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Port of Boston attracts new SE Asia service

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Port of Boston attracts new SE Asia service. Image: Pexels
Port of Boston attracts new SE Asia service. Image: Pexels
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Investing in infrastructure upgrades and operational improvements at the Port of Boston is paying off for New England businesses as the Massachusetts Port Authority has just finalized a deal with international shipping line ZIM to serve Boston on a new trade route that begins in Yantian, China and stops in Cai Mep, Vietnam. Massport has been in communication with various shipping lines to develop new trade routes to other countries in Asia. Being able to diversify among Asian ports is critical to businesses to increase efficiency and reduce costs. Many New England companies have been increasing their business with Vietnam for several years.

“It’s great to see the efforts of Massport, Governors Baker’s office, and ZIM come together in a true public/private partnership to open this new service from the Port of Boston,” said Dan Kraft, President and CEO of International Forest Products. “A direct call from Boston to SE Asia is critical to International Forest Products’ capitalizing on the emerging opportunities we see in that region. This service is a welcome solution for our New England based exports and set against the backdrop of what has been a challenging 18 months in supply chain we’re very excited for this opportunity.”

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd., commonly known as ZIM, is the 10th largest ocean shipping line globally. ZIM will deploy a bi-weekly service focused on connecting Southeast Asia with the Northeast United States, with the intent of delivering premium service for importers and exporters seeking direct connectivity to this region. The route connects South China and Vietnam to Baltimore, New York, and Boston via the Suez Canal.

Vietnam is the 3rd largest containerized trading partner among the six New England states, behind China and India. Currently, Vietnam makes up approximately 7 percent of annual containerized freight bound to/from New England. Top commodities traded between Vietnam and New England include furniture, footwear, sporting equipment, apparel, seafood, recycled fibers and paper & pulp.

“The strategic investments in the Port of Boston made by the state and federal government continue to bear fruit,” Senator Nick Collins stated. “Three years ago, Governor Baker, Congressman Lynch and I hosted ZIM leadership and Israeli officials. We began conversations and the result is a Southeast Asian service calling on Conley Terminal from Israel.”

The multi-year effort to modernize and expand Conley Container Terminal brought three new low profile Neo-Panamax cranes from China. These cranes, along with a new berth and a deepened Boston Harbor, enable Boston to handle container ships holding 12,000-14,000 TEUs. Larger cranes were needed due to the shipping industry’s shift toward larger vessels that hold more containers and the 2016 expansion of the Panama Canal to accommodate them.

“We knew being ‘Big Ship Ready’ was essential to attracting new direct services to expand the global offerings for our customers throughout New England,” said Massport CEO Lisa Wieland. “Developing new trade routes has been a top priority and we are proud to bring ZIM into the mix of shipping lines we serve. We are committed to support over 2,500 New England importers and exporters that rely on the Port, as well as the thousands of workers, and have significantly enhanced our capabilities to handle more cargo and increase our productivity so that Conley can be competitive in the future and allow for continued growth.”

Nearly $850M in investment has gone into New England’s only full-service container terminal in recent years to prepare Conley Terminal to be Big Ship Ready in order to support the regional economy. Significant support came from the Massachusetts Congressional Delegation, the Baker-Polito Administration, and the Massachusetts Legislature. The Boston Harbor Dredging Project is nearing completion and a new 50-foot deep berth was built to support the new cranes and larger vessels. Additional improvements to modernize Conley Terminal have recently been completed or are in progress, including the creation of the dedicated Freight Haul Corridor for our trucking community, new rubber-tire gantry cranes, expanded container storage, and other landside improvements.

With the new cranes and berth, Boston is in a position to offer some relief to an already stressed industry, and allow more New England businesses to take advantage of the local service. Throughout these unprecedented times, the Port of Boston has been a reliable supply chain partner and Conley Terminal remains congestion-free while still offering personalized customer service. Conley currently has an average truck turnaround time of only 30 minutes while offering 18 possible start times for ocean carriers, along with 7 day berth and labor availability.

