This notification is for your kind attention from OPCA Vietnam member: VIETRANSTIMEX.

Mr. Le Tien Dung from Vietranstimex informed us that they will move their office from Danang City to Ho Chi Minh City on 01 January 2019.

After 01 January 2019, their address will be as below;

Company Name: Vietranstimex
Address: 9th Floor, B&L Tower, #119-121 Ung Van Khiem Street, Ward 25, Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

They also stated that the other information of Vietranstimex shall stay unchanged. The above change shall not affect to any of their ongoing business agreements, relationships, duties that have been agreed and signed between Vietranstimex and their clients or partners previously.

For your kind information.

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Original news was published on 27 December, 2018

In Scotland, the port of Cromarty Firth is set to commence work on a major quayside expansion in an investment of around GBP30 million (USD37.97 million).

The news follows the recent award to the port of a GBP10 million (USD12.65 million) contract from Moray East offshore wind farm to become the intermediate port for its 95-turbine development.

The new 218 m quayside and 9 acres (3.64 ha) of laydown area has been designed as an energy and cruise hub and will be completed by 2020.

It will not only be able to accommodate large scale renewable, decommissioning, and oil and gas projects, it will also be able to berth the largest cruise ships currently being designed and built.

This will be the second quayside and laydown area built at the port in three years.

Bob Buskie, chief executive of the Port of Cromarty Firth, said: “As a trust port, all of our profits are reinvested in the port’s future development. We believe this investment will be help bring new work to the area for decades to come.

“There is a substantial demand for the services in the port and, even with the large new quayside and laydown area finished in 2016, we still experience capacity issues."

*NEWS SOURCE

Original news was published on 21 December 2018

The UK’s port of Sunderland has acquired a second Liebherr LHM 420 crane.

Working in tandem with the other crane, the port will now be able to lift cargoes weighing up to 240 tonnes, opening new markets, said the port authority, adding that its geographical position makes it a good location from which to serve the resurgent offshore renewables market in the region.

The crane, which was produced at Liebherr’s facility in Rostock, Germany, arrived at the port on an ocean-going vessel.

Matthew Hunt, port director, said: “By investing in our second heavy lift crane, we can deliver large, more complex projects much more efficiently.”

Sunderland is one of a number of ports in the UK North East that has recently also signed up to a new initiative to pilot smart digital solutions to boost trade and foster economic growth.

The Smart Port North East Testbed brings together digital and industry experts, academia, regional authorities as well as the port of Berwick, port of Blyth, port of Sunderland, Teesport and port of Tyne to test satellite-based solutions to enable ports to become more ‘intelligent’.

It will explore technologies such as artificial intelligence, data analytics, unmanned marine vessels and airborne drones to examine ways of speeding up trade, increasing efficiency and reliability, reducing costs, tracking cargo, improving security and protecting the environment.

The project targets four key outcomes for the ports: new business opportunities and hinterland engagement; boosting the growth of green energy and low carbon solutions; improved customer experiences; and operational excellence and security in and around the port.

*NEWS SOURCE

Original news was published on 19 December, 2018

The Port of Rotterdam Authority has unveiled its plans to widen and facilitate the Green Award discount for sea-going shipping as of 2019.

The port explained that the discount would encourage safe and green shipping in the liquid bulk segment. From 2019 onwards, certified chemical tankers and sea-going vessels with a cargo capacity of less than 20,000 tons may also make use of the scheme, the authority said.

Additionally, the port is making the port dues process more customer friendly for shipping lines whose vessels call at the Port of Rotterdam. In close collaboration with the market, the billing process will be quicker and more transparent.

The changes to the billing of seaport, buoy and dolphin dues, together with waste charges will be implemented first and are expected to be completed in 2019.

As the Port of Rotterdam Authority, Deltalinqs, VRC and VNPI agreed in 2017, the port tariffs for the port of Rotterdam will be increased by 1% in 2019. The port tariffs were then set for the years 2018-2020.

In line with the three-year agreement, the Port Authority will adopt the specific measures, such as transhipment discounts for containers, to strengthen Rotterdam’s position as a container hub and the port tariffs for tankers carrying crude oil will be set at 1.5% below the general increase.

The tariffs apply to the seaports of Rotterdam, Schiedam, Vlaardingen, Maassluis, Dordrecht, Papendrecht, Zwijndrecht and Moerdijk.

*NEWS SOURCE

Original news was published on 18 December 2018

Canada-based Myshak Crane & Rigging has utilised its Hydra-Slide hydraulic skidding equipment to replace a 514-tonne converter at a fertiliser production plant in Alberta.

A 300-ton (272.2-tonne) capacity heavy track HT300 skidding system, in combination with a a 350-ton (348.9-tonne) capacity low-profile LP350 hydraulic skidding system, was used to move the equipment over a 50 m track.

The old converter shell, complete with basket and catalyst, measured 32 m in length and had a diameter of 2.7 m. The unit was jacked up and skidded horizontally in one piece to an open area where it was loaded onto SPMTs.

This made room for the installation of the larger converter shell, which weighed 520.2 tonnes with the basket and measured 3 m in diameter and 35 m in length.

The replacement unit was skidded across the track into position over the foundations and lowered onto the anchor bolts.

Six JLS250 jacking load shoes were hydraulically connected in a three-point suspension to lift and slide the converters on the HT300 track.

*NEWS SOURCE

Original news was published on 12 December, 2018

The merger between Belgium’s tanker shipping company Euronav and US-based crude oil shipping company Gener8 Maritime has won the ‘Deal of the Year 2018’ award by Lloyd’s List Global Awards.

