Bayonne Dry Dock and Repair Corporation President Michael Cranston held a press conference on Tuesday, May 8, 2012, on the top side of Bayonne Dry Dock, to highlight the economic and environmental punch of the dry docking business on the Port of New York and New Jersey and its positive impacts on homeland security. Following the press conference, Cranston led a tour of the facility where the U.S.N.S. Watson, a military ship that carries supplies to troops overseas, is currently undergoing repairs.
Attending the press conference and tour were Port Authority of New York & New Jersey Executive Director Patrick Foye, Michael Van Wagner, Acting Executive Director – Business Action Center, Office of Governor Christie, Al Coutinho, Assemblyman for NJ Legislative District 29 and Chair – Commerce and Economic Development Committee, Tom Bracken, President – New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, Maria Nieves, President and CEO – Hudson County Chamber of Commerce, Elizabeth (Bette) Spinelli, Executive Director – Hudson County Development Corporation, Jerry Keenan, Executive Vice President – NJ Alliance for Action along with employees of Bayonne Dry Dock and members of the community.
“Bayonne Dry Dock and Repair Corporation is proud of the contributions we are making to the working waterfront of the New York Harbor,” said Michael Cranston, President of Bayonne Dry Dock and Repair Corporation. “We offer a diverse workforce ready to serve the needs of both commercial and government entities on a 24 hour basis.”
The Military Ocean Terminal at Bayonne (MOTBY) served as a U.S. Army Base for about 50 years beginning in 1942 before being closed in the mid-1990s during a nationwide base realignment. In 1996, the city of Bayonne agreed to take over ownership of the site with a two-year phased transition. In 1997, Bayonne Dry Dock and Repair Corporation took over the lease of the dry dock. And recently in August 2010, the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey acquired 130 acres or approximately half of the MOTBY property, including the dry dock.
Since 1997, Bayonne Dry Dock and Repair Corporation has employed a local, skilled workforce with an average of four to eight years of experience and with a low turnover rate of just 3.8 percent between January 2009 and March 2012. In addition, approximately 97 percent of the Bayonne Dry Dock workforce are experienced minority workers who live locally in the surrounding area.
“As our maritime business grows and prospers, it has a ripple effect on the private sector businesses that rely heavily on it,” said Port Authority Executive Director Pat Foye. “At a time when men and women are in need of work, this firm is a major contributor of the port’s success, employing 180 people, many of them union workers, and minorities who come from the local communities that surround the facility. That’s the type of model we want to see duplicated around the port community.”Bayonne Dry Dock is a prime example of how business is booming at the Port. The facility is currently booked through October and was recently awarded the dry dock and overhaul of the Cape Washington, a maritime administration vessel owned by the U.S. Government. The facility typically repairs three to four military vessels per year, averaging 90 days per repair.
In addition to continued investment from government officials in the New York Harbor, which helps create new jobs, the Port of New York and New Jersey is the largest on the East Coast and third largest in the United States, handling nearly 40 percent of the East Coast shipping trade, providing more than 279,000 local jobs throughout the Port and bringing in $12 billion in wages annually.
As local, state and federal governments do more with less and with the number of cargo ships in the Port expected to double by 2020, the Bayonne Dry Dock and Repair Corporation will play an even larger role in keeping commercial and government vessels in a state-of-good-repair.
The Bayonne Dry Dock and Repair Corporation is also a tenant of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, operating New York City’s largest dry dock within the facility operating under GMD Shipyard. The U.S.N.S. Watson is scheduled to depart Bayonne Dry Dock mid-July.
Posts Tagged ‘Port’
Port, Government Officials Visit Bayonne Dry Dock
Friday, May 11th, 2012Port of Los Angeles Adopts Five-Year Strategic Plan
Friday, April 20th, 2012San Pedro, CA – The Los Angeles Harbor Commission unanimously adopted a five-year strategic plan for the Port of Los Angeles for 2012-2017.
The plan focuses on three key result areas, or KRAs – competitive operations, strong relationships and financial strength. It maps out the Port’s priorities, objectives and various initiatives for developing infrastructure, enhancing overall competitiveness, growing market share, optimizing land use, advancing maritime technologies and sustainability efforts, and maintaining the Port’s top ranking as the nation’s trade gateway to the Pacific Rim.
“This plan is a blueprint for responsible growth and job creation, which will guide us toward maintaining our competitive advantage as the nation’s premier trade gateway,” said Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. “It is this kind of strategic thinking that helped the Port become one of the nation’s leading economic engines, and meeting the strategic plan’s objectives will ensure our future success.”