Two services currently call Conley Terminal: The Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) provides direct service from North Europe to Boston, with connections to Latin America, the Mediterranean, and Southeast Asia, and the OCEAN Alliance (COSCO Shipping, OOCL, Evergreen, CMA CGM) provides direct service from North Asia. A diverse mix of commodities are shipped through the Port, including furniture, recycled fibers, seafood, wine and spirits, apparel, footwear, and auto parts.

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Maritime

The Port of Valencia begins electrification of its docks

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The Port of Valencia begins electrification of its docks. Image: Port Authority of Valencia
The Port of Valencia begins electrification of its docks. Image: Port Authority of Valencia
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A new step in the decarbonisation of the Port of Valencia and its firm commitment to be an emission neutral site by 2030. The Port Authority of Valencia (APV) has put out to tender the drafting and execution of the works for the electrical connection to ships for the Transversal Costa-MSC quay. This is the first electrification or Onshore Power Supply (OPS) project to be carried out by Valenciaport in the Valencian precinct.

The APV is thus initiating the procedure for the award of the contract for the drafting and execution of the project for the installation of electrical connections for ships and the maintenance of the same at the Transversal de Costa quay. To this end, Valenciaport has jointly launched the drafting of the construction project, the execution of its works and the maintenance of the installations in the same procedure for an amount of 12,468,626.8 euros (VAT included).

Onshore Power Supply (OPS) electrification infrastructures have been consolidated as a very useful tool for the decarbonisation of ports, as this system avoids the use of auxiliary engines of ships when they are docked in the enclosures. This reduces greenhouse gas emissions – due to the use of electricity that eliminates the consumption of fossil fuels used in these auxiliary engines – and stops the emission of particles and polluting gases.

This OPS initiative in the Port of Valencia will be carried out in parallel with the works on the new electrical substation – a second substation is also planned – which was put out to tender last month with a base budget of around 11 million euros and a completion period of 24 months. This infrastructure will be responsible for supplying green energy to the first OPS electrification project of the Transversal de Costa-MSC quay.

In this regard, Joan Calabuig, president of Valenciaport, stressed that “these are just two examples of real projects in the execution phase that confirm the firm commitment that Valenciaport is making to achieve the goal of being a zero-emissions port by 2030, twenty years ahead of the European Green Pact. It is a commitment to sustainability and to the society of our environment that is supported by initiatives such as the electrification of the docks, the use of hydrogen in port operations, the installation of photovoltaic plants or the commitment to intermodality with the railway. We are committed to sustainable growth that reinforces our position as a port of reference in the Mediterranean”.

Project included in the Next Generation Funds

The joint contracting of the preparation of the project and the execution of the corresponding works in the same procedure is carried out in response to the fact that there are no references in Europe compatible with the ISO/IEC/IEEE 80005 standard and in Spain there is currently no previous experience of OPS projects in operation with the characteristics of the pilot project defined by the Port Authority of Valencia. The combination of the individual components required for this type of installation (transformers, protection cells, disconnectors, frequency converters, etc.) with infrastructures for supplying electricity to ships requires specific projects, with technically complex solutions that have to be designed specifically for each location. In addition, and given that the execution of the construction project is subsidised by the European Union’s Next Generation funds and the Spanish Government’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, the joint tender is the only way to meet the established deadlines, since if two separate contracts were launched, the one for the execution of the construction project could not be launched until the one for the drafting of the construction project had been awarded, which would mean that the work would be completed beyond the deadline for the execution of the works to meet the target set by Europe.

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Environment

MOL joins GCMD as impact partner to accelerate decarbonisation

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MOL joins GCMD as impact partner to accelerate decarbonisation. Image: Pixabay
MOL joins GCMD as impact partner to accelerate decarbonisation. Image: Pixabay
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The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation GCMD and MOL announced the signing of a five-year Impact Partnership agreement. On the same day, both parties held a signing ceremony at the GCMD office in Singapore.

Decarbonisation in the maritime industry is a challenge that needs to be achieved through accelerating collaboration and increasing investment by shipping companies, their customers, ports, energy suppliers and public sector actors. As an Impact Partner of GCMD, MOL will utilise its expertise developed over their long history and make various contributions and collaborations through its participation in GCMD’s projects, including providing access to vessels, operating data and evaluation reports so that internal learnings can be shared publicly and used for future trials.

