Cabooter Terminal in Venlo. Under the new schedule, a total of three trains will be loading and unloading at this terminal every week.The trains will carry both import and export cargo. The new initiative doubles the number of rail connections between Rotterdam and Venlo’s Cabooter Terminal.“The shuttle to Venlo will help us to move containers more quickly from Rotterdam to the hinterland,” says Roy de Haan, APM’s Head of Commerce Management. “Venlo is an important logistics hub.

Avondale Yard to Be Repurposed as a Multimodal Hub

The former Avondale Shipyard facility in Louisiana will be redeveloped into a logistics and intermodal hub under a joint venture group that took ownership of the shuttered shipyard today.The Avondale site, located just upriver from New Orleans, built and repaired commercial and military vessels for more than 75 years, most recently as part of Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division, until the facility ceased operations in December 2014.New development plans announced today will see the 254-acre site repurposed as a multimodal…

ABB Acquires Logistics Tech Firm intrion

Swedish-Swiss multinational corporation ABB has completed its acquisition of intrion, with the aim of boosting its expertise in fast-growing logistics automation market.intrion is a privately owned company headquartered in Huizingen, close to Brussels, with approximately 120 employees and over a decade of experience in logistics automation solutions and services for the logistics, food and beverage and pharmaceutical industries.The acquisition was announced on July 24, 2018. The…

Global Blockchain Technology Market in Logistics to Grow 82.86% by 2022

The global blockchain technology market in transportation and logistics industry to grow at a CAGR of 82.86% during the period 2018-2022.Blockchain technology is a cryptographically managed, distributed ledger system offered by vendors such as IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, and Tata Consultancy Services.The latest trend gaining momentum in the market is the advent of blockchain as a service (BaaS) which will lead to the growth of the market, according to Global Blockchain Technology…

Golden Ocean Group Appoint Two New Board Members

Norway based dry bulk shipping company Golden Ocean Group Limited IGOGL) has announced that Ulrika Laurin and James O'Shaughnessy have been elected as new board members.Ulrika Laurin has been the Executive Chairman of ship-owning company Anglo-Atlantic Steamship Co. Ltd. and the Chairman of Laurin Shipping AB, an international ship-management company.She has served as the CFO of Anglo-Atlantic Steamship Co. Ltd. and as Commercial Manager of Laurin Maritime (UK) Ltd. Prior to that, she worked with fund manager Tufton Oceanic Ltd. and with management consultant Karlöf & Partners.

DeNike Presented with Connie Award

Edward Anthony DeNike, president of SSA Containers, a division of Carrix, received the 2018 Connie Award presented by the Containerization & Intermodal Institute (CII) in Long Beach, Calif., on Tuesday. DeNike was honored for his contributions to containerization and international trade and transportation industry over the course of the last five decades.The dinner event honoring DeNike was held in conjunction with the IANA Intermodal EXPO and attracted more than 250 people."It is no surprise that our recipient, Ed DeNike – an industry legend – has attracted a record-breaking crowd.

Keppel Partners GTT on LNG Solutions

Keppel Offshore & Marine (Keppel O&M) has signed a Technical Assistance and License Agreement (TALA) with Gaztransport & Technigaz (GTT) that will enable the companies to jointly market liquefied natural gas (LNG) solutions leveraging GTT's membrane containment systems and Keppel's shipyard expertise.Keppel O&M's network of global yards will be able to offer GTT's LNG systems in the design, construction and maintenance of LNG carriers, LNG Bunker vessels, LNG-fuelled vessels, and floating storage and regasification units (FSRU).Since completing its first LNG carrier repair in 1990…

Kings Point Alumni Release Commemorative Video

Video marks Academy's 75th year and those who made the ultimate sacrifice.Alumni of the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) released an inspiring video to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the institution and memorialize midshipmen who have died in service to the nation. Over the summer, the USMMA Alumni Association and Foundation (USMMA-AAF) has been executing a multi-faceted campaign to mark the federal academy's decades of service and the foundational role it plays…

