CMA CGM to build new terminal at Tianjin

CMA CGM Group signed a 50-year concession agreement to build and operate a 1.7m teu container terminal in the Port of Tianjin in North China.

The new terminal is expected to become operational in 2011 and will feature a 1100-meter quay. It will be operated by a joint venture consisting of CMA CGM (with a 20% stake); Tianjin Port Holding Co., a Tianjin Port Group subsidiary listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (60%), and Hong Kong-based Asia International Shipping Ltd. (20%). “With this new investment, CMA CGM has secured a strategic base in Tianjin, which is the port offering the best prospects of growth in North China,” said Farid Salem, CMA CGM Group chief evp. “This will further improve the quality of service offered to our vessels, and therefore to our customers.” The group, which is already present in the Chinese port of Xiamen and operates a network of 64 offices across the country, currently offers 30 weekly services from China, with a departure every six hours. In 2006 it also acquired an 8% share in China Rail Intermodal, a project to design, build and manage a network of 18 railway container stations covering the entire Chinese territory, including Tianjin. Located only 150 km from Beijing in the Binhai industrial zone, Tianjin provides a strong maritime link to the Chinese capital. It ranks 16th in the world in container traffic, with more than 7.1m teu handled in 2007, an increase of 19% over 2006.

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DP World Awards 400 million Pound Container Port Build Contract

DP World signed a 400 million pound contract to build the first phase of a new port at London Gateway, the most technically advanced container port in the world, integrated with Europe’s largest logistics park.

This is the first major contract to be awarded in the £1.5 billion project, due to be built over the next 10 to 15 years. The contract is over five years, and will see the construction of the first phase of the port’s quay providing three berths and over 1.2 kilometres of quay in a joint venture between Laing O’Rourke and Dredging International. The new port will eventually handle 3.5milion TEU (twenty foot equivalent units), providing a much needed increase in capacity for the UK’s container terminals. The South Essex project is currently set to be the largest creator of new jobs in the UK, delivering over 12,000 in the coming years, and is the largest investment in the South East of England. Chief Executive of London Gateway, Simon Moore, said: “This contract is a major milestone in constructing the port. In an economic climate where the building industry is experiencing a sharp slow down, this is great news for Essex and the UK in general.

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Vosta LMG signs contract for new cutter suction dredge

The Arab Potash Company, Jordan, has awarded Vosta LMG with a new contract for the delivery of a new cutter suction dredge.

The dredge will measure 75 metres by twelve metres, with a maximum dredging depth of six metres. The new CSD600 will have a total installed power of 3,34kW with a cutter power of 650kW and a pump power of 1,825kW. The dredge will be equipped with a Vosta SC25 cutting system and will be built in Malaysia and delivered in 2009. This is the second contract Vosta has received from Arab Potash, with the previously delivered cutter suction dredger also having the special design to excavate hard salt deposits in extremely corrosive and harsh climatic conditions where ambient site temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius are common. Vosta will train additional crew on site to operate the dredge at its specified performance when delivering the dredge, including floating pipeline.

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