Port News

Inland Rivers, Ports & Terminals, Inc. (IRPT) and the European Federation of Inland Ports (EFIP) announced on October 1 a transatlantic partnership through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) focused on modernizing infrastructure, expanding commercial opportunities, and accelerating knowledge-sharing across the inland waterway freight network. The partnership is designed to strengthen collaboration between American and European inland ports and terminals, while expanding the commercial potential of port and terminal assets.

Hardik Gajjar, ENV SP, has joined HDR as maritime planning lead for the firm’s growing ports and maritime practice. Based in New Jersey, Gajjar will leverage his experience in maritime and intermodal planning to support port owners and operators around the globe as they pursue more efficient operations and smart infrastructure development.“It’s an honor to join one of the best ports and maritime firms in the industry,” Gajjar said. “I’m looking forward to leveraging HDR’s outstanding cross-sector collaboration to help clients as they assess the impact of emerging trends such as automation…

Terminal operators in a major oil port in east China's Shandong province are set to introduce measures to ban shadow fleet vessels and curb visits by other old tankers, according to an official notice seen by Reuters and a tanker tracker.The measures, to take effect from November 1, would ban vessels using fake International Maritime Organization numbers and ships of 31 years or older, which traders said would target what is known as the shadow fleet that transports oil under Western sanctions.Four terminal operators at Huangdao Port last week issued the notice…

Port Houston recorded sustained growth in August following a standout July. Total tonnage across Port Houston’s public terminals is up 5% year-to-date through August, reflecting steady growth across multiple cargo sectors.After a record-setting July, the Port’s container terminals saw 370,430 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in August, up 1% from the same month last year. Year-to-date container volumes reached just shy of 3 million TEUs, specifically 2,932,936 TEUs, which puts…

The National Transportation Safety Board issued a safety alert Wednesday urging greater awareness and training for land-based firefighters who may be called to fight fires aboard vessels in local ports.The safety alert follows several NTSB investigations into deaths and injuries to firefighters. The NTSB found land-based firefighters often lack the necessary training and familiarity with vessel layouts and fire protection systems to effectively fight in-port vessel fires. They…

A U.S. State Department spokesperson expressed concern on Wednesday over Spain's measures limiting access to Spanish ports and airspace to ships and planes carrying weapons for Israel."It is deeply concerning that Spain, a NATO member, has chosen to potentially limit U.S. operations and to turn its back on Israel on the same day six individuals were killed in Jerusalem. These measures embolden terrorists," the spokesperson said in an email sent to Reuters on Wednesday.The U.S.

Spain on Monday banned ships and aircraft carrying weapons to Israel from calling at Spanish ports or entering its airspace due to Israel's military offensive in Gaza, measures the Israeli foreign minister denounced as antisemitic.Spain, which recognised a Palestinian state in May 2024 and has been a vocal critic of Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip, responded to Gideon Saar's comments by summoning its ambassador in Tel Aviv back for consultations.On top of the ban on ships and aircraft delivering weapons or military-grade jet fuel to Israel…

Turkey has decided to bar Israeli vessels from using its ports, forbid Turkish ships from using Israeli ports and impose restrictions on planes entering Turkish airspace, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Friday.He provided few details in comments to parliament which appeared to summarise steps that Turkey has already taken against Israel over the war in Gaza or has started to implement.Turkey has fiercely criticised Israel's offensive in Gaza and accuses it of committing genocide in the Palestinian enclave, a charge that Israel denies.

July was a standout month for Port Houston’s public terminals, with double-digit growth in key sectors that pushed year-to-date totals to new heights. Container volumes for July were up are markable 21% compared to July 2024, reaching 392,829 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). This is one of the Port’s strongest single-month performances on record. Throughout this year Port Houston has continued to demonstrate strong capacity for growth in containerized cargo and has seen its largest volumes ever.

Seabound has been awarded USD$1.48 million (£1.1 million) through Round 6 of the UK Government’s Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC6). The funding will support a first-of-a-kind project between Seabound, STAX Engineering, and Associated British Ports (ABP) to integrate Seabound’s carbon capture technology with the STAX emission capture and control system at the Port of Southampton. The companies previously announced their plan to deploy these barges in collaboration with ABP at the inaugural Maritime UK Solent Coastal Powerhouse Summit.ABP…

Public-private partnerships could take over two key ports near the Panama Canal if courts invalidate a contract with Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison's to operate them, Panama's President Jose Raul Mulino said on Thursday.CK Hutchison holds a 90% stake in the local Panama Ports Company, which had a 25-year concession to operate the Balboa and Cristobal ports, located at both ends of the canal, renewed in 2021.The contract has been at the center of a dispute since U.S. President Donald Trump this year threatened to take over the waterway due to China's influence over Panama's maritime industry.