As part of its focus on building “strong relationships,” the Port will undertake a number of initiatives to increase stakeholder and community awareness and support, and to create a positive workplace culture. The plan’s “financial strength” initiatives will center on enhancing cash flow, improving financial reporting and audits, and diversifying and maximizing grant funding.
The strategic planning process began in March, 2011, and builds on the previous 2006-2011 Five-Year Strategic Plan. In addition to input from a multi-division Port Strategic Plan Task Force, Harbor Commissioners also provided input and feedback on various drafts of the Plan, as did Port staff, constituents, customers and labor representatives. Metrics to measure the Port’s performance and success in implementing the initiatives are also in included in the plan.
The strategic plan will undergo continuous evolution and performance measurement over the next five years and an annual assessment and re-evaluation to ensure relevance prior to the start of the annual budget process. An organizational performance dashboard will be used to measure progress towards implementing the initiatives.
Cruise Ship ‘Azamara Quest’ Reaches Port after Fire
Monday, April 2nd, 2012Cruise liner limps in to Malaysian port after a day drifting in the South China Sea following engine-room fire
The Azamara Quest drifted off the southern Philippines with 1,000 people aboard after flames engulfed one of its engine rooms, injuring five crew members. Propulsion was restored by ship’s engineers a day later and she limped in at maximum speed 6 kts to the harbor of Sandakan city in Malaysia’s eastern state of Sabah on Borneo island, according to the Jakarta Post newspaper.
The fire on the Azamara Quest had been extinguished immediately, but five crew members suffered smoke inhalation, including one who was seriously injured and needed hospital care, the ship’s operator has said.
The 11-deck cruise ship, was carrying 590 passengers and 411 crew members. Over one-third, or 201, of the passengers were American, according to lists of passenger and crew nationalities provided by the ship captain to the Philippine coast guard.
Passengers from 25 countries also included 98 from Britain, 89 from Australia, 45 from Canada, 39 from Germany, 32 from Austria, 16 from Belgium, 14 from New Zealand and 14 from Switzerland.
The owners of the vessel said the rest of the cruise would be canceled. It said it would fully refund the passengers and provide each guest with a future cruise certificate for the amount paid for the aborted voyage. Azamara Club Cruises is part of Miami-based Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
The ship is registered in Malta, and its marine safety investigation unit will carry out an investigation of the accident.
U.S. Senators Urge Support for Small Port Dredging
Monday, March 26th, 2012Cantwell, Senators Urge Support for Dredging of Small Ports, Including Swinomish Channel, Port of Ilwaco. Senators: ‘Without adequate funding, the navigation channels leading to these ports will silt in and the jetties protecting these communities will crumble’
U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) has joined a group of Senators in urging key appropriators to include funding for dredging small and low-use ports in the fiscal year (FY) 2013 budget. Small and low-use ports are ports that don’t have enough tonnage to meet the Army Corps of Engineers’ threshold to qualify for annual dredging support but represent important economic engines of the communities they serve. Several Washington small ports and waterways require dredging to stay open, including the Swinomish Channel in Skagit County, the Kenmore channel in King County, and the ports of Ilwaco and Chinook at the mouth of the Columbia River in Pacific County.
Senator Cantwell supported the inclusion of $30 million in the FY2012 Energy and Water Appropriations bill last year and followed up with a letter to the Army Corps in February advocating that projects in Washington state receive sufficient support. Swinomish Channel was allocated $2.28 million of for dredging. “As you work to fund our nation’s navigation infrastructure, we ask that you take into consideration the needs of small coastal, including Great Lakes, waterways,” the Senators wrote in a letter sent today to key appropriators. “Our nations’ small ports and harbors serve as the lifeblood of their communities and greatly contribute to the nation’s economic vitality. …Without adequate funding, the navigation channels leading to these ports will silt in and the jetties protecting these communities will crumble.”
“We urge you to include at least $30 million in additional O&M [Operations & Maintenance] for small ports in the FY2013 Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill,” the Senators continued. “Leaving our nation’s small port needs unmet threatens the jobs of our citizens and weakens our nation’s economic competitiveness. We look forward to working with you to address this issue, and to continuing the effort to allow our small, remote and subsistence harbors to remain open for business.”
Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Carl Levin (D-MI), and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) also signed onto the letter sent today, which was led by Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR). Cantwell has long encouraged the Army Corps to support small and low-use waterways in Washington state, which provide critical economic and safety functions to the communities that rely on them. The Swinomish Channel provides a critical link for the Coast Guard, commercial and private vessels between Saratoga passage and the San Juan Islands, by a faster and safer route than Deception Pass or around Whidbey Island. Deception Pass, with its narrow waterway and very strong currents, is often too hazardous to navigate, and navigating around the south end of Whidbey Island requires vessels to travel a significantly longer distance. The Channel provides access to the La Conner waterfront, Swinomish Tribal commercial facilities and several marinas and is used by recreational boaters and for log and barge towing.
Marine businesses and boaters utilizing the Swinomish Channel generate approximately $92 million per year. More than 500 jobs depend directly on the waterway as a transportation corridor, according to the Port of Skagit. The Port of Ilwaco last year received approximately 40 million pounds of fish, with an estimated value of $14 million. The Port supports an 850 slip marina, seafood processing, light industrial land, and 25 marina-dependent commercial tenants. Dredging of the Ilwaco Entrance Channel is scheduled to begin on Monday, March 26th.
The Port of Chinook supports a 300 slip marina – 30 commercial and 270 recreational. The Port supports seafood processing, including 3.6 million pounds of crab valued at $8.5 million, and 15 port-dependent businesses. The United States Coast Guard Station Cape Disappointment depends on this channel to access the Columbia River and Pacific Ocean, and respond to 200 to 300 calls for assistance annually.
Port Revel Introduces Green Shiphandling
Tuesday, March 20th, 2012Pending the issue of more stringent measures by international institutions, Port Revel believes that the time has come to help raise the awareness of mariners responsible for manoeuvring large ships in harbor areas by providing them with ways of reducing fuel consumption and consequently CO2 and dust emissions in sensitive environments.
With this “Clean Shiphandling” principle in mind, Port Revel has equipped two of its eleven ships with sensors for measuring total energy consumption during a given shiphandling operation. Trainees are thus challenged to carry out the operation in question with a target level of consumption (and hence atmospheric emissions) fixed in advance by the Centre’s instructors, who have themselves already faced the same challenge.
Tests carried out with these models have shown that Port Revel perfectly masters the modelling techniques involved, and that similitude scales are perfectly maintained. This is yet further proof that nature (in the form of hydraulic conditions) is at work on the models as on real ships, without it being necessary to write out all the equations for the hydraulic phenomena involved. The realism of the scale models is unequalled and, for the moment, has not been surpassed by any other means of simulation.
It may be recalled that in 2009, Sogreah (now ARTELIA), a firm of consulting engineers working in the fields of water, energy and the environment, launched the “Otello,” a 1:25 scale model of 335 metres, 8 500 TEU container carriers. This event was part of the celebrations to mark the extension of its shiphandling training centre: Port Revel. To open the 2010 season, Sogreah launched the latest addition to its fleet, the “Q-Max,” a faithful reproduction of a 345-metre LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) carrier with a capacity of 266,000 m3. Thanks to this latest model, sailors can now train on a ship which represents the new giants now sailing the seas.
The Port Revel development program was launched in October, 2007, and represents an investment of over one million euros, consolidating the centre’s worldwide leadership in training pilots in shiphandling operations. By extending the lake to cover a total of 5 hectares, of which 50 percent is shallow water, doubling the number of quays and installing additional current-generating equipment, Port Revel can now offer an extremely varied range of situations and host 10 trainees each week, as opposed to 8 previously.
Drydock, Tug Sink in US Port
Monday, March 19th, 2012USCG cutter responds to sinking, pollution hazard posed by drydock containing Everett, Wash. tug boat
The Coast Guard and Washington Dept. of Ecology are responding to a potential environmental hazard involving a sunken 200-foot section of dry dock that contained the 140-foot tug Invader, at the Vigor Marine Shipyard in Everett, Wash., Sunday.
The dry dock began sinking after making contact with the sea floor. Both the dry dock and the tug are partially submerged, with the Invader capsized on its starboard side. There is also paint, scissor lifts, and a propane fork lift on the dry dock. The cause for the sinking has not been determined.
The owner of the Invader has confirmed that an estimated 50,000-60,000 gallons of diesel is contained in the vessel’s fuel tanks.
Boom has been deployed around the perimeter of the dry dock and the tug to prevent the spreading of any potential leakage. A light sheen has been observed due to residual sources.
A salvage company is on scene and is currently conducting an assessment dive and plugging the tug’s vents.
The Coast Guard and Ecology will continue to monitor the salvage operation to ensure its conducted safely and with minimal impact on the marine environment.