New Report Highlights Positive Impact of Illinois International Port District

The Great Lakes Seaway Partnership announces the release of Economic Impacts of the Port of Chicago, a report documenting the many contributions made by the Illinois International Port District (IIPD) and Great Lakes Seaway Shipping to the City of Chicago, Cook County, State of Illinois and Great Lakes region.The study reports that in 2017 the IIPD and maritime commerce supported:6,381 jobs$820.4 million in economic activity$514.8 million in personal income and local consumption…

Volvo Shows Off Self-driving Truck With No Cab

Sweden's Volvo, the world's second-biggest truck maker, presented a new self-driving electric truck on Wednesday, which it said should help respond to the boom in ecommerce and a shortage of freight drivers.Volvo said the truck, which does not have a driver's cab, was still under development and declined to say when it would be available commercially. It expects the vehicle to be deployed first in places like ports and large logistics centers."We believe there will be a driver behind the steering wheel for the foreseeable future…

China Launches New Marine Satellite

China successfully launched a new marine satellite into orbit yesterday (Friday) to help improve understanding of maritime waters and study the impact of climate change, Xinhua reported.A Long March-2C rocket carrying the HY-1C satellite took off at 11:15 a.m. from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China's Shanxi Province.The satellite will assist in monitoring ocean colour and water temperatures, providing basic data for research on the global oceanic environment, reports Xinhua…

Sea Machines Moves to Larger, Waterfront Location in Germany

U.S. based Sea Machines announced that it has moved its team in Hamburg, Germany to a larger waterfront work space in the Hammerbrook area.The company said the move supports growing in interest in its autonomous controls and advanced perception technology in European markets ahead of an upcoming product release. The new location more than triples the space Sea Machines had previously and provides dockage for the company's test vessels. The space also accommodates the locally expanding team…

CMA CGM Launches New Reefer Tech

Shipping group CMA CGM has launched an advanced technology for the transportation of highly sensitive fruits and vegetables by active controlled atmosphere.CLIMACTIVE, unveiled at the 2018 edition of the Asia Fruit Logistica fair, is the latest and most advanced solution to maintain sensitive commodities’ freshness to destination, by faster reducing the level of oxygen inside the container equipped with DAIKIN Active CA.CLIMACTIVE is created for highly sensitive commodities that require special attention due to their biological specificities and maturation time.

DNV GL Rolls-out Digital Hub in Singapore

DNV GL has launched a digital hub in Singapore as part of the transformation of the oil and gas, maritime and energy industries toward digitalization, including increased cyber security and smart infrastructure.The new Singapore hub is called Digital Consulting and Smart Cities, and will include three teams covering smart cities, cyber security and digital development – including support for DNV GL’s open industry platform Veracity.The digital hub, part of DNV GL – Digital Solutions…

Rolls-Royce Health Management Solutions to Harness Power of Data

Rolls-Royce continues to develop its ship intelligence offerings to the market, and now introduces a pioneering new solution for Health Management of ship equipment.The technology is aimed at elevating the way in which customers manage and maintain the equipment and systems onboard their ships.Health Management is designed to provide ship operators with an unsurpassed level of understanding of the operational health and performance of all the machinery installations onboard.Developed by the Ship Intelligence team at Rolls-Royce…

ABS: New Technology to Support Drilling Riser Programs

ABS announced it has issued the first “Concept Verified” Statement of Maturity to Stress Engineering Services (Stress) for its riser CBM program using Real Time Fatigue Monitoring System (RFMS) with Subsea Vibration Data Logger (SVDL) technology, and to LaserStream, LP (LaserStream) for its Bore Erosion Measurement and Inspection System (BEMIS).This is the second of five technology qualification stages to be completed by Stress and LaserStream for new technology that supports…