French shipping giant CMA CGM said on Tuesday it is interested in taking over some of CK Hutchison's ports after the Hong Kong conglomerate's exclusive talks ended with a consortium led by BlackRock this week.CK Hutchison agreed in March to sell the majority of its $22.8 billion global ports business to the consortium also including Italian billionaire Gianluigi Aponte's family-run shipping company MSC, but the exclusive talks expired on Sunday.Gaining a stake in CK Hutchison's…

The proposed inclusion of Chinese shipping giant COSCO in Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison's contentious global ports sale is a potential win for Beijing in a strategic sector, but the deal is far from final and could face resistance from Washington, sources and analysts say.Since the deal was announced on March 4 to sell 43 of CK Hutchison's ports in 23 countries, including two along the Panama Canal, to a consortium led by U.S. firm BlackRock, and Italian billionaire Gianluigi Aponte's family-run shipping company MSC, it has sparked a firestorm of criticism from China.While the U.S.

Blair Garcia, a longtime leader in the maritime industry, has joined HDR as the global maritime director. He will build on the firm’s strong foundation of maritime and coastal engineers, scientists and experts, while adding new services and geographies to drive HDR’s continued growth in this global market.Garcia has spent three decades in the ports and maritime industry, helping port and intermodal rail clients on six continents and at most of the deep-water ports in the U.S.

Foreign vessels will require the approval of Russia's FSB security service to access the country's ports, according to a decree signed by President Vladimir Putin.The decree said that permission from port authorities for foreign ships to enter would need to be agreed with the FSB, which is the main successor organisation to the Soviet-era KGB. The new measures came into force immediately after the decree was published on Monday.Previously, entry rules were set by the transport ministry and special procedures were in place at ports adjacent to naval bases…

China is threatening to block the sale of more than 40 ports, owned by Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison, to BlackRock and Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) if Chinese shipping company Cosco does not get a stake, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing unnamed sources.Reuters could not immediately verify the WSJ report.CK Hutchison, MSC, BlackRock and Cosco did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for a comment, while the Chinese government could not be immediately reached outside office hours.Chinese officials have told BlackRock…

IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez emphasized the global shipping industry's need for significant investment in technology and alternative fuels to achieve a net-zero transformation and drive sector-wide change at the Blue Economy Finance Forum in Monaco, June 8.The global shipping industry is preparing for a net-zero transformation that will have a sector-wide impact on everything from supply chains and business models, to ships, ports and the maritime workforce.IMO approved new regulations for net-zero ship fuels and emissions in April, set for adoption in October.

Crowley, a leader in logistics, marine and energy solutions, is expanding ocean shipping services with its first-ever route between the U.S. Northeast and Central America.Utilizing Crowley's new Avance Class vessels, powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), the five-day transit between the Port of Philadelphia’s Gloucester Marine Terminal and ports in Guatemala and Honduras enables timely deliveries of food, apparel, industrial products and consumer goods to and from the Central America Northern Zone, which also includes El Salvador and Nicaragua.

Israel attacked Yemen's ports of Hodeidah and Salif along the country's Red Sea coast on Friday, the Houthi-run Al Masirah TV said, in an apparent response to the militant group's missile launches against Israel.Al Masirah did not provide further details, but two residents in Hodeidah said they heard four loud booms. There was no immediate comment on the attack from Israel.The Houthis have continued to fire missiles at Israel in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, although they have agreed to halt attacks on U.S.

In a move aimed at better serving its customers, Great Lakes East (GLE) has officially relocated its Florida port operations for the Jones Act–compliant Caribbean Breakbulk barge service to Port Canaveral. The new operations are now being managed through GT USA’s Canaveral Cargo Terminal (CCT)—a modern, full-service facility well-equipped to handle complex cargo operations and accommodate the CRIMSON CLOVER vessel. GLE is confident this relocation will bring long-term value to…

Marine fuel sales at the United Arab Emirates' Fujairah port hit a three-month low in May, data showed, while market sources said they are monitoring the situation in June as conflict flares between Israel and Iran, heightening regional tensions. Bunker sales, excluding lubricants, totalled 614,296 cubic metres (about 608,000 metric tons) at the Middle Eastern bunker hub in May, based on Fujairah Oil Industry Zone (FOIZ) data published by S&P Global Commodity Insights. The volumes were down 8.2% from April and by 0.2% from May last year.

Recent discussions on tariffs have largely overlooked the potential implementation of the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR)’s port fees on Chinese-built vessels. This fee, which could reach up to $3.5 million per port call, varies based on the vessel’s origin and the owner’s fleet composition. Given that typical US port calls cost a maximum of $80,000, this fee could significantly impact import and export volumes.According to VesselsValue trade data, there were 3,150 dry bulk port calls in the US in Q1 2025, involving 1,609 dry bulk carriers.

Potential USTR port fees of c.$1 mil per voyage for non-US built car carriers entering the US targeting c.95% of the global fleet from mid-October, combined with this week’s signals from Washington suggesting a sooner-than-expected reopening of the Red Sea, would deal a heavy blow to car carrier demand. Together, these factors comfortably support a scenario of negative car-mile growth through 2026 and 2027.By contrast, supply growth is expected to be in positive double-digit territory over the same period…