BREAKING NEWS >>>>>>>>>>>> MSC SHIP AGROUND IN DURBAN HARBOUR ENTRANCE
MSC Ines has gone aground this morning blocking the Durban harbour entrance. The ship was sailing shortly before 11h00 when a fierce wind and rain storm struck the port and city. It appears that two other ships have also been blown aground in the harbour – SM NEW YORK which appears to have gone aground on a sandbank opposite berth 203 of the Durban Container Terminal, and the products tanker BOW TRIUMPH which appears to be aground on the trotts at the back of Salisbury Island Naval Base (Island View side).
posted at 12h40 Tuesday 10 October 2017
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TODAY’S BULLETIN OF MARITIME NEWS
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- First View : WORLD ODYSSEY
- South Africa committed to enhancing intra-African trade
- NSRI medivacs sick seaman from trawler in Algoa Bay
- Piracy rears its head in Gulf of Aden
- ITF steps up campaign against ICTSI with focus on African ports
- Tanzania’s new standard gauge railway versus Kenya
- United States: Port funding lower in president’s 2018 budget
- Sonangol and oil operators meet President of Angola
- Expected Ship Arrivals and Ships in Port
- Cruise News and Naval Activities
- Pics of the Day : AT 27
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What might be called the first cruise ship of the South African 2017/18 summer season has arrived in Cape Town harbour for a three-night stayover. This is the Semester at Sea ship WORLD ODYSSEY (22,400-gt), the former Peter Deilmann luxury cruise ship Deutschland which visited South Africa on a number of occasions from the early 2000s. The ship was launched in 1998 to cater for an affluent and mainly German market but fell afoul of market forces that saw Peter Deilmann Cruises lose all his ships – the others were on the rivers of Europe. Since then World Odyssey has also operated for six months of the year under her original name Deutschland for the European operator Phoenix Reisen during the northern summer months and as a ‘university at sea’ type ship for the remainder. This picture is by Ian Shiffman
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SOUTH AFRICA COMMITTED TO ENHANCING INTRA-AFRICAN TRADE
President Jacob Zuma says South Africa remains committed to boosting intra-African trade, which will be equitably beneficial for all participating countries.
“The overriding imperative of the CFTA [continental free trade area] is to boost intra-African trade, promote market integration and industrialisation in Africa. A bigger market will improve the prospects of African countries to attract investment, promote the development of regional value-chains, thus increase the potential of diversifying the economic base.
“We believe that this will contribute positively to economic growth and development in Africa,” said the President in response to a Parliamentary question.
President Zuma was asked by the United Democratic Movement’s Chief Whip Nqabayomzi Kwankwa if South Africa had taken any steps to ensure that member countries in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) would receive the same revenue they derive from the current [tripartite] free trade agreement (TFTA), given the decision by African countries to establish the CFTA by October 2017.
President Zuma said negotiations towards establishing the CFTA build on the trade liberalisation progress and achievements of the Regional Economic Communities (RECs).
The CFTA will bring together 54 African countries with a combined population of more than one billion people and a combined gross domestic product of more than US$3.4 trillion.
“The aim is to enhance intra-regional trade and ensure that African countries trade with each other on better terms than third countries.
“A free trade area implies granting parties thereto preferential access in terms of tariff duties, which has implications for revenue,” said the President.
He said each negotiating party makes its own sovereign assessment about the benefits of entering into the CFTA negotiations and whether they potentially outweigh the negative considerations that arise.
The President said it is not possible to predict with any degree of precision how the CFTA will impact on the revenue base of the negotiating State parties. This, he said, will depend on the export profile of each negotiating State party to the CFTA.
The overriding imperative of the CFTA is to boost intra-Africa trade, promote market integration and industrialisation in Africa. source: SAnews.gov.za
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NSRI MEDIVACS SICK SEAMAN FROM TRAWLER IN ALGOA BAY
Seldom does a weekend go by without the National Sea rescue Institute (NSRI) being called out at all hours of the day and night to rescue someone in distress.
