European Ports: Euro mega-hub yet to emerge as big ships maintain port rotations - by Bruce Barnard

The surging number of ultra large container ships has failed to create a European mega-hub with ocean carriers still operating multi-port rotations, according to Drewry Maritime Research.

“Despite container ships doubling in size in the past 10 years on the Far East-North Europe route, there has not been a reduction in the number of North European ports called by each service,” the London-based consultancy said.

“None of the major North European ports has become dominant or displaced competing ports,” it noted.

The average number of calls per loop has remained largely unchanged at four per service, typically including Antwerp or Rotterdam, a German and a UK port, and either Le Havre or one of the second-tier European ports.

And since 2009 carriers have started calling at additional European ports that they did not previously serve directly, such as Gdansk in Poland.

“This confirms the old shipping adage that the mother ship must go as close as possible to the final destination or origin of the cargo – where the market is a large one,” according to Drewry.” This is also advantageous for shippers because direct calls avoid the risk of missed feeder connections.”

Read more: Euro mega-hub yet to emerge as big ships maintain port rotations | JOC.com

Netherlands - Ports - Shipment of goods via Rotterdam port up by 1.7 pct

The amount of goods shipped through Rotterdam port in the Netherlands in 2012 grew by 1.7% to reach 442 million tonnes, the Rotterdam port authority announced on Friday.

The growth was mainly due to an increase in shipment of crude oil and oil products, President of the port of Rotterdam, Hans Smits, said in a statement.The amount of goods shipped through Rotterdam port in the Netherlands in 2012 grew by 1.7% to reach 442 million tonnes, the Rotterdam port authority announced on Friday.

The growth was mainly due to an increase in shipment of crude oil and oil products, President of the port of Rotterdam, Hans Smits, said in a statement.

Shipment of of crude oil increased by 6%, and mineral oil product by 12% this year. Shipment of naphtha, gas oil, diesel, kerosene and petrol also increased. A total of 214 million tonnes of liquid bulk was handled. This cargo segment thus represents half of the cargo throughput in the port of Rotterdam, said the statement.
LNG imports remained at a low level, because the prices in Asia are much higher, resulting in the product being transported to the Far East rather than to Europe.

Read more: KUNA : Shipment of goods via Rotterdam port up by 1.7 pct - Economics - 28/12/2012

Asian ports falling behind Europe

A senior shipping executive says that Hong Kong - as well as other Asian ports - are falling behind their European counterparts in productivity terms.

Nicolas Sartini, group senior vice-president of Asia-Europe lines at French container line CMA CGM, said some European ports were 50 per cent more efficient at loading and unloading containers than those in Asia.

Sartini, who was in Hong Kong for the maiden call of the world's largest container ship, CMA CGM Marco Polo, said some Asian ports needed to "wake up and catch up with Europe".

Speaking on the bridge of the 16,020-teu (20-foot equivalent unit) ship, Sartini said Europe had traditionally been behind Asia in several areas, but he added: "Today, we get better productivity in Europe than Asia."

He explained that two European ports, Le Havre, where the line has its own terminal, and Hamburg, were capable of 150 container moves an hour whereas some Asian ports could only achieve 100 moves an hour.

Read more: Asian ports falling behind Europe

Cruise Industry - Singapore: Hub for cruise ships

Now that Singapore has so successfully reinvented itself as a switched on "must-see" Asian city, that nation's focus has turned to becoming a leading Asian hub for international cruise ships.The state-of-the-art International Cruise Terminal, only minutes from the buzzy downtown area, is a glorious backdrop for any cruise ship's arrival.

The new terminal on Marina Bay has berths on either side of a roomy finger pier and will become an important gateway to Singapore with facilities to accommodate the world's biggest cruise ships from companies such as Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Lines.

One of the first mega-liners to use the new terminal is Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas which spends summer in Australasian waters from November this year.

Voyager of the Seas carries 3000 passengers and is the biggest cruise ship to home-port in Australia. An ice-skating rink, rock-climbing wall, basketball court, mini-golf course, and promenade deck for street theatre, dancing, and duty-free shopping are among its attractions.

Read more: Hub for cruise ships - The West Australian

Netherlands: Europe's largest harbour's 'sea-leg' taking shape

Four years ago, Queen Beatrix gave Rotterdam the final nod to extend her kingdom into the North Sea to expand Europe's largest harbour - and forever change the shape of the Dutch coast.

Planned for 15 years, the Dutch monarch's signature was a final requirement to set in motion one of the largest maritime construction projects of its kind in the Netherlands in 70 years - extending the Port of Rotterdam by an area equivalent to more than 3,000 football fields.

Next year, when the first phase of the Maasvlakte 2 project is completed, a new harbour stretching three kilometres (1.8 miles) into the sea will have risen 23 metres (76 feet) from the sea floor.

Built at a total cost of 3 billion euros ($3.6 billion) Maasvlakte 2 is seen as the crown jewel at the entrance of the iconic Port of Rotterdam, Europe's largest and the world's fourth-largest harbour.