Port of Antwerp Introduces Fully Automatic Sounding Boat

Port of Antwerp reached a new milestone with the introduction of a fully automatic sounding boat that employs unique technology. The vessel, named the Echodrone, is a prototype that is currently being developed to supplement the other operational sounding boat, the Echo.Both of these carry out measurements of the water depth everywhere in the port so as to guarantee safe passage for shipping. The cloud-based technology – a first – has been developed in partnership between the…

Kalmar to Open North American Customer Experience Center in North Charleston

Kalmar, part of Cargotec, broke ground on a Class A industrial build-to-suit project in North Charleston, S.C., with developer Landmark Enterprises on August 15, 2018. The new Customer Experience Center (CEC) will serve as a showroom, training facility, demonstration area and customer service center for Kalmar's North American mobile equipment business, including counterbalance and container handling products."The Kalmar sales team is eager to open this facility in the critical Charleston market," said Steve Cianci, Vice President, Mobile Equipment Solution Sales.

NYK, Toyokoh to Address Steel Corrosion on Ships

NYK has signed a memorandum of understanding with Toyokoh Inc. to examine a joint business development utilizing Toyokoh’s "CoolLaser" technology in the maritime field.NYK aims to reduce the maintenance workload of crew on deck, in addition to dry-dock costs for repairs, and will discuss development of a business to provide a more efficient and environment-friendly maintenance method using Toyokoh’s epoch-making laser technology.Steel used on a ship’s deck is always susceptible to rust due to the harsh outdoor ocean environment that can lead to corrosion arising from severe salinity…

Mississippi River Ship Channel Deepening Project Moves Forward

The Mississippi River Ship Channel could be the first port complex on the Gulf Coast to reach a depth of 50 feet now that the Director’s Report has been signed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Elected officials and industry leaders have long worked to increase the channel’s depth to 50 feet, which is the same depth of the expanded Panama Canal.In signing the Report, Corps of Engineers Director of Civil Works James C. Dalton stated the project is “economically justified and…

Port Manatee, Carver Maritime Ink Long-term Terminal Deal

Port Manatee and Carver Maritime LLC have entered a long-term marine terminal operating agreement for a 10-acre aggregate offloading facility at the Florida Gulf Coast port.The agreement, for as many as 20 years including options, was approved Thursday by the Manatee County Port Authority and ensures property lease payments totaling $1.8 million for the initial five-year term, in addition to wharfage payments for annual cargo throughputs.Carver Laraway, president of Altamont,…

Hapag-Lloyd Investing in East Africa

German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd is continuing to focus on the growing market in East Africa, where annual growth rates of approximately six percent lead the African continent.In April 2018 Hapag-Lloyd launched the East Africa Service (EAS), its first dedicated service to East Africa. The weekly service sails from Jeddah to Mombasa, and from there to Dar es Salaam, in Tanzania, and directly back to Jeddah. The service will be expanded in September with a weekly connection to and from Nhava Sheva, Mundra, Khor Fakkan, Jebel Ali, Mombasa and Dar es Salaam.

XLProjects Gains ISS in United Arab Emirates

Inchcape Shipping Services (ISS) serves Dubai with regular scheduled airfreight consolidations, handling a wide variety of cargo’s with the greatest ease. Their logistics professionals specialize in servicing all your airfreight needs, from documentation to communications to worldwide shipment tracking. Focused but not confined to import/export to the whole of GCC, their air cargo operation is streamlined to make trade and commerce easy for importers and exporters of the Arabian Peninsula. ISS handles all aspects of ocean bound cargo on behalf of importers and exporters worldwide.

Strong July Across Great Lakes Gets Seaway Tonnage

Great Lakes-St. Lawrence shipping continues to bounce back after a slow start. With strong tonnage numbers in July, particularly shipments of U.S. grain, liquid bulk and project cargo, the 2018 shipping season is right on par with the healthy statistics posted last year.Overall cargo shipments on the St. Lawrence Seaway between March 29 and July 31 totaled 16.5 million metric tons. Areas of strength included U.S. grain shipments totaling 888,000 metric tons, up 32 percent over last year. Liquid bulk shipments totaled 2.3 million metric tons, an increase of 25 percent.