We don’t report most of these, mostly those involving the NSRI going to the assistance of people on land or on the beaches or even in the surf. That’s the job of publications catering to other needs, but when it involves shipping at sea then we believe it our duty to, as often as possible, report these if only to…[restrict] bring home to as many people as possible the incredible work that these volunteers do.
Yes, that is not a mistake, the NSRI is staffed entirely by volunteers. That is something that might be hard to comprehend in this country but there are still thousands of people, from all walks of life, prepared to go out and provide humanitarian services without any thought of reward, and the men and women of the NSRI can be counted as among these.
On Sunday night, at 21h30 the NSRI Port Elizabeth duty crew was called on to launch its rescue craft Spirit of Toft into the cold waters of the harbour and rendezvous with the stern trawler HARVEST ATLANTIC PEACE, some 1.5 nautical miles off the port breakwater.
That will have been one of the NSRI’s shorter rescue missions – on other occasions they are required to go into deep water far off the coast to effect these rendezvous’ – at Africa PORTS & SHIPS we have reported on some of these recently.
On Sunday the short journey to meet with the trawler was carried out without any problems and the patient, a man complaining of lower back pain but able to walk, was taken on board and brought ashore within the port where EC Government Health EMS paramedics took over care of him before transporting him to hospital in a stable condition by EMS ambulance.
The operation was completed at 22h15 and the fishing vessel returned to the fishing grounds. A quick and relatively simple rescue mission this time, leaving the duty crew to return to Sunday night standby mode.[/restrict]
INVITATION: EXPRESSION OF INTEREST
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PIRACY REARS ITS HEAD IN GULF OF ADEN
Attack of Iranian merchant ship
Piracy or the threat of it has reared its ugly head once again in the Gulf of Aden, proving that it never really went away. It has simply been under better control.
In the one incident the Iranian Navy is reporting that is has thwarted an attack on…[restrict] an Iranian merchant ship passing through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait which leads from the Gulf of Aden into the southern Red Sea.
According to this report, seven skiffs carrying what are assumed to be pirates made an attempt on the unnamed Iranian ship in the early hours of Monday.
The attackers were armed with ‘light and heavy’ weapons when they made their attack but were forced to flee when they also encountered the Iranian frigate ALVAND which was on patrol nearby. No further details have been provided but it is assumed the pirates beat a hasty retreat when the frigate made its appearance.
Indian Navy intervenes against pirate attack
In a second report the Indian-flagged bulk carrier JAG AMAR (82,084-dwt, built 2017) came under attack from pirates last Friday (6 October) while sailing in the Gulf of Aden.
The pirates received an equally nasty surprise when an Indian Navy ship, the stealth frigate INS TRISHUL despatched onboard commandos to rescue the bulk carrier in an operation that lasted five hours.
The pirate attack involving 12 pirates in one skiff took place at 12h30, leaving the merchant ship to take evasive action and call for help. Fortunately the naval ship was operating nearby and a quick response was assured. The commandos recovered a number of weapons and other pirate-related items, namely an AK 47 rifle, one magazine with 27 rounds, grapnels, ropes, fuel drums and ladders. Other weapons may have been thrown overboard.
The 12 pirates are reported to have been taken into custody.
Ships of the Indian Navy have been carrying out anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden with INS Trishul being one of them.
Somali forces shoot dead Iranian sailor
In another incident, the captain of an Iranian fishing vessel was shot dead and another seaman injured when Somali security forces opened fire on the fishing vessel off the coast of Somalia.
Reports say the Puntland Maritime Police Forces came across two fishing vessels fishing illegally off the coast of Ras Haun in Puntland and called on them to heave to. The two vessels ignored the order and made an attempt to escape.
The police managed to capture one of the vessels while the other made its escape but in the process the master of one was shot dead and another sailor injured. The boat with the remaining crew has been taken to Bosaso port for questioning. It is reported to have on board two tons of fish said to have been illegally fished in Somali waters.
Illegal fishing off the Somali coast is a major problem and challenge to the authorities, whose hold on sections of the coast is tenuous at the least. Fishing boats from Iran, Yemen, China, Vietnam and several other South East Asian countries raid the coast regularly, taking many tons of fish from waters where they have no permission to fish.