The merger was concluded in June this year, creating a large crude tanker operator with a fleet of 76 operating crude tankers, with over a half of that figure being VLCCs. The deal enabled Euronav to expand its fleet by over 40 pct.

The merged entity has balance sheet assets of over USD 4 billion, an estimated pro-forma market capitalization of USD 2 billion based on Euronav’s closing price of USD 9.10 per share on June 11, 2018, and marked-to-market leverage of less than 50%.

 “The merger with Gener8 was a challenging transaction from an operational, financial and legal perspective. It required great commitment, energy and professionalism from our staff and this award is recognition of that sustained effort over a prolonged period.

“The integration of the fleet into our enlarged organization has been delivered on schedule. With tanker market fundamentals continuing to improve, we believe this counter-cyclical investment will deliver strong returns for all our stakeholders going forward,” Paddy Rodgers, CEO of Euronav said.

Rodgers believes the tanker market is about to benefit from improving tanker cycle fundamentals through 2019 as well as developments stemming from regulatory changes to shipping markets from the application of IMO 2020.

Due to the need for greater availability of low sulphur fuel across the globe product tankers are expected to benefit as they would need to transport the cargo to different locations worldwide. This is expected to result in new trade routes and increase the ton mile demand.

As explained earlier, the merger was an important part of the company’s preparation for the 2020 sulphur cap as the deal provided Euronav with “substantially” improved fuel consumption dynamics of its VLCC fleet by reducing average age of this fleet by 25%.

The company plans to comply with the new regulations by burning compliant fuels.

*NEWS SOURCE

Original news was published on 11 December 2018

The Panama Canal has signed an agreement with Port of Itaqui, located in the northeastern region of Brazil, to promote the shipment of grains and other cargoes.

Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the parties would target shipments in the commercial route between the north of Brazil through the Panama Canal to destinations located in the Pacific Ocean.

With this agreement, the Panama Canal looks to promote the use of the Panamax Locks for grain transits originating in northern Brazil and traveling to markets in Asia.

“We look forward to a very productive relationship while we work together on our mutual objectives of improving and facilitating global trade,” said Panama Canal Administrator Jorge L. Quijano.

The agreement will allow the Panama Canal and Port of Itaqui to conduct joint marketing activities and exchange market studies and information on trade flows to support modernization and improvement programs.

Today, Brazil ranks among the main producers of grains worldwide and growth prospects are encouraging. In 2017, the port moved 19.1 million tons of cargo, becoming an important logistic corridor for the central-western region of Brazil.

The MOU’s signing comes at a time when Brazilian grain exporters are enjoying considerable increases in shipment volumes. From a Panama Canal traffic standpoint, dry bulk vessels transporting grains and other dry commodities accounted for roughly 22.2 percent of the waterway’s total oceangoing commercial transits during its fiscal year 2018, which covers the period from October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018.

*NEWS SOURCE

Original news was published on 4 December, 2018

MAFI will deliver another 25 terminal tractors to Poland’s biggest container and ro-ro terminal operator

Following a public tender organised by DCT Gdansk earlier this year, MAFI was awarded a contract for 25 more terminal tractors in the summer and all the machines will be delivered during the first four months of 2019.
 
With already 40 MAFI tractors already in place, which were sold around three years ago, the company will have supplied 65 tractors to the Polish operator.

The new contract comprises 19 type T 230 4x2 terminal tractors and six type R 336 4x4 ro-ro tractors including a detachable ballast weight. As an added feature, a snowplough can be attached to each of the ro-ro tractors. “These ro-ro tractors will replace tractors of another brand as DCT considered our tractors to be the best solution for their operation,” said MAFI’s sales manager Harald Lutz.

The tractors are equipped with Volvo Stage IV engines up to 210 kW and transmissions from ZF.

"The new tractors will help DCT continue growing to achieve their future targets," added Lutz.

*NEWS SOURCE

Original news was published on 03 December 2018

Wisdom Marine’ Board of Directors has approved the purchase of two bulk carriers, the Taiwanese shipping company said in a regulatory filing.

The approval relates to one 63,300 dwt bulk carrier to be ordered from Japanese shipbuilder Tsuineishi Group. The company has assigned USD 31 million for the acquisition.

The second newbuild is a smaller bulker featuring 61,000 dwt and will be ordered from Kawasaki Heavy Industries. Wisdom Marine said it would assign USD 29 million for the vessel bringing the total value of the deal to USD 60 million.

Just last month, the Taiwanese shipowner ordered the construction of a 82,400 dwt bulker at Japan Marine United Corporation (JMU). The Tier III NOx compliant newbuild is priced at USD 34 million, and is identical to the one ordered in June this year.

In February, the company invested USD 68 million in two new NOx Tier III Panamaxes, which will also be built by JMU.

Wisdom Marine has been on an ordering spree since last year, and it has 12 newbuilding ships under construction. These include four Panamaxes at JMU, three Handies and two Supramaxes at Imabari, one Handy at Namura, and two Supramaxes at Kawasaki.

In total, the company’s large and diverse fleet of dry bulk vessels counts over 130 ships, the focus being on Handysize and Supramax bulkers.

*NEWS SOURCE

Dear All,

Good News...

Proud to share with you the professional performance of OPCA member TEAM LOGISTIC SPECIALISTS SRL, Romania.

Business Development Manager Mr. Adrian Penes informed us that Team Logistic Specialists SRL recently handled transportation from ICDAS, Turkey to Constanta, Romania.