Transinsular Reinforces Connection Between Europe and Africa

The Lince Class service from Transinsular, a GRUPO ETE company, will start to call Total Terminal International Algeciras (TTI) from August 23, 2018, opening a direct link from the Spanish mainland to Cape Verde (Praia and Mindelo), that will also serve as a cargo transshipment hub for the Mediterranean, namely other ports in Spain, as well as Italy, Greece and Turkey.The strengthening of the Lince Class with a new call in the European continent (it already links Leixões and Lisbon to Cape Verde)…

Port of Antwerp Tests Autonomous Sounding Boat

Port of Antwerp has reached a new milestone with the introduction of a fully automatic sounding boat that employs unique technology. The vessel, named the Echodrone, is a prototype that is currently being developed to supplement the other operational sounding boat, the Echo.Both of these carry out measurements of the water depth everywhere in the port so as to guarantee safe passage for shipping. The cloud-based technology – a first – has been developed in partnership between…

Deep Casing Tools Re-enters Canada

Aberdeen-based oil field technology firm Deep Casing Tools (DCT), which specialises in the design and manufacture of casing and completion tools, has agreed a pact with a Canadian distributor, ProTorque Connection Technologies (PTCT).The partnership with ProTorque, a tubular running service business, will see Deep Casing Tools re-enter the Canadian market, which historically was a successful region for the company.Deep Casing Tools previously had an office in Alberta, Canada, but during the more challenging times of the oil and gas industry downturn and a reduction in drilling activity…

Auto Collision Avoidance Project for Vessel Safety

Mitsui E&S Shipbuilding (MES-S), Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology (TUMST), Akishima Laboratories (Mitsui Zosen)  announced that on July 25, their proposed joint demonstration project related to the safety of vessels' auto berthing and un-berthing was selected for Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transportation and Tourism (MLIT)'s FY2018 autonomous vessel demonstration project.Human errors account for 80% of marine accidents…

Eidesvik Offshore, Wärtsilä Norway and DNV GL Celebrate FellowSHIP

Project partners Eidesvik Offshore, Wärtsilä Norway and DNV GL have announced the closure of the FellowSHIP research project. The cooperation has explored the use of battery, hybrid and fuel cell technology in the maritime industry for over 15 years.“FellowSHIP has been a flagship research project,” states Bjørn-Johan Vartdal, Maritime Programme Director for Technology and Research in DNV GL Group. “The results from FellowSHIP have shaped our knowledge of battery and hybrid power…

Teekay Offshore Orders two LNG-fueled Aframax at Samsung Heavy Industries

Teekay Offshore GP entered into shipbuilding contracts to construct two LNG-fueled Aframax DP2 shuttle tanker newbuildings from Samsung Heavy Industries for delivery in late-2020 and early-2021, bringing the Partnership’s orderbook to six shuttle tankers.These newbuildings will be constructed based on Teekay Offshore’s New Shuttle Spirit design which incorporates proven technologies to increase fuel efficiency and reduce emissions, including LNG propulsion technology.Upon expected delivery in late-2020 through early-2021…

Iran Naval Drills Underway Amid Tensions with U.S.

The United States believes Iran has started carrying out naval exercises in the Gulf, apparently moving up the timing of annual drills amid heightened tensions with Washington, U.S. officials told Reuters on Thursday.One U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said possibly more than 100 vessels were involved in the drills, including small boats. A second official expected the drill could be wrapped up this week.Iran has been furious over U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to pull out of an international nuclear deal and reimpose sanctions on Tehran.