Tugs “Get a Lift” to Moroccan Port
Friday, February 24th, 2012Recently, two Damen Stan Tugs 2608, the Ibrahim 1 and the Jacques, were shipped from the anchorage of Halong Bay, Haiphong (Vietnam) to Casablanca by the Atlantic Winter, an 800t lifting capacity HLV chartered by Danish Heavy Lift carrier Thorco from Reederei Heino Winter. After having taken the necessary preparations and rigging of the lifting gear, both tugs were nicely loaded into their prepositioned cradles on deck in a two day operation. The tugs were ordered by JL Tug and Fedala Tug. Both are Moroccan, privately owned, maritime services companies that have long-time relationships with Damen Shipyards. The Ibrahim 1 will be operated by JL Tug in the Port of Jorf Lasfar and the Jacques will be operated by Fedala Tug in the Port of Mohammedia.
New Ship Repair Capability in Port Arthur
Tuesday, February 21st, 2012Drydocks World signs MOU with Goltens
Drydocks World, a leader in ship repair, conversion and new building, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Goltens. “We are delighted to have entered into this MoU with Goltens,
Krishnapatnam Now India’s Deepest Port
Thursday, November 17th, 2011Krishnapatnam Port in its quest to be the best port in India has increased its draft to 17.5 meters. With this measure, the port now shares the honor of being the deepest draft port in India along with another port that’s situated on the east coast of India.
The port has 3 cutter suction dredgers and 3 trailer suction dredgers that are continuously working round-the-clock undertaking capital and maintenance dredging. In the next two months, the draft will be increased to 18.5 meters making it the deepest draft port in India and in-time will be increased further.
Taking advantage of the current draft, a cape vessel ‘MV. Wisdom Of The Sea 1’ chartered for M/s Gupta Coal India Limited, is berthed at the port carrying 166,060 MTs of South African non-coking coal, which is also the largest parcel size of bulk cargo handled by any port in India. Krishnapatnam Port can now easily handle vessels with carrying capacity of 170,000 MTs, benefiting importers and exporters in saving their Ocean Freight. The port also offers high load and discharge rates that are best in the country leading to faster turnaround of vessels. This has been made possible due to its state-of-art infrastructure and other in-house port services. With a customer-centric approach, state-of-art equipments and technology, Krishnapatnam Port is providing world-class services to all its customers.
Port of Hamburg Reports Tonnage Increase
Monday, November 14th, 2011At 99 million tons, in the first nine months of the year throughput in the Port of Hamburg advanced by around 11 percent. This excellent, above-average result on throughput enabled the Port of Ham-burg to recover market share in competition with the major ports in Northern Europe.
Totalling 6.8 million TEU (20-ft standard containers), throughput in Hamburg grew at a double-digit (15.3 percent) rate and hence distinctly faster than in the West ports of Antwerp (up 3.1 percent) and Rotterdam (up 7.7 percent).
The upward trend in the Port of Hamburg’s seaborne cargo throughput was also maintained in the third quarter of 2011 with a total throughput of 99 million tons. Compared to the same period of the previous year, in the first nine months of 2011 altogether 9.4 million tons more seaborne cargo (up by 10.6 percent) were handled. In recent months Hamburg has suc-ceeded in winning back market shares of the order of one percentage point lost during the worldwide economic and financial crisis to the West ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam lying further.
On the import side, Port of Hamburg Marketing, the Port of Hamburg’s marketing organiza-tion, put throughput at around 58 million tons (up by 11.6 percent). Exports via Hamburg at 41 million tons (up by 9.2 percent) also developed favourably. At 69 million tons, the general cargo throughput that predominates in Hamburg displayed super-strong growth of 14.7 per-cent. Totalling 30 million tons (up by 1.9 percent) throughput in the first nine months of the current year also contributed positively to total cargo handling in Germany’s largest universal port.
