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of loading (cf SEA ports), some USEC ports are ac- vided that serving the USEC with transhipment has
tually closer to the Far East via Suez. If, as antici- become an accepted feature by then, the trunk line
pated, the existing Panama Canal route becomes satu- vessel can be as big as the Panamanian hub on the
rated before 2015 - in 2007 the waterway operated Pacific side of the Canal will allow (ie post-NPX).
at around 90% of capacity - then post-Panamax ships A possible renewal in east- and westbound RTW
up to around 8000 TEU could be introduced to SEA- services is considered, as NPX will allow them to be
USEC trades via Suez, but again it depends on dredg- operated with ships of 13,000 TEU. However, as some
ing being carried out. ships are already post-NPX and in the years ahead
many more may follow, relatively speaking NPX
Making a trunk call RTW services may be disadvantaged in the same
Dynamar also analyses feedering USEC ports via way as RTW services were vis-à-vis the much greater
Panamanian ports up to and post-2015. One ap- volume that can be carried by post-Panamax ships.
proach is the so-called Fleur-de-Lys truckline/relay
network, which offers the same frequency and cov- Equatorial axes The dramatic STX design, should it ever be realised, might be deployed in future “equatorial pendulum” services, reasons
erage as the direct services it replaces. NPX RTW services could, however, be seen in the Dynamar, with north-south/east-west crossroads at hubs on each side of the Panama Canal
The study notes the growing interest in the US context of the “equatorial RTW service” concept,
to land containers closer to the customer and avoid using “pure transhipment ports” at the intersection National Ports & Waterways Institute in the 1990s. example, Freeport, Bahamas in the Atlantic or Los
the costs associated with long trucking or rail dis- points with north-south services, for example, a Car- However, Dynamar has itself come up with the Angeles in the Pacific. However, ports such as say,
tances, road congestion, etc. However, Jones Act re- ibbean hub for NAEC and ECSA distribution. This Equatorial Pendulum service, whereby giant, post- Panama’s Colón and Balboa could also serve these
strictions make it impossible in practice for a USEC/ is based on Prof. Asaf Ashar’s work at the US NPX ships turn at ports near the Panama Canal, for respective roles. a74
Gulf port to act as the trunkline destination, given
the high cost of US flag cabotage services.
There is a market limitation on trunkline/relay
distribution, in that USEC shippers may insist on
direct services. US Gulf shippers, on the other hand,
who have less choice today, may be more amenable.
A case can be made for trunkline/relay networks
after the enlarged canal is opened, continues
Dynamar, as savings in the number of ships could
compensate for the extra transhipment costs. Pro-
Groseclose resigns
John Hassell has been named interim president and
CEO of South Carolina State Port Authority (SPA)
following the resignation of Bernard S Groseclose
Jr. Although no reasons were given for Groseclose’s
departure, he has come under heavy fire as
Charleston’s container volume has dipped - it has
lost market share to Hampton Roads and Savannah
- but most particularly after the port’s top customer,
Maersk Line, accounting for 25% of throughput,
announced that it would be leaving.
Groseclose was in charge during the protracted
controversy over plans to build a US$1.2B terminal
on Daniel Island. The SPA was forced to back down
and instead opt for a smaller less ambitious expan-
sion project at the former Charleston US Naval Base.
As reported by worldcargonews.com (search under
“Port of Charleston”), in December, the port’s larg-
est container carrier, Maersk announced that it would
leave Charleston by the end of 2010, when its lease
at Wando Welch terminal expires. The carrier said it
is at a cost disadvantage because its terminal must
use ILA labour.
f the coast of Kalimantan, Indonesia
a74
Florida ports invest
Construction of a new 41-acre container terminal is
under way at Port Everglades. Tran Construction,
Inc won the bid for the Phases VIIA and VIII cargo
terminals in the Southport area in the amount of
US$12.3M, including contingencies. Florida state
grants are funding up to half of this project. The ter-
minal is expected to be completed by early 2010.
Scope of work includes earthworks, installation of
water, sewer, and storm drainage systems, paving, high
mast lighting and fencing.The project, which will
increase cargo yard acreage at the port by 15% is
part of the Master/Vision Plan that also includes
future near-dock rail for efficient transport of cargo.
Containerised traffic at Port Everglades has in-
Gottwald Floating Crane in open-sea operation of
creased 92% in the past six years and reached 6.58
Mt (985,095 TEU) during FY 2008 (10/07-09/08).
“We have noticed the market softening in recent
months, but we must be ready for the future, which
we believe is quite promising,” said port director
Phillip C Allen.
Meanwhile, the Port of Tampa is going ahead with
US$40M of investment projects, including almost
US$19M for dredging, up to US$14M for a parking
garage addition to accommodate Channelside area
and cruise passenger growth, and US$$8.3M for the
first phase of expansion of the container terminal.
New Horizons
The latter is a joint undertaking between termi-
nal operator Ports America and the Tampa port au-
thority. The contract awarded to engineering firm
John Carlo, Inc will add around 14.5 acres of paved
storage area to the current 25 acre terminal, and is
expected to be complete by August this year. Even
larger contracts for additional expansion are expected
to be awarded within a few months.
The terminal, operated by Ports America, is
accessed by a 43ft deep channel, has 2100ft of berth,
three gantry cranes and a new 120t, G HMK 6407
mobile harbour crane from Gottwald, shipped part-
big from Dusseldorf for US$4.6M cif. Phased ex-
pansion over the next few years will increase the
terminal to 140 acres with 2700ft of berth, provid-
Gottwald Port Technology GmbH • Postfach 18 03 43 • 40570 Düsseldorf, Germany
ing a new gate, enhanced rail access, additional reefer Phone: +49 211 7102-0 • Fax: +49 211 7102-3651 • e-mail: info@gottwald.com • www.gottwald.com
plugs, cranes and other terminal handling equipment.
A new caller at the port is AAA Lines, which has
introduced a ro-ro service to West Africa and the
Middle East. Two to three vessel calls per month are
expected at the Berth 202 vehicle terminal. a74
24 January 2009
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