Nhava Sheva Port builds integrated rail-side capacity for double-stacked box trains
25.07.2023
Nhava Sheva Port (JNPT), India’s busiest public container gateway, has announced it is in a position to handle double-stacked container freight trains out of its new integrated rail yard for all terminals in the harbour.
The port has five container terminals and mixed or combined train operations have been its mainstay for inland container depot (ICD) volumes.
The port authority noted that “the state-of-the-art integrated rail yard, designed to handle double-stacked container trains, is set to commence on the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) rail lines for all the five terminals.”
The authority went on to say, “This advanced common rail yard will streamline operations and enhance efficiency at the port.”
The sophisticated integrated common rail yard has been developed in an effort to upgrade the port's infrastructure for seamless freight movement as demand builds, propelled by the DFC connectivity.
According to a previous port statement, the long-haul common yard has three lines of 1,500 metres for double-stack container trains, out of which two are top-wired ballastless lines meant for loading and unloading of containers, and one is for engine turnaround of electric locomotives.
The Western DFC project, a high-stakes investment for India’s containerised trade, is a 1,504-kilometre broad-gauge freight only connector between Dadri, the busiest ICD in North India, and Nhava Sheva.
Along the DFC route, it is estimated that advanced wagons can carry freight up to 81 tons per wagon at a speed of 100 kilometres per hour, including for double-stacked container trains, compared with 60 kmph on the normal network.
Nhava Sheva Port has been working hard to convert more truckloads to the rail mode to alleviate road congestion and improve container dwell times.
The port saw 1.52 million TEUs during April-June, the first quarter of fiscal year 2023-24, up 3% year-over-year. Rail volumes accounted for 16.6% of total traffic, according to data obtained by Container News.
Container Corporation of India (Concor) and other private rail companies, including Gateway Distriparks (GDL), have already opened a flurry of new upgraded services on the DFC route.
Last month, GDL launched a double-stacked rail connection between ICD Viramgam and Mundra Port.
“This will help us with faster evacuation of containers and reduce dwell time at the port for our customers,” the company said.
GDL further explained, “In particular, as ICD Viramgam is a hub that we use for consolidating containers for double stack operations, we will greatly benefit from this development not only for the ICD Viramgam market but also our Northern India ICDs.”
The Viramgam-Mundra service followed GDL opening a train route between Faridabad ICD and Mundra.
Feeder ship capsized, sand barge sinks after collision
18.07.2023
A Chinese feeder ship capsized after colliding with a sand barge in Ningbo, China, on 17 July, scattering more than 40 containers into the water.
Maritime Safety Administration officials said that they were alerted to the accident around 10.16 am (local time) on 17 July and sent two patrol vessels to the scene. All the crew members of the 2021-built 922 TEU Xin Yuan Long 6 were evacuated and no one was injured, although the sand barge, Gang Long Fa Zhan, sank.
Video footage from China Central Television shows Xin Yuan Long 6 listing to its port side.
Xin Yuan Long 6 was owned by Shishi Xinyuanlong Shipping, which is based in Quanzhou in Fujian province. The company could not be reached for comment, and it appears that Xin Yuan Long 6 was its only ship.
Salvage work has begun to recover the containers that fell into the water.
The ship had departed Zhenhai Harbor in Ningbo on 17 July and was heading for Xiamen in Fujian province, when the accident happened. Xin Yuan Long 6 appeared to have been moving containers between Ningbo, Xiamen and Guangzhou.
MSC builds 1 million TEU lead over Maersk
05.07.2023
Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has extended its capacity lead over Maersk Line, 1.5 years after surpassing its Danish rival as the largest liner operator.
Following aggressive newbuilding orders, long-term vessel charters and acquisitions of secondhand vessels, MSC's fleet now stands at around 5.13 million TEUs, nearly 1 million TEUs more than Maersk Line's 4.14 million TEUs.
In its report, Alphaliner said that on average, MSC’s lead over Maersk has grown by a whopping 12,800 TEU every week since January 2022.
Orderbook projections suggest that MSC will further expand its lead at the top of the mainline operators' league over the rest of 2023.
Currently, the Swiss-Italian carrier is one of the main drivers of overall fleet growth.