Since the second half of 2010 a continuous improvement has occurred in Container throughput in the Port of Hamburg, with evaluation of the first nine months of 2011 indicat-ing renewed double digit growth with an advance of 15.3 percent. Altogether 6.8 million TEU were handled at the Port of Hamburg’s container terminals during the first nine months. The Port of Hamburg’s outstanding attractiveness was also reflected in the evenness of the de-velopment of container imports and exports. In the first three quarters of 2011, 3.5 million TEU (up by 15.6 percent) were handled in Hamburg on the import side, and 3.3 million TEU (up by 14.9 percent) on the export side. All trades involved in container traffic with Hamburg developed positively in the first nine months and achieved volume growth. European trades with 2 million TEU achieved a gain of 23.1 percent. Baltic trades with Scandinavia (690,000 TEU) and the countries of Eastern Europe, including Russia, (785,000 TEU) reported out-standing throughput figures representing growth of 13.8 percent and 44.0 percent, respec-tively. With 3.9 million TEU involving a gain of 10.6 percent, in the first nine months the Asia trade that is of special importance for the Port of Hamburg maintained its steady upward trend. Container trades from and to America achieved a total of 733,000 TEU (up by 24.8 percent). Thanks to additional liner service connections for the Port of Hamburg, container traffic with the USA performed extremely strongly, with growth reaching 65.4 percent. In the first three quarters of the year around 198,000 TEU were accordingly transported on this trade route, bringing the USA up from 13th to 7th place among the Port of Hamburg’s top trad-ing partners for container traffic. Africa as a container trade produced 162,000 TEU (up by 7.5 percent) and Australia/Pacific with 29,000 TEU scored a gain of 3.3 percent.
Throughput of non-containerized general cargo reached 1.8 million tons in the months January to September 2011, remaining just below the comparable result in the previous year of 1.9 million tons. The downturn is primarily attributable to imports of general cargo of tropi-cal fruits, which at 372,000 tons were down by 18.9 percent. On the import side, the strong-est growth in conventional general cargo throughput occurred in motor vehicles (up by 39.6 percent), metals (up by 35.5 percent) and paper (up by 11 percent). Higher exports of iron and steel (up by 24.1 percent) and of vehicles (up by 6.3 percent) even ensured a slight (0.7 percent) rise in conventional general cargo exports.
Throughput of bulk cargoes was up by 1.9 percent in the first three quarters of this year and reached 30 million tons. The suction cargo category that at 4.5 million tons (down 4.4 percent) remained below the comparable total for the previous year, was notable for steep growth in imports of oleiferous fruits at 2.3 million tons (up by 21.1 percent). Among grab cargoes that totalled 14.8 million tons (up by 3.7 percent) it was primarily imports of coal and coke at 4.3 million tons (up by 8.5 percent) where growth was impressive. At 10.5 million tons, throughput of liquid cargoes such as oil products and crude oil, for example, also de-veloped favourably, with an advance of 2.3 percent.
The first three quarters of 2011 produced growth in all three throughput categories, namely bulk cargo, general cargo and containers. The Port of Hamburg managed to recover strongly vis-à-vis the North Range (West) ports, achieving an outstanding result in all areas of cargo handled. “I am especially pleased that with numerous feeder services and absolutely stun-ning volume growth, Hamburg has impressively underpinned its position as the leading feeder port in Northern Europe for the entire Baltic region,” states Claudia Roller, CEO of Port of Hamburg Marketing. In her view, headlines belonging to the past suggesting that Hamburg had already been discarded by the Baltic trade and prophesying a gloomy future, had been convincingly countered. Provided that the long anticipated adjustment of the navigation channel on the Lower and Outer Elbe and the modernization and enlargement of the Kiel Canal, along with additional vital infrastructure projects, are actually implemented in the near future, then for Hamburg, the universal port of industrial character, she sees ongoing superb opportunities for developing and expanding cargo handling.
Claudia Roller is confident, anticipating double-digit growth of almost 14 percent in Port of Hamburg container throughput for the year 2011 as a whole: “For 2011 we can reckon on container throughput of around 9 million TEU. We estimate that total seaborne cargo throughput in Hamburg for 2011 will reach around 133 million tons. That would represent a gain of nearly 10 percent.”
Even if the satisfactory advance in world trade may slow down somewhat towards the end of 2011 and in 2012, Claudia Roller sees 2012 as producing a moderate upward trend for the Port of Hamburg. “China, Asia, America and the Baltic countries, all of them particularly im-portant foreign markets for Hamburg, do not currently lead us to expect that any collapses in seaborne foreign trade are in the offing,” explains Roller. In her view a slackening of domestic demand in Europe and the problems of the financial sector, while initially of European significance, need not have any direct bearing on forecasts of how worldwide foreign trade as a whole will develop. “The very positive performance of Port of Hamburg throughput pro-vides a clear signal for politicians, interest groups and the export trade that we should now be devoting all our energies, not to conjuring up crises, but to ensuring continued rapid ex-pansion of infrastructure along with the water, rail and road traffic axes that are so vital for the port. We cannot afford to lose any time in the tough competition against ports further West and must systematically build up and secure Hamburg’s attractiveness both as a port and a logistics region for the future,” is the wake-up call from the marketing chief.