German shipping company Hamburg Sud added the Port of New Orleans to a new weekly service to Latin America, the port said. Hamburg Sud will provide the service through a space charter agreement with Hapag-Lloyd, connecting New Orleans with Caucedo, Dominican Republic; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Montevideo, Uruguay; Rio Grande, Mexico; and Suape, Santos, Navegantes and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Ports America will handle the new service at the Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal.
As the federal government faces sequestration and otherwise looks for ways to reduce spending, the American Association of Port Authorities said it's imperative to focus scarce federal resources in those areas that can have the greatest impact on economic growth, immediate and long-term job creation, national security, and our current and future competitiveness in the global economy.
Aging infrastructure for marine ports, inland waterways, and airports threatens more than 1 million U.S. jobs, said a report by the American Society of Civil Engineers. About $30 billion must be invested in ports and waterways by 2020, it said, but planned expenditures are about $14 billion. Another $114 billion is needed for airports by 2020, it said, but anticipated spending is $95 billion. The report said without the investment, transporting goods will become costlier, prices will rise, and the U.S. will become less competitive in the global market. "Congestion and delays lead to goods waiting on docks and in warehouses for shipment, which in turn leads to higher transportation costs and higher-priced products on store shelves," said ASCE President Andrew Herrmann. "The fact is we must invest in U.S. airports today to ensure the global competitiveness of our country tomorrow," said Greg Principato, president of Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA).
The Port Newark Container Terminal completed the phase two deployment of Firetide's wireless video surveillance network that enables security and safety officers to view live indoor and outdoor video feeds of the 180-acre port facility and its operations, Firetide said. The first phase of the Firetide wireless infrastructure mesh video network was deployed in 2008. Firetide's wireless network provides live indoor and outdoor video feeds of workers unloading cargo from incoming ships and moving containers throughout the site. The video cameras monitor safety violations, provide accident verification, and monitor vehicle and foot access to and from the facility, Firetide said. The network includes 54 Firetide HotPort 7020 wireless mesh nodes and 70 Bosch VG4 500i series point-tilt-zoom IP surveillance cameras at multiple locations throughout the facility.
Zepol Corp. said U.S. import shipment volume for August, measured in TEUs, was down in August from July by 3%, and by 0.3% from August of 2011. The firm said it's unusual to see a drop in imports from July to August because the trend for the past three years has been a spike in August. "The lower August numbers could be due to early holiday purchases in July, which saw abnormally high TEU numbers," said Zepol CEO Paul Rasmussen, but he said it "may also have to do with the potential for labor strikes at east coast ports from the International Longshoremen's Association and United States Maritime Alliance." Zepol's said its U.S. Customs data shows that TEU imports for the first 12 days in September were 10% higher than the 12 days of September in 2011. Most Asian countries had a drop in shipments to the U.S. in August, it said, but Germany was up 1.9% and Italy 3.4%. The Port of Los Angeles decreased from July by 3.9% and the Port of Oakland 7%, but the Port of Savannah had a 7.6% increase.
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corp. said it received a $24.2 million contract for maintenance dredging in the Port of Baltimore. The contract was awarded by the Army Corps of Engineers’ Baltimore District and will be done with two clamshell dredges and be completed by year end, it said.
America's seaports and marine terminals must make combined investments of $46 billion over the next five years to maintain and improve their infrastructure, said American Association of Port Authorities Chairman Jerry Bridges in a Sept. 13 briefing. But he said the federal government "has not committed to matching this investment in improving the connections with our ports."
The Port of Long Beach said it's undertaking several projects to upgrade security systems, including:
Talks will resume between the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) and International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) under the auspices of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service during the week of Sept. 17, FMCS Director George Cohen said Sept. 6. Because of the sensitivity of the high profile dispute, and consistent with the Agency's practice, “we will not disclose either the location of the meeting or the content of the substantive negotiations that will take place,” he said.
The Coast Guard is proposing to revise and update Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) regulations, it said in a Federal Register notice scheduled for publication Sept. 10. Comments on the proposed rule are due by Sept. 10.