Shandong port intriducing direct South East Africa service
Running on a weekly basis, the new route adds a “safe and fast” maritime shipping alternative between China and Africa, said COSCO Shipping Specialized Carriers. Departing from Qingdao, the maiden voyage will arrive at Dar es Salaam port in Tanzania in about 20 days.
Africa is a major partner in China’s Belt and Road Initiatives. COSCO Shipping Specialized Carriers has transported around 14m revenue tons cargos for Belt and Road Initiatives in 2024. The opening of the new service will make Qingdao a hub port for COSCO Shipping Specialized Carriers’ business development in north China, the company said.
In 2024 LA and long beach set to handle nearly 20m teu
The Port of Long Beach reported record November volumes of 884,154 teu, up 20.9 percent from the same month last year and surpassing the previous record set in November 2020 by 12.8 percent.
Imports grew 21.8 percent to 432,823 teu and exports rose 9.5 percent to 119,083 teu, while empty containers moved through the port increased 24.5 percent to 332,250 teu during November this year.
Meanwhile the Port of LA handled 884,315 teu in November, a 16 percent increase over the previous year.
The handled 458,165 teu of imports, a 19 percent increase compared to the previous year, 124,117 teu of exports up 11 percent, and 302,033 teu of empty containers up 12 percent year-on-year.
APM terminals completes tangier expansion capacity 5.2mn teu
The expansion project has brought total capacity to 5.2 million teu annually and two kms berth length. Work has been a part of a three-year project and was delivered on schedule.
“We are top-tuned to deliver for Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, when the new network will be phased in from February 2025,” said Keld Pedersen, Managing Director at APM Terminals West Med.
The two terminals APM Terminals run in Morocco serve as hub-ports that function as backbone for the Gemini Cooperation, which is Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd’s operational collaboration covering East-West trades.
Largest Yangtze river auto terminal begins operation
Haitong Taicang, the largest automobile terminal along Yangtze river has launched operation, designed to optimise automobile distribution and transportation in Yangtze river economic region.
Jointly developed by Shanghai Port International Group (SIPG), Jiangsu Port Logistics Group and the Chinese automobile manufacturer SAIC Motor, the terminal has an annual handling capacity of 1.3 million units of vehicle annually.
The Taicang automobile terminal covers 960,000 square meters and with 708 meters of quay it can accommodate two 70,000-tonnes ro-ro ships and as well as a car carrier simultaneously. It offers parking for 32,000 vehicles and has five service centres for vehicle storage, inspection, maintenance, and charging.
Korea’s H-Line contracts to install autonomous shipping
In what is being called a commercial milestone for autonomous shipping, Korea’s H-Line and Avikus, HD Hyundai’s Autonomous Navigation Technology division, signed an order for the first installation of autonomous technology on ocean-going ships. With the adoption of autonomous navigation solutions, H-Line says its goal is to enhance the safety of vessel operations, reduce crew workload, and respond to environmental regulations by creating fuel savings on its vessels.
The contract was signed on December 16 in South Korea and calls for the initial installation of systems on five ships. These systems will be used to validate the safety and efficiency of the HiNAS Control system from Avikus. The companies report the intention is to expand the deployment to as many as 30 ships.
H-Line was launched a decade ago as Korea Bulk Shipping and two years later in 2016 contracted to take over bulk shipping from Hyundai Marine. The company is rapidly growing reporting it currently operates 48 bulk carriers as well as 10 LNG vessels and three PCTC vehicle carriers with additional vessels on order.
Norway expels Russian fishing vessel
Norway has expelled a Russian fishing vessel that overstayed its welcome at the Port of Batsfjord. The decision was made in a King-in-Council meeting held on December 6, and lawmakers cited security reasons.
The 39-meter-long vessel Azurit has been moored in Batsfjord since May, but the reasons for its prolonged stay are unknown. But some media reports indicate that a Norwegian firm, Indistrikulde AS, had done repair works on the vessel at a cost of $96,000. The amount was yet to be cleared, leading the vessel to be detained. The government has however instructed that no public or private claim should hinder the vessel from leaving the port.
Azurit is registered to the Russian company Oceanprom, with St. Petersburg as its home port.
“The captain/shipowner is ordered to ensure that the vessel Azurit has left the Batsfjord Harbor within five business days after this decision is announced. If the vessel will not have left the harbor within the issued deadline, Norwegian authorities are ordered to tow it out to sea,” said a statement from the Norwegian government.
Littoral combat ships could come off the sidelines
The U.S. Navy’s undergunned Littoral Combat Ship classes are both about to get a major armament upgrade, according to USNI. At the USNI Defense Forum on Wednesday, outgoing Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro told the audience that many LCS hulls will eventually carry the Mk 70 Payload Delivery System, a containerized version of the standard Mk 41 vertical launch system (VLS).
The announcement could enhance the LCS’ contribution to the high-end fight. The Mk 70 can deploy the anti-air/antiship SM-6 or the antiship-capable Block V Tomahawk (TLAM) cruise missile, and its footprint is no bigger than a single forty-foot container. It was test-fired successfully from the helipad of the Littoral Combat Ship USS Savannah in October 2023, and may have been tested previously in 2022, according to The War Zone.