East Coast : Ocean Carriers & Ports

Bourne The European Liner Affairs Association board, which met in Taipei this week, approved the closure of the Brussels-based organization by July 1. Container carriers established the ELAA in 2003 to persuade the European Commission of the value for maintaining the ocean carrier conference system. While the ELAA failed in this effort, the association helped smooth the transition of the i...

Orient Overseas (International) Ltd., (OOIL) the Hong Kong-based parent company of container carrier OOCL, said it had a net loss of $401 million in 2009 compared to a profit of $276 million in 2008. The company, which reported earnings in U.S. dollars, said revenues for the year was $4.3 billion, 33 percent less than the $6.5 billion in 2008. Container liftings were 4.16 million TEUs...

The Maritime Association of the Port of New York and New Jersey will honor five senior executives by inducting them into the International Maritime Hall of Fame on May 12. The five honorees are: • Yung-Fa Chang, founder and chairman of the Evergreen Group. • Anthony ”Tony” A. Chiarello, executive vice president and chief operating officer of NYK Logistics (Americas) Inc. • Jam...

Manatee County Port Authority Thursday approved a long-term $30 million agreement with Port Dolphin Energy, a company owned by Norway's Hoegh LNG, to build a deepwater port for liquefied natural gas ships. During the first five years of the agreement, Port Manatee would receive more than $16 million in cash and assets, followed by about $15 million over the remainder of the agreement. ...

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission said Wednesday it has launched a fact-finding investigation into ocean vessel capacity and shipping equipment availability for U.S. exports and imports. The announcement came as FMC Chairman Richard Lidinsky and several shipper and carrier representatives testified to members of the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation about th...

Singapore based NOL, the parent of liner carrier APL, is taking a $300 million loan for “general corporate funding purposes,” according to a statement the company made to the Singapore Stock Exchange Wednesday. The term loan has been taken by the APL (Bermuda) business unit, and is guaranteed by the parent company. The funding was arranged by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. In 2009, NOL ...

Taiwan-based container line Yang Ming has issued more than $150 million in bonds, the proceeds of which will help to pay down debt this year, local and maritime press outlets reported Wednesday. The line owes more than $300 million that must be settled this year, Lloyd’s List reported, with the company paying the rest of the debts through internal resources. ...

Delegates from the International Transport Workers Federation meeting in Berlin on Wednesday launched a campaign to persuade all governments to commit resources to end the increasing problem of Somalia-based piracy. The group also voted "to support the inclusion, where appropriate, of armed military personnel on ships in addition to the commitment by flag states of naval vessels," but sai...

Project cargo specialist carrier Intermarine said Wednesday it recently loaded two massive cold boxes for an LNG plant under construction in West Africa. Built at a fabrication plant in New Iberia, La., the 700-ton boxes were transported to Houston by barge where they were transloaded to the Industrial Achiever for the ocean journey to West Africa. “Although appearing rather simple, t...

The U.S. Maritime Administration said a fourth obsolete vessel from its reserve fleet in Suisan Bay, Calif., departs Thursday for scrapping. The Winthrop Victory, a Victory cargo ship built during World War II, will be towed to BAE Systems’ San Francisco shipyard, where it will be cleaned of marine growth and loose exterior paint prior to departure from the area. The vessel will be fo...

Ocean carrier NYK Line on Wednesday announced a series of changes among its Group Americas executive team. President and Chief Executive Officer Tony Nozaki will return to Japan as executive vice president of Kinkai Yusen Logistics. Yasuyuki Usui will succeed him as president and CEO of NYK Group Americas. Peter Keller will retire and become a senior advisor to the board of NYK Group ...

Crist Florida Gov. Charlie Crist called on the Florida state legislature to pass two bills that he said would boost Florida ports. Crist said he was joining with state Sen. Jeremy Ring and Rep. Lake Ray to promote two proposals: • House Bill 963, which he said would help Florida more effectively compete with other states vying to attract port-related businesses. • House Bill 1169, ...

The Port of Baltimore received 320 BMW cars Sunday, marking the first shipment under a five-year agreement with the auto manufacturer. The automaker in December chose the port as an import hub for vehicles made in Germany and the United Kingdom. BMW intends to bring about 50,000 vehicles through the port each year for processing and distribution to dealers. Port officials expect the i...

A new distribution center for imported beer in Savannah will handle about 3,000 TEUs of cargo annually, the Georgia Ports Authority said. The distribution center for Diageo will be operated by Matson Global Distribution Services, a third-party logistics provider. The first shipment to the new distribution center arrived in January. This distribution center will primarily handle be...

