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La Spezia Container Terminal Is Prepared to Handle 20,000 Ultra-Large Container Vessels The La Spezia Container Terminal (LSCT) located in Italy (Central Europe), is all set to undergo an expansion in order to accommodate an approximate of 20,000-teu ultra-large container vessels (ULCs) by the year of 2020. If everything goes according to planning, the construction work will begin in December itself. Going back to 2011, the terminal was designed to handle around 14,000-teu container vessels as stated by Daniele Testi, the Marketing and Corporate Communication Director of the Contship Italia organization. At present, LSCT is able to handle 16,600-teu boxships as supervised by the Contship Italia Group, which is an asset-based intermodal firm. The La Spezia Container Terminal is renowned as the Southern gateway port that is constantly active and utilized by major lines and alliances. The terminal is also associated with four Asia-Mediterranean weekly services and allows many trading opportunities between Asia and Italy, for both the export and import volumes. Testi has also assured that the existing services will not be hampered as normal operations will simultaneously continue along with the expansion work. The total budget for the expansion is declared as $230m, which includes the extension of the annual throughput capacity. As a positive consequence of this expansion project, the cargo owners and freight forwarders from Asia can expect their shipments to reach Italy and other parts of Northern Europe via LSCT. This will ensure a relatively shorter transit time and lesser inventory prices. Maersk is Redeploying Two Giant Ships to Ply the Transpacific The Maersk Group has decided on redeploying the 17,816 teu sister vessels, the ‘Eleonora Maersk’ and the ‘Eugen Maersk’, which are considered to be the two of the largest ships in the history of the maritime world to ply the blooming transpacific region. According to the recent reports, the transpacific trade lane is still encountering a boom time regarding the US tariffs on some particular Chinese import goods. Now, the two giant vessels will be attached to the TP-6/Pearl service that is jointly operated by Maersk and MSC. Alphaliner has clearly mentioned that the two E class Maersk vessels will be replacing the 13,568 teu ‘Maersk Essen’ and the 13,102 teu ‘Maersk Enseneda ’ for one round journey. Alphaliner has also highlighted the fact that the Chinese ship-owners are now busy in moving their cargo to the US before the higher tariffs of 25% are imposed from 1 st January onwards. PepsiCo Is the First Company to Utilize the Container Movement Via Inland Waterways in India PepsiCo, the food and beverages giant, is declared as the first organization to transfer its container cargo from Kolkata to Varanasi, using the new inland waterways. The transportation is approved and supervised by the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), which involves the National Waterway-1 route on the Ganga and is considered an eco-friendly and cost-effective procedure. The transfer of 16 containers will take a maximum of 9-10 days to reach Varanasi. The National Waterway-1 is a part of the Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP) connecting the stretch between Haldia and Varanasi and is being aided by the World Bank at an estimated budget of Rs. 53.69 billion. The container cargo transport through the network of inland waterways will prove to be extremely beneficial to the traders as it allows an easy modal shift, lessens the handling cost, reduces pilferages, prevents any damage and lastly, allows cargo owners to decrease the carbon footprint. APM Terminal Pipavav Reported a Net Profit of Rs.552 Million The Gujarat Pipavav Port Ltd. has released the standalone financial results of Q2FY19 and recorded the net profit of the APM Terminal Pipavav as Rs.552 million. There has been a marked improvement from the net profit of Rs.442 million earlier recorded in Q2FY18. Mr Keld Pederson, the Managing Director of the APM Terminal Pipavav, stated that the Port Authority is concentrating on providing a wide array of value-added services to the clients and is giving an extra effort to upgrade them. Two Aloha Class Container Vessels Have Been Delivered to Matson Inc. Matson Inc. has received the first new Aloha Class containerships that were constructed at the Philly shipyard and are meant for the company’s Hawaii service. The 850-foot long ‘Daniel K. Inouye’ is currently the fastest (top speed in excess of 23 knots), as well as the largest vessel in the Matson fleet. On November 7 th , the vessel will commence its journey to California through the Panama Canal and later, will join the commercial service from November 22nd. After making a port call at Long Beach, the ‘Daniel K. Inouye’ ship will drop its anchor at the Honolulu Port on November 28 th . Sources: http://www.seatrade-maritime.com/news/europe/contship-looks-to-expanded-la-spezia-terminal-by-2022.html https://splash247.com/maersk-shifts-giant-17816-teu-pair-onto-booming-transpacific/ http://www.maritimegateway.com/india-set-see-first-container-movement-inland-waterways/ http://eximin.net/NewsDetails.aspx?name=39692 Want to know more news Around the World ? 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