Read more: Europe's largest harbour's 'sea-leg' taking shape | Business Recorder

Eurozone: Global Port Tracker report calls for significant 2012 export and import declines - by Jeff Berman

The ongoing economic malaise in Eurozone nations is not likely to see any meaningful signs of improvement in the near future. That was the main message in the most recent edition of the Global Port Tracker report from Hackett Associates and the Bremen Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics.

Ports surveyed in this report include the six major container reports in North Europe: le Havre, Antwerp, Zeebrugge, Rotterdam, Bremen/Bremerhaven, and Hamburg.

“Trade volumes remain on the decline,” said Ben Hackett, president of Hackett Associates, in a statement. “North European import growth rates are sliding towards flat to negative territory and exports have been flat for some months. The latest news from the industrial heartland of Germany suggests that we shall see exports declining in the coming six months.”

Read more: Global Port Tracker report calls for significant 2012 export and import declines - Article from Logistics Management

timesofmalta.com - Malta wants cruise passengers to stay a little longer - by Fiona Galea Debono

For the complete report from the timesofmalta.com click on this link

Malta wants cruise passengers to stay a little longer - by Fiona Galea Debono

The Malta Tourism Authority will be embarking on a drive to promote the cruise-and-stay niche market in the coming months, Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism Mario de Marco said yesterday. Speaking about the importance of the resilient and growing cruise lining industry from aboard the MSC Poesia, which was on its maiden call in Grand Harbour, Dr de Marco said the plan was to have passengers starting or ending their trip in Malta, rather than just staying for a couple of hours. He said the intensified marketing initiative was being undertaken with the collaboration of Malta International Airport, Viset and cruise liner operators. Three major operators have already confirmed they would be selling cruise-and-stay packages, using Malta as a departure.

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Xinhua: Greece - Hu Jintao's visit highlights friendly ties between China, Greece and Greece and sign euro831.2 million Port deal - by Liang Yeqian

For the complete report from Xinhua click on this link

Greece -FM: Hu Jintao's visit highlights friendly ties between China, Greece and Greece - by Liang Yeqian

Chinese President Hu Jintao's ongoing official visit to Greece reflects the excellent bilateral relations between the two countries, Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis said Monday in an interview with Xinhua. She said current Greek-Chinese relations, strong as they are, could be further strengthened through enhanced cooperation in the fields of commercial shipping, tourism, culture and education, and people-to-people exchanges. Bakoyannis said Greece has particular strength in the merchant shipping sector as it has the busiest ports in southeast Europe and the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Greek ship-owners are currently the biggest and most important customers of Chinese shipyards, and nearly 50 percent of merchandise traveling to and from China are transported by Greek merchant fleets, she went on to say. She said the strategic partnership between Greece and China also includes their cooperation in international affairs, adding that her country supports increased dialogue between China and the European Union.

Note EU-Digest: Chinese President Hu Jintao has promised to expand maritime trade with Greece after finalizing a euro831.2 million (US$1b) container-port concession deal Tuesday. Under the agreement, China's Cosco Pacific Ltd. will receive a 35-year concession to manage two container terminals at Greece's main port of Piraeus.The agreement was signed after Hu met Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis for talks. Karamanlis said Greece will become a key transit point for Chinese goods bound for southeast Europe and the eastern Mediterranean.

Truth About Trade & Technology - Activists Choke Growth Of European Shipping

For the complete report in the Truth About Trade & Technology click on this link

Activists Choke Growth Of European Shipping

Supported by strict European Union environmental laws and a band of die-hard residents, squatters and Gypsies, Ms. Apers has sued to keep alive the 17th-century village of Doel, which was slated for destruction. Her efforts delayed the first stage of the Antwerp port's expansion by three years and now stand in the way of new infrastructure and a second container dock, port officials say. At a time when the global container-shipping trade is growing by 11% a year, thanks to booming exports from Asia, Europe's ports can't keep up, say growth advocates. A combination of environmental protections and resistance from local residents is helping to stifle ports' expansion plans across the continent. And with China planning to spend $54 billion in the next 10 years on building and expanding ports, the mismatch between its capacity to ship and Europe's ability to receive goods is growing fast. Some maritime economists say all this could have big implications for the European economy. As Europe's deep-water ports jam up, ships from China will face growing costs as they wait in line to dock. Fewer imports could lead to higher prices for consumers and shortages of some goods made in Asia. If exports are affected, it could restrict economic growth in Europe.

"Europe just needs to buy less from Asia," says Joris Wijnhoven, a Netherlands-based campaigner against port expansion at Friends of the Earth, an environmental group. In the first quarter of 2007, 73% of container ships arrived late in European ports, up from 45% in the same period last year, according to the latest annual report by Drewry Shipping Consultants Ltd. Every extra day at sea costs shipping companies an average $30,000 per vessel. Rotterdam in the Netherlands, Hamburg in Germany and Southampton in the United Kingdom all had to turn away container ships for lack of docking space lately. U.S. ports face expansion hurdles too. Environmental activists and local residents in Houston, Los Angeles and Charleston, S.C., have delayed projects. Although the U.S. also has tough environmental rules and protected areas, its coastline is less crowded and offers more area for expansion, say port experts. Additionally, ports in Mexico and Canada have been taking some of the overflow.