XPO profit buoyed by strength in 'last-mile' deliveries

XPO Logistics, one of the largest global freight transportation and warehousing companies, reported a jump in quarterly profit on Wednesday, fueled by shipments of heavy and bulky items and strong demand for e-commerce order fulfillment.Greenwich, Connecticut-based XPO is North America's largest provider of "final-mile" deliveries of heavy goods like Home Depot barbecue grills and Best Buy televisions from warehouses direct to homes.

Cruise Industry Embraces Transcritical CO2 Technology

International technology group GEA signed a contract for its new transcritical CO2 industrial refrigeration technology, with P&O Cruises, part of Carnival Corporation & PLC.The green refrigeration technology has already been installed on board P&O Cruises 2,000-passenger ship Arcadia, where it will deliver the energy-efficient cooling supply for all of the ship’s food and beverage refrigeration units. Discussions between GEA and P&O Cruises are ongoing with a view to rolling out the state-of-the-art transcritical CO2 refrigeration plants to additional cruise ships in the existing fleet…

Port of Corpus Christi Raises USD 216mln for Ship Channel Expansion

Port of Corpus Christi successfully priced and sold $216.2 million of Senior Lien Revenue Bonds. These bonds will be used for both the deepening and widening of the Corpus Christi Ship Channel as well as upcoming capital projects within the Port.Wells Fargo Securities acted as Lead Manager of a syndicate of underwriters including JP Morgan, Citigroup, and Frost Bank.“We are pleased with the level of interest the institutional investment community demonstrated for both series of our bonds.” said Sean Strawbridge, CEO of the Port of Corpus Christi.

Quadrise Fuels Signs MoU with Freepoint Commodities

Fuel oil technology firm Quadrise Fuels International said it had signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with commodities trader Freepoint Commodities to provide commercial opportunities for its MSAR fuel technology product.The Synthetic fuel developer said that this followed the effective end of a trial in Saudi Arabia for a combustion boiler project that would have used MSAR due to the lack of an agreement between the utilities involved. MSAR is a low viscosity oil in water emulsified synthetic HFO.Freepoint…

ZF Appoints New Board Members

ZF Friedrichshafen AG's Supervisory Board has appointed Sabine Jaskula and Dr. Holger Klein to the company's Board of Management.Jaskula, an experienced HR manager and lawyer, will be responsible for Corporate HR and Legal functions from latest January 1, 2019. In this function, she will also be in charge of compliance. Dr. Klein has been appointed to ZF's Board of Management with effect from October 1, 2018. His responsibilities will include Car Chassis Technology and Aftermarket (service and parts business).

Great Lakes-Seaway Shipping Boosted in June

United States grain exports via the St. Lawrence Seaway are up 32.1 percent this season compared to 2017. Construction materials were also heavily influential in the latest results with a nearly 38 percent increase in asphalt from the same time last year, as well as increases in cement and stone.“Summer is the season for construction projects and ships have been delivering materials for major building projects across the region,” says Bruce Burrows, President of the Chamber of Marine Commerce. “U.S.

Navis Taps Krishnamoorthy to Drive Tech Development

Terminal operating systems (TOS) provider Navis, part of Cargotec Corporation, announced that former Sabre and PayPal leader Lakshmanan “Laks” Krishnamoorthy has joined the company as Vice President and General Manager of Engineering.In his new post, Krishnamoorthy is tasked with driving technology innovation and leading product and service development for the N4 TOS, XVELA, Navis Carrier and Vessel Solutions (NCVS) and future business lines. He is the latest technology leader…

Multipurpose Cargo Berth Construction Moves Ahead at Port Canaveral

Work is underway on a multipurpose cargo berth project at Port Canaveral that also will accommodate facilities for the growing commercial space industry.Scheduled for completion in mid-2019, North Cargo Berth 8 (NCB8) on the port’s north side will provide the infrastructure and capabilities to handle a growing portfolio of heavy and oversized cargo, including commercial spacecraft components for such companies as SpaceX. NCB8 is designed and engineered as a multimodal/intermodal…

ABB Accelerates Logistics Growth with Acquisition of Intrion

ABB will acquire Intrion, a privately owned company headquartered in Huizingen, close to Brussels, with approximately 120 employees and over a decade of experience in logistics automation solutions and services for the warehouse and distribution, food and beverage, and pharmaceutical industries.Its expertise covers a full spectrum of logistics automation solutions including inline checking, product picking, packing, palletizing, conveying, storage, sorting and sequencing, and order picking.

