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Denmark’s Port of Skagen is to welcome 44 cruise ships carrying around 73,000 guests in 2019 – an increase of almost 10,000 people from 2018. Marking the third consecutive year that Skagen has hosted record numbers of cruise guests, the 2019 season will see nine vessels making maiden calls. They include ships from lines such as Cruise & Maritime Voyages, Marella Cruises, Phoenix Reisen, Saga Cruises and Viking Cruises. This year is also the 20th anniversary of Cruise Skagen Denmark, which was formed to promote Skagen as a cruise destination in 2009.

On Thursday, March 28, 2019, the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) voted to approve the purchase of two new 100-foot gauge container gantry cranes to be used at the Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal, the Port NOLA press release said. “These new cranes are vital to our success and growth here at Port NOLA,” said President and CEO Brandy D. Christian. “They will increase our efficiency so we can accommodate larger and wider ships more quickly and meet the growing needs of our carriers and shippers.” The Board approved a $23.4 million contract to Shanghai, China-based Shanghai Zenhua Heavy Industries Co. Ltd., for the construction and delivery of the cranes. There are no domestic manufacturers of container gantry cranes.

Morotai, a container ship owned by CMA CGM Group Agencies (Australia) Pty Ltd., docked at the SP-ITC International Container Terminal in District 9, Ho Chi Minh City, on March 15, following the route from the city to Australia and vice versa. Weighing 40,000 tonnes and measuring 222 metres long, Morotai is the vessel with the largest deadweight tonnage having anchored at the SP-ITC port thus far.

Meyer Turku has floated Costa Cruises’ first LNG-powered cruise ship, Costa Smeralda, out of her building dock at its yard in Turku, Finland. Following a traditional ceremony to mark the construction milestone, the 180,000gt ship was moved to Meyer Turku’s outfitting pier where she will remain until her delivery in October 2019. Once complete, the ship will offer a three-level area in the middle of the ship that will host entertainment, Italy-inspired piazzas, 11 restaurants, 19 bars, a water park with slides, a multi-sport field, four swimming pools, theatre, disco, casino, jazz club piano bar, a games room and a spa, which has a beauty salon, hammam, thalasso therapy pool and 16 treatment rooms. The vessel will also have her own onboard museum called CoDe - Costa Design Museum, which will be curated by Matteo Vercelloni and showcase the “excellence of Italian design” by featuring many of the people who have contributed to the ship's construction.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) has drawn up plans to replicate its success at Mundra port in terms of cargo handling, at the Kattupalli port as well. On an average, Mundra port had handled over 100 million tonnes of cargo for three years in a row since 2016. “Our vision is to have 30 berths at Adani Kattupalli port to handle all types of commodities including coal, liquefied natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas, including chemicals,” said Ennarasu Karunesan, CEO — Southern Ports, APSEZ. APSEZ acquired Kattupalli port from L&T in June 2018 and renamed it as Adani Kattupalli Port Pvt. Ltd (AKPPL). It has capacity to handle nearly 25 million tonnes of cargo, which is to be enhanced soon. Currently, the port has two berths that handle containers, bulk and break-bulk cargoes, and automotive vehicles. A third berth is under construction.

According to a VCTPL official, the project construction will begin immediately and is expected to be completed by March 2021. The project is being taken up on Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer basis duly enhancing the capacity of the existing container terminal to meet the growing business needs. Source: Indian Express

In the first quarter of 2019, Turkey-based YILPORT HOLDING, the 12th biggest global container terminal and port operator, ordered four high-performance Model 8 mobile harbor cranes for two terminals in Latin America. Two of the large Konecranes Gottwald cranes will begin operation in Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala, in mid-2019.

Virgin Voyages has officially finalised its contract to sail to Cuba. The cruise line’s excursion programme on the Caribbean island, Shore Things, will provide guests with a range of experiences. “Our sailors are eager to sail to Cuba and we are incredibly proud to celebrate our plans to visit Havana, which is without a doubt, one of the Caribbean’s most authentic and enriching destinations,” said Tom McAlpin, Virgin Voyages’ president and CEO. “This fantastic place offers the chance for our sailors to experience a vibrant city and artistic haven, where they can meet locals and discover the heritage and culture of this beautiful destination.”

A new $1bn VLCC-sized crude export site is moving ahead in Texas. Commissioners with the Port of Corpus Christi Authority yesterday approved a 50-year lease for a Carlyle Group-backed project. Lone Star Ports, a Carlyle vehicle, has got the go ahead to build a tanker terminal on Harbor Isand near Port Aransas subject to an environmental review as the new port will require extensive dredging. The project is one of two proposed for the Corpus Christi area and among eight deepwater ports planned along the US Gulf Coast.

DP World said it is likely to start using the fourth terminal at its flagship Jebel Ali port in the second half of 2019, after utilisation of the terminal was delayed due to a softening market. The ports operator said the terminal is essentially ready for operations and has more cost efficiencies than Terminal 1.

No fewer than sixteen Liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels are expected to berth in Onne Port Complex this week in Rivers State Ten of the vessels would discharge imported cargo – containers, general cargo, drilling fluid and inballast, while six vessels would export 364,000 tons of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and Butane to other countries of the world. The development was contained in a shipping position issued by the port. The 360000 tons of LNG/Butane would be shipped by these following vessels – LNG Methane Allison Victoria (65000 ton), LNG Maran Gas Hector (70000 ton), LNG Bonny II (77000 ton), LPG Innovator (10000 ton of Butane), LNG Bayelsa (65000 ton) and LNG Lagos II (77000 ton).