EUNAVFOR ships from the European navies operating on counter piracy patrols in the region frequently tip off the Puntland and Somalia authorities if they notice suspicious fishing activities.[/restrict]
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ITF STEPS UP CAMPAIGN AGAINST ICTSI WITH FOCUS ON AFRICAN PORTS
Analysis carried out by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) just released has found an emerging pattern of labour rights violations throughout one of the world’s most profitable stevedoring companies: International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI), says the ITF
The ITF says it will now focus on ports in which ICTSI seeks to expand, including the multi-purpose terminal in Kribi, Cameroon, a new port in Guinea-Bissau, the Motuka Port in Port Moresby and the Port of Lae in Papua New Guinea.
ICTSI is currently lobbying the Government of Cameroon to…[restrict] join a local consortium operating the multi-purpose terminal in Kribi.
ITF President Paddy Crumlin said yesterday (Monday), “The ITF is concerned that issues seen elsewhere in ICTSI’s global network will extend to Cameroon, if their bid is successful.”
“Patterns are emerging on ICTSI’s docks. A pattern of paying poverty wages. A pattern of failing to respect workers’ right to freedom of association. A pattern of poor safety standards endangering workers’ lives. A pattern of illegally out-sourcing jobs to labour-hire companies.”
“ICTSI’s failure to resolve protracted industrial disputes at the Port of Toamasina, Madagascar has impacted terminal clients, including global fashion brands such as Levi’s and Esprit. This failure should stand as a warning to the government of Cameroon when assessing ICTSI’s bid. The company’s lack of appropriate governance structures and failures to engage with unions are not only a risk to workers – they are also a risk to the reputation of the regions and countries in which they operate.”
The report, launched yesterday shows that severe labour violations can be found throughout ICTSI’s global network.
“ICTSI has grown ambitiously over the last decade, yet as this report shows, their growth has not been accompanied by sufficient managerial oversight and appropriate global governance to ensure productive industrial relations, compliance with local laws, international labour conventions,” said Crumlin.
In response to this damning report, ITF affiliates within ICTSI’s global terminals and shipping routes, are taking part in lawful actions worldwide in a renewed international push against injustice.
“Today we have a clear message for ICTSI: end the disputes at the Port of Jakarta and the Port of Toamasina in Madagascar. Reverse the emerging pattern of labour rights violations throughout your network. And treat your workers with the dignity and respect that all workers deserve.
“The ITF, and our union affiliates, are committed to supporting port operators who provide good jobs and industrial relations practices in their ports. Together we are committed to ensuring that ICTSI does not extend its pattern of labour violations into new terminals,” added Crumlin.
The ITF said that governments, investors and financiers that seek to partner with ICTSI should be concerned about this emerging pattern of violations, which indicate that as the company has grown to become a global ports player, it has not put in place sufficient oversight measures to ensure compliance with global norms and standards across their whole network. ICTSI’s governance failures suggest that the company’s future expansion may be accompanied by increasing volatility and risk due to protracted industrial disputes and safety failures.
Background
International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI) is a Philippine-based container terminal operator, which operates 29 container terminals globally. Since 1994, it has engaged in an ambitious international and domestic expansion program.
Growth has been targeted in ports that are privatised from government control, with a focus on emerging markets. ICTSI has identified Africa as the target region for future expansion.
ICTSI is currently short-listed for the Port of Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, and is lobbying the Cameroonian government to join the consortium that will operate and manage the multi-purpose terminal in Kribi, Cameroon. In September 2017, ICTSI signed an agreement to operate the Lae and Motuka ports in Papua New Guinea. source: ITF[/restrict]
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TANZANIA’S NEW STANDARD GAUGE RAILWAY VERSUS KENYA
When the presidents of Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Southern Sudan met to ratify the protocol that led to the construction of the Kenyan standard gauge railway (SGR) from the port at Mombasa to Nairobi and on the the Uganda border, missing from the table of East African leaders was Tanzania.