Great Lakes Shipping Supports 237,000 Plus Jobs

The new study by the Department of Transportation Great Lakes - Saint Lawrence Seaway says that shipping  supports more than 237,000 jobs and billions in economic activity.A year-long study of the economic impacts of the entire Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway navigation system is a definitive and detailed report documenting the many contributions made by the Great Lakes Seaway system to federal, state/provincial and local economies.The study reports that in 2017 maritime commerce supported: 237…

North Carolina Ports Hires Chief Information Officer

North Carolina Ports announced it has hired Bill Corcoran as Chief Information Officer to grow the Authority’s Information Technology department and Business Process area.Corcoran enters his new role as CIO with nearly 30 years of experience in both the IT and maritime industries. Before joining the North Carolina Ports team, Corcoran served as the Senior Vice President of Strategy and Service Management and Vice President of Business Process and Information Technology with Mitsui OSK Lines.

DP World Acquires India's Continental Warehousing

Hindustan Infralog (HIPL), a joint venture between DP World and the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), announced that the transaction to acquire 90% stake in Continental Warehousing Corporation (Nhava Seva) Ltd in India has now closed.CWCNSL’s founders, the Reddy family, will retain the remaining 10% shareholding and will remain involved in the business operations. It is the first investment of HIPL, the recently created investment vehicle between DP World and NIIF to invest up to US$ 3 billion in ports…

Port of Oakland Board Elects Butner as President

Oakland business leader Cestra ‘Ces’ Butner has been elected President of the Port of Oakland’s governing Board. The Board of Port Commissioners selected their colleague for the top post at a meeting last week.Commissioner Butner succeeds Joan Story, who will remain on the Board. Commissioner Andreas Cluver was elected First Vice President by his colleagues on the Board. The Board elected Commissioner Michael Colbruno as Second Vice President. All three officers take over their new roles July 26.This is Commissioner Butner’s second term as President.

Bisso Offshore Orders New Tugs from Eastern

Estern Shipbuilding Group announced it has signed a new contract with Bisso Offshore, LLC for the construction of two Robert Allan Ltd. RApport 2400 Ship Handing Tugs with escort capability. The deal was signed on May 31, 2018.Bisso Offshore is one of Eastern’s long term customers and has taken delivery of four previous modern Z-drive tugs from Eastern since 2006.These two new Robert Allan RApport 2400 design tugs have been customized by the designer and owner to provide specific operational features while also meeting new EPA Tier 4 and USCG Sub-M requirements.Joey D’Isernia…

Port of Long Beach Reports Busiest Month Ever

Container cargo volumes reached record heights at the Port of Long Beach last month, surging past the previous mark and distinguishing June 2018 as the port’s best month ever.Trade increased 14.2 percent in June, compared to the same month in 2017. The port’s terminals moved 752,188 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), 4.4 percent higher than the previous “best month” record set in July 2017.Through June, the port has handled nearly 4 million TEUs. The figure is 14.5 percent above the pace set by 2017, the port’s busiest year ever.

