Fitch Ratings assigned an 'AA+' rating to a group of Virginia Port Authority bonds that are expected to be offered Aug. 28, and affirmed the 'AA+' rating on $224.9 million of existing bonds. The bonds are expected to be paid from money appropriated and allocated monthly for such purpose by the state General Assembly, and the rating is one notch below the state's rating.
Port Metro Vancouver said it had healthy continued growth of 6 percent in the first half of 2012. It said the port handled 62.3 million tons of cargo through the end of June and is on track for another strong year. Total foreign tonnage at Port Metro Vancouver posted a 6 percent increase with 49 million tons. Domestic tonnage increased 6 percent to 13.3 million tons.
A multi-billion dollar investment is required for North American ports to meet the demands of the post-Panama Canal expansion environment, according to Colliers International's North American Port Analysis Report. It said only eight U.S. ports are on track to be Post-Panamax ready by 2015. By 2030, 60 to 70 percent of the world's container fleet will be 18-22 containers wide, the report said, too large for many U.S. ports to accommodate.
The port of San Diego and Dole Fresh Fruit plan to sign a 24.5-year lease agreement Aug. 14 that covers 954,864 square feet of space at the port's Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal, they said. Under the agreement, the port and Dole will work together on infrastructure improvements that will improve cargo operations at the Port, and improve the environment for the neighboring community. The port will invest about $7 million in shore power equipment at the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal, so the vessels use the shore power while berthed at Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal, reducing their diesel emissions. The new lease also extends Dole's operating area to a warehouse offsite of the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal, eliminating truck staging and off-terminal operations from nearby residential areas. The port receives about 95,000 twenty-foot containers of Dole fruit per year.
The port of Long Beach said it cut air pollution from port-related sources for the fifth year in a row, including a dramatic 75 percent reduction in airborne diesel particulates, according to an analysis of key pollutants that compares 2011 to 2005. It said the reductions reflect the port's efforts to aggressively limit or prevent pollution from the ships, trucks, locomotives, tractors and cranes that move cargo at the port. From 2005 to 2011, all of the key air pollutants from port-related sources were reduced, it said in the report released Aug. 6 for the 2011 calendar year.
Port-related air pollution continues to drop despite a rebound in cargo at the Port of Los Angeles, the port said new data shows. It said from 2005 to 2011 cumulative harmful emissions at the port plunged 76 percent, while container volume grew 6 percent. On a year-to-year basis, there has been a decrease up to 7 percent of harmful emissions. The port said the data shows the port is three years ahead of its year 2014 targets for reducing diesel particulate matter and nitrogen oxides, and the Port is on track to meet more stringent 2023 emission reduction goals.
The Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District said it completed a draft EIS/EIR for the Eagle Rock Aggregates Terminal Project at the Port of Long Beach. The proposed project would include dredging, land-based wharf improvements, and the installation of truck scales and conveyor system. Construction is estimated to take 5 months. The proposed project site is at Berth D-44 on Pier D in the Port, currently owned by L.G. Everist, Inc., but to be leased to Eagle Rock Aggregate. Copies of the environmental impact statement are at http://www.polb.com/ceqa. Further information: John Markham, 805-585-2150. A public hearing on the DEIS/EIR and project is set for 6 p.m. Aug. 22 in the City of Long Beach City Council Chambers, 333 W. Ocean Boulevard, Long Beach, Calif.
Talks between shipping interests and the International Longshoremen's Association will resume Aug. 22-24, when small committee meetings are scheduled, U.S. Maritime Alliance Chairman James Capo told us. The Alliance and the union had announced agreement in principle on several issues last month (See ITT's Online Archives [Ref.12072023]) and said they planned to meet again on other national issues, as well as local port issues, but didn't say when.
The Federal Maritime Commission released a Study of U.S. Inland Containerized Cargo Moving Through Canadian and Mexican Seaports, which had been prompted by requests from members of Congress to study the impacts and the extent to which the U.S. Harbor Maintenance Tax (HMT), enacted in 1986, other U.S. policies and other factors may incentivize U.S.-bound container cargo to shift from U.S. seaports to those located in Canada and Mexico.
Abu Dhabi Ports Co. is finishing intensive and full scale tests before the Sept. 1 launch of Khalifa Port, the only semi-automated container terminal in the region, it said. The first commercial vessel to arrive, the Ever Dynamic, from Evergreen Line with a total capacity of 4,173 TEUs (Twenty foot Equivalent container Units) arrived safely at Khalifa Port July 18, it said. The company said it will continue to transition and test with individual shipping lines over the next month, with the aim of officially opening Khalifa Port’s new container terminal Sept. 1. Phase One of the Khalifa Port Container Terminal will initially handle 2.5 million TEUs container traffic and 12 million tons of general cargo annually. By 2030, it's expected that Khalifa Port will be able to handle 15 million TEUs and 35 million tons of general cargo per year.