MOL is one of the world’s leaders in the maritime industry and has been leading worldwide discussions on achieving decarbonisation. The carbon budget concept imposes a ceiling to the cumulative amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) that can be emitted globally in order to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degree Celsius by 2050. Intermediate targets to reduce emissions, in addition to a net-zero target, are necessary. While plans are in place to adopt low or zero emissions vessels in the future, it is important to deploy measures to reduce emissions now. Such measures include the use of low-carbon and transition fuels that are available today, and deploying energy savings devices onboard vessels. MOL will bring its extensive capabilities and experience to bear as it joins GCMD and existing partners to accelerate international shipping’s decarbonisation.

Professor Lynn Loo, CEO of the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation, said: “We are proud to have MOL, one of the leading shipowners in Japan, come onboard as an Impact Partner. We are excited to tap on MOL’s track record in developing technical energy efficiency measures to broaden our perspective as we scope an initiative to help increase industry adoption of measures that can increase fuel efficiency of ships.”

Toshiaki Tanaka, Representative Director, Executive Vice President Executive Officer, and Chief Operating Officer of MOL, said: “We are very pleased to be a partner of one of the most important global coalitions. We will make our biggest effort to contribute and accelerate progress towards the net zero future in maritime industry, together with GCMD and all its partners.”

About the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation

The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) was set up on 1 August 2021 as a non-profit organisation. Our strategic partners include the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), BHP, BW Group, Eastern Pacific Shipping, Foundation Det Norske Veritas, Ocean Network Express, Seatrium, bp, Hapag-Lloyd and NYK. Beyond the strategic partners, GCMD has brought on board 15 partners that engage at the centre level, in addition to more than 80 partners that engage at the project level.

Strategically located in Singapore, the world’s largest bunkering hub and second largest container port, GCMD aims to help the industry eliminate GHG emissions by shaping standards for future fuels, piloting low-carbon solutions in an end-to-end manner under real-world operations conditions, financing first-of-a-kind projects, and fostering collaboration across sectors.

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Container Shipping Lines

Wan Hai Lines establishes its new office in India

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Wan Hai Lines establishes its new office in India. Image: Unsplash
Wan Hai Lines establishes its new office in India. Image: Unsplash
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Aiming to further enhance service quality and gain a stronger foothold in the Indian sub-continent, Wan Hai Lines has established its India new office in Kolkata in July 2023. Contact details for the new office are as follows: WAN HAI LINES (INDIA) PVT. LTD 3rd Floor, Block C, Apeejay House, 15 Park Street, Kolkata, West Bengal, 700016 TEL: 91-33-4450 4500 According to the 2023 Foreign Trade Policy announced by the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry, India’s export trade volume will reach 2 trillion US dollars in 2030.

Therefore, benefiting from government policy incentives and the shifting trend of the global supply chain, India’s status in global manufacturing and international trade is increasing, which is conducive to maintaining long-term high economic growth. And the proportion of global exports has increased significantly. In addition, the continuous economic stimulus policy will help revitalize the domestic economy, and domestic demand is expected to increase significantly. Therefore, Wan Hai is optimistic about India’s future import and export situation. And also through the establishment of a new office to improve the overall operating efficiency.

Wan Hai India Kolkata office held a grand opening reception in the evening of 27th July. During the banquet, there were many important customers & guests. The Kolkata Port Authority, Kolkata terminal operators, feeder operators and important local customers were invited to send representatives to attend the meeting to express their blessings to Wan Hai’s opening of the Kolkata market. At present, Wan Hai has six owned offices in India, namely Mumbai, Chennai, Mundra, and Vizag, Delhi and the sixth office Kolkata office. In addition to directly providing river port services, it will also simultaneously strengthen service links between India and neighboring countries, such as Nepal and Bhutan. It is expected to pursue customer first through continuous expansion in the future and sustainable business philosophy.

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