London court fines British firm around US$1 million over Beirut blast
14.06.2023
London court has ordered a British-registered company Savaro to pay over GB£800,000 (US$1 million) in compensation to the victims of the Beirut port explosion on 4 August 2020, when more than 220 people were killed after a huge shipment of ammonium nitrate fertiliser that had been sold by Savaro exploded.
The information was confirmed on 12 June by a group of lawyers in Lebanon in the first verdict on the explosion, according to Reuters.
More specifically, the court ordered Savaro to pay GB£100,000 plus interest each to three relatives of deceased victims, and slightly over GB£500,000 to a wounded woman, according to a statement by the Beirut Bar Association.
Reuters report says that on 31 January 2023, the High Court in London found Savaro liable for death, personal injury and property damage in a case brought by the Association on behalf of blast victims.
Power disruption halts operations at APM Terminals Pipavav in India
05.06.2023
A power failure at APM Terminals Pipavav in India, caused by strong winds, impacted the port operations.
On 29 May evening, strong winds uprooted the power transmission towers of Gujarat Electricity Transmission Company Limited (GETCO) outside the port area resulting into disruption of the grid power supply.
According to GETCO, the complete restoration of the grid power supply is expected to need seven days approximately. Meanwhile, the port has commenced partial operations through its captive power plant and the DG sets.
"We are content to inform that no damage is reported to personnel and infrastructure at the port," noted APM Terminals in a statement.
The global operator said the quay side operation is halted completely, but the rail and gate operations continue.
"We are maintaining back up power supply to the reefer cargoes," added APM Terminals.
According to APM Terminals' statement, the container berth will remain non-operational till 2359 hours on 5 June. "The port may handle the container vessel earliest by 6th June 2023 subject to regularizing power supply. The Company shall keep the trade updated once the port gets back to normal operations," said the company.
New temporary barge quay ready as upgrade project works commence at Antwerp’s Europa Terminal
18.05.2023
The first phase of the renewal of Antwerp's Europa Terminal is underway with a new barge quay having been constructed.
The purpose of this construction is to keep offering the same level of service during the extensive works and to continue to encourage the modal shift.
The barge quay is already operational and is temporarily creating additional mooring space for inland navigation.
The quayside and terminal upgrade, which will take about ten years, is going to ensure that the latest generation of container ships can continue to call at Belgium's major port.
In fact, Port of Antwerp-Bruges and PSA Antwerp are investing in the upgrade of the quayside and automated yard of the Europa Terminal, in order to improve the terminal efficiency and performance.
The works are being split up into three major phases, with a third of the new quayside being upgraded each time, while the remaining space remains operational.
More specifically, with preparatory work and tests completed, the first phase of the works can now get underway.
In this phase, the Temporary Partnership of four contractors - Artes-Roegiers, Artes-Depret, Herbosch-Kiere and Boskalis - will demolish the existing quayside, installing temporary structures for further implementation and starting construction of the first section of the 1,200-metre-long new quayside, which will boast a 16-metre draught.
Working in three phases will allow the terminal to remain operational throughout the entire 10-year period of the works and allow ships to continue docking.
The construction of the new temporary 150-metre quay was completed in April and after extensive testing, it is now ready to handle barges until the end of the works.
Cyclone Mocha forces 60-hour operation closure at Chittagong port
16.05.2023
The operations at the Chittagong port, Bangladesh’s prime seaport, had remained suspended over two days as the super cyclone Mocha approached and crossed the country on Sunday, 15 May.
The port authority had declared suspension of works on Friday night after Bangladesh Met office issued danger signal-8 for Chittagong Port, great danger signal 10 for Cox’s Bazar port, great danger signal-8 for Payra port and danger signal-4 for Mongla port.
The operation at Mongla seaport also remained suspended due to the cyclonic storm.
On Friday night the Chittagong Port Authority sent all the ships from its jetties to the outer anchorage while the lightering vessels were also sent to the safer places fearing any collision.
There were 18 vessels at the port jetties, which unloading and loading containers and cargoes, when the port authority declared operation suspension, according to port officials.
The cranes and other equipment were packed and put in safe places to avoid any possible incidents from the fierce wind of the super cyclone that was heading towards Bangladesh's coast with over 200 kilometres of wind speed.
The activities at the port yards were also suspended on Friday night thus delivery of containers and cargoes was halted immediately.
The Met office withdrew danger signal for Bangladesh’s sea and river ports on Sunday night after cyclone Mocha left towards the Myanmar coast, severely lashing homes and establishments in Cox’s Bazar and St Martin’s Island.
The Chittagong Port Authority then announced operation resumption at the yard and started delivering containers and cargoes immediately.
However, container handling at the jetties could be resumed on Monday morning after bringing 17 ships back from the outer anchorage with the help of high tide, with Chittagong being a tidal port, 60 hours after the operation suspension.
One vessel left the port area just after declaration of work suspension, leaving some boxes at the jetty designated for it, to avoid two days of possible delay, according to port officials.
Many vessels could not reach Bangladesh waters during a couple of days due to the cyclonic storm or they slowed down their voyage and stayed away.
On Monday, eight container vessels were handling boxes at port jetties while another four boxships were staying at the outer anchorage. There were 44,018 TEU containers lying at the Chittagong port yards on the day against its total storing capacity of 53,518 TEUs.
Maersk inaugurates new office in Oman
03.05.2023
A.P. Moller - Maersk expands its network in Oman with a new office, the third one in the country.
Maersk's new corporate office is located at SOHAR Freezone, and, along with the other two offices in Muscat and Salalah, covers an important part of the country.
"SOHAR Freezone was a natural choice for us to set up our new office because of its strategic location at the port and the world-class infrastructure of road network and air connectivity on offer," commented Christopher Cook, Maersk's managing director in UAE, Oman, and Qatar.
Maersk said it will also offer a host of services and solutions to its customers in Oman, such as landside transportation, including cross-border movement of cargo, customs clearances, warehousing and distribution, cold chain logistics and air freight.
Earlier, in November 2022, Maersk added Khazaen Dry Port (KDP) to its extensive ‘Port of Call’ network, offering transportation, container terminal, and reefer container services to import and export goods.
Around the same time, Maersk also launched a service through the port of Salalah in Oman as a gateway to Yemen.