The House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime will hold a hearing Wednesday on whether there is sufficient ship capacity to serve U.S. foreign trade. The subcommittee is planning another hearing next week on the "state of United States’ merchant fleet in foreign commerce.” Wednesday's hearing is because of anecdotal evidence and media reports that "suggest that the ability of the...

Shipping line OOCL said in a customer advisory it would no longer provide chassis for container yard or store door shipments of import and exports originating or destined to facilities in or around Boston and Miami. "All motor carriers, either working as suppliers for OOCL or OOCL customers, must provide chassis for these shipments," the Hong Kong-based carrier said in an advisory to cust...

Maersk Line Ltd. said it will add a third U.S.-flag tanker to its fleet. The U.S.-flag arm of the A.P. Moller - Maersk Group said it will reflag the 2009-built Samho Moonstone, which will be renamed Bro Hawaii when reflagging process is completed in mid-April. The 5,664-deadweight-ton ship will operate in Asia spot markets targeting U.S. preference cargoes. Tuesday, Maersk Line Ltd. w...

Truckers are unhappy with a Port Authority of New York and New Jersey plan to next year ban trucks built before 1994. At a meeting that attendees described as "heated," truckers complained that a second part of the plan would ban trucks not equipped with engines that meet or exceed 2007 federal emissions standards starting in 2017. Gail Toth, executive director of the New Jersey Motor...

A Haiti-based conglomerate and Miami shipping line said they plan to redevelop Terminal Varreux in Port-Au-Prince, which was damaged in the Jan. 12 earthquake. Haiti's WIN Group and Santé Holding Corp. said they will build new jetties, deepen berths and develop container and breakbulk cargo facilities at the 150-acre terminal. Historically, the terminal had concentrated on liquid and dry ...

The Iraq government will seek bids to build a $6 billion port in the southern city of Basra, Reuters reported this week. The port would be linked to a proposed $3 billion rail line to Baghdad and then to Europe. Iraqi transport officials envision the port, which would have a dredged depth of 55 feet (thus able to accommodate the world’s largest cargo ships) as competing with the Suez ...

U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen has been named “port person of the year” by the American Association of Port Authorities. Allen will receive the award next week during the association’s annual spring meeting in Washington. The ports group said Allen was selected for the award because of his efforts to make the marine transportation system safe and efficient. “Adm. Allen rec...

French container line CMA CGM is weighing offers from private investors to bolster its coffers after a turbulent 2009. The line confirmed Monday to American Shipper it has received offers from various interested parties. A report in Monday’s Financial Times said the carrier is considering offers from Louis Dreyfus Group (France's only other large ship owner), Goldman Sachs and Butler Capi...

The growing practice of slow steaming container shipping services has coincided with an unexpected deterioration in the on-time arrivals of vessels, Drewry Shipping Consultants said Tuesday. According to Drewry's latest Container Shipper Insight report, out of 1,600 ships tracked in the three months through Dec. 31, only 53 percent arrived either on the scheduled day of arrival or a day p...

Citigroup Inc. has hired a director from a London shipbroker to develop its physical shipping operations as the bank seeks to expand its commodities business, Bloomberg reported Monday. The bank has lured Alistair McLuskie, a director with Simpson, Spence & Young Ltd., the world's second-largest shipbroker, to join as director of physical freight on April 1, Citigroup said in an e-mailed ...

Virginia Gov. Bob McConnell’s administration could shelve a plan to privatize three container terminals at the Port of Virginia, according to a story last week in the Newport News-based Daily Press. CenterPoint Properties, a real estate industrial trust that specializes in logistics facilities, last year made an unsolicited offer to enter into a long-term agreement with the Virginia Port ...

Norwegian company Wilh. Wilhelmsen said it plans to restructure so that its shipping and logistics activities will be carried forward under a separately listed entity that is able to raise capital. The Oslo-based company said the change will "position the group for future growth." It said it hopes to raise $200 million to $400 million in an initial public offering for the shipping and...

Facilities at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at King Point in New York are in urgent need of repair or replacement, according to a blue ribbon panel appointed by Transportation Secretary Ray La Hood. According to a report, "several structures, including the academy’s piers, have become unserviceable, while others have required urgent repairs to prevent further significant deterioration ...

Japanese ocean carrier “K” Line on Friday announced changes to its executive team, effective April 1: • Hiroyuki Maekawa, president and chief executive officer, will become chairman executive officer. • Kenichi Kuroya will be promoted from vice president to president and CEO. • Keisuke Yoshida will move from managing executive officer to senior executive officer. • Shigeo Itay...

The U.S. Coast Guard is imposing restrictions on ships arriving from the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. A Department of Homeland Security assessment found that under U.S. law and the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code, that ports in Timor-Leste "are not maintaining effective antiterrorism measures." In order to enter the United States, ships that have been to Timo...