The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and Sustainable Terminal Services,Inc. are each investing $808,875 to bring Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to the port, they said. Additional funds will be provided through a federal grant, they said. RFID will allow the Port Authority and its terminal operators to clearly identify each vehicle serving the port facilities, and to know the content of containers coming to and from the port and the identities and backgrounds of the people transporting and handling the cargo, they said.
Khalifa Port in Abu Dhabi launched commercial operations with Navis' advanced terminal operating system SPARCS N4, the company said. The technology was already operational at the Abu Dhabi Terminal-operated Mina Zayed.
The JadeWeserPort in Wilhelmshaven, Germany, opened to jumbo container ships this month, officials said. Over $1 billion was invested in the project, which will ensure Germany's handling of jumbo container ships well into the future, they said.
Energy-efficiency, ballast water management and ship-recycling rules will be key issues for the International Maritime Organization's Marine Environment Protection Committee meeting Oct. 1-5 at IMO Headquarters in London, it said.
Fitch Ratings assigned an 'AA-' rating to the Port of Authority of New York and New Jersey's $2 billion consolidated bonds and affirmed the authority's existing debt, it said. Fitch cited resilient cash flows and stable revenue base, high degree of rate-setting flexibility, and conservative capital structure.
Port credit ratings are likely to remain resilient in the face of an East Coast longshoremen's strike, Fitch Ratings said in a new report. It said the potential remains for a work stoppage at the end of the 90-day extension period, (see ITT's Online Archives 12092101, but contingency plans at potentially affected ports have envisaged 10-15% cargo diversion over a month or so of stoppage, which is well below throughput losses modeled in Fitch's rating case scenarios for ports. That, plus the levels of liquidity maintained by ports and the fixed rental payments generally seen as the main source of revenue for ports, would minimize the credit impact expected from any future work stoppage, the report said.
The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners gave a $36.8 million construction contract for the "Green Port Gateway" railroad project, which is to enhance the Port of Long Beach's capacity for "on-dock rail," cutting down on truck traffic and air pollution, it said. Construction could begin as early as November and is expected to continue until July 2014, the port said. The contractor is Ames Construction Inc. of Corona.
Extending the longshoremen's contract for 90 additional days was agreed Sept. 20 by the International Longshoremen's Association and the U.S. Maritime Exchange, representing shipping and port interests, said Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service Director George Cohen after talks closed Sept. 20. The extension is until Dec. 29, he said.
German shipping company Hamburg Sud added the Port of New Orleans to a new weekly service to Latin America, the port said. Hamburg Sud will provide the service through a space charter agreement with Hapag-Lloyd, connecting New Orleans with Caucedo, Dominican Republic; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Montevideo, Uruguay; Rio Grande, Mexico; and Suape, Santos, Navegantes and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Ports America will handle the new service at the Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal.
The Port Newark Container Terminal completed the phase two deployment of Firetide's wireless video surveillance network that enables security and safety officers to view live indoor and outdoor video feeds of the 180-acre port facility and its operations, Firetide said. The first phase of the Firetide wireless infrastructure mesh video network was deployed in 2008. Firetide's wireless network provides live indoor and outdoor video feeds of workers unloading cargo from incoming ships and moving containers throughout the site. The video cameras monitor safety violations, provide accident verification, and monitor vehicle and foot access to and from the facility, Firetide said. The network includes 54 Firetide HotPort 7020 wireless mesh nodes and 70 Bosch VG4 500i series point-tilt-zoom IP surveillance cameras at multiple locations throughout the facility.