The economic importance of nautical tourism for Schleswig-Holstein is continuing to increase. More than 2.2 million passengers are expected in the port of Kiel alone this year, forecasting record numbers like 600,000 cruise passengers and 1.6 million ferry travellers, the company said in its release. Last year, passengers generated a turnover of about 68 million Euros in Kiel. The consumer spending of the port's ferry passengers amounts to more than 53 million Euros. These are complemented by another 15 million Euros spent by cruise passengers and the crews. Out of the total amount, 10 million Euros were spent by passengers for hotel accommodation in Schleswig-Holstein directly before or after their cruise. In 2018, Kiel was visited on 169 separate occasions (143 in 2017) by 34 different cruise ships with a total gross tonnage of more than 11.5 million - an increase of 15.3 % over the previous year. 598,000 cruise passengers boarded or left a cruise ship at the different terminals, an increase of 16.5 %. To date 179 visits to Kiel by 33 different cruise ships have been registered.

Port Waratah Coal Services’ two terminals at Newcastle port in the eastern Australian state of New South Wales had 13 ships waiting offshore on Sunday, down from 17 ships a week earlier, the Hunter Valley Coal Chain Coordinator said in its weekly report Monday. The queue was expected to comprise less than five ships at the end of March, HVCCC said. A total of 2.2 million mt of coal was shipped out of the PWCS terminals in the week to Sunday, up 111,000 mt from the week before.

The world’s first LNG-fuelled survey vessel, the "Atair", has been floated in Kiel after a building period of 16 months on Feb 28, 2019. The vessel was built on behalf of the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) and the vessel’s general contractor is Fassmer shipyard. It’s hull and superstructure, as well as parts of its outfitting, were constructed at German Naval Yards Kiel. The survey vessel is destined to be used for wreck search and underwater surveying. After successfully completing all trials, the new building is due to be delivered to BSH in spring 2020. Reports with photos: https://seanews.co.uk/shipping/tanker/lng-powered-survey-vessel-atair-floated-out-at-german-naval-yards-kiel/ http://www.kn-online.de/Nachrichten/Wirtschaft/Kieler-Werft-bringt-erstes-Forschungsschiff-mit-LNG-Antrieb-zu-Wasser

Essential maintenance dredging at the Port of Hay Point is scheduled to commence this weekend. The works will be undertaken by specialist vessel the TSHD Brisbane, on behalf of North Queensland Bulk Ports Corporation (NQBP) and the port’s terminal operators. NQBP Chief Executive Officer Nicolas Fertin said the Port of Hay Point primarily exports metallurgical coal, a key resource in steel-making.

The Port of Antwerp aims to open a hydrogen bunkering station later this year, its CEO Jacques Vandermeiren revealed earlier this week at Petrospot’s Marine Energy Transition Forum. The news comes as Antwerp, Europe’s largest petrochemical complex, brings online a swathe of alternate fuels for shipping, including LNG and methanol. While social media posts suggested the hydrogen bunkering could happen within the next couple of months, a spokesperson for the port told Splash that Antwerp was still working on the logistics of the venture, a world first, and no timeline could be confirmed yet.

Contship Italia S.p.A. has entered into negotiations with MSC for the sale of its 50% shares in CSM Italia Gate S.p.A, the company that controls MCT – Medcenter Container Terminal S.p.A. MCT is the concessionaire of the container terminal activities in the port of Gioia Tauro where MSC is already a partner and the main customer. In order to speed up the deal, Contship Italia has appointed the law firm that will assist the process as well as an independent financial advisor, who has been given the task of expressing the correct value of the terminal activity and assets. During the negotiations, Medcenter Container Terminal will continue to be fully operational.

Hutchison Ports Pakistan received three new remote-controlled quay cranes to mark the beginning of the terminal’s second phase in Karachi. The development will make Pakistan the first country in the South Asia region to install semi-automated, cabin-less cranes. Pakistan’s first and only deep-water container port received the first installment of these high-tech cranes, under their agreement signed with Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co. Ltd, China (ZPMC) recently, for the purchase of 8 new cabin-less remote-controlled quay cranes, and 24 remote-controlled rubber-tired gantry cranes (RTGCs). This incoming equipment will be the first of its kind in the country.

India Global Ports Limited (IGPL) is committed to investing up to $500m to develop Chabahar Port in southern Iran as part of series of projects worth hundreds of millions of dollars, a senior official said. Alireza Jahan, the representative of the Iranian partner of IGPL, said the investments will be made over the next 10 years to equip the port of Chabahar with special loading and unloading harbor facilities. IGPL has been tasked with administering and running the terminal of the first phase of ‘Beheshti harbor’ at Chabahar Port. IGPL also officially is in charge of navigation in the port of Chabahar from January with $85 million investment.

In the first quarter of 2019, Turkey-based YILPORT HOLDING, the 12th biggest global container terminal and port operator, ordered four high-performance Model 8 mobile harbor cranes for two terminals in Latin America. Two of the large Konecranes Gottwald cranes will begin operation in Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala, in mid-2019, followed by two cranes in Puerto Bolivar, Ecuador, just two months later.