Chinese Imports to US Ports Peaking Early

Chinese imports to U.S. ports rose more than expected in June, suggesting that some retailers moved up orders to insulate themselves from an intensifying trade war that threatens to send up costs on a growing number of consumer products.Retailers such as Walmart Inc and Amazon.com face uncertainty due to U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to impose more tariffs on Chinese goods, and the jump in imports from the country was likely because of "pre-emptive buying in anticipation of the tariffs"…

Growth Expected in Indian Logistics Industry

With industrial output and consumption-driven sectors recovering in H2 FY2018 from the initial lull post GST implementation, the freight demand in India has also reported healthy pickup during the second half of the previous fiscal.“The performance of key listed logistics companies indicates that there was pick-up in growth momentum as the year progressed,” said According to Shamsher Dewan, Vice President & Sector Head - Corporate Ratings, ICRA Ltd. “From an aggregate revenue growth of only 4.6 percent in Q2 FY2018…

LA, Antwerp Partner to Advance Port Technologies

In an effort to spur technology-based innovation in the port and maritime environment, the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Antwerp in Belgium  are hosting an international “Hackathon.” The technology competition will take place October 11-13, 2018 simultaneously in the two cities and involve participants from around the world.The Hackathon has been organized under the chainPORT initiative, a collaboration of 12 ports launched in 2015 to digitally connect ports worldwide, share…

China Will Hit Back After New US Tariffs

China accused the United States of bullying and warned it would hit back after the Trump administration raised the stakes in their trade dispute, threatening 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods.China's commerce ministry said on Wednesday it was "shocked" and would complain to the World Trade Organisation, but did not immediately say how it would retaliate. In a statement, it called the U.S. actions "completely unacceptable".The foreign ministry described Washington's…

Key Oil Export Terminals Reopen in Libya

Tripoli-based National Oil Corp (NOC) said on Wednesday four export terminals were being reopened after eastern factions handed over the ports, ending a standoff that had shut down most of Libya's oil output.Production and export operations would be restored "within the next few hours", an NOC statement said, although the restart at Es Sider and Ras Lanuf, where workers were evacuated and storage tanks damaged in fighting last month, was expected to be gradual.A tanker at Hariga was due to start loading 1 million barrels of crude on Wednesday afternoon…

Bryden Named CTO at PEIR

PEIR, a new app that helps the transportation logistics and shipping industries better assign costs based on responsibility for damaged shipping containers and trailers, has announced the hiring of Dr. Aaron Bryden as Chief Technology Officer and the acquisition of Tamper-Secure technology and patents from PRAXIK.Tom Burke, CEO of TCompanies, parent company of PEIR, said,  “Acquiring the Tamper-Secure technology and patents from PRAXIK made a great deal of sense for PEIR as we…

Redzic Joins Caterpillar as Digital Enabled Solutions VP

The board of directors of Caterpillar Inc. has appointed Ogi Redzic as a vice president to lead the company’s Digital Enabled Solutions Division (DESD), effective July 30, 2018. He will be based in Caterpillar's Chicago office and report to Group President of Customer & Dealer Support Bob De Lange.DESD is comprised of the company's data analytics group, the enterprise data hub, equipment management tools, Cat Connect technologies and customer experience portals.Redzic takes over for Caterpillar Vice President Julie Lagacy, who has led DESD on an interim basis.

Libya's Oil Output Down Sharply in 2018

Libya's national oil production fell to 527,000 barrels per day (bpd) from a high of 1.28 million bpd in February following recent oil port closures, the head of the National Oil Corporation (NOC) said in a statement on Monday.The NOC had not previously stated how high the country's production had climbed after partially recovering to more than 1 million bpd a year ago.In the video statement dated July 8 the chairman of Tripoli-based NOC, Mustafa Sanalla, said the Feb. 23 closure of the El Feel oilfield due to protests led to the loss of 80…

China Blames U.S. for "largest-scale trade war"

China says forced to respond to U.S. tariffs. The United States and China slapped tit-for-tat duties on $34 billion worth of each other's imports on Friday, with Beijing accusing Washington of triggering the "largest-scale trade war" as the world's two biggest economies sharply escalated their conflict. Hours before Washington's deadline for the tariffs to take effect, U.S. President Donald Trump upped the ante, warning that the United States may ultimately target over $500 billion worth of Chinese goods, or roughly the total amount of U.S. imports from China last year.