Encouraged by the Covid-19-induced boom, the overordering of container ships in 2021 and 2022 is beginning to manifest itself in ever-increasing tonnage deliveries, with June setting a record for deliveries in a single month. Of the 277,873 TEU delivered in June, MSC alone accounted for 39% of this at 111,474 TEU, including two 24,000 TEU ships and five 15,000-16,000 TEU ships.
Alphaliner noted that MSC has steadily expanded both fleet and network since the company was established in 1970, but the carrier’s growth has accelerated notably in the late 2010s and it went into overdrive in 2020, when Covid-19-related logistical bottlenecks pushed freight rates to historical highs.
Alphaliner said, "Not only does MSC have the largest vessel orderbook (1.5 million TEUs) of all carriers, but it also acquired far more secondhand vessels than any other shipping line. MSC bought well over 300 ships in the last three years. About two-thirds of this capacity came as a net addition to MSC’s fleet."
Newbuilding deliveries are expected to remain high in 2023 and 2024, fuelled by an orderbook of 7.6 million TEUs - or 28.5% of the existing fleet.
Alphaliner continued, "Although new environmental regulations have created some ’artificial’ tonnage demand though mandated slow-steaming, cargo volumes will most certainly not grow enough to absorb all of these new ships. Alphaliner therefore believes that large chunks of today’s vessel newbuilding pipeline will be for fleet renewal, rather than fleet growth."
Rotterdam World Gateway to increase capacity by 1.8 million TEUs
29.06.2023
Dutch container terminal Rotterdam World Gateway (RWG) has agreed to a gradual extension of its terminal at the Prinses Amaliahaven on the Maasvlakte in the port of Rotterdam with its shareholders DP World, CMACGM/Terminal Link, HMM and MOL, and the Port of Rotterdam Authority.
Currently, RWG has access to approximately 1 million m² of land, 1,150 metres of deep-sea quay and 550 metres of barge/feeder quay. The Port of Rotterdam Authority (PoR) started construction of the quay walls in the Prinses Amaliahaven in the spring of 2021, expected to be completed by mid-2024.
The expansion of the current terminal consists of about 450,000m² in terms of terminal site and 920 metres of quay wall, which is expected to increase RWG's container capacity by 1.8 million TEUs.
In the first phase, an extra berth for the deep‐sea activities will be realised and, in addition to further capacity expansion, the focus will also be on future‐oriented facilities in which automation, sustainability and connectivity remain central.
The extra berth is an extension to RWG's existing terminal based on the same proven concept; fully automated, CO2 neutral and dedicated handling facilities for all modalities. In addition, the terminal will also be prepared for shore power and be connected to the Container Exchange Route (CER).
The berth is scheduled to be operational by the end of the fourth quarter of 2025, with commercial operations beginning in 2026.
The total investment will be approximately €500 million (US$550 million) and initially includes civil works, quay cranes, storage modules with automatic stacking cranes and electrical automatic guided vehicles.
Dry season threatens Panama Canal
21.06.2023
The Panama Canal will implement water conservation measures during the rainy months to help recover water in all the surrounding lakes.
The Canal is closely monitoring the development of weather events affecting water availability in the canal watershed, which according to forecasts, could worsen with the arrival of the El Niño phenomenon.
"Current estimates indicate that the economic impact is unavoidable," said Panama Canal in a statement.
"This is an issue that the Panama Canal has been warning and preparing for however, we could not have predicted exactly when the water shortage would occur to the degree that we are experiencing now," commented Canal administrator, Ricaurte Vásquez Morales.
The Panama Canal has implemented water-saving measures to maintain maximum capacity in its reservoirs during May through December rainy season, however, the current conditions are creating an unprecedented drought, and thus far has produced the driest year on record since 1950.
Consequently, since January, the canal has implemented a series of water-saving measures within its operations which will guarantee that ample water resources will be available to supply the population and offer a reliable and competitive service to customers throughout the dry season.
Moreover, Panama Canal specialists with the United States Corps of Engineers have evaluated alternatives as part of a study for the Water Sustainability System, studying different scenarios and growth projects to find long-term solutions that will allow the canal to guarantee this resource for the next 50 years.
Earlier, in April 2023, the Panama Canal had announced that a temporary draft level adjustment for Neopanamax vessels transiting the interoceanic route would come into effect due to the recent drought, which has led to low levels in the lake system.
As a result of this adjustment for the current dry season, vessels making the transit will be offered a draft of 14.4 meters instead of the maximum allowable draft of 15 meters.