There were reasons for this, one being geography, the other that was no doubt a factor was that Tanzania and its main port of Dar es Salaam is a competitor to the trade traffic of the Central East African nations. It was no mistake that Tanzania was missing, says an article in The Standard Digital (see below for link). Read on…[restrict]
Tanzania, which is East Africa’s most populous country, was not on the table when the presidents of Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Southern Sudan sat to ratify the protocol for the development of a Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) connecting the port of Mombasa to Kampala, Kigali and Juba.
Instead, Tanzania opted to walk alone and only bring on board any of its neighbours that would buy into its vision.
As Kenya rushed to build the first phase of its modern rail in record speed to the envy of its neighbours, Tanzania took a back seat, the way a second born child would do, lurking in the shadows and learning from the mistakes of his elder brother, then retreated to plot how to do a better job when his turn came.
And before Kenya could finish bragging about having built the best railway in the region since the last century, Tanzania signed a second contract that will see it build an electric railway line that will move nearly twice as fast as the Kenyan line but at a fraction of the cost.
Last week, Dar, which has upped its silent rivalry with Kenya as it races to compete for the top spot as the economic power house in East Africa, awarded a US$1.92 billion contract to a Turkish firm to build 422 kilometres of its SGR.
Though this is just a fifth of the total line that Tanzania plans to build, the deal has shone a new spotlight on costs of building railways in the region.
It is also set to reignite debate on the viability of big infrastructure projects as each nation fights for title of the transport hub of the region.
Cheapest railway
Tanzania said its electric railway has been designed to support a maximum speed of 160km per hour for passenger trains and 120km per hour for freight. It is expected to be complete within 30 months.
Kenya’s line pales in comparison, where passenger train have a maximum speed of 120 kilometres per hour, and its freight will be doing 80 kilometres per hour at best. This means that in every hour, the Tanzanian train would cover an extra stretch of 40 kilometres ahead of the Kenyan train.
Besides speed, Tanzania’s line also appears to be slightly superior since it is electric. Kenya opted for diesel-powered engines that can be upgraded into electric in future.
At $1.92 billion, which translates to about Sh192 billion at current exchange rates, Tanzania appears to have secured the cheapest railway construction deal in the region, given that it will be spending nearly half of what Kenya spent to build the first phase from Mombasa to Nairobi.
Kenya’s line between Mombasa and Nairobi, which was slightly longer by about 50 kilometres, was constructed at a cost of $3.8 billion (Sh380.4 billion).
This cost does not factor in the interest on loan, the 20 per cent depreciation of the currency and the Sh11.7 billion paid on land acquisition.
At the time of negotiating the contract in 2012, the dollar exchange rate was Sh87. But the dollar is now more expensive to buy and is currently trading at about Sh103 on average.
“With the volatility of the exchange rate, it will be a challenge estimating the total financing cost of the project by the time the loan is paid off in approximately 20 years,” Kenya Railways said in an earlier response to Sunday Standard.
Tanzania did not fall for the temptation to go for a government-to-government deal that Kenya used to single source China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC).
Kenya handed the contract to the Chinese firm without a fight after the Chinese government dangled billions to fund the railway on condition that the contract would not go through a competitive process.
As the Turkish firm assembles its tools to start the construction of this new stretch, it appears that the decision by Tanzania to stick to a competitive process after cancelling an earlier contract awarded to a Chinese firm to build the high-speed electric line could have paid off.
President John Magufuli quietly terminated a contract awarded to Chinese Construction Company in 2015 due to allegations of corruption. Kenya chose to look the other way from the allegations of corruption and cost inflation that marred the SGR construction in the initial stages and is set to march on.
But Tanzania terminated the contract and immediately invited fresh bids. This is what saw the deal last week awarded to Yapi Merkezi Insaat VE Sanayi As, a Turkish firm based in Istanbul.
The headache for Kenya and Tanzania now is how to pay for the big railway projects without falling for the temptation to continue the borrowing spree.
China Exim Bank, which is funding the Kenyan line, was expected to finance the Tanzanian line but withdrew after the contract was terminated. This saw Tanzania turn to the other BRICS nations seeking for finance.
President Magufuli in May asked his South African counterpart Jacob Zuma to help the country secure soft loans from Brics Development Bank. The BRIC grouping includes South Africa, which has good trade relations with Tanzania, Brazil, Russia, India and China.
In August, the African Development Bank came to the aid of Tanzania, and agreed to finance part of Tanzania’s central railway projects after several stakeholders pulled out.
The Tanzanian line is the closest to the Kenyan one in terms of terrain, location and standard offering a better benchmark for comparisons. The other closest line is the Ethiopian that was launched recently but is a lot different to the line Kenya is building.
Crossing corridors
Some of the reasons that have been cited for differences in prices for the railway projects in the region include the number and sizes of train stations, the number of locomotives, freight wagons and passenger coaches. But all the other things do not account for more than a third of the entire cost.
In explaining why Kenya’s line appeared to be more expensive than Ethiopia, the government maintained that Kenya had other features that made it a lot more costly.
Kenya’s line has one port station, two major passenger stations in Mombasa and Nairobi, and seven passenger intermediate passenger stations at Mariakani, Miasenyi, Voi, Mtito Andei, Kibwezi, Emali and Athi River and 23 crossing stations.
It also has 98 bridges covering 29 kilometres of the railway line and has nine Wildlife Animal Crossing Corridors erected within Tsavo East and Tsavo West National parks for wildlife to pass under the SGR line. The crossing corridors are over seven metres high and at least 70 metres wide.
Tanzanian state-run railway firm Reli Assets Holding Company Ltd (RAHCO) said the Turkish firm will design and construct the railway line. This is the second infrastructure project won by the company in Tanzania this year. The complete features are yet to be revealed.
But it says it will build the 422 kilometre line from Morogoro to Makutupora, both in central Tanzania, and it will have the capacity to transport 17 million tonnes of cargo each year. This is about five million tonnes less cargo than what Kenya hopes to ferry in a year once its freight lines are in operation. Kenya hopes to carry 22 million tonnes of cargo a year and this gives it a better chance at break even.
RAHCO said it awarded the firm the contract after it met the technical and financial requirements. Fifteen contractors submitted bids for the project. This is the second railway contract that Tanzania has given out.
The first phase was handed to a consortium of the Turkish firm and Portugal’s Mota-Engil Engenharia e Construção África, S.A.
Construction of this first phase of the project that runs from Dar es Salaam to Morogoro is expected to be fully funded by the Tanzanian government. The first phase involves construction of a dry port project and six stations at a cost of $1.2 billion (Sh120 billion) for 300 kilometres of railway, and is expected to be completed by 2019.
RAHCO said it would award three additional tenders over the coming months to build another 700 kilometres of the railway. The route followed by Tanzania is in stark contrast to the process followed by Kenya, which opted for a government-to- government deal instead of using the competitive bidding process.
Good gradient
Kenya opted to hand CRBC and its subsidiaries the contract to do almost everything on the line from a feasibility study, design, building, supervision, purchase of the rolling stock and now running it.
Tanzania broke up its railway into four parts and put out four tenders to design and build the remaining stretch of the railway line that will link Dar es Salaam port with the landlocked neighbouring Rwanda, Burundi and Eastern part of DR Congo.
In total, Tanzania plans to spend $14.2 billion (Sh1.4 trillion) over the next five years to build 2,561 kilometres of what would be the longest standard gauge railway network built by a single east African nation. The line will connect its main Indian Ocean port of Dar es Salaam to the Burundi border.
Both Kenya and Tanzania defied studies from the World Bank that had suggested that building new railway lines may not be economically viable at the time. Instead, the World Bank suggested that the two countries would be better rehabilitating the existing one metre gauge railway at a cheaper cost.
For Tanzania, the World Bank went ahead to provide money for rehabilitation of existing central railway line several years ago, an offer that was not taken.
But Kenya argued that the metre gauge line built over a century ago is too dilapidated and will not meet the desired standards and speeds required after rehabilitation. Kenya Railways argues that the construction of the metre gauge railway was done on the 18 tonnes axle load, but the SGR is being done on the 25 tonnes axle load. This requires a much stronger support base.
Secondly, the SGR would allow the country to achieve good gradient and curvature that is necessary for speed and efficiency. Kenya Railways says that the metre gauge railway from Nairobi to Mombasa is 518km but on the SGR it is 472km.
“That tells a person that the SGR is fairly straight,” Kenya Railways says on its website. The biggest headache will be how to marshal the necessary cargo and passengers to break even and repay the debts.
Kenya is understood to have made a commitment to put in place policies that would guarantee that the new railway line gets majority of the cargo business from Mombasa Port. Kenya Railways says that the Feasibility Study Report had projected that the Kenyan line would break even within five years of operation.
“Judging from the interest shown so far by the business community locally and within the region to use the SGR, this could come sooner. In fact KR might have to consider investing into additional locomotives, freight wagons and passenger coaches by the fourth year in operations,” Kenya Railways says.
“Another catalytic development that could speed up SGR breaking even is the plan to extend the railway to Naivasha County and set up an Industrial Park along with a freight exchange centre at Mai Mahiu providing easy access of freight destined to the Great Lakes Region.” Source: Standard Digital[/restrict]
Read this story and even more at: www.standardmedia.co.ke
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UNITED STATES: PORT FUNDING LOWER IN PRESIDENT’S 2018 BUDGET
AAPA encouraged by Administration’s call to support $1 trillion in infrastructure investment
Seaports Deliver Prosperity
In reviewing the details announced earlier this year (23 May) in President Trump’s fiscal 2018 budget request, the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) – the recognised and unified voice of America’s seaports – reported that it saw declines for most federally funded, port-related programs. However, AAPA is encouraged by the Administration’s recently announced major infrastructure initiative to support $1 trillion in infrastructure over ten years, of which $200 billion would be in direct spending. Of that $200 billion, $5 billion is proposed for spending next year.
AAPA president and CEO Kurt Nagle stated: “AAPA applauds President Trump’s call to invest $1 trillion into America’s infrastructure over the next decade. The port industry has identified a need of $66 billion in federal investments to port-related infrastructure over that time. Ports and their private sector partners plan to invest $155 billion over the next five years alone in port facility infrastructure, and it is vital that…[restrict] supporting federal investments be made, primarily to improve the waterside and landside connections to our nation’s ports.”
He added: “While encouraged by the prospect of a sizable infrastructure investment program being considered, we are concerned about the significant reductions proposed for fiscal 2018 in many of the programs critically important to ports, such as TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) discretionary grants, HMTF (Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund) outlays, port security grants, and assistance in reducing diesel emissions.”
Over the next decade, AAPA is calling for $66 billion in federal funds for port-related infrastructure to ensure US job creation, economic growth, safe and secure ports and tax fairness. On the waterside, AAPA recommends investing $33.8 billion to maintain and modernize deep-draft shipping channels, and $32.03 billion to build vital road and rail connections to ports and improve port facility infrastructure.
Nagle noted that activities at US seaports account for more than a quarter of the nation’s economy, support over 23 million American jobs and generate more than $321 billion a year in federal, state and local tax revenue.
Among the budget proposals for next year is eliminating the US Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) TIGER grants program, which last year awarded US ports $61.8 million in multimodal infrastructure grants such as dock, rail and road improvements.
Additionally, the Department of Homeland Security’s Port Security Grant Program (PSGP), which Congress last funded at $100 million and which provided 35 port security-related grants in fiscal 2017, would see funding reduced to $47.8 million, a 52% cut.
President Trump has also proposed cutting the overall Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) budget by 31%, while the EPA’s Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) grants would see an 83% reduction. These grants have helped ports to make investments in clean diesel equipment and reduction strategies at the ports themselves, and they have used them to help businesses buy newer, cleaner-burning trucks, locomotives and vessels. Authorised at $100 million, DERA grants are currently funded at $60 million, while the President’s fiscal 2018 budget calls for $10 million in funding.
While the Administration’s budget request calls for increasing the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) funding by $400 million over the previous administration’s request of $4.6 billion, the request still represents a 16% decrease in the Corps budget when compared to the funds provided in the fiscal 2017 Omnibus. While details for the fiscal 2018 Corps’ Coastal Navigation program were not available at the time of writing, the President’s budget estimates fiscal 2017 HMTF expenditures will be $1.252 billion, and it targets fiscal 2018 funding at $965 million, a 23% reduction.
The Coastal Navigation program funds improvements and maintenance in America’s harbors and deep-draft shipping channels. The Harbor Maintenance Tax, which is levied on the value of imports and domestic, port-to-port shipments, was established in 1986 to pay for 100% of maintaining America’s deep-draft harbors and channels.
“International trade through ports is vital to our economy,” said Nagle.
He added: “To help the public and policymakers fully recognise the value and contributions to the economy related to our ports, AAPA has created the America: Keep It Moving campaign, which highlights the needs and benefits of investing in seaport infrastructure.”
Below are AAPA’s key recommendations for the fiscal 2018 budget:
• Provide $2.9 billion for the Corps’ Navigation program, including $1.6 billion for the Coastal Navigation portion that covers deep-draft investigations, construction, operations and maintenance, and donor and energy transfer port activities.
• Expand USDOT’s TIGER program, or create a new, multimodal discretionary grant and fund it at $1.25 billion annually.
• Continue funding USDOT’s FAST Act programs at currently authorized levels, which include formula funds to states and FASTLANE grants for nationally and regionally significant transportation projects.
• Furthermore, expand the amount of funds available for multimodal projects which is currently limited to $500 million a year through 2020.
• Increase funding to $400 million for the Department of Homeland Security’s PSGP and increase the number of Customs and Border Protection officers in the maritime environment by 500.
• Fund DERA grants at the $100 million authorised level.
Nagle concluded by saying: “As the fiscal 2018 budget process and the anticipated infrastructure initiative moves forward, it is vital that significant federal investments be made in port-related infrastructure. Such investments will pay huge dividends in terms of our international competitiveness, economic growth, American jobs and federal tax revenues.”
AAPA’s recommendations provided to the Trump Administration and the 115th Congress on key seaports priorities and is available
About AAPA
Founded in 1912, AAPA today represents 140 of the leading seaport authorities in the United States, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean and more than 250 sustaining and associate members, firms and individuals with an interest in seaports.
According to IHS Inc. – World Trade Service, combined international sea trade moving through Western Hemisphere ports in 2015 totalled 3.45 billion metric tons in volume and US$3.36 trillion in value.
Of that total, ports in Central and South America handled 1.69 billion metric tons of cargo valued at US$1.15 trillion, while North American ports handled 1.76 billion metric tons of goods, valued at US$2.21 trillion.
To meet the growing demand for trade, the AAPA and its members are committed to keeping seaports navigable, secure and sustainable.[/restrict]
For more information visit www.aapa-ports.org
On Twitter: http://twitter.com/AAPA_Seaports
Edited by Paul Ridgway
London
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SONANGOL AND OIL OPERATORS MEET PRESIDENT OF ANGOLA
The meeting follows a statement issued by the operators to the President of the Executive, who have identified several matters related to their investment strategies and operations in Angola
LUANDA, Angola, 9 October 2017/ – Sonangol EP (www.Sonangol.co.ao), along with several oil operators, attended a meeting today convened by the President of Angola, João Lourenço.
The meeting follows a statement issued by the operators to the President of the Executive, who have identified several matters related to their investment strategies and operations in Angola, which are seen as relevant to the continued development of the oil sector.
In their statement, the oil operators identified the excess of bureaucracy in the sector as being unfavourable to the overall development of the industry.
Reinforcing the alignment with the concerns of Sonangol’s partners, and anticipating some solutions, the statutes of Sonangol have recently been revised in light of these identified issues. A hierarchical level has thus been eliminated in the approval pyramid, which will make the whole process of analysis much faster, including approvals of the operators’ dossiers.
Other critical areas for improvement have also been identified, which require total dedication and specialization due to their importance in the business. These include: the management of the concessionaire; the review of old approval processes that have long existed within the company; and the replacement of the Ex-CEO who oversaw the concessionaire’s management and the relationship with its operators.
These functions are now being carried out by two Directors who guarantee full commitment to the best management practices and the appropriate treatment of the challenges to the sector.
In today’s meeting with the President, Sonangol’s commitment to the ultimate goal of defending and protecting the interests of the Angolan State were reaffirmed.
Sonangol has maintained a constant and transparent dialogue between the operators, the company and the government in order to advance the interests of the national industry. In July of this year, Sonangol held an international roadshow at the headquarters of the main oil companies to discuss investment plans in Angola and the challenges facing the industry. This event was accompanied by meetings held with each of the operators based in Angola.
Sonangol reached an agreement with the operators to significantly increase the competitiveness of the national oil industry. As a result, production costs per barrel fell by 48% from 2014 to 2016, and cost-cutting and investment efforts led by Sonangol resulted in additional savings of US $ 1.7B in 2017.
Sonangol has also worked with the operators to identify new investment opportunities. Despite the reduction of recent investment in Angola, which is no more than a reflection and consequence of reduced investment worldwide, there are still very interesting opportunities in both oil and gas, which is enough to keep production levels attracting profitability for the long-term future.
In Sonangol’s opinion, investment in this opportunity goes through for better management of costs and projects in industry.
The meeting today ended with a strengthened feeling that the company is on the right track and in total harmony with our partners in responding to the challenges facing the industry. The creation of a joint team led by the Ministry of Petroleum, which includes the Ministry of Finance and Sonangol, show the alignment of the main decision-makers in the analysis of the most competitive framework for this sector in Angola.
The Board of Directors at Sonangol remains highly involved and strongly committed, together with all the players of the national oil industry, to fulfill its mission of increasing revenues for the Angolan State.
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GENERAL NEWS REPORTS – UPDATED THROUGH THE DAY
in partnership with – APO
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EXPECTED SHIP ARRIVALS and SHIPS IN PORT
Port Louis – Indian Ocean gateway port
Ports & Ships publishes regularly updated SHIP MOVEMENT reports including ETAs for ports extending from West Africa to South Africa to East Africa and including Port Louis in Mauritius.
In the case of South Africa’s container ports of Durban, Ngqura, Ports Elizabeth and Cape Town links to container Stack Dates are also available.
You can access this information, including the list of ports covered, by going HERE remember to use your BACKSPACE to return to this page.
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CRUISE NEWS AND NAVAL ACTIVITIES
QM2 in Cape Town. Picture by Ian Shiffman
We publish news about the cruise industry here in the general news section.
Naval News
Similarly you can read our regular Naval News reports and stories here in the general news section.
What’s in a name? Quite a lot when it involves a ship, actually, for along with its IMO number these are the visible signs of the vessel’s identity. Just like you and me! We occasionally see ships with unusual or even strange names, and others that do not seem to have any meaning or purpose behind them, although no doubt the all do – to the owner at least. This one doesn’t fit any known category for naming a ship – AT 27 – so if a reader has an explanation please share it with us. AT 27 used to be called RUBIN DRAGON and at one time RUBIA, both of which are much more conventional. The Belize-flagged vessel is a bulker, built in 1997 and with a deadweight of 26,551 dwt. She is owned by Lebanese interests and managed by T Fleet Management – does that explain the T part of her name?…. The picture shows the ship arriving in Durban and was taken by Keith Betts
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
“Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.”
― Max Ehrmann, ‘Desiderata’
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Don’t forget to send us your news and press releases for inclusion in the News Bulletins. Shipping related pictures submitted by readers are always welcome. Email to info@africaports.co.za
SHIP PHOTOGRAPHERS Colour photographs and slides for sale of a variety of ships.Thousands of items listed featuring famous passenger liners of the past to cruise ships of today, freighters, container vessels, tankers, bulkers, naval and research vessels.P O BOX 809, CAPE TOWN, 8000, SOUTH AFRICA snai@worldonline.co.za http://home.worldonline.co.za/~snai
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