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.
Global Ports establishes its own container fleet
26.04.2023
Global Ports Group aims to create its own container fleet, consisting of 4,000 specialised boxes that will be used to transport, store and handle bulk cargo.
With this equipment and in partnership with Russian intermodal container operator TransContainer, Global Ports is launching a service which is expected to enable manufacturers to ship bulk cargo by block trains from their own manufacturing facilities.
"Such a service may be of particular interest to companies in the chemical industry, particularly producers of mineral fertilisers," said Global Ports in a statement.
The first 1,240 20-foot containers are already at the terminals of the company in St. Petersburg, Russia. About the same number of boxes will be delivered to Global Ports at the beginning of May and the third lot is expected by the end of June.
The containers are custom-made in China.
Global Ports believes that loading in containers from their own facilities and the following shipment by the block train will enable its customers to significantly speed up logistics in comparison to traditional shipping in open wagons.
In addition, cargo owners will be able to store different grades of fertilizers separately in the port and accumulate any combination of shipment lots, while handling cargo into the hold from a specialised container is also significantly safer and more environmentally friendly, according to the company's statement.
The first customer of the new service will be the chemical holding company EuroChem. On 18 April, during the annual transport and logistics exhibition TransRussia, the two parties signed a letter of intent, under which the mineral fertilizer producer will ship up to 100,000 tonnes of its products each month to Global Ports for handling in the port of St. Petersburg.
CMA CGM enters into exclusive negotiations to acquire Bolloré Group’s logistics activities
19.04.2023
French shipping company CMA CGM Group announced today (18 April) that it has entered into exclusive negotiations to acquire the transportation and logistics activities held through Bolloré Logistics.
CMA CGM said the negotiations are in line with its long-term strategy, based on the two pillars of shipping and logistics. "The Group’s strategy is to offer end-to-end solutions in support of its customer’s supply chain needs," said CMA CGM in a statement.
The Marseille-headquartered container shipping giant noted that a potential acquisition agreement would further strengthen its logistics activities.
"The negotiations in no way guarantee an acquisition in the end," pointed out CMA CGM.
MSC, CMA CGM enhance joint North Europe-Med-Oceania service
12.04.2023
MSC and CMA CGM announced the improvement of its joint Australia Express Service (AEX) / NEMO service with a direct call at Ennore (Chennai) on the Westbound leg to be introduced from June 2023.
MSC said the new call at Ennore will provide the company's customers with improved export connections to European ports and a direct import connection from Australia and Singapore.
"This new call will provide our customers with a quick export link from South East India's key commercial sector to Europe, as well as a direct import connection from Australia and Singapore," stated CMA CGM in its announcement.
Additionally, the service will continue to call at Colombo to cater for cargo from other Southern and Eastern Indian ports and from Sri Lanka.
According to the statement, transit times will be Ennore to Gioia Tauro in 18 days, Ennore to Valencia in 21 days and Ennore to London Gateway in 28 days. The first vessel on the new rotation will be APL Mexico City, due to arrive in Ennore